FIRST DRAFT – By Adarsh Madhavan When your sun gets stolen and your whole world darkens; when the one you loved left you broken; when your precious world slips, crashes and shatters, then what good are words that tell you not to break down, not to be wounded by the...
By Adarsh Madhavan The pouring rain drove me to a half-shut chicken stall. There was that stench in the air that most live chicken stalls have and I pressed my face mask closer to my nose and watched the wretched rain causing rivulets on the messy road.There was an...
By Adarsh Madhavan Kerala is in the grip of a stray ‘dog’ fever. After the COVID-19 pandemic fear, this stray dog fever has taken the state by storm – this seems to be the topic on every lips; this is the biggest ‘happening’ thing in ‘God’s Own Country’. And everyone...
By Adarsh Madhavan “I am ‘Ummiyyah’(illiterate)”, self declares Dirbibi Al Balushi, 71, when Purple went to meet her in Muttrah Souq recently. Dirbibi is living in acute penury and is trying her best to make both ends meet, but she is heavily weighed down by...
BY Adarsh MadhavanThe rotund man gaily walked out of a popular restaurant, ignoring the outstretched hands of a frail old lady plonked right in front of its entrance, but he didn’t fail to air-kick a harmless, scrawny community dog that was innocently sniffing at...
By Adarsh MadhavanSuddenly, out of thin air, a feather floated softly down in front of me. Ethereal. It twirled around like a fairy ballerina. When the show ended, the curtains closed, I picked up the feathered ‘ballerina’ and hid her in my shirt pocket. Snug.My heart...
I hesitated to let that woman in. I was at a friend’s flat and since both of our families were away, we were mulling a bachelors’ dinner while watching that evening’s cricket match. The friend cooked better than I did so I let him do what he was good at while I did...
Nostradamus wasn’t far off. Throwing word darts into the future where it struck bullseye in 2020. The wound still drips blood as we are not able to plaster the outpouring.Astrologers spit in the air again and again. Foretelling new dates.This month, this day,...
By Adarsh Madhavan Some of us are just pseudo animal (read dogs) lovers (read hypocrites). Like me, for instance.I love animals.And I like chicken.Curry. Roast. Fry. Biriyani. Shame on you!Yes, shame on me, but I am with this diet since decades....
By Adarsh Madhavan In the dead of night, I hear the message that a lone owl sends. Not a Whatsapp message that goes ting at the receiver’s end.But a hoot.An ominous cry, as they say.I care a hoot.But, my mother, who is afraid of so many things, also counts the owl as...
By Adarsh MadhavanSuddenly, I am getting noticed even in the dark, unlit, streets of Kannur. Normally, I slink past, under the cover of the shadows, like most of the poor street dogs that I try to feed. But lately, my lanky frame is being recognised, worn shoes, faded...
“Hello, oru cheriyyyoruu sahayam venamayirunnu…” Just need a small help… he said in Malayalam, overstressing on the ‘small’. But, since I had already seen this short, thin man in padded-up shirts hesitatingly approach someone who went before me on the busy street near...