Flash 55 Fiction

Flash fiction is a fictional work of extreme brevity that still offers character and plot development. Identified varieties, many of them defined by word count, include the six-word story,  the 280-character story (also known as "twitterature"), the "dribble" (also known as the "minisaga"; - Wiki.

Flash 55 fiction, often called “micro” or “nano” fiction, is the art of creating a complete short story in exactly 55 words, no more, no less.

Here is my attempt. 3 stories!!

One pure fiction

The other two stories, I will let you decide!

The Hitchhiker

The hitchhiker settled in his seat and casually asked, “Do you believe in Ghosts?”  The driver laughed, “What nonsense. I am a 21^st century realist. No God no Devil and no Ghosts for me!”

As the car passed by the local cemetery,

“Please stop” said the stranger.

He opened the door, got down, and vanished!

Tom and Daisy

He followed her, everywhere.

Day and night.

In the park, through the roads, over the play grounds and all around the neighborhood.

Finally, he won her affection and they united.

For them,

No vows were taken

Nor rings were exchanged

No priest either, to bless their wedding

For Tom was a dog

And Daisy another.

Rushing to Airport

5.00AM

"TAXI STAND!!  Gaadi bhejo, JALDI".

"Wrong number", a sleepy old voice replied.

Finally, taxi arrived, I checked in and inside the departure lounge I called the 'wrong number' and apologized.

Thanks, young man. I am enjoying a hot tea and watching the glorious sunrise which I would have missed otherwise, the old lady replied.

Krish..

The Power of AND!!

I love the word ‘And‘,  and the symbol ‘&’.

By now you would have noticed that I use this word very frequently in my writing, especially at the start of each sentence.

Why I do this?

There is a short history behind it.

If you wish to know, please read on..

20 years back, at Hewlett Packard India (HPI), we had a challenge in selling our newly introduced DeskJet line of InkJet Printers. HP was the No. 1 leading and dominating brand in the Laser printer category with market share >85% !

However, we just could not ramp up our DeskJet volumes. Our numbers for India could not even qualify for bulk shipping rates, which only made the product even more costly.

There were basically 2 product lines. The commercial DeskJets for corporates and office use and the personal DeskJet for home and SMB (Small and Medium Businesses).

Commercial DeskJets were expensive and the inks ( cost of printing  ) for these printers were comparable to the lasers.

Personal DeskJets was our biggest focus as they meant huge volumes and equally large potential for consumables (ink) .

Worldwide HP followed the classic ‘Gillette’/’Kodak’ business model.

Sell the main unit cheap (at negative margin) and make money on the consumables.

So, in India too we priced the basic printer at a low price (making an upfront loss on every unit we sold) and priced the ink cartridges high so that we could get profitable over the lifetime usage of the printer.

Many felt our Ink cartridges were ‘obscenely’ priced. And I was also once royally roasted in an NDTV interview for 30 min on this painful subject.

So, the choice for customers were

-        Buy high cost printers with low priced ink cartridges

-        OR

-        Buy low cost printers with very costly Ink cartridges

Combinations that made choice difficult and ultimately leading to low sales.

And these choices were not acceptable to the India Business team either. 

So, we went back to the R&D at HP and demanded a special model/SKU for India. (SKU = Stock Keeping Unit).

The target we set for the development team was to give India a printer that cost less than 100 USD and delivered printed pages at less than a cent each!

Soon we got one close to our expectations.

A model that we could price at Rs8,999/-list price.

Black ink cartridge at Rs 499/-, which could deliver more than 550 printed pages.

Then we ran a huge promo campaign, print and BTL (Below the Line marketing)

Theme – the Power of &!!

No more difficult choice.

Now get a low-cost printer AND lower priced ink Cartridges!!

All our Ads and marketing collaterals carried a huge symbol ‘&’!

For our resellers & channel presentations I made up a story and started each of my talk with this one…

A team of research students went to a school and questioned the children in Class 1.

