Enthralling Trails

“There are souls in this world who have the gift of finding joy everywhere, and leaving it behind them when they go.”   ―   Frederick William Faber Bhola, a Maruti   Zen car   was manufactured in the Manesar plant in Gurgaon, Haryana. It was painted white  with a black bumper, and had gleaming neon headlights as it rolled into Mr. Suresh’s home in   Hyderabad . It was one of the new cars Suresh had bought owing to the looks and zero maintenance. It was also a gift for his little daughter Chingi who was growing. He drove it straight to Car Shringar and got ‘ Chingy’s ’ engraved on the glass at the back of the car. Chingy had a beautiful curly haired younger cousin sister called   Bundu   who was a regular visitor. Her father owned a dark Olive Green Maruti 800. Whenever Bundu visited Chingy’s family with her parents, the Maruti 800 was parked near Bhola, the Zen. It was during those long waits that Bhola came to know about the whole family as the Maruti 800 had lived with Bundu

“Love is that condition in which the happiness of another person is essential to your own.”   ―   Robert A. Heinlein Raghu stood all dressed and ready  to go to his native place. He looked older than his eight years in the trousers, leather jacket and cap. These were gifts from his uncle whom he called lovingly Tanmama. His uncle liked the name much more than his original name Tanmay. Raghu was  a favourite in his maternal home as he was the eldest grandson. At the age of eight, it looked as if he was eighteen in mellowness. His mother had recently joined a beauty parlour as an assistant to the well known beautician Kalpana in the main bazaar. It meant a lot of drudgery along with the long working hours. Raghu never minded her absence as he was grown-up enough to appreciate the need of money owing to his admittance in one of the best schools in Pune. Raghu was sincere and a great help to his parents yet his mother Geetha missed being with Raghu as she believed that it was a g

“People are like water: Many rush, pass you, as some will over-flood. Some will drown you, or force you to go to their current ways” - A nthony Liccione It was late in the morning, the visitor had thrown a mango at the monkey in the man-made forest. The monkey picked it, peeled it delicately with its teeth and paws and began eating it. It licked its paws  and devoured the mango till a shining seed was left, it then flung it far away. The seed got buried in the soil and after a few months germinated to see the stunning world. The mango sapling was dug from the soil by a compassionate visitor and planted in Chennai near the huge Banyan tree on the outskirts of the city near his sister’s house..  The mango sapling looked at the world enthusiastically as this place seemed better than the quiet forest it grew in. There were children who loved him. Ramu, the gang leader never forgot to gobble its pink leaves. It pained him to see that the leaves were never allowed to photosynthes

Touch the underside of a penny you find   on the street Doesn't feel any different unless you close your eyes ―   Dave Matthes The newspaper had a last corner reserved for an article on the Dombaris. The producer of the film expressed about his oncoming  film that tackled the lives of gypsies in India called Dombaris. T he   Domba   or   Dom   ( Sanskrit   ḍoma , dialectally also   Domaki, Dombo, Domra, Domaka, Dombar, Dombari   and variants) are an  ethnic     or   social group , or groups, scattered across   India . (wiki . 0rg) Dombaris are nomads therefore do not have Adhar Card or any other proof of identity. Their moves are dangerous and once in a while they die performing the act. It caught my eyes owing to the association of the word with the Telugu language. It hasn’t been long since I met a Dombaris family.  The large open space between the shops in the open lane leading to Chintamani Chowk in Pune has an array of people occupying the space periodically. Just