Till death do us part

"So, Ragini, tell me! What brings you here? That too without Rohit? How can I help you?", he said, adjusting his black rimmed glasses properly on his nose.
"Saurabh, a few things are troubling me!", she said, hesitating. The blue denim jacket and jeans fit perfectly on her slender frame
"Of course, we can talk about it. Tell me! Whats the problem?"
"Its with Rohit!", she replied
"Rohit? Why didnt you bring him along? He could have talked more about whatever problem he is facing!"
"I am not too sure if he would have agreed to come to see you, because.."
"Because in India, people still think visiting a psychiatrist is a social setback. Come on, its like a disease! Not physical, but mental. And we can help! Plus, me and Rohit are friends since childhood! Why cant he discuss a problem with me?"
"Its not that Saurabh. He doesnt consider it a problem. But I think he needs help!"
"Hmm...Tell me more about it"
"Heard of the news of the major accident in Delhi two weeks ago? A car was almost crushed to pieces by a truck"
"I dont think I remember it, but what about it?"
"Rohit was in that unfortunate car!"
"Ohh! He never told me! "
"He was visiting Delhi for some summit and there were people from all over the country. There were no physical damages, in fact he escaped completely unhurt, maybe the reason he didnt tell it. But, there has been a change in him!"
"What change?"
Mostly he is normal like earlier, but at times he would get worked up, and would get angry, or would start talking fast. Even this would be normal, as I know it takes time to recover from an accident even if you arent hurt. Almost every night he would get up all of a sudden from a deep slumber, and would be all covered in sweat and would be breathing heavily. When I would ask, he either would get up from a dream of infinite fall, or being locked up in a heavy, dark box where he is not able to breathe properly. I am really scared, Saurabh. Thats the reason I wanted to talk to you."
"From the sound of it, the accident does seem to have damaged his mental peace. Lets see how we can work on it."
"Some medication?"
"No, first we need to get to the root of the problem, and you are the best person to help me in this. Has he ever faced this before in these last two years that the two of you are together?"
"No! Never! What can I do?"
"Let me explain! See, what is a dream? A dream has a connection to the unconscious or the sub-conscious mind.. The reason, what you see in the dream, may be surreal or bizarre, but its your subconscious mind's way of sending you a message. And, if its a nightmare, the subconscious mind is trying to send pretty strong signals. Rohit is going through some troubled phase, and if you ask him, even he wont be able to tell, because honestly speaking, even he doesnt know whats the actual cause. We need to help him find it out. Most probably, the accident has touched some part of his unconscious mind which was either slept or ignored by his conscious mind"
"What can I do?"
"You said he would get excited or agitated or worked up, right? Its when he sees or hears or says something which is connected to his sub-conscious mind. From tomorrow onwards, try to study his behaviour closely. Try to find out things which get him worked up a lot or make him excited, or angry. Then we can see what we can do."


"Need some tea?"
"Yes, please! I am very tired!", said Rohit as he sat down on the couch. he took the remote and started watching a news channel. His tall frame meant the legs always dragged on the floor when he was spread like this on the couch
"I have prepared your favourite Kadhi Chawal for you!"
"Thats great!. So sweet of you", he said smilingly and looked back at the television as Ragini served him the food. All of a sudden he switched the TV and stood up.
"I am not hungry! I am going to sleep", he said
"Why, what happened? You were tired?"
"Yes, and now I am going to sleep! Good night!", he said and he dashed off to his room. When Ragini entered the room, he was already asleep.

"Saurabh! I think I noticed something!"
"What is it? Tell me."
"It has got something to do with Gujarat!"
"Gujarat?"
"Yes, Bhuj in particular!"
"How can you be so sure?"
"I have noticed throughout the week, whenever there was some photo of Dandiya celebrations, or more particularly, the anniversary of Bhuj earthquakes, he would get agitated or not eat his dinner, or would talk rudely."
"Hmmm! Then maybe Bhuj is the reason for all your troubles! But, to cure his problem completely, we need to get to the root of the matter. I would suggest you two to visit Bhuj."
"And what do we do there?"
"Just spend some time there. If Bhuj is really the root cause of his problems, lets hope that he will come across it there and once he faces the exact reason of his problem, he will be in a better position to deal with it."
"OK! Let me try and talk to him."
"Remember, once you will talk to him about this idea, he may get worked up again, may show extreme reactions, be very happy or angry, but you know whats good for him. You know its important to take him to Bhuj."
"Ok Saurabh, I will keep you informed. Thanks a lot!"
"Anything for you, dear", he said and smiled as she smiled back at him.


