CHAPTER 3 – PICKING UP THE PIECES Jane had been furious when Anil confessed he was married after receiving the surprise phone call from NY airport when Asha arrived in the US. Up to this time she’d thought this Asha he was always communicating with was his sister. He’d blamed his parents for arranging a…
Category: Stories – Southern Asia
Stories about my S Asia working experiences
ASHA (आशा: (Hindi name meaning “hope”).” Chapter 2
THE WAKE-UP CALL CHAPTER 2 The response shocked her. “You should have told me, I’m travelling so you’ll have to find a hotel then tell me where you settle so I can pick you up when I get back. You should not keep secrets from me Asha, this is embarrassing. Contact me tomorrow, so I’ll…
ASHA (आशा: (Hindi name meaning “hope”).”
CHAPTER 1 A NEW LIFE Asha sat at her desk staring at the computer screen. There was a clatter of human movement telling her the days work had begun as papers and files made their appearance on desks and filing cabinet drawers clanked open and shut. She could already hear the muffled conversations coming from…
GOPAL गोपाल – Chapter 2
Restitution Gopal was aware of the route to Dhaka but had little comprehension of how long it would take to make it to the Hindu homeland, India. Travelling ten hours a day by foot would take a week to get to the border, that is assuming they could get help with food along the way….
GOPAL गोपाल – Chapter 1
(GOPAL. From the Sanskrit word go “cow” and pala “protector” and taken to mean “cowherd”.) Slaughter on the Ganges. Gopal sat on the banks of the river and watched as his herd fossicked among grassland and then carefully made their way down the slippery path to a shallow portion of the waterway to drink. He…
दत्तु (Datu)
The Paan Wallah prepared betel leaf with areca nut as Datu waited patiently. He never tired of watching the process as the stall holder worked his trade. The Paan Wallah held out his hand before handing over the final product and gave his red stained teeth grin. Datu reached into his money pouch and produced…
The Fugitive’s Return – Chapter 2
Fulfilled Dream Hussain picked up his cell phone and searched through the picture gallery. He leaned over to Grant. “There’s one of the family you haven’t seen this evening, can you think back as to who that may be?” Grant immediately responded. “Meenu, I suppose she’s married to some rich man somewhere in the world.”…
The Fugitive’s Return – Chapter 1
Flirting with Danger Grant emerged from the minibus with a mixture of happiness and fear. He was followed by an assortment of tourists complaining about cramped conditions on the way from Mumbai. They’d been irritated by the heat on arrival and the cramped quarters of the minibus with luggage piled around them as they’d negotiated…
कौआ (Kaua) – Chapter 4
A New Life – Conclusion Ranjubai slept fitfully through the afternoon occasionally crying out in pain as she turned on her thin cotton mattress. Her body was on fire. It was later that evening Dass returned lurching unsteadily through streets and singing loudly the latest Hindi song from the Bollywood movie currently being shown at…
कौआ (kaua) = Chapter 3
Life on the Streets “What’s your name?” The girl repeated this in several dialects until it registered with Kaua. Kaua looked at the girl and his lack of language skills distressed him. How was he to prosper in this city unless he could communicate more. “My name is Kaua!” The girl looked at him incredulously,…
कौआ (kaua) – Chapter 2
Chapter 2 – Survival After a while Kaua arose and looked around. He was hungry, tired and his muscles ached from holding on desperately all night. As he progressed back toward the station entrance and the usual cluster of barrows selling a variety of trinkets and foods his eyes focused on a stall where a…
कौआ (kaua) – Chapter 1
Chapter One – The Escape Kaua was his name, well that was not his birth name, but he’d been called Kaua since childhood and had trouble remembering what his real name was. Kaua had vague memories of his parents in his ancestral village. His father had been a village toddy maker and brewed his noxious…
