Jimmy

Inspiration for me has been the biggest motivation. I once read a story that inspired me so much that I had to write a tribute to it, the story below titled Jimmy is a tribute to 'Mohiniattam' a story by The Fool.

A piece of land by the road side, a field once but now a playground, a green blanket of grass for the cows of the village sit touching the compound walls of Muthanna’s home.

A retired forest officer Muthanna was once the king of the jungle that spread across kilometers of land surrounding Bagamandala. Two well built forest guards always by his side, his trusty gun in his tight grip, the neatly ironed bright green uniform covering his wide frame, a thick moustache symbolizing his pride, watching Muthanna walk the streets of Bagamandala fascinated me.

Muthanna was a man who could send a shiver down anyone’s spine with just one glare, the tigers in the mountains, the elephants in the jungle roamed in fear of Muthanna, I always imagined.

One summer when I was ten, postman Ponappa had told me the story of Muthanna slaying a tiger with his bare hands.

"He encountered the beast on his way back to the forest office from his routine inspection, the animal had gone rogue with attempts of killing humans. Muthanna got out of his jeep stared at the tiger, he pulled out his gun and threw it down on the ground and said “I will give you a fair fight at life. He pounced on the tiger bringing it down with several blows. He took a nail from one of its claws as a trophy and hung it around his neck with a gold chain and walked away without a scratch."

After Ponappa left that day, inspired by Muthanna’s courage I had spent many a days walking around our small estate in search of a worthy contender to battle and spent glorious hours holding a small bug looking at it and saying

“I will give you a fair fight at life.”

Muthanna now retired spent much of his time staying indoors or working in his small coffee farm. A contrast to his glorious past, wearing a dhoti and a white mud covered vest, walked around his farm with a stick in his hand. His wife Kamalamma a school teacher at the Government middle school had a few years before she retired as well. Devoid of kids and no relatives close by, their time was mostly spent with just the two fighting or alone by themselves.

Muthanna having lost all his power, his gun and his kingdom had gotten crankier with each passing year. Every single act of his wife irritated him; the salt never seemed to be enough in the food and the sugar always too much in the coffee. She could try hard but could hardly meet his expectations, she was forbidden from the garden which he maintained with utmost care.

“My plants will die if they look at your face.” He always shouted at his wife.

His wife having to deal with his temper spent a lot of her time praying to lord Bagandeshwara for relief from her irritated husband.

Everyone feared Muthanna, anything could tick him off and nobody wanted to come in his way of furry. His trips to the market always ended with him shouting and threatening to kill one or two. Shopkeepers on seeing him on the streets would jump into a prayer hoping he would not enter their shop.

His smiles had faded, the lines on his forehead increased, stubble on his chin and an aging body, Muthanna was no more the man the jungle beasts had once feared.

Along with his wife the children in the playground by his house also faced the wrath of his anger almost everyday. Although having lost several of their cricket balls to Muthanna the kids still took their chance by coming to the ground every evening.

The sight of the playing kids angered Muthanna, their speeding cricket balls could damage his well groomed coffee plants, dirty his white washed compound wall or break the glass of his windows. A stick in his hand ready to whack any kid who dare enter the compounds of his house, he sat on his door steps sipping his evening coffee but keeping a watchful eye on the kids playing in the ground every evening.

Gowri a four year old dog had littered at the corner of the ground about three months back and three grown up puppies roamed the ground in playful mood. One of the three always strayed away from his mother to find his way to Muthanna’s compound.

Jet black shiny coat covering his body, a white patch on his chest, white on his two front paws making him look like he were wearing a pair of gloves and a small white patch at the end of his black tail like a jasmine blooming from the end of a branch, ‘Jimmy’ he was affectionately called by the boys in the play ground.

Kamalamma on a few occasions had fed the dog a piece of dosa which tempted him to walk towards the compound wall. She had once mentioned of bringing home Jimmy, but Muthanna was in no mood to listen to her demands. He had walked out of the room leaving her alone and heart broken.