They asked a simple question – who do you like – Your Mon OR your Dad??

The kids replied as expected – Some Dad, Some Mom & Some were indecisive.

Then the students went to nursery section and asked the same question.

They got the normal answers too.

BUT,  a fair number of these tiny tots surprised them with

Mom and Dad -BOTH!!

Some even paraphrased – I like my mummy AND my daddy!!

That is the power of AND.

Check it out again!!

Offer these nursery kids – Toffee or Lollipop?

Many will grab BOTH  - unlike the ‘educated grownup kids’ who would choose just one.

Folks, you do not have to get compromised with an OR anymore!!!

That was my message. So, Go ahead and sell HP!

And we sold by shiploads each month.

Now just think about it.

We get too easily boxed in with a set of choices, many of which are forced upon us and some due to our own making.

We never explore if there are more choices than those presented to us. Pressure and time constraints only make it harder and make us myopic.

In my story, only two choices were presented

Either Mom OR Dad.

But there were two more which many of us would never think of.

Both Mom and Dad

Neither Mom nor Dad.

So, as we grow older, we tend to stereotype our brains and constrain them with such limited choice. Many times, these are driven by our parents, teachers and bosses too.  How many times in our younger days have we heard….

Eat your cabbages OR you won’t get the ‘gajar halwa’.

You can take either computer programming OR Economics.

You can be either a musician OR an Engineer.

Why are we forced with such limited options?

Why??

And slowly and consistently our minds are brainwashed from that wonderful free thinking beyond the boundary imagination of a nursery child to a well programmed ‘educated Robot’ – to make choices based on the given data only. And no more!

So much so that most people have forgotten to think without boundaries and take bold actions out of their own free will.

And now it takes a De Bono to teach us ‘Out-Of-the-Box-Thinking’. Lateral thinking as he calls it..

Something that came to us so naturally when we were young.

The power of ‘&’ unshackles such constraints and explores possibilities beyond the obvious choices presented to us.

So why should there be just Either Beauty OR Brains.

You can have Beauty & Brains

You can have Cheap & Good Quality

You can be Handsome & a Computer whiz Kid!

You can score max in English & in Maths

You can be Fast & Steady

You can be Super rich & Honest

You can have an Egg & the Omlette

AND you can also have a Cake & eat it too!!

Why not ??

Krish..

Christmas & New Year Celebrations @ Sobha Palladian !!

Very early in December we sighted the bright shining star on the western horizon.

And on 15^th Dec. the Magis (the three wise Kings) dropped in at Sobha Palladian on their way to Bethlehem.

And all of us celebrated a wonderful Christmas and New Year party that evening!

50+  families, 210 adults and  children, all enthusiastically converged near the fountain area to celebrate the birth of the King and usher in the New Year 2019 well in advance! 

  There was food, games, dances, carols and more Christmas carols and more food winding up a night of festivities! 

While the scheduled start was 5.30PM  for the games and the children’s sales counters, it took a lot of persuasion and some desperate WhatsApp messages to finally get all the folks, to come out of their homes and head for the stalls that were set up by the enthusiastic kids. Some had been working o their stalls since 2.30 PM unfolding the steel tables and trying to manage the thin table covers against the swift breeze. And they were successful only after all their food stuffs and games were finally placed on the table to hold down the table covers in place and prevent them from flying over.

A variety of stall and enthusiastic kids – all trying to get your attention and the money in your wallet!

 And they succeeded pretty much. Everything got sold out finally! Even the 14 small potted plants!

Squares of joy is a group with 9 members who come together during every Sobha Palladian Event. They bake delicious food (cakes and muffins) and sell them for the cause of charity. This Christmas party they made Rs. 7,500/-  and in future, hope to collect more money for the cause.

