Ranjit Kulkarni's Blog

The Doctor���s Appointment

Swami looked restless even before we sat down at the caf��. His phone screen was glowing with multiple tabs open. I recognized the familiar pattern ��� Swami was in the middle of a health scare.

���Jigneshbhai!��� he said in a hushed, urgent voice. ���Last night I had this dull ache in my shoulder. I googled it. Do you know what it could be?���

Across the table, Jigneshbhai calmly stirred his coffee. ���Hmm,��� he said.

���It could be heart disease. Or early signs of arthritis. Maybe even a nerve problem! The internet said it might also be a vitamin deficiency.���

Jigneshbhai took a sip of his coffee and smiled faintly. ���Or it could just be a shoulder ache, Swami.���

By then Swami had pulled out his notes app. He had listed at least twelve possible diagnoses, each scarier than the last.

���I booked an appointment with Dr. Menon this evening,��� he said. ���But what if he misses something? Doctors are busy these days. We have to be alert. We have to do our own research.���

Jigneshbhai raised an eyebrow. ���If you���ve already diagnosed yourself, what���s Dr. Menon supposed to do? Prescribe coffee?���

Swami ignored the jab and kept scrolling. ���I also checked possible treatments. Some websites said surgery. Others suggested supplements. Do you think I should get a second opinion?���

Jigneshbhai smiled. ���You���re already on your fifth opinion, Swami. Four from the internet, one from yourself.���

When evening came, I went along with them to the doctor���s clinic. Swami clutched his notebook full of symptoms, ready to present his case. Jigneshbhai sat back in the waiting room with a steaming cup of coffee from the kiosk outside.

Ten minutes later, Swami came out looking sheepish.

���What happened?��� I asked.

���The doctor said it���s probably just a muscle strain. He told me to rest, no badminton for a few weeks, avoid Google, and drink plenty of water.���

���And coffee?��� Jigneshbhai asked, his eyes twinkling.

Swami sighed. ���He didn���t mention coffee.���

Jigneshbhai leaned back, smiling knowingly. ���That���s because some things are best left unsaid.���

In a world where every symptom leads us to search engines, we forget that not every ache needs a diagnosis.

Sometimes, the best prescription is patience ��� and a hot cup of coffee.

***

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The Lost Kingdom

When Nikhil and I set out on that trip, we weren���t expecting royalty. But Domli had other plans.

It started with a phone call from the Rani Saheba herself ��� her voice filled with pride about her great-grandfather, Tribhuvansinhji Bapu, a Cambridge-educated ruler who once gave his kingdom modern sewage systems and cricket grounds. Her words carried both nostalgia and complaint: that history had forgotten her ancestor���s legacy. Before we knew it, we had been invited as ���guests of royalty.���

Royal guests, of course, don���t refuse.

Three days later, we found ourselves not in a palace, but in a crumbling hotel, run by one old man who played every role: cook, caretaker, housekeeper, and waiter. He never forgot to remind us, with a bow, that we were ���Rani Saheba���s guests.���

The rooms were enormous, creaking, and eerily empty. The food, however, was warm and heavy with ghee, offered with the insistence of someone who had nothing else to give but his hospitality.

Then arrived Khetobaji, the royal family���s lifelong retainer, who took us to see the palaces. First, the ���old palace,��� where Ambalika Devi, the Rajkumari, spoke with longing about the past while showing us dark corridors and cobwebbed halls. Then, the ���new palace,��� where the reigning Rani Saheba and Raja Saheb served us snacks, weaving between heritage pride and business pitches about converting rooms into a hotel.

It felt less like visiting royalty and more like wandering through the ruins of ambition.

Later that night, we overheard hushed voices ��� servants speaking about unpaid wages, court cases between family members, and a dynasty cracking under its own weight. Their words echoed louder than the royal proclamations we���d heard all day.

Domli, once a kingdom with gun salutes and grandeur, was now a fading memory. Its royals, prisoners of their own past, unable to embrace the present, still clung to titles, portraits, and stories.

When we left at dawn, we slipped some cash into an envelope for the old caretaker. Above his sleeping body, a portrait of Tribhuvansinhji seemed to weep.

Every place has its stories. Some are written in history books. Others linger quietly in forgotten palaces, in voices that carry both pride and pain.

Not all kingdoms are lost to conquest. Some are lost to time, to memory, and to the unwillingness to let go.

***

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Swami���s Storm in a Coffee Cup

When we met last weekend, Swami was staring at his phone as if it had just been delivered the end of the world. His coffee sat untouched, growing colder by the second, while Jigneshbhai and I enjoyed our slow sip.

