udaydhall

[udaydhall]

YESSS

Kanhiya Lal walked out of his flat for a regular morning walk. Weather permitting, it would be odd not to see KL walking out the building resolutely for his regime. Kanhiya Lal was also known as KL. Kids around the block called him Uncle KL. Others his age called him KL. KL was never inclined to hold conversations with anyone at all. Any pleasantries exchanged would be as brief as a blink of an…

[udaydhall]

ON VISITOR'S PERMIT

A Package Tour Mohan Das stumbled out of his one room office. An apology of an office; with a weather beaten or shall we call it elbow beaten counter. A glass partition on the counter now almost opaque by smudges. The office boy responsible for upkeep was a rare sight. The fan on a hot day at best with all its good intentions would spread hot air. Lately, things were on the mend. A used…

[udaydhall]

CAMOUFLAGE

What is something others do that sparks your admiration? When someone who spreads laughter and joy. As if there is not an iota of hurt, pain or rejection in their lives. I admire their ability to camouflage the 😢.

[udaydhall]

Life is an Onion

What’s something you believe everyone should know. A dose of home spun philosophy. We should all know that life is an onion. We identify ourselves with our trappings. We brag our achievements and seek approval. When the moment arrives, we are thin air. Akin to peeling an onion, we are left  with nothing but tears. So, my friends wear your sunglasses, peel your onions, and smile broad.

[udaydhall]

Judging is Difficult

If you had a million dollars to give away, who would you give it to? A million dollars to spare is challenging for me.  However, if it does happen, I am not sure if I can cash it for laughter, fun, understanding, empathy, and hugs. Armed with such wealth, I will distribute it to everyone, including myself.

[udaydhall]

The Lady and Bholaram

Girish stepped out of the bus gingerly, avoiding the puddle caused by  intermittent rain in the city. Girish lived in Teghoria, a suburb of Kolkata. It was past nine in the evening. Girish cursed himself for not carrying an umbrella. All these days, he carried an umbrella, and there was not a drop of rain. His pace of walking was being hampered by the puddles on the sidewalk of the road. It…

[udaydhall]

CHASING IN OR CHASING MY DREAM

What was the last thing you searched for online? Why were you looking for it? What does it mean to chase your dreams or chase in your dreams? This question was the reason for me to dig into the internet. We all do chase our dreams with mixed results. The euphoria of success or frustrations of failures are obvious consequences. Have we chased in our dreams? I have with laughable but near miss…

[udaydhall]

The Elusive Tears

It had been a long draining flight for Prabhu. The Kolkata heat, the humidity was sapping.  Prabhu staggered as he broke sweat. Prabhu was relieved to be home, not that he made it in time. Prabhu entered the room, and their lay his embalmed mother in a refrigerated casket. The embalmers had done well. Mother looked at her usual self. There was no sign of decomposition. Prabhu was introspecting…

[udaydhall]

What’s the most delicious thing you’ve ever eaten? The most delicious thing I have ever eaten is my words. Every so often, I have been arrogant to judge. Life then serves me a plate of my words. “Eat it,” it says.

[udaydhall]

What is it about Sundays for working people? Life seems normal till 3 pm Sunday afternoon. As the evening approaches, the brain reminds us about Monday looming large. The next weekend seems centuries away. The sun sets every evening to spread its sunshine in lands beyond. The sunset on Sundays has a different hue about it. We bid farewell to the sun with a touch of apprehension and anxiety.

[udaydhall]

OUR FRAGILITY

What’s the oldest things you’re wearing today? Fragility since childhood. It is a shirt that is often not a perfect fit. We wear a jacket to hide that imperfection. A jacket that is akin to a facade, a camouflage, a false bravado that hides our fragility. The truth is, we will always wear our fragility until it does not matter at all.

[udaydhall]

BALOO-WHERE ARE YOU?

Brinda, Brinda Sahay, an eighty-year-old widow lives alone in an apartment overlooking a park. It is a daily ritual for her to have a cup of tea and observe activities in the park. However,the last couple of days have been interesting for her. A young boy, maybe 10, has been coming to the park with a black dog to play. What breed could it be? She thought. Seeing the dog run around chasing the…

[udaydhall]

A Steadfast Witness

Hello, I am an Oak tree. The other day, council workers came and installed a wooden bench under me. I was excited to have company. I was eager to be friends with the bench. More so, many of us have been cut to make park benches. So benches are extended families for us. In the earlier days, I had so many of  my oak friends around. There was this oak tree next to me. It loved swaying…

[udaydhall]

The Defiant Estonia

Candles For the Defiant (Discovering My Family’s Estonian History) by Kaia Gallagher is one such heart-rending narration of Estonian history; the trials and tribulations of families including the author’s when the erstwhile Soviet Union and Germany in turn annexed Estonia. Kaia in the backdrop of foreign occupation and World War Two narrates the travails her family and many other Estonians faced…

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Feathery Tourists

A Kookaburra came to visit our backyard garden. It sat over our Bitter Gourd bush and monitored my work in the garden. It watched intently and swayed its neck as if approving my hard work. Kookaburras are plenty around our place. They work as alarm clock for us. Early morning they cackle in unison around 4 in the morning. Irritating yes, but useful for those who have early morning work. The…

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The Master Story Teller

I am reading “The Collected Short Stories of Roald Dahl” and am absolutely hooked on the stories. RD in his stories abandons all niceties to depict the macabre in humans. There is humor in his stories, albeit of a darker shade. Some of the stories depict karma that is, situations blow up on the perpetrator’s face. As in life, not every story has a happy ending and one is left wondering. Word of…

[udaydhall]

Seamless Supply

What job would you do for free? I am happy to supply free smiles to everyone. It sounds too good to be true. Doesn’t it ? So I must confess that not all my smiles are genuine, but they are free.