In the summer of 1985 Arun KL confided in me. He was in love with a girl who was in my class. I was in seventh grade and he, in the eighth. He…
Category: stories
The Dream Is No More A Dream
Early 2016. An open-mic comedy night is in progress at Take 5, Bangalore . Aamer Peeran–possibly one of the wackiest comics around–is on stage, eating shit like it’s Thai food. Only a…
A Quick Update On Ranga Half Pants
Jaico, my publisher, had originally planned to launch Ranga Half Pants, my debut novel, in January 2016. But after consultations with the editors, we decided to push the book-launch out to April.…
A Long Cherished Dream
So all the readers of my blog, all three of you, yes, here is why I was not updating my blog. Read no? The past three years were tough. I quit my…
The Sceptical Patriot
Sidin Vadukut has found his niche methinks. And boy, has he nailed it! Sidin’s The Sceptical Patriot is a racy, fun read. Writing non-fiction is easy and tough at once. It is…
Ismail
“I sleep in the railway station.” Ismail said. I tried not to display my shock but I kept staring at him, biscuit dunked in my tea. He took a deep drag of…
Be Calm and say Ram, Ram
The monkey’s (Bonnet Macaque to the foaming-at-the-mouth naturalists) exterior calm belied his cruel intentions. I should have known better. Monkeys in Chittoor, back in 1984, were omnipresent. They stole your utensils, ransacked…
An Evening in Kalimpong
It hit me in Kalimpong. Not one commercial establishment had ‘West Bengal’ on their signage. It was always Gorkhaland. I could always shield my ignorance with the excuse that I am from…
Notes from a Mountain Hamlet – Part 2
Continued from part 1 26 Feb 2013, Lava The next day our plan to to go Chaudaferi didn’t materialise. A bunch of people were trekking through the trail, and Joseph thought it…
Notes from a Mountain Hamlet Part 1
23 February 2013 “We are building a Church.” Joseph Lepcha said and shook my hand. “Sorry I hope you didn’t have to wait for too long!” he continued. I dismissed his apprehension.…