���Friends,��� he said, his voice trembling, ���I think I am ruined!���

Jigneshbhai, sitting across from him, stirred his coffee slowly, as though he had all the time in the world. He didn���t even look up.

���Hmm,��� he said, taking a sip and a bite of the double chocolate muffin.

���You don���t understand!��� Swami nearly shouted. ���A post from the wedding of an office colleague that I attended last week has gone viral ��� because of me, and for all the wrong reasons!���

He thrust his phone in Jigneshbhai���s face. I leaned over to take a look.

It was a blurry photo of Swami at a wedding. He was caught with plate in hand in the middle of a bite, eyes wide, his mouth wide open, looking like he was trying to swallow the camera.

The comments below were merciless:

���Looks like someone just realised he has to pay for the dessert ���

���When you realize the samosas are over.���

���Is this a new yoga pose?���

���I can���t show my face at work,��� Swami groaned, burying his head in his hands. ���They have tagged me and Raichand and everyone else. This is a disaster! The internet never forgets.���

Jigneshbhai calmly stirred another spoon of sugar into his cup.

���The internet moves fast, Swami,��� he said, finally looking up. ���Faster than you think.���

Swami blinked. ���But I am stuck with this pic. Do you understand what that even means?���

Jigneshbhai smiled, that knowing, infuriating smile of his that triggered Swami.

���I am going to be the laughingstock at office next week. And forever.���

Jigneshbhai smiled again, this time munching calmly into his chocolate muffin.

���By tomorrow, someone else will have a new photo, a new scandal, a new drama. While you,��� he gestured at Swami���s coffee, ���will still have this cup, untouched. Your embarrassing pic will turn cold faster than this coffee.���

Swami stared at the cup, then back at his phone, clearly torn between deleting his account and taking a sip. Thankfully, he decided on sipping his coffee.

***

Meet Jigneshbhai & Swami

From the Jigneshbhai & Swami series ��� everyday stories of humour, wisdom, and the art of staying calm in a restless world.

Enjoyed this story?
Find more like this in my eBook collections on the Author eStore or get updates on my writing by joining my newsletter below.
You can also follow my updates on Facebook, Instagram or WhatsApp ��� wherever your next coffee break takes you.

��� Ranjit Kulkarni

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The Ping War at Keshav Kunj

Ping. Ping. Ping-ping-ping.

The phone wouldn���t stop buzzing that morning. I glanced at the screen. It was our apartment WhatsApp group ��� the one meant for ���important updates only.���

The thing about the Keshav Kunj WhatsApp group is this: it always starts with good intentions. Someone shares a helpful reminder, like ���Garbage pickup time has changed to 8:30 am.��� Another person replies politely: ���Thanks for the update.���

And then��� it happens.

The slow slide from civility to chaos.

It generally takes no more than three messages.

This time, it began innocently enough with a single message:

���Please keep garbage bags outside your door by 8 am.���

Before I could put my phone down, another message popped up:

���8 am is too early! Some of us are still asleep.���

Then another:

���If you wake up late, it���s your problem. Don���t blame others!���

I sighed. It was only 8:10 am.

By 8:12 am, someone had changed the topic completely:

���And while we���re at it, dogs are barking all night! This is becoming unbearable.���

At 8:13 am, someone else jumped in to defend the dogs.

���Put your garbage bags out, it will be breakfast time for the dogs. The barking will stop.���

At 8:14 am, another message appeared about the shortage of water in B Wing.

By 8:15 am, the group was a full-blown battlefield.

Garbage, dogs, water ��� everything was under debate.

I stared at the screen, half amused, half horrified.

The pings came so fast I couldn���t even read them.

There were now factions forming:

Early Garbage Pickers vs Late Risers Gang

Outright Dog Haters Activists vs What to do about Dog Lovers Group

The Water Crisis Coalition vs Everything Is Fine Brigade

And then there was that one guy ��� every group has one ��� who kept sending ���Good Morning��� messages with fifteen flowers , completely ignoring the war raging above his post.

The grand finale came when someone accidentally shared a personal voice note meant for another chat. Let���s just say it had nothing to do with garbage, dogs, or water ��� and everything to do with their mother-in-law.

The group went silent for twenty seconds. Till the voice note was deleted.

Then the pings returned, louder than ever.

Finally, the group admin stepped in with a message in all caps:

���PLEASE KEEP THIS GROUP CIVIL. ONLY USE FOR IMPORTANT UPDATES.���

For five glorious minutes after that message, there was peace.

The silence was beautiful.

I thought maybe, just maybe, we���d all learned our lesson.

And then, at 8:21 am, a new message appeared:

���Does anyone know why the lift isn���t working?���

And so, it began all over again.

At Keshav Kunj, the everyday drama doesn���t stop.

