Shain lived in a picturesque little village in the backwaters of Kerala, in India. Her father owned and operated three houseboats for tourists, and was considered the most prosperous man in the village. She was the only daughter to her parents and the family might have been everyone’s envy, except for one aspect – Shain …
The One Witness
They were walking along the shade of Ashoka and Pilu trees, near the banks of Yamuna river. The seven maidens of Braj were in a hurry. They were carrying water from the river for a sacred ceremony at the village headman’s house, where they were celebrating the birthday of his son. Following the ceremony, they …
The Essence of Infinity
The trekkers had never ventured to this part of the hills before. The group of 16 were in their early 20s, all final year students of an engineering college in Bhopal. In the next three months they would all go their separate ways and this would probably be the last outing for them together, before …
The Long Wait
It has been seven long days since the group of monks have been walking. Just pausing on the way at few villages enroute, for food. Their leader, the Master, had been silent for almost two days, only replying in monosyllables to their conversation. He seemed to be in a hurry. They did not have the …
Colour My World
Kahuna worked extremely hard during the day, carrying logs on his back, and sometimes providing entertainment to the visitors who came for forest safari. At night, when he rested, he entered into a different universe, which was beautiful and magical. Here there was no darkness, the whole atmosphere was bathed in a golden pink light …
The Forest Deity
Shom and Rajam were brothers, sons of the chief in a little tribal village in southern India. Their tribe of Ahamors, like most indigenous communities, laid a strong focus on their identity. A distinctive feature of their tribe was, decoration of their faces and arms with tiny white dots, made with sandalwood paste. The Ahamors …
Back from the Brink
Rasbihari waited in a dark area by the riverside. It was Diwali festival night, and like the rest of city, the flight of steps leading down to Ganga river were lit up by thousands of lamps, making the atmosphere surreal and magical. One of the oldest inhabited heritage cities in the world, Varanasi has always …
