Indian Short Stories

Not Just a Phone Call Away 
“I don’t know what will happen, I shouldn’t have left without him”, said Amit. Rubbing his sweaty palms against his pants, he paced up and down in the ...

The Actor 
It was raining at a rhythmic pace, noiselessly yet incessantly. He looked outside from time to time through the glass pane of the window. It offered a ...

Black and Dull Slate 
Kavita sat on her terrace and was busy scribbling on the floor with tiny stubs of chalks. She would collect a hand full of stubs which were meant to be ...

False Pride-continued 
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Tears of repentance rolled down Shalini’s cheeks and she breathed heavily so loudly that he could hear, but he did ...

The Linguist-continued.. 
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Nalini carried on, “Of course, I could not save my marriage. But we decided to keep in touch. No, it was not enough. The ...

Maamone 
“You still look the same, Maamone”, gushed my aunt. There was an additional quantum of exuberance, a wee bit extra dash of ingratiating admiration in the ...

Five Hundred Bucks 
It's festive season. The streets are decorated, lit up for celebrations, zealous crowds on street, loud noises, bright colors of the market area. Most ...

The Dragons Of Dragons  
For Yamini

....
It had to happen, it was nonchalantly coloring my thoughts for few days, I fought with it day and night, yet it appeared in my mind....

The Photograph 
After a long time Grandma entered that room. Apparently, it was being ignored as many memories were associated with her life. She slowly entered the room ...

The Crystallized Moment  
“Grandma! Grandma!” Mita cried as she came running to Nilima’s room. Nilima looked up from her knitting to the child. “Do you know, it was a great disappointment ...

A Monsoon to Remember-Part I 
I had been to Mumbai almost a decade back. I remember vaguely I descended the train I had boarded from Kolkata much before the train reached Chhatrapati ...

Balancing Act - Short Story continued 
Balancing Act - Previous page

She tried calling Ed several times on his cell, but it was unreachable. Meanwhile, she heard the click of the main ...

Pharoah's Ring - continued. 
Return to previous page - Pharoah's Ring

At last in despair Mrs.Gomes thought of consulting the parish priest. Father Colaco came to their house ...

I Wish I Could Be Your Beau 
"I wish I could be your beau", said he.

"Whatttt????" I almost got choked over my steaming cup of coffee.

"Nnno..th..this is what is written here....

The Hug 
"Dear Diary,

The baby is now Four months old.
He is a charming boy, sweet and quite. Doesn’t bother me much.
Occasionally he has his bad days, and ...

Altering Loyalties 
Her wristwatch showed that it was 6 in the evening! Vishesha quickly opened her locked door, eagerly waiting for a hot bath to flush away the amalgamated ...

The Reluctant Revolutionary 

Uma was dog tired. She had been out in the jungles since morning, gathering wood, leaves and medicinal plants for sale. Many a time she rued the ...

Mr. Barlow's Bungalow 
When we were young, thank God, there was no television in our house though the idiot box (black and white) had already invaded the market. As a result ...

The Only Way 
I still remember the day Varsha came to Bhagawan Krupa as a bride. Bhagawan Krupa was the house next door. It was a large balconied affair, with an array ...

Total Eclipse 
It's late evening and the August rain had moistened the asphalt. The trees, with wet leaves, stood in silence and anticipation. As I strode past the dark ...

Tender Coconuts 
After retirement from the Central Government service, Ram Kumar had decided to stay in Bangalore. He cultivated a regular practice of sitting on the terrace ...

A Final Wait 
Anna, fondly called by near and dear ones as Annamma, brewed the stew, putting a drop of it on her palm in between and licking it to see if it has been ...

Conversation 
I was attempting to hold a conversation with him. A futile attempt! Diplomacy was never my forte and I fumbled for words like a three year old struggles ...

The Tea & Coffee Shop 
The coffee shop as usual was crowded and the decibel levels were high. Lal, the server boy was busy serving hot cups of steaming 'chai' and 'Kophi' and ...

