Inking The Thinking.

The Kill.

“Would you care for another drink maybe?” he asked, as they looked on at people dancing on the floor.

“No, thank you. I don’t drink,” she replied politely, smiling at the request.

“Really? I thought you had to be drunk to be so happy and lively!”

“I’ll take that as a compliment!” she said, smiling. The light flicker of pain in his eyes made her say, “But I also think I’ve taken you back to unpleasant memories.”

“May be. May be not,” he added nonchalantly.

She was intrigued. It was unsettling for her to be intrigued. She preferred intriguing.

“Care to dance?” he asked.

“I’d gladly. But the alcohol seems to be doing it’s trick fast,” pointing at the man who’d suddenly opened a bottle of champagne in the middle of the dance floor.

“I’ll shield you well and keep you protected, don’t worry,” he assured her.

Smiling, she got up but as she stepped out onto the dance floor, flashes of her past whirled past.

“Would he be her fourth kill?”

“Not before I know his story,” she answered to herself.

Graciously Yours!

Archita has been kind enough to nominate me for the Liebster Award. Thank you! The young one writes amazing poems. You’d often wonder where she gets those thoughts from! Apologies for acknowledging the award so late!

cyvk

So here are the rules:

1. Thank the blogger who nominated you.
2. Use the picture for the award.
3. Answer the ten questions given to you.
4. Nominate fellow bloggers for the award to pass on.
5. Set ten question for them to answer.

cyvk

1. How did you came up with your first blog title?

cyvk

Honestly, my first blog was created in a haste of excitement and since I couldn’t come up with anything I just googled for blog name creators and chose the one I loved most out of what they churned out for me. Embarrassing, huh? Oh and this isn’t my first blog!

2. Who is your favourite hollywood star?

Julia Roberts.

3. What is the name of your favourite tv show?

Castle. Hands down!

4. If you were to have a library of your own, which genre of books would they have the most?

I think mystery and suspense thrillers. And all classics I can lay my hands on!

5. What type of food do you prefer the most?

Salads! And fruits. I love them!

6. Who is your favourite author?

I cannot name one! Alcott, O Henry, Saki, Ruskin Bond, Rowling! To name just a few. They’re the ones who come to mind first.

7. If you get a chance to go on a world tour with a celebrity (any field), who would that person be?

Someone who can talk well. Someone who can look good when not talking. Someone fit enough to try all those adventures on my bucket list. And someone who can do things I can’t (assuming we won’t be going with the celebrity’s entourage of assistants!).

Vikas Khanna.

Okay, fine! I’m only saying Vikas because he looks really good! And also maybe because his interviews make him sound sensible.

8. Who is your favourite blogger?

My all time favorite blogger has to be Prashant from Just Spoken Thoughts.
He has always uplifted my spirits and encouraged me in the kindest of ways! I miss him because he is busier serving the country these days, so I can’t even complain about it actually!

And current favorite? That is really, really tough! But I think I’ll go with Naima from Globalunison and Prateek from The Uncertainty Principle. Words just fluidly essay their thoughts and you never realize how far you’ve been carried away until you realize you’re happily lost. It’s always a pleasure reading their work!

9. Arrange these in your preference order: career, food, love?

Food, love, career! Simple logic – without food, I can’t live with my love. And in order to not be a financial burden on my love, I’ll be focusing on my career.

10. Which one is your own favourite post?
Taking the breath away!

The nominees will have to answer these questions:

How did you land up on WordPress?
Apart from writing, what are your other passions?
Bungee jumping or scuba diving?
Bollywood or Hollywood?
Jhumpa Lahiri or Dan Brown?
Online shopping or bargaining?
One life experience which broke you then left you stronger?
What is your favourite quote?
What do you think is the biggest problem being faced by the world today?
What is that one question you want to be asked?

I would like to nominate anyone who likes or comments on this post! Please acknowledge the nomination 🙂 The award is all yours!

Graciously Yours!

Freestyle Writing Challenge ~ Mischief.

I was nominated by Hargun to attempt a free style writing challenge. She has a terrific blog! Do land up there too.

