Bunty, Goldie and Raja, aka the triad sat staring at the safe they had just unloaded from the van as if it were a cobra!  They had never done anything illegal before but in this case the cause justified the means.  

They were all headed back to India during summer break and by a mere fluke they had been privy to a cryptic text message on a fellow passenger’s cell phone.  They had quickly noted down all the info and had decided to investigate upon landing.

Raja’s dad was a bigwig in the airline’s corporate staff.  Through his aegis they acquired full data with copy of fellow passenger’s passport.  Their job had been made easy by this information.  The safe’s secret had to be unlocked to get to heart of the matter.  Excitement tinged with fear was palpable.

Raja was tall and reedy in structure with a prominent adam’s apple but due to his dark liquid eyes, all the girls shamelessly gave him chase in the college campus.  He was shy to boot.

Bunty and Goldie were the extreme opposites and were constantly riding love’s seesaw on an off and on basis.  Bunty was of rugged build, fair and tall and had a wonderful voice.  Hence he too was much sought after. 

Goldie was the nerd of the triad and hence kept them afloat in studies singlehandedly.    Goldie was hooked on workouts, if not busy solving difficult problems.  He spent half of his free time tackling weights.  His body was like a Greek God’s and hence cynosure of many eyes of both genders.

The passport revealed the name of the passenger to be Salim Malik.  The message had come from a girl named Ameena Begum.  On further research they were able to locate the whereabouts of Ameena.  They had to find the alleged safe quickly to get to the bottom of this plot.  Here they faced a stone wall.  They went into a huddle to solve this issue.

Fortunately everyone was from Mumbai which made things much easier.  They solicited aid from   local police station officer (SHO) who thought if this yields some crime in the making, he would make headlines and hence helped them with all means at his disposal.    With inside information from the cell phone service provider they had nailed down the exact location of the house and hence the safe.   The police usually made the rounds in the riot prone areas and hence their SHO with help from his Mohamed Ali road counterpart, effected a raid on Ameena’s house.

Ameena’s father Abbas Baig was a cab driver and father of five girls.  Ameena’s mother Samina Begum was deathly scared of her bully husband and did his bidding.  Hence the children suffered without respite being girls.  The SHO had seen the dilapidated safe hidden in a small alcove in the backroom wall covered by a dirty curtain.  He told the triad that now it was up to them to retrieve, open and put back without anyone the wiser.

The trio rejected the numerous invites from local friends and relations and went into a huddle.   A series of festivals were imminent and the streets would be teeming with processions and an odd blast here and there to create communal disharmony.  Keeping all this in mind, they designed a harmless noisemaker as a diversion and planted it near Ameena’s house.  As everyone ran out, they ran in and retrieved the safe.  

Finally the SHO with expert help pried open the safe and it yielded three neat dollar bundles along with passports of Ameena, Samira and Aamna the three older girls aged 17,16 and 15 years.  All had Saudi Arabia visa stamps in them.  Apparently the girls were being sold to rich Saudi sheikhs.  They were all shook up to confront this human trafficking by a parent.  Now they wondered how Salim Malik their plane’s co-passenger fit in here.  They decided to visit him.

The SHO explained the whole situation to Salim and then he told them of his own heartache.  He was in love with Ameena from childhood but knew her abba (dad) was bent upon encashing all his daughters and had forbidden them from meeting.  They were only able to meet near their school or the mosque at given times.  They communicated via a note they left under a designated stone at a nearby park.  About two years ago Salim had gone to USA on scholarship and had been saving money to buy off Ameena from her Abba.  The information about safe and other details were messaged to Salim by a desperate Ameena who was scheduled to be married within the fortnight to a Saudi Sheikh along with her two younger sisters who had brokered a deal for all three of them paying handsomely to cab driver Abbas Baig, their father.   Now all the pieces fell in place.  The girls were under age and hence this was an illegal trade.  

The SHO openly returned the safe back to Ameena’s house even as the camera’s from all news channels rolled in live action.  Abbas Baig was arrested and all the girls were rescued.  Ameena and Salim Malik were married by the mosque priest and rest of the girls along with their mother were whisked off to a new neighborhood under different names with relevant paper work, ration card etc…  With Salim’s permission, Ameena sent money to her mother each month to meet all the expenses.   No one missed cruel Abbas Baig.

**

Ten years later

Raja, Goldie and Bunty as preplanned inaugurated their brand new NGO called Safe Haven meant for all homeless, abused and society’s pariahs seeking care and shelter.