The Paintbrush - Part 2 
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Thereafter ensued a spate of conspiracy. Every morning at a fixed hour I'd hold the brush on the drawing book and wish forms, figures,...

The Paintbrush - Part 1 
As a child I had this huge fascination for colours. More than drawing or sketching I would spend most part of my leisure time filling colours in awkwardly ...

Smile Away 
The Chambal ravines appeared bereaved of their gala and gaiety at the advent of winter. It was misty, windy and cold out side.

Sr.Krupa, the director ...

Waste Turns Into Precious 
Soon after returning from the school in the afternoon, Ajay directly went to the sit out place of his home, where the old news papers and magazines were ...

Little Girl and the Hippocratic Oath 

It was 5 p.m. Twelve year old girl Suneeta was lying on the bed unable to bear the uneasiness due to high temperature. Her grandma was looking after ...

The Bizarre Shadows-Part 2 
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Short Story - The Bizarre Shadows - Part 2

There was nothing in common between us. I knew we were the targets of many a ...

The Bizarre Shadows - Part 1 
“I see them”, she said.
“Who?” I asked, a little shaken.
She always had that effect on me.

We were sitting in the verandah encircling “The Villa”...

The Lamentation of Ramilla 
With grief stricken heart Ramilla uttered these words repeatedly, as if chanting...

"...Of life and of tears that turns into a gentle mist ...

The Imposter 
The letters brought in a whiff of fragranceful romance long awaited and craved for but never really experienced in its complete veracity. Life had been ...

The Return 
The pathway was lined with moss-covered uneven bricks that had seen better days. Several ancient oak trees can be seen on each side of the road. They ...

The Passion 
A team of doctors at St.John's Hospital pronounced the verdict. Ram was terminally ill with Esophageal cancer. He has only a couple of months to live ...

Spandan - Rhythm of My Heart 
Every individual is highly precious. Each child is a store house of ideas. They can make impossible happen. The fact that such thoughts come to them quite ...

Grown and Gone 
On a Christmas day she appeared in our backyard near the garbage pit searching for food. Next day she was near the cattle shed playing with the newly ...

The Night of Shadowed Past 
NIGHTFALL

She must be dreaming again...found herself kneeling on the grass were scattered petals of the Frangipani flowers had fallen, now crushed ...

A Casket of Love 
A grey, disheveled sky carrying the burden of clouds like an evil scowl! A dismal morning lending a dark, somber hue to the surroundings! The trees droop ...

Brides are not for Burning-II 

Part I


Part II

This was the turning point of my life. From then on it was a steady race downwards to self destruction. The vast ...

Melody of Love - By Eva Bell - continued 
continued from Melody of Love

The sprawling campus is home to over two hundred people, some still under treatment, some fully cured. Here they ...

Vastu kola 
“Ooooh, what a lovely house they have built!” I exclaimed. And indeed it was a lovely house. A dream house. Built on a large plot, definitely not a 60/...

A Time to Mend-contd 
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A few months later, when Romi announced her blessed state to Jatin, he all but collapsed with surprise. But there ...

Sight of Love 
Rainy day it was, the silent street, sticky mud carpet, dimmed lights, drops of rain shimmered on green leaves and flowers of the trees, jumping frogs ...

The Divine Mail 
She was stretching her hands to let go off the weariness, struggling to open her eyes as the rays of the morning sun struck through the holes of her cemented ...

Just One Hug 

Viola watched her daughter out of the corner of her eye. Over the last few months, an invisible barrier had insinuated itself between them....

The Park(continued)  
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The Park - Continued from previous page

His two daughters were crying and yet trying bravely to speak to all ...

Grandma 
At 80, my spine is stiff and bent like a bow. The flesh that covers my delicate bones rises softly when pinched, like a stocking, and then slowly shrinks ...

Anniversary Gift  
It was the night before their wedding anniversary. As usual he had forgotten about it. There had been a lot going on. He was one of the kind who loved ...

Weeds 
'Are you comfortable?', Ronnie asked Megs, who was engrossed in a job in which she had acquired perfection in a brief notice.
'Ya, sure', she replied ...