So here are Rules I had to follow:

Open an MS Word document
Set a stop watch or your mobile to 5 minutes or 10 minutes whichever challenge you think you can beat.
You topic is at the foot of this post BUT DO NOT SCROLL DOWN TO SEE IT UNTIL YOU ARE READY WITH A TIMER.
Fill the word doc with as much words as you want. once you began writing do not stop even to turn.
Do not cheat by going back and correcting spellings and grammar with spell check in MS WORD (it is only meant for you to reflect on your own control of sensible thought flow and for you to reflect on your ability to write the right spelling and stick to grammar rules)
You may or may not pay attention to punctuation and capitals. However if you do, it would be best.
At the end of your post write down ‘No. Of words =_____’ so that we would have an idea of how much you can write within the time frame.
Do not forget to copy paste the entire passage on your blog post with a new Topic for your nominees and copy paste these rules with your nominations (at least 5 bloggers).

GOOD LUCK!

Here’s what I managed on the word ‘Mischief’!

Mischief ~ the first few things running across my mind when I think of mischief encompasses ‘Mischief managed’ which only Potterheads will genuinely appreciate, or possibly a dog named Mischief. But that’s just probably because I was discussing dogs and their barkings and whimperings with a friend!

Let’s get you something more intresting though!

She sat playing with her toys. Her mother was across the floor feet away shelling peas for the next year whole. They were to be refrigerated tonight. Round, succulent balls of green. The little one stared at them, eyes gleaming with mischief. She wanted those. Her toys were boring! She slowly started casting across her toys. The mother looked up. The baby was about to throw another tantrum she thought. She went into the kitchen, to boil the baby’s milk. Before the baby started bawling, she’d feed her and put her to sleep. That way her work get over faster. While the mother was away, the baby slowly crawled across to the bowls full of peas. She settled quietly in front of the bowls. She pushed in a fist to grab a fistful of those. She then withdrew her hand and threw them across the floor. Slowly, they bounced and then rolled all about her. She chuckled! Delighted she did this again. And again. She wanted more of them around her. She flapped her hands on the green balls. She moved her leg to change her posture. Something was bugging her bum. She saw a green ball roll out from benetah her. Her leg tilted the bowl halfway. She looked at it, smiling with a grin almost evil. She reached out to the bowl and tilted it further. All the balls ran out in a hurry!

“Whaaaat?!” her mother said out loud, standing across the hall staring at peas all around!

She stared up at her mother, proud of the work she’d done!

No. of words – 316.

Time taken – 10 minutes.

And my nominees would be :

Globalunison

The Uncertainty Principle

Part and Parcel

Cat Jenkins

Soul Mate’s – near yet so far

Archita Rai

Soumya Chakraborty

And your word is – wine.

Cook me up something special! 😉

Graciously Yours!

Cosmetics for the Moon?

By 2050 :

Mirror, Mirror on the wall!

Who’s the fairest of them all?

The Moon!

Once upon a time, on a full moon night, somewhere in the West, someone may have spent a night like this :

Husband (relaxing after a long day of work in his balcony) : I love how peaceful the night is. Look at the full moon. It is heavenly!

His peace was interrupted by the sound of breaking glass! He hurriedly got up from his seat.

Wife (peeking out of the window from her bedside) : And there goes another bulb from your basketball court.

Husband : How many times will I have to tell your boy to aim for the basket and not for the lights?

Wife : Change the bulb for him tomorrow please. And he’s your son too!

Flopping back on his armchair, he looked up at the sky in exasperation.

Husband (to the moon) : If only you had been a little brighter, I wouldn’t have to keep changing bulbs then!

And that is when the idea hit him!

Husband : What if we made the moon brighter? What more would our company have to do to prove we indeed are the best in the business?

Meanwhile, here in India, on the same night, the moon smiled down as a young man was being agonized by his girlfriend to fish for the right kind of compliment. The Bollywood-romance stricken, Chetan Bhagat-Ravinder Singh avid reader, was barely wading through.

Boyfriend : Baby, you are so beautiful!

Girlfriend : Don’t you have anything new to say?

Boyfriend (clutching at any straws he could find!) : You’re as beautiful as the full moon!

Girlfriend (looking up at the sky) : The moon? This moon? The moon has black spots! Just look at it. I can’t believe you think I have bad skin. I use Fair And Lovely every day.

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She walks off in a huff.

Boyfriend (hassled) : I wish someone gave a Fair And Lovely to the moon too!