Everyday morning standing near the compound wall Jimmy would wait for a while for a piece of dosa. Never had he once wandered in the evening, the boys playing in the ground gave me enough attention to keep him occupied. But one evening he dared to enter the compound walls of Muthanna’s house.

Sitting and sipping his evening coffee Muthanna almost missed the dog enter his expanse. Jimmy walked up to him and barked with affection, startled by the sudden shrill noise Muthanna reached for his cane and without a second thought chased away the dog swinging the cane furiously in the air. Jimmy in fear ran away but he was a excited too of the action that had his heart racing faster.

The next evening he walked up to Muthanna again and the same treatment stood waiting for him. A few days passed but his determination didn’t fail, is it the biscuit in my hand or the smell of my coffee, Muthanna couldn’t point a finger at the dog’s attempt to come back to him every evening.

Jimmy like every evening for the past 10 days walked up to Muthanna one day, dark clouds had filled up the blue sky the sun was forced to disappeared behind a dark cloud that roared in furry, soft gray light covered Bagamandala, thunder and a lighting passed by every minute warning of the heavy rains about to lash on the sleepy village. Muthanna looked at the dog, he stood surprised staring at his wagging tail and his energetic bark. Panting with his tongue rolled out he sat erect on his four legs looking at Muthanna with sparkling eyes and no sign of fear.

Muthanna curious, picked up a piece of biscuit and threw it in the air, Jimmy jumped and caught it before it could land on the ground. Excited by his lightning-quick reaction Muthanna threw another piece at the dog, and this time he jumped even higher in the air to catch it.

Realizing that he was holding the empty coffee glass all this time and had run out of biscuits, he walked into the kitchen to wash his glass. Standing by a cement sink he washed the glass and turned around to get a piece of biscuit. Surprised he stood looking at Jimmy who had followed him in. The dog looked at him with his ears bent, a tilt in his head and his eyes fixed at him.

The clouds in the sky roared and the children in the ground shouted with joy when the first drops of rain hit the ground. Muthanna reached down to the dog and smiled.

He petted him for a few minutes before giving him another piece of biscuit.

“Jimmy you want another one?” he asked the dog.

Jimmy barked in response to earn another piece of biscuit.

They walked out to the front yard, a drizzle of rain welcomed them both. Jimmy jumped out on the ground with his mouth wide open at the sky, running around in circles trying to catch the drops of rain in his mouth. Muthanna stood for a few minutes smiling and watching him, not in any mood to control him self he joined Jimmy, running behind him trying to catch him. Excited, Jimmy joined in the game of ‘catch’ with Muthanna and ran around faster. The walls of the compound, the air in the front yard, his dear coffee plants and the cold iron gates all heard the sound of Muthanna’s laughter for the first time in many years.

Kamalamma running back from school was surpised to hear the sound of laughter echoing of her compounds walls, she reached the gate and stood shocked looking at her husband laughing and running behind a dog. Her prayers were finally answered, in shock she stood but a smile took birth on her face, her brow relaxed from the tension it covered, her shoulders felt light as she watched her husband smile.

She stood there quite not wanting the moment to end, fearing her presence might anger her husband.

Muthanna realizing his wife’s entry stopped his game and looked at her with a smile, he smiled at her and called Jimmy at once. Kamalamma could hardly remember the last time Muthanna had smiled. She smiled at him and stood looking at the two play as tears rolled down her cheeks.

Jimmy tore away from Muthanna and ran towards her. He pushed at her leg with his nose and nibbled on her toe calling for her attention. She bent down and placed a kiss on his forehead, he barked at her excited.

Muthanna walked up to her and smiled

"I will make some coffee for you come lets go in before it starts to rain heavy."

Kamalamma had never imagined such a day would come in her life. The dark clouds in her life seemed to have parted away and the smile of the bright sun glowed on her face.

As they walked into the house they stopped and turned to see Jimmy following them in, Muthanna bent down patted his head and smiled at him. He was about to go in when a cricket ball bounced into the compound, terrified kids lined up near the gate with no hope of getting their ball back.

