Anaahat

"It is beyond those two hills - the boundary," the Tree told Ms Elephant and Mr Dog. Stars lit up the dark sky and showed them the way. They were runaways. And had walked away from what they knew as homes. Where they had grown up, where they had had many falls and where they had learned to stand. They left it all behind: the people, the lovely zoo-keeper, the cages, the sniggering of the observers, and the pokes of inquisitive children who treated them as specimens. For the quest for a world with dignity and respect - across the boundary. They were not always unhappy at the zoo. There were lovely days in the beginning: jumping with Ms Monkey, laughing with Mr Squirrel and eating with Ms Bear. Their world fell apart the day Mr Moose came to the Zoo. Mr Moose would cry every day, and rattle the cages for hours together. And for those hours, the ground of the Zoo would shake. It was he who brought passion for Freedom into the Zoo. After a fe...

Shyam That winter on the top floor of a hotel in the beautiful valley of Panchgani, Shyam decided he was born for happiness. Sanskriti was pregnant. Shyam’s around her, the stood watching the hills and the off-peak silence around them. The sun was painting hues of orange and yellow in the sky. Their hands clubbed together, they stood dreaming of the promising future. Shyam could almost see their simple life arrive here, to a holiday time in the beautiful valley. Sanskriti Six years from that day, Sanskriti watched the lonely stars twinkling in space from the balcony of their house in Pune. She could still visualize the ecstasy on Shyam’s face when he had said that aloud. His voice kept ringing in her head, magnified as they now spoke only in monosyllables. Sanskriti walked to the railing and looked down at the empty streets. It was deserted save for the lone motorcycles zooming on the shinny streets. She looked at her watch. It was 3am. The night was starry and cool. She loved to w...