Realizing she wasn’t coming back, he hurried to catch up with her!

Little did he know someone, somewhere was planning to do just that!

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Jokes aside, here’s what a Swedish cosmetics company has proposed to achieve, if all goes well :

A Sweden-based cosmetics company has proposed a bizarre new method to eliminate the need for streetlights – brighten the surface of the Moon.

The idea is to use materials already on the Moon to lighten its surface. The goal is to reflect slightly more sunlight onto Earth, making the night sky brighter, according to the company’s think-tank Foreo Institute.

A brighter night sky would mean less need for streetlights, which could potentially translate to less electricity usage and thus fewer globe-warming carbon emissions, it said.…

“Making the Moon brighter is not something I’ve ever heard of in the geoengineering literature,” said Ben Kravitz, a postdoctoral researcher in the atmospheric sciences and global change division of Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.

Foreo’s claims to have raised USD 52 million for research and testing and a timeline on the company’s website says its first Moon mission is slated for 2020 with new rovers deploying every three years.

…

Foreo suggests the brightening effect would happen gradually over 30 years, allowing humans and animals time to adjust.

Here’s what they say about it.

What do you have to say about it? 😉

Graciously Yours!

P.S. : Regardless to say, I do not intend to harm anyone’s sentiments scientifically or cosmetically!

In love!

My soul sister and me, were wondering the other day ~ Why are we happily single? Is it a phrase we simply use to conform to the world’s standards of the opposite of committed? Or is it something we say aloud to pacify ourselves that we really are happy looking at our friends getting lost in each others’ eyes? Does it have something to do with being afraid of commitment and the innumerable troubles about space and time and attention that ensues?

None satisfied our quench and hunger to know!

Until… We finally hit jackpot!

We’re already in love. Not with one single person, but various parts of various people! And of late, it’s staring into my face so much, that I can’t avoid writing about it any more.

I’m in love.

I’m in love with the strength of the female who reminds herself each morning that her parents are as important as her boyfriend.

I’m in love with the endurance of the sister who manages to accept me just as I am!

I’m in love with the resilience of the friend who knows how difficult the path is, but keeps at it while people around her do nothing much to pull her up!

I’m in love with the care of the brother who stands by me through thick and thin, making sure my smile never fades. Yes, all you brothers.

I’m in love with the faith of the friend who bared his life’s biggest secrets to me.

I’m in love with the promise of hope my mentor exudes.

I’m in love with the positivity of this blogger who encouraged me to transform my works from that of a little girl to a young lady!

I’m in love with the love my friend has for his better half!

I’m in love with the ‘chemistry’ I share with a blogger, our thoughts meshing effortlessly each time.

I’m in love with the innocence of my friend’s baby niece! And also his love for her.

I’m in love with how understanding that friend is who never once complained about how my complaints bore him!

I’m in love with the humour of the friend who I’ve never seen without a smile to share!

I’m in love with the passion of that domestic help who went on to join an NGO and is now learning English.

I’m in love with the intelligence of the friend who is as modest about it as one can be!

I’m in love with the inquisitiveness of the cabbie who wanted to know why my destination was named so and what was its historical significance.

I’m in love with the concern that crops up in the friend’s eyes each time my own are welling up.

I’m in love with the compassion of that shopkeeper who feeds those stray dogs and lets them warm themselves in her barely successful shop.

I’m in love with myself for being so much in love, for finding so much to love and for trying each day to love!

Each day I come across beauty, rawness, hope, love, strength, smiles.

Each day I also come across hatred, anger, greed, stealth, deception, frowns.

It is my choice which ones I choose to imbibe, cultivate, remember and fall in love with!

There isn’t lack of love. We just have to know where to look.

I know why I’m happily single. And now you do too.

Graciously Yours!

VIBGYOR

The violet orchids you held out for me,

Looked striking against the indigo dress I wore,

As your smiling blue eyes mesmerized me, making my heart race,

The ladies around stared, envious and green.

We drove back to your place, yellow lights shining against the night city sky,

I stirred in your arms, awakening to the orange hues of dawn,

Red trickling down from me.

Graciously Yours!

P.S. : This is an ode to nature for the myriad colours it has given to us to shade our lives with! If ever in doubt, check out the nail paint section of any cosmetics brand.

