The Two-Faced Man!!

Team 'Tandem Tensome'

This is the 3rd post in Round 2 of #CelebrateBlogging. Read the Round 1 posts here. 

Here are the links to previous posts of this round - Chapter 11, Chapter 12.

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       Mr Ahuja was hurrying around in his house making sure everything was in place. He didn’t want anything unusual to catch Shekhar’s attention. If he had one thing in his life, that was to be careful and make no mistakes. Because, in his work, mistakes were not an option; it could as well earn him a lifetime sentence. He ordered his servant to wind up the work soon and leave as he was expecting important guests. His servant didn’t speak much for he feared Mr Ahuja. He sensed there was something sinister about the man but he couldn’t pinpoint what. He just nodded and left once he was done with his chores.

       Not long after that, the doorbell rang. Before opening the door, Mr. Ahuja knew who it was. He could already hear Roohi’s excited chatter as she waited for him to open the door impatiently. His lips curved into a half smile and his eyes glinted. So far, his plan was working flawlessly. He forced a fake smile on his face as he opened the door and welcomed the duo. “Welcome Mr. Dutta” he said extending his hand. “Call me Shekhar” said Shekhar as he shook his hands. Roohi was not interested in the formal exchange. Her eyes were scanning the house, searching for her favourite pup. “Come on child. This way” said Mr Ahuja as he noticed Roohi’s impatience. He guided them through his mansion to the backyard where Roohi’s favourite pup was. Roohi ran towards and the pup leaped in joy as it recognized her familiar face. “She already is so attached to it” observed Shekhar and beamed, satisfied with his decision to gift the pup to Roohi.

       Jennifer felt totally powerless as Tara stared down upon her. Words weren’t needed; just her stare was enough to make anyone tremble. Such was the Ice Lady’s aura. Jennifer regretted to be on the receiving end of that stare. “This kind of indiscipline is not acceptable here Miss. You want a job? Then you adhere to the rules. Else I won’t think twice before finding a substitute for you. I don’t want to hear any excuses” thundered Tara as Jennifer opened her mouth to explain her story. “Your personal problem doesn’t concern me! And I advise you to leave them at home unless you want to be fired. Do I make myself clear?” she went on. Jennifer wanted to scream too. She was late just by a couple of minutes but she was wise enough to hold back her emotions. “Yes ma’am” she muttered when she noticed Tara’s rage increasing. “Good. Get to work” said Tara and left. Jennifer’s good mood had vanished. A day that had promised to be great was already turning bad. She badly wanted to smoke but she knew better. She didn’t want another lecture from the Ice Lady. She sighed and started walking towards the direction pointed by the receptionist, where she would be assigned her first project. Life was not at all easy.

       Shekhar and Mr. Ahuja sat chatting as Roohi played with the puppy. It had been an hour since Shekhar had come and Mr. Ahuja had taught them about the basics of taking care of the pup. Roohi had learnt everything with so much enthusiasm and Shekhar had no doubts that they would face any problem looking after the pup. After the session, he sat with Mr. Ahuja to talk while Roohi played with the pup. “You have a wonderful house” said Shekhar. He was pretty impressed seeing the mansion. He wondered how Mr. Ahuja passed time all alone in such a big house. He had moved in to this locality just a couple of years back and in that time he had never met anyone except Mr. Ahuja and his servant. Word had it that his wife had died years ago in an accident. That was one version of it. Some others even said that she was murdered. Shekhar looked around the house and his eyes fell upon the picture of the woman hung on the wall. A garland adorned the picture of the beautiful lady. “That must have been Mrs. Ahuja” wondered Shekhar. “Yes” replied Mr. Ahuja and Shekhar was startled. He didn’t realize he had said those words aloud.

