Prelude to a circle

“When did you see it last?” he asked his girl.
“I don’t know,” she wailed. “It was on me when I walked into the restaurant.”
She looked so sad, and her eyes were so large and ready to cry that his insides dissolved in a burst of affection. This led to kisses being exchanged and tender words [...]

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A corny short story I wrote seven years ago

I wrote a short story (“Middling”) sometime in early 2002 (or late 2001?) that I remember not being particularly pleased with. It was one of many results of a period when I tried my hand at fiction and poetry; doesn’t everyone go through such a phase? But anyway, I think it was a bad story. [...]

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A certain final exit

Twenty five years ago on this day, Cynthia Jefferies looked lovingly at her husband Arthur Koestler.
He was sick and  mentally decayed - the brilliant mind that wrote “Darkness at noon” was all but vanquished by Parkinson’s, the body was fighting a losing battle with leukamia. Yet, she knew that the essence of the man hadn’t yet gone away. And though [...]

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Outside Corner Bakery on a winter morning

It’s a brilliant morning. The air is cool and fresh, the sunshine abundant and there’s not a cloud in the sky. I sit on a metal chair outside Corner Bakery sipping my coffee. 
The road is full of colourful kids. It’s the annual parade day. They walk, they smile, some wobble along on their tiny bikes wearing their impossibly cute red [...]

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Morning colours

I entered my kitchen lethargically and lit the stove. The flame flickered uncertainly, then became a strong bluish-white as I turned up the gas. I poured some water in a steel saucepan and put it on to boil.
It was early and my housemate wasn’t yet up. I walked over to the veranda and stood there for a few [...]

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Mozart

It is summer, and there’s not much to do. In other words, there is plenty of opportunity to feel sad.
I suppose it is a season of dementors. They glide into you and take control, and sometimes they do their job so well that you think you’ll never be happy again. But eventually they let you [...]

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