It just��� pings.

Life at Keshav Kunj

If you���ve ever been in a WhatsApp group that took on a life of its own, you���ll find something familiar ��� and funny ��� in my collection 2 BHK for Rent, short stories from Keshav Kunj, part of my anthology Everyday Epics.

[Explore the full collection ��� at my estore]

***

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Pics and Author-Signed Copy

Sharing some pics from the book signing event at the Climbing the Mountain launch.

Thanks everyone, and hope you are enjoying reading it.

Share your pics with the book on social media if you like it!

If those who missed the event would like to order an author-signed copy, you can place your order here.

[https://rzp.io/rzp/authorsignedcopy]

Each copy will be personally signed and sent with a note of gratitude. Shipping in India only. Limited copies.

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Jobs, Money and Stories

Most of our adult lives revolve around jobs and money.

But ask two people what a job is for, and you���ll get two different answers. Ask them what money is for, and again the answers will vary. The truth is, our views on these two things reveal more about us than we realize.

I spent more than two decades in corporate life, surrounded by questions and answers about jobs and money. Even now, many of my friends still live in that world, so our conversations often circle back to those topics.

It���s no surprise then that many of my stories are populated by characters shaped by jobs and money.

For some, their job and the money it brings are central to their identity. These are the driven corporate honchos whose status depends on their work. In Stuck on the Mezzanine and Symbiosis, protagonists like these find themselves thrown into situations where the tide turns against them, forcing them to face the fragility of what they took for granted.

Sometimes these tales turn satirical. Rahul and Damodar Das is about a CEO threatened by a robot who, the board believes, can do his job better. It���s a comic reflection on corporate absurdities ��� the kind anyone who���s worked in an office will recognize.

For others, jobs and money are simply a means to an end, not something to lose their freedom over. These misfits refuse to pay the price of complete conformity. Full and Final Settlement tells the story of one such character caught in the mind games of an insecure boss.

And then there are the optimisers ��� the ones trying to balance career ambitions with personal lives. The Perfect Couple is a lighthearted tale of an employee trying to impress his boss through his wife���s cooking, and the wife who���s less than impressed with the plan.

I never set out to write ���corporate stories.��� I began with characters, and they happened to emerge from the world I knew best ��� the world of jobs and money. Over time, those characters found their way into collections like Potpourri and Melange.

Maybe one day, I���ll write a set focused entirely on the corporate office ��� jobs, money, and the many dramas they generate. Because in the end, jobs and money aren���t just about livelihoods. They���re also about the stories they create.

Explore More Stories
If you���ve ever laughed at your boss, stressed about your job, or questioned the role of money in your life, you���ll find familiar characters in Potpourri and Melange, part of my Everyday Epics anthology.

[Explore the full collection ��� at my estore]

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Swami���s Discount Whirlwind

Swami stormed into the caf�� last weekend, phone in hand, eyes wide like he had just discovered a hidden treasure.

���Jigneshbhai!��� he shouted, waving the phone so wildly that I almost spilled my coffee.

���You won���t believe the deals I just found!���

Across the table, Jigneshbhai calmly stirred his coffee. He didn���t look up. He didn���t even flinch.

���Hmm,��� he said, the single syllable carrying more calm than Swami���s entire body language.

���Look at this!��� Swami thrust the phone in front of Jigneshbhai���s face.

���Fifty percent off these shoes. I don���t even need them right now, but how can I let such a bargain go?���

Jigneshbhai took a slow sip of coffee.

���And this,��� Swami continued, swiping furiously, ���thirty percent off an air fryer! Think about it ��� healthy snacks, less oil, more savings!���

Before Jigneshbhai could respond, Swami was on to his next discovery.

���Buy-one-get-one-free on selfie sticks! I don���t even use one, but who knows when it might come in handy?���

I bit into my muffin, watching this show unfold, wondering if Swami would even breathe between sentences.

Finally, Swami paused, taking a deep breath.

���Jigneshbhai, this is practically like saving money! If I buy all of this now, I���m actually profiting.���

Jigneshbhai stirred his coffee again, the spoon clinking softly against the cup.

���Swami,��� he said slowly, ���a discount is only valuable if you needed it before it was discounted.���

The words landed like a splash of cold water over a raging fire. Swami blinked. His scrolling stopped. He looked at his phone, then at Jigneshbhai, then back at his phone, clearly torn between deleting his cart or checking out before the deal expired.

I chuckled quietly, almost choking on my muffin.

***

Meet Jigneshbhai & Swami

From the Jigneshbhai & Swami series ��� everyday stories of humour, wisdom, and the art of staying calm in a restless world.

