Thinking…

Hello! I know what you all are thinking – now what 🙂 And you are right! As usual, I am up to no good, poking my nose into stuff that are not my business. But what to do – Rochelle’s Friday Fictioneers (photo prompts and 100 word stories) has me hooked. I find it fascinating how a single prompt can inspire such a diverse range of stories – quite remarkable. Anyway I couldn’t quite resist, so here I am with another attempt. But first the prompt.

waves
Copyright Rochelle

Thinking…

Word count – 99

There was a gasp of horror and a crowd gathered.

Help! Someone save her! Mommy, take me along, Mommy I want to swim too! Someone do something! Hurry!

The waves thrash her body dragging her deeper into the ocean. Floating all alone in the sea under the blazing sun. Until the predators arrive one by one, to nibble at her flesh. She lay passive as they swarm all over pecking at her mortal remains.

Unknown hands drag her daughter away. She is alone. Then the predators arrive…

“Mommy?” A hand tugged hers.

Shuddering, she stepped back from the edge.

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Do let me know what you think. And for amazing stories on this photo prompt click here. Perhaps you could even participate! Click here for more Short Stories or here for more information About the Blog

For the readers of Moonshine, here’s Chapter 62 and a little something for the fans of Calvin 😀

Quote for the day: “A story has no beginning or end: arbitrarily one chooses that moment of experience from which to look back or from which to look ahead.” Graham Greene, The End of the Affair

Have a great weekend all of you and dont forget to leave me a note 🙂

Weather Woes

But first some good news! After days of patiently putting up with my rants about the weather you certainly deserve it 🙂 I am pleased to report that finally the weather has take a turn for the better. Believe it or not, on Monday, the temperatures plummeted from a sizzling day temperatures of 47 0 C to a pleasant evening at 27 0 C.

A thunderstorm accompanied by a shower overcame the sun (for the moment at least) and brought cheer right back into our lives. Even the staid seasoned trees look positively thrilled – clean green and fresh. I cant help but be infected by their silent but all pervading joie-de-vivre.

On the flip side, several flights were delayed or cancelled. But the respite couldn’t have come at a more timely juncture. Things were quite awful in most parts of the country and temperatures at the India-Pakistan border were higher by 10 degrees or more. Actually am not sure there has been any relief for the army jawans who patrol the borders in the most unbelievable heat and dust of the Thar desert. According to newspaper reports, they were able to roast papad by just placing it on the hot sand and cook rice by just keeping it out in the sun for 3 hours.

And then there was this tragic incident. A villager, while entertaining guests, forgot about his camel left out in the heat with his legs tied. When he remembered and went out to release it the camel turned violent. He picked him by the neck and threw him down, he then chewed off his master’s head. The camel went berserk and 25 men struggled for over 6 hours to bring it back under control. Poor camel – the heat must have literally fried his brains (my sympathies and condolences to the villager’s family).

That’s all on the weather front for now at least – for this isn’t the end of summer. So as they say cheer up the worst is yet to come. And memes like this are bound to crop up (again and again) before the mangoes bid their final adieu for the season.

IMG-20160521-WA0011(1)

But let us make hay while the sun shines – oops wrong quote ;). Make every dull day count 😀

And now on to Moonshine – Chapter 61 and Calvin. All those rooting for Hobbes raise your hands 😀

Quotes for the day

“Pray don’t talk to me about the weather, Mr. Worthing. Whenever people talk to me about the weather, I always feel quite certain that they mean something else. And that makes me quite nervous.” ― Oscar Wilde

“Don’t knock the weather. If it didn’t change once in a while, nine out of ten people couldn’t start a conversation.” ― Kim Hubbard

Before you go, do leave me a note, about the weather if nothing else (go ahead make me nervous)

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The Wait for the Waiting Room

Hello All! Looking forward to a relaxing weekend? So am I! But like I said before it’s hot and in an attempt to keep my mind of the blistering heat, I tried to pen type a flash fiction (a story in 100 words or less) inspired by the photo below. Hope you like and will perhaps even participate! Details and links after you read mine 😉

 

https://rochellewisofffields.files.wordpress.com/2016/05/jhc7.jpg
Photo credit: J Hardy Carroll


Word Count: 100 (not including the title)

The Wait for the Waiting Room

I shivered as I took my evening walk around the campus– home for me but hospital to most.