Tossing the ball in the air and catching it, Muthanna walked up to them, following him close stood Jimmy looking at the kids.

He threw the ball back to the kids and said

“I will give you all a fair fight at life.”

Not understanding what he had said but happy to have the ball back the kids ran shouting out in joy. The clouds rumbled and a steady fall of rain touched the ground.

Muthanna smiled and stood at the gate watching the kids run back into the streets leading to the market as lights on the streets lit up and slowly walked out the cloudy evening welcoming the moon lit night.

Orphan

To people who are new to 55 Fiction. It is a genre of fiction writing using only 55 words. A story with only 55 words in it.

Here is my third offering in this genre titled 'Orphan'

Lying naked on the bed she looked at him, they had kissed, fondled; he had forced love onto her. She never smiled nor was she shy. Happiness had travelled miles from her. Orphaned she lay beside him.

There was a knock on the door; she knew there stood another lover waiting to buy her.

Stories from the Kal Bench

Touching the Sky

Far away from the bustling traffic of Bangalore, deep in the heart of Nandini Layout, sat a huge piece of land which was cut into two by a green fence. On one side lay lush green grass with well grown bushes strategically planted on them. A small board stood between them all, threatening people “Stay away from the grass.”

Around it ran a wide cement path, on it were a few benches parked beside well grown trees; which acted as resting points to the walkers and joggers who thronged the place. Beside the lush green lawn, within the circular pathway was a small clearing which served as the laughter club’s workout arena. Retired fathers and in service homemakers tried to laugh away their frowns every evening.

The other part of the land was a stark contrast, with light brown ground, loose mud, no hint of grass anywhere; it wore the look of barren. Most of its mornings and evenings were spent hosting numerous cricket matches, the afternoons though was mostly in company of the hot sun, the light breeze and the occasional rain.

Both the pieces of land had in common, the people and their laughs and watching it all, across the road sat silent in the company of a tree whose name nobody knew, our Kal Bench.

Ashwin and me were first to arrive, we sat waiting for the other two to join us. Now 17, all of us had spent most of our evenings on the Kal bench. Sharing our heart breaks, rejoicing each other’s success, exchanging amma made sweets, resting after hard fought cricket matches and on those rare lonely courageous late nights sharing a cigarette. Kal bench our adda stood witness to many our emotions from our normal middle class life.

"Where is Pradeepa?" Krishna joined us excited.

Ashwin and I both looked towards the empty road mumbling "He'll be here in a minute."

The three of us sat waiting with curiosity for Pradeepa to come join us. Pradeepa had acquired almost star status by becoming the first guy among the people we knew to have traveled in an aero plane. His father's Ltc had covered their family trip to Mumbai.

Metallic golden Top Gear cycle skid to a forced halt.

"Oh Pradeepa" we welcomed him.

Well combed hair wearing a faded red t-shirt and a proud smile, Pradeepa walked up to us and stood facing the bench.

"How was the trip?"

"Which aero plane?"

"How many hours did it take?"

We pounded him with questions.

"Oh it was beautiful." he punched the air softly

"Jet and it took almost 1hour and some twenty-thirty minutes." he spoke like it meant nothing to him. Just brushing dirt off his shoulder.

But we hung onto to his words amazed.

"Tell us everything in detail." Krishna commanded

"Oh you want the details, uh?" Pradeepa started out

"The journey has no words; the experience was better than I had imagined. First we sat in our seats..."

"Was there a cute girl in the seat beside yours?" Ashwin interrupted.

"No maga some uncle sat next to me." Pradeepa lamented.

"Continue" Krishna gestured with his hands.

"So then three air hostess walked in and stood in the passage between the two rows of seats. They started explaining things but it looked like they were doing P.T exercises. But I tell you, each one was more beautiful than the other, and I couldn't decide who was the most pretty..."

"Were they like sexy-beautiful or beautiful-beautiful?" Ashwin cut him again with his unique terms.

"They were beautiful loafer." I hit him softly on his head.

