Yesterday I dreamt a Black Hole!

Scientists speculated about the existence of black holes over a century ago. Nowadays it is commonly accepted that every galaxy in the universe has a black hole at its centre. And what is a black hole? A black hole is a region in the universe with gargantuan mass and high gravitational pull. The mass and gravity of such area exceed several times that of a common star like the Sun. Due its gravity, nothing can escape from a black hole, even the light rays, once they are caught inside by its borderline, called the event horizon. Since no light rays can come out of it, black holes always appear blank. They are invisible black areas in the universe which can be detected only by its interaction with nearby space, time and other matter in the vicinity.

A common visual representation of a black hole

Imagine a black hole as something like a water-well on our earth. Assume that, the well has some sort of magnetic capacity which will attract everything that goes above. If you try to peep into it, you are definitely pulled in, even if you are standing a bit away from its edge. And you can never ever escape. Whatever kinds of rescue devices are brought to this place, and whichever human of Supermanic abilities offered help, the recovery is impossible. Any such retrieval measures is suicidal; they will be killing themselves. The fate of something that goes into the well is uncertain, as nobody has so far returned, once went into the well…

…that was how a black hole appeared in my last night’s dream!

In the dream, I and my friend wished to go to someplace, and we had to go through the dreadful place where this well-like black hole existed. My friend was in haste, so he left first, and I agreed to go after him. I never imagined that my friend would have shown that condemnable courage to offer a furtive look into the black hole. But, fatal things happen sans any procrastination, though happiness always comes delayed.

Water well

That was shocking! I never guessed my friend would have even dared to go close to the well. How could he act so stupidly? So what I do next? I have another friend, a trusted one. I can rely on him, though I am unsure about his capabilities. We both decided to go to the black hole for a sneaky inspection. We found the black hole has a circular sidewall apart from the concrete bar overhead supported on two vertical columns.

Though we both were hesitant a bit to approach the black hole, we decided to offer a cautious glance, doing away with our fear. We went close and tried to look into the well, by clutching firmly on the sidewalls. Everything is dark inside the wall. Darkness gushes upwards in a continuous manner from the depth of the well and comes to a halt at the edges of the sidewalls. Is there something attracting us smoothly? We leant a little more towards the mouth of the water well. And yeah, that is true! There is a sort of magnetic pull coming from the depth of the chasm. We withdrew ourselves back. So, it is true! Our friend has done what he shouldn’t have attempted.

A problem! My friend couldn’t have gone inside by simply looking into it. Because as we experienced, the magnetic attraction was not so great that it did not pull us while standing close to it. My reliable friend came with a solution. As we are close to the black hole, we could have controlled the time. Yes, the time! According to Physics, the time in the surroundings of a black hole runs slower than on earth due to gravity. By the way, do you remember Interstellar (2014), the film by Christopher Nolan? We can’t be sure if my friend is completely lost forever in space-time, or whether he is experiencing the pleasant state of timelessness in the web of the black hole.

My reliable friend tried to do something that I couldn’t have done. He manipulated the time, and we both went back to a time phase in the past. We found ourselves exactly a few hours back from the present. We saw my former friend standing at the tip of the black hole. What is he doing there?

We saw him climbing on a nearby tree, and jumping down in such a way that he would not have fallen directly into the well. I understood! He is testing the magnetic power of the well. Would he be pulled in by the black hole, if he let him fall from the tree above, by narrowly missing the mouth of the well? That’s what he is testing. Having such an idiotic curiosity is surely poisonous. We saw him falling straightly into the black hole while jumping down from the tree slightly allowing his body parts to be at the magnetic field of the black hole that extends infinitely upwards. Having witnessed the mishap, my reliable friend brought both of us back to the present time.

After waking up from the dream, I soon recollected that all the history of the entire universe is recorded in a mixed language of English and Mathematics on the inner walls of the well. The inner walls were imprinted by amber coloured digital figures all the way from the top, and that writings extended infinitesimally towards a bottom that existed somewhere in the far ends of the universe. 

It seems that reading hypothetical scenarios in Quora makes me watch such weird dreams nowadays.

Chat with Shetall Ramsinghani

I happened to meet Shetall Ramsinghani a few months back through social media. Shetall is a Delhi based blogger and a writer, who has published two books, “Love beyond Veils”, and “The Golden Hour”.

Shetall’s writings appear to me as ‘a soothing, and silent celebration of solitude’!

It’s surprising to see her thoughts mix melancholy with romance; and sometimes with an additional tinge of fantasy. On certain writings, I found her thoughts courting with the nature. Her writings very unexpectedly take us from present to past in a very swift shift through the memory lane.

Here she is talking about her latest work, “The Golden Hour”.

VM: Who is the author “behind” the book?

Shetall: Hi, I am Shetall Ramsinghani born and bought up in New Delhi and presently working for a Diplomatic Mission i.e. for a foreign government for their office in India. I have completed my graduation in Bachelor of Arts from Delhi University. My first book Love beyond Veils was a book of poems which was created with my thoughts and with the guidance of my higher self.

Shetall Ramsinghani

Later on I started participating in various competitions also and won U.K pet poetry competition in 2013.

VM: Do you have any particular literary influences that have helped you develop in your genre, subject and style?

Shetall: No, I write my heart out 

VM: Please briefly describe your book. 

Shetall: The Golden Hour is my second book which was released on 06th June, 2014 by Partridge India publication. It has short imaginary stories of what I have seen and observed in my daily life. The Golden Hour is a varied and exciting collection of short stories with situations we face in our daily lives in cities. Some have the irony of life and some give you the strength and positive energy to move ahead no matter how life treats you. I have dedicated this book to my late grandfather Shri Gopal Das Ramsinghani, who passed away in August, 2013. The one who taught me how to live life with morals.

VM: What inspired you to write your book and how long did it take you to finish it? 

Shetall: My grandfather was very fond of reading short stories and he enjoyed reciting them to me every evening after I returned home from work. After I lost him in August 2013, I recalled how he used to divert my mind from daily humdrum with the stories he used to read during the day after retirement. It  took me an year to finish this book as I am a working woman and when priorities gets mixed with passion it does take time.

