NOTE: This is a work of fiction. It comes from the mind of Sarbari Sen, a world famous chef in her family. She feeds one husband, one daughter, one son and their many friends as often as she can. When not making rosgullas she dabbles in homeopathy, tolerates her kids and concocts tales of murder and mayhem. She has zero tolerance towards anyone who chops a tree, which is strange since she apparently has no issues knocking off people in…
It was a dark and stormy night. The wind was high, he didn’t pay it any mind. He had his boots on and he walked on down the hallway. He came to a door and he stepped outside. It was a stormy Monday. He knew Tuesday would be just as bad. It was time for the blue bus. He climbed aboard. “Driver, where you taking us?” “Strap in, son, we’re setting our controls for the heart of…
Ecks was lonely, they said. Ecks didn’t think so. He was always busy, doing something that most people thought was doing nothing. Jay Ecks was 42 and single and this made people click their tongue and make sympathetic noises. In their book, loneliness, or being alone, was not a desirable way to be. In the early days, Ecks would try and correct them. Eventually, he found a way to ignore the noise and go on doing what…
Read earlier chapters here “Where to, Chief? Back to HQ?” Goon grunted. Fatty slipped in the clutch and pulled out of his parking slot outside the tiny coffee shop. Goon wiggled to make himself comfortable in his seat. Fatty gave him a sidelong glance. “So what really happened, Chief?” “What?” “Inspector Jenks. You know what I’m talking about.” “No. I don’t know.” “Come off it, Chief. Something happened. No one wants to talk about it to me.…
Read previous chapters here Goon and Fatty exchanged glances. There was a moment of silence before Goon cleared his throat. "Would you please explain, Mrs. Miller? What makes you think someone is trying to kill you?", he asked. "It's quite obvious, isn't it", said the old lady, "why else would I find a skateboard at the top of the stairs with the landing in the dark because the lightbulb is missing?" "How many kids live on this floor,…
< An edition of this story first appeared in Unbound EMagazine. > Andrew Quinn had spent 8 years writing. Burned out from playing corporate games, Andrew had turned off, tuned out, and then dropped out. He was 48 years old with a receding forehead, an aquiline nose and curls greying at the edges. This gave him the air of a Roman senator and not just any senator, but a careworn and grave senator. One could truly have said…
< An edition of this story first appeared in The Telegram Magazine - https://www.magzter.com/IN/Talking-Books-in-Delhi/Telegram/Fiction/215124 > In the car, he was unusually silent and if Sushil Deka was silent, then, the situation was serious. I had expected that. It’s not everyday that a man learns that his wife is in a sexual relationship with another woman. I did not break the silence as I concentrated on threading my way through the city traffic. Then we were on the highway…
Read earlier chapters: Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 The staircase creaked under the weight of the big Detective Sergeant. Fatty let Goon lead the way, making no attempt to force the pace. Three floors up, Fatty cleared his throat and said, "Hang on a minute, chief, I just want to make sure which floor she's on." Goon heaved himself up to the landing and turned to face Fatty. He leaned back against the wall and waited…
As you know, by now, I wrote a book. Which isn't quite the same thing as "I had okra masala for lunch". Nothing is! It is, however, quite an achievement of sorts, I'm told. In any case, it's there on Amazon to be admired, mocked, bought, read and otherwise digested. So far, the reviews have been positive. In my helpful way, I provide a sample. I like the style of narration - a play format. No over-boarding…
#ACoupleofChoices Well, it's out there now. Go to Amazon and search for "Ajesh Sharma" or "A Couple of Choices". It's my book. On Amazon. Buy it, even if it's only me recommending it. Have I ever let you down? Ok, so you had to wade through my recipes to get to the juicy bits, and you had to put up with my very long-winded articles. But be that as it may, this is a short book. Easy…