A short story — Chinni and Ganapa held hands even while maneuvering between the tables and chairs and made their way to the corner table at Deepa Food House. Chinni was in a bright red T-Shirt with the words Stronger Than You Think printed across her chest, and she had matched it with faded…

We were in our places. A buzz of expectation sizzled through the classroom. Our familiar Ms Baseen was being replaced by another teacher. A new one. “She was so sweet. Why did she have to leave”, we whispered to each other in dismay. And then Ms Charu walked in, looking…

The drive was a scenic extravaganza. Tall trees lined the road on one side and an expanse of tall green grass lorded on the other. The tall trees swayed and wild flowers danced in the breeze. We were on our way to a holiday home and eager to get there. …

Nicole wheeled her bag into Deepa Food House and found a corner table. Her bag wedged carefully into the space between the table and the wall, the green backpack off her frail shoulder, she sank into the low chair with a sigh. She raised her pinkie and tucked her hair…

Growing up in India in the 60's meant you had one functional mirror on a wall in the hallway. It was generally a 9 x12 inches rectangle, large enough for the man to trim his beard and for the lady to make a neat center parting in her hair. …

Deepa Food House was deserted. It was 4pm. Too late for lunch, too early for family gatherings. She walked straight to the corner table and chose to sit facing the entrance. The bored floor manager ignored her. She looked around, the two familiar waiters were nowhere to be seen. She…

“Very nice! I will cancel my meetings, clear my desk and mug-up jokes to make my son laugh,” The irate parent challenged me. “Memorize jokes” I corrected him in my teacher-head, but the sarcasm was not lost on me. “Do you think laughter is in a mason jar on my…

Neelam settled into the corner table at Deepa Food House. She plonked her eye-glasses on the table and wiped her face with a wet tissue. Kannika sank into the chair opposite to her, hanging her purse on the back of the chair. …

A hobby is by definition the pursuit of an activity done regularly in one’s leisure time for pleasure. So ‘making’ your kid ‘take a hobby’ is by itself an oxymoron. The word OXYMORON has no connection with the latter half of the word. It in no way refers to a…