Fresh baked muffins and raw mango and watermelon salad were the first to get stocked out.  Snowman treats (authentic south Indian Maa-laadu based ones) were great.  If I were to believe that all these treats were actually prepared by these kids, then i can see some real talents and i can also predict some excellent future chefs!!

But the sad truth is that many of these budding prodigies will ultimately land up doing an engineering course or commerce degree and with an MBA they will all land up in an IT company or a Bank Job!  

Entrepreneurship? Good thought!

 A career in a kitchen or a restaurant?  Joking?? No way!!

And some smart kids set up games stall. Looked challenging!

And with my limited vision, slow reflexes and moderate IQ level , I did not even dare to try them out.

Coming back to food, this time I went cautious on my calories. Restricted my temptations to just 2 baked potatoes.

But,

My wife did not have the heart to say NO to the kids requesting her to try out the various dishes. So, we both ended up eventually having banana walnut cake, raw mango with watermelon salad, fried peanuts, brown bread with tomatoes and a few sticky sweet stuff!

And finally, the much-anticipated event started.

In marched a troupe of cowboy girls – high heeled riding boots, tight jeans, checked shirts and Stetsons.

And Attitudes to match!!

Seriously, all of you folks must audition for ‘Jane Got A Gun’ Sequel.

And the 2002 American Idol Kelly Clarkson blasted the air with ‘Run Run Rudolph’ !!

And WOW, they all danced – the country western line-dance!

With absolute grace and abandon!

And it brought back age-old memories of the time ( 1979!! )  I spent in a small Western town called Colorado Springs and went to the Colorado State Fair and Rodeo meet at Pueblo!

Did anyone wonder what would happen if these ladies had real horses. a pair of Colt Dragon Revolvers and Winchesters and   lariats.

Methinks I would head for the hills and pan for gold.

Back to SP..

Frosty the snowman

Was a jolly happy soul.

Wonderful performance by tiny tots in snowman suits.

Rudolph the ref-nosed Reindeer.

Had a very shiny nose,

And if you ever saw it..

You would even say it glows.

And there we so many Rudolph here!

And their big shiny red nose popped off every now and then !!

And they all spiritedly sang and danced, while their moms ran around picking up the red noses and plugging them back.

The kids sing so well and with so much of enthusiasm and energy levels that we should seriously consider starting a SP Choir Group. It will be more sustainable in the long run.

  

And then the Sobha Palladian Carol group took over the evening with some wonderful rendering of ‘Do you hear what I hear, and a medley of short songs and finally ending with Jingle Bells . It was wonderful to hear them again.

 Sing we joyous all together

Fa-la-la-la-la,

La-la,la,la!

And the grand finale before dinner!

Santa danced his way through the mob of excited children. And he seemed to be having much more fun than the kids!!

And the kids shrieked with joy throughout his performance and his gift giving antics.  

He gave away 60+ gifts and each one of them with his personal touch!! 

I am sure Saint Nicholas would be very proud of him and blessed him well.

Santa was just wonderful and jovial (Yes, Jovial)

And my recommendation to the MC is that we give him the Santa contract for the next 5 years with a ‘Clause’– He must put on additional 100 pounds weight and increase his girth to 50 inches at least.

And finally, Dinner was simple and sumptuous. Pasta, Noodles and fried rice with gravy and tarts for dessert.  A perfect meal for a person on a strict calorie count!!

And while this evening lasted for just under 4 hours, can you imagine the long hours and hours spent by the folks organizing this event and the performers practicing for their show??

First, a big round of applause to all the ladies in Palladian. You folk are par-excellence. From traditional Garba dance to wild western line dance, from Patriotic Salil Chowdhury song to Christmas carols, you just rock!! Thank you for the wonderful show!!

Sincere appreciation and acknowledgement to ‘behind the screen silent heroes’ – folks who meticulously chose those carols that can be sung best by this group, the patient folks who taught and tutored the kids and the adult to sing cogently and in rhythm and the choreographers for the dance and for all the other nitty gritty details that goes in to putting up such a fantastic show !