"Yes they were beautiful Ashwin, now continuing. We all strapped our seat belts, the plane hit the run way, a few seconds and it was off the ground. It took off at some 200 or 250 kms speed, full high speed. First it was like full inclined." he explained with his outstretched palm. "Then it slowly became straight"

"I removed my belt and looked out of the window. We passed over the clouds, all I could see the was the blue everywhere. I looked down and the roads looked like thin lines and the vehicles were almost invisible, the buildings mere dots."

We listened patiently to everything he said, opening our mouths only to utter a soft "wow".

"Twenty minutes later, they announced, 'It is now safe to remove the seat belts.' I had like removed them five minutes into the flight. What safe, bloody." he let out a soft laugh, and we smiled trying to imagine, what would have happened if they had found out he had removed the seat belt before the announcement.

'They can't throw him out or stop the flight, it’s not a bus. May be they would have shouted at him.' I thought to myself.

"The captain then welcomed us and told the height at which the plane was flying and the temperature outside. The temperature outside was some -30 degrees. I thought to myself, if the door blows open no need to worry about the parachute, we'll freeze to death in seconds anyway." Pradeepa laughed out and we joined him with a soft clap.

"Was there free food, chocolates?" Krishna asked interested

"Oh Pepsi, the air hostess served me Pepsi."

"Lucky bastard." Ashwin let out his feelings loud

"Oh free Pepsi!" Krishna spoke confirming the theory that free stuff be it small or big is always welcomed with joy.

"Not just that Ashwin, she also smiled at me like six times. Not just a smile, a beautiful smile." Pradeepa patted on Ashwin's shoulder with a teasing grin.

"Was the smile like sexy-beautiful or beautiful-beautiful?" Krishna mocked Ashwin, bringing an instant wave of laughter.

"Ha ha, very funny." Ashwin tried to take the high ground.

"She even gave her address to pass it on to you Ashwin." I tried to join in.

"Ya, but Siddharth stole it from me." Pradeepa betrayed me.

"Bloody perv, Sid" Ashwin tried to trip me in further.

"Look who is talking." the three of us blurted out.

"I'll tell you all something, but I am quite sure you'll not believe it." Pradeepa spoke with confidence.

"No we'll believe you, come on maga." we tried justifying feeling a little offended.

"Guess who I met on the flight?"

"I don't know." I gave up without a try

"Karishma Kapoor." Ashwin grinned.

"Close but not very close." Pradeepa motivated.

"We give up." Krishna spoke on behalf of us.

"Hrithik Roshan." he spoke to our surprise.

"Hrithik Roshan." Krishna repeated out loud

Kaho Na Pyar Hai had released couple months back and Hrithik Roshan was our new Demi God. He had taken up most of our wall space and stood frozen alongside Madhuri Dixit, Kajol, Karishma and Sachin. All of us behind closed door secretly tried copying his dance moves but ended up with only a sprained ankle.

"Did you talk to him? Did you get his autograph, photo?" were all we cared.

"No maga, he was sitting in the front end. Surrounded by his people, we were not allowed near him." Pradeepa spoke dejected.

"Hey but you got to see him." Krishna tried to lift the spirits.

"Hrithik Roshan." Ashwin repeated his name a couple times and shook his head in disbelief.

Our conversation suddenly stopped on seeing Shilpa jog towards us. Soft fingers clenched into a fist, sparkling eyes which looked to have a star studded in them, pink glow on her cheeks, straight silky hair tied into a pony, she was the one that would make anyone look up to the heaven and say "Job well done". She ran past us as if we didn't exist in her world. None of us had the guts to walk up to her and talk to her.

We sat there looking at her run away, like we had for the last one year.

Silence engulfed us for a few minutes; minutes were spent deep in thought and some in imagination. I turned away trying to bring myself back to the reality.

The Sun clearly tired of all the travelling around the sky had now silently slid into the horizon. The sky a soft orange and red now was slowly turning grey. The thunder of laughs from the park was heard no more, joggers and walkers made their way out of the park and onto the road.

