Appy Stories

  The birds chirped as loudly as they could, making a noise of their existence. Flapping their small, colourful wings, they hurried in and out of the dense mango foliage. Big, juicy, saffron mangoes hung from the branches. A pop of orange in a sea of green. The sunlight that filtered through the canopy, sketched mosaic patterns on Nirmala’s papery skin. ‘Hey, shoo away!’ She tried staving off the birds, with a stick, from her wheelchair. ‘What makes them so happy? Crazy birds!’ The angry woman spat on the ground in a fit of vengeance. The wave of disgust that surrounded her, for some time now, didn't seem to wash over the birds. In their distasteful company, the warblers still continued to be merry. Yet, their merriment didn't dissolve her discontent. She kept whacking the stick on the mango tree to scare them away. In all the tussle of keeping herself away from the little joys of life, a bright yellow mango fell on her dull, messy maxi. The sight of the fruit made her dr...

  પક્ષીઓ   જોરથી કલશોર કરી તેમના અસ્તિત્વ ની હાજરી પુરાવતા હતા . તેમની નાની , રંગબેરંગી પાંખો ફફડાવતા આંબાવાડી ની અંદર ને બહાર મસ્તીથી ઉડતા હતા . મોટી , રસદાર , કેસર કેરીઓ ડાળીઓમાંથી લટકતી હતી . જાણે લીલા સમુદ્રમાં નારંગી જહાજ !   છતમાંથી ચણાઈને આવતો સૂર્યપ્રકાશ નિર્મળાની પાતળી ચામડી પર વિવિધ ભાત રચતો હતો . ' અરે દૂર દૂર !' તેણીએ તેની વ્હીલચેર પરથી પક્ષીઓને લાકડીથી દૂર કરવાનો પ્રયાસ કર્યો . ' આટલા ખુશ શેના થાવ છો ,   મૂર્ખ પક્ષીઓ ?' જાણે પોતાનો ગુસ્સો થૂકતી હોય એમ એ જમીન પર થૂકી . અણગમાની જે લહેર એની લાંબા સમયથી સ્પર્શી રહી હતી એ હજુ પક્ષીઓને અડી હોય એવું લાગતું ન હતું . તેની અણગમતી હાજરી છતાં નાનકડા લડવૈયાઓ હજી પણ આનંદી રહ્યા . તેમના આનંદથી તેણીનો અસંતોષ ઓગળ્યો ન હતો . તેઓને ડરાવવા તે આંબાના ઝાડ પર લાકડી મારતી રહી .   જીવનની નાની નાની ખુશીઓથી પોતાની જાતને દૂર રાખવાનો પ્રયત્ન કરતી હતી ત્યાં એક રસાળ પીળી કેરી એના ગંદા ગાઉન પર પડી...

Woof! Woof! “Betty, darling, take care. There’s oil spilled on the pavement, it’s slippery.” “Thanks, Romeo. Your timely warning barks are exactly what this blind, bonny lass needs to reach eighty! Good dog, Romeo!” It’s appreciation and pats like these that keep me going. The pain is excruciating, but Betty and I have been through a lot, and this feels like just another needle in the haystack. We’ve broken our limbs together, seen the insides of operating theatres, been confined to our room in neatly wrapped bandaged bundles, and suffered many other atrocities together. But being blind Betty’s helper dog is what brings me to my paws every single day. Dark times don’t necessarily end with light. They just turn a little less dark. Oh, forgive my fur! Like me, it sheds philosophy these days. Old age, you see. “You see”, such an overused phrase! The ones who can actually see can’t see the harm it inflicts on those deprived of sight. Now, you see, I’m a philosophical, old-school follower d...

 Appearances can be deceptive. My image in the mirror was telling me that. "Who is this woman staring back at me?" My numb self knocked on my mental faculties. "Clueless." Jumped the answer to my pursed lips. The mirror image portrays a woman with strewn hair and bruised nose. Her dry eyes, hollow like a parched well give a distant glance. To no one in particular they are propelling fire. A sole earing dangles from an overladen lobe. It is symbolic of the weight of guilt bearing her down. ***** "You are the best thing that has happened to me in my entire lifetime." Paritosh kissed Charvi's forehead. She closed her eyes in absolute bliss. In her ears, she could hear the shenai and happy giggles of her younger sisters. Paritosh had sneaked into her room just before the pheras and the two enjoyed a private moment to themselves before the week long celebrations began.  Charvi could not have asked for anything more. A degree in landscape architecture, a mar...

 The glowing morning sky welcomed its partner for the day, the magnificent sun. The gentle rays kissed the misty sky, waking it from the lazy slumber of night. A flock of black birds hurried past the lovely scene, sprinkling a dash of grey to the fawning sky. Their fluttering wings, entering and emerging from the foamy, cotton-ball like clouds. Jeevika, too, shuffled in her tattered razai. She covered her face to avoid being enveloped by the warm, yellow rays. "Jeevi, beta it's 7pm. Dadu, has to go to find work." "Daduuuu, little more." Smiling at Jeevika's request, Bhanu went out to sweep the courtyard. A thatched hut surrounding by a parched courtyard was not much of a work to be done. Bhanu collected the dry twigs and leaves in a cane basket which he would later hand to the farm owner on whose land he would till, till for next 3 months. It was the end of summers and soon every landlord would employ dozens of helping hands to reap the benefits of their har...

