The second part of the story – Poetry in a Night Train “A blank ivory square of brightness”. I didn’t know emptiness is more expressive in light than it is in darkness until I began to travel with a poetry book. Especially on trains at nights. Or else why should yellow lights and lanterns scald my soul so deep in a journey! Tell me, dear reader. Do you too feel depressed in a night train at the sight of a … Continue reading
Read the 1st part of The Alathur Yakshi before you to get down to this story. Click here for the First Part. Long ago a man went to a festival in a distant village. It was late night when the temple closed and he decided to return. As he was walking back along a deserted road in the darkness, he was stopped by a figure who asked him for a matchbox to light a beedi. He gave it to him. When … Continue reading
Almost all my students have already heard this story in bits and crumbs. I always refused to go into detail even when they press me hard. Well, here’s what happened that night. “Mashe, you’re lying! We know you haven’t seen any ghost. Rubbish! No sane man would believe your tale.” For a moment, I didn’t speak but read his nervous face with the serene eyes of an old sage. Then I sighed deeply. I put my arm on his shoulder. … Continue reading
Statutory warning: There are no ghosts in this story. But I met a man who wanted to take me to the edge of my known world. “We call it a grain of sand But it calls itself neither grain nor sand” – Wislawa Szymborska Twelve years ago a morning, I was scouring the city in my bike for a potential prey. My deadline was fast coming; I must submit a story for the column, ‘Face in the Crowd,’ in the … Continue reading