The shy blushing bundle was carried in with fanfare.  Finally Sheila Rani Kher had found a bride for lame son Raju who had been afflicted by polio since childhood.  Sheila was actually the great aunt of the bride.  Maya, the newlywed had just lost her parents in a rock fall during a pilgrimage to the family shrine in lower Himalayas.  She was barely sixteen and lack of dowry had brought her to this impasse.  Maya was still under shock and had performed marriage rituals in dumb misery.  Apathetically she curled up on the nuptial bed adorned with rose petals.  Her extremely fair hands and feet were covered with intricate traditional henna designs.  Maya was wearing a ruby red salwar suit (harem pants and top) and her dupatta (scarf) was laced with tiny gold bells studded with gold lace stars.  On her forehead a gold Tikka glittered (forehead ornament) hung by pearls string from her hair.   Her anklets and bracelets made tinkling sounds each time she fidgeted. She had a black and gold bead necklace called mangalsutra around her neck which was the symbol of a marriage.  She was a sumptuous feast wrapped up in gold and rubies.  She waited for her husband with heart in mouth.   

Distant beat of drums could still be heard as women relatives continued their song and dance.   All the men were hung over on country liquor and sounds of puking could be heard sporadically. Sheila had a haranguing tongue that kept husband and son in check and now she was letting loose choice epithets as she and others were forced to clean up after the men.  Still Sheila was very happy as she longed to become a grand-mother. 

Raju was slim, of medium height, fair complexion, high cheekbones, a perfect nose and chiseled lips.  A small neat moustache formed a great base for his twinkling kindly eyes.  His dependency on a cane had not soured him and he thanked god for a wonderful mother.  She massaged his limbs daily and tied a fresh amulet on his arm every other week and fed him his favorite dishes.  He was aware of her mixing various herbs in his food.  He still ate everything knowing it was for his betterment.  The latest concoction had been the flesh of a cactus which an itinerant monk had given to her to enhance Raju’s manliness and strengthen his limbs.  Raju hated the taste but grudgingly ate it as he had implicit faith in his mom’s love.  Raju had a pet mule “Shera” who helped carry him over mountain passes.  He travelled into satellite towns to purchase goods for the family’s dry grocery store when inventory ran low.  This also gave him news of their community, district and state.   Raju had a fine brain and with the help of a kindly headmaster had obtained a bachelor’s degree in economics.  Now he taught English and math in junior classes and was happy with his lot.  He had been bulldozed into this marriage by his pushy mother against his will.  Thus, he entered his bedroom with equal trepidation as his bride. 

Raju and Maya had met briefly at family gatherings only.  Maya was still wallowing in misery and was scared for her future.  She was however savvy about birds and bees as her mother had prepared her well, tutoring her to expertly fend off straying hands and other mauling.  She always carried a tiny dagger on her person.  It was a family heirloom and very ancient.  One peculiar thing about Maya’s mother’s family had been that it was a family of seers and often a child was born with a third eye.  In olden times people ostracized them due to ignorance but these days they were respected and much sought after.

Per umpteen movie scenes of first wedding night, Raju removed the veil covering Maya face and spoke to her very gently.  Listening to his kind tone, Maya lost a bit of her fear and paid closer attention to his words.  He said “First and foremost I wish to express my grief over the loss of your parents.  Rest assured I will not make any demands on you until unless you yourself are willing and ready.  In the interim we can become good friends and understand one another.  Also please do not fear mother even though she is like a prickly pear.  She has a heart of gold.”  Hearing this, Maya’s worries vanished.  Time has a way of passing and it was two years already since Raju and Maya had married.  Now they had become fast friends and Maya was ready for a family.  Raju felt great joy at his chance of happiness finally as he loved kids and longed to be a dad.  Maya had come to love and respect Raju and his parents who had been extremely patient with her.  Maya was not a shirker and helped Sheila in tending home and caring for the cows and kitchen garden.    In nine months Maya presented the family with twins, a boy and girl.  They named them Suraj and Tara after sun and star. 

The kids grew like weeds.  Suraj was a handful whereas Tara was placid.  From early on family tiptoed around her.  They felt her quiet power as though some goddess had reincarnated in their home and treated her with deference.  Tara was born with the third eye and often in sleep she started making predictions that always came true.  Be it the rainfall or lack of it, a birth, death, windfall et al.  Soon whole town clamored after her but she only spoke in sleep state.  Maya protected her daughter fiercely.   She knew well that such a gift could be a curse too.

