(Photo courtesy DC Stultz) The pinnacle of salvation was just one murder away. But time was fast running out. The Gecko turned right, and twisted left before springing up the stainless steel cutlery holder. Ms. Gecko had to act swiftly and decisively before the drunken rotund man would take the bowl of steaming hot stew placed … Continue reading Ms. Gecko’s Salvation

(Image Credit: Bhutan | Google Maps) "You must write a book", Ash exhorted for what must have been the billionth time. "If at all I write anything it will be..."  Before Venky could even finish, Ash interrupted furiously and hollered, "No, it won't be on me!" Her cheeks framed by high cheek bones had now turned … Continue reading ASH – THE BIOGRAPHY

(Image Credit: Sandra Crook) There was something about trains that was both reverential and reviling to Venky.  he could spend hours sitting on the uncomfortable iron bench in the station and watch trains come and go by in a steady stream of babble. But the hustle and bustle of the locomotive also drove him to … Continue reading Ash Tracks Redux

(Photo Credit: Crispina Kemp) The sea was unusually quiet that morning. The rolling waves breaking upon the sands with their usual merry vigour was insipid and flat. Every approach towards the shore depicted an attribute of reluctance, guilt even.  A single parasol provided refuge from the baking of an unusually violent Sun. The conflict between … Continue reading Noting The Future

(Photo by Arun Sharma on Unsplash) The heat in the room was oppressive. The window - which in reality was more a porthole than its conventional cousin - was sealed shut. The Air Conditioning duct was not humming. Venky suspected that the turning off of the Air Conditioner might have been a deliberate ploy. "Make the suspect as … Continue reading The Ash Effect

(Image Credit: Roger Bultot) Call it morbid coincidence or term it a contrivance of fate. But the setting could not have been more prosaic yet so profound. When the old security guard half staggered-half ambled towards the square, the damage was already done. The two shots that pierced the stillness of the night had found … Continue reading A Night for Chili Sauce

(Photo by Blair Fraser on Unsplash) The site of the wreckage had attained a degree of holiness that few shrines could boast of or compete with. And so it should rightfully be. The mangled, twisted and convoluted remains of the Republic P-47D Thunderbolt represented more than a mere relic of the past. It had disintegrated in the air … Continue reading To the Victor, Not all the Spoils

(Image Credit: Dale Rogerson) All it takes is for one fundamental epiphany to transform the mundane into the magical.  Ash was know for such bursts of metamorphic thinking.  One such act lit up what otherwise would have reduced a topical debate to a draconian debate. "We have plugged into the Ozone for breathing, into the … Continue reading Climate Change? LIGHTS OUT ASH!

(Image Credit: Crispina Kemp) Simple paths can trigger complex memories. Memories that are a kaleidoscope of myriad shapes - straight, winding, crooked, curved, steep and wide.  As the sun blazed overhead, Venky set out on his customary walk along the narrow pathway wedged between a grassy mound.  "Isn't this such a beautiful sight?" Ash had … Continue reading The Ash Discovery

"Oi be careful you dickhead!  We don't want a disaster on our bloody hands " yelled Krish in ferocious voice that did not bother masking its fury.  "I have seen more inflammable stuff than this, the most dangerous of all being love"  retorted Venky in a barely audible murmur scratching his head with fingers caked with mud … Continue reading The Excavator & Ash