By now, most people have heard of the Northwest Airline flight from San Diego to Minneapolis which overshot MSP by 120 miles and had to turn back. But does anyone know what actually happened? Here is the inside scoop, straight from the wings of the fly in the cockpit: The pilot said “They are going…
On the eighth day, God created social networking sites.? “Go forth and network”, he said to all creatures.? Well, surely he must have ? I met an aquantaince other day, and was shocked at the deep, dark circles under her eyes.? She was a new mother, juggling work and housework, and I could understand that…
Two surgeons were talking in a London hospital over a cafetaria lunch. Dr. Rob was staring intently at his soup bowl as if he hoped to find Nessie in it. “I hate this new performance based bonus system” he said. “You mean NHS’s idea of giving us a bonus for every patient who doesn’t die…
How does an air hostess’s weight matter ? Of course it’s vital, as any airlines will tell you. Air hostesses must be slim and young and pretty. Never mind if they are not courteous or speak such poor English that they do not understand what “toast” means. That’s not what their job is about anyway.…
Night wandered in through the drapes. She swept around the house, bringing a coldness to everything she touched. She spread herself around the house and settled into the corners. In the living room, a lone lamp shone an arc of light. Saaya sat reading in a chair, silent, composed, watchful. She was waiting for Ravi.…
Many times, first-time authors of fiction are asked whether the book is entirely fiction. Is it at least partly autobiographic, they are asked. Is the main character, or one of the other characters, based on you? It’s true that first books can be somewhat autobiographical. But in any work of fiction, you cannot divorce the…
The wind hit her first. Strong, sharp tongued and icy cold, it instantly brought tears to her eyes. She staggered the few steps from the car to the store and then rushed in the automatic doors. She shivered in the sudden gust of warm air, and made for the grocery aisle. No onions here either.…
He watched the weekend sun rise lazily, its spherical shape filling the sky, and felt envious. The sun can be round and orange, he thought, and everyone would admire it. Why do they have different standards for people, he wondered. I cannot wear orange shirts, he thought, no one will like it, but can I…
Rads tagged me with a great tag that I just love. Not only do I get to do almost no work, but I am also doing good for the environment. How? I am recycling 🙂 My old posts, that is. The rules of the tag are : Post 5 links to 5 of your previously…
We all know the two rules to shopping. Life takes Visa. For everything else, there is Mastercard. Don’t ask me what “everything else” means – Entertaining expenses in Heaven? Ice packs in Hell? I don’t want to know. But there is also a third rule – Stores take coupons. In childhood, I collected stamps. For…
Picture Courtesy NASA The spacecraft touched down slowly on Mars. A hatch opened, and an astronaut looked out. He then stepped down slowly onto the red Martian soil. The first man had landed on Mars. The astronaut took his first step on Mars. Then he sneezed. He cursed silently. Neil Armstrong had said those unforgettable…
Sometimes, characters are like earworms, or should I say, mindworms. They grow in your imagination, until you think of them the whole day and know every little detail about them. That is exactly what happened to me when I read Shoefiend’s story on Usha Aggarwal Miss. So, Ladies and Gentlemen, here is Usha’s story, or at least, my version of it: …
I lie awake in bed, desperately seeking sleep. What was that sound from the basement? Was it the furnace starting up, or was it just the wind? There it is again. Or is it something more sinister? I suddenly panic – are there burglars in the basement? I look at the burglar alarm indicator. It blinks…
Sorry, but I have to do this. Write another post on the Spelling Bee, I mean. I know, I just finished one. What, you ask, do you think this is Sun TV? Is this Spelling Bee week? Or have you run out of ideas already? No, nothing like that, please, just this one post. This will…
I look out of the window in the morning and see the pond waters are rippling, glistening in the sunlight. It looks like a warm summer day, but I am not deceived. I know that if I step out in the garden, I will be greeted by a blast of cold wind from the empty…
The Imagined Universe 