"Rohit, come lets go to that shop.", said Ragini pointing Rohit to a small shabby shop selling local made goods.
"No, Ragini! I am not in mood. You buy something for yourself."
"Come on! Please!", she said and pulled his arm as they reached the shop.
"How does it look?", she asked putting some scarf on her head
"Looks really nice.", he said genuinely.
"I will buy one!, do you have male scarfs as well?", Ragini asked the shopkeeper
"We have these pagdis, madam. The male folks wear it in the villages.
"OK! Show me that red one!", she said as the shopkeeper gave her the pagdi.
"Sir looks like a hero from a movie", said the shopkeeper as both Ragini and Rohit smiled. Ragini paid for the items and as both of them prepared to leave, the entry was blocked by the figure of a women. As Rohit tried to leave from the side, his eyes met the woman in front of her, and he was stuck for a moment.
The lady in front of them was wearing a crimson colored top and black leather boots. As Ragini tried to sneak past Rohit, she felt the lady also stuck at her place, staring at Rohit. Ragini saw her wearing a similar red color scarf on her long black hairs.
"Amish!", all of a sudden the lady blurted out, looking at Rohit!
"Amish? You must be mistaken! He is Rohit!", replied Ragini. The lady didnt seem to hear Ragini as she continued staring at Rohit!
"Amish! You are Amish! I have been searching for you like crazy for so many days, here. Left my house, left my job, just because I know I will find you one day. Ohh Amish!! Where were you all this time?", she started sobbing as she hugged Rohit all of a sudden.
"No! I am not Amish. I am Rohit.", he said, breaking away from the lady. He looked at Ragini, confused and then back at the lady.
"No, you dont remember!", she was still crying. "You are my Amish! I have searched for you at every nook and corner of Bhuj in the last few days. I have been wandering here like crazy and now that I have found you, you dont believe me?".
"I am sorry but you seem to be mistaken, Maam", said Rohit assertively. "I am Rohit, not Amish"
"Ohhh!", she blurted out, as if coming out of some daze. "I am sorry! I dont know what happened! I am really sorry!", she said, visibly embarrassed.
Rohit caught Ragini by her arm who seemed to be confused."Let's move now", he said as they started moving out.
"I think I have seen her somewhere!", said Rohit as Ragini looked back at him. "But I may be wrong!", he said.
As Ragini stepped out of the shop and walked for some distance, she looked back to see the lady still staring back at them.


Rohit seemed to be more quite than ever, as they strolled aimlessly around the market. They stopped at a small tea shop as Ragini ordered some snacks.
 Rohit seemed disturbed and wasnt speaking much. Ragini held his hand, and touched his cheek."What happened?"
"I dont know. I think I had seen that lady somewhere, but I am not sure. And why did she call me Amish?"
"Must have mistaken you for someone."
Rohit nodded as he sipped his tea.
"Anyways, lets go back to our room after this. You seem to be tired. Where exactly are we?", she said fetching out her mobile to check the location.
"This is the very place where earthquakes happened in 1985, Madam", said the tea-vendor. "Things have changed a lot since then."
All of a sudden, Rohit stood up and looked at Ragini. He paid for the money and asked Ragini to come with him.
"But, where are we going?", she asked
"I dont know. I know this place somehow. But, I dont know where are we going.", he said as they entered a small lane from the main lane. Some 3-4 small lanes across, Rohit suddenly stopped in front of a medium-sized home. The main door was open, and there were sounds of arguing from inside. Rohit stepped to enter the door.
"Rohit, what are you doing? We dont even know them", said Ragini, but Rohit seemed not to listen to her.
As they entered, they saw the same lady standing in front of them arguing with a middle-aged man. Both of them froze as Rohit came forward.
"Amish!", exclaimed the man, as Rohit looked at Ragini and back at the man.
"I am not Amish. I am Rohit", said Rohit. All of a sudden he remembered the lady next to him calling by the same name earlier as he looked at her
"Ohh! I am sorry ! How could you be Amish! What was I thinking! Amish has been dead for years now."
"Who was Amish", asked Ragini, "And how does this lady know Amish if he is dead?"
"Amish, was my younger brother who lost his life in the 1985 Bhuj earthquakes. He looked very much similar to your husband. I am sorry! This lady also came here asking for Amish, we dont even know her. We dont know who is she?"
Ragini turned to face the lady with question in his eyes,"Who are you? And how do you know Amish who is dead for so many years?", he asked
"I am Rati, from Bangalore. I work at an MNC there. Since the last few weeks, I was getting these nightmares where I was running scared from something, and there were several others who would run along with me. Out of all of them, the one name which I remembered even after waking up was Amish. Almost two weeks ago, I felt a strong urge to travel to Bhuj and search for my answers. I have been wandering here since last 12 days, and finally I came across your husband Rohit, who looked exactly like the Amish of my dreams. And see the twist of fate, we both ended up in the home of Amish."
"This is bizzare. This is insane.", Rohit was muttering."Do you have Amish's photo with you?", he asked the man.
"Yes, I surely have it", the man said and went into an inner room. After some five minutes, he brought out an old photo. Ragini's eyes grew big in surprise as she saw the man looking eerily similar to Rohit
Rohit seemed to be shocked too.
"I dont believe this. I just dont believe this.", he turned to Rati. "I was also facing nightmares since a few days, where I was falling, I was scared. But, I dont remember names. And certainly nothing about Amish."
"Can I suggest a thing, Sir?", said the man all of a sudden.
"Yes?", asked Ragini
"This seems to be some weird connection which brought the two of you here. Why dont you ask Iqbal Baba who lives three houses down the lane?"
"See, Mister! I dont believe these Baba type people. I dont think we need to go anywhere.", Rohit shrugged him off.
"But you still somehow found my address and reached exactly where Amish lived? You believe this?"
"Rohit, lets meet this Iqbal baba and see if he can help", pleaded Ragini


