Poems and Fiction

Spring Is About To End High Time For Answers -Ashish Spring is about to end. The visitors had a good time and its time they return back to their reality. At breakfast they say that they would like to come back next year. Nearly all guest say the same thing when they go. A few faithfully return but for the most of them once is enough. ‘Overlook hotel’ has the most beautiful view of the valley in the whole County. Chilling weather with a huge shower of snow was a surprise for the new guests. There is an old graveyard on the road back of the hotel, nearly 1 mile away. Every Saturday I take a walk to the burial ground through the dead silent road. I sit next to the tombstone of Mrs. Whiteman. For now, she is in some sort of solitary confinement. I really want to dig deep in the ground to look for her and find out what’s really going on down there. Death no more lives here, as according to the records since last three years not a single corpse has been here. But there is an off...

A GOOD DEED - Utkarsh Sharma 4. The good deed (4/4) I first went to the ‘Marine lines’. I walked the whole stretch, mesmerized. The sound of the sea was blissful. Even though I was all but captivated by the sea a little part of my attention was continuously over my phone. After walking the whole stretch I headed towards The Gateway of India. I could’ve taken a bus or taxi but I felt like walking. Moreover I didn’t want to spend much before I start earning for real. (image:https://en.wikipedia.org) The Gateway of India was the most crowded place that I have seen in my entire life. There were people everywhere. I made my way through the crowd towards the Gateway. The gateway was huge. I roam around it for a while. It was then that I received a call. My heart jumped out. I was all but sure that it was Uncle Ramjit calling me for the interview. I took the phone out of my pocket. It was Aai, calling from Kolhapur. My heart was now beating with a normal pace. We had a ...

A GOOD DEED - Utkarsh Sharma 3. Chawl No. 23 (3/4) (image: www.flickr.com) Even though my bag was lost. I tried to console myself with the fact that I was going to get a job. Which will bring an end to all my sorrows. With this in mind I headed towards the address Uncle Ramjit gave me. I couldn’t take the train incident out of my mind during my way to the address Uncle Ramjit has sent. With a heavy heart and a sad face I reached the place. ‘Chawl no. 23.’ Uncle Ramjit was sitting outside in a chair with three other men. ‘Hi, Laxman!’ exclaimed Uncle Ramjit as he got up from his chair and gave me a tight hug. ‘Hello, Uncle Ramjit’ I said with a soft voice. ‘What happened, son?’ Uncle Ramjit sensed the aura of sadness I was surrounded by. I told him everything in detail. ‘Oh! So the city of Mumbai has already introduced herself to you’ He said with a little smile consoling me. ‘Cheer up, now. What happened is in the past now.’ He poi...

A GOOD DEED -Utkarsh Sharma 2. Mayanagri (2/4)                              (image: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jogeshwari_railway_station) I arrived at Jogeshwari station which was about 25 kilometres from the city of Mumbai. The place was ten times more crowded than the biggest cattle shed in my village. Uncle Ramjit had sent me a text message earlier containing the full address of the ‘chawl’ where I can reside for a few weeks. I kept my luggage down so that I could take a look at the address from my mobile phone. ‘Chawl no 23. Station road, jogeshwari east, jogeshwari, Mumbai ’ I kept my mobile back in my pocket and bend to pick up my bags. A bolt out of the blue stuck me when I found one of my bags missing. I ran my eyes everywhere possible. The huge mass around me made it impossible to find an open space. My eyes ran, fastidiously, over every person to some distant. All in vai...

A GOOD DEED -Utkarsh Sharma 1. Departure (1/4) ‘Are you sure you packed everything?’ ‘Yes, Baba.’ ‘How will you live there all alone by yourself?’ asked aai. This is the biggest moment in his life. Don’t hold him back emotionally.’ said baba. ‘I will be all right aai. I should leave now.’ Baba helped me with the luggage while I was taking blessings from aai who was reluctant for me to leave. “Have a safe journey, son. Take care of yourself and remember ‘a good deed always comes around’. ‘A good deed always comes around.’ Aai has been saying this since my childhood. The earliest memories of mine consists of aai addressing this phrase to me and my other juvenile cousins. She never took a break from preaching kindness and hospitality. She treats everyone with warmth and with a ‘smile’. She also makes it sure that her teachings of goodwill and generosity is implanted within me too. Nevertheless, her efforts didn’t go in vain. After an ...