Didi, didi, didi… Natasha braked her scooter as it skidded to a stop. Four ragged, untidy, unbathed and brightly smiling children surrounded her scooter and started fiddling with the mirror, the seat and the horn. Each holding a bunch of paper tricolors on sticks in one hand. “Didi, didi, why did you stop coming onContinue reading “Freedom”
Author Archives: Iris
Mismatched
It was a usual morning for Natasha. She snoozed the alarm ten times. Finally woke up with a jerk, realizing she would be late for a meeting, again. Scanned her messages, mails and the news notifications. Concluded again the end of the world was tonight. Brushed her teeth. Looked at the mirror and cursed herContinue reading “Mismatched”
Gone
A moment there, another, gone A moment, just, and nothing but A moment, infinite grief, borne A moment, a door, forever shut. Tis’ life, they say, they nod and shrug, Tis’ life, strange it is, hard luck, Tis’ life, I know, I can’t debug Tis’ life and this, it’s going to suck. A sadness creepsContinue reading “Gone”
The Swing.
“Nice girl”, what was her name again? Naniba asked as I closed the main door. “Naniba…!” I involuntarily rolled my eyes. You just finished talking with her for an hour about Khambaliya! How could you forget? Naniba smiled, her wistful, old person’s smile, reaching her soft brown crinkled eyes as she slowly straightened the palluContinue reading “The Swing.”
An Unusual Chat
Window Lizard: Hey there! Me: (Grunts and then silence) Window Lizard: Hey there! Me: You’re not real. Go away. Window Lizard: Ah ha! If I’m not real I cannot go away right? And if I go away then I ain’t not real, now. Got cha! Ha ha ha ha ha. Me: (Grunts and puts onContinue reading “An Unusual Chat”
Watch your Weight
I stared at the weighing machine scale. Willing it, with every fiber of my being to shift left, focusing all my brain waves into shifting it left, praying to all the gods I had once fed, to shift it left, making yet another deal with the universe, if only it shifted left. But it didn’t.Continue reading “Watch your Weight”
In-Flight Entertainment
**Trigger warning. If you are disturbed by humor based on body shaming, please do not read.** Air India has spaced out seats. Air India has great leg space. Air India has free snacks. Air India is awesome. But sadly, Air India is also sometimes super expensive. And so, here I was, seated in an inhumanlyContinue reading “In-Flight Entertainment”
Tryst with a Toddler
Jenny: Will you watch Diya today in the afternoon please? I need to finish some shopping. Me: Sure, why not? That would be fun. Some fai-bhanej time. Be there by 2? I’ll bring my laptop. Can wrap up some work while there. Jenny: Umm…..didi…. are you sure? If you have work, I can ask someoneContinue reading “Tryst with a Toddler”
Four Weeks
“Anyone help! Need a bed with oxygen in Rajkot” “Folks, anyone has contacts in Delhi? Need Remdesvir…” “My friend’s brother needs ECMO, any leverage in Baroda?” “Age 40, father of two, SpO2 at 60, help me find a ventilator bed in Chennai. No forwards. Please” “Need Amphotericin – B in Patna, any leads?” “Need woodContinue reading “Four Weeks”
Ten things to NOT do when the guy who dumped you gets married…..
For all those heartbroken souls out there, adding to the immense problem of global warming by throwing tear drenched tissues after tear drenched tissues into the endless landfills, overwhelming the universe with your sadness and sorrow, polluting the internet with cheesy memes about your broken hearts, let me tell you, as a five times experiencedContinue reading “Ten things to NOT do when the guy who dumped you gets married…..”
Dreams Unlimited 