The world of colors was my home. An introvert by nature, I spent hours pouring my emotions into my paintings. They gave me immense joy.
“You cannot make a profession out of painting. How much will the paints and brush help you earn?” Dad snatched the brushes from my hands and put these instruments in them instead. Forced to pursue Math and Science, I became an Engineer. On the day I graduated, I presented to him, my degree certificate.
“I did what you wanted me to do. Now please let me follow my passion”, and picked up my brushes again.
Today, my paintings are exhibited the world over!
In India, even today Engineering and Medicine, are the most preferred career option the parents want their children to pursue, despite their child having no interest in it. While it is encouraging to see a gradual shift in the mindset of parents to allow their children choose a non-science professional course, it will take a long time before all can have the freedom to opt for courses akin to their interest.
She was a glamourous young actress at the peak of her career. She had name, fame and money.
Her plastic smile, her chiseled body, her empty followers on social media, the many trophies standing in her living room, all seemed so hollow to her.
Looking at herself in the mirror, a repulsive feeling engulfed her. There was nothing about her that was genuine. Her life was fabricated to project a picture of perfection.
She felt everything about her was a lie.
Disgusted with the fakeness of her persona, in the dark of the night, she disappeared without a word to anyone, in search of her true identity!
Reena’s Xploration Challenge: #217 :
“Everything about her was a lie….”
You are free to incorporate the line in your piece, or just use it as a theme.
Confined to home due to the lockdown, Samir had ample time at hand. Staying alone, Netflix had become his best friend.
That night he watched a horror movie. Though a brave heart, this particular movie left him terrified. Cursing himself for watching it, he went to bed. The scenes from the film kept haunting him before he finally dozed off.
He saw a hooded faceless lady walk through the wall and give him a rose. There was something so sinister about her smile. Sweating profusely, he woke up with a start. Relieved that it was just his hallucination and a bad dream, he turned to go back to sleep.
And then, he saw it…
Paralysed with fear, he could hear his heart hammer against his chest. He tried to scream but his voice choked within. A spine tingling sensation began to creep up as he began gasping for breath.
Once upon a time……and lived happily ever after. That’s how most stories begin and end 🙂
Well today I’m trying to give my own interpretation and weave a tale around a small happy monkey family, the Dunstons! They lived in a small jungle in the city outskirts and had a flourishing monkey business there. Experts at all monkey tricks, Mr. D hit a jackpot with all that he touched. Being a shrewd business magnet, he wanted Dunston Jr. to see the big bad world outside the jungle and train him well to take on the monkey mantle.
So he called out to his wife “Honey! Let’s go on an outing to the nearby town. Our little champ needs to explore the world.” “But he is just a young lad now! ” Cried Mrs D, in vain ! All her pleas fell deaf to his ears. On getting to know of his day out, D jr. was excited with a bundle of emotions playing within him.
Early next morning the trio set out on the baby’s first expedition of sorts. Hopping and jumping, they finally reached the hillock. D Jr. clinging on to mama tight, casting a furtive glance at all in a trance. Fearful, apprehensive and on guard, he saw many figures who he came to know were humans. Things were very different here from the jungle. Slowly starting to relax, he began to soak in the surroundings.
People here were amused to see the monkey family. Some, shooing them away, while some kind souls offering them a meal. D Jr. enjoyed a sumptuous meal of spiced rice, which was an absolutely new taste for him, so different from what he had back home.
He was amused by the paparazzi trying to click them. Basking in all the attention they were garnering, he felt like a celebrity.
Finally it was time to head back. Enjoying the excursion thoroughly, Jr. asked his father, “Hey Dad! When is my next outing?”
Tried something different. This one is a long post. Do spare a few minutes to read and let me know your feedback!
ic:google.com
Born a few days ago in a factory in Maharashtra, I was one among many from my fraternity, all in different sizes and looks………many of them were like me slim, bright and colourful, a few others were big and fat and yet some others were small and dainty. All of us were dumped in a small and dingy room with hardly any ventilation. Since we didn’t know for how long we would be lying there we decided to befriend each other to overcome our boredom. Thus began a beautiful time of our life…..we would chat, crack jokes, play games, sing, mimic ……in short we had a great time.