An auto stopped beside me. A middle-aged lady poked her head out and asked, “Where’s the patient registration counter?”

“That.” I pointed. “But it is closed now.”

“I know.” She smiled. “I have come to queue up for it.”

“But the counter will open at 8 am.”

“Yes but by 6 am the queue extends well beyond the gate of the hospital. If I join the queue by 3 am, I can be assured of a doctor’s appointment for my ailing husband.

 

Written for Rochelle Wisoff-Fields’ Friday Fictioneers - a story in 100 words or less inspired by the above photo.Get writing or you could read all the other stories here.

 

 

 

 

Haiku Season

It’s awfully hot (470 C/117 0 F with 60 % humidity) and there’s no sign (or hope) of any let up. I wonder how long people (and the birds and animals) can keep up in the face of this relentless blistering blazing sun. Something is surely going to give and soon. So far electricity is on our side (touch wood and fingers crossed) but with demands and loads soaring, a breakdown not only seems inevitable but imminent.

And somewhere I feel guilty – it wasn’t this bad just a few days ago. Methinks the sun got a bit cheesed off on my obvious partial and support for the amaltas and decided to show  who the boss actually was. As a result, despite me bragging that I wouldn’t miss the unfolding spectacle for anything, I am now ensconced in the darkest corner of my house, curtains tightly drawn to keep out the sun, light and view.

The irony of it didn’t escape me:

googling images
amaltas bloom
outside my window

The only good thing is that I managed to come up with a half way decent haiku! And get the stamp of approval from the reigning Haiku Queen herself (after a bit of rewriting of course).

Wondering who the Haiku Queen is?

She is none other than our very own smr. She won this year’s grand prize winner of the prestigious IAFOR Vladimir Devidé Haiku Award 2016 (no surprise for me – I always knew she was brilliant).

sunny afternoon
a shadow
on the mammogram
Suraja Roychowdhury, United States

Her submission was chosen as the best one out of a record 680 submissions from 60 different countries. My heartiest congratulations to her and best wishes for many more such finely crafted gems.

The other submissions are pretty awesome too – if any of you enjoy haiku it is worth it to check out the link above. And if you like, you can read more of smr’s awesome haiku and even better tanka (and some pretty cool poems) at Allpoetry.com. Registration (though free) is mandatory.

On to Calvin now  – he is feeling pretty neglected I can tell especially what with Hobbes ragging him no end.

 

Quote for the day:One ought, every day at least, to hear a little song, read a good poem, see a fine picture, and, if it were possible, to speak a few reasonable words.”  JW Goethe.

I know Moonshine does quite measure up to any of the above but still if you insist 😉 here is Chapter 60: Making Dreams Come True

As usual, I look forward to your comments and smileys 🙂

Hot on the Trail

Not so long ago, just two months ago to be more precise, I was busy Chasing Spring – remember? And I had hinted then that I was hot on the trail of something else as well. It is time for the unveiling.

I was trying to track Mother Nature as she dealt with the changing seasons – the bitter chill and frost of the winter to the unrelenting merciless sun rays  – with her usual no-nonsense nonchalance and elan.

Tip: Taking a leaf from Mother Nature’s kitty, for best results, scroll down at a leisurely pace.

Here’s the first set of pics taken on 12 March 2016 around the campus

And then comes the next set taken about exactly a month later, i.e on or around 12th of April 2016

The temperatures skyrocketed as we slipped into May. Whilst mere mortals writhed and groaned under the weight of the blazing sun, she decided if you can’t beat them join them.

