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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]