Word 17: #Wangle

Wangle

Contributions:

@Ungaayaa:

The Nilgiris express stood right in front of him waiting to depart from the Chennai Central station. He sat on one of the benches in the platform. He was hungry and tired. He didn’t have anything with him besides a cover. He watched people walking all around the train. “No, I don’t have a choice now. I’ve to pick somebody” he muttered to himself. Then, he saw her. She was alone and she was getting into the train. He immediately she was the one.

He slowly pulled out the papers that were in the cover. He went through them. Those were certificates from school and the college. He told himself “I’ve nothing with me besides this” as he shoved them back into the cover. No! Not enough

He then closed his eyes allowing himself to feel he was terribly hungry which he was. I can do better.

He clutched his stomach letting himself to feel he was the most cursed and the most wretched man on this planet. He allowed the emotions to slowly well up inside him. Yes, it’s working now.

He got up, saw a pillar ten meters to his right and walked towards it. He positioned himself to the left of the pillar while dragging his right foot behind the pillar’s strong metal leg. He looked around. Nobody is watching. More antics followed as he supported himself on the right foot with his toes which were right behind the pillar. He looked down. He was in a perfect position now.

All you gotta do now is take a step forward.

He took a step and he tripped badly. The certificates came flying out of the cover. He landed on his right cheek. Cry, cry, you moron! The tears were rolling down now. People walked upto help him get up. He ignored them pulling himself up from the ground. He began walking towards the train. He began walking towards her. The tears wouldn’t stop coming from his eyes.

He saw her inside the compartment smiling, seeing her phone. He trudged forward and stood beside her. She looked up. “Akka,” he started. “I’m sorry. I need a favour.” He saw her expression changing. He knew what she was thinking about him. Try something else, idiot. “Akka, please don’t mistake me. I’m not here to beg or anything. I’m in a soup. Please listen to me. Please?” He wept more.

“Yeah, tell me” she said.

“Akka,” he pulled out the certificates from the cover “These are my certificates.” and handed it to her. “My luggage has gone missing. This is the only thing I have. I need to go to Andhra and I don’t have a penny with me now. I’ve no clue what to do now.” She was listening to him intently now. He wiped the tears of his eyes and continued “I know nobody here ka. Can you please help me a buy a ticket? Please?”

She pulled her wallet out. He peered at it. “Relax,” she said pulling the only 100 rupee note she had in her wallet. “I can’t buy you a ticket now. The train will leave now. I’m sorry but this is all I have and you can take this now. I hope it helps.”

“Thank you so much akka. I don’t know how I will repay this but thanks a lot.”

                       ********

He walked out. Crap, so much for the effort. He could wangle just a hundred rupees. Haha.. But what was her name? Name field empty it seems. Ha ha ha.

@Shubhlime:

He always wangled his way out of trouble. He was the charmer. His bosses loved him and the women swooned over him. My mom always said that such talents don’t come easy. They come at a cost. She said that such men have pasts that are dark and unsettling — like the body bags in his attic. A story that I wish I lived to tell.

@Disha Khemchandani:

“You have to come with me now”, said he.

“I told you, I still have to do some more things here”, said she.

“But, what about my duties”, said he.

“Come on, you have to buy me some more time. The end result will be worth it. Trust me”, said she.

“You know I am answerable to my boss”, said he.

“I know, but I will talk to him. He has always adored me. I know that”, she said with a mischievious glint.

This conversation went on for many years. He tried to wangle his way out, but she was firm on her decision. In front of her adorableness, even he had to bend.

Until one day, she finally said, “It’s time!”

Finally, the angel was able to convince Zohra Sehgal to come to heaven and spread some joy there too.

In memory of the most beautiful and grand old lady of cinema. (1912-2014)

@moodytambrahm:

The boys saw the animal standing alone outside the building. They approached her casually, offered her biscuits, and wangled her. Without a clue of what was happening, she tagged along.

"Sit" they said. She didn't budge.