All about a Penny 
Years back, when he left his little village packing his brilliant academic credentials, Vinod had full faith in his uncle getting him a job in Mumbai. Though ...

The Dog Who Loved Too Much 
Forest Ranger Utpal Dravid lived alone on the periphery of Bandipur Sanctuary. Sometimes life became very lonely, and Utpal felt it would be good ...

A Forgotten Birthday 
After a hectic day in the office, squeezing into the heavily crowded bus, which took her almost an hour in travel, and picking up some vegetables from ...

Kaveri - the Girl Child. 
Prelude: Kaveri is a six year old orphaned girl child in the south eastern coast of the Indian subcontinent who lost her mother in a natural calamity ...

Rush Hour Romance 

“I must catch the 6.30 p.m. fast train,” I mumbled, as I elbowed my way through the evening rush at Churchgate Station in Mumbai. My kid sister ...

The River knows 
“He has to be taken away in chains.” Manickam, the leader of the panchayat, looked down from the platform under the banyan tree.

The villagers of Tirutanni,...

Boiled eggs and curry sauce 
November 19, 2010

7:15 am / Dining room





Everyone might ask what is the significance nor why did I choose to discuss such common things ...

Brides are not for Burning 
Part-I
It was the year 1978. Though the elections were three months away, the excitement and preparation ...

If…..then………else 
If

The ambience was great – the bar was dimly but positively lit. Green chandeliers decorated the ceiling. 8 by 4 foot wooden tables gave a retro touch ...

Neighbours .. continued  
Continued from Neighbours


Bettina realised the enormity of what she had done. Prita had taken her to her soul. In return she had searched out ...

Short Story - Retribution 
The dogs bayed for his blood. The pack was getting nearer and nearer. They loped, or rather, ran steadily , they were not in a tearing hurry… they knew ...

Coffee Break 
Four days, four days I have been listening to the girl crying in the apartment next to mine. I told myself it was none of my business her crying in there,...

A stranger in my house ...Page 2 
Read the first page here

“I’ll tell you the truth Ma,” said Navin, “And you must believe me. I told you I ran away from my village. I got into a ...

The Railway Station 
Sujata was back from work early today. These days, she felt an unusual kind of loneliness; and understandably so. It had been an entire week that she had ...

The Journey of his life 
It was a quiet evening; Sham was all by himself in his suave apartment in deep thoughts, when the phone rang. It took a while to get a grip of himself,...

First Kiss 
Things between Sushma and Suraj were not going right since long time. While dressing up for their wedding party that night Sushma was trying to think since ...

The Peepal Tree-Part 2 
Return to - The Peepal Tree- Part I

Now that Pallavi was pregnant, the whole household was relieved. She too was thrilled. This was to be her elevation ...

An Animal Attraction-contd... 
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An Animal Attraction ... continued

One evening when she arrived home Lipika was nowhere to be seen. Deb was in ...

Exemplary Courage of a Girl 

It was half past ten in the morning. Suddenly there was a roaring sound of a lion in the botanical park. The sound was heard by the group of ten girls ...

The Bird Flew Off 
They watched with joy and anticipation as their little three year old chubby faced rosy lipped daughter bounced around the bushes trying to chase butterflies....

The End of My Dreams. 





The last patient for the evening had left, and my helper was preparing to lock up.

“Wait,” said a lady, "I must see the doctor now.”
“Not ...

Agony Uncle 



It all began when I decided to do an Agony column, for a friend’s magazine. It gave me hours of amusement, being confidante and problem-solver ...

Is this Marriage? 
Mornings would pass by with him making a cup of tea for himself; and in the afternoons, he invariably turned to watch the news. This would exterminate ...

Madhav 
The swing it lays
in one corner of the garden
where I played
where he played
until I lost him...
my brother
Madhav...

I still vividly remember ...

Telebrands Turmoil 
I have always been attracted to sales, all types, exhibition cum sale, discount sale or any other sale for that matter! My sister was worse than me, ‘Buy ...