 The jet-black skies poured heavily. Big, fat raindrops break into millions of droplets as they hit hard surfaces. A teardrop, too, lost its way as it glided down her anxious cheeks. It was 11 pm and the house was glowing in the warm light of his birthday candles. The flickering flames created dancing shadows on the ribbon-adorned walls. The aroma of freshly baked cinnamon, and banana cake, joyously meandered through the kitchen. The icing had to be done. But she just didn't feel like moving. A heavy stone hung from her heart. It pulled her down by every minute as the clock was nearing 12.  What if the rains drown me, she wondered. What if like those big, fat drops my dreams, too, are shattered, she continued to fight her decision to write the letter. The ruled paper stared back at her. In the past hour, she had picked the pen innumerable times, only to lay it down on the paper without scribbling a word. A sudden gust of wind doused a few of the flickering candles. She rushed ...

 It was a clandestine affair. An affair I could never let go off. The rendezvous engagement  was all my heart yearned for. This love, this involvement had given me my identity, my sanity. I was in love with both of them. You got it right- both of them TOGETHER! Why does it has to be choose one? "Aakansha, pick one- the red or white." "Only one- doll or car." "Choose one, Aakansha- science or arts?" "Aakansha, you can't have both- career or home?" Why can't I have both? A little of both the worlds. A scoop of every flavour. But no. In life, it had to be only ONE. One love. One home. One purpose. One life. Yet, here I was in love with both of them. The inborn conditioning had not helped. I fell for them despite all odds. In fact, I never realized how and when the fall, befell me. I had bulbous reasons for being the agar of this growth. Each of them had an attractive profile. He, let's call him Peter, the steady, blank space who absorbed...

 Sundri pressed her face against the smooth glass plane. Everything looked so crystal clean. The sales girl was going about putting on the lights. She looked every bit like a fairy illuminating the stellar bodies. As each LED shone, under it a glittery, shiny outfit came to life. There were so many mannequins adorning designer frocks and skirts, suits and pants, all for the little ones of those who had bedrooms as large as this showroom. Sundri had her eyes on a white frock whose frills were pristine white like a fresh, frothy sea wave. So engrossed was the pauper in admiring her dream frock that she never realized her muddy palms were creating smudges on the polished glass pane. “Bhago, idhar se!” The sales girl shooed Sundri away. It was an everyday ritual for Sundri to worship her dream standing on the fringes of the shop as the sales girl went about organizing the showroom for the day. In those ten minutes, Sundri in her superlative imagination would have worn the frock, her fr...

The redevelopment keeda had made a home in every heart and hearth. Not a sane human was left who wanted to exist as a chawl dweller or a modest kholi owner. Everyone desired to be an occupant of a high rise that would be named as Falcon Heights or Eagle's view or something similar. Falcon and eagle was only that was possible as sparrows had long left the city. Soon it had to vultures hovering the skies. With so much of affluence in the air, how could God not fall for the trap?  After all, he was the man's God. If man wished to shift to a high rise wouldn't God want to go a bit higher. Thus, God too decided to sign the redevelopment contract with the Heavens Building Developer. God was promised a huge territory spreading from the temples of Hindus to the mosques of  Muslim.  The builder said, "You royal entity, one abode isn't sufficient for you. You must exist in the Temple, Mosques, Gurudwaras, Church, Agyaris and what not." God asked, "And what are thes...

 It is quite early in the morning. The moon has not completed its walk. It is now slowly regressing. The water puddles are basking in the glory of the moonwake. I'm trying to keep myself awake in the wee hours of my morning walk. The last night has been a difficult one. Sleep eluded my worked up brain. The war inflicted against humanity is getting worst. My anxiety is scaling. I need to find a solace. My sleepy eyes find something.  There it lies with ordinariness laced into it. The narrow jagged lane and its ragged fringes seem to be the perfect place for it to rest in peace. Tumultuous treks and quite a lot of running affairs must have exhausted it. It looks royal in its disowned status as well. Frankly speaking, I don't think anyone must have disowned it. It has an aura of walking away with pride. When faced humiliation, it must have disowned its owner. But where was its partner? Unless, the sneaker belonged to Cinderella and she was at a ball last night this mystery of a l...

"Bawa, don't you drive on the roads alone now. Can't you see what damage you have done to the car and yourself!" Sardarji admonished Bahman Lakdawala. The septuagenariun stood quivering like a wet cat while his good old friend, the garage mechanic gave him an earful. Half his body trembled from Parkinson's while the other half rattled in anger. "Gandi chokri...If they can't drive why do they prowl on the road as if it was their father's Persian jahangir? I tell you Sardarji, girls these with their new found freedom feel they have rocketed the sky. Cars are one thing and space travel another. These girls drive as if they are about to take off." Vrommmm...a girl zoom passed them on her bullet and Bawa's trembling now resembled a convulsion. "Oye Papaji, calm down. Whatever you say, you need a driver. You can no more handle this car and the driving. Come let's have lassi till my boys mend your gaddi's broken teeth. Look how she is c...