She struggled to hold on to an upturned umbrella that did little to shelter her against the monsoon deluge. Skipping over puddles of rain water, she ran towards the covered porch of the Nagpada Neighborhood House. Wisps of her wet hair curled and formed spiral ringlets that fell delicately over her brow. Raindrops dripping down …
Her bedroom window opened to the view of the Mahatma Phule Municipal Gardens, an oasis of serenity amidst the cacophony of the bustling city. The park was dotted with beautiful gulmohar trees and bougainvillea vines and had a lush rose garden with an ornate water fountain in the middle that never seemed to work. Dusty …
Wasim sat anxiously outside the office of Mr. Prakash Parikh, a director at the Research and Development department of Cipla Pharmaceuticals. There were three other young men in the waiting area, presumably after the same entry level position as a research assistant. There was a peon in a khaki dress, sitting on a stool outside …
She had finished her breakfast and was flipping through the pages of the Urdu daily, Inquilab. She liked to read about world events and local politics and opinions on religion and about the scandals of the rich and famous, the film stars. It had been a while since she has last seen a movie. She …
He watched the toast change color and become moist as it soaked up the tea, and just before it turned into a sloshy mess, he deftly pulled it out from the cup and slipped it into his mouth. He enjoyed these simple pleasures: the warmth of the tea, the little crunch still left in the …
The boys stood in a straight line facing her. She held the note she had received from their school and shook it in front of their faces. “What is this?” she demanded. Mahroof stared back at her defiantly. The swagger and confidence with which he carried himself, belied his fifteen years of age. He was …
Zanu, born Janardan Prabhudev Parikar, in the small but picturesque village of Shigra, was a long way from home. Having lost his mother when he was only four to tuberculosis and his father to alcoholism years earlier, he had had a difficult childhood. His two elder sisters took care of him till he was eight …
She woke up with a smile. She loved dreams. And the one she had just had was delightful. She didn’t remember the details but it had something to do with wearing high heels and running through green fields with her friends from the village. In the dream, she was still a girl but her friends …
The beads of sweat that had steadily been forming on her forehead started streaming down her cheek. Her breathing was labored and her lips felt parched. It could have been the heat and humidity of a feisty summer afternoon, or the dust and mildew in the stairwell, or just nervousness at starting this new chapter …