THE EMAIL

It all began when my fiancé Anil suddenly broke off our engagement without any explanation.

The Day After I Quit Smoking

THE DAY AFTER I QUIT SMOKING 
 By
 VIKRAM KARVE
One of the things that deters smokers from quitting decisively in one go is the fear of withdrawal symptoms. This results in smokers resorting to half-baked remedies like gradual reduction, nicotine patches, low tar cigarettes and various other futile therapies. In my opinion this exaggerated importance given to withdrawal [...]

QUALITY TIME

QUALITY TIME

(A fictional short “love” story)
 
by
 
VIKRAM KARVE
 
 
 
 
At exactly 8 PM her cell-phone rings in her hand. She’s expecting the call – that’s why she’s holding the cell-phone in her hand. She looks at the caller-id, accepts the call, moves the mobile phone near her ear and [...]

Freedom

FREEDOM
 
By
 
VIKRAM KARVE
       
                Anonymity. That’s what I like about Mumbai. As I lose myself in the sea of humanity leaving Churchgate station in the morning rush hour, I experience a refreshing sense of solitude. I notice that I am walking fast, in step with the crowd, as if [...]

WALLFLOWER

THE WALLFLOWER
 

By
 

VIKRAM KARVE
 
 
 

[PART – 1]
 
 
 
 

            “I don’t want to marry Manisha,” I told my mother.
 

            My mother looked as if she had been pole-axed. Suddenly there was a metamorphosis in her expression – a distant look across my shoulder followed by a smile of forced geniality. [...]

MYSORE CHASE

THE CHASE
 
(a fiction short story)
 
by
 VIKRAM KARVE 
 
 
 

           
            The Mysore race-course is undoubtedly the most picturesque race-course in
India. The lush green grass track, the verdant expanse right up to the foot of the rugged Chamundi hills which serve as a magnificent backdrop with the mighty temple atop, standing like a sentinel. The luxuriant ambience is so [...]

Freedom – a liberating tale

 
FREEDOM 
By 
VIKRAM KARVE 
 
 
 
                Anonymity. That’s what I like about Mumbai. As I lose myself in the sea of humanity leaving Churchgate station in the morning rush hour, I experience a refreshing sense of solitude. I notice that I am walking fast, in step with the crowd, as if propelled by the collective momentum. I experience the [...]

Lal Tibba

 
 
 

            LAL TIBBA
 
            [a short story]
 
            By
             VIKRAM KARVE 
 
 
            “Excuse me, Sir,” said a feminine voice, “Do you have change for twenty rupees? Even two tens will do.” 
            I put down the bunch of grapes which I was examining and looked up. She proffered a crisp twenty rupee note, folded into half at the centre, [...]

Banter

TETE A TETE
by VIKRAM KARVE

 It’s late and the bar at the  Savoy in Mussoorie is almost empty. There are just three people – a couple, a man and woman, in their thirties, sit together on a sofa; and on the sofa just behind them sits a solitary man, unseen, in the shadows.
It is quite [...]

TETE A TETE

TETE A TETEby VIKRAM KARVE       It’s late and the bar at the
Savoy in Mussoorie is almost empty. There are just three people – a couple, a man and woman, in their thirties, sit together on a sofa; and on the sofa just behind them sits a solitary man, unseen, in the shadows. [...]