Fiction Bites

    This short story was first published in the Mean Pepper Vine journal in their July 2023 issue. The idea for this story percolated when I heard a news article about a woman whose husband's dead body was accompanying her in the cargo of the aeroplane. On...

    My Achan and I liked black tea. He often asked me to make 'Kattan Chaya'. When a chance discussion with neighbours about customs and traditions sparked an idea, I combined our love for Suliamani Chaya and brewed this short fiction. This was written in...

Sarojamma was a maid in Bangalore, and this is her story.   Ever since I began writing, a few stories of strong women have slipped into my fiction as characters. The mother-in-law in this story is based on my own. I added a few fictional ingredients and cooked up this...

When BTB (Beyond The Box) Chronicles came up with a prompt in 2021, on Unconventional Friendships, I wrote this, based on my friends in Dubai.  This story was featured in their Edition 7 in Aug 2021. MUM’S THE WORD.     Shailaja hung on the door handle,...

I wrote this in July 2022 in response to a prompt on The Story Cabinet app and won a cash prize.   A CARDINAL SIN Parvati sucked her breath and grabbed the doorknob, praying that it would not creak. Twisting it open, she peeped into her parents' bedroom. The...

Fathers and daughters share a special bond. In 2021, when an anthology was seeking short fiction for the ‘Grieving and Healing’ anthology, I wrote this, remembering my Achan, whom I miss. Everyday. He pampered me and never raised his voice. My friends, who once teased...

This story was published in the anthology collection ‘Existing Loudly Volume II’. The story combines my experiences of train travel with some everyday scenes at a railway platform, and a touch of fiction. You will find the actual version of this incident in my book...

This was written in April 2021 for the April Love prompt, Harness Writing Event, for the Penmancy Write. Read. Support group on FB for budding writers. I experimented with the Frame Narrative/Frame Story here, where a story is nested within a framework story. A...

  This was written in May 2020 for the writing event Five-009, specifically for the prompt "Vintage" in the ArtoonsInn Writers Room on Facebook- a group for budding writers.  I had fun researching the contemporaries of Dickens/Victorian era, their works (titles),...

  " Layers and Layers" was first published in an online journal, MeanPepperVine – The Mean Journal, Issue #002, July 2022. This fictional story was inspired by an anecdote my uncle once shared with me. It holds a special place in my heart, as it was the first...

    Much Ado Over was first published in an Online Journal – INNSAEI - Aug 2021. I couldn’t attend my niece’s engagement, so I asked my cousin how the event went. In response, she shared an anecdote that sparked a story in my mind as she spoke. That story...

I watched the movie True Lies in a theater in Chennai with friends. Enjoyed it immensely, and the title and the HERO have stayed in my heart. This was an entry for #TheLie #Five00-8 (2019) –in 500 words. So, when in December 2019, a writing prompt was given for an...

This was an entry written in October 2020 for the event #twelve (the prompt was to include in the story 'the clock struck twelve) #Five00-10 at ArtoonsInn Writers Room. I rarely research and write, because I tend to get lost in the process; I prefer to write...

  The prompt 'Alone' for a competition in ArtoonsInn Writers Room, the UNIK 8 (1000 words) in January 2021, created this short fiction tale. A mix of horror, adventure, fun, and well, yeah, read on....but yes, had to cut the story short due to word limits. IN THE...

This was written in February 2021 for a writing prompt on the ArtoonsInn page. I had no plans of writing for this prompt. The dystopian scenario was definitely not something that I could imagine attempting. Still, on a lazy afternoon, after Valentine's Day, I had this...

  This was an entry to UNIK 9 (1000 WORDS) in the ArtoonsInn Writers Room in May 2021. I had watched a video on the rising number of a 'particular' kind of people. A bulb lit up in my brain, and I typed this tale. A SUGAR COATED LIFE Randhir loosened the crimson...

I wrote this short story in Aug 2021 for the Independence Day prompt/Event UNIK 10 at the ArtoonsInn Writers Room - A group for budding writers. This was an attempt to catch a glimpse of Gandhiji's life for a few hours after India gained independence. A narrative...

It is not who fired the shot, but who paid for the bullet - this was a prompt in ArtoonsInn Writers Room- #Five00 - 14 in January 2022, for which I spun this different take under 500 words. WHISPERS AND GIGGLES   Eyes riveted on her watch, she frisked the mobile...