Have a wonderful day :)

Friday, October 25, 2013

The First Date



It is drizzling outside and all that is visible is the soft orange glow entering the restaurant's side wall from the mixture of headlights of the passing cars and the street lights placed equidistantly. 

Anushka is sitting in the corner table facing the street and her fingers are fidgeting the top end of the menu that the waiter had placed as her mind drifts to the evening she had met Rishabh. 

It was during an office party that they had met eachother. Anushka had come out of the dance bar to attend her mother's call. On disconnecting, she heard the hum of her favorite song coming from the direction of the artificial rivulet.

On walking towards the sound, she found that a lonely figure - Rishabh was humming the song. Seeing the startled expression on Rishabh's face, Anu blushed and introduced herself. Before they could know more about eachother, Anu's friends came out looking for her and took her inside. 

After a couple of days Rishabh and Anu bump into eachother in the lift and exchange smiles. A couple of such unprecedented meetings later Rishabh searches for her name in the office communicator and pings a 'hi'. 

The next day Anu responds to the ping saying she hadn't noticed the chat the previous day as she was on leave. Over the next few days they continue their conversations over the communicator. During the course of their conversations they find out that they have a lot of common interests.

One day, a week later, he offered to drop her home as he had to meet his friend and Anu's house was on the way. On reaching her house they exchange their numbers and Rishabh hurried to meet his friend. On returning home he sees a message from Anu thanking him for the ride home.

On friday evening he gives her a call and asks her to meet him at the coffee shop at 6 to which she reluctantly agreed. Now here she is, waiting for the guy whom she had known for less than a fortnight.

Rishabh comes and sits opposite to her and apologizes for being late to which she smiles. He is wearing an Indigo colored checkered shirt which is accentuating his striking features.

They speak for an hour about the general stuff and when they get ready to leave, he asks her if they can go on a drive to which she readily agrees.

They drive for half an hour and it surprises her when she sees the place he has brought her. It was the same place where they had first met.

She goes to the bench near the rivulet and sits down and he follows her with a rose in his hand.

He gives her the rose and asks her to marry him to which she is surprised. Tears start to roll down her cheek and she nods in approval to his proposal.

Tuesday, October 22, 2013

Is the wait worth waiting for?

Sanjana: there is no point talking to you. You never understand.

Rakesh: hey I have always been like this. You failed to see the reality and now you are blaming me.

Sanjana: yes am at fault for having misjudged you. Anyway good bye.

The line went dead and tears started streaming down her eyes. She closed her eyes tight to stop the flashes of the in numerous conversations that had happened between them. She sat there helplessly waiting for his call.

It had been four months after the conversation and she had not got any sort of communication from him.

Sanjana was working when she had got a mail on her personal mail one and half years ago. It was his mail asking for her number. She sent him her number and in less than five minutes she got his message. Her joy knew no bounds as he had vanished all of a sudden a few months before and had returned when she had lost all hopes.

As a couple of months flew by, they both started liking each other. However after three months of seeing each other one day he said that he was no longer sure about their relationship as he was hurt due to his past.

The first crack appeared then and the innumerous attempts of Sanjana to determine what went wrong between them failed. As days flew, their daily conversations turned out to be weekly then fort-nightly and off-lately as and when he needed.

A lot was happening in Sanjana's life at the moment- her close friend had walked out on her, her dream of doing masters was washed in drain as she got to know that the name of the postgraduate degree she had enrolled would be getting changed as per UGC norms, the pressure to perform in her new team and the pressure to get married (though not from her parents). All these in addition to Rakesh's ignorance.

He failed to listen to her and had started to call her when he had something to share or crib about.

The conversation before the last call had gone like this:

Rakesh: why are you not getting married? are you still pondering over me?

Sanjana: (stiffling a tear) lets not talk about this as was decided and agreed upon earlier.


Rakesh: I understand but tell me is it because of me that you are rejecting everyone?


Sanjana: ( thinks in her mind afraid to confess: yes.. I still love you) no


Rakesh: hmmm. Am sorry for what I have done. You were the one who brought me out of the dark

(called love) don't push me into it. I have no where else to go apart from you.

After few mins of talking the topic got re-diverted to Sanjana's marriage.
 

Rakesh: don't be like this. I feel guilty.

Sanjana: why should you be guilty? if I say that I m waiting for you will you accept and marry me? 

Rakesh: no. I can't marry u as I have not thought about marriage yet. You deserve someone better
 

Sanjana: hmmm (thinks when you are not accepting me who else will?)

Similar conversations had happened between the two of them for over an year. Sanjana had thought that Rakesh would accept her someday yet till date he has not returned.

Will Rakesh return?

Can Sanjana wait till then?

Or have they moved on?

Is the wait worth waiting for??

Only time will tell..

The Krishna Key- A book review

'The Krishna Key' is the third fiction of Ashwin Sanghi. The book has been written after a lot of channelized research on one of the greatest mythological characters- Krishna, the eight incarnation of Lord Vishnu on whose existence there has been a lot of speculations in today's world.


Ashwin has brought out the intricate beauty of the character in the form fiction and has backed it up with facts! I would say the book is articulately written touching upon the past from Mahabharata and weaving it into the present times. The way he goes to the past and makes a transition into the present times is enchanting.

The reader gets a different insight into the Mahabharata.. The view which we wouldn't have thought even existed. The book also brings to light the forgotten glory of our motherland 'India' and also refurbishes the history lessons that we have long since forgotten. It also throws light on India's 'secular' nature in that though the people practice different religions and have different beliefs, the teachings are the same in all religions.

It leaves the reader thirsty to read and understand the Mahabharata with the new dimension that has been given just to tie up the loose ends left by the author (the facts that are not required as part of the plot).

The book dwells into the astronomy and also into latest technologies such as carbon dating, genetic engineering and its relevance to the past and its implications in the future.

Pages: 464
Publisher: Westland limited
Cost: 125
Rating: 4/5

The story also touches the intricate beauty of friendship. It revolves around the lives of five people and how an artifact changes their lives. The artifact- a historical seal left behind by Krishna acts as a catalyst to string the chain of events that takes place in the quest of the unknown.The book takes its readers on a journey across parts of north India- be it Dwarka, Jaipur, Himalayas and somnathpura.

Will the unknown be unlocked with the Key or does it reflect on the thought- 'the path is better than the destination'?

To find out grab your copy of 'The Krishna Key'. It definitely is worth reading..

you can grab your copy here:
Amazon: goo.gl/Oqef7k
Flipkart: goo.gl/hTjkjn


About the Author: Ashwin is an entrepreneur by day and a novelist by night. He has authored the best selling novels: 'Rozabal line' and 'Chanakya's Chant'.  Having read 'Chanakya's Chant', I longed to read 'The Krishna Key'. Ashwin is one among the few new age Indian authors who dare to delve into the Indian history as well as mythology.