A Good Life

  Rahul stormed into the house, threw his bag in a corner and himself on the couch. “Relax Rahul,” said his mom who walked in behind him. “Work harder next time, I’m sure you will do better.” “How much harder mom?” replied a frustrated Rahul. “I worked very hard but feared this would happen. This is my condition in 7th grade, I wonder what I’ll do in 10th?” His grandfather, who was merely a spectator till now asked, “What happened?” “It was his open house today, dad,” replied Rahul’s mother. “He did not fare very well,” she whispered. “You do your work,” said his grandfather in a soft voice. “I’ll handle it.” “Thank you,” she replied and went into the kitchen.   Rahul’s grandfather made himself comfortable on the couch beside him. “Tell me what’s the matter Rahul, you can pour your heart out to me.” “Grandpa, I know I’m a weak student. I work hard, trust me, but somehow, I know I’m never going to do well.” “Why so much self-doubt? You have to start believ...

  It was late in the night and Sonia was tossing in bed, unable to sleep. She had been feeling unusually lonely for a few days. No matter how hard she tried, love seemed to elude her. She picked up her phone and scrolled through social media.  “When am I going to find the one whom I love?” she questioned herself, looking at all the happy couples on Facebook and Instagram.  The more she scrolled, the more depressed she felt and she couldn’t escape the clutches of the demon called self-doubt.   The next day she was still feeling low and her colleague noticed that. “Are you okay Sonia?” asked Natasha. “Not really.” “What is it? You can tell me.” Sonia went on to explain her predicament. “Oh, I can completely understand darling,” replied Natasha. “I may have a solution, but I don’t know if you would accept it.” “Try me!” she exclaimed. “Well, there’s this sage who dwells in a cave on the foot of mount Sahyadri. They say he has helped many find love ...

  Triiinnngggg…. the alarm went off. I hit the snooze button (the alarm was set on my phone) and snuggled into my blanket again. In five minutes, the alarm went off again. I was about to hit the snooze button when my inner voice questioned me, “Till when are you going to keep hitting snooze? It’s time to wake up!” I realised that it’s high time I got the better of my  laziness . I dragged myself out of the bed, switched off the alarm and headed to the washroom.   I poured myself a glass of warm water. As I sat by the window sipping on the water, I saw people walking and running in the park.  “It’s about time I started doing some workout,” I thought. I knew there was a severe  lack of exercise  in my lifestyle.  I sprang to my feet, took my diary and a pen and sat to draft a perfect workout routine. But, as I turned the pages of my diary, I saw that this wasn’t the first time I was drawing up a plan. “ All planning and no action makes Jack a dull boy! ”...

  Shekhar, a service engineer, repeatedly checked his watch while meticulously working his tools. He had come to this factory at a remote location for the maintenance of a machine provided by his company. The last air-conditioned bus from the nearest village left in half an hour. He was running late, but was honest in his work and did not leave till his job was perfectly done. Once he packed his tools and bag, he gave a demo of the serviced machine to the factory manager and left.   He rushed to the bus stop. The stop was empty barring an old man sitting in one corner. “Excuse me,” said Shekhar to the old man. “How may I help you?” “Can you let me know the status of the last air-conditioned bus?” “You are late, young man. That bus left 15 minutes ago!” “Oh God!” Shekhar looked up at the sky in frustration and sighed. “Where are you headed to?” Asked the old man. “Mumbai.” Replied Shekhar. “You are in luck. A non-AC state transport bus should come in about h...

  He woke up one morning with a searing pain in his head. He struggled to sit up in bed. He felt a lot of pain, as if he was sleeping on a bed of nails. He rubbed his eyes and looked around bewildered. ‘Where am I?’ he thought. He remembered neither the room nor how he got there. He struggled to his feet and limped to the door. Very gently he opened the door a little and peeped outside. He saw a man and a woman sitting at the dining table having breakfast. He quietly shut the door and limped back to his bed. ‘Where am I? Who are these people?’ he thought. He held his head in his hands and thought hard. But the harder he thought the more intense the pain in his head became. He felt as if someone was striking his head with a hammer. ‘I must search the room for clues,’ he thought. He opened the bedside drawers to search for clues. He found a wallet and in it a driving license. ‘Aditya Mehra,’ he read. ‘Strange, why can’t I recollect my name?’ He looked for more clues but couldn’t find...

    I woke up one day and found myself in a room. A strange room it was. Just plain white walls devoid of doors and windows. I wondered how I got inside in the first place. The room was well lit up with brilliant white lights. There was a big clock on one wall, its tick-tock was amplified by the silence of the room. In one corner was a leaking pot. Drop by drop the water from it was dripping away. Strangely, the falling drops of water did not make a sound. It was as if the drops got lost in an abyss. In another corner was a little potted plant and a chair completed the decor of the room.   I sat in the chair wondering what was happening. I tried to remain calm in spite of the eerie setting I found myself in. A little observation made me realise that the dripping water was in perfect sync with the clock. One drop per second was being lost.  ‘What a waste,’ I thought. ‘And I don’t even know how much water is there in the pot.’ Along with this another thought flash...

    “Hey, come in guys. I’ve been waiting for you,” said Sameer as he welcomed a few old friends from school. The guys went inside and made themselves comfortable on the couch. “So how have you been, Sameer?” asked Jay. “I’ve been great since I moved to America! This house, this job, this life is beyond my wildest imagination. “That’s so good to hear,” said Jai. “Where are your wife and daughter?” Sameer hesitated for a moment and then replied, “they had to go to India for some urgent work.” Jay was a keen observer and realised something was amiss. But for the moment he did not probe further.   “Come I’ll show you my house guys,” said Sameer. The guys were in awe of the lavish house Sameer owned. It was a five-bedroom villa equipped with all the latest facilities. An in-house gymnasium, a temperature-controlled swimming pool and a movie room.  “This is amazing, Sameer,” said Jay. Sameer’s heart swelled with pride. They spent a relaxed evening talking and drinking. It...