Reading Time: 4 minutesNinad had been driving the Santro for eight months now — errands mostly, his mother’s saree emergencies, his father’s files left at the office, the occasional late-night run for medicine when his grandmother’s knees acted up. He knew exactly how much clutch it needed on the slope outside the society
Reading Time: 3 minutesThe rain had stopped an hour ago, but the road outside their house still remembered it — brown water sitting in every dip, refusing to drain. Vihaan pedalled hard past the tea stall, his school bag thumping against his back. He didn’t see the pothole until his front wheel dropped
Reading Time: 3 minutesThe Kalanagar signal had turned red for the fourth time that morning, and Vikram Deshmukh had stopped counting the minutes. Behind him, a truck driver leaned on his horn like it owed him money. Autos squeezed into gaps that weren’t gaps. Someone’s bumper kissed someone else’s mirror, and the shouting
Reading Time: 2 minutesRamesh worked in a small accounts office near Dadar station. Every morning at eight, his wife Sunita packed his tiffin — the old steel one with a dent on the lid, wrapped twice in cotton cloth so it would stay warm on the train. He never thought much about it.
Reading Time: 3 minutesThe signboard outside Gopal Kaka’s shop had lost most of its paint years ago. Only three letters still held colour — the “C,” the “L,” and the “E” — so the children of Ratangarh called it simply “the CLE shop.” Inside, the walls were lined with tyres of every size,
Reading Time: 2 minutesThe sun was hot. The road was hot. Even Bhoomi’s chappals felt hot. But the street was full of colour. Big wooden chariots stood waiting. Marigolds hung in long orange strings. Drums went dhum-dhum-dhum somewhere close by. Bhoomi had a secret in her pocket — a small paper boat, folded
Reading Time: 2 minutesKabir hated Sunday nights the most, though he could never explain why to anyone. Monday meant a spelling test. Monday meant Mrs Iyer calling on students who hadn’t raised their hands. Monday meant everything that could go wrong, replaying in his head the moment his mother switched off the light.
Reading Time: 2 minutesEvery night, the same thing happened at the Sharma family table, and every night, nobody but Vihaan seemed to notice. Dadi would take one roti fewer than everyone else. Nine of them sat around the long table — Papa, Chacha, both mothers, three cousins, Dadi, and Vihaan — plates clattering,
Reading Time: < 1 minuteOne quiet evening, a little lantern glowed beside a garden path. Its warm light helped rabbits find their way home and guided sleepy birds back to their nests. The lantern was happy to help. But as the night grew darker, a gentle wind began to blow. Whoosh… Whoosh… The little
Reading Time: 3 minutesThe park bench near the peepal tree was Dadi’s favourite spot in all of Dadar. Every afternoon, she would wait there with two steel tiffin boxes — one for Priya, one for Rohan — because she believed hungry children had no patience for wisdom. That Tuesday, the children arrived louder