Most of the cricket matches had reached a fighting finish, kids walked back to their homes with some still swinging their bats' in air. Some lamenting their choice of play in the lost match walked with slow pace, shaking their heads.

"Pradeepa" his younger sister came looking for him.

He ran up to her to enquire her visit.

The three of us sat silent looking at the people walking out of the park. Our heads suddenly turned skywards on hearing a loud sound. A white dot with wings darted across the grey sky; we looked at it with just one single thought in our head,

"When will I get to touch the sky?"

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Story dedicated to those insignificant nothings, those ordinary moments of life whose beauty most of us have turned blind to. Those evenings spent with friends discussing anything but important.

Glossary

Maga: A Kannada slang equivalent to "dude".

Kal Bench: A mixture of Kannada and English words meaning a "Stone bench".

Time Travel

This post has been published by me as a part of the Blog-a-Ton 8; the eighth edition of the online marathon of Bloggers; where we decide and we write. To be part of the next edition, visit and start following Blog-a-Ton.

"Time Machine, a device that has caught the imagination of the people for decades. One could go ahead in time, or back if one desired." I thought aloud sitting on my bed.

"Where is my bike key?" my elder brother ransacked the cupboards.

"If you had a time machine you could have gone back in time and..."

"Stop bugging me and help me find the key." he cut me. Every jeans pocket was checked and then was flung onto the bed, a huge pile of clothes sat comfortably on the bed, while my brother searched desperately for the bike key.

"Don't just sit there, help me or get out of the room." he pushed me away.

Sitting on the compound wall I looked around the road, my next door neighbor a fellow engineering student was busy on his mobile. The old couple who live a couple houses across where out sitting in their front yard sipping tea. A cricket match was in progress down the street, and just a few yards away five year olds played making weird sounds.

There was a sudden burst of a thought in my head and before the dust could settle my legs had sprang into action and I was across the road walking towards the old couple.

"Time Travel, eh" Swaminathan, the old man sipped his tea.

"Yes, so where do you think you would like to go if you could time travel." I sat back on the wooden chair that squeaked each time I changed my position.

"Radho where would like to go" he smiled at is wife and continued

"I would like to back to the 60s, back to black shining bike. Riding in the Agumbe ghats." he sat back.

"So you used to ride your bike a lot." I encouraged him forward.

"Radho you remember that overtake I did once" he asked his wife with bright eyes and a smile.

"How can I forget that." his wife replied turning to hand me a cup of tea.

"What happened?" I asked eager

"I would like to go back to that day, if I could time travel."

We were riding back from Agumbe; rain lashed on us, visibility was a clear zero. Radho held onto me tight, her face trying to hide behind my back. We were young, we were stupid, we rode in that heavy rain with a song in the heart.

I touched her shivering palm, the warmth I felt on her palm on that cold day will never leave me.

"What are you doing?" she interrupted and brought us back.

"I am just trying to hold my wife's hand" Swaminathan sir replied back

"Is there anything wrong with that young man?" he asked looking at me

"No sir, please continue with the story."

Now that I think, I was a maniac on that bike.

Riding in the ghats I countered corners with great speeds and seldom used the brakes.

Then came two lorries trying to overtake each other. I waited for them to tussle for a little time. Patience was running low, and there looked to be no space to overtake the lorries. Before my brain could realize, I had accelerated and was right between the two lorries. She shouted out in panic and hugged me tight. A few seconds and I had overtaken the two lorries cutting them right in the middle.

"Given a chance, I would go back to that exact moment when she hugged me tight." he looked at his wife.

He held her hand and tapped on the back of her palm gently.

"Those were the days, my son. We would silently escape into a theater without letting anyone back in the house know of it."

"Do you remember 'Abhi na jaao chhodkar'. he asked turning to his wife.

"I can never forget any of those days." she replied back.

Her wrinkled face was red with uncontrollable blushes. She got up and asked if we wanted another cup of tea. We both nodded 'No'. She walked away quickly from us with a bright smile on her face, and I mostly I saw a happy tear in her eyes.