VM: What is the one message you would like to convey to your readers about your book?

Shetall: Logic can take you from A to B but imaginations can take you anywhere and everywhere. Come join my imaginations while reading my stories and for a while live in your own world. Trust me, you won’t regret it.

VM: Are you working on a sequel to your book? 

The Golden Hour Cover

Shetall: No, I would be working on a different project now. It would be a totally different experience for me and of course a new era with learning for me and the readers

VM: Are there any events, marketing ideas or promotions planned for your book?

Shetall: I have been promoting my book through social media and recently got my book reviewed by a journalist also. Please find the link here.

VM: What advice would you give to aspiring authors? 

Shetall: Live your passion, you have only one life 

Thank you Shetall for the time spent with Vanity Moments.

The Scent of Love - 5

Whenever he was at his home or somewhere, separated from the college campus, the fragrance of jasmine flowers gifted him the memories of Tina. His imaginations of Tina took life when his olfactory glands got the sensation of Jasmine. He lived with her in his fantasies when the fragrance of Jasmine flowers surrounded him, when the waves of a distant music touched his eardrums. Every night he dreamed her; and in his dreams, Tina inadvertently raised her face, and showered a beautiful smile for him. While walking through the streets, while doing some routine jobs, when the wind inadvertently brought the fragrance of Jasmine flowers to his nose, Tina came to his font walking from an unknown and unexpected universe.

Albert was never able to open up his heart in front of Tina. Being dangerously shy, Albert had many times purposefully avoided the situations in which he could have been together with her. His unrequited love had made him an introvert at some point of time during his college days. Tina was an outgoing type. She never came to know about her shy college mate’s increasing feelings for her. She never had any hint on the grade of madness that a person suffers due to his inability to confess his love for her.

An angel does not make a good spouse in marriage. Albert always continued to think about her as an angel. So he quit loving her, because of his inability to confess love. But wherever the destiny took him, on the beautiful paths of his life, Jasmine flowers showered scented smiles for him, and he was never able to forget Tina.

Rain was gradually sinking. Albert found himself standing below the Grand Mum tree completely soaked. He wondered, what was that which shifted his three years old memories of Mili to eight years old memories of Tina. It was the scent of Jasmine flowers, brought by the rain drops and wind.  

For Albert, waiting for Mili was not a new experience. After three years long separation, they were going to meet again that day. It was just one night before, he got a call on his phone from an unknown number. When he attended it, a very recognizable voice echoed from the other end. Mili! How he could have forgotten her voice? He wondered.

They agreed on a rendezvous, the Grand Mom Tree in the Rajaji Park, where they used to frequent. The rain was not unanticipated. Because, Albert knew that the nature would be keeping something unanticipated every time for him and her.

Mili appeared with an umbrella in hand, along with the sunlight that was brightened following the rain. She came like a breeze, carrying all the beauty of the wind. He watched curiously at the changes happened to her face. She still has that mysterious smile, he thought. He was curious about her long time separation,

“I wanted to be grown older Albert. I wanted to shed my immaturity”, she said.

He laughed it off. She apologized for the long time absence from his life.

“I learned that I could never stop loving you”, she revealed.

She was despondent after their last meeting at Albert’s apartment. Her only option was to go to the hiding of another city, where she grew up, in order to save her from the mixed emotion she had developed.

They remained sometimes in silent, looking at the edges of universe located far away at the opposite ends.

“What is your plan now?” She asked.

“I want to live just like this. If I get a companion for life, I will make sure that it will be a trusted lifelong partnership”, Albert said.

They wanted to be together again. They recollected the events of their togetherness. How they spent time in restaurants, theatres, parks, and in beaches; how they shared the same umbrella while walking through the streets during hot noon times, and how they ran to find a shelter under the local shops when the rain all of a sudden extended its tentacles towards them.

“Mili, I believe my life with you will be happy and funny. Even though we are humans, I will try my best to make a heaven for you. I will not make you sad, I promise”, he asked at the end, “Will you be mine?”

He saw her eyes were wet then. She was trying to smile between tears. He opened her arms for her, and in moments, she rushed to the shelter of his embrace.

Holding the hands of each other, they walked to the other end and disappeared. The Grand Mom Tree wished them good luck by waving its tree trunks.

A slight breeze came touching the leaves of the trees, carried the light tint of the fragrance of Jasmine flowers away, which had been lingering there the whole time. 

(The End)

The Scent of Love - 4

“What are you looking at, Mili?”, the question came from his throat.

“Nothing”, she shrugged her shoulders instantly without turning back.

He placed his jaw on her shoulder, and smelt her shampooed hair. When his breath tickled her, she responded by slightly twisting her neck, and lifting her shoulder. When his arms covered her hip and held her close from behind, she closed her eyes, enjoying the warmth of his embrace. He loosened his grip, and made her stand facing him. Looking deeply into her eyes, he said her that he loved her. Their lips mated, and it lasted for minutes. When it was over, she was fully turned on. He led her to his bed, and made her recline on it. His fingers caressed her shivering physique from tip to toe; his lips touched and felt the sensitivity of her skin, while it was getting revealed more and more.

It was the noon time, might be the hottest of the season. Below the ceiling fan, which was revolving in full momentum, Albert and Mili explored the hidden sensual magic. When she silently requested for his love with eyes full of lust, he took her to newer forages of love through continuous strokes and fondling. She cried, and closed her eyes, when they became unified in one motion. The tiny golden hair everywhere on her body projected out of follicles in admiration of his zest and zeal.

After it was over, when Albert and Mili rested on the bed looking silently at the momentum of the fan above, she unwrapped a chewing gum and put it in her mouth. With his eyes closed, he felt the fresh smell of chewing gum filled in the room, while her delicate fingers moved stealthily through his bare chest. But, when he opened his eyes after hours, he realized that he was alone in the room. A lighter tint of the aroma of chewing gum was still lingered around, as a sign of the lustful moments that had passed.