Suddenly one fine morning the doors to our dingy room cranked open, flooding it with sunlight. The whiff of fresh air that came in was such a welcome change to the dreary stale and musty room that we were locked in. The envelope of sunlight blinded our eyes for a while. Jostling and pushing my friends I tried to get a peek at the outside world. But before I could catch a glimpse of anything, a rough pair of hands picked us up and dumped us into an open box. Ouch…..that hurt!!! I wish he was a little gentler in handling us. After putting all of us into the boxes we were loaded on to a van.
Our hearts were filled with delight on our maiden journey, whose destination was unknown…..but who cared. We were thrilled to be out and bask in the beauty of our surroundings. Though the drive was a bumpy and rickety one, we enjoyed our outing. We could see beautiful trees lined on both sides of the road, hear the birds chirping. The fields with busy farmers tending the soil, singing along a folk song was indeed musical. After traversing for a short time our van came to an abrupt halt jolting me out of my reverie. Peering out, I saw that the van had stopped in front of a brightly coloured two storied building. Wondering and murmuring as to what lay ahead, we were transported to a huge room. There were many such boxes as ours. Soon a few young girls all with blue coloured aprons picked us up and inverted us into a bin on the table. It felt like a free fall from a roller coaster. The girls then dressed and packed each one of us into crisp and neat plastic covers. From there we went on a conveyer belt to the other side of the room. Oh! That was so much fun. Another girl then stuck a pretty little tag on me and I was placed in another box. All of us were looking so smart in our new attire. Then we were packed in huge cartons, sealed and put in a big truck. It was so stuffy and suffocating. Unlike my earlier journey in the van, this long and sombre journey was very depressing. After what seemed like eternity the truck finally stopped. We were then taken out and after passing a few hands we finally landed at some place with a huge thud. Lying there with so many strangers, there was a swirl of thoughts churning in my head about what lay ahead for me.
After a long wait our boxes were finally opened. The sight that welcomed me left me spell bound. I found myself in a huge shop with dazzling lights and music playing. I was placed on a glass shelf near the entrance. I realized that I was in a cosmetic shop in a mall. Pretty young girls walked into the shop to buy their favourite beauty products. I lay there on the shelf watching a sea of people pass by all day long immersed in the intoxicating fragrance of perfumes. Time just flew by. As I settled into my new life, one day a pretty young lady picked me up. Oh her hands were so soft and gentle. I felt as though a feather was caressing me. She bought me along with many other things in the store and headed out.
I then drove along with the lady in her swanky car. The destination this time turned out to be a beauty parlour. Her assistant took me out of the bag and put me into a stand. I was happy that finally I would be able to do what I was created for. To give everyone their perfect look with their long, black, shining mane. Ladies in all shapes and sizes walked in every day.
One early morning, I found my soft bristles gliding down the lustrous crowning glory of a beautiful damsel. I was smitten by her ravishing looks. Captivated and engrossed in her charming face, soon I was transported into a world of fantasy with my lady love. A sudden jerk brought me back to the present. I saw her admiring herself in the mirror. Satisfied with her new look after the snip of her tresses, she pulled out her phone for her selfie update on FB. I realised that it was love at first sight for me. But alas, she did not even cast a glance towards me. So much for my love story.
Resigned to my fate at the sad end to the shortest one sided love story I relentlessly continued to work through hairs of various textures. Ranging from curly, soft and silky, to hair infested with lice……I experienced it all. After tirelessly serving many ladies, I have now come of age…..With a couple of my bristles broken I no longer have the strength that I had in my hay days….
Now that I have crossed my prime, I will soon be replaced by a younger and latest model who does his job pretty well. Guess it’s time for me to think about my retirement plans……
radhikasreflection 