"Swami, walking?" his friends interrupted us.

"Yes coming" he got and left with his walking stick and left me back a smile on my face.

I walked out to the road and stood there for a moment watching the kids play.

I walked up to them and asked them all

"Where would you like to go, if you could time travel?"

"Time travel?" they thought for a second and asked

"Anywhere we want?"

"Anywhere you want, it's a time machine it can take you anywhere you want."

One cute, chubby boy replied

"Jurassic Park."

Everyone shouted out their approval with joy and suddenly started moving and making growing.

"Watch out for that dino, anna" a kid screamed at him

"What dino, I looked at the empty road."

"We are in the Jurassic Park, look at all the dinos" another girl with a cute skirt and a mini mouse t-shirt pointed out to the empty road.

I growled out loud, lifted my arms and walked like a zombie.

"Run everyone the T-Rex is coming at us." the chubby kid shouted out

"Run to the base ship." another shouted out pointed to the parked auto.

I suddenly started running excited, a kid stopped me and said

"Anna you are the T-Rex why are you running away."

They all laughed, while I smiled and said

"No see the T-Rex is back there." and pointed to my neighbor still busy on his mobile.

They laughed again and some clapped with joy.

"Run quickly to the base ship." I shouted out and we all ran towards the auto.

Once inside the base ship I turned to them and asked

"Where are we going now?"

The chubby kid replied

"Remember it's a time machine. It can take you anywhere you want."

The evening slipped away with smiles and laughter. We traveled to meet bala Hanuman, Mickey Mouse and the gang, while busy with our time travel we also bumped into aliens and Superman.

The fellow Blog-a-Tonics who took part in this Blog-a-Ton and links to their respective posts can be checked here. To be part of the next edition, visit and start following Blog-a-Ton.

Power cut Paliya

Sultan Paliya a small village located a hundred kilometers away from Bangalore was fondly called 'Power cut Paliya'. Electricity being a rare visitor to the village, people had got used to living with darkness as their companion for most parts of their lives.

Summer was upon them and water seemed to play hide and seek too. The taps ran dry, the streams where once water gushed with fierce force now played host to cricket matches.

The spirits of the people though seemed to soar high with each passing day, there looked to be excitement in the air, smile on their faces and a purpose in their walk.

The small village was getting ready to host the wedding of Chitakala or Chitae (Butterfly) as she was mostly called, Saraswathamma was bright and smiling and rejoicing the attention her daughter got from everyone. Her father, Mahadevappa, though looked to have taken the tender for frowns, for his face bore nothing more than a tense frown.

Everyone from the village has gathered at Mahadevappa's house, the women helped with the food preparations while the men walked in and out following the orders of Mahadevappa.

Shanbag the village head, Borelinga the man with most acres of coconut fields and vegetable farm sent bags of rice, pulses, wheat and vegetables to show their support.

Shanbag took personal interest on such occasions and would put aside all his work and mostly spend all the time with the bride's father.

There was a constant movement of people from Shanbag's house to Mahadevappa's house, utensils, carpets and bed sheets made their way into Mahadevappa's house.

"Don't waste water" both Mahadevappa and Shanbag kept shouting at the rest.

Aslam the leader among the young boys of the Paliya had taken the responsibility of setting up the pandal and the decorations.

When they were eight year olds, all they did was catch butterfly in the open fields, in the green bushes covered with flowers of bright colours. Chitrakala who couldn't see the sight of a free flying butterfly now captured and forced into a cage silently would free the captured butterfly. Aslam once caught her in the act, and thus took birth her nick name Chitae, and a promise by Aslam and all the boys that none of them ever would hunt a butterfly.

"Pull that string, tight..." Aslam shouted out to his friends.

"Aslam, are you going to pick up Pradeepa?" Mahadevappa interrupted.

"Yes, the bus is at six, we are all going" he smiled.

A group of six waited for Pradeepa at the bus stop. The Tumkur bound bus was scheduled to stop for a few seconds at Sultan Paliya.

