The Queen Bee and Other Limericks

There once was a lady

Who thought she was the Queen Bee

She gathered friends around her

Collecting their secrets like nectar

So that they surrendered to her will only

The Journey of the Bangle

It arrived just morning, after being moulded, the gems set and it burnished to be shiny and attractive.

It was a bracelet. Not precious. Just an ordinary 'junk jewellery', one among the millions that fill the shops and find their ways into homes, sometimes being cherished, sometimes forgotten. What would the fate of this one be? Did even its maker wonder? He just pocketed his wages and headed out to the nearby shop selling drinks.

The Way to the Stomach

Mishri placed all the dishes on the table and called her family to lunch. She went to her 80-year-old mother-in-law's Shantha's room and told her that lunch was served. Shantha was reclining, half asleep, listening to music. 

Since turning 80, Shantha's reflexes had slowed down but not her mind. She was still sharp and still made Mishri, who was herself on the verge of becoming a mother-in-law to a beautiful bride, nervous. Having lived in the village all her life, Shantha had only recently moved in with her son and the occasional anxiety of meeting her mother-in-law became a little more permanent now.

When a Thousand Words Say It Better

Mohita opened her balcony door and, as always, her eyes darted to the house across the lane. The curtains were drawn but Mohita could picturise the wall with the framed picture. 

She had just recently moved in from another locality. There, her house had overlooked the road, a boring, lethargic road with little traffic or view. She had loved this house because of its vibrant atmosphere. There were houses around and children played in the common areas. After a week of moving in, one evening she stood in the balcony looking down at the children when the light came on in the house across the narrow lane that separated them. A lady placed some bags on the sofa and sat down beside it, evidently tired.

The Journey

 "Mamma, can we go by train?" Rupa's elder one, Advika, asked. "We never travel by train," the 13-year-old pleaded.

"You will get bored," Rupa responded mechanically as she checked the flight cost and availability to Chennai from Delhi in December.

Rupa's younger son Vivek looked up from his book and said, "Mamma will get bored, she means."

Snipping a Relationship

It was the first thing she reached out for in the morning. No, that's not accurate. She did reach out for the health faucet, the toothbrush, the tap etc. first thing before she entered the kitchen. But on entering the kitchen... ok, that was the third thing. But it was part of the kitchen routine and the first set of things. The milk cooker, the milk packet and the scissors. It was such a silly thing to think about, but those scissors were always associated with the milk packet. Though she cut coriander with that and other grocery items that came packed in plastic covers, still, its primary and daily duty was to cut the milk packet.

An Unhurried Life

I sow a seed
Trim a branch
Prune some leaves
I care dearly for my plants

The Lady of Light - Part XXI

The Story So Far: From not knowing what my power to knowing it was still not enough to win this battle against the Daits! What made them so strong and powerful? Why were we not able to get a decisive win?

Read from the beginning, click here
Read the previous chapter, click here

It was a draw and we couldn't continue like this. The war council sat glumly pondering on how to break out of this impasse. The king burst out with frustration, "If only we knew what rejuvenates them!"

I looked at him puzzled, only vaguely remembering that he had mentioned this before but not the details.

The Lady of Light - Part XX

The Story So Far: From not knowing what my power was to knowing the limitations of my powers, I had come on a long journey. And yet, there was no end in sight for I now embark on yet another new one, and hopefully, a conclusive one. How can I do that?

Read from the beginning, click here
Read the previous chapter, click here

Mother Earth, Shakti, made me sit in front of the Sacred Shell. She removed the platinum ring and placed it on my head with a chant under her breath. I felt transformed, energised. Something of the red aura of the Dait king the ring had absorbed in Mars started flowing through me, for I felt a sort of strength that I had never experienced before. Shakti continued without letting on whether she had noticed the change. 

The Lady of Light - Part XIV

The Story So Far: The battle is not always fought on the battlefield. The mind matters. Should you be strong and unbending? Or just let go? Finding my unique power had not been enough to ward off the Daits when they attacked earth. What can?

Read from the beginning, click here
Read the previous chapter, click here

I had hoped for peace. I had hoped that when he saw his son was safe even when he was vulnerable and unattended, the Dait King would have had a change of heart and would have withdrawn. I had hoped we could be friends, for Prince Ajat and the Dait Prince were deeply interwoven in my mind and I could not love one and hate the other.

The Lady of Light - Part XVIII

The Story So Far: The battle is not always fought in the battlefield. The mind matters. Should you be strong and unbending? Or just let go? 

Read from the beginning, click here
Read the previous chapter, click here

I was given a hero's welcome by the soldiers resting in the camp set up in the palace grounds. The Rajguru rushed forward and embraced me with warmth and love. "Remarkable!" he mumbled. "You have really given us a shot in the arm. Your parents are anxious. Meet them first and then we will visit the sanctum sanctorum. There is something you can do which will end this menace forever," he whispered. 

The Lady of Light - Part XVII

The Story So Far: I turned 18 and waited to know what my power would be. But all I did was swoon when the enemy was at the gate. I was ashamed but I was shocked to know that I had saved the world and I didn't know a thing about it! Now I do. But I still don't know how to call that power when I need it. And now we are facing our formidable foes, the Daits.

Read from the beginning, click here
Read the previous chapter, click here

Going to Mars on my own without informing anyone on an impulse seemed a little foolish. Even if no one could help me once I was there, if something were to happen to me, no one would miss me in this tense war situation.

Also, I needed to bring back the prince and the Sacred Shell. Whatever my capabilities, I still only had to hands. Carrying the prince and the Sacred Shell could prove challenging. I would get only one shot at it and I didn't even know how big or small the Shell was.

The Lady of Light - Part XVI

The Story So Far: I turned 18 and waited to know what my power would be. But all I did was swoon when the enemy was at the gate. I was ashamed but I was shocked to know that I had saved the world and I didn't know a thing about it! Now I do. But I still don't know how to call that power when I need it. And now we are facing our formidable foes, the Daits.

Read from the beginning, click here
Read the previous chapter, click here

I stood facing the King of Daits. Whatever his feelings on seeing the person responsible for his son's suffering, he showed remarkable presence of mind and calmness as he faced me.

It had been a difficult battle where emotions ran high. The Daits were in a mood for vengeance and the Prabhas were hopeful because of my presence. The two matched power for power, weapon for weapon. The result was a world soaked in blood.