"Do you believe in destiny, my child? ", said Iqbal Baba after taking a long pause once he was done with their story.
Ragini looked at Rohit, confused.
"Destiny has brought both of you together to the place you belong my children. And no matter what, you can never challenge your own destiny."
"What do you mean, Baba?"
"I knew Amish as he was very fond of me. What even his brother doesnt know, he was in love with a girl! And before they could break the news to their family, the fateful earthquake occured. Destiny has its own ways, my children, and what you are seeing today is a clever play of destiny. Tara is the same girl Radhika whom Amish could never had and they died without being one. And you, my child, are Amish."
Rohit and Tara looked at each other, confused.
"That is the reason you came here looking for each other. You both have come here to complete your unfinished story."
"But, Rohit is married Baba", said Amish's brother.
"Love knows no boundaries my child. Destiny separated them, and now destiny has brought them together because of their love, Think of it, this is what you came here searching for."
Ragini looked at Tara as she started sobbing. Rohit was looking down, without saying anything, Tara turned to Rohit."Tell me Amish. You dont remember anything? You dont remember me ? Your Radhika? You dont remember anything at all?"
Rohit sat on the floor holding his head as his face showed expressions of pain


They were sitting on the stairs of the temple since hours. Ragini tugged along the arm of Rohit and was looking at him. Rohit kept his head down, and had tears in his eyes. On the other end of the stairs, Tara was sobbing occasionally.
Rohit kept his hand on Ragini's hands and smiled at her assuringly. He stood up and went to Tara as she looked at him with sad eyes.
"Ms Tara!", he called her out as she stood and came face to face with him. "Whatever happened was a cruel play of destiny. Iqbal Baba says destiny has brought us together here, but if you ask me, destiny never meant Amish and Radhika to be together. Whats the point of it all now that I am married and was living a peaceful life. For me, destiny played a game more cruel this time, disturbed our peaceful and happy lives we were living and shook us to our soul. No matter what happened then, no matter what happened now, the fact is that I have a wife and she loves me more than herself, and I love her equally. Thats the only truth , there is no other. I am sorry for whatever happened, and had I known, I would have avoided this trip. Now, lets us try to erase this uneventful day from our minds, and try to live the way we planned to."
Tara again broke into sobbing as Ragini tried to confront her. She looked at Ragini with sad eyes and then at Rohit.
"Amish! I think some love stories are never meant to be complete. We couldnt complete it then, and look at the evil play of fate, here we meet at the same place where our story ended, and we couldnt be together again. Our love story was never destined to be complete, I think destiny had only planned pain and tears in our story.", she stopped for a second and tried to control her sobbing. "I will go back to Bangalore, Amish. I will go back to the life I was living in and try to settle back, but I am sorry, I would never ever be able to forget this day. The day, when I met my love again in this life, way beyond births and deaths. And I am sure, if not this time, we will again meet and finally be together in another life. I just want you to ask one thing before we part our ways in this life. Don't you remember anything."
Rohit looked down at the stairs and back at Tara,"Yes, I do, Radhika", he said and left along with Ragini