"Fetch!" they said. She didn't budge.

"NO!" they said, "do not pee here. DO NOT PEE HERE." She did not listen.

The boys regretted their kidnap.

Little did they know the saying 'You can only take a horse to the pond, you cannot make it drink the water' applied to dogs as well.


@rovingeyes786:

















@Kanwar Singh Sodhi:

Word 16: #Panoply

Panoply

Contributions:

@an_usa_bar

A panoply of Indian bowling on a flat deck was overshadowed by dhoni gate.

@Disha Khemchandani:

He had dreamt the impossible,
Even though it had been imagination,
He had jumped about here and there,
Trying to make his reverie come true,
So what if he was a stray Dog,
It was a dream for him
To lay his paws on a panoply of fresh food.

@moodytambrahm:

The food was nearly inedible, but the panoply of dishes spread across the table by his little daughter was reason enough to cherish what he ate.

Word 15: #Terse

Terse

Contributions:

@ajaw_ 

I wanted to write an essay this time, but the word read 'terse'.

@Kanakupullai:

The topic to write on is 'terse'. Whenever I think of the word 'terse', I think, 'okay, this is something to do with stress and tension'. It always takes time to transpire in the mind about the meaning that this word carries. It is as terse as the word can get to define what it actually means. So, what really is terse and what story can I possibly come up with to submit for today's story? I thought, pondered, wondered and wrote a couple of stories meandering all the way to 400 words and over. Then, I felt blank.

This wasn't what the word had set out to achieve, was it? The story being so long was probably against the meaning of the word. It had to be short, precise, give the meaning that it intended to, and yet be to the point. How was I going to give a story like that? And then, it struck me. I wrote down the story and sent it across. Maybe it would get published, maybe it won't. Maybe it would give away the meaning that I intended it to, maybe it won't. I just wrote what I felt was right.

----------

"Baby I'm just…"

"Shh.. Just don't talk," she concluded. A Mani Ratnam movie was running on the TV, dialogues as terse as they could be.

@bossitive:

There cannot be an intent as terse as the signing of Alexis Sanchez by Arsenal FC to show the world that they will be gunning for glory in the years to come.

@Disha Khemchandani:

He could just emote,
His expressions described the feelings,
His Kathakali steps narrated the story,
He was a writer,
In no need of terse words,
His dance did the talking.  

@moodytambrahm:

Terse, tensed and timid. Happy tears poured down her cheeks, which gleamed against the moonlight's reflection on her gorgeous face. All her attempts to talk went in vain. She cupped her hands on her cheeks and stood there in absolutely delighted shock.

Her reaction was induced by just one simple question.

"Will you marry me?"

@Fastudious:

I'm known for my essay like statuses on FB. Keeping things terse in writings is not my forte.
 

Word 14: #Hex

Hex

Contributions:

@Disha Khemchandani:

He had a traveller’s soul,
He dreamt of lands and their hidden stories,
He used every means possible to fulfill his desire to discover,
Music being one of them,
Rahman’s tunes took his mind on a journey,
Giving him inexpressible joy,
Blindness was his hex,
But, he had a traveller’s soul.

@bossitive:

My faith in witchcraft takes a sharp U-turn whenever I get reminded of Béla Guttmann. He cast an hex over Benfica, his football club, that they won't win any competition in europe for a hundred years. Till today, they have been close, but too far from winning any.

@arzvi:

 "Thatha, show me magic. I'll never leave until you do", said Protul, innocent brown eyes radiating expectation.

He would not budge to the amma's order to leave thatha alone. Even the damp air and nauseating smell failed restrain the mincing pretty spirit.

"Magic is all around us chellam, look at that T.V, it shows what’s happening 3000 miles away".

Aaaand the six is a gift to Indian viewers, what a finish to the great match shouted a commentator.

"Tell you what?”, Protul turned back, “I'll give you my book of magic all to yourself if you go to sleep now and come back in the morning".

The sound of soft footsteps was the only one that permeated entire ward early in the morning.