And a big THANK YOU to the MC team, and volunteers and to the kids for executing another memorable event!!

And wishing everyone a Merry Christmas and a wonderful New Year 2019!!

And I am already looking forward to the Republic Day next Year.

Krish..

89 & Shooting for a Century !!

My Dad has returned from his vacation in Chennai!

Back to Bangalore to enjoy and soak-in the warm mid-day sun during these chilly winter months.

At 89, my dad has Alzheimer’s.

It started 15 years back, before my mom died and it is steadily progressing.

However, he is blissfully unaware, and he will completely deny and vehemently oppose any such mentions. And he is gunning for his maiden century.

Dad suffers from short term memory loss.

Last week-end at the dinner table, I bounced off a question “Who was Muhammad Ali Jinnah??”

Drew a blank from my son and with a shrug he murmured “How do I know” which also meant – don’t bug me, Dad!

My Dad jumped in with an excited – He was the 1^st Governor General of Pakistan!

And turning to my son,  “enna da pillai, idu kooda theriliya??” (you don’t even know this, young man?).  And I get a stony stare from junior.

And the very next moment,

Dad:  did I get sambhar??( Krishna, kozhambu kuttiniyaa?)

And my wife admonishes us all angrily: See, this is what happens when you all talk while eating. You forget everything!

Now, all of you, shut up and eat!!

‘Ellarun, Vaaya moodindu saapidingo!!’

Wonder how you do that?

And can you really get a memory loss if you talk while eating??

Dad was never a doting father who cuddled his babies openly. No PDAs for him.  ( PDA=Public Display of Affection).  I am sure he loves us all – but never showed his emotions openly – that being my mom’s exclusive domain.

Neither did he take too much interest in third party kids. And he absolutely avoided those under warranty (<12 months) hand-held babies.

Those early days were different. Moms had multiple (and in multiples of 2)  kids. And with a rudimentary kitchen and no full-time  domestic help, the kids were left on their own. So, most tiny tots had smudgy faces, drooling mouths and very sticky hands. And that big dark kaajal spot on their cheeks or forehead did precious little to improve their appearances.

Today’s handheld kids are a pleasure to see. Spotlessly clean, brightly dressed, smelling of Johnsons & lavender. You can see scores of them on any weekend at any mall as they proudly ride on their joey seats strapped to their dad/mom shoulders.

Dad has changed. Age has mellowed him so much that nowadays he gets enamored & attracted by each and every handheld model- boy or girl.  Last time in Forum Value mall, he stalled the lift by a couple of minutes before he concluded his conversation with an 8-month old baby. And then he gave some noisy kisses to his fingertips and lovingly traced them over the baby’s shoulders!

The young mom beamed joyously while everyone else had that expression of extreme polite patience - especially those waiting to get in and reach the INOX floor.

Dad is fair skinned, sprightly and well maintained for his age. Looks wise and alert. No one can ever suspect that he has any ailment. No complains of any sickness, absolutely abhors hospitals and sincerely believes that every sickness can be cured with a massive dose of Vitamin C or a tablet of Aspro (brand name for common aspirin)!.

Managing Dad is a challenge.

Morning wake up and he must be guided to the wash room reminding him repeatedly that this is morning and he needs to wash his face and brush his teeth. 

After his 2^nd dose of coffee, a gentle coaxing for his shave. And then pushed in to the bathroom with all the necessary instructions.  Go toilet, have bath, wear new underwear, comb hair, gargle Listerine.

You miss a step and he hangs up (exactly like my MS desktop that will freeze at the slightest error).

With the bath door closed, you have no way of knowing what is happening inside. Invoke task-manager - knock on door, make him open and help him with the rest quickly!

Dad can dose off peacefully in front of the TV all day. No program, whether it be the most irritating (duppan-koothu) Sun Music Channel, or the maniacal laughs of the demons in the mythological serials, however loud and violent, can disturb his peaceful slumber!