        Mr. Ahuja stared at the picture of his wife as he expected for Shekhar’s next question. He was sure it would follow and it did. “I am so sorry. What happened to her?” Shekhar asked as expected by him. Mr. Ahuja remembered that night clearly; the night his wife had died or rather killed. He had come home late. It was their anniversary. He had promised to take her out for a date. He had expected her to be waiting for him and waiting she was. But her expression was different. She wasn’t her usual calm self. There were anger and fear written on her beautiful face. And it hadn’t taken much time for him to understand the reason behind it. She had found out his secret; a secret that had made her detest him. She had threatened to inform the police. She promised that she would make him pay for the cries of the innocent. She was threatening to expose his dark secret. He had desperately tried to talk to her but she was not ready to listen to his filthy excuses. He knew the game was going to end if he didn't act fast. Self defence took over and it didn’t take long for Mr. Ahuja to kill her. “What a waste” he thought as he watched his beautiful wife go limp. “You could have lived like a queen if you had kept your mouth shut” he muttered. He didn’t waste time, for he had to take care of the mess.  He called the police and lodged a complaint of accident. Some suitcases were exchanged and the murder was filed as an accident and the matter was closed forever.

       “Mr. Ahuja? I am sorry if it made you feel uncomfortable” Shekhar’s voice brought him back to the present. “No no. It is fine. It is just that I loved her a lot. She died in an accident on our anniversary” he said. Shekhar felt pity for the man. For him, it was evident in Mr. Ahuja’s voice that how much he adored his wife. He just placed his hand over his, trying to comfort him. Mr. Ahuja kept up the pretence. He didn’t mind the concern; in fact it was what he needed. If this continued, there would be no hurdles in his plan. “I would like it if you could join us for dinner tonight” said Shekhar. He felt sorry for the man who seemed so lonely. “That is so kind of you” said Mr. Ahuja as he looked at Roohi. “I definitely won’t mind coming” he said an evil plot started taking shape in his mind.

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Read the next posts here: Chapter 14, Chapter 15, Chapter 16, Chapter 17

PS: "Me and my team are participating in 'Game of Blogs' at BlogAdda.com. #CelebrateBlogging with us.

Until the next post,

Keep Smiling :)

Love,

Swathi :)

Dear Crush - 30 Letter Series #2

       I am participating in 'Letter a Week' challenge hosted by Nibha and this week's letter is for crush. Exciting!! So without much blabber, I will get straight to the letter.

Dear Crush,

       Is it possible to fall for someone you barely know? If yes, then I am falling for you with every passing second and if not, well there can be only one explanation - I am going crazy!! Well lets over rule the topic of my sanity and concentrate on most important topic - YOU!! Yes, you have started to occupy a very important place in my heart and life.

       Life was good and predictable and everything was going smoothly until you made an appearance. You brought with you a big Twist in my life! Now my life is no where predictable and I am a tangled mess of emotions! Yes, you brought chaos is my life but strangely I am loving this. Now that I think of it, my life seemed to be too boring before you showed up!

       I fell for you the very first time I laid my eyes on you. My friends started pulling my leg when they noticed me speaking about you all the time. I just laughed and shook off their comments but deep inside, I just wished it to be true. After that first sight, I started noticing you everyday and it kind of became my obsession.

       Whenever I think of you, a warmth spreads over me; butterflies start fluttering in my stomach and a chill runs through my veins. But when I see you talking to other girls, aarrghh!! I would rather not elaborate that feeling of jealousy! When I hear you sing and see you dance, my heart skips a beat and starts a double time. And when I see tears in those beautiful eyes, it feels like my heart is being crushed. You are the only one on my mind whole day and you star in my dreams at night!

       Do I sound like an idiot? Well if idiocy is this sweet feeling, then I am OK being an idiot. By the way, did I mention that my cell phone is filled with images of yours? I look at them all the time and I am so obsessed that once, I even made a portrait of yours. My mom and friends make fun of this one sided crush, but I am sure you will understand it. 

       Yes Mr. Lee Min Ho, I am irrevocably in love with you! You wait for just few more months and I will soon come to South Korea and meet you. Till then I will spend time watching your K-dramas and your songs.

