Varadharajan Ramesh's Blog, page 9
August 1, 2018
Eventuality – Friday Fictioneers
[image error]
Ria walked through the dilapidated house with a grace that belied her age. She paused by the ornate French windows and smiled ruefully.
‘This place was designed by Angelo Del Vecchio. He billed by the minute, you know?’
She stepped out to the garden overrun by nettles and weeds.
‘I used to host tea parties here when I was a kid.’
She stopped outside the derelict solarium and choked back a sob.
‘What happened? It was so beautiful.’
‘Age and neglect, Madam.’
She ran a shriveled finger over her parched face.
‘Ah, yes!’
The once dream-girl walked away in silence.
Written in response to the picture prompt provided by Sandra Cook for Friday Fictioneers hosted by Rochelle Wisoff – Fields. Please find other entries here.
Word Count: 100
July 31, 2018
Those Stolen Moments
[image error]
August 6
8:10 AM
‘Well, this is nice. A lovely little break from the madness of everyday.’ Kumiko smiled at Haruto. They walked hand in hand towards the restaurant of the five star hotel for breakfast.
‘You look beautiful, Kumiko-chan.’
‘And you look handsome, anata!’
Haruto grinned with a boyish charm that made Kumiko’s heart skip a beat. She hadn’t seen this smile in months. She thanked the heavens for small pleasures in life.
‘Look, there’s a shoe store inside this hotel. Shall we take a look?’
‘Anything for you, Kumiko-chan. Lead the way.’
The store attendant welcomed them despite the early hours. Business wouldn’t begin until ten, but he had no intentions of sending away the young couple disappointed. Anything to see few smiles during these dark days.
‘Please take your time to try the shoes. The best shoe store in Hiroshima is at your disposal.’
Kumiko beamed, ‘Did you listen to that, anata? I have all the time in the world to try out these pretty shoes.’
31000 ft above them, the USAF Enola Gay prepared to drop the ‘Little Boy.’
Written for FFfAW hosted by Priceless Joy. Thank you PJ and Yinglan for this week’s prompt. Please read other entries here.
July 25, 2018
Family – Friday Fictioneers
[image error]
‘Do you like dolls?’
Jeannie nodded, her tired blue eyes lighting up for a nanosecond. Joanie took the girl’s hand and squeezed it slightly.
‘I promise, I’ll get you a lot of those cute dolls once we reach the promised land. Ok?’
Joanie looked into his eyes, ‘Are you sure, Jonny? I’ve seen promises turn to ash.’
Jonny looked into her eyes, ‘A month ago, we were strangers. War ripped our families into shreds. But here we are, a new family that rose from the ashes.’
‘Maybe, that should be our new surname – Phoenix.‘
They walked towards the boats together.
Word Count: 100
I return to the tribe of Friday Fictioneers after a few months and it’s fantastic to be back. Thank you, Rochelle for hosting and Ted for providing the prompt. Please click here for other stories.
July 24, 2018
OOPS! – FFfAW175
[image error]
Circle bottom right, fairly innocuous. Hope he doesn’t cross the centre, let’s see if we can have some fun here!
Cross, bottom left! Alright!
Circle, middle right. I hope he thinks I’m naive.
Cross, middle right. Stupid idiot! You’ve handed the game to me. Circle, top left. Haha, I win!
Cross, top mid! Is he really an idiot? Looks like it. Buddy, you take the next move. Cross, top right.
Buddy boy, you should be embarrassed! I move my wrist in a lazy arc as the centre box is filled with a circle.
I WIN!
I lift my head and stare straight into the barrel of a Remington 870 Pump action gun. My fingers freeze on the hilt of my pithy Colt.
‘You meant to lose all along.’
I didn’t ask, I just said.
He nodded, I nodded.
Boom!
Written for FFfAW hosted by Priceless Joy. Thank you, PJ. This week’s tactoe is from Yarnspinnerr! Thank you, YS.
Word count: 137
July 21, 2018
Varad’s Opinions
[image error]
Book Name: Spicy Trail
Author: Shipra Trivedi
Book Blurb: The intent of this book is to give a brief of 26 different spices in 26 chapters. Each chapter has one spice, its attributes, history, and ayurvedic benefits. Get set go on a spicy trail!
Initial Thoughts: What made me pick a book about Indian Spices when my preferred genre is fiction? Initially, I was not so sure. I read few of the author’s posts on the Indian Spices during the AtoZ blogging challenge in April. What attracted me towards this book was the earnestness on display. The author has taken a relatively dry subject and made it very interesting with her little wholehearted approach.
What Works:
Language: Lucid, Simple and Crisp. Very easy to read and the author makes sure not to ramble on and on which I highly appreciate.
Images: The author has selected good pictures of each and every spice. All you need to do is take the pdf copy of this book in your mobile to the nearest spice shop and show them the picture of what you want. Nothing works better than a good picture.
History: How to emphasize on something’s importance? Portray its history. The author has clearly done her research into the history of each and every spice. While the history part will not help you if you have a cold or cough, it definitely makes reading the book very interesting.
Medicinal value: Yes, our country has been blessed with a treasure trove of amazing natural medicines in the form of herbs and spices. Are you bothered by acidity? Why don’t you pop in half a tablespoon of kalaunji (whole onion seeds) and wash it with warm water instead of running to the nearest medical shop for an Aciloc or Digene? The author has indicated each and every spice’s use and medicinal value very clearly. Kudos.
