Glass Half Untouched

Disclaimer: Heavily influenced by Avengers: Age of Ultron yet hopefully relatable to everyone.  I just finished watching Avengers: Age of Ultron. Make no mistake. It wasn't the first time that I watched the movie. I have watched it enough number of times to look beyond the glorified characters and brilliantly choreographed action sequences this time. And because I have watched it enough number of times, watching it today, amidst lockdown with Covid-19 threatening my world, made my mind wander from the bewitchment of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.  Well, I can't give all the credit to Marvel. Today, my day started with a discussion with my parents about how there are conflicting views about the lockdown. Because it definitely came at a cost. Then somewhere in the middle of the day, my wonderful friend texted reminding me that today is the one-year anniversary of Avengers: Endgame. We ended up discussing who would have thought that one year later our world would be at ...

"Sujay...my boy... How are you?" I turned as my name was called and saw my boss approaching. "I am doing well sir. How are you?" "Good. Good. Tell me, are you enjoying the party? Have you eaten anything?" "Yes, sir." "Good... That's what these office parties are for. Eating and drinking,” lifting a glass in his hand, he continued, “I hope, Seema is here too. I always tell you to bring her and you never listen to me." "No sir, it’s not like that. But she is here today, sir." I started looking for my wife and found her standing exactly behind my boss at a distance. She was talking to a man. I didn't seem to recognize him. "Ummm... Sir, I think she has already made a friend here". My boss, who had followed my line of vision, looked back at me. "Well, that's good. Because I have brought someone to meet you so you can have a friend of your own". "Razaa, can you ...

I wouldn’t say I haven’t been active for the past few months. On the contrary, last year has swung me up and down like alternating current. It was the end of May 2019 when I decided to forgive myself and relieve myself of the pressure of publishing a blog. I was stuck in a vicious cycle. The stress of regularly publishing a blog was hampering my ability to write, which in turn was adding to the stress of regularly publishing. It wasn’t like I stopped writing. But the frequency significantly reduced. The stress went to a point where I couldn’t publish my ready to publish articles. I finally decided to relieve myself of this pressure at the end of May and within the next few days, I got an opportunity to write a blog for the Mental Health Education department of NIMHANS. It only added to the stress but since it was a time-bound activity, I did it. I was able to find some peace as the time passed by because I realized that though I am not necessarily writing blogs to publish,...

Disha hurried to get soaked   poha   as   tadka   danced frantically in the pan. When   poha   approached the   tadka , the uproar subdued. It was then she realized Parth had come home from school. Right on time, she smiled. Just as she was going to tell him to go and wash his hands before eating, she saw him leaning on the dining table, drawing patterns on its wooden border. Now, that was unusual. Usually, he is quite jumpy and chatty after coming home from school. That's when she saw it. He quietly wiped a lone tear that escaped from his eyes. For a moment, she couldn't fathom what must have happened. She feared the worst. Then she   remembered it. His teacher, Naik Miss, called in the morning. Parth, with other two boys in his class, had spilled water on her notes that she had prepared for the morning class. She couldn't complete that topic without notes. She added that it was not expected from Parth. So, that's what the matter was. At first...

(February 2017) I wasn't a complete stranger to Mumbai when I moved here two weeks back. On the contrary, it's where I was born. After spending 23 years of my life in Pune, I moved to my uncle’s house in Mumbai for an internship. I didn’t read too much into it until my little cousin asked me the other day, “which city do you like more – Pune or Mumbai?” My answer should have been Pune, undoubtedly, but I said, “it’s too soon to tell. I have spent 23 years of my life in Pune and just two weeks in Mumbai. It's not fair to compare my connection with both the cities.” Though I seemed to have dodged the question, it got me thinking. Being brought up in Pune, I am fond of the peace and serenity that place offers. Its charm, its calmness, and moderately lazy but culturally rich and tasteful lifestyle is part of me now. Yet there has always been this inexplicable attraction towards Mumbai. My family had decided to shift to Pune before I turned 1. So, till tw...

He looked up as she called him for makeup. His wandering eyes tried to narrow down her position through the crowd. As he politely asked the people around him to step away, she looked at him with awe. He arrived where she sat and settled comfortably in his seat. Finally, she began his makeup. No, he was not a celebrity though he was quite celebrated in her world, she was not his makeup artist, and no, they were not in a gleaming makeup room of a reputed studio. They were on the, usually bustling and seldom quiet, Ferguson college road in Pune. Sitting in front of a fancy mobile store, she had already laid down colorful and unique ornaments on a maroon makhmal-y cloth, below which, there was a cheap, pale pink plastic sheet (which she used to lay it below him when he was in his bed-wetting phase). Now that her roadside shop was opened for the day, she turned towards her 7-year-old and continued their daily routine. She started painting his face with all the bright colo...