With lots of Love,

Swatz :)

PS: For those who don't know, Lee Min Ho is a Korean actor and I am a huge fan of K-Dramas, especially the ones starring him. I have watched the whole serial more than 10 times, just for the love of Lee Min Ho!!

Linking this to 30 Letter Series - Week 2 and Write Over the Weekend, an initiative for Indian Bloggers by BlogAdda.

Until the Next Post,

Keep Smiling :)

Love,

Swathi :)

       

Dear Best Friend - 30 Letter Series #1

       It's been a long time since I wrote anything other than Book Reviews. Life has got too busy but today I have decided to take a day off from everything and write something. What prompted me was my friend Nibha's constant encouragement (read it as pestering and threatening too) to join in her 30 Letter series weekly prompt and after 2 weeks of constant pushing, here I am finally writing the first letter. I am a little late for this one, but who cares. 

       This is the first letter in the 30 Letter Series and this one is addressed to Best Friend. Let's get started with it.

Dear Best Friend,

       What shall I write to you? There are thousands of things I wish to share with you. And I know that by the time we finish talking about them, thousand more will pop up. It is a never ending list right?

       Our friendship is one of the best thing that has happened to me. It has stood all the tests of time. We have laughed and cried together. You have been with me when I celebrated my victory and you were with me even when I was lost. You have seen me at my worst and you were there for me whenever I needed you. Honestly I have no idea how I would have managed things without you. Lately life is getting busy and tension level has increased considerably. College, extra classes, Java classes and then preparing for campus; we are hardly finding time to breathe! But I am glad that you are with me. Because if not for your cheerful company, it would have been difficult to stay sane with so much going on.

       Things have changed. Recently we are fighting a lot over silly reasons. I wonder why this is happening! I don't even know whose fault it is. I prefer to blame it on tension. That is the evil working between our friendship, trying to split us apart. But I am glad we never gave in. Even after all those fights, we found reasons to hold on to our friendship and we will continue doing this forever right? Holding on I mean, not fighting!

       To be frank I enjoy all these things and want to cherish them while it lasts. In a year, our paths will change and we will be posted in different cities. Then I will miss all these fights (Yes! It's better than the silence), our hangouts, those birthday parties, never ending talks, gossips, tension before internals and celebrating once its over, pairing each other with random people just to irritate the other, catching up on the latest song, apps and movies, fighting over single chocolate and then ending up sharing it, canteen hungama, trying desperately to stay awake during boring lectures and smiling when the other fails to do so, our usual hangout place at bus shelter and much more!!! There are so many things that I will miss after this year and above all, I will miss you! But some things cannot be changed. It is time for us to accept the truth.

       But we can promise to be in touch right? It wont be like our regular meetings but surely we can make it up by chatting once in a while and meeting up when time permits. It's not like we will be strangers once we part ways. Because the best thing about friendship is no matter how long you don't talk to your friends, some day you can still talk like nothing ever happened. 

       Okay Okay. I know you will be frowning at me now for all this sentimental talk. But what to do? Mein hoon hi aisi ;) Who will know it better than you. I just pray to God that our friendship stays the same forever. Touch wood! Cheers to us.

With lots of Love,

Your Swatz :)

So that was the letter to Best Friend. Dedicating this to my group Minhoz. Each and every one of you are special for me, without whom my world wouldn't be complete. Love you my dear friends.

PS: Linking this post to Nibha's 30 Letter Series.

Until the next post,

Keep Smiling :)

Love,

Swathi :)

Reunion!

Team Tandem Tensome

This is the 7th part of the story by our team. Read the previous chapters here: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6.

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       Shekhar tapped his feet impatiently as he waited for the Red traffic signal to turn green. Ever since he had got call from Roohi, he was impatient. The person who spoke over the phone seemed to be nice. But a father’s heart wouldn’t listen to any logics. He knew his worries would cease only when he meets Roohi and see for himself that she was alright. His train of thoughts were broken when he heard the vehicles behind him honk. He quickly turned the ignition and zoomed towards the CCD which was just a few miles away from there.

