Inner workings of an (in)sane mind

Prologue Last year was a difficult year for me. My father-in-law had been in and out of the hospital or should I say ICU. The story that I am going to tell is about a woman who I met in the hospital waiting room. She had lost her husband a couple of years ago. She was there for her father, who had suffered a stroke. Blame it on my mentality or just blame it on the way I was shown the world- I thought may be her father was stressed looking at his widow daughter with two sons, trying to make the ends meet. That's what widows do, don't they? Trying to make the ends meet. Her life story was an eye- opener and I am still reeling under it. *** Story It was an unusually warm summer morning. Mr Bakshi, a Vice-president in a Multinational bank had gone for his usual run. He was an over-ambitious go-getter. He was the youngest vice-presidents in the company. He seemed always awake and always on the go. By the time he returned home, he was panting and swe...

C razy S tupid L ove Siddharth and I had been friends since college. We got into the same IT firm through college placement. We were inseparable till Ananya, with her angelic face and figure-to-die-for, walked into our lives. I went to Jaipur for 5 days to attend a wedding and in those 5 days my friend had already fallen head over heels in love with this woman, presented her with gifts, dropped her home and even listened to her sob stories. Look at me, I know him since last 7 years other then few random birthday cards I never got anything from him. As it turns out Ananya already had a boyfriend.  This man can’t seem to make his mind about the girl. They break –up for a month and then they are back together for a couple of months to break up again. Every time this man breaks-up with Ananya… Ananya comes running back to Siddharth. Siddharth, being head over heels in love with her, accepts her with open arms. Like expected, when that boyfriend gets his periodical c...

(Based on a real life incident) Prateik had just won a scholarship from a very prestigious institute, everybody around him- his teachers, his friends and his principal- all were celebrating. But Prateik looked blankly at them, because this scholarship was useless. He got an 80% scholarship, still he was needed to pay for the remaining 20, which was way beyond his and his mother’s means. Prateik never had life easy. His father left him for another woman when he was just 6 years old. His mom worked as a maid in 4 different households to make her ends meet as well as educate her son. Prateik, after school, would work in a grocery store as a delivery boy. He knew his mum was growing old and he wanted her to relax and lead a comfortable life now. He couldn’t be selfish. He couldn’t ask her mother to arrange for Rs. 32,000.  The news of his scholarship had already reached his slum. As soon as he reached, everyone started congratulating him. He smilingly took all the wis...

Soul of a Star  Read Chapter 18  : Cinderella Chapter 19 Shekhar ran through the never ending by-lanes of Bandra, screaming Tara and Roohi’s name. He could hear them calling back but they were nowhere to be seen.He frantically searched for them. He kept walking – swiftly and breathlessly. Unconsciously his hand moved to wipe the sweat off his face. But as he looked at his hands it was covered in blood. With that he woke up... his shirt was soaking wet and he actually felt breathless as if he was running from the last couple of hours. He missed Tara and Roohi. He had never stayed away from them for so long.He wondered if they were alright and even ' alive' . As he was engrossed in his thoughts, a policeman called his name. He was soon escorted to a near-by room. The room was dark and dingy. The smell of dampness was too strong for anybody. It was nothing like they showed in the movies. After a few minutes a constable offered him a gl...

Read Chapter 12 - Legally speaking Soul of a Star Chapter 13- Tick Tock Two days before things start going terribly wrong... Jennifer stood outside Costa Coffee in Lokhandwala waiting for Tara. She looked around and couldn’t help wondering how come all good looking people live in Mumbai? Kochi was a very dull place for a single girl. And as she continued to wait, a man fidgeting with his laptop caught her attention- beautiful hands, beautiful face, crisp white shirt; he looked at her and they exchanged smiles. All of a sudden Jenny felt a tap on her shoulder. “If you are done flirting, can we please go inside the coffee shop...Jeez.” Tara said. “I wasn’t flirting.” She smirked. “I was just trying to check if the ol’ charm hasn’t started to rust. I am relieved I am still as good as new...in my case young.” Jenny had the naughtiest smile...which made her look like a teenager. “There is a part of me, who always wanted to be like you..the cr...

The soul of a star Chapter 1 - Hole in a Do-nut Tara stared at the beach with moist,misty eyes.  She watched the angry waves lashing onto the shores of Juhu. Her brain continued to ask “Now what?”every few moments as she twisted the already crumbled piece of paper in her hand. *** She couldn’t believe how her life- which a million girls would kill for- had turned into a living nightmare. She was a dancer, top-rated model and even acted in a couple of movies. She was the most sorted and highest –paid model on the Mumbai and Delhi ramp circuit...a showstopper for every designer, the “ Musthave” one. People used to say , “ If Tara is not there for your collection, there is surely no taara (star) in your work”. Who would have guessed she would fall in love with a dark, brooding writer? The man who seemed distant, aloof, someone with an aura of mystery around himself. The one who seemed to scream the “catch me if you can". Tara was used to being treated like a ...