"Protul, thatha is not with us anymore", amma replied to the curious look.

Protul looked around spotting two brown leather bounds book between thatha's crossed hands. He pulled them swiftly before appa could stop him. One read 'Book of wonder - how to magic up your life' and the other one 'Hex - countering any evil spells'.

@moodytambrahm:

"Take a look at this photograph. He's the guy we've finalized for you."

Her dreams of flying into the sky and reaching the moon plummeted and crashed straight into the ground. 

Later that night, she scribbled in her diary, 'I'm hexed...'. Words failed her, as tears took the better of her.

@Foram Gosrani:

She knew right at the start; his love was hex. She decided to take a leap. Melting in the heat of the love, she was disappearing in the wild.

@WhatteKarvaad
I wanted a firearm whose muzzle had six sides. I couldn't create it myself. So I asked my wizard friend to hex a gun. 

@Kanwar Singh Sodhi:

 









@rovingeyes786:

Word 13: #Repudiate

Repudiate

Contributions:

@mirnaliniv:

The Madras idli repudiated the Mysore sambar because of the sugar in it.

@Shekha Jain:

She was repudiated of love because, she was an orphan.

@Disha Khemchandani:


Victory chose its colours with a lot of precision,
Every colour loved its touch,
But it was quite moody and full of pride,
Repudiating colours came quite easy to it,
Yesterday too, victory had one of its mood swings
And it told the Brazilian colours, “Not today.”

@bossitive:

The best part about life is that you will rise only when you are repudiated and not the other way around!

@moodytambrahm:


Days of being tied on a leash to a bus stand, he collapsed to his death. He lay there stiff and lifeless. People walked passed, but not a soul came forward to even dispose a dead corpse on the pavement. The rains showed no mercy either.

_____

After 24 hours of waiting, the baby cried. The parents rejoiced in joy and wept happy tears. The father looked out of the hospital window dreamily, as the rains lashed against the glass. He took a moment, folded his hands, and muttered a prayer thanking god for gifting him such a beautiful daughter.
_____

The same family that welcomed a life in the hospital, repudiated another at a bus stand. 

@Shubhlime:

She was living in denial. That’s what her existence had been all about. She dreamed of happiness, the sweet aching desire to feel free again. It was time. But then she woke up. She repudiated the thought. Alas, she was living in denial.


@Myth_ology:

@Ranjani Shivashankar:

@Kanwar Singh Sodhi:

 













@devyanisingh:

@rovingeyes786:

Word 12: #Asinine

Asinine

Contributions:

@KuttiJetti:

Asinine are those who think Mumbai is better than Chennai.

@bossitive:

In a competitive exam, the distance between you and the gates of any reputed institute you want to join is directly proportional to you asinine errors committed while taking up the test.

@ajaw_:

She was no short than a miracle in the South. Her films were odds on block busters. Then that desire to traverse North and shine through the woods.

Although her start wasn’t one to forget, her decision making thereafter was. Her career would’ve been only sweeter had she chosen to eat that Barfi. Looking at it in hindsight, wasn’t she Ready to go after her London Dreams or was she just content on being just another Khiladi? Maybe the entire Mumbai tale was nothing but a Bol Bachchan. For her sake, I hope All is Well.

Either way, it was Asin-ine.

@Shubhlime:

She liked the fact that there were more sophisticated ways of calling someone silly. “Asinine,” she repeated over and over. Her quest for finding new things to do, new words to use in her vocabulary was a pretty recent hobby. This was much better than her pursuit for a new partner. Yes, that was something that was completely asinine.

@Disha Khemchandani:

They called it an asinine proposition,
His hypothesis was rejected to the last word,
Ideas contrary to religion,
Were not given the stamp of approval,
Alas! He had seen the roundness in the universe,
But, Galileo couldn’t round the Church’s rigidity
And had to pay with his life.

@Fastudious:

My friend at work often asks a lot of questions at training, mostly asinine due to her impatience in knowing a lot of things.