When in company Dad is a gentleman. Very courteous and intelligent sounding, no one can ever believe he has any problem whatsoever. When caught with a question he has a stock of diplomatic answers. Enna theriyuma, maama? (remember me, Uncle ??).

Of course, I met you that day! In that function no?

 When Maama?

Some time back or recently - Ippodhaney, konjum naal minnadee!

All absolutely correct replies   - like the MS help desk!

Dad can swim in Tea (pronouncing it CHHAI with a flourish). After every dozing bout in front of TV, he must have a chai.  Right now, he is having his siesta. The moment he wakes up, can you guess what will be his first line??

Krishna, CHHAI !!

While all this reads & sounds so nice, wonderful and exciting, the reality is a very different story!!

And in the Tamil religious circles it is said that folks who take loving care of their parents and elders with honesty can accumulate enough brownie points that they need not take multiple rebirths - to cleanse their souls again and again.  They will attain direct salvation and unite with the lord.

No Punar Janam (ReBirrth)!!

And I am very glad that so many folks in SP will easily qualify for such a direct salvation!

But for me?  NO Way!!

And that’s a conversation I plan to have with my maker when I am up there.

I want to come back here, again and again, and experience all the fun I have missed out in this life! There is still so much action I have not yet seen. One rebirth in each country itself will make it 195+. And my wish list includes being born again as the Sultan of Brunei / a Polynesian tribal chief / The Head priest of Srirangam temple and a sheep farmer in New Zealand!!

Krish..

GadBad @ Mangalore !!

I had GadBad !

And here is the proof!!

GadBad = a tall ice cream cup filled with one scoop Vanilla + one scoop strawberry + one scoop butter scotch and sandwiched in between these scoops are fresh cut fruits + generous amount of dry fruits + Jelly + Tuttti Frutti.  Looks awesome, taste heavenly and sinfully delicious!!

The butter scotch scoop is way on top of the cup and it is overflowing the rim. I have a strong urge to lean forward and lick it off.

BUT,

I sense a stern glance of disapproval from a nearby pair of eyes that has clearly read my mind. So, I get down to slowly scraping the trickles from the rim with a long-stemmed spoon.

The experience at Ideal Café is amazing. 

Packed with people it still looks spacious and airy and un-crowded. Filled with young teenagers and coeds making the whole atmosphere vibrant & lively!

And the food – Neer Dosa with shocking red paneer masala + Mangalore Bun with green chilli spiced coconut chutney + GabBad  =  2300 Cals !

Enough to keep you going for the entire day.

And instead of stopping right there, we continued to eat more throughout the day – enthusiastically egged by a constant stream of WhatsApp msgs advising us where to eat & what.

So we continue with the City Bakery for Macroons and Ragi biscuits, ThindiMane for Chips, The Balli Shop for Biscuit Roti (Regular and Sweet) and Bonda and Bhajji, Kamath Condiments for Charmuri before finally calling it a day with a sumptuous dinner of Hot Parathas and Curd rice !

And that was not even one tenth of the list we got (a list of 45 must eat dishes and food joints to visit in Mangalore). 

We also missed the Halli Mane Rottis, Mangalore’s popular food truck run by single mother Shilpa. Chk it out??

https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/meet-woman-behind-halli-mane-rotties-mangaluru-s-popular-food-truck-73900

And it was not just Food, Food and Food only.

We had an unending series of religious and spiritual feast all along the way.

And if I did a one to one match of all the must-go food stops with temple stops, I am sure the food stops will run out of options very soon!

Yes, Mangalore has lots and lots of temples. Small and medium format ones, with small

gopurams and built mainly in wood with ornate carvings, some with Kerala style architecture. All of them are very well maintained, freshly painted gopurams, renovated with polished granite flooring.

