Shah Tazrian Ashrafi

Back when the river used to zigzag through the village's green skin like a sky blue snake and uninvited things did not invade the ambience, Anjum would drive his cattle to the water body for temporary relief from the unbearable heat. His daughter Roop would follow him too on the holidays; sometimes even skip school for this activity.

Imagine how comfortable it would be to possess some divine powers that hold you tight with the assurance of school hours being bearable for you. You could resort to them at your own urgency (or pleasure) and bask in the blessings they are meant to bring.

It's been months since the sun peeked from behind the clouds, clearing the gloominess that clung to the atmosphere and sucking up the tea puddles from the roads.

This city can be cruel. I have been kicked and pushed away. I have seen worse being done to my brethren. In spite of all this, this city has become my home.

While swimming can get you ashore and save your life when that boat sinks, it does not come to you automatically. Many people get to learn swimming by floating with coconuts or whatever at their home village, or maybe by enrolling into a professional course at a certified swimming pool establishment. If it's the latter, here are some struggles you are likely to face (or have faced) after joining the classes.

The Primetime Emmy Award nominee Christina Hendricks has that unique charm of confusing anyone in Good Girls. You never know when she is joking and when her head is steaming.

Most months in the city were hot. One competed with another. As though they were trying to see which one of them sizzled more.

Whether it's about getting into your favourite publication or being admired for creatively expressing your thoughts, the habit of writing surely invites good things. Once you have developed the habit, it can be a gateway from the loudness around you while being added as a new skill to your cart. Developing the habit, however,

I picked up this book on a whim. Maybe it was the easy-to-hold feel of it. Or maybe it was the golden sticker adorning the names of the prizes it has amassed that floated on the water hyacinth covered pond. Whatever the reason, it sure didn't disappointed me.

After you are assigned the responsibility of taking care of a baby, the good and bad sides of the task start to unroll. Like a rollercoaster ride, it has its highs and lows.

A woman raps fiercely using slangs as though they are very typical in hip hop music. She flaunts her designer shoes, accessories, exotic cars, and even poses beside a tied leopard. She is overwhelmed with her success and that's why finds it necessary to rap about it. People have been commenting crazy stuff in the comments section. For example, “This song makes me want to fight the water in the shower”.

Instead of finding out what kind of natural disaster you are, take this quiz, which is more appropriate for the season.

The hardcover is clothed with a blue dust jacket with an illustration of two egrets flying among clouds and above the title. The clouds, I believe, represent Kalimpong, where the novel is set and the story unrolls along its winding roads. Sometimes it leaps over continents and focuses on another character living an immigrant life in New York City. Sometimes, it travels to the past, shedding light on history.

They thought she was possessed by her son's ghost. The sand coloured saree that she wore far too often, and her curly, greyed, short hair added to this belief of theirs that settled as sediment in their hearts.

While being a quiet person is appreciated, it does not always invite good things. Here are some struggles you can relate to only if you're more of an observer than a speaker.

I am standing on the edge of the window as usual. It is the only humongous window without any grillwork in the house. The sunlight always falls on me without any shape, with its arms and legs stretched out. As of now, the sun is not visible. The clouds are guarding the sky, grumbling with unequal intervals. Some are static, some are floating slowly but surely, like ghost ships. I want to be up there among the grey explosions bleeding into each other for as long as they are there. I want to ride one of the clouds, and lose my direction marvelling over the cityscape.

There are books that you read just for the sake of reading. There are books that make you skip a bundle of pages to avoid the dullness. And then there are books that don't allow you to skip even a single page. Rich People Problems is one such book.

Swimming in water bodies abloom with plastic was very common for Subhash and his father. They depended on any salvage they could find from the plastic controlled territories on the island they lived in. The plastic materials were everywhere—in the ponds, in the forests, on the roads, on the puddles, in places where they shouldn't be. It was as though they were manmade creatures walking all over the earth and ultimately settling where they find it comfortable to create a colony of their own. They came in various shapes and sizes. Though diverse, they all existed for the same purpose.

The Dalai Lama once said, “Sleep is the best meditation.” Of course, his words are true and so is my dedication to this natural human need. I am sure I am not the only one who loves sleep more than anything else. Here are the struggles you can relate to if you have a strong bond with your bed.

Right now, I am all blue. I was supposed to have my feet on the ground, and study for my upcoming exam–which is in two days.