Now just hold your breath:-

I dare not draw the curtains even in this heat for fear of missing out the breathtaking sight of the Amaltas in full glorious bloom – enough left over to carpet the roads as well.

I am completely bowled over, fascinated and enthralled by the complete wardrobe overhaul without moving an inch!

And all from thin air…

I wonder if trees get a headache while in the sun? If not, I am all for being born as a tree in my next life 😀

After this, I wouldnt blame you if you didnt much care for Rajani’s escapades – well anyhow here’s Chapter 59.

And a bonus short story – The Trap – do let me know what you think!

Sizzling hot…

The dreaded week is upon us – according to Met predictions, for the next 7 days (or more) maximum temperatures in Delhi will hover around 44-46o C (111 -115 o F). In fact most of the country is reeling under the heat wave which has already killed hundreds. At least I have the luxury of staying indoors – what about the millions who have to brave the heat and haze minus water and electricity?

Why just India? Entire South – East Asia is struggling to cope with widespread drought, severe heat and water shortages which are disrupting normal life, killing people and animals and destroying crops. Do watch the CNN clip on the Mideast’s drought worst in 900 years. Here’s an out of the box (rather ‘in the box’) take on global warming.

And then was this lecture at MIT linking global warming to Islamophobia. The article has enough links obviating any need to add my two cents worth. Besides what do I know – except that global warming has roasted, toasted, grilled, steamed, fried my brains for sure 😉

Have a super weekend and see you all on Monday – and for readers of Moonshine here is Chapter 58: Harried 🙂

Quote for the day:“The heat made people crazy. They woke from their damp bedsheets and went in search of a glass of water, surprised to find that when their vision cleared, they were holding instead the gun they kept hidden in the bookcase.”Kristin Hannah, Summer Island

Now Hobbes is hell bent on raising Calvin’s temperature as well 😀

 

What a Fun Way to Connect!

The icing on the A to Z challenge 2016 is that Susan Brody nominated me for the Liebster Award. Thank you Susan for my first blogging award ever (that pretty much sums up my entire award list in any case). I am particularly thrilled because the nomination came from one of my favorite blogs for the challenge and am now a permanent stalker. You simply must visit her blog for interesting, informative, entertaining posts on 16th-century analogues of 21st-century memes.

As per the rules of the award, below are my answers to the questions Susan had asked me:

  1. Is your blog your best friend?  Why or why not?

Oh yes definitely my best friend for we both have the same goal – to have some fun without moving an inch!

  1. Blogging feels to me like a job ___ percent of the time, and like a joy ____ percent of the time.

Blogging feels to me like a job 20% percent of the time, and like a joy 80% percent of the time.

  1. What rules of Blogger Etiquette are most important to you?

Replying to reader comments.

  1. Do you have any great tips for attracting readers to your blog?

Do the A to Z challenge! Worked for me 😉

  1. What do you wish you could change about the education you had?

I do wish I had made greater efforts to learn Sanskrit and Bengali (and English)

  1. When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?

A medical doctor

  1. Of all the places you’ve lived, which one is your favorite?  Why?

Of all the places I have lived, the blogosphere has to be the best. I feel free of expectations (even my own – well most of the times). It is the one place, I feel I can just be.

  1. If you had a time machine, which era would be your first stop?

 It has to be the Mesozoic Era! With our son. As a child (even now I think) he was quite obsessed with dinosaurs (some of it rubbed on I guess). He gobbled up everything he could about dinosaurs and drove us crazy with his dinosaur related demands, exhibitions, odes, monologues, debates, questions. That reminds me – when he was about four he asked, “Ma, can you tell me the name of two dinosaurs whose names you don’t know?”

  1. What’s the best thing that happened to you within the past week?

 Tonnes actually – this award for one and after about a year of sitting on the fence I finally took the leap to the entrepreneur bandwagon – wish me luck!