@moodytambrahm:

"What an asinine nincompoop!" she yelled, and slapped Ashok.

Ashok's friends were alarmed, and shocked.

"What the hell does that even mean?" one of them asked.

"Asin.. something something. What does she think of herself? Studying in USA and all does not make her a heroine." said another in anger.

That evening, Ashok went to the corner shop and bought a dictionary. Impressing her had become his sole purpose of life.

@rovingeyes786:

 

Word 11: #Tetchy

Tetchy

Contributions:

@bossitive:

You know the world is going to end when you get to see a tetchy Mahendra Singh Dhoni in the cricket field!

@Disha Khemchandani:

Raman and Jhilmil lay desecrated amongst the horde of stones,
Elders of the caste had turned a blind eye,
To this growing love.
Their tetchy temperament,
Had added an extra couple
to the list of killed ones,
For the day.

‏@RoaringShukla:

As the boss scurried in like a storm, two coworkers exchanged glances so as to say:
What's the order of the day?
Tetchy.

@WhamBamTambrahm:

Everyone thought he hated people.
To solve the mystery, she asked him, "What do you do?"
"I'm a tetchy," he replied.

@an_usa_bar:

This fast rising tech has made people increasingly tetchy.

Dipak Rajput:

If you can scratch when itchy, why not smile when tetchy!
 
Kinjal Vora:

...Because I'm tetchy
Clap along if you feel like a room without a roof
Because I'm tetchy
Clap along if you feel like tetchiness is the truth
Because I'm tetchy
Clap along if you know what tetchiness is to you
Because I'm tetchy
Clap along if you feel like that's what you wanna do...

Snehal Dhongdi:

Don't mess with the Zohan. He's Tetchy.

@moodytambrahm:

She battled a difficult childhood. But grew up to be an optimist. When she saw the face of her new born daughter, she vowed then and there, never to scold her child. Never to beat her child. Never to be the tetchy mother who she grew up with. 

And she never broke it. Promises are for keeps.

Word 10: #Obviate

Obviate

Contributions: 

@Blahkumaran

By not doing any work, she obivated the need for paying taxes.

Disha Khemchandani:

Some either choose fame or words,
He chose his teacher’s words,
He obviated the one thing, which could have given him fame beyond his dreams,
His thumb.
He lost the title of the ‘Greatest Archer’,
But Eklavvya found his immortality,
In History’s pages.

@bossitive:

Bane: Aha, So this is it. Why do we always meet in darkness?

Batman: To obviate the city from the same. And with criminals like you, the city is always dark!

@moodytambrahm:

Poisoning him was the easiest way to obviate her financial worries. Little did she know that guilt would consume her to such a great extent, poison was her final choice too.

Word #9: Cuittle

Cuittle 

Contributions:

@bossitive:

Fred (sounding remorseful) :

Michael....mike..listen to me, I had no choice. I was cuittled to do this and I'm sorry. Forgive me before you put that bullet in my skull, for one last time. Think about it, mike. I'm your elder brother. Pop wouldn't want this to happen, no?

Michael:

You think your cuittle is going to change my mind? You think i like doing this? I too have no choice, brother. This, is for pop and for the family!

*Gun clicks and boom!*

@moodytambrahm:

She dawdled up her way to work, and as everyday routine demanded, she entered the washroom to freshen up. She walked in, washed her face, wiped it clean, took out her make-up box, and walked to the tall mirror. She stood in front of the mirror, and much to her shock, could not see herself! She stood there in shock not understand a tad of stuff happening around her. She could see the mirror, but the mirror was only reflecting the newly painted, lavender wall behind her.

She cuittled herself that she wasn't a ghost and started talking to herself, "No Smitha, this is just a sign for to stop watching horror movies at night. You are probably imagining this!"

As she continued mumbling, a colleague walked in. She acknowledged Smitha, greeted her, checked herself out in the mirror, and walked out. Smitha watched in utter shock. She washed her face and tried appearing in front of the mirror again. Nope, still couldn't find herself.