"I think I have been living with a stranger, Saurabh"
"Ragini! When I asked you to visit Bhuj, I promised he would find the reasons for his nightmares, and he actually did! But, I never promised the reasons would make him happier or sadder."
"No, he is not sad. He is just not his normal self now. He pretends to be happy, brings me flowers occasionally, he tries to be normal. but I know I lost a part of Rohit in Bhuj that day. No matter what I do, I can never have my Rohit back, now."
"Ragini, I dont know if I can help."
"Its fine, Saurabh! I understand. I have decided to divorce him"
"What? Have you discussed it with him?"
"No, but I have made up my mind. There is no point dragging a life which is not meant to be. I have talked to my lawyer and signed the papers. Just wanted to talk to you. You were very supportive."
"I am so sorry, Ragini, if I was the cause of your divorce, in some way or the other."
"No, Saurabh, you actually helped Rohit get a life he deserved."
"You are a brave girl, Ragini"


"Have you lost it? I am not gonna divorce you."
"Please Rohit! I have thought it over and over again, and this is the best way possible for us. I know I can never have the same Rohit back. Some part of Amish will always be with Radhika, and that part I lost in Bhuj when I took you there. I know you will never be complete without the part which you left there."
"Ragini, it doesnt make any sense. The reality is that we are married."
"And we can correct it now.  Rohit, you and Tara are destined to be together, and thats the truth."
"Ragini....", Rohit couldnt speak much and hugged her tightly. Ragini also started crying. After a few minutes, she broke the embrace, kissed his forehead and kept a paper on the table.
"This is the number of Tara. Call her.", she said and left without looking back. She opened the gate, looked one last time at the house, closed the gate back and went away.






Four hours later, as Rohit, Saurabh and Tara raised a toast, and sipped from their glasses, Rohit turned to Tara and said, "Remember what I said when we were stuck for hours in that jam, because of that car accident? My wife is a sucker for such stories"





Loosely inspired from an episode of Saturday Suspense from ZEE TV which I watched years ago

Walk in the Woods

She increased her speed of walking as she crossed the wooden bridge which connected the town to the woods. With the last few rays of the day seeking an exit from the already crimson sky, she knew she had already been late.What had begun as a routine stroll in the outskirts of the woods for her, she had extended her visit towards the lake and was still not sure how many hours were lost while she sat there thinking about her new poem.
With not a soul in sight, she wanted to reach her cottage as early as possible. Night had called in early in accordance with the bad weather forecasts for the day of Darjeeling, and her cottage was still almost a mile away.

"A few minutes more, before the town begins", she told herself as she kept walking in a hurry. As she crossed the trekking paths, she heard a faint rustle of leaves behind her back. She turned around and saw a guy at some distance walking on the path with a backpack on his bags. She felt he looked at her and started walking towards her. She turned back and continued walking towards her cottage. After what seemed to be a minute, she again turned around and saw that the man had closed the gap between them and was fast approaching her. She turned back and further increased her pace. She was almost running now as she heard rustle of dried leaves which she had crossed just a while back. The man had increased his speed too. As she crossed a shade towards her left, she jumped towards the shade and picked up a small dried wooden stick lying near the shade.
As Sumit approached the shades, where he had seen the girl jump towards, he stopped near the shades and started walking towards them. All of a sudden, Roshni jumped out of nowhere and started beating Sumit with the stick.
"Hey! Wait!", he exclaimed. "What are you doing?
"You were trying to follow me", she said as she kept beating him with the stick.
"Calm down, first of all", he said, smiling. "That joke of a stick is doing no damage except tiring you off."
"Why were you following me?", she asked.
"I saw you walking alone, and just thought of helping you out."
"I dont need your help. I can manage on my own", she said, half out of breath. "You go your own way, and I will go on my own."
"Listen, I am walking towards the town where I have a stay, and so are you.. We can walk together, it would be a good company for both of us."
"I dont need your company"
"Alright!", he said, defeated. "You walk ahead of me, and I will walk behind you. That way we wont be together, and I wont have to worry about you."
"You dont have to worry about me. I can manage on my own.", she said and crossed him to walk towards the town. He started walking behind her.
"You live here?", he said.
"I dont think I need to answer that.", she said and kept walking. "And besides I dont want to talk."
"Hey! Whats the harm in a little chat while we walk towards the town. Saves us from getting bored."
She kept quiet and continued walking.
"What's your name?", he asked after a few moments. She didnt reply.
"I am Sumit and I live on the other side of this hill. I came here alone for a short trek.".She still kept quiet.
"Whats your name?"
"Roshni!"
"And what are you doing here alone in the woods?", he asked while increasing his pace and coming next to Roshni.
":I often visit these woods. I come to write poems here."
"Ohh! You are a poet! Great! You can tell me some of your poems and we will be near town in no time", he said as she looked back.
"My poems are not for others. I write them for myself", she said looking away from him as she kept walking
"You gotta be kidding me. Whats the use of writing, when you dont show it to anyone."
She didnt reply and kept walking.
"Hmm! If you dont want to tell them, its your choice. Now lets walk faster towards the town, and then I can drop you to your cottage before it gets too late."




