"The Stage" ~ A 55 Word Shave.

“5..4..3..2..1..!

Times up…” – The announcement was distinctly cacophonous.

'They’ refused to follow the instructions…the “flow” seemed to have carried them away.

“STOP…else you will be disqualified”- The organizers squawked in vain!

“Cut the power”- The fuming custodian broadcast-ed.

Deathly silence prevailed.

“Where did they go?” – The moderator was stunned.

The stage was deserted……..Eerie… forlorn...!

* This is a work of fiction & doesn't bear resemblance with any person, living or dead. The "image' is NOT fictitious though !

**  This post is my fourth attempt at the 55-Fiction Genre. I found it really really interesting.

*** This post is a part of Write Over the Weekend, an initiative for Indian Bloggers by BlogAdda !

Another WOW badge to treasure! :)

Road to Durga Puja 2013: "Kumortuli" The Nostalgic Photo-walk

Teaser: "Pujo-r Gondho eseche"...A ride into Pujo 2013!

"The Taj-Tryst"

"Well then,

The Grandeur dazzled us to the core…..

The feet didn't move….

And the fingers pretty sore…

The Corpo squeeze had dented deep…

The resultant?

The “healing curve” was pretty steep.

"Well then,

The “keepers” had the formula themselves….

The “gateway to salvation” was scripted….

The tank had been re-fueled….

The spur of inspiration woven in…..

The journey was JUST about to begin! 

"A surge of emotions to reflect upon…

The hunger spree to redeem ….

To erase those surreptitious temptations….

And stimulate those frayed “buds”…..

The platter, indeed, tantalized to the core…

That’s “food porn” my friend, let’s adore...

Fasten your seat-belts then and get ready for the "Savory Ride"

The ambrosial dip...that's how the soft & "cosy" mutton looked like.....

That's the "toned" piece of mutton-based starter...treated with care..

The Evanescence.....

"His signature aroma languidly disappeared with his trails....as if in synchronization with his untimely evanescence...."

His bleak presence in our lives was momentous in many respects. He came in unnoticed, bridged the differences in his own signature fashion and then left the stage silently. He resembled the Pied Piper of Hamlin; his presence was never acclaimed, his efforts overlooked, till he took a long stride “back” and never returned….the foundation of integrity, concord and compassion had already been established.

The honk was enough. The ingrained aroma followed soon after. It was like a magnetic stimulus that drew us close…very close indeed. Our parents had almost locked us into the cellar, suspending our free-spirited junketing; courtesy the local communal unrest that raged across discrete zones of Kolkata in the early 90's. The exit route was almost "padlocked" under the impact of this precarious disturbance; the anarchy was deep and profound. But then we were in our salad days alright; the spirit of gluttony didn't make it's nest. Yet, those miseries followed...it was a deathly blow on the face of altruism.

“Who cares?” – Dad shouted at me…”They are merciless; you can’t go out.” Well, he did make sense.

But then, 
What about those vibrant thoughts?
What about those buoyant schemes?
What about the urge to explore?
What about the profound curiosity? 

The childish exuberance was sheathed under the stinking traces of “gunpowder”, “molotov” and ounces of diabolical hatred.....

The noxious emanation didn't present a glimmer of hope, but crushed our spirits deep within; the muddled whiff spread across the peaceful neighborhood like wild-fire…the spirit of harmony was literally lost.

Go back to the roots.........

“Go back to your roots..................

Head back to RIGHT where you started from; a fresh start, a fresh inception, and a fresh embarkation could do wonders, my friend. We have been discussing this of late, but the conclusion seems to be pretty circular in nature; we keep hovering around those similar points of deliberation….. 

- What is ACTUALLY the perfect recipe of scripting a joy ride? 
- What should be the parameters of consideration while selecting the ideal “destination”?
- Should we follow the method of elimination or a selection? 
- What are those vitally essential factors that could transform your trip into a memorable odyssey? 

Believe me….We were NOT DISCUSSING on these lines when we met over coffee at the signature “Adda-zone” located aroud Rash Bihari; those random topics of discourse finally headed towards a very familiar territory…TRAVEL, and without a doubt that marked an end-point to the “randomized shuffle”.
The band that dissociated way back in 2006, did have an underlying bond. The bond that took us past those various avenues of life; we laughed, we cried, we celebrated, we analysed, we lamented and we travelled together in search of inner peace. The ‘redolence of back-packing’, the ‘cologne of adventure’ and the zeal to explore “together” paved the way for a magical peregrination; nothing in the world could hold us back.

eBay v.2030: Shopping Upgraded....

“Hey dad, my iPhone 50C hasn't arrived yet….” – My geeky son seemed to be rather annoyed as he slowly walked down to me. His accuracy level with respect to predicting the exact delivery timings has been immaculate till date; in-fact e-Bay has already specified their Service levels in-case of an unlikely delay in delivery. Those stringent time-lines have been practically adhered to for most of the occasions till now. Exception? No!

“When did you order the stuff? There might have been a technical glitch nevertheless…” - I calmly retorted. I was very close to solving the e-Sudoku; didn't want to stem the flow.

“It’s been 10 minutes already; they had categorically mentioned 12 on their website….does it take so long to reach India from their headquarters in the US?” – He didn't seem to be too amused. I was!

“Whoa…what!?... 12 minutes for a shipment delivery straight from the US! Wait! Wait…Kolkata hasn't transformed into London yet, the distance still remains the same….….and you saying......they are late? Are you kidding me? Unbelievable” – I was literally flabbergasted. This kid was riding deep into dreamland; I guess, too much of gaming & social networking has pre-occupied a 'substantial zone' of his brain, eluding him…..in short, he was out of his mind. I threw away my kindle in astonishment; those words were shocking enough. 

“Should I take him to the doctor immediately?” – I was fighting with myself, deep within.

And he stood there quietly in the corner, with a blank look on his face.....; his trance was perhaps broken. PERHAPS!'

PIN DROP Silence….

“Come on speak up….”- I was literally fuming by then….but he was dead silent. His eyes were pointing straight to me, gutting me with the 'shine'... those expressive eyes.

The one sided articulation ended with a hysteric laughter.

“Hahaha…let me show you then”- he conjectured in a light-hearted tone & slowly brought out his pocket laptop….

What unfurled in front of me was literally unbelievable…..

He quickly logged into the mini system, connected it to the Wi-Fi network & launched the browser; a solitary click on the top right hand corner of the window transported me in to another word al-together.

“This is eBay v.2030 …the ultimate shopping destination….you can try, test, verify, validate and then purchase a product of your choice”- He looked super-excited as he switched on to the Haptic mode. Could you believe it?

Gosh the entire set of items were virtually floating right in-front of our eyes, we could feel them, touch them, try them & even virtually talk to their sellers; the incognito mode could be activated if you wanted to buy a product as a visitor, concealing identity.