Some are very Old heritage temples maintained with care like the Sharavu Ganapathi Temple and Kadri Mamnjunatha temple which are more than a thousand  years old!

Kolam Stencils  &  Kollattam @ Udupi Temple 

The Dharmasthala Manjunatha temple, the Udupi Sri Krishna Temple, The Gokarna Mahabaleshwara temple all have similar architecture.

Small gopurams and small real estate inside – unlike the huge, massive granite temples of Tamil Nadu.

But the majestic Murudeshwara temple gopuram makes up for all their lack of height! At 250 Ft it is the tallest gopuram as per wiki.

Murudeshwara temple is beautiful, very clean and spotlessly maintained. And the Gopuram is renovated with a lift going all the way up 18 floors to the top for a viewing gallery!

Awesome sight of the 150ft high Majestic Shiva against the Arabian sea background and the beaches on either side.

And we bought aarathi tickets, performed elaborate archanas, drank many portions of holy water and collected loads of fragrant chandan paste. I am sure we would get a AAA+ credit rating in Lord Yamaraj’s ledger!!

And we spent many hours inside these temples to soak in the serene ambiance and absorbed as much ‘god particles’ as we could.  

And that should keep us fully charged up with saintliness & piety to get us going for at least 6 months into the new year.

Back to Majestic Mangalore.

Quaint city, some parts modernized, and many sections frozen in time.  The overpowering smell of dried fish takes away some of its charm though (for me in particular)

Good regulated traffic, good roads, no garbage and even the auto drivers appear well groomed and respectful!! Also, no constant screaming sounds of racing ambulance nor road jams to facilitate VIP entourage! Maybe because it was weekend??

Surprising. NO beggars anywhere. None near the temples or outside food joints or on the beaches or at traffic lights!!

Surprising. NO stray cattle, mangy dogs, overflowing garbage bins.

Surprising. Every third shop in Hampankatta is a Jewellery shop! And on the busy KSR Road every fourth shop seemed to be selling footwear!!

Not Surprising. Very pleasant and attractive looking girls with glowing complexion and dressed in a variety of bright Indian attire. I think they also appear taller than our average Bangalore girls – the dress factor, probably?

Did not see any faded jeans-tank top conbo nor streaked hair anywhere.

Surprising. Clean beaches with soft golden sand. Very unlike the Marina, Chowpatty, Miramar and Kovalam beaches. No trash anywhere, no dirty looking sea weeds nor squishy dead jellyfish.

 The beach sand glows beautifully in the bright overhead sun and does not have the black streaks that you find in the other beaches.  Even the area around the fishing boats &  stacked up fishing nets are super clean!!

Rating 10 for the beaches and all the folks there and the maintenance staff!!

Jewellery. We were tempted to walk into the Canara Jewellers (Govt. approved) showroom.

‘Show us some typical Mangalore style jewellery’ – I request.

And we got a huge chunky necklace – big and broad enough to amply cover the chest of that well-built Joy Allukka model!!

And in my mind, I thanked God for not marrying a Mangalorean girl.  Else this piece alone would have set me back financially by a couple of months!

There were some good coral and precious stones studded sober ones too.  However, the gold does not glitter brightly, like the ones at GRT or Tanishq. Maybe folks here prefer matte finish.

At Car street :

The Ballis doing brisk business.

And the 1942 (Pre-Independence) flower market

And Mangalore Mallige – each 8-inch strand costs Rs180/-

Thindimane on Kadri Road  - Crispy Banana Chips and Dryfruit halwa keeps you craving for more. Yeh Dil Mangey More!!

And there was not enough time for anything more.

And for those of you who plan to visit Mangalore, you must plan for at least 4 days.

Day 1: go Beach Bumming

Day 2: go berserk on food – veg / non-veg/ sea food

Day 3: Check out the temples or try out water sports at the numerous beaches.

Day 4: Shopping!!

And if you have not smoked all your credit cards, then you did not have  great fun!!

Krish..