Albert hadn’t seen her after that. He tried to call her, but no one was there to respond. It worried him. There was a girl with whom he shared his love, but now no evidence of that love was remaining. He felt that he had been cheated. On such depressed nights, with a heavy heart, he despondently reflected about his lost innocence. Then came to his mind, to console his sad-stricken soul and heart, his teenage crush Tina, unveiling the dust-coated curtain of past memories.

He had visions in which the fragrance of fresh Jasmine flowers tickled his nostrils, while the smiling Tina, made a quick peep at his recollections. He found resort and rest in the thoughts of scented Jasmine flowers, which carried his delicate heart to his innocent younger days.

Albert was just seventeen. A very immature boy, who had never dared to look into the eyes of a girl. He never believed that he had the capability to attract a girl, which ruled out the possibility of him falling in love. But he understood that his realizations were wrong, when he first saw Tina, when their eyes met by the pure choice of destiny, when their eyes trapped in that universal lock for seconds, producing lightning strikes. He knew that his concepts about himself and love were wrong. He could also fall in love, and she was an angelic girl, with a beautiful and cheerful smiling face.

His study times were troubled by the intermittent appearance of her smiling images in front of his virtual eyes. Imagining the girl’s figure in his mind, he had loved her very dearly. He fantasized a future, in which she lead him to the wonders of love, where they lived for long, somewhere beneath the different layers of dreams, fondling memories and music.

Tina used to sing on stages. Once, when she was singing on the stage, Albert with palpitating heart, went to the front portion of the auditorium and sat on one of the first rows. His presence turned everyone’s head, as he had put some intense-smelling Jasmine flowers in his pocket. Its strong seductive aroma surrounded him. When his close friend asked him about the Jasmine flowers in his pocket, he said him secretively,

“It has her smell, Tina’s!”

He listened to her song, all the time watching her. Sometimes she glanced at him, which made him happy. Each of her glances had the power to stimulate him romantically, and the Jasmine flowers in his pocket carried him and her to a wider and greener meadow in his visions, where he found him and her alone. Her song echoed in his mind all the time, gracefully. He kept on sensing the beguiling aroma of the flowers, watching her admiringly, while imagining a halo around her head.

(The story will be completed in the next chapter)

The Scent of Love - 3

Albert got depressed, as his moral consciousness was very dominating. When he weaved sexual illusions around her thoughts, he had regret for fantasizing about a girl who had developed a strong trust in him. 

Albert’s friends encouraged him to reveal his love for her. 

“I will go mad being unable to reveal my love for her”, he lamented.

Albert still remembered that incident, on a sunny day, when they both were walking through the solitary tracks of the Rajaji Park, he got irritated by her chewing habit. 

“Mili, stop masticating like this, and listen to me”, Albert exasperated.

That was for the first time, Mili saw a variant expression from him. He appeared to her only as a nice guy, someone she could have confided her wishes and secrets. But the infuriated appearance clearly disturbed her.

“But Albert, you said it has a pleasant smell, and you like it, no?” Chasing Albert, and blocking his path, she asked showing emotionally wet eyes.

He didn’t answer. But when she pestered him with the same question, he felt regret for shouting at her, for making such a lovely girl so desperate.  When his eyes also filled with tears, he put his fingers on her shoulder in order to console her. He didn’t know what he was doing, when he pulled her towards him, and when her lips were trapped between his. That lock of lips lasted for some seconds. He loosened his clutches only when she started to resist, when she realized that she was kissed on her lips by her most trusted friend. She was very furious, and she lashed at him for breaking the trust. Albert had difficulty in facing her, though he was happy at the new evolution in their relationship. But, when he walked away, she felt that she was deserted after being stolen so mercilessly. 

She wanted to know if what he had in his mind for her were real feelings. She questioned him. He found her confused posture, wet eyes, trembling lips, and her expanding and contracting bosom as somehow provocative from his male point of view. He caught her in another embrace, and he led her towards another passionate kiss, which lasted longer.

“I always loved you Mili, I love you very much, I can see you only as my lover”, he confessed while kissing her on her face, on her eyes, and on her neck. That day Albert was very happy, though Mili was a bit disturbed by the sudden change in their relationship. She was worried about falling in love again, since earlier when love happened to her, it had given her heart pain and worry.

They went to theatres, bunking her classes, and taking half day leaves from his office. In theatre, when everyone found comfort and misery in the moving shades on the screen, his fingers caressed her sensitive and delicate thighs, tight-fitted in jeans, slowly, and affectionately. She tried to control her smile, biting her lips. But, when he stopped loving her like that, she wanted those tickling touches again.

“We are sinning Mili, I am worried”, he whispered on her ears. 

“My friends do more than this with their boyfriends”, came a daring reply from her.

She shared her lunch with him. She fed him with the same spoon from her tiffin box. After such many encounters, they wanted to do more than just touching and fondling.

It happened on a hot summer day. Albert’s friends had left for home as it was a weekend. However, he remained there in his single room apartment, expecting Mili. When he heard calling bell, he opened the door, and let Mili enter the room. She was shaking a bit. The hot noon had turned her cheeks into crimson, enhancing the charm of her fair complexion. The velvet jeans, and the black sleeveless kurti with full of red flowers enhanced her beauty.

He gave her some fruits. He showed her old photographs, in which a younger him smiled mischievously at her. He showed some of his advertising assignments, captions wrote for print ads, and sought her opinion regarding them. She walked to the window, and gazed outside holding the windowsill. Watching her posture from behind, he recognized her as the most beautiful creature in the whole world. His heart craved for her. He wanted to show her how much he cared for her, how much he loved her. He slowly approached her, and stood just behind her to see what she was watching.

(To be Continued)

The Scent of Love-2

Chapter 2

When the media campaign started rolling, many girls and boys who worked in the assignment rang up at the office and asked for more works, and some appeared in person. But Mili didn’t show up, even though she was well placed in the advertisements. Albert’s office didn’t have her number too, to call her in the pretext of giving appreciations for the team’s good work.

