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Ritika Sawhney win a Rs.300 gift voucher from our sponsors Zaarga, for her fun entry to our Love Story theme.
A little tattoo for Love – too much to ask? Ritika Sawhney wins a Rs.300 gift voucher from our sponsors Zaarga, for her fun entry to our Love Story writing theme.
Ritika, in her own words: A social media junkie, bibliophile, traveller and sometimes worker (yes, she is a cubicle-slave). She believes she can write, do you?
“I would do anything for Love, but I won’t do THAT!”
“Quit talking in cheesy lines from forgotten numbers, will you?” I snarled.
“Hey, that’s not fair“, he argued. “If we’re going to talk about using cheesy lines, then I am going to have to…have to…” he trailed off.
“Ha. Couldn’t remember an instance of me using a cheesy line, na? Maybe that’s because, I DON’T?”
Of course, I knew I was being unfair to the poor guy. I probably had used cheesy lines like that myself any number of times, but given his memory or lack of it, I got away.
And what was at stake wasn’t really the question of using lines from forgotten numbers, cheesy or not. You may not think of this as a big deal, but if you’ve ever had the experience of the man of your dreams claiming that he would climb the stars and fetch the moon for you, yet refusing to get a teensy little tattoo done on his broad shoulders (well, one of them) purely on the grounds of ‘I hate needles’, you’ll know what I am talking about.
I mean, c’mon, it’s not like I was asking him to get the American eagle etched all over his broad frame, with its wings artistically falling off his shoulders, although I admit that would look good too. All I was asking for was a few lines – a little heart (and not in pretty pink, but a very masculine, deep red) and it would be quid pro quo – I was planning to get a little heart done too. Does the lady ask too much?
And it got me wondering. Was it really a fear of needles, or a fear of the permanence a heart implied? I mean, was he thinking that this summer was only one installment of what would be an endless number of summers with an endless number of girls?
“You don’t really love me. You’re already thinking of what your next girlfriend will say about the heart.”
“C’mon jaan, it’s not that. I will never love anyone else, you know that,” he protested.
“Then prove it!”
The next day, we went off to Brahma’s. A bunch of folks from my class had got their tattoos done with them, and lived to tell the tale; infection-free.
He went first. He said it would be easier if he didn’t have to watch me wincing through it. I watched him instead, gritting his teeth and what was worse, not even bothering to wipe the tears that rolled down his cheeks.
It was over in a few minutes, but it seemed to last at least an hour; at the end of which, while he was putting on his shirt, I quietly slunk out of the parlour and ran down the street.
“Hey, where are you going? That’s not fair!” I could hear him screaming. “You come back here now! NOW!”
Zaarga.com – a new online shopping portal – brings to you exclusive home and lifestyle accessories from the best of contemporary Indian Designers. The products you find here are likely to be very different from any you find in regular stores.
*Photo credit: Pablot
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Rajshri Deshpande, who played the fiery protagonist in Trial by Fire along with Abhay Deol speaks of her journey and her social work.
Rajshri Deshpande as the protagonist in ‘Trial by Fire’, the recent Netflix show has received raving reviews along with the show itself for its sensitive portrayal of the Uphaar Cinema Hall fire tragedy, 1997 and its aftermath.
The limited series is based on the book by the same name written by Neelam and Shekhar Krishnamoorthy, who lost both their children in the tragedy. We got an opportunity to interview Rajshri Deshpande who played Neelam Krishnamoorthy, the woman who has been relentlessly crusading in the court for holding the owners responsible for the sheer negligence.
Rajshri Deshpande is more than an actor. She is also a social warrior, the rare celebrity from the film industry who has also gone back to her roots to give to poverty struck farming villages in her native Marathwada, with her NGO Nabhangan Foundation. Of course a chance to speak with her one on one was a must!
“What is a woman’s job, Ramesh? Taking care of parents-in-law, husband, children, home and things at work—all at the same time? She isn’t God or a superhuman."
The arrays of workstations were occupied by people peering into their computer screens. The clicks of keyboard keys were punctuated by the occasional footsteps moving around to brainstorm or collaborate with colleagues in their cubicles. Most employees went about their tasks without looking at the person seated on either side of their workstation. Meenakshi was one of them.
The thirty-one-year-old marketing manager in a leading eCommerce company in India sat straight in her seat, her eyes on the screen, her fingers punching furiously into the keys. She was in a flow and wanted to finish the report while the thoughts and words were coming effortlessly into her mind.
Natu-Natu. The mellifluous ringtone interrupted her thoughts. She frowned at her mobile phone with half a mind to keep it ringing until she noticed the caller’s name on the screen, making her pick up the phone immediately.
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