Enjoyed this story?
Find more like this in my eBook collections on the Author eStore or get updates on my writing by joining my newsletter below.
You can also follow my updates on Facebook, Instagram or WhatsApp ��� wherever your next coffee break takes you.

��� Ranjit Kulkarni

The post Swami���s Discount Whirlwind appeared first on Ranjit Kulkarni.

New Book: Climbing a Mountain

My new book ‘Climbing a Mountain: Short Stories Inspired by Trekking’ is now available on my estore as well as on Amazon.

Here are the links where you can get the book: On my eStore and On Amazon

Here is a short description on what the book is about.

Some mountains aren���t just made of rock and ice.

In this captivating collection of short stories, we meet ordinary people on extraordinary treks, facing the challenges of the Himalayas. Inspired by the author���s own journeys of trekking, these tales go beyond the physical climb to explore the��hidden battles��we all face. While climbing any mountain is an adventure in itself, the real adventure lies within the characters themselves, as they confront their own��personal ���mountains��� in the heart of nature.

Each character is on a quest to conquer a mountain far bigger than the one under their boots:

A couple discovers their��Love isn���t Enough��to scale the mountain of life.A young man seeking freedom and achievement finds��Humble Pie��instead.A middle-aged man searches for��Peace and��gets��Noise.A young woman strives to build her confidence, one step at a time on��A New Summit.A��Tough Old Woman on a Trek��pursues her quest for independence and detachment with love.A man in��Climbing a Mountain, attempting to summit Everest, finds spiritual inspiration from his late mother.

Like Maurice Herzog���s legendary words, ���There are other Annapurnas in the lives of men,��� these stories reveal the unseen peaks we climb every day.��Climbing a Mountain��is a testament to the resilience of the human spirit���a compelling reminder that everyone has a summit to reach.

I hope you consider reading it. Do let me know how you find it.

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The Sleepless Night

At 2 a.m., the world outside was still. Inside my head, it was anything but. I was close to 11,000 feet above mean sea level, trying to sleep in my hotel room.

The ceiling fan whirred softly above me, a steady rhythm that somehow made the silence louder. I thought I was sweating. I turned on my side.

I closed my eyes. I opened them again. Sleep wouldn���t come.

The body wanted to sleep. My mind had other plans. It started believing that my body had developed acute mountain sickness.

It replayed conversations from my previous treks about the symptoms and dangers of AMS. I had no headache in reality. I wasn���t tired. I had no problems eating. Last night���s dinner starting with a hot bowl of garlic soup had been sumptuous.

Old memories about people caught with AMS shuffled in like uninvited guests, bringing along new worries. I got up and drank water. Some more in addition to the four litres I had in the day wouldn���t cause harm, my mind said. I checked my saturation with the pulse oximeter. 96%.

Yet, everything seemed magnified in the dark. Tiny worries ballooned into catastrophes.

Simple choices turned into impossible dilemmas. I opened up my phone and googled ��� a fall into more worry. I decided to turn around tomorrow to go to a lower altitude. For no real reason.

The past and future fought for attention, while the present sat quietly, ignored.

I turned my pillow over, hoping the cooler side might calm my thoughts. It didn���t.

As the hours crept by, the stillness outside began to fade.

A faint light peeked through the curtains. Somewhere in the distance, a dog barked.

The world was waking up just as my mind was wearing itself out. Nothing had changed ��� except me. I was now exhausted, ready for sleep, precisely when the day was ready to begin.

I woke up fresh in time for breakfast. The body was ready for the journey. I wasn���t sure about the mind.

Sometimes, the longest journeys we take are the ones inside our own heads.

The world was asleep. My mind was wide awake.

Explore Everyday Epics

Melange is a collection of stories about restless minds and searching souls, part of my anthology Everyday Epics.

If you���ve ever felt stuck between reality and what your mind makes you believe, you���ll find something of yourself in these stories.

[Explore the full collection ��� at my estore]

***

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Climbing a Mountain: Book Launch

Book Launch Invitation | Climbing a Mountain

Dear friends,

I���m delighted to let you know that the launch of my new book ‘Climbing a Mountain ��� Short Stories Inspired by Trekking’ is scheduled for October 26th, 4 PM to 7 PM at The Bangalore Room, Indiranagar, Bengaluru .

Hemant Soreng – Everest Summiteer will be the Guest of Honor for the event.

For those in Bengaluru, please save the date and time, and join us for an evening of stories, conversations, and reflections on mountains ��� both real and otherwise.

Request you to RSVP using the form below.
https://forms.gle/LyjJqYbEpn77jjEs6

For the others, I will provide updates on the book launch soon.

Thanks and Warm Regards,
Ranjit Kulkarni

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