Albert remembered a Sunday; when he was in a shopping mall, he immediately had Mili’s thoughts. His eyes became wider, and his face assumed an alarming look, when a couple just passed him. The woman of the pair had a fragrance that appeared like the smell of the chewing gum. But, the girl wasn’t Mili. He suddenly saw her face in his imaginations, vividly, chewing all the while, and presenting an impish smile for him. He realized that he was falling in love with a girl, whom he had seen only once.

He accidentally met Mili on the street, some days after. She was walking against him, carrying a rainbow coloured umbrella in her hand, and an academicians’ bag on her shoulder. Her glasses were totally dark in the day light. 

Seeing him, she happily smiled. Though it was their first meeting since the ad shoot, he felt that they had been seeing each other for a long time. They spoke sans any apprehension, freely, as if they were friends since long.

“It is a very hot day. If you want, you may come under the shades”, she invited him.

When she came close to him and let him also enter beneath her umbrella, the intense smell of her chewing gum pierced his nostrils. 

“Do you eat chewing gum always?” He asked.

“I don’t! I just chew them”, smiling heartily, she said. Smile is a good match for her face, Albert thought.

“But, somehow I am addicted to it, if that’s what your question meant”, she added.

“It has a pleasant smell”, Albert mentioned.

“A sexy smell?” she asked naughtily.

“I don’t know if it is sexy. Why do you think so? ” Albert posed a question.

“It’s my friends’ opinion”, carelessly she said.

“Oh, you have so many friends to make such comments? ”, he remarked enviously. 

Standing below her umbrella, Albert noticed a pair of playfully smiling eyes through her specs. The smile on her eyes gradually spread towards her cheeks, making it all red and finally reached her mouth, letting her scarlet lips split apart. When her womanly smell – the smell of an excited woman – combined with the smell of her chewing gum stirred up him, his blood boiled. He wanted to simply put a kiss on her lips. When she noticed his eyes assuming a different color, she suddenly said,

“See, I have one more, if you want it”, pulling out a chewing gum from her bag she gave it him.

Albert smelt it. Unwrapping the cover, he put it in his mouth, and began to taste it as if he was chewing something which was very delicious. She laughed at the way he tasted it.

Albert reflected deeply about their initial love blooming days. He was introduced among her friend circle as her best friend. His profession as an ad film maker was acceptable among her scholarly friend circle. She was pursuing MPhil in Sociology. An MPhil graduate, who should belong to the cluster of intelligentsia, how got an interest in modeling? he wondered. 

“I don’t like to be trapped in the restrictions set by any profession,” that was her reason for that.

They both went to eateries on holidays. When they engaged in talks sitting opposite, his sinful eyes wandered unintentionally from her face to downwards, escaping the eye contact they had been maintaining. Albert had guessed that Mili was getting enough hints regarding his growing attraction for her, through some unintentional gestures of passion.

He day-dreamed Mili every now and then. In every such reveries, her luscious figure charmingly invited him to the pastures of pleasure with a gum in mouth, all the time jawing close to his lips, sensually. Every morning, he woke up imagining the smell of a woman’s sweat blended together with the smell of chewing gum.

(To be Continued)

The Scent of Love-1

Chapter 1

Standing below the Grand Mom Tree in the Rajaji Park, Albert eyed lazily the surrounding greeneries. Seeing the flowers, the rusted old metallic chairs, and the couples who sat on them, he imagined that some of his looming memories were engaged in playing Hide and Seek below the tree trunks and between the flowering plants and creepers. It was a drop of water that fall on his face, as the harbinger of the rain, woke him up from his thoughts.

Albert’s memories traversed back while his eyes scanned the surroundings. Exactly three years back, when he sat waiting at one of those metallic seats, it had been drizzling slightly. That was a soothing, romantic, but pitiful touch of wetness. The couple who sat at the next chair rushed to their vehicle before the flimsy hands of rain could catch them.

That day, Albert with contempt in heart, remembered the agony of not seeing his girl. When he rang up her fully agitated, she picked the phone and said casually and mockingly,

“Can’t you see Albert? It is raining heavily. How could I come outside now?” 

Hours long hopeful wait just shattered. It is like that! When you desire something for long with full of confidence and trust, you would not be able to cope with reality after it is lost. You will still be waiting, but that wait will be an agonizing one, never as sweet as you felt it before.

Remembering those three years old love-stricken times he spent with Mili, Albert remained in the rain that just attained force. It was rain that took his memories three years backwards. Nature always has that wonderful ability to make our memories sway between past and present. He didn’t feel to rush to find a shelter of any of the nearby shops, or in the comfort of his car parked some yards away at the public parking slot. Some years back, he was full of joy irrespective of the seasons, though he wasn’t a financially comfortable person like he is now. But now, the fortune he earned has made him a lazy guy.  All wet in the rain, Albert sat there on the half wall at the entrance of the park. At a distance, he could see the old metallic chair that he used to frequent with Mili during his first years in that city.

Albert learned, apprenticed and became a master in the Advertising field. He was a trainee copywriter in the beginning, and later was appointed in the video division of the same advertising agency.

Albert remembered the day, when a pretty urban girl wearing specs stepped into the shooting floor with some other boys and girls of the same age. She was cast as one of the several models; to pose for a photo shoot as part of a national ongoing media campaign about the importance of putting one’s vote.  She had a face that missed smile very badly, as Albert had observed at the first sight. She used to fondle her straight golden hair over and over again. Hair golden locks scattered all over her face, when she threw her face to the other side pompously. 

Albert had to brief about the assignment to all models individually. When the girl who caught his immediate attention was called, he found that he was being stared by two piercing eyes of her. It was the girl, Mili! When he tried to smile at her, she just nodded posing a grim face. From the moment Albert saw her, he noticed that the girl had a chewing gum in mouth. She might have been using it to make her appear cool and headstrong. When he tried to intimidate her by breaking into her personal zone, the intense aroma of the chewing gum pierced his nostrils. 

