शुक्राना
Category: WordPlay
Short Story: Alex and the Car
A mysterious story which will leave you bewildered!
Alex had been walking down the same path to his home every evening after work, for the last 10 years. He would look around him, at the trees on the side of the road, park benches, the same old houses, neighbours out for an evening walk, and children playing in the park. In one of the empty plots on his way, he used to see a broken down discarded car that had been there for years.
One evening, Alex noticed that the car wasn’t there. ‘Finally someone has removed it’, he thought to himself. Even though the car wasn’t blocking his way or too close to his house, he felt relieved it was gone.
The next evening, on his way home from work, Alex noticed the same car there again, exactly in the same location and same manner as it always was!
Alex was perplexed and asked his neighbours why the car had been returned after being removed the day before. ‘It was never removed,’ one of his neighbours said. ‘You might have missed it,’ he said, before going on to ask a few others around him, but he got the same answer from everyone. ‘The car was never removed from its place’
This completely bewildered Alex and he wondered how he could have missed seeing the car if it hadn’t been removed. He was insanely consumed by this thought!
‘The car wasn’t there; why don’t you believe me? Nobody believes me; you’re all fools!’ In the asylum, Alex kept repeating this to his doctor. He’d been in the asylum for three years now, admitted just a few months after the incident.
Life went on as usual in the neighborhood though. The trees on the side of the road, park benches, the same old houses, people taking a stroll in the evening, children playing in the park and the broken down discarded car in the same empty plot.
Then, after all these years, people in the neighbourhood were relieved when the car was finally removed one fine evening. They had become used to seeing the car there but felt relieved it was gone.
The next evening, the same car was there, exactly where and how it had always been!
English Poem: The Candle of Lust
The Candle of Lust, a poem by The Versatilist
This English poem, ‘The Candle of Lust‘ is a poetic metaphor which explores the relationship of a candle and lust. A thousand thoughts get triggered when we look at objects from a point of view of a living being or emotion. What thoughts did this trigger for you?
Note: I have been experimenting with different techniques and styles of writing. This theme of this poem is based on a poetry technique where you can use any object in conjunction with a noun to create a unexpected outcome. Some examples of this are topics like ‘Ladder of Pain‘ or ‘Love of Books’ etc.
Here is goes, English poem: The Candle of Lust
It lays low almost unnoticed, waiting,
for its chance to glow
–
Who seduced it into submission, thyself,
it can’t do so
–
It must burn and shine it holds,
a wick inside you know
–
Stop it before it melts down, find,
someone who will dare to blow,
–
Then it shall lay low almost unnoticed, waiting,
for its time to glow
Interested in reading more wordplay? The Versatilist, is a space where you can find posts on travel, book reviews and poetry. To follow versatilistaqua on Insta, Click here to follow Versatilistaqua on Insta
Poetry on Hate: नफ़रत
Hate has a place in our lives, whether we like it or not. Here’s a poetry which explores the emotion of hate!
The emotion of hate also has a meaning and ironically, all emotions can inspire us to do something positive! Hate has a place in our lives, whether we like it or not.
Here’s a poetry which captures the emotion, hate!
Interested in reading more poetry and ghazals?
The Versatilist, is a space where you can find posts on travel, book reviews and poetry. To follow versatilistaqua on Insta, Click here to follow Versatilistaqua on Insta
नादान गली
Hindi Poetry (नादान गली) Naadaan Gali by The Versatilist
Hindi Sher o shayari: शराफ़त
This hindi sher o shayari unmasks that wicked face of the society which we have all experienced at some point in our loves
This hindi sher o shayari unmasks that wicked face of the society that which we have all experienced at some point in our loves.
Interested in reading more hindi poetry and ghazals? Click here to read more poetry
The Versatilist, is a space where you can find posts on travel, book reviews and poetry. To follow versatilistaqua on Insta, Click here to follow Versatilistaqua on Insta
Short Story: Verandah (Porch)
Verandah is a short story inspired by true events which will strike you hard and perhaps leave you a bit stunned!
This short story, ‘Verandah’ is likely to strike you hard and perhaps leave you a bit stunned! I watched a TV series based on true events which changed the life of the protagonist forever. Ironically, he realized it only much later in his life. That series left an indelible mark on me and lent itself to this short story captured below.
He just kept playing in the verandah,
hoping that his mother would call him,
tired, he went inside the house to look at her again,
her naked body on the floor, and blood all around her,
it was just a red colored thing for a 4-year-old,
then there were sirens and so many people running around,
he didn’t know any of them, but he asked a man wearing a cap,
‘Uncle, when will my mumma be back?’
The man replied, ‘Beta, she has gone to a place from where she will never come back’
he didn’t know any such place from where someone couldn’t come back,
he went back to playing in the verandah,
hoping that his mother would call him!
The Versatilist, is a space where you can find posts on travel, book reviews and poetry. To follow versatilistaqua on Insta, Click here to follow Versatilistaqua on Insta
Playlist, a wordplay
Playlist is a wordplay which captures the dichotomy of a lover’s emotions which often lend themselves to music!
Playlist is a wordplay which captures the dichotomy of a lover’s emotions which often lend themselves to music! Music is arguably the single most important factor which helps most people often express, re-live, trigger the emotions or find solace. When I went through a break-up around a decade ago, there was a list of songs which felt just right to help me survive through that face. Today, a playlist accompanies me on my walk and often helps to pep me up for my day. Music is life and a curated playlist is the life force!
Here it goes:
The Versatilist, is a space where you can find posts on travel, book reviews and poetry. To follow versatilistaqua on Insta, Click here to follow Versatilistaqua on Insta
Tiny Tale: Passport, Frying Pan and Underwear
This intriguing tiny tale was born out a writing prompt which asked to use passport, frying pan and underwear as the elements in the writing!
A couple of years ago, I was active on a microblogging platform called Terribly Tiny Tales (TTT) which encouraged writing short stories and rolled out daily prompts. The piece below is from one of the prompt which asked to use passport, frying pan and underwear as the elements in the writing. I went with the flow and it turned out to be an intriguing tiny tale which makes me churn every time I read it.
—
Tiny Tale
She lost her passport in a foreign land,
a land that wasn’t so unfamiliar anymore,
may be she wanted to lose it anyway,
and her identity too, if there were one,
It had been two years since she ran away,
from home or ‘that place’ as she called it,
open roof with walls of bed sheets,
a broken stove and an empty frying pan,
and some memories, though mostly hazy,
Here, she took off her underwear, too often,
but she wasn’t shy or hesitant anymore,
now she owned ‘that place’ where she lived,
it’s address inked on her new passport,
and the frying pan, it wasn’t empty anymore!
The Versatilist, is a space where you can find posts on travel, book reviews and poetry. To follow versatilistaqua on Insta, Click here to follow Versatilistaqua on Insta
Fiction