  1. What’s the fastest way to get on your bad side?

Pretty simple – Lie to me (provided I manage to catch it of course – am pretty gullible that way)

  1. What’s the one thing that never fails to inspire you?

A bare tree standing tall, proud, unfazed, confident that her time will come….

Eleven random (and quite useless) facts about me

  1. I began writing fiction in 2012 – inspired (okay obsessed) by a television-serial.
  1. When the serial abruptly went off air, I continued the story forward posting almost   500 chapters in about 18 months while holding a regular 9-5 job.
  1. Took me quite a while to get used to the new me. In fact, while writing, I often feel I am possessed by Dahlia (so now you know whom to blame)
  1. Dahlia is not my real name. I chose it because once my mother had said if she had had another daughter she would keep her name Dahlia to rhyme with mine and my sister’s names.
  1. I am a professionally qualified medical scientist and hold a doctorate degree
  1. On a whim, I traveled (alone) more than half way across India to attend a cyber friend’s daughter’s wedding and stayed the night another cyber friend’s home –neither of whom I had met before. The ‘real’ Me is still in shock.
  1. I am terrible at poetry not that I am terrific at prose 😛
  1. I am particular about my post schedules and lose sleep if I am unable to live up to my (self-imposed) commitments
  1. I have always regretted not having any creative or artistic talents – I can’t sing, draw or make stuff.
  1. I don’t much care for cooking, cleaning up afterwards even less
  1. Before now I didn’t realize quite how boring I was…

Now that the tough part is over, it’s time to spread some joy and cheer 😀

Blogs that are my honor to nominate for the Liebster Award are listed below:

  1. Collecting smiles
  2. ROAMIN’ GNOMIALS
  3. Me in the Middle
  4. Between you and me
  5. Moon, Light and Shadow
  6. The Quiet Writer
  7. Your Roots are Showing Dearie
  8. Tale of Two Tomatoes
  9. Life in Technicolor
  10. The Doglady’s den

If my nominees accept, and I hope they do, here are the rules that must be followed:

RULES OF THE LIEBSTER AWARD

If you have been nominated for The Liebster Award and you choose to accept it, write a blog post about the Liebster Award in which you:

  • Thank the person who nominated you, and post a link to their blog in your post.
  • Display the award on your blog — by including it in your post and/or displaying it using a “widget” or a “gadget”.
  • Answer 11 questions about yourself, which will be provided to you by the person who nominated you.
  • Provide 11 random facts about yourself.
  • Nominate 5 – 11 blogs that you feel deserve the award, who have a less than 1000 followers.
  • Create a new list of 11 questions for the nominees to answer.

List these rules in your post (copy and paste from here). Once you have written and published it, you then have to:

  • Inform the people/blogs that you nominated that they have been nominated for the Liebster Award and provide a link for them to your post so that they can learn about it (they might not have ever heard of it!)

Eleven questions for my nominees to answer

  1. How did you begin blogging?
  2. Where do you see yourself in 5 years (as a blogger)?
  3. When you are not blogging or thinking about it, what do you do?
  4. Does anyone in your family follow, read and/or comment on your posts?
  5. Could you tell us something about your part of the world?
  6. Any favorite quote/s that you would like to share?
  7. Could you recommend a book or a movie (feel free to add as many as you like) for my bucket list?
  8. What’s the craziest thing you have done?
  9. How do you de-stress?
  10. Anything about yourself that you would like to change?
  11. What do you feel most blessed about?

It has been a super fun month (despite so many things) and would again like to thank all you wonderful bloggers and super supportive friends and readers who dropped in to boost my morale in this challenge.

A huge thank you to @ahonadg and her hubby for letting me share their wedding pictures – please do join me in wishing them both a wonderful journey ahead.

Look forward to continuing the interaction and thanks for dropping by 🙂

PS: Readers of Moonshine, as promised, here’s Chapter 57