"The weather is so romantic today!", she said as he looked over the horizon at the strings of trees in vicinity.
"You know whats the best thing about Darjeeling?", he said. "No matter what the season is, the woods are always beautiful."
"And is that the reason you travel daily all across the hill to enjoy the weather in the woods? "
"Of course, Not!", he looked back at her."The reason is you. And, that restuarant near your cottage. The Kadhi Chawal is a killer"
She smiled back at him.
"Hey! Roshni", he faced her and held her hands. "Why dont we get married?"
"Sumit, its only been a month since we met."
"Yes, I understand that. But, it happens when it has to, and no one cares about how much time two people have spent together. Dont you love me?"
Her face dropped all of a sudden and she appeared sad."I do love you, Sumit. But..."
"What is it?", asked Sumit.
"There is something I need to tell you."
"Tell me, then. Who is stopping you?"
"That you may no longer want to be with me, forget even proposing me to marry."
"How stupid would that sound. There is nothing which would stop me from being with you."
She still appeared sad and didnt say anything.
"Fine! If you dont want to talk about it, we can talk later. Totally up to you."
She smiled and looked away from him.
"Hey! Remember we met in the same woods almost a month back", he said, trying to cheer her up.
"Of course I do!"
"And you tried hitting me with that small stick", he said as both of them laughed together.
"I thought you were stalking me!"
"Well, I was actually!", he said.
"What?", she said looking at him with raised brows
"Nothing! Just kidding!", he winked at her
She looked at him for some time then smiled back at him
"So, what shall we talk about?", he said looking at her.
"The weather, the mountains. the lake, the trees. Why, how come you are short of stuff to talk to me?"
"Alright, lets talk about...", he said and paused for a moment, when all of a sudden reached towards her bag and pulled out a blue diary, "your poems".
"No! Wait! Give it back to me!", she almost shouted as she tried to get the diary back from him."
"I dont think so! Today your poems may get their first reader!", he said as he pulled back and got up on his feet.He started to fiddle with the pages, as she got up and made a leap towards him.
"Hey ! Hey! You wont be able to win this back from me unless I am done with all your poems", he said and started running casually towards the bridge.
"Give it back to me!", Roshni shouted almost complaining and ran towards the bridge as Sumit had almost crossed and reached on the other side.
"So, the title of the first poem here is 'Walk in the woods'. How apt!", he said as Roshni tried to pace up, when her left foot got stuck and she tripped over. As she fell, her right leg jerked forward and her right  leg's caliper sprung a couple of feet ahead of her, as it slide and reached near Sumit.

Sumit stood where he was with the blue diary in his hands as he looked towards the stranded caliper lying near him. He looked up and saw a scared Roshni crying with tears in her eyes. He kept the diary in his pocket, and walked slowly towards the caliper as he picked it up. He was still searching for words as he walked slowly towards Roshni.
"Is this what...", he said, almost whispering, as words came out of his mouth in irregular intervals,"you didnt tell"
"I was in love with him", she shouted and started sobbing loudly."Could have done anything for him, but he humiliated me for my handicap."
"Who humiliated you?', he asked, now more composed.
"There was a guy, had come from Mumbai on a trip with his friends. We met here, in these very woods, and we were so much in love. He had even proposed me, and before I could even tell him about my accident and my handicap, he came to learn of it when I slipped near the lake. He picked up the caliper in both his hands, and threw it over me. He kept spewing venom and I kept crying. I wasnt even aware when he left, all I remember was a chilly dark night, and my walk back to town alone.", she was shuddering as she cried and coughed in between.
"And, you thought I will also...", he spoke softly but didnt complete.
"Yes, I knew you would also humiliate me. I knew the day you will learn of my secret, you will despise me, hate me."
Sumit picked up the caliper in both his hands, and kneeled besides her. She was still crying and looking at him with empty eyes. He offered to fix the caliper back her leg, and she extended her amputated leg towards him. He fixed he leg back, and hugged her, tears in his eyes.
"I am really sorry for whatever happened in your past. But now, you will never cry, thats my promise. I love you, and thats all what matters now.", he said softly as she held him tightly.