I am also human! 
The eyes followed her wherever she went. It was scary. She came out to dry the clothes and she could feel the eyes. Dozens of them all watching… watching…...

Daybreak 
The reflection of the streetlight at the end of this road cuts the half of my face. As I look into the mirror, my wrinkles are the only thing highlighted....

Gone Away 
Today night is terribly cold and I cannot possibly take this chilling temperature anymore. However, as I sit at my desk, I ponder: Why haven't I been able ...

Estimated Life!! 
Moni had attempted to commit suicide twice and no one knew why. Her only response to all those excited and pleading questions from various quarters – parents,...

SNR Banana Chips 
SNR, King of Banana Chips

Every one knows that Kerala is called God’s own country(to lure tourists) and everybody knows that she was carved out ...

A Night Shift Work Experience 
Working in a software company in Bangalore sometimes I have to extend late in the night. I joined ...

The Drawing 





The waves lashed at her feet and the wind blew strongly making her hair fly out in its direction. The sea was clean with its bluish-green waters,...

Relentless Feelings 
From the many windows of the building, one could look outside and see spectacular hills encompassing the town of Darjeeling. The reflections of the skies ...

A Dream Sold 
It has a rhythm now after almost ten years. It has a subtle music, when they are uttered in a definite pace – Depicor, Monotrate, Trika, Avas, E-Cod, Iladamen,...

Short Story "Hi !!" 
Short Story "Hi !!" - Previous page

After I spoke for almost fifteen minutes at a stretch, I realized, I was speaking not to a man but to his king ...

Short Story- Ripples of the Stream 
“Aai”, came the fluttering sound from Anu. On her fourteenth birthday she had to have her way, and asked her grandma to make “Pohe”, the way she loved ...

Short Story Mothers Day  




My dear mummy:

It will soon be Mother’s Day. Instead of sending the usual thorn stemmed roses, and card with cough syrup sentiments I am writing ...

That Girl.... 






It was a beautiful evening. Mild and romantic wind blew all around. Atmosphere was set. On the streets of Kolkata, at the turning of Rabindra ...

Off with the fetters....continued  Not rated yet
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It was here when he was really down and out, that he met Milind. The man had great charisma – very macho, and very prosperous!...

One and Half Years  Not rated yet
As I sat packing up my bags to leave my hostel room forever, I was reminded of the last one year and half years that I had spent there. It had been a roller-...

The Agony of Win  Not rated yet

“Why is the measure of love loss? Why are there more downs than ups in love? Why is there more dejection than affection?”The questions in her mind were ...

Small Town Adventures  Not rated yet
Aliya looked outside the window. The Train started moving away from Tirur Railway station, and soon it was moving at brisk speed, passing the paddy fields,...

Beginning of a New Journey  Not rated yet
It was a rainy day. Water was splashing continuously on the window pane making it difficult to see the outside environment. Shreya was waiting for someone....

The Peepal Tree-Part I  Not rated yet
Pallavi had no appetite, but dared not say so. She silently ate up the uppittu and washed it down with a glass of milk. The child in her womb needed it....

The Face of Courage  Not rated yet
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As she walked to work, Meera bit her lip to keep from crying. Her mother had left home before sunrise, to take part in a special “women only”...

A Monsoon to Remember-Part II  Not rated yet
Back to - A Monsoon to Remember-Part I

That evening, after dinner, I told Snigdha “This Raj fellow seems to be a nice chap. Is he worth being tagged ...

The Journey Ahead, Alone  Not rated yet
Rama sat on the sofa trying to hold behind the tears that welled up in her beautifully shaped eyes as visitor after visitor came to pay their condolences....

Knowing Jajima!!  Not rated yet
I slept more than I could to let go off that vacuum that I felt since I was back to Atlanta after my recent visit to India. I persuaded myself to remember ...

Retribution  Not rated yet
The dogs bayed for his blood. The pack was getting nearer and nearer. They loped, or rather, ran steadily , they were not in a tearing hurry… they knew ...