‘I killed 8 girl children’

Yes, this is straight from the mouth of a mother: a mother who was supposed to protect her children, a mother who was supposed to stand before death to defend her children, a mother who was supposed to be the God for her children. But alas this God discriminated against her own children simply because they were girls; she couldn’t stand her own blood when it took a form of a baby girl. This mother, who belongs to the rural South India, killed not one, not two but eight – yes eight – baby girls of hers.

Power Play

Warning: This is a short story about sex, money and power. If you are below 18 or you are sensitive toward these concepts, please do not continue to read.

My hands were shaking and palms were sweating. Every now and then, I was rubbing them against my demure black-colored formal skirt to make sure they wouldn’t feel damp when I shake my hands with Mrs. Seema Sharma, CEO of Beautiful You Magazine. Just then Mrs. Angela D’Souza, secretary of Mrs. Sharma, approached me. “Mrs. Sharma is ready to meet you. Please go in straight.”

“Yes, thank you Mrs. D’Souza.” I winced when I heard the tremor in my voice. Apparently, Mrs. D’Souza heard it too and recognized it for what it was because she gave me the most sympathetic smile, the kind that we generally reserve for the poorest of the poor. I returned her smile with a quivering heart and walked toward the cabin door with as much confidence as I could muster.

Shoes

PADE “Shoes”

Since the day they were invented, shoes have been boon and bane of any female’s life. You don’t believe me? Just ask your sister/mother/wife about it and see their reaction. We females simply adore beautiful shoes even when we find them extremely uncomfortable to wear. For those beautiful shoes, we put up with shoe bites, cramped muscles and what not.

Word

PADE “Word”

A word is enough to break your heart or make your life. It can bring joy to your world or can shove you into the deep ravines of gloom and doom. And who knows the power of a word better than a reader? First and foremost I am a reader and then a writer (I would like to think so! Just don’t burst my bubble over here :P).

Window!

PADE "Window"

No matter how much you like to travel around the world, home always holds that special place in your heart. Be it a long day at work or a day out shopping and hanging around, nothing is as soothing as your home. And just imagining having your hearth in the middle of the mother nature. Ah, a piece of heaven!

Layers

PADE Day 6 "Layers"

As soon as monsoon arrives, people can’t think beyond hot, roasted corn on cob smothered with chat masala, lemon and black salt. And I am no different from everybody else. Just yesterday when it was raining cats and dogs, I had to go out and buy corn.

Fresh

PADE Day 5 "Fresh"

The moment you touched me, I was captivated and intoxicated;
The moment you touched me, all my yearnings and longings were answered;
The moment you touched me, I shed away my despair and gloom.

Distance

PADE Day 4 "Distance"

For me, the concept of distance is quite fascinating. I firmly believe each one of us has goals in our lives, either materialistic or emotional. We spend every moment, every juncture of our life to cross the distance toward that goal. And many times, the goal doesn’t matter. The journey matters.

Candle

PADE Day 3 "Candles"

Since I was a kid, I have been told by my elders to live a life like that of a candle. A candle that sacrifices itself to give light to others; a candle that endures loss to show the right path to the lost traveler in the darkness.

Books!

PADE Day 2 "Books"

Books, ah! What to say about books? Books are not just merely paper, ink and glue. They are much more than that. They are a world in itself. When you read a book, you leave behind your mundane problems, shallow joys and petty goals to enter a whole-new world wherein your imagination soars, your soul rejoices and your faith recuperates.

Waterfall

PADE Day 1 "Alone"

I encountered this beautiful waterfall when I was going to Badrinath, Uttrakhand, couple of years back. I visited the shrine in August, just after the Monsoon season. Everywhere I could see beautiful waterfalls, green rolling hills and disastrous landslides. There’s not much of economic development and most of the economy depends on the tourism. When you are stuck over here, which you invariably do at one point or the other, you realize how helpless humans are before the nature.

Cheesy Cheeriness

There’s a very famous proverb – “Where there’s a will, there’s a way.” In simple words, it means that if you are determined to do something, you will be able to do it. That’s good, isn’t it? Because if this saying is true, I will be the most powerful woman on this earth whenever I wish to be so. I just need to decide upon it and work toward it. That’s all good and fine, but then what’s my problem? Or do I have a problem?