Brand Love

Lavanya sensed something brewing when she picked up her pre-teen son and teenaged daughter. "How was your day?" she asked as they got into the car.

"Mom, you have to get me an Adidas shoes," son Shail said in a stern tone.

Lavanya pursed her lips. "Haven't we gone through this several times?" she asked as she started the car.

"All my friends have branded shoes. In fact, Jose has shoes in all the brands, he has branded pens..."

Why Me - Part II

For the first part of this story, click here

The world became black, and then suddenly too bright. Someone was jostling him. And then all went quiet.

"Please behave yourself when you are with uncle, Bharat," Shyama said, the attractive smile that had so bewitched him turned into a thin line of disapproval.

Amit felt Bharat reasserting himself as he turned all his attention on his wife. "You are there to keep me in line," he said with an edge to his voice. She placed her hand on his arm and Amit felt a rush of tenderness. "Please don't make it difficult for me," she pleaded.

Why Me - Part I

Amit stood smoking in the open area behind the confectionary he had opened in a busy mall in the city. From there, he could see his neighbouring restaurant, and felt a twinge of jealousy yet again. It was, as always, busy serving visitors while his team was still getting things ready. He went in and shouted, "Lazy fools! Be sharp!"

He entered his small kitchen behind the serving counter and found his chef and the cleaning lady giggling about something. "Is the food ready?" he asked sternly.

The chef, knowing how indispensible he was, asked him sharply, "What do your diners want?"