Unveil the Other Side

Hari was all set to start afresh on his new venture. Having a normal childhood with not much exposure to various cuisines he was hooked to the staples at his home - rice and sambar, idlis and dosas. Ranganna, Mallika and Hari were a happy family of three. Ranganna worked in a private company as a clerk. Mallika adorned the typical homemaker title. Both of them worked hard to make ends meet. A luxurious lunch in a restaurant was far from reality. One sunny afternoon as Mallika was watching a regular regional soap on television, Hari who was then around ten made a sharbat for his mom. It was not only a surprise in terms of his love towards his mom but she was totally in awe with the drink. It was extra ordinary. Hari had it in him. He had knowledge of flavor, he knew how to present his work beautifully. She praised Hari and started using his help in the kitchen when he showed interest. He learnt all of the delicacies his mom cooked at home, but it was all limited to one geographical area...

There she lies on bed reading the thriller she'd borrowed from Mrs. Iyer living next door. Her gaze stuck to the mid pages, Krupa was completely engrossed in the chapter "Theft". Dwaraki returned from work early that evening. There was no response from Krupa in spite of numerous door bells.  He opened the window of drawing room, tried to get the spare keys that lay on the table, by stretching his hands. There was a sudden shriek of a known voice. That's when Krupa realized her folly. Dwaraki was discharged a week later after his forelimbs were back to normal. Cent Stories: I have seen people writing Fiction 55's and similar short stories with fixed minimum words. So in the same lines cent stories are those with an exact 100 words. This is the first one. There will be more coming.

This one is doing rounds on FB. Liked the creativity so much that I could not stop myself from putting it down here. [Creator : Unknown.] Gandhiji's attire on a 10 rupee note can be so delicately changed to match the season. I never thought about it. Just for smiles! Here's the look.

The flower show at the Botanical garden in Bangalore[Lal Bagh] is an event that puts me into a world of imagination. I love the creations and the thoughts that are poured in every year. As a part of the Republic day celebrations this year the glass house is filled with various creative flower arrangements. This show happens to be the 100th exhibition event since Dept of Horticulture started the flower show. On a pleasant saturday evening, I started off my stroll from the west gate and stopped at the lake which had floating floral boats. It was indeed an amazing view. South Korean Buddha Stupa is the show stopper this year which is housed in the centre of the Glass house. Made of roses, carnations, Orchids and foliages - a total of over 4 Lakh flowers are used to build this massive 30 feet tall structure. Alstromeria and Carnations are used to build yet another beautiful Floral flow structure - "Flower Pouring Out of a Pot". The concept in itself is a wow factor. I had only ...

Budai in folklore is admired for his happiness, plenitude, and wisdom of contentment. One belief popular in folklore maintains that rubbing his belly brings wealth, good luck, and prosperity. Budai is traditionally depicted as a fat bald man wearing a robe and wearing or otherwise carrying prayer beads. He carries his few possessions in a cloth sack, being poor but content. He is often depicted entertaining or being followed by adoring children. His figure appears throughout Chinese culture as a representation of contentment.His image graces many temples, restaurants, amulets, and businesses. He is almost always shown smiling or laughing, hence his nickname in Chinese, the Laughing Buddha. Here is my version of Budai:

Kasnau, Rajasthan Late November evening, a lively couple ,Keya and Ratan, in the remote village of Kasnau were celebrating the joy of the new arrival in the family. Friends,family and well wishers from the entire village had gathered around their old rustic home aiding moral support and to be a part of celebrations. As Ratan held his daughter for the first time, he exclaimed " This encounter is magical ". Ratan was beyond himself with happiness as congratulations poured in from every corner of the village. The baby was no doubt an angel with lovely inquisitive little eyes. Keya was not able to pull off her eyes from those cute chubby pink cheeks, tiny little fingers , soft and tender skin. The happy couple, Keya and Ratan named their bundle of joy - Pari. Pari was perpetually sweet and obedient, even to those who abused her of being unlucky and a bad omen. Yes you read it right. Soon after Pari was born, in about a month's time, Ratan's paddy fields had been infected,...

Say primary school or exams - it brings back memories of lot of fun filled activities along with the normal syllabus. Languages, Basic math,science and social studies are the ones included in the normal stream. The ones out of this are - General Knowledge, moral science, story telling, project work - these become the building block for a child's growth in a complete way. Last week an evening as I returned home, a neighbour's kid was waiting for me the enitre afternoon for help.He needed guidance to complete his project work. The school had come up with a concept to bring the creativity out of a child's mind.It goes this way - use the waste materials and create something useful - Socially useful and productive work(SUPW). SUPW is another learning area falling under the non-scholatic domain - This ensures that the students develop better understanding of their social and environmental issues. It also encourages students to take up varities of activities,which are productive a...