"I really hope this Tiger Hill is a nice place to get married.", he said as she closed the door of the car.
"Dont worry, I am sure you will love it. The first rays of sun falling on the mountain peaks. Its out of this world"
"Any place with you, I love it", he said and smiled as she smiled back.
"We will need to get the tank full. Tiger Hill doesnt have much option of a petrol pump, and its a good distance from here"
He nodded and started the engine. After a few minutes they were standing at the next petrol pump.
"Full tank, please", Sumit said to the only attendant there. As Roshni reached out for her purse, Sumit stopped her.
"Its fine, I can pay this. You already have paid for all the bookings, the arrangements, my suit, and everything. At least I can pay for petrol."
"You forgot my dress.", she smiled mischievously.
"Of course, your dress. A special mention! See, the point is..out of us two, i am the one with ideas, and you are the one with money. The reason, we are a perfect combination. After marriage, let us buy one more cottage in Siliguri, or Kalimpong."
"Of course sir, as you say! But, lets move fast as sun will set in almost an hour and it will be dark soon."




"What the hell!!", exclaimed Sumit
"Why? What happened?", asked Roshni, coming out of the tiring slumber.
"Its been only two hours into our journey, and the tank is almost empty."
"What? How is that possible? We got the tank full, right?"
"Exactly! And the fuel meter says its almost empty!"
"Did you not check it once during the drive? I think I slept the whole time."
"No, it never occurred to me to check the speed with which fuel meter was dropping because we got enough fuel to last the entire journey. Not even when I stopped by to relieve myself."
"You left me alone sleeping in the car? How careless of you, Sumit?"
"Hey! Relax! I kept the AC running, and I was near the car all the time."
"You could have checked the fuel when you got back! Now what do we gonna do?"
"Relax! I can see some light at a distance. Seems to be some inn or a motel of some sorts."
The car stopped near the shady guest house. Sumit got out first and opened the door for Roshni. They entered the dimly lit hall with one bulb hanging over a table behind which an old man was sitting.
"Excuse Me! Is there a petrol pump nearby? We are short of fuel", said Sumit
The old man looked at Sumit, then Roshni and then back at Sumit. "No, sir! The nearest petrol pump is 10 kms away, and that closes in evening itself. We have very little diesel which we use in generators. I think that would fetch you no purpose."
"Is there a room available where we can stay for the night? How much would be the cost?"
"We have only room here, sir. That costs 1000 Rs per night. The room has a small balcony and a bathroom attached. Payment will be made in advance."
Sumit turned to Roshni,"1000 Rs please. I do not have much cash." Roshni opened her purse and gave him a 1000 Rs note, while Sumit filled in the details in the hotel register.
Roshni entered the room first as her hand searched for the switchboard on the side wall. Sumit walked over to the opposite wall and switched the light on. Roshni looked at him, surprised
"How did you know the switch was on the opposite wall?"
"I could see it when I entered the room."
"The room is pitch black with darkness. I wasnt able to see anything."
"You must be kidding. There is some faint light from outside and I could see the switchboard, Anyways, how does it matter?"
"Nothing."
"Anyways, let me ask the receptionist if there is something we can eat, and then get to sleep. The petrol pumps open up at 8 in the morning."
"I need to go to the washroom."
Sumit moved across Roshni and opened up a door on the opposite wall and switched on the light."Here you are", he said.
"How did you know the bathroom was across the room?", asked Roshni, surprised.
"What else could it be", smirked Sumit
"There are three doors besides the main door, and you were able to identify the one to the bathroom. What if it was the door to the balcony?
"Then I would have tried the next door, sweetheart", said Sumit assuringly. Roshni still had signs of confusion on her face as she looked at Sumit. All of a sudden, there was a knock on the door. Sumit went and opened the door. There was the receptionist with a tray in his hands which seemed to have food covered by some old looking plates.
"Oh! I was just going to ask you for food. Great that you thought ahead for us."
"Thats alright sir. I fear the food would be a tad too simple for your liking. Here is some hot Kadhi Chawal for you, sir."
"Kadhi Chawal?", asked Roshni, surprised again. She looked at Sumit,"How did he know that you like Kadhi Chawal"
"Ohh! Come on Roshni", said Sumit, growing impatient. "How would I know how was he able to cook up my favourite dish? Maybe that was all what was left with him.", He turned to the receptionist, his back towards Roshni, "am I right, sir?"
"Yes, of course.", he nodded and closed the door behind him.
Sumit went ahead and hugged Roshni,"Roshni, why are you getting paranoid? Relax. I think this sudden halt at this place is wearing you out." Roshni hugged him back and nodded. She looked at the other two doors.
"The receptionist told one of them is balcony, what about the other one?", she asked
 Sumit broke the hug and moved towards the first door. He tried opening it, but the door seemed to be lock. "This could be the door to some private room. And the other one could be balcony."