Mili was excited, when she was given an overview of the pose that she needed to apply for the photo shoot.  Albert noticed that she had a sensually stimulating womanly aroma, and he found it as a fragrance. The mixed smell of her chewing gum and the smell of her pheromones loafed around him, and tickled his olfactory glands even after she left.

 During the shoots, Albert glanced at her standing behind the shooting crew. When she posed to the suggestions by the director and photographer, she looked at Albert for his approval nod. 

(To be continued) (An attempt to write online novels)

The Story of a Murder

(Previously written for contest)

With nervousness, I stepped in to the police station, when I was summoned by the officer with two stars on his shoulder. The officer, who was a gentlemen, quite unlike the policemen type whom I got acquainted through fiction, and films, flashed a hearty laugh, but covered in an alarming kind of look, as soon I was shown up.

He asked me to take a chair in front of me, which I accepted. He asked my name, and some vital information, and finally asked sharply,

“Mr. Roshan, do you know why you are here?”

I shrugged my shoulders while making a noise indicating the negative sense, by releasing my lips swiftly at the same time letting the air pass out through the slit created between the lips.

“You said you are living in a rented apartment with your half brother named Abel?”

“Not quite so,” I said, and made my point once again clear, “I ‘was’ living there till I left that place a few weeks ago…”

“Okey”, the officer interrupted. “One question, you said he was your half brother. How you both are related?”

“We both have the same father. After my mother was dead, he married again, and Abel was born”

“Okey..Okey..”, he nodded. After thinking for a few seconds, he looked at me and asked me, “And now where you are living?”

“I am not currently living in the city. I stopped the life here and decided to go back to my own past settlements”

“What does that statement mean, Mr.Roshan?” 

“Sir, I did several jobs here, and met with failure most of the times. So I decided to go back to my native place, which happens to be a suburb of this city, tucked some twenty kilometers away from this place”. I told him the correct location. The officer ordered a constable to check the whereabouts I told him. He walked back, and asked me,

“Mr. Roshan, from your words, and from the description about yourself what I understand is that you are a desperate man”

“Yeah, kind of,” I agreed slightly embarrassed.

“Desperate means, doubtful, skeptical, and sometimes very prone to do violent things, like killing a person, even if he is your brother” the officer said watching me keenly through a pair of inquisitive and sparkling eyes.

I was startled and looked at him questioningly.

“Mr. Roshan, your brother Abel was found murdered last night in the same apartment where you both had been living for the past days”, he said.

For some moments, I couldn’t believe my ears. It was like getting a thrash on my head with a hammer. I felt that everything in the room was circling me. I screamed aloud.

“Stop that scream!” the officer ordered. “Because you are the prime suspect.”

“No..No..”, I cried aloud, trying to cover both my ears. The officer walked towards me, sat on the table close to me, and said, “Roshan, we have every reason to count you as the culprit,”

I tried to prevent him from accusing me again. But he kept on asking me questions.

“Roshan, your statements are contradictory. You said you were living away from the city. If so, how the police found yourself clad in blood stained clothes in the morning in front of the same apartment where your brother was stabbed and killed brutally?”

“Sir, I don’t know anything sir. I was rung by him yesterday.  He wanted to see me as he had to share with me some important matters,” I said.

“From where he called,” 

“He called from his cell phone number,” I said. When the officer asked me to proceed, I continued. “As it was not usual for him to share things with me, I decided to not visit the city. But in the evening, I thought I would make a quick visit in the night itself, so that I can go back today morning itself. Besides, I had to collect something from him which I left in the apartment last time when I quit that place. So, I decided to come by the night itself”

“At what time you started your journey from your home?”

“Sir, I caught the last local train, which was at 11 O’clock in the night.”

“That means, probably you could reach the city within half an hour. So by 11.30, you reached your brother’s apartment?”

“No sir, I had to walk all the four kilometers to reach the apartment after getting down at the railway station. Since I did not get any bus that way, I preferred to walk after eating and drinking some tea and snack from the wayside eateries”

“So, at what time you reached your brother’s apartment?”, the officer asked me in a shrewd manner. 

“By 3 O’clock in the morning” I said.

“Let me see”, the officer mused, “I can walk two kilometers in half an hour. That means, you could have taken only 1 or utmost one and a half hours to reach the destination. If the time taken to eat the snacks is counted, you could have reached the apartment by 1 AM. Why did you take two hours more?”

“Sir, on the way back I witnessed an accident near the Rain-Tree Junction. I spent some time there”

“Oh, the tragic car accident happened at night. Okey, you witnessed that incident right?”

I nodded.

“Well, Roshan, Did your brother know that you were in the city. Did you have any phone contacts?” the officer asked.

“Yes, sir. Through our next door neighbor who called up on my phone twice in the night to check if I was on the way”

“Who is that?”, the officer questioned.

“Sir, it is Viky, the newspaper distributer, who lived in the next apartment,” I said.

“Oh, I see. It was this Viky who informed the police in the morning about the murder of your brother. He happened to see your brother soaked in blood through the window, and yourself sleeping in front of the verandah in a half conscious state with blood stained dresses. Mr. Roshan, let me ask you one question, what is the last thing you remember before you slept there?”

“Sir, by 3 O’clock in the morning, I reached the apartment. I knocked at the door, but my brother did not open the door. Since he was a heavy sleeper, I thought I would sleep on the verandah itself” I said with bitterness.

“Okey, do you remember anything strange before you went to sleep” the officer asked.

“Sorry sir, I was very sleepy that night, so I couldn't remember anything. But, I think it started slightly raining just that moment I reached the apartment” I said.

The officer looked at me for some moments. Then he said me in a lower voice. “Mr. Roshan, I don’t know if you are telling the truth. Contrary to that, there are several reasons to believe that you have committed the crime. You have the motive, you have the opportunity, and evidences are against you. But something makes me think that you are telling the truth. To be frank, I had received a prophetic kind of SMS last night on my cell phone from an unknown caller. Seeing the queer message on my cell phone, we tried to track the location of the messenger. But, by that time, we received information about the accident that you witnessed in the night. Since we need to cover the accident area, the case of the unknown caller was forgotten. If you want to see the message, I can show you that,” saying so, the officer pulled out his cell phone from his pocket, and showed a message he received last night.