Pradeepa the elder brother of Chitae was a dear friend of Aslam and was once the leader of all the young men of the village. He was the fastest swimmer in the village, and the strongest among all, he was every fathers' wish and every kids' role model. But one dull day he left his warm village to take up an office boy job at one of the Tech-Parks in the city.

"Pradeepa!" they all hugged in unison. Broad smiles followed by a pat on Pradeepa's back, ended with handshakes and a few hugs.

Mahadevappa smiled for a split second seeing his son, but the frowns and the shouts were immediately back.

Pradeepa gathered all his friends to a side and asked them to update him on the situation.

Chitrakala ran out to the backyard trying to get herself away from her teasing friends, she looked like a strawberry, red with blushes on her cheeks. The backyard had turned into a make-shift kitchen, Saraswathamma and some women of the village were busy cooking, cutting and cleaning. The soft 'clung' sound of the utensils filled the air and danced with the sweet aroma of the spices.

Seeing Chitrakala enter the backyard, the women smiled and started teasing

"Chitae, see we are preparing peda, we heard it is his favorite."

"Hope you know how to make them?" another added and they all laughed.

"Come sit, have a taste" Saraswathamma moved towards her

"No I still have to get my mehandi done" Chitae ran away realizing, being with her friends is far more comfortable than with the elderly.

"She is looking so beautiful..." the conversations continued among the women.

"Tavarura bitu, avna manege hontae, namana nee maribyada..." (You are now leaving the house you grew up in and are moving to your husband's house, but don't forget us.)

Folk songs grew louder as Chitrakala hugged each of her friends with tear filled eyes. Mahadevappa tried hard to control his tears as he blessed his daughter and his son-in-law.

Aslam and the boys were still busy decorating Shanbag's, old white Ambassador, almost every bride in the village traveled to her new house in Shanbag's Ambassador.

The old car with bald tires, rusted edges and faded paint was a proud possession of Shanbag. He would often ride to his fields in the car. Siting proud holding the steering wheel with one hand, the other hand out of the window to wave at the people, Shanbag and his old car commanded respect from the people.

The villagers on the road would stand aside and watch the car ride away in a cloud of dust and smile, they were all equally proud of the car.

The colour lights across the house and the pandal suddenly went off, when the bride and the groom were about to enter the car.

Someone in the crowd shouted

"Chitae is taking away the colour and the light from the house."

Some laughed, some frowned, but the village danced and bid fond farewell to Chitae.

Mahalaksmi Canteen

A standard routine they say is good to have and mine starts off with an early morning jog.

Sun yet to wake up from his deep slumber; a canopy of darkness still engulfed the road; a bus here and an auto there, footpath filled with brisk morning walkers trying to burn away extra calories and the worry that came free with the calories.

A couple of kilometres jog and I reach my destination 'Mahalaksmi Canteen'.

Sitting quietly on a bustling busy main road, Mahalaksmi Canteen is home to some of the best masala dosas and idly vadas in Bangalore. As I walk in panting and sweating the owner Shiva anna (elder brother) sits pretty in the cash counter waiting with a smile, I stand leaning against the counter looking at the clean kitchen getting ready for another busy day.

'Two minutes Tejas, they are getting the chatni ready'

'No its okay uncle, i'll wait' I reply and walk towards a table.

The wooden chairs with granite slab tables and the sweet aroma of coffee lingering in the air, have all stood the test of time. I look at the watch and then at the entrance

'Sridhar Bhat, will be here anytime' I tell myself.

Sridhar Bhat a middle aged Kannada author, well a budding author spends his day working at the printing press next door, his early mornings and late evenings are mostly spent in the canteen sipping coffee and trying to write his book. Getting rejected by most of the publishing house has not dampened his spirits, he still dreams of becoming a successful author some day. Shiva anna and I believe strongly that someday his book will see the light of the day.

'Gunda, one coffee' Sridhar walks in, he takes a seat in front of me and pushes a couple of sheets towards me.

'My latest short story' he smiles.