Nepal Quake Aftershocks.

25th April, 2015 : The day man-made aftershocks won over natural aftershocks.

Two back to back tremors in Calcutta around noon today brought us all out of our buildings onto the roads. For a while, we were all dazed and then after necessary precautions went back to work.

I spent the next hour calling and texting people to ensure they were safe.

Then I came home and checked the news and read all I could about possible aftermaths of the quake.

After a long day, when I finally surfed through social media, I realized I had missed out on the most important task to be done after such an incident!

I forgot to update my Facebook status about how, why, where, when I felt and survived the quake! I forgot to share my survival strategies. I forgot to tell people via my Instagram account how the Calcutta skies looked pre and post storm today.

I realized I wasn’t cool enough like this guy who updated his status as “Feeling tremors. Earthquake?”. He was asked by a friend as to why he was updating his Facebook status instead of running down towards safety. His reply? “I am too lazy to run down 10 floors.” He should thank his stars the tremors felt in Calcutta were not destructive enough. Or else his laziness would have made him pay the final price. Very, very cool. I could never be him, try as much as I may.

Oh and do you know it’s also ‘Happy Earthquake Day’? Another status informed me this. People around me are so intelligent! I wonder where they get their brains from.

These are just two gems out of the countless sparkling stones lying around!

I had so many things to do. And instead all I did was feel gut-wrenchingly sad about all those people who lost their lives, saw their lives fall apart within seconds, are still trying to locate their loved ones, have been stranded and are waiting for help, are looking for the gleam of hope through the mount of rubble, are seeing the might of the Earth first hand. Where’s the proof that I did feel this? Where’s the evidence on the internet about it? I guess this is my evidence.

I did it. I did what all of us so calmly do these days. I just reduced the loss of countless lives to a few dozens of words.

Graciously Yours!

P.S. : How will our souls ever rest in peace?

Of Darker Alleys (Part 2)

In continuation of the first part of the short story ‘Of Darker Alleys’.

She started walking faster. She had to get to the house early to make use of all the time she could get. She wanted to get away from them. She was desperate.

She reached the house. She could see the men standing outside impatiently. Bowing her head, lowering her eyes, she walked past them silently. She felt their eyes piercing her back. An involuntary shudder passed through her as she walked in through the wooden door. It was the last time she was going to do it.

It was a beautiful house. Much better than what she had been brought up in. The elders of the house had built it with much love and money. Latticed windows, carved doors, floral designs adorning the middle of the courtyard; she fell in love with the place when she saw it. She used to imagine how she would one day take care of it. Little had she imagined anyone could be as unhappy here as she had become.

Her mother-in-law was walking towards her. She muttered instructions to her. All she caught was the confirmation that they would be back in some time. Possibly half an hour. She didn’t listen to anything else. Not anymore.

The minute they left the compound to attend the neighborhood wedding, she ran to her room. She didn’t want to attend the wedding. It was a trade. The girl was being sold and she wouldn’t know it for a while. That is how the village was surviving. The current generation had almost no girls. Who would the boys marry? They killed their own daughters and bought daughters of other parents only to sell them off as commodities once their utility was over. Higher the demand, higher the price. She preferred the dried grasslands over such fake lushness. At least back at her place, they treated humans as humans.

She had put together a few of her clothes. She was still in two minds if she should run away with her baby or alone. She knew if they found the baby missing, they would not leave any stone unturned to get to her. But if she alone went missing, they might not even bother. With a heavy heart, she picked up her little cloth bag and crossed the length of the house to leave.

She stopped right at the main door. Her son was wailing. Her only son was wailing! She opened the door. She tried ignoring his cries. She could see her freedom waiting down the road. She could hear a hungry heart and an impatient stomach calling out to her.

The mother in her had decided. She had decided to remain human. She closed the doors on herself again. Clutching her bag to her chest, she ran up to his room. Her baby wanted her. Her freedom would have to wait today.

Graciously Yours!

P.S. : I do not know about other countries but I do know that such practices are rampant in India. How rampant, where, since when ~ I wish I could answer those questions with surety, but I cannot.

Picture Credits : Ishita Shah.