The message read like this, “Just like Cain killed Abel, and blood quenches its thirst by drinking itself, another bloodshed will take place tonight”

I was locked up for some weeks for the responsibility of my brother’s murder. But the officer went on with his own investigation. Later the truth was surfaced. I was becoming a scapegoat for my own brother’s revenge. He was a drug addict. Cursing me for his failure, he decided to commit suicide and frame me for his murder. At the time I stopped association with him, he was almost doomed, because of his addiction for drugs. The night he planned to commit suicide, he invited me to his apartment. It was he who had sent an unknown SMS to the cell phone of the officer at the nearby police station. He was tracking my movements, by asking the neighbor Viky to call me from his mobile. When I reached the apartment, he was using sedatives and painkillers. He sprinkled blood on me hiding on top of the terrace, which I had mistaken for raining. And after I slept, he inflicted stabs on himself twice, but his death happened due to self poisoning.

Chitrangada’s Father

(A short story previously written for a contest)

Inspector Meghnad had a tough cold that day. He sneezed and coughed inadvertently. While sneezing convulsively, he glanced at the constables, and saw some of them laughing at him in a hidden manner, seeing him trying to get the towel from his pocket. Though that irritated him a bit, he simply smiled at the head constable Somdev, since they had some years’ long friendship, which was immeasurable by the hierarchies. As they both were posted to that small town station, where criminal activities were scarcely heard of, both had found most often the life there as monotonous.

Head Constable Somdev left the station for his daily rounds. He used to visit the town highlights, meet people, and make friends with the gentlemen and ruffians alike. Meanwhile, Meghnad sent a sentry for one latest weekly from the nearby shop, and began to read once he got it. While reading his favorite novels to kill the time, he accidentally immersed into thoughts and successively into sleep. 

When Meghnad was waked up from the sleep, he saw Somdev in front of him tapping his shoulders, so irreverently, as Meghnad felt. Scratching his eyes, Meghnad tried to get away from his impending sleep. Along with Somdev, an elderly man also was standing there in front of him. Meghnad watched him keenly. May be around his sixties, he had not shaved for several months, and was clad in torn dirty clothing. 

Questioningly Meghnad looked at Somdev. As what Somdev informed, the aged man was trying to commit suicide, not alone, with a 3 year old little girl. Some people of the town found him trying to jump into the river, though initially they did not suspect anything. But, when they understood what he was aiming at, they caught him, and rescued the girl who was crying inconsolably. 

“And where is that girl?” Meghnad queried after a short pause which he utilized for a quick sneeze. 

Another constable brought a little girl, clad in a dirty dress. Seeing the girl, the inspector reflected deeply, taken strongly aback by the sad plight of the poor girl. He questioned the old man. Initially he said nothing. But when Meghnads tone of questioning changed into threatening, the old man opened up, 

“I am Chitrangada’s father”, he said. “This is her child, my granddaughter. She is a little girl with no one to point out as her father”, he began to weep uncontrollably. 

The Inspector shocked. His thoughts traversed back. Chitrangada was in news some four years back. She was abducted by a woman and a man. The man who was the woman’s accomplice in sex trafficking, first trapped Chitrangada, by making her fall in love with him using his sugary words, and gifting her cheap things which worth no money. As she was a silly girl, living with her poor father and mother, those gifts were big things for her. But later, this man and the woman abducted her. He used her for his sexual gratification first, and took her to a resort in a tourism destination. There she was presented to many people, who were adorning some powerful political chairs, and celebrity status. For over a period of one month she was transported from places to places and was presented to so many men as a “fresh piece”. She was in no position to protest, as she was threatened by the woman who abducted her.

When she was saved by some social workers and political activists, she was in a very broken state. The advocates who joined hands with the vile persons argued that she could have escaped several times from the clutches of her trappers, but she didn’t do it as she was enjoying all those men. The arguments raised by the people who rescued her that she was suffering from a kind of Stockholm Syndrome - which is actually the reasonless empathy that a captive feels towards his or her capturers - was not considered seriously by the jurors. In the end, all the persons who tortured her were acquitted and Chitrangada and her family were left with utmost pain and humiliation.

After his serious thoughts about those tragic incidents, Inspector Meghnad asked the old man to tell what happened now to see them both in such a situation.

The old man replied, “What could I have done sir? Upon sympathy, my daughter was given a minor job in a government sector, but everywhere she was humiliated and was mocked. She was a subject of lustful looks of and heinous comments by the vile persons. She was just treated as an object. She was pregnant, after those incidents, and she gave birth to a baby girl, and that girl is now with me”. Everyone in the police room looked that girl sympathetically.

“My daughter was undergoing depression, so one day she simply put an end to her disgraced life by hanging herself. Her mother also died due to cardiac arrest. To escape from that world of shame and tragedy, I decided to put an end to both of our lives,” the old man stopped his narration.

His story put Megnhad into utter confusion. He did not know what to do next. But as a solution, he decided to contact a Children’s Home bearers to take care of the little girl. He decided to not interfere into the case of denying justice to Chitrangada, as the incidence was also involved by some top police officials. Moreover, Meghnad never wanted to spoil his peace of mind.

One day later, the officials from Childrens Home came to take the girl. The old man with tear filled eyes, accompanied them to the car carrying the little girl on his shoulder. He said that it might be his last chance to carry her on horseback, and for her, which might be the last chance to enjoy such horseback rides, while her grand pa treads like a horse carrying her on his broad, yet weak shoulders.