       Jennifer paced through the corridor outside as she waited for the results of the interview. She had been pretty confident about cracking it before, but after the encounter with the Ice Lady, whom she had developed an instant dislike, and the other panel members, she doubted her chances of getting the job. The interview had felt like an eternity and she never wanted to go through so much stress again. She watched as the puffs of her cigarette made patterns against the night sky. Strangely, she found solace in it. “Jennifer” she heard a female voice and turned towards the source of it. Standing there, staring at her with a slight disapproval was the Ice Lady.

       Shekhar parked in a hurry and rushed inside the CCD. It had been years since he came to this place. It used to be the place he came with Tara during their early days of marriage. Those were the only days their marriage had – the early days. But once Tara had started drifting apart, he had stopped visiting this place as it brought back too many memories. But today, he had to come for Roohi. “Papa” came the voice and soon he found little Roohi running up to him. He took her into a big hug. Relief made him forget he had a company until he heard the other person clearing his throat. “Uh sorry” he said as he turned to look at the person who had brought Roohi back for him. He looked young, perhaps a student. Though fair, he looked like a geek with those big spectacles. Shekhar smiled as he introduced himself. “I am Shekhar. And as you already know, this is my daughter and my life Roohi. I can’t thank you enough for finding her” he was about to go on with his speech of gratitude when the guy cut him off. “It’s fine. I found her wandering by the park behind school. It seems she sneaked out from school bus to play and ended up missing it. By the way, I am Cyrus” he said. “And you happened to be there at that time?” Shekhar asked unable to contain his curiosity. For some reason, Cyrus appeared to him like a person who would fit in a picture showing students in laboratory rather than park. Perhaps his tone made it evident, for Cyrus’s face broke into a half smile. For a moment, the stern look of his face vanished. “Though you might think it to be impossible, I had a date. But my girlfriend ended up cancelling it. So I was just walking through the park when I found your daughter. I must say, she is a smart kid” he said stroking Roohi’s hair and she smiled. After a cup of coffee and some chat, Shekhar offered to drop Cyrus back to his mom’s place as Cyrus did not have a vehicle. He had said that he was from Delhi and was visiting his mom. “Come on. This is just a small favour I can do in return of what you did for me” Shekhar said as Cyrus declined his offer.

       Back at the office, Tara looked at Jennifer and wondered if they had made the right choice. The girl had been so much engrossed in her smoking that she hadn’t even noticed Tara’s visit until she had called out her name after watching her for a while. Of course her portfolio had been impressive and she was better than any other candidates. But Tara wondered if the girl had the sense of commitment she wanted in her employees. She sighed. If anything, she had learnt not to judge people by their appearances, for looks could be deceiving. Time would be the better judge. For now, she would let it go. “Miss Jennifer. I am extremely pleased to inform you that you are selected for our post. Congratulations. We hope you work with dedication and meet our expectations. And one more thing! I seriously hope you can cut back on that smoking, at least here in the office” she said and left without much ado, leaving behind a shocked Jennifer!

       Shekhar decided to pay a visit to Tara on his way back home and tell her about Roohi. He wanted to believe that, at some corner of her heart, Tara had a soft spot for their daughter. As he walked in, he saw Tara going around in the office, issuing orders about their next project and the little hope he had vanished. He was about to leave when he saw a familiar face. The photographer from the Kochi Railway Station was walking out from the office. She stopped on noticing Shekhar and gave him a big smile. “We meet again” she said and Shekhar smiled forgetting his worries for a moment. For some reason, the easy-to-go attitude of Jennifer attracted him. “I didn’t know you worked here” he said. “I didn’t! But starting from now, I will. Just got a job today” she said. “Ah How good is that!” mused Shekhar. He was happy he could meet Jennifer more frequently from now on. “I wonder if it is really that good. Let me tell you a secret. My boss is a Hitler” Jennifer said pointing towards Tara in her cabin. Roohi giggled upon hearing this. “Hey is she your daughter who believes in fairies?” asked Jennifer. After a long, stressful day, she enjoyed meeting a familiar person. For her, it was the next best thing after cigarette – presence of good company. Shekhar just smiled in response to her question and glanced at Tara and back to Jennifer. He wondered how Jennifer would react if he told her that her Hitler boss was his wife! It would be too good to see the expression on her face, he was sure. But for now, he would keep it a secret. For some reason, he didn’t want to disclose it to Jennifer; at least not yet!
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Read the rest of the story here:
Part 8, Part 9, Part 10.