Of Darker Alleys (Part 1)

She squinted her eyes to block the Sun out. She counted the coins she had and kept them in a hidden pocket, of her money bag, she had sewn in. Today was the last day she had to do this. Not anymore.

She picked up her bags of vegetables. She saw the vendor stare at her mammary glands. Shuddering at the thought of what he may be thinking, she walked away. Today was the last day she would walk away silently. Not anymore.

She walked down to her home, no, her husband’s home. The men of the village knew what she was. The women of the village were silent watchers. There were many like her here. No one said anything aloud. But the way they stared at her, spoke to her, spoke about her, gave it all away. They were all hand in glove.

Two years ago, she’d set foot in the village. She was happy at the turn of events in her life. From dried grasslands into lush green living. She thanked her fortunes every day and showered love on her fortune changer. At the back of her mind, however she always found something amiss. She ignored it again and again. Her husband’s abject lack of affection, her in-laws’ desire for an early child, the villagers eyeing her with a look that could make fathers drive back daughters into the houses forever, the pity in the eyes of some women for her; it all kept prodding at that feeling of danger lurking around nearby.

Three months ago, she gave birth to her husband’s son. Everyone at the house was overjoyed. She wanted to die. She was a vessel for them. That is all she was. She may be sparsely educated but she was perceptive. She read people’s behavior, heard them talk, noticed things around. She didn’t want to believe her fate. Her husband had married her for a child. Like the other men in the village, he would sell her off after that. The first time her mother in law hugged her was after the test confirmed she was bearing a boy. She sobbed all night.

Once her son was born, she was rarely allowed to be with him. She was to only feed him and take care of him after the others were tired of playing with him. All she became was a nanny to her own son. She had hoped things would change after her child’s birth. They did. The people of the house showered affection. On her son.

(to be continued…)

Graciously Yours!

Awards.

This post was really long due!

Thank you, Prateek, for getting me out of my slumber! And nominating me for the Versatile Blogger award! He’s a recent addition to our WordPress family but his posts are very mature for an amateur. He’s going to bowl you over with his words and charm. Go check out his blog, after you’ve read mine 😉

Presenting 7 facts about me with a twist (With a bonus.)!

The day I came across this picture I realized how true it is. And yes, I have been blessed with a few of that kind! That also probably explains the lack of selfies on my phone with them!

Only comment on this, if you agree. Those who disagree, be tolerant enough to ignore. God would like it. (And so would I.)

You said it once. I didn’t get you. You said it twice. Still don’t get you. Thrice? *Fake laugh* . I can’t ask you for the fourth time, come on!

Exactly my point! And anyway, the Bollywood songs of my parents’ generations are much better than the ‘hookah bar’, ‘vodka’ and ‘baby doll’ songs being churned out by our generation. Occasionally gyrating to them is understandable. Chanting them like an anthem? Ridiculous!

They may start noticing it now. Ouch!

I am afraid if I don’t I will forget my grammar. And English spellings. My worst nightmare, probably! And also because I can’t stand wrong grammar. It pops out at me!

Don’t tell me you have never done this? Come on. At least once? At that night stay? Or when you were fooling around with your cousins? Or teaching your younger sibling nonsense? Still no? Try it tonight then!

8. Bonus point!

I’ll let the picture speak for itself!

Nominees :

A Shade of Pen ~ Soumya Chakraborty ~ One Gentleman’s Perspective ~ Stories From the Belly ~ Cat Jenkins ~ The World Past Me

Thank you Akanksha for nominating me for the Creative Blogger award! I know it’s a delayed acknowledgement. Sincere apologies! The young lady’s poetries are a pleasure to read and she is really versatile in her approach!

Pick out any 5 from the above facts about me to support this award!

Nominees :

Writing Stories Rocks ~ The Uncertainty Principle ~ Global Unison ~ Coffee Grounded’s Blog ~ Art of a Rambling Mind ~ iKu2e

Thank you Aquileana for nominating me with the Infinity Dreams award. Do check out her writings on Greek mythology, if it is a subject of your interest.

Nominees :

Archita Rai ~ The Uncertainty Principle ~ Global Unison ~ Coffee Grounded’s Blog ~ A Shade of Pen

Spread the love, people! Share facts, nominate people and don’t forget to mention me!

Graciously Yours!

Pictures Courtesy : Pinterest!

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