Kings for Hire

As the celebrated childhood days had been undergoing its inadvertent fadeout, I suddenly woke up and started writing a playful animal story in order to rescue the magnificence of the immature days from dying away. As I recollected in my previous post, writing animal stories was the favorite pastime of my childhood days.  So, if I stop writing such stories, that simply signifies that I lost my childhood. I didn't want to submerge such a beautiful phase of my life into a bottomless chaos made of destiny, nature and time. And so, as a final attempt, I tried to scribble something. The outcome was qualitatively better than my prior writings, but it possessed only the one third of innocence that my earlier stories had done. Here is the synopsis of my last animal story written several years ago. It was written in the format of a drama, and was divided into five or more acts.

In the first scene, all the animals were marching to the daily conference that happens in front of the Lion King’s home. This particular day, they all were shocked hearing a news from the Minister Fox, regarding their greatly loved and adored King. According to a Messenger Monkey who reached that forest from one of the neighboring forests representing its aged reigning Lioness, the Lion King had to resign from the present forest, and had to take over the charge of the neighboring forest. The eldest of all animals was Uncle Bear, who had some memories regarding the claim by reigning Lioness of the neighboring forest. The Lion King’s grandfather actually was from the neighboring forest.  He had some quarrels with his father, so he came to this forest, with his wife and son (the Lion King’s father). The old Uncle Bear was a toddler then, and since he and the Lion Kings father were of the same age, they became great friends. As Uncle Bear claimed, it was him who named the Lion King on his birth.  

The Lion King also was very sad just like his subjects to leave the forest. But, as per the order of the forest, the words by the elder ones had to be obeyed. The most desperate one was the Uncle Bear, who always wanted his surroundings to be in order. A King to rule the forest (preferable a lion), was what he always wanted. So, he decided to do something to make the Lion King stay in the forest. Along with his two disciplines, a Cheetah and a Cat, he left the forest in the coverings of the night.  

The next day morning, at the daily conference, the Messenger Monkey came back to the forest to take the Lion King to the neighboring forest. The Lion King was so sad, and so were his subjects. But, the Messenger Monkey was so obstinate (there is even a synonym in Malayalam for obstinacy that is connected to monkeys), and he stuck on his claim raised by the reigning Lioness of his forest. Just then, the Old Bear, Cheetah, and the Cat, entered the conference area. All the animals were surprised seeing the three with two lion cubs. Uncle Bear informed the Messenger Monkey that he could took one of those lion cubs to his forest, but the Lion King should remain in their forest. The Messenger Monkey was okay with this suggestion. But, the cubs were not okay. They both were so scared seeing other animals and the greatness of the Lion King. They said they wanted to be neither the king nor the minister. Just let them go, they pleaded.

The animals were so curious seeing the awkward behavior of the cubs. Uncle Bear, the Cheetah and the Cat explained the animals how they got these two cubs. They found these twin lions from the circus company set among the neighboring human settlement. They attacked the tent in the night and rescued the lions and other captive animals, who were all on their way to that forest.

The animals tried to make the cubs understand the benefits of being a king. The lion kids initially were afraid of even the rabbit, but when Uncle Bear boosted them with courage, they understood they were lions and were destined to be kings. So, they went to the platform along with Lion King and the Minister Fox. The Minister Fox was just curious, so he mocked them to test their courage, but when the cubs roared out of anger, the Minister Fox got scared. So, the lion kids were ready to be the King. But who will go to the neighboring forest to take charge.  Initially both the cubs insisted the other one to become the king, but later they both wanted to be the king. 

The Uncle Bear solved this problem too. While waiting for the Cheetah and the Cat to bring the cubs from the circus tent, Uncle Bear had met another monkey from a different forest. The monkey also was a messenger, whose country also needed a lion king. Though Uncle Bear was not sure about the availability of more kings, he had asked the monkey to visit the Conference area the next morning.

Just then, the second Messenger Monkey also reached there. Seeing the celebration mood of the animals, he got surprised. Everyone happily invited him to the conference area. The cubs were ready to go to two different forests, after the Lion King assured them that the three forests would remain in friendship forever.

Scent of Love: My Entry for the Get Published Contest

Every individual, who is passing through the universal experience called Love, feels it differently. Most of the persons, who possess an average level of social intelligence, handle their love or romantic experiences in a very light manner; by taking it as something like an emotion-made plaything. Some take it as a necessity, as a means of rescue from loneliness or rejection. There are persons who love for personal benefits, financial advantages, etc., whereas certain matured ones seek none other than their future life partner in their first love.

But, a last group of lovers interpret their love experiences in a creative way. Love may be a source of artistic inspiration for many of them. They make up fancies around their loved ones. Their five senses contribute largely to their intelligence in weaving imaginations concerning their lovers. And in their imaginations, the backdrop will always be set in cloud nine.

The Theme

Coming to this story, the elements that form parts of it are regarding just one of the senses - the Nose - by which the protagonist experiences and identifies love with different smells. The story travels through the life of the protagonist from the time of his school days to his college days. He had love affairs, and in every affair, his imagination around the person of love interest was centered on certain smells.  His olfactory glands were in full function when he was in love. Certain smells could create memories and virtual presence of persons in whom he had found that divine attraction. Don’t think only smells could make him romantically activated! Even music also was capable enough to transform him into that dreamy youthful romantic guy. But the influence of what he felt through his nose was higher than what he felt through his ears, as far as his experiences with his crushes and lovers were concerned.

This story is about the psychological role of senses in human relationships. Sight is always the dominating sense. But, this story deals with effect of smells in the protagonist’s love life. 

What Makes This Story Real?

This story is largely based on the emotional experiences of the Blogger himself during his fragile and frail periods of adolescence. It is not an imaginary or improbable one. Though the characters do not resemble anyone in the surroundings of the Blogger, certain persons have directly influenced the Blogger in order to act as the primary model for the formation of the characters. Creative persons used to experience nostalgia, so anyone who reads this story will hopefully be unanimous about the nostalgic aspects of the story elements.

How Enrique Inspired Me to Shave Everyday?

(Note: This post is fiction)

I never had a thought about asking my girlfriend regarding the possibility of a guest post in my blog, even though she was good writer, who had won several writing contests from her school days onwards. However, when I invited her attention to this, the girl was a bit hesitant.  