I start reading it out loud enough to be heard by Shiva anna at the cash counter. I finish both the sheets and look up to face an eager expression on Sridhar's face

'Its good, I actually like this the most'

'Super Sridhar' Shiva anna shouts from the counter

'Three more stories and I will have enough for the book' Sridhar smiles

We get up to see if our coffee is ready, Sridhar walks towards Shiva anna to explain he is still yet to get his salary and will pay the money he owes in a few days time. Shiva anna and I both know the money will never come, being an unsuccessful writer and working at a printing press doesn't pay much to lead even a decent life.

I turn to face the hot coffee waiting for me in a steel tumbler. Ask any South Indian and he will tell you 'Coffee runs in our blood'. Having the perfect coffee is a dream many strive to achieve. A brand of coffee powder used for years and no other will do, filtered first to get a dark decoction (brewed coffee) with the right amount of milk and sugar, finally poured into a steel tumbler to get a good looking froth and relished at least six times a day. Any mention of 'black coffee' is frowned upon in most houses.

Sridhar still looks to be chatting with Shiva anna, I pick up my glass and walk back to the table to relish my morning coffee.

I look at my watch 6:45, instantly turn to the entrance hoping she will come by today.

Tablet Thima with his bulging belly touching the table is busy sorting out his tablets, I haven't really had any conversations with him but took the liberty of christening him the nick name 'Tablet Thima'; four tablets of different colours washed down with water and he is ready to have his idly and coffee.

'Tejas dosa ready' Shiva anna calls out

My mother often comments 'All your jogging efforts are lost when you bite into that oily masala dosa'

I quietly reply 'The only reason I jog is so that I can have the dosa peacefully'

I tear into the oily masala dosa with my eyes still fixed to the entrance. I drop down to have a look at the chatni and she enters the canteen.

Wearing a red salwar with her dhupata falling gently over her delicate shoulders, a pink glow on her cheeks and a ever so beautiful smile anchored by deep dimples on her face, she walks past me to the counter.

She visits the canteen a few times in a week to get a parcel of idly vada. Each time she walks past me I try to talk to her but stand silent mesmerised by her smile.

I quietly put away the bowl of chatni to Tablet Thima's table and walk towards the counter to get another bowl of chatni. Every time I walk towards the counter I tell myself

'Just say hi, just hi, nothing more nothing less. Just hi'.

Words get struck in my throat and my efforts to flash a 'super cool guy' smile results in a combination of stupid smile, grin and uncontrollable blushes. I look away from her and say

'Gunda one chatni'

'Already finished your chatni' Gunda laughs and I try to tell him off with a stern look but my blushes stay strong.

She smilies almost every time Gunda laughs and I ask myself 'Is she smiling at me, does she know of my desperate crush on her?'

I come back to the table and let out a sigh 'If only I had the guts to talk to her.' Pretty much everyone in the canteen knows of my crush, Shiva anna is grinning at the cash counter, Gunda is laughing, Tablet Thima looks up to see my plight while Sridhar stands there sympathising with me.

She picks up her parcel and walks past me.

But today she suddenly stopped a few feet away, walked back to my table and smiled

'Hi, I am Shilpa.'

I stammered, stood up immediately, tried to manage a word that sounded like 'Hi', I extended my arm to shake her extended arm but suddenly noticed it was covered with oil. I quickly pulled back my right and shook her hand with my left only to realise I had chatni all over my left which I had now passed onto her soft warm palm.

She took a step forward and wiped the chatni onto to my shirt with a soft laugh and sat down in the chair across the table.

'Gunda one coffee' I shouted out

'Come and take it' he shouted back

Shiva anna immediately gestured Gunda to delivery the coffee to the table. She smiled and looked to have stolen a few of my blushes onto to her cheeks

'The dosa looks yummy'

'It sure is, have a bite please' I pushed the plate towards her

Gunda's laugh was silenced, Shiva anna's grin looked to have widened and Sridhar was all smiles.

Tablet Thima suddenly moved towards our table and asked with couple of giggles

'Want a bowl of chatni, there is one extra on my table.'