Published Stories

Stories published in ‘The Hindu’, ‘Yentha.com’ and ‘Readers Digest’.

Freekick: The Day My Wife Almost Divorced Me

“Manu chetta, please sit!” “What?” “Please sit down.” “What’s the matter?” I sat on the other end of the bed, facing my wife (I kept that distance, because I had a sudden hunch something was coming). “Please tell me the truth. Why did you go to Ponmudi with your friends, last Wednesday?” Hell! For a moment, I didn’t understand anything. An interrogation of any sort is not usual at my home. We folks trust each other, and she knows how … Continue reading

Classic Freekick: Suddenly Married

First published in Yentha.com four years ago. A word of warning before you go. If you are an avid beef-eater or a prude or a dandy, please quit now. You are going to read something that disgusts you. This is a true story. So let me change the names of people involved first. “No, I don’t want it, you eat man.” I pushed my plate of red hot beef curry towards my friend. “Don’t compel me. I don’t feel like … Continue reading

Freekick: Ass for Nothing

The pain began near the business end of my alimentary canal three days ago. And pretty soon I found a little lump there. What could that be! I gulped in the toilet. Thank god I have one doctor cousin, one doctor neighbor and many doctor friends to clear my doubts at the initial stage of any problem. But no probing, I decided.  I won’t let them get anywhere near a naked Manu. That part ruled out. “It’s a small lump,” … Continue reading

Honey, I shrunk the Husband!

If you have a weighing machine at home, you should read this story. I weighed 72 and my wife 62. No complaints on that though we secretly wished the figures to drop below 70 and 60 respectively. “No issue, Manu chetta,” Divya cheered me up, “we can always drop a bit of fat when we want.” Life thus was sailing on smoothly, when our family friend breezed in one morning to gift us with his digital weighing machine. “Go digital,” … Continue reading