Mithra

  ‘I travel a lot. My writing grows with each travel and it gets enhanced from all the experience that I gather,’ said Pradyuman coolly. ‘Well, then you might have to start looking for another job soon. Something which may not require you to travel. Otherwise your girlfriend will have other plans for future,’ he said with a snigger. Agnivesh took a jibe at Roja and it did not go down well with her. He was trying to portray as if she was not a very understanding girlfriend. Pradyuman was smart enough to understand his motive he was not going to gift silence to his adversary. ‘Oh you can be rest assured that it will not be required because she is extremely supportive of my career. And I have huge admiration for her work. Although we may be in different places, we are mature enough to handle long-distance relationship. Most of all, we trust each other completely,’ he said looking straight into Agnivesh’s eyes. ‘And the best thing about us is we don’t dictate decisions to each ...

  Roja stared down at her palms unable to meet his eyes. ‘I was shocked when I saw Agnivesh and his friends here. In fact, I did contemplate looking for another place for accommodation. But Karna convinced me against it. Also since I was travelling alone and this place was highly recommended by my colleague, I did not want to shift. Moreover Mr. Wahib and his wife are also staying here, so I felt there was nothing to worry about. Agnivesh is only one of the inmates of this house, thats all,’ she said and waited for his response. She did not lift her eyes and look up at him. When she did not hear anything for a few moments, she looked up. He was still standing with his arms across his chest, but there was a smile playing around his lips. Roja was looking at him like a child who had stolen chocolates. He was really enjoying the fear in her eyes. He walked up to her and held her hand. ‘All I want is for you to not hide anything from me, sweetheart. And you know that you don't ha...

  By the time they entered Srinagar, it was 7:30PM. Since they had not eaten lunch, Zayed suggested that they try kebabs at the kebab stall opposite Dal lake. Everyone agreed and Zayed parked the tempo traveller opposite one of the stall. He spoke to the stall-owner and soon the charcoal was fanned to grill the kebabs. There were chicken, mutton and fish kebabs. Initially, everyone stepped down from the vehicle. But it was very cold and after a few minutes, the women climbed back into the vehicle and closed the door. The men gathered around the burning coal trying to feel some warmth. Jennifer was shivering although she had worn layers of warm clothes. They were out in the cold weather for over 10 hours and skipping lunch only made it worse. Preetham brought the kebabs to the ladies with mint chutney and another unique chutney made with carrot. The pieces of kebabs were small, juicy and tender. They were extremely delicious. It was exactly the comfort food that one would look for o...

For Roja’s surprise, everyone was ready and inside the tempo traveller before 9.00 AM. Today, they had planned to visit Gulmarg. Roja sat in her usual window seat and she was glad that no one sat next to her. She quietly gazed outside the window and watched Srinagar, which was slowly coming to life. Zayed got a phone call while he was driving and he spoke briefly before disconnecting it. ‘We are not going to Gulmarg. Today we are going to Pahalgam,’ he announced. ‘Why? What happened?’ enquired Karna. ‘The road to Gulmarg is blocked. So let us go to Pahalgam,’ he replied. He chose not to elaborate further and they did not persuade him either. The reason could be anything ranging from bad weather to security threat. Roja had seen pictures of Pahalgam and she had heard from Zayed too that the place was lovely. So the change of plans did not upset her rather it raised her excitement. On the way to Pahalgam, there were army soldiers stationed all along the way. In fact in some place...