Monday, June 23, 2014

Fenced - A Short Story

Manas would not witness the heaps of white paper flying across the fenced Desert Dunes on his routine trip.

Yet, for some strange reason, this time he took out his Binoculars hurriedly, rattling the water bottle and story book in the backpack on its way.

With a longer vision and a shorter breath, he could catch hold of one of the many letters and a glimpse of the old man in streaking dead white and a crown of red turban over.

‘For the bread and the barter, my owed loans against the daughter;
There is an oasis so deep, in my heart when I weep;
If you could forgive me hence, and just for once travel across the fence;
The eyes die to see you flesh, and relieve the fenced soul of this mesh;
Your father is an old man now, suddenly life can betray, you know how;
My moustache no more black, but your doll still on the rack;
Stubborn I wouldn’t die in this life, for won’t forever live in death’s strife;
If you could Travel for my soul, and boundaries with no role;
To see the tears that roll often and the wrinkles that they soften;
Had this front not been  fenced, my death would not be chanced; 
Being sand, to become the sand, the body’s matter till its end,
Can’t the sand of its portion, flow me across and live this notion;
Pity our sights that share the glance, but am jealous for this air with no fence;  
For the men they apart, there are souls that cannot depart,  
For the men they apart, there are a few souls that could not depart.... ’,

as Manas read this through the white paper, he glanced that Hasrat, a young woman, perhaps the daughter, was on her knees and in tears on the other side of fence.


There were men, and well..... there are fences, Manas thought.



This post has been written and shared for the series 'Five Sentence Fiction'.


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Looking forward to your comments and feedback.

Friday, June 6, 2014

Trip to Prague Castle that is Surprisingly Splendid

The sight across the cliff of the Prague Castle rightly summed up our visit to Czech. Surprisingly Splendid !

Been to quite some number of castles/forts in Rajasthan, India, what I thought would lay ahead at Prague's Castle area would be predictable. By all means, it was not.
Prague Castle Area

Prague Castle area - Splendid !
While we had a remarkable Road Trip to Prague and an equally incredible day spent at the Old Town of Prague, yet  we weren't sure that what would lay ahead us, would be as special as it was. Prague's Castle area is refreshingly different !

 ** Prague is Refreshing, Prague is different ! **

First things first. Prague Castle area is not just about a single monument (the Castle). It's about several grandiose buildings, lush green gardens, well kept monastery, bustling square and last but not the least, the Castle.

Take Tram 22 for the Castle area. While Trams are indeed the best way to commute, it is important to be aware that, it is better to start uphill for the Castle area and Lesser Town. Because, if you do so, you'd save some precious time and energy that you'd love to have by your side to soak in the mesmerizing beauty of Prague! So start early for the Day, and head straight to the point up north to the stop Prohorlec. Then across the splendid panorama of Strathov Monastery you can spend an hour or two gazing its architecture and around. Be sure though, about the timings of the Monastery, else you could miss the splendor inside! There are some options around to spend your time in its convent and library. There's a decent restaurant also, good for some snacks on the go. You'd definitely realize that Prague is refreshing and is quite different. In some sense, your perception about Prague would change.