Deep Ties

                                                                     Dreamstime.com                                             #thedrowningpoemsoflove #virtualpoetryprompt WHAT IS TRUE LOVE? What is that onrush, deep within, that sets your heart beating? Palms turn clammy; the breath quickens, engine-like, relentless, The sight of someone sinks a thunderbolt into your stomach, Eyes widen and lips quiver; the world lights up, incandescent. Is that what true love does to you? When the world gazes on with an enigmatic smile, Having seen the same reactions ten thousand times before, You flounder in a sea of emotions, each wave threatening To pull you under; to pull you asunder; and yet, you h...

                                                                      Artist: Ananya Aloke                                                              #butterflydance #100words CREATION The artist looked his Muse and smiled, How ethereal she was, he thought; Her eyes were closed, as though beguiled By a dream, in her net-like memory caught. Ruby-red, her lips glistened in the light, Her marble face with its crown of golden hair, With orange streaks reaching out into the night, The cosmos leant over to kiss her, as did the air; Shimmering around her in a mantle of every shade, She smiled back, aware of his adoring gaze, Luscious greens, airy...

                                                                            Clipart.com I cannot forget the shocked expression on the young dentist’s face. “Where are all your teeth?” “Uhh… in my mouth, where they should be?” I mumbled, perched on the leather chair as he peered into my mouth. His eyes widened with bewilderment as he leant forward, almost falling into the gaping cavern in front of him. “Three missing here… three on the other side! Two more here and a broken tooth!” I was quite shocked out of my wits. Where had all my teeth disappeared to? I did recall a few sittings earlier where some of my wisdom had been yanked out, but eight and a half teeth? I was a walking miracle! More importantly, an ‘eating’ miracle! When my better half agonised over one painful grinder that made lif...

 

 

  “It was the best of times; it was the worst of times.” Charles Dickens could have been speaking of 2020 when he began ‘The Tale of Two Cities’, a book that remains one of his masterpieces. It was, no doubt, the worst of times! The world watched, helpless and horrified, as a tiny virus sneaked into its timeline, and wreaked havoc globally. No country was spared, as the whole of humanity went through a series of emotions – bewilderment, disbelief, understanding and finally, the realization that this was the mother of all challenges. Lockdowns creaked into place, masks came into being, sanitizers sold like hot cakes and social distancing became the new mot juste of the times. Countries closed their doors, flights were stopped, travel became a rarity. The moment a glimmer of hope was seen, it was quickly scotched by the eager beavers who believed that nothing could go wrong, behaving disgracefully till things actually went wrong under their very noses. Often, it was innocent bys...

  ‘The Red Notebook’ introduces the readers to the kind of stories that nestle within this slim volume. Ganapathy and Sheila, and their children, Arjun and Meera, arrive at Chennai from London to spend time with a recently bereaved Mallika, Ganapathy’s mother. Two worlds are juxtaposed here and the traditional and the modern overlap in the most unexpected ways, with the help of a fascinating red notebook. The final paragraph stays in the mind, poignant yet joyous. Sibling rivalry is the theme of story number two titled ‘Jaipur, With Love’, in which Pandurangan, the unlikely hero with “an innocent goodness that made people dote on him,” travels from Kanyakumari to Jaipur. His quest is buoyed up with a burning vengeance within his heart. As he meets various people up North, the tale keeps the reader wondering if he will achieve his end, almost resembling a Malayalam movie with its numerous references. In the third story, ‘Karuppasamy’s Secret’, a quaint little mystery is played out, ...