“Isn’t that a too open subject to write upon? Don’t you think so? “, was her first question, when she was shown the topic on which she had to write upon. The theme ’Shave or Crave’ and the description written along with that were capable enough to earn her disinterest to write. But, I will have to tell you that my talkative nature and argumentative abilities finally had won in changing her timid mindset into writing something for my blog.

But, she was not ready to take the pain of thinking in line with the theme and writing accordingly. Instead of that, she pulled out from her bag a thick book. I had seen her carrying that book with a blue cover and a red book-mark many often, but never had asked her about it. She introduced me this as her personal diary, and said, “honey, don’t open this now! Go home, open it and see what I had written on July 7th last year.“ 

The date she mentioned had some surprising effect in me. It was on this date, that we left our three days life together at a resort in Kodaikkanal. I tried to recollect what we had talked on those days. My strong memory power, which I am really boastful of, didn’t come to my rescue in making me remember our stubble and shave related talks. I went home and opened the diary and looked for her entry written on 7th July 2011. I can reproduce below what she had written:

7th July

Kodaikanal

“I am really happy that he understands me and my concerns pretty well. I feel very comfortable since he takes care of me in a very elderly responsible manner. Though I was a bit apprehensive about a pre-marital relationship like our wonderful three days, now I am really really happy that I have made a good choice regarding the person with whom I will have to live the whole life.

He claims his whiskers and mustache are too growth-less and thin to consider for regular shave. So, I had seen him wearing the goat-beard like whiskers for weeks without shaving. He thinks no one is cared about it. But, why did not he understand the irritation felt by a girl who is forced to be in contact with it every moment, especially since he is a person who is crazy about PDA?

My trick to make him shave once in every day has seen some results. I said him he looks like Enrique Iglesias a lot, especially after a total shave. I know he is a great fan of Enrique and his music, just like me.  After that, I noticed that he was keen on shaving everyday and that saved me from the irritation of his evening stubble during our life in Kodaikanal".

Melbourne in a Day Dream

That day, while checking the internet on my laptop by lying on my couch in a comfortable position, I happened to visit the official website of Melbourne tourism. My earlier stints in the field of tourism journalism often make me wander through tourism websites inadvertently. Though I don’t usually stick to a particular website for more than five minutes, this was something different. Melbourne has a great touch of elegance; it has everything that a travel enthusiast needs – be it, sports, arts, beaches, or locales and activities that attract a family holidaymaker.

Thinking about it over and over again, I saw the images and the letters in the website gradually withering away. Initially I imagined my pupils sinking in a deep ocean, but that was actually happening metaphorically; my eyes were closing; I was sure that I was going to sleep. 

Hot Air Balloons over Melbourne

In the sleep I saw a dream, and I don’t know, to what extend Freudian theories on sleeps and dreams are correct. May be since I was thinking about such a wonderful heavenly place Melbourne, in my dream Melbourne appeared with its heavenly charm in its fullness. 

The dream started with something like a wind, which was formed by the letters on the webpage I was checking. I was being carried by that wind through the beautiful sky, and I wished that if I had never been woken up from that sleep, since I knew that I was dreaming. 

Suddenly I heard someone saying in my ear, it's your time to visit Melbourne NOW!! The voice was very close to my ear, so I heard it clearly. I looked down and saw I was floating on a cloud on top of the Australian continent. Knowing my wish I guess, the heavy wind lightened its grip, and I was being descended little by little, slowly along with the cloud by which I was being carried.

Federation Square

While coming down, I saw the sea side city Melbourne becoming bigger and bigger below. Along the frothing coastline, I saw humans move like tiny tots. Around me, there were a lot of huge balloons carrying people floating in the air. As I guessed, they were all visitors relishing the lovely aerial sights of Melbourne on floating balloons. 

I saw a vast area in green colour spread on a circular area below, which I identified immediately as the Melbourne Cricket Ground. As someone belonging to a country like India which breathes Cricket, I always wanted to visit this stadium at least once. But as I said before, I knew that I was dreaming.

Many sky scrapers of Melbourne city were coming closer. The buildings constructed in the Victorian Era looked much more Gothic in style comparing to the modern buildings. A vast area called the Federation Square and its sandstone buildings looked grand from the top view. The Crown Casino and the Melbourne Exhibition and Convention Centre also attracted my sudden attention. Among other attractions those drew my attention; Melbourne Zoo, Queen Victoria Market and St Pauls Cathedral were included.

National Sports Museum

Melbourne annually hosts a film festival, the famous MIFF, which is the short form for Melbourne International Film Festival. Though this is not the usual time of the festival, seeing films at the festival and meeting world renowned film makers remained as just a mere dream.

I slowly landed in the Melbourne city on the shores of Yarra River. I could see the Federation Square and the Crown Casino at a distance. My forward go was very easy, as the cloud under my feet was helpful enough to make me move through the grounds effortlessly. The cloud jumped when it met hindrances.

The cloud took me through National Sports Museum, the awe inspiring Eureka Skydeck, the haunting Old Melbourne Gaol Crime and  Justice Experience, Melbourne Aquarium, and so many other places, about which I had been just reading a few seconds before I fell into this sleep. I also had a tasteful journey through wineries, craft breweries, and so many dining centres which all were offering Melbourne’s typical and traditional culinary delicacies.

Falls Creek Skiing

In the end, I happened to visit the Falls Creek, where I watched tourists engaged in skiing. I also wanted to try skiing. So, I slowly jumped from the comfort of the carrying cloud and tried to put on the skis. But, I was tumbled down, because of inexperience, and was slidden through the sloppy mist-clad hill sides for sometime before deposited on the base of the mountain.

I suddenly woke up, and realized vividly that it was another one of my lucid dreams. Anyway visiting Melbourne was fun and heavenly, even though it was in a dream. I wanted to visit the destinations that I saw one more time, and this time it won’t be in a dream, but in real.

(This is a Fiction written for the Indiblogger Contest organized in association with Melbourne Tourism.)

Image Courtesy: http://www.visitmelbourne.com/in