This started driving her crazy and she started yelling at the mirror.

"SHUT UP, SMITHA, SHUT UP!" shouted a voice. It was her husband, Guru, who had woken her up because she was sleep-shouting. She woke up with a start, but promptly jumped out of bed and made sure to get a clear glimpse of herself in front of the mirror.

Kushal Mamoowala:

Lying in the hospital, half naked, he could only blame himself for his pain after he cuittled the bear with a stick, while he was taking a piss.

Ramaa Ramesh:

No power on earth can equal that of a dog's eyes when he wants to cuittle an off-schedule treat out of you. Cats, however, prefer to demand them.

Snehal Dhongdi:

She was a pragmatic woman . Love made her vulnerable. He cuittled her into being with him..

Priya Gundanna: 

I had to cuittle her to come to the beach! Now seriously, who would need cuittling to go to a beach.

Srinidhi Venugopal:


All the cuittling finally paid off in convincing her to join the trip.

@Fastudious:

I had to do a lot of cuittling and pacifying to do with my new workmates to help them find their feet around my city.

@WordSmithish:

“Put your lips there”, he said in a tone that sent a chill down her spine. In her 5 years of life, she had never been this petrified. Her mother had told her that money was important to survive. It was this voice that had cuittled its way into making her lose her innocence.

@Jonty_Pinto:

I cuittled my friend to sing, but he refused.

Hetali Kothari:

He and She met at a bar, Ordered whisky to clear their heart.
Turned their chairs towards the floor, Soon their flashback took over the gear.
Ridding the memory lane together, Quickly, reached the juncture when he fell for her.

The cuittling he did to impress her is all gone, Just, because she rejected to receive his call.


@sparklybat:

@myth_ology 

Word #8: Maslin

Maslin

Contributions: 

@Blahkumaran:

Her ideologies were a maslin of Lenin, Stalin and Benjamin Franklin.

@an_usa_bar:

Its hard to define what I really feel when I have this maslin of emotions running through me.

@bossitive:

Why did I fail, Pep? I know that I'm gifted with a maslin of dribbles when my feet touches the ball, yet the opponent seemed to edge past me in a way or the other!", said an exasperated Robben after the champions league match drubbing against Real Madrid.

Guardiola immediately replied, "All you had to do was to pass the ball, Arjen. Pass!

@Shubhlime:

He was leaving and she was a maslin of emotions. She knew it would be a long time before she would get to see him, hold his hand, caress his hand and ruffle his mop of unruly hair. Later, she knew only a sense of loss would remain. 

(Her blog link: https://medium.com/@Shubhlime/maslin-9fab449cc05f)

@MsMecheri:

And the winner is..." She stood still among the others and looked away. She had decided this would be the last shot she gave for she was tired of losing. This time her performance was a killer, yet she never could get herself to believe it were possible to get somewhere with this. Her mother came rushing to her out of nowhere and hugged her, 'You did it this time, my dear. You have made us all proud'. Shocked, surprised, yet tremendously happy, this maslin of emotions is what she always wanted to experience to be sure to continue her passion and musical journey ahead.

Dipak Rajput:

Chaos is not the word to describe our world. Content is not our world is ever going to be. All it was and it will be, is a kind of MASLIN...

Forever?

@moodytambrahm:

'Vocalist of the year competition'

Shreya hastily walked up and down the garden singing her lines over and over again. No amount of practice seemed to suffice. Rahman was the judge, and this was going to be the scariest, yet the loveliest challenge.

"Contestant number 73: Shreya" the host announced, and all her friends hooted and cheered her way to the stage. Thus began the performance.