PS: "Me and my team are participating in 'Game of Blogs' at BlogAdda.com. #CelebrateBlogging with us.

Until the next post,
Keep Smiling :)

Love,
Swathi :)

Digs, Dogs and Drama - Book Review

Title: Digs, Dogs and Drama

Author: Rachna Singh

Publisher: White Tarantula

ISBN: 9384180092

Number of Pages: 248

Price: 240 [INR]

Genre: Humour

Blurb on the Book:

Digs, Dogs and Drama is a humorous book in the genre of anecdotal humour. It is compiled like a diary of fun: each chapter an independent blob of humour. The neighbour's dog. The dramatic ultrasound scan. The wedding reception. Aloo parathas versus curd rice. 100% shuddh Indian. Events. Happenings. Experiences. Just day-to-day stuff.

Traffic Jam? Angry boss? Ruined Haircut? Power cut? Need instant cheering up? Any chapter will do. Rasam? Burger? Rangoli? Bollywood action? Want a desi smile? Start from anywhere in this book. You won't be able to put it down.

My Review:

Digs, Dogs and Drama is a collection of short stories, each based on day-to-day experiences. What makes this interesting is that these experiences are of the author! With a total of 46 independent chapters, each with a punch of humour, the book can be read in any order.

The author's sense of humour is something I liked a lot. She looks the same world with a different angle, finding humour in mundane activities. The book has stories from Weddings, PTA meetings to dogs, photo shoots and Bollywood! The first dose of humour begins when the author writes "No animals or editors were harmed in the writing of this book" I instantly developed a liking to her sense of humour.

One more plus point was the chapters being short and independent. I used to read them during travelling to and from college and just like that I was done with it. I enjoyed reading it. In some chapters, the humour just flowed easily where in some, it seemed like the author was trying a little hard to make it sound funny. The language is fluid and conversational and engages the reader. It is like reading someone's diary.

All in all, the book makes a good read. Pick it up and enjoy the little anecdotes.

My Rating: 4/5 Stars!

PS: This review is a part of Book review program hosted by Write Tribe.

Until the next post,
Keep Smiling :)

Love,
Swathi :)

The Devil's Gate: An Impossible Journey - Book Review

Title: The Devil's Gate: An Impossible Journey

Author: Deepak Kripal

Publisher: Frog Books

ISBN: 9789383562060

Number of Pages: 248

Price: 175 [INR]

Genre: Thriller

Blurb on the Book:

Sidelined by man, animals turned to demons.

Plundered by humans of their habitats, animals take a drastic step when they decide to send a team of a cat named as Katy and a dog named as Dug, to an invisible island known, as the Island of 'Five Hundred Graves'. The island becomes visible only for a short time on the night of the full moon.

Legend has it that the island is inhabited by the demons. Katy and Dug are supposed to negotiate a deal with the demons, convincing them to allow the animals inhibit the island. Majority of the animal community believe that tinkering with the other world could bring their wrath to the animals. The team is sent to the island nevertheless.

But, can a deal with the dead be materialized?

Are there really demons on the island? Is there any conspiracy involved?

Will Katy and Dug be able to negotiate, or will survival remain their only question in the deadly island?