"Its OK", she said. "Let it be.", she said and slowly moved towards the bathroom. As soon as she moved in, Sumit picked up the receiver of the phone kept in the corner and dialed some number.
Roshni wiped her face with the towel kept near the wash basin. She looked into the mirror and dabbled the corners of her eyes. All of a sudden, the power went off, and it was pitch black inside the bathroom.
"Sumit!"; she shouted stuck at where she was but no one responded.
"Sumit!", she called again, this time louder, but was again met with complete silence.
She slowly moved towards the door and tried to move the knob of the door, which seemed to be stuck. She panicked, as the very faint light from the window of the bathroom entered. She held the knob with both her hands and tried to push the door with all her energy. The door seemed to flinch a bit, but was still locked.
"Sumit!", she shouted at the top of her voice, but no one responded. She stopped for a moment and then used every last bit of energy of her body to push, when the door cracked and opened up.
There was darkness all over the room and Sumit, was not there. She slowly moved to where she had kept her bags, until she found them. She quickly brought up her mobile phones, which showed no signals. She activated the flash light of her phone and looked around. The front door seemed to be lock from outside. Feeling suffocated, she moved towards the third door and unlatched it. A very pungent whiff of air hit her hard as she opened the balcony. Covering her nose, she tried to adjust her eyes to the darkness and look for the source of the smell. After a few seconds, she saw what appeared to be chunks of unearthed soil bunked into huge heaps all over the ground. There were flies and other insects buzzing around the chunks.
"Shit!", she exclaimed and closed the door behind her. She picked up the knife from the tray the receptionist had brought earlier. Panicked, she started shouting "Sumit! Help!" but no one listened. She tried to open the main door, but it was locked heavily from outside. She proceeded to the third door and tired to open it , when with a jerk, the door opened to another room. Surprisingly, this room had a small lit bulb and an wooden almirah on the side.
"Must be powered on by generator", she said under her breath and tried to calm herself, as she moved towards the wooden almirah and opened it with a sunken heart. There were almost a dozen caliper legs kept in the almirah, with a date tag attached to each one of them. All of a sudden there was noise outside, the light had came back
Sumit, unlocked the front door with his left hand as he tightly held a pistol in his right hand. "Roshni!", he called out, but she didnt reply. "Rohni! Sweetheart! Where are you?", he called again with a smooth tone, but there was no reply. His eyes met the third opened door, as he crawled towards it with the pisto placed in front. "Come on sweetheart! Where are you?"
As he entered the room and took a few steps forward, Roshni jumped from behind and stabbed the knife into Sumit with all her might. A chunk of flesh alongwith blood spurted out as he fell on the floor.
"What the!!", he exclaimed with pain."Have you gone made?"
"You were trying to kill me! You knew this place! There are dead bodies all over the ground."
"What dead bodies! Shit!!", he exclaimed as he saw streams of blood running into his shirt.
"I went out to look for the cause of power outage!", he tried to speak suppressing the pain. "I saw a hound trying to break into the hotel, and shot him with my pistol. I swear I wasnt trying to kill you. I was cautious as I heard your scream"
"You are lying! Lying! Lying!", she shouted hysetrically. "You are lying from the very first time you met me. I tried to ignore your lies but you kept on lying! You knew me before meeting in the woods didnt you? You knew about my handicap?"
"No, Roshni! I swear!", he started.
"Again you are lying! Thats what you thought, right, thats what you do! Bring helpess people with calipers here and kill them and keep the calipers as a memento of your bloody victory."
"Alright, Roshni! I was lying. I knew you before we met in the woods. I knew about your handicap. I still followed and tried to help you because I was lusting for your money. I accept that! But, I was really trying to marry you today and not kill you. God! Why would I kill you."
"Liar! Pathetic liars! Thats what you men are good at. Thats what you men will always do. You are lying once again! You came here to kill me", she said as the anger in her grew visually up.
Sensing her anger, Sumit jerked all of a sudden and reached towards his gun. Roshni judged his intentions and stabbed Sumit once again in the chest.
"Why do you want to kill me, Roshni", said Sumit, crying. "I loved you. I was going to marry you."
"Because...", she paused for a moment."You also wanted to kill me.", she said and stabbed him one final time. Sumit let out a hoarse cry as his lifeless body let out a final hint of breath.

Roshni got up as the receptionist entered the room and dragged the body away. Roshni removed her caliper, attached a note to it, wrote down the date and kept it in the wooden almirah.



As she crossed the bridge, she heard him call out for her. She increased her speed as she felt him fast approaching her. She turned all of a sudden as he was taken aback.
"Why were you following me?", she asked.
"I saw you walking alone, and just thought of helping you out."
"I dont need your help. I can manage on my own", she said, half out of breath. "You go your own way, and I will go on my own."


