Opening Chapters

Two years, three months and twelve days. She had counted. She thought it would have gone on longer than this. Much longer. Certainly not less than five years. But there they were. Split apart a little after two years since he shyly asked her out. They had been through so much in those two years and three months. They did so much. They stood by each other. They fought each other. A lot. They adopted a dog together. A black something. She didn't know what breed Bella was. He kept telling her but she kept forgetting. Why Bella? he asked. Bella means beautiful. Like her. Bella is boring. Let's name her Catwoman. What?! No. Bella. Why not? It's cool and it's ironic. My dog isn't for you to show how cool and clever you are. And it's not that clever. Tell you what? Let's both call her what she wants. And whatever she responds to will be her name. Bella stuck. But that was because she was sneaky. Every time she called out Bella, she would give...

It’s been more than five weeks since Bangalore Days released in theaters around India. Even then, if you don’t book your tickets for the movie at any theater well ahead, you might have to for the next available show. What makes the movie so good? The answer is simple. The story is normal, of course, but the movie boasts a great cast – the top young actors and actresses that are most popular among the masses today. The songs – which have been beautifully composed by Gopi Sunder (although there are allegations that he “gets inspired” from already existing songs) – are those you can listen to over and over again. Then, the direction. Anjali Menon has previously written the script for two other movies: Manjadikkuru and Usthad Hotel. While she directed the former, the latter was directed by Anwar Rasheed. Manjadikkuru is told from the perspective of a little child. Brought up in Dubai, he comes to Kerala for one summer for his grandfather’s funeral. And through his eyes we see mis...

Sometimes a song just takes you back, way back. Especially when the song is from a movie you recently realized was shot in a place you used to visit every summer as a child. The song’s really old, as old as my sister who can finally get a license this year. She’s quite excited, I’m apprehensive. Not because of her. Because of the concept of driving in itself. It terrifies me, having to control the movement of an entity so much bigger and heavier than me. It’s a good thing I didn’t aspire to be a pilot I think sometimes. This time though, the song reminded me of a particular summer, eleven years ago. This place that the movie was shot in, I had a love-hate relationship with it. My mother’s ancestral home was there, so we used to go every year during our summer vacation to see our grandmother and our aunts and uncles and cousins (of which we had many, some being nice while some were unbearable). There were cousins who would relentlessly tease us, they were incredibly mean and...

It was one of those days, where he was waiting for her to show up. Five more minutes she had messaged, the grammar nazi that she was, typing out the number. He wondered if she would be able to find him. The park was huge and he wanted to meet her somewhere the happy kids wouldn't bump into them, somewhere where a stray football wouldn't land into their laps while they talked. He was meeting her after so long. Well, not really that long. But it felt long. So much had happened in the few months they had been apart. So much had changed. They themselves had changed, perhaps without recognition even. He had come to the city a few days ago, but he couldn't bring himself to call her. What if she didn't answer his calls? What if she refused to meet him? When he had finally gotten over his fear and called her, she yelled at him for delaying the call after being in the city. If you knew I'd reached, why didn't you call me? I thought you weren't calling becau...

You're walking in the park, and suddenly, you see this beautiful yellow flower, almost golden. It’s unlike any other flower you have ever seen. What would you do? You pluck it, because it is extraordinarily beautiful and you want to keep it for yourself. It’s a thing of beauty and you do not want to share it. You like sharing your food, your clothes. But when you see something so beautiful that it takes you closer to God every time you look at it, you want to take it and keep it for yourself. Hidden from others, hidden from sunlight. The flower withers away and you know it will die soon. But you keep it hidden. You still don’t keep it in the open so it gets some air and light for fear that someone else will come along and take it from you. You would not know what you would do if something like that happens. You will break and cry all day, longing for the flower that was yours back. But the flower was never yours. And it does not belong to the person who stole it from ...

I rose early today. Or rather, I hadn't gone to sleep at all. I couldn't sleep. My mind was ill at ease. It has been for a while. My thoughts kept wandering into the dark corners I did not want it to go to. But it was relentless. Every time I closed my eyes and thought I could finally rest, I’d jump up again. It was still dark when I finally decided to leave my eyes open for the rest of the day. I peeked at the window from my bed. The sky was starting to have a tinge of light blue, that beautiful blue when the sun rises. There is a reason why I love that colour, blue. All the different shades of it. The sky, the oceans. The sense of wonder that radiates from anything that is blue. I waited for a bit more and eventually decided to rise and brush my teeth. My routine used to include me fumbling for a cigarette before my brush, but things changed. I could use one now, when I think about it. The only thought that keeps me away from that little white stick is what I had t...