Tara was very fond of her brother and always covered up for him.  Suraj too loved her very much and even though she was his twin he looked up to her. 

Suraj was playing ball with his friends after school when one of the volleys’s overshot and landed in the bushes.  The kids ran to retrieve it.  By sheer bad luck Suraj got bitten by a cobra that was nesting there.   The quick thinking kids spat out the venom by biting into his leg.  Poison was spreading fast.  Two of them ran to fetch help.   

Suraj’s vitals had become feeble.  The local doctor was trying his best.  The family sat praying non-stop.  Then Tara came running and put her hand on her brother’s forehead.  She started swaying and chanting in a strange ancient tongue.  The venom started transferring from Suraj’s veins into Tara’s.  Suraj stabilized and Tara fell into a deep swoon. 

A week before Tara had had a vision and knew Suraj had a short life span.  She chanted non-stop for two days before the deity appeared.  They had made a pact.  The twins would now each live to fifty and not a day more.  Tara had happily given up half her life span for Suraj.  No one knew about this pact.     

Word count: 1168

note: Third eye means clairvoyance in the Hindu religion 

picture from internet

Memory Album

faded

blue

eyes

dusted

family

album

with

care

pressed

flower

corsage

caressed

lifetime

 of

sepia

memories

with

spider

veined

hands.

Mita and Ajay were seven year old orphans and best friends.  Fortunately they got adopted by same couple who wanted a boy and a girl.  Kanta and Kamal Mehra secretly hoped that the kids would grow up fond of each other and thus never leave the family roost.   Luckily, things seemed to be going in that direction.

**

Mita had turned out to be a beautiful young lady with fine patrician features and slim body.  That pretty faced housed a brilliant mind and a stubborn will.  By providing her a stable home life, the gods had been kind and she wanted to be a healer and chart unknown frontiers in the medical field.  And by god she was going to do it! 

Mita always wanted to be a doctor and had worked hard towards achieving this goal.  Her heart was set on becoming a surgeon and a cardiac one at that, which seemed strictly a male bastion.  She faced many roadblocks in her quest but her sheer brilliance and persistence paid off.  She had incorporated new procedures to make the surgeries easier and less painful for the patients.  They had been adopted by her colleagues after they were tried and tested over and over again.   She had won accolades and citations in medical journals. 

The spanking new Arya hospital erected by a leading business family hired her as their heart surgeon.  She was also a visiting surgeon at various facilities and post couple of breakthrough surgeries where famous people were involved, things became easy for her.  She was grudgingly accepted by her male counterparts as a colleague.  She had arrived.

**

Ajay grew up to be an average looking man with way above average mind.  Having ordinary looks was a great asset in his chosen line of work.  His perfect body was well honed and a lethal weapon when push came to shove.  He had mastered the martial arts early on.  He was a human chameleon.

Ajay loved Mita above all next to their adoptive parents.  They had cemented their love in a simple marriage ceremony in the presence of close family and friends at the registrars.  They did not enjoy crowds and had a very small circle of friends and kin.

Ajay was smitten by the armed forces and would watch war movies over and over.  He wished to serve his country and finally found his calling.   After a rigorous training he joined military intelligence.  Multi lingual skill and a flair for drama made him succeed at his calling.  He never was one for the limelight as he preferred to work behind the scenes.  His beloved Mita had become famous and that was enough for the both of them.  Life was beautiful.  To celebrate their fifth wedding anniversary, they had gotten their ring fingers tattooed with each others names in English in very fine lettering almost indiscernible.  This way even if they did not wear their wedding rings, they were bound to one another indelibly.

**

Ajay Jr. was five years old and was yet to see his father.  Given his line of work, Ajay did not wish to have a family and therefore when Mita became pregnant soon after their marriage, she never told him about it.  He was away during her pregnancy and was never told about it either upon his sporadic return.  The baby was cared for by the joyous grandparents in their home.  Mita being a busy doctor came around as often as she was able to. 

**

Mita had received an emergency call from the military hospital and she hurried over.   

There were injured soldiers from Pakistan and India lying side by side and emergency surgeries was required.  The Pakistani soldier seemed to draw her from the first moment.  The face was unfamiliar but the eyes were Ajay’s!  How could that be!   She gave a mental shake and immediately scrubbed and performed surgeries on the two cases that required her particular skill.  She promised to check in the morning and after giving firm detailed instructions, she left.  