Re-rendition of an episode of Saturday Suspense on Zee TV aired few years back

Tandoori Tangdi

So, who are the greatest artists of the world?
No, I am not looking for names here. I am looking more at the different art forms that exist in the world.
Of course, a comparison between two very distinct art forms, say, painting and music or dancing...is very tough...and makes no sense as such to make a comparison between two...but then quoting Amitabh Bachchan from Cheeni Kum, the other forms of arts attract either your eyes, or ears, or some other sensory organ.
But, cooking....and a perfect recipe alongwith a perfect execution...attracts your eyes, your nose, your taste buds...and thus...cooking is the greatest art of the world.

The first recipe which I just cooked the previous night, was Tandoori Tangdi, and believe me, its one of the easiest and tastiest recipes you could execute with chicken. Also, its very very healthy

A few people ask me, how could a person writing blogs on spirituality and mythology(Rhythm Divine) love so much of chicken in his recipes. But then, I am mostly a fan and devoted to a deity, who dances, roams around naked, is the perfect lover, plays music, and is very powerful, so that part comes easy.

Now enough of the prologue, lets jump straight away to the recipe.

For the recipe, you will need an Electric Tandoor, or a Griller. I have used Electric Tandoor in this recipe. Other item which you would need, is aluminium foil, which is quite an integral part of this recipe.

Ingredients:
5-6 Full Chicken Legs
1/2 cup hung curd
1 medium onion chopped
2 lemons juiced
2 teaspoons ginger garlic paste
2 teaspoons garam masala
1 tablespoon Ghee/Butter
1 teaspoon red chilli powder(preferably "Tikhalal", as it is not that spicy, but very red, giving a nice color to chicken
Red and yellow food coloring(highly optional)
Salt to taste
Finely chopped fresh coriander leaves for garnishing
Chaat masala(optional)
Sliced lemon wedges for garnishing


Method:

Wash and take each of the full legs one by one, and make fine incisions with a sharp knife on both sides of the leg. The incisions should be deep and around the bone, so that the flavour of spices reach the inner parts of the leg.

Now, squeeze lemon juice in a separate container and mix salt in the juice. Rub the entire juice over the chicken legs. Make sure that the juice reaches the incisions you have made. Keep this marination for 20-30 minutes.

Now, mix in together hung curd, chopped onion, garam masala, ginger garlic paste, red chilli powder and salt. Mix together to form a smooth paste. One important aspect is to use hung curd. Till the curd wont be thick enough, it would not stick to the leg. For preparing hung curd, use a thin cloth and put in normal curd and either hang it form some height or keep it over a sieve, so that all the water slowly flows leaving a thick cud behind.
 You may also add color at this step, though I highly encourage use of natural colors, the reason why I avoid adding artificial colors to this recipe, and use the nice red color of Tikhalal red chilli powder. If you want a better looking Tangdi, go for half teaspoon of red and yellow colors both.

Now apply the paste over the marinated chicken legs. Make sure to apply most of the mixture at the incisions made in the chicken leg. The more this mixture reaches here, the more tasty the tangdi would be.
Now refrigerate the marinated chicken legs for 6-24 hours. The more you refrigerate, the tastier the tangdis are.

Once you are done with apt refrigeration of the legs, take substantial size of aluminium foils and wrap the chicken leg completely in the foil

Repeat the step for all the legs

This step is performed because the foil would restrict the direct heat of the Griller or the Tandoor and the juices would remain inside the foil and not flow off. This way, the chicken wont get dry and be juicy. Swith the tandoor on and let it be pre-heated for 2-3 minutes. Now place the wrapped legs on the tray of electric tandoor and cook for around 10-12 minutes. Now, turn them around and cook for another 8-10 minutes.
Now, take the wrapped legs out and unwrap them one by one. The chicken is still half cooked.

Now, apply ghee/butter all over the chicken leg, and specially over the incisions made. This ghee will not only cook the chicken, but also prevent the chicken juices from flowing out, rendering a very juicy chicken tangdi. If possible, try to apply the ghee with fingers or with a flat spoon, so that the ghee reaches every part of the chicken. Do this for both the sides.
Now spread an aluminium foil over the plate of the tandoor and place the legs across on the plate. Cook for another 3-4 minutes in a pre-heated tandoor. Turn the pieces around, again cook for 2-3 minutes. Switch the tandoor off and let the Tangdis inside for 1-2 minutes more.

Remove the tangdis and place them in a bowl. Sprinkle some chaat masala, squeeze some lemon juice and keep the wedges for garnishing. Sprinkle fresh coriander leaves and enjoy the juicy, tasty Tangdis.