Attempt at fiction - 2!

After this, here's my second one...let me know what you think?

Thoughts go on a Relay Race!

Bhairavi, is fierce and strong as her name suggests - her personality had an air of regality and her confidence was always mistaken for arrogance by strangers! She made heads turn wherever she went and everyone felt she had it all, to the point of envy...

Today, she was feeling depressed and low and really needed a push, she thought to herself! She smiled to herself, as she drove to work. She was recalling her dream earlier this morning...in her dream, she was having a splendid view of the sea from the top of a hill when two giant birds came along, and swooped down to carry her along with them...and just as she was enjoying the ride, she saw lovely colors everywhere as she looked down...the lush greens, the deep blues and among all the landscape little white dots of buildings everywhere...she saw a distinct red dot of a bindi. The fierce red light brought her back to reality and she screeched just in time to stop at the signal!

 The red dot or bindi was such a hot topic or conversation starters with her Non-Indian colleagues. On her trips abroad or when the westerners visited India, they would often ask a lot of questions about India and Indian customs. The ever-popular question was about the significance of bindi. At first, Bhairavi explained that its a sign of being married but later did a bit of research, and googled, isn’t that what everyone does these days? She found that there was much more to it than just being a symbol of her relationship status, it had a much deeper meaning like many other Hindu customs!

It is believed that the area between the eyebrows, where the bindi is placed, is said to be the 'departure' area for kundalini energy and the bindi helps to retain energy and increase concentration. Her mother explained that it is also a way of warding off bad luck. With her new-found wisdom, Bhairavi felt that it actually made sense to wear a bindi with pride!

Talking of pride, hasn't it gained undue importance recently, especially in a totally misguided sense? Most people she knew seemed to revel in their material accomplishments which was good as long as they didn't gloat and compare with friends and peers. Bhairavi was beyond such pettiness but a victim herself - in a different sense. She did not share her misgivings or disappointments even with people who were close to her. Pride stopped her. She liked to pretend she lived a perfect life!

Perfection! Alas, can it be defined? To seek and attain perfection in anything and everything is like an act of finality. Bhairavi strongly believed that being perfect or perfection is a relative term and it was an illusion, yet akin to hope at the end of the tunnel! Maya…

Maya was her best friend who brought out the best in Bhairavi. She was everything Bhairavi strived to be; compassionate, spontaneous, free-spirited and most importantly, non-judgemental! Bhairavi felt free in the company of her friend, who loved her unconditionally without making any demands of her; Maya made Bhairavi feel pure and sort of ethereal like babies…

Have you ever smelt baby skin? It is reminiscent of purity, innocence and absolute joy; everything that you want to believe exists in this wonderful life…Bhairavi felt invigorated in the presence of babies. It gave her a feeling of utopia as she raced ahead in the car, zooming ahead towards a new world after meandering through her thoughts, what a journey!

Don’t we all know that the journey is more important than the destination? Bhairavi realized it today…

Trial and error...

There was an error in my internet connection for a long time and after that I went on a 2-week holiday all over Austria and Prague....hence the long absences from the blog, if any of you hopped over expecting posts to find none, that's the reason and I am sorry to disappoint you. Anyway, I had a wonderful time off and came back home with wonderful memories, pictures and experiences which I will share...over a period of time! Meanwhile, with a lot of time on hand, and unable to do any work without the internet, I tried my hand at fiction. Let me know what you think...:-)

New Beginnings

Raksha looked at the orange-tinted sky and wondered was it already evening? Just like how she thought everyday about when she had grown into a woman all so quickly with numerous responsibilities, tensions and chores. But she did not have her fill of innocence, carefree days and silly laughter that only a child could have. Strangely, happiness and love played hide and seek with her. Vikram being Vikram was so full of himself that conversations with him seemed like a chore in itself! She began to think how she could continue to live with him for the rest of her life? Even if she did, were they happy together?

She met Vikram in college while doing her Masters in Communications. He was a senior who relentlessly pursued her and she was bowled over by his personality and confidence. As the years passed by, she realized that all he had was over-confidence! All that mattered to him was about being right in every single conversation with anyone or to prove that he was superior to anyone else in every sense! His successful career and wealth fuelled his arrogance. It was a mystery to her how she didn’t see it coming in her younger days. Was she that naïve or just blind to his lack of respect for anyone?

She worked with a software firm as a Corporate Communications Executive while Vikram had his own advertising firm. Raksha was so lost in her thoughts that she hadn’t even prepared for dinner. She heard Vikram let himself in and his chaste ‘Hey Babe’ with his earphones on, who didn’t even stop to wait for a response from her. She let herself into the kitchen to start cooking. Vikram came in too, fresh from the shower within a few minutes and asked lovingly, “Can I help with something?” with his killer smile indented with cute dimples.

Raksha was pleasantly surprised to hear that and asked him to make the salad. As they worked in tandem in the kitchen, Raksha saw a glimmer of hope in their relationship and felt as if Vikram was changing for the better. Or maybe just like the light reflects in the air and turns the sky orange, she was looking at him from a different perspective? Either way, she thought to herself isn’t it hope that keeps us all going? She decided to start anew with Vikram right that instant and make a new beginning.

Indeed, the next day, it was a beautiful Sunday morning, as Vikram and Raksha snuggled together as they lay in bed spooning each other. Raksha looked at the beautiful blue sky!