My Review:

The book is about Katy, the cat and Dug, the dog travelling to a mysterious island to negotiate with the demons. But there is much more to the story than just negotiating with the demons. The island is full of demons fighting to possess a living body, monsters who are designed to kill and mysteries that will demand Katy and her team to display extreme courage, even if it means risking their lives or even death! Will they be able to cross all these hurdles and succeed in their mission?

When I read the blurb, I developed an instant interest in the book as supernatural stories have always been my cup of tea. But I was fairly disappointed, for the first few chapters didn't quite hold my interest. The plot kind of seemed to drag on with too much explanation. And the ending is something that leaves you puzzled. There is no conclusion; only a mystery that hangs in the air even after you finish the novel.

But after the first few chapters, the book became interesting again as the adventures of Katy and Dug begin in the Island of 'Five Hundred Graves'. Once you get over your initial shock of the highly developed intelligence of these animals, you will start enjoying the book to some extent. The plot gets interesting from here. The imagination of the author to think beyond the ordinary is something I liked a lot. Also his ability in providing minor details about this unseen land is also quite appreciable.

There were many quotes which I liked and here are few of them:

• Playing with danger is a child's play. Real game starts when the danger starts playing with you.
• When others develop an aversion to your version, you are probably going in the right direction.
• Bravery without sword is like slavery without lord.
• Even the smallest creature can cause your downfall if you are driven by power and arrogance rather than by your mind and heart.

All in all, the book was OK with a subtle message about how human ways have forced animals to take the extreme step! I will suggest this book for those who love mild super natural stories, most probably for teens!

My Rating: 3/5 Stars!

PS: This review is a part of Book review program hosted by Write Tribe.

Until the next post,
Keep Smiling :)

Love,
Swathi :)

India Was One - Book Review

Title: India Was One

Author: An Indian

Publisher: Create Space

ISBN: 1450543332

Number of Pages: 370

Price: $14.95

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Blurb on the Book:

...Suddenly, he saw something shiny at the bottom of the abyss. He squinted his eyes to see what it was. He ran back to his binoculars and turned them to see what it was. Sharp barbed wires that separated the two mountains came into focus. He had come as far as he could in his country. But she was standing in another country.

He was in South India and she was in North India...

Have you ever imagined India being divided into two countries? What happens to the millions of Indians who are from South India but are now residing in North India? Kaahi and Jai were two such people who got trapped in this situation. Everything was going smoothly for them and suddenly, their world turned upside down.

How will they get together? Will India become one again?

Take an exciting journey with them from their college days in Mumbai to their life in the US and back to India when they find out that India is divided.

My Review:

The story is about five college students, whose friendship blooms with regular meet at canteen during breaks. Of these, Jai and Kaahi fall for each other. They get married once they graduate and the story is about their life in India and abroad, where Jai works for his father's company. All is well until the civil unrest breaks out in India, forcing Jai and Kaahi to separate as they have to travel to their own India, now divided into North India and South India! The story advances about how their life changes with this.

The hangouts and the fun moments with friends was something I liked. The book brings out most of the aspects of India like our reaction during a Indo-Pak cricket match. The narration and the set up during these moments is apt. Also the narration about the feelings of Indians when India is divided and they are forced to separate from their dear ones is also something that touches the readers. The terrorist attack and the brave solider's reaction, gives you goosebumps as it reminds you the terrorist attack on Taj!

Though the story was good, there were certain things I didn't like. Especially the extra details provided in every chapter, like a paragraph on Gujrathis, Tamilians etc was something I didn't think was needed. The pace of the story is slow until the chapter when the news of civil unrest in India. After that the story flows effortlessly and it's hard to put down the book. 

I loved the illustrations at the beginning of each chapter. The last chapter is something that gives us a lot to ponder on. What does being an Indian really mean? Is it a religion, custom or a state of mind? This chapter is sets us to thinking.

All in all, the book makes a good read. I would recommend it for those who love to read about India, its culture and traditions.

My Rating: 3.5/5 stars!

PS: This review is a part of Book review program hosted by Write Tribe.

Until the next post,
Keep Smiling :)

Love,
Swathi :)