Pens and Pages

There were traces remaining, like footsteps on wet sand. They could be wiped off by his slightest touch, a slightly stronger wind, but he chose not to, and no such wind blew. Those traces, they remained, exposed, sullied, as if they awaited her; her homecoming. But she, she was nowhere near, unseen, unheard of, like the tiniest pieces of broken glass dissolved in the dusty air... Eons, then, passed, the wet sand coagulated, telling stories they once bore, as traces waiting to be effaced...

Silent Voices  poems Author: Rohit Shetty Publication House: Leadstart Publishing Pvt Ltd Pages : 60 Price : INR 50 / $4 Poetry is a flow of emotions that otherwise remain dormant in the heart behind a veil that doesn’t let you speak. Rohit Shetty began his literary journey at the age of 12 when he wrote his first poem. He used to be an introvert, as mentioned in the Acknowledgements of this book that made it difficult for him to convey his emotions. And when he learned to write poems, he embraced this art as his closest friend to jot down the emotions he felt. His loneliness and introversion became a boon for him and his poems. “Each poem I wrote relates to a real-life incident that had happened to me,” says Rohit. “Silent Voices” is his first book of poems that contains a total of fifty beautiful poems. The poems talk of love, loneliness, grief, optimism and other varied emotions. “A Caged Spirit”, his longest poem in the book, talks of a tale of a ...

I am often surprised, if not dismayed, when I read those angry articles on women, and especially when it’s penned down by a woman. A few days back I read a piece of article written by a renowned author quoting that the modern woman instead of seeking to be a man should regain her femininity. Whenever it’s mentioned what a man or woman “should” do or be like, it disappoints me. Who decides who should behave like whom? Are these the rules written in ancient scriptures, which were written by no one else but men or women like us who happened to belong to a different era? Are these the rules mentioned by kings and queens who no longer reign? Or are these rules conveyed by the Almighty himself/herself whose existence is somehow dubious for some, if not all, of the people? It must be amusing to look at the world through the tinted glasses one wears; and then whenever a color seems too bright or too pale, to quote it as a misfit. Where lays the liberty of just being human? Is i...

Published in Fried Eye on Feb 15, 2014.  Click Here  to read it. Author: Bhavya Kaushik Published by: Parlance Publishers Publication Year : 2013 Number of Pages: 260 Language: English “The Other Side of the Bed” – When I first read the name of the book I thought it to be the story of a person who has lost his better half. Death, I didn’t think it was. I thought it was more of heartbreak in a relationship, the one that leaves you shattered and lonely as you look at the now-empty other side of the bed. As I went through the first few pages, I realized I was wrong; it was death, something that makes you hollow and hopeless from within, for you know the other person will never come back and you will never be the same again. As I went through a few more pages of the book, I realized it is not just about crying for a dear one you have lost. It’s much more than that. It i s about finding hope and learning to be happy even when there is no reason to smile....

Published in the October 2013 issue of  Fried Eye “Punugulu,” she said and I considered it to be a joke. I asked her again the name of the food we were served for breakfast that day. And when my room-mate repeated the word, I realized she wasn’t kidding at all. I wasted no time to google up the word and find images of the food that looked exactly like what was on my plate. It’s been two weeks that I am in Hyderabad, yet I find it difficult to recognize the food I am served in my hostel. I was never a fan of South Indian cuisine and hence the ignorance. “Hyderabadi Biryani” is the first couple of words that come to one’s mind when one thinks of Hyderabad. Well, I don’t know of the adjective “Hyderabadi” but I sure had the Biryani in three or more places here and I can say that the Biryani served in Guwahati was different, if not better. These differ, everyone’s view points as well as everyone’s taste buds; and I, being a person who has a sweet tooth, have absolutely no...

It was either for the scorching sunrise that hurt her eyes or the cold breeze that blew scratching the fresh wounds on her arms, but Disha could tell that her friend had tears in her eyes for some reason or the other. “Nothing,” Razia said, when confronted by Disha, hiding her eyes as she wiped her tears with her hands. “Got paid?” Disha enquired. “Yes.” Lied Razia while walking towards the place she has been calling home from the past couple of years. She headed for the bathroom as she entered her room where two girls were sitting, one smoking a cigarette while the other wearing make-up in front of the broken mirror in the room. Razia cleaned her skirt that was smeared with her blood. She wasn’t prepared for it. After all it was that 14- year old’s first time. Not the first time that she had been “ridden” by men, nor the first time that she bled while bearing the intolerable pain the men gave her, but for the first time that she painlessly bled indicating a cycle o...

Come to me when the fear does overpower and I will lull you with the tales of valour fear not the fear lurking inside you like the demons, it will be defeated too Come to me when grief strikes you hard and I will sing to you the songs of a bard grief too will falter, sorrow will leave and the shelter of joy together we will weave Come to me when you think you are all alone and I will show you it sits not on a throne it is love eternal that is within your heart loneliness will elope, don't break apart Oh, come to me when you feel there is evil and I will remind you of your true will for there's good within you, mighty and pious evil will diminish, in peace it will leave us Come to me when cruel seems your life and all that's bad, we together will wipe come to me when nothing seems alright we'll overcome with our spirits blithe...