Personal Touch: The author has added her own personal touch through ‘Dadi Maa ka Nuskha.’ Simple and effective home remedies as it has been handed through generations and that is what makes this book connect. Some, you already might know from your grandmother and many you’ll just go ‘wow, that sounds easy and amazing!’
Final Thoughts: Download this book ASAP. Two enthusiastic Thumbs Up!
The book can be downloaded for free from this link. The author blogs at http://www.vibhuandme.com/
Click the link to follow the author on twitter
July 14, 2018
Ballad of the Boy
[image error]
There was once a little boy
All of one and seven
He picked a tattered tome
Read it and went to heaven
Days and nights he sat
With books around him spread
Faraway lands and castles
Knights and Musketeers in his head
He laughed and cried and sang
Worried and worshipped with them
Twist and D’Artagnan and Fogg
Every adventure a gem
All he ever wanted
Was to imagine and write
A book, a story, a tale
Of valor, chivalry, and might
He filled pages and lines
With stories of yore
Neglected his studies and exams
His life immersed in lore
His results disappointed his family
The boy felt too much shame
shelved his love for books
Focused on making a name
Half and a full decade rolled past
The boy was now a man
Had a job and a family
He took the ball and ran
Seven years ago he felt
The beginning of an itch
The urge to write came roaring
As if he’d flipped the switch
He enrolled for a course
And started a blog
Learnt a lot about techniques
but writing? T’was definitely a slog
Few more years rolled by
The boy was now a father
Nowhere close he was
To becoming an author
Everything changed this April
He wrote a story every day
About family, love, and killers
He had a book come May
Seven long years it took
With his destiny a tryst
Go read his book, it’s called
[image error]
July 12, 2018
Flash In The Pan
[image error]
Kumar Gaurav, Hrishikesh Kanitkar, Vijay Bharadwaj, Chumbawamba, Gracy Singh, Ed Giddins, Vanilla Ice…
Raise your hands if you went, ‘Oh! I’ve heard that name somewhere. He/She was this famous so and so, right? Wow, I’ve totally forgotten about them. Wonder what they are upto now?’ at least once.
The above names, no offense intended, were famous albeit for a very short period of time. There are millions of such names if you consider different vocations and locations.
Fame is indeed a fickle thing. Some are able to handle their fame and its loss, while others are not. I often wonder about the mindset of such ‘flash in the pans’ and ‘one hit wonders.’ How were they able to accept the reality that their fame was only shortlived and they have just been forgotten? A lot of them do accept and get on with their life. But, many don’t and unfortunately we have seen few names as victims of suicide, arrested for drug possession, prostitution, violent conduct, scandals etc…
This was what I contemplated while considering today’s prompt ‘Six Minutes of Fame’ and I used it to pen the following Haiku.
walking in the park
wearing my once famous smile
someone see me, please.
[image error]
July 10, 2018
Architect of Destruction
[image error]
Give me five
and fifty millennia, I will
invent the wheel
tame fire
take baby steps towards
evolution and
drive magnificent beasts to
extinction
Give me five
thousand years, I will
build cities
of opulence and grandeur and
pave their streets of hubris
with nature and its debris
conquer the seven seas
create and develop fine
arts and instruments
of war. I will create
gods, I am a God!
Give me five
hundred years, I will
wage holy wars
for religion and trade
supremacy over my
fellow Gods, the beauty
of this world unmade.
Give me five
decades, I will
split an atom and its nucleus
use it
to cure and destroy
diseases and denizens
struck down with
God’s might, or
Human spite?
Give me five
years, I will
vote in, vote out
fools and charlatans
I am the
patron saint of fake puritans
Give me five
days, I will
create a sensation
for eyeballs
real issues flushed
down the loo
TRP ratings my Gita,
Bible and Quran too
Give me five
minutes, I will
plunge a rusty knife,
fire a bullet,
plough a car, or just
fling some acid
anything for love,
money, or lust
satiate my inner beast
Give me five
seconds, I will
hurl an abuse
send a nasty
tweet, and hide
behind my keyboard
a modern day warrior
a social media knight
Now,
Give me five
million years,
the Universe awaits
its architect
[image error]
July 8, 2018
TECHNOLOGY [An Acrostic]
Tooth that is blue, teaching the value of sharing
Everyday life made simple, all with a click
Countries and continents, a ping away
Hours of entertainment blanket
Nuggets of wisdom accrued from the videos
Online we go, to earn and spend. Is that
Love you need?
Oh yeah, got it from all four corners of the world too
Global village is our realm
Yet we remain, aliens in the same room
[image error]
July 5, 2018
One Love [Prompt: Three’s A Crowd]
There was once a man
who fell in love
with his smartest partner yet
a black beauty
she of ethereal glow
and a smooth body
perfect contours in tow
Her knowledge was vast
and her voice sweet
She gave him what he wanted
He thought life was
oh-so neat!
His wife hated him
He neglected her a lot
Took their kids and left
She let him to rot
Our hero didn’t care,
now that
he had more time to spare
He spent his days locked
inside his room with
the one he loved
Two is company, but
Three’s a crowd
They played games together
and read a lot of books
She knew all the recipes
as long as he was the cook
She sang to him and
made him sing too
She wasn’t selfish
She let him chat up
other women too
His friends stopped calling
He didn’t bother a jot
Blinded by his love
A man they forgot
One day his heart failed
She tried everyone
No one responded
Maybe, they didn’t care
And that’s how they found him
Dead and alone
Lying next to him
His one truelove,
his precious
smartphone.
[image error]