Quietly she let herself in at the Mehra residence and looked in on her sleeping son.  She hugged him close and wept.  His dad had been missing for a couple of years now and her heart was breaking.  The irony was not lost on her, the hot shot heart doctor with a broken heart.  Somehow, the Pakistani soldier haunted her.  She was clueless.  Then she called that emergency number that Ajay had given her.

**

Armed with the cosmetically altered face of Ajay in her hand, Mita hurried towards the army hospital.  She went to the Pakistani soldier’s bed and compared the two faces.  It was her Ajay.  She quickly peeled off the skin grafted on his ring finger to double check.  It was indeed her love.  Quickly she sent an affirmative text to that secret number.   Ajay was unobtrusively whisked away by his people.  He would be discharged after he had fully recovered from his surgery and got back his original face.  Mita would wait for her love.

She had a lovely surprise for him and was certain he would not be mad at her.  It would be her surprise gift of love for her beloved. Maybe she can push her luck and have him change his vocation.  Only time would tell and if her Krishna so desires.  She smiled wholeheartedly for the first time.  She squared her shoulders and prepared for work.

She sat at the table pecking at the food before her not wanting to waste yet unable to swallow as her eyes became moist today being their sixtieth wedding anniversary and the very day her beloved friend guru and partner had departed on his final journey leaving her at the mercy of their two greedy sons who quickly commandeered all the money and properties and left her alone in the nursing home which her beloved had thoughtfully paid for in advance, planning for the unforeseen as was his wont and her pet peeve and she was happy that he had ignored her and gone ahead and she smiled amidst sobs as her eyes welled up once more.

 Words 117

note: remembered Lady Astor- She suffered badly from a ferocious quarrel over her money, featuring her son and grandson. All of New York, for several months, agonized over the thought that this woman should suffer humiliation. Then she was wafted off to one of her estates and was looked after for the last year of her life, and, one hopes, will not be forgotten.- source internet

(picture fom internet)

**

**

Greed 

(picture is from internet)

Dom and Louisa were inseparable. Coming from diverse backgrounds this miracle occurred with head bumps.friendship sprouted. Both were good in their studies and in a healthy spirit of rivalry, their relationship flourished. The only cloud in their lives was the green eyed monster. Both were wildly popular and had many friends of both sexes. This made each one jealous of the other’s close friends. Being of volatile Latin blood, their anger did not take long to boil over. They would not talk to each other for days. Then they would kiss and make up.

In an experiment undertaken by the city’s Education dept, economically weak kids were bused to affluent neighborhoods. Louisa was one such kid and Dom came from an aristocratic background. She was made to sit with Dom. They were both eight years old.

Their relationship began with a bang on their heads and dislike. But gradually they became aware of each other and when Dom rescued Louisa from being mercilessly teased by a bunch of boys, their

When this liking turned to love was hard to pinpoint. Both families were unhappy about this alliance but seeing their determination, they gave in grudgingly.

It is wedding rehearsal day. Elders from both families wil be meeting for first time. Only the parents had met before. Then a miracle happened. When everyone gathered, Louisa’s grandmother stared at an elderly gentleman across the table. It was Dominic’s great uncle David Vargas. Then she asked “Are your parents Louisa and David Souza?’ Seeing the uncle’s nod, she squealed delightfully tears streaming down her cheeks. David realizes he was staring at his long lost sister Louisa. Louisa had runaway from home at the age of seventeen because her family was forcing her to join the convent. She had no desire to become a bride of Christ. So she ran away to America. Luckily on the boat she met a fellow Spaniard and together they found a place to stay and later got married. Now there were no qualms as far as this alliance was concerned. In fact everyone said Louisa was lucky for them. She was the spitting image of her grandma. It became a family affair. Everyone beamed.

The bride and groom said their vows and kissed. The cake was cut. Suddenly, Dominic pulls out a knife from his pocket! Everyone is shocked and stare at him. Louisa’s mouth opens and eyes quizz. Dominic calls out to his best man to bring out the surprise. The best man lays down two green dolls on the table. With great fanfare a boy and girl doll in green color were produced. With a flourish, Dom presents the knife to Louisa and asks her to stab the girl doll to put an end to all their petty jealousies. He does likewise. There is a burst of applause. He starts their marriage without a single dark cloud.

Now they are truly gliding on cloud nine.