She cleared her throat, stole a quick glance of her favourite music director, shut her eyes,  and began with the first song. The song transported her to her childhood days, when this very same song would play on the radio first thing in the morning. Skillfully, she dived into the next song, upbeat in nature, which she and her brother would shout-sing sitting on their Tilak Street terrace. Eyes still shut, she could hear the crowd clap in beat with her. In a smooth transition, began the next track. The track that made her fall in love with the blue eyed boy in her college. Who also reciprocated her love. Till date. This song was composed for them. She opened her eyes strategically and made a 6 second eye contact with him. He smiled at her encouragingly. She then glided into her final song, one that she had looped over a million times, leaving her parents begging her to use the stop button.

She got off the stage, gleaming. All that mattered was that she sang to perfection, for what she had sung today was not just a medley of Rahman songs, but also a maslin of her life memories. 

@WordSmithish:

Chandu loved the lemonade that ma made. As the clichéd goes, the maslin was also rich in her love. After a tiring evening, he would come home and have it along with his dinner. In those moments, he forgot the screams of his parents that were enough to shake the walls of the house. That day too, the day progressed and he was home after school.  His lemonade was ready. In a quick gulp, he closed his eyes. After putting him to sleep, forever, his mom too jumped away from the misery of the life.

@sparklybat:

@myth_ology:

Akshit VS:

Word #7: Indelible

Indelible

Contributions:

@karthikisthin: 

Our senses are more than just their primary functions. We smell, touch, see, taste and hear our future memories. Every event or phase in your life is bookmarked in the library of your mind. And these bookmarks can be anything - a song that reminds you of an ex, the taste of a particular chewing gum taking you to a specific FRIENDS episode, a whiff of freshly made jalebis reminds you of a close friend's performance on a talent show, a perfume's scent reminding you of an important hug and so on. Each leaves an indelible mark on you. And in turn, defines who you are. A series of memories you subconsciously chose to treasure.

@sacredelephant:

My kid once made me her special brinjal and carrot cookies out of playdoh. An inedible meal but an indelible memory :)

@sparklybat:

The bruises on her arms from when they’d grabbed her had faded from a mottled purple to a faint yellow-green. Her wrists had almost stopped hurting; the rope burns around them looked like her body’s own bracelets, perversely pretty. The nightmares had been subdued by tiny orange pills that lulled her into a safe, dreamless sleep.
All the signs of her sexual assault were leaving her body, soothed over by time. But the scars would remain, indelible marks that would never let her forget.

@Jonty_Pinto:

Although DiMaria scored the goal, Messi's assist was indelible.

@WordSmithish:

The words flew back into the crevices of her heart,
The ink splattered hands spookily looked clean,
It went back into the pot of her memories,
The diary looked new as ever,
What couldn’t change was the mark on her heart,
It was indelible just like pain,
It deepened whenever she met a man.

@moodytambrahm:

 From a world of darkness, to a world of colour. Sheela was terrified, but thrilled beyond reason. The sun shining, the pretty green leaves, the blanket that was keeping her warm, the hospital room, her favourite bag, her walking stick, television, her parents and husband, and most importantly, her precious daughter's charming face. She lived a blind life for 34 years, but not anymore. She yelled, wept and cried out loud in ecstasy.

She knew nothing about Priyanka, her donor, not even how she looks. But the indelible mark Priyanka had left on Sheela was undoubtedly the best gift ever.

@MsMecheri:

That rude woman, Martha who lived down the street passed away last night". This was how every single person in the locality addressed her death. Only Kate was crying inconsolably, sitting outside the house. Martha was the mother this orphan Kate never had. Her love for Kate had made an indelible impact on the child. Kate was going to miss the only happy hour of the day she always looked forward to.

@bossitive:

Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan have risen to such an indelible state where you feel the other actors are mimicking them both even if they give a honest attempt to emote in their own way.

@Fastudious

The fact that @moodytambrahm forgot to add my contribution yesterday was indelible. But it was an honest mistake which was duly rectified.

@TheBongHandle:

For people will be gone for good, but their memories are indelible.

@ladyraara:

People come into our lives for a reason. While some manage to stay, some leave us but not before leaving behind some indelible memories.

@amabirdman:

@Myth_ology: