Mithra

  ‘Yes amma, I ate lunch. Actually we ate a sumptuous Kashmiri Wazwan. And the Tabak Maaz was simply out of the world. It is a dish made from lamb ribs and I simply fell in love with it. The food was aromatically flavoured and subtle on spices but the taste was really good.’ ‘So you are enjoying Kashmir,’ said her mother with a smile. ‘Yes, indeed,’ said Roja after a moment of hesitation. ‘Anyway take care and be safe.’ ‘You too amma. Do tell Dad that I had called and I will speak to him later,’ she said and disconnected the call. Quickly she washed her face and hands in hot water and changed into her track pants and T-shirt. Her thermal wear was now like another layer of skin over her body and she did not dare change it. By the time the boat ride ended, the sun was covered by the clouds and the temperature had begun to drop. Zayed was absolutely right, they would not have enjoyed the boat ride in that cold weather. Later they went to a restaurant and got their first tast...

  Roja had been pacing in the front yard for the past i5 minutes. They were already late by an hour to leave for sightseeing. The driver Zayed had punctually arrived two hours ago. But the group was taking its own sweet time to get ready. This was also one of the reasons why Roja preferred to travel alone. She took a few pictures of the house interiors on her camera to pass time. Finally, after another 10 minutes, everybody trooped into the tempo traveler. Zayed suggested that they could look around Srinagar for the day because it was too late to go anywhere else. The next day they could visit Gulmarg but only if they left the house by sharp 9 AM. Karna sat next to Roja and Agnivesh sat diagonally behind her. Deep inside he longed for that one moment when she would, even accidentally, look back at him. It was bright sunny day and the Dal lake looked beautiful. The time was around 1:30 PM and Vasu suggested that they could have lunch and then go for boat ride. But Zayed insisted the...

  Hesitantly, Roja opened the door and entered the room with the fireplace. The floor was covered with carpets and over them were electric blankets and pillows. There were a few more woollen blankets to wrap around. The whole room was warm and cosy. ‘Welcome back, Roja,’ said Preetham smiling at her. 'Hi Preetham,' said Roja waving at him. In the next few minutes, she exchanged pleasantries with his wife Sushma, Vasa's wife Jennifer and Nakul. Except Nakul, the rest of them already knew Roja from the past. Nakul was a recent addition to Agnivesh's gang but even he was aware that Roja and Agnivesh had broken up four years ago. Jennifer made Roja sit next to her and they both shared a blanket to wrap. ‘Thank you, Jenni. This feels so good,’ she said pulling the blanket closer. ‘No problem, Roja. By the way, have you come alone?’ she asked with disbelief colouring her tone. ‘Yes. I wanted to go on a solo trip.’ ‘Solo trip to Srinagar! Wow! My parents would ha...

There was a minute of complete silence except the fire crackling. Roja slowly let out the breath that she had been holding. Without even looking around, she could feel that all eyes were on her. ‘I need a hot shower,’ she blurted and quickly stepped out of the room. She focused on her breathing to keep the conflicting thoughts out of her mind. Wahib and his wife followed her. ‘Your room is on the first floor, right next to the bookshelves,’ said Wahib pointing towards it. ‘Thank you.’ Roja slid her arms into the handles of her backpack and managed to carry her trolley bag up to the room. The room was minimally furnished with a double cot, dressing table, two chairs and a small room heater. The bathroom was equipped with a geyser and a bathtub but the bathtub did not look like it had been used often. The first thing that Roja noticed as she entered the room was the cold. She turned on the small room heater and kept her feet and hands in front of it. She deliberately avoided thin...