Friday, September 7, 2018

(Unnamed) Book 1 - Story Draft 2

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        Book - 1 - Draft 2
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The island is connected to the mainland from one end, but only by a single lane bridge. 

One car can pass through at a time. 

It’s a beautiful scenery. 

Sea on both sides and an island covered in forest vegetation not too dense to see the shape of the hills on itself. 

The girl beings to settle down in her head. 

She’s going home. To her relatives and her bother. 

She resists the temptation to stay at the island a bit longer. 

It would be cruel to her relatives to keep them waiting. 
They hadn’t ever been mean or bad to her since her father's death. 
They had comforted her and kept her company all these years. 
They were, in fact, better company than her father as she could remember the time she had spent with him after her mother’s death. 

Without her mother, he seemed to have become a silent and more crass individual. 
He loved her deeply but kept her out of harm's way in his own way. 
His death too had been unannounced, a silent stroke took him one night. 

She hadn’t grieved it very much. 
For her, he had passed on a few weeks after her mother’s death. 
As if he had lost interest in family life and socialising after she passed. 

He kept himself busy with his work. 
Running an entire spice empire by himself. 
In fact, his death had been so unannounced that the inheritance papers had also not been altered and reissued. 

It still meant that her now retarded brother would inherit 60% of the family business which she would become a second minority stakeholder after her mother. 

She had a knack for business but relatives kept her out of it. 
They said it was no place for a girl to work among men. 
She wouldn’t be taken seriously. 
She doubted that it would have been the case or what her father and mother would have wanted had they still been alive, healthy and living a good life. 
But she didn’t intend to push them. 
They were narrow-minded people yes, but honest as they came. 

They always respected her father and without much interference in the companies profits taken on the business as one of their own. 
She had the luxury to spend on what she may please. 
Jewels, real estate or another business. 
But she had so far kept out of it. 
It was a simple loving family she craved. 
A sense of Home and belongingness. 
And they gave that to her. 
She lived simple and hoped to live out her dreams once she was married. 

Though with age she wanted to do something of her own, taking this trip had been her idea. 
To step out of her shell again and live her life. 

It so coincidentally happens that this young boy, his bother and aunt came only a few weeks before she had to leave. 
It was a promise her father had given 15 - 16 years ago to his childhood friend that he would marry his daughter into their house and convert the friendship into a blood relationship. 

At first, when he showed up, she didn’t know what to expect. 
She didn’t know of the promise. 
But her relatives knew of this. 
Haven’t ever met the father's friend themselves, they had often heard of him mentioning it to them. 

It’s why he didn’t worry too much about his daughter. 
He knew in their house she would settle right in. 
The status of the families matched so to say. 
Something a father hopes, before giving his daughter away in the end. 

So when the boy came, her father must have been smiling from heaven in peace she thought to herself. 
He had immediately become part of the family. 
Both brothers were good looking, outgoing and well mannered. 
Dressed well and showed no interest in the wealth of her family. 

They had come for her. 
A promise had to be fulfilled. 
The more they got along with the rest of the family, the more at ease she herself felt with them. 

The aunt had struck her as off from the first time she met her. 
But relatives can be nosy or overbearing. 
She had seen those of her friends during her graduation days. 
But she was happy. 
The aunt wouldn’t have much say after the marriage anyway. She caught herself thinking in past tense, that must have been a sign. 

The first time she set her eyes on the boy, she felt a connection. 
She wanted to know him. 
And he seemed to have wanted to know her. 
During their days at her house. 
They would talk endlessly about the world around them, their travels and the future ahead. 
She felt her self-come undone when he would ask her to tell him more about herself. 

It was indeed a dream come true. 

His family had been in the business of sugar and cocoa. 
'What a match made in heaven' she thought to her self. 
Sugar and spice did indeed come with all things nice! 

He was a few years elder to her, but the age brought with it experience and patience it seemed. 
Their parents too had passed away, just two years ago. 

A lovely couple who were avid travellers and adventurers themselves, who were taken in a plane crash. 
A year the boys had managed by themselves. 
Lived alone in the mansion by themselves with the help. 
First, they shouldered the burden of keeping the family business running smoothly themselves but soon started to realise that a woman's touch to the place was something they both craved. 
The elder brother was admittingly a ladies man. 
Dating a number of well-known celebs and models over the years in private. 
But promised his younger brother to give up on his old ways of the boy married first. 

The boy agreed to this. 
Their aunt had been put away by their mother after a family tragedy and mental breakdown that had occurred with her years ago. 
She wasn’t fit to live in the same house again the doctor had said. 
It could affect her psychologically. 
And so it had to be done. 
But she had nowhere else to go. 
Half their mother's age but a woman, their intention had been pure to bring her home. 

They needed a mother more than she needed children. 
So she had moved back to the house after 10 years of staying at a special facility in Japan for those who couldn’t cope with the outside world. 

She had the habit of speaking her mind. 
Unable to stop her thoughts at her lips. 
If anyone met her only once. They were rather taken aback, but once the boys explained her behaviour to them briefly, they adjusted to her. 
Only managing to admire her that she didn’t keep any hatred inside of her. 
Peculiarly enough thought it seemed all her clothes were in deep shades of red. 

Suits, saris and even nightgown. 
But one shouldn’t judge a book by its cover she thought to her self. 


When the topic of her travel plans came up, they accepted them willingly. 

While her relatives had advised her on not going for it now given the change in circumstances. 
But the boy's elder bother suggested that the boy go along with her for the trip. 
This has to some extent shocked the relatives but they smoothly pleaded to them saying at least she wouldn’t be alone and out of harm's way given the extend of the trip. 
And the boy and girl and boy would have a chance to know each other better. They would trade their room for a more communal one. 

(Unnamed) Book 1 - Story Draft 1

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       Book - 1 - Draft 1
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- 1. The Setting - 

Big ship, sailing on a cruise. 
The design is unique, it as Bunk cabins allotted as per booking. 
Shiro, Akira, Sonia are in a room in the lower bunks. 
Upper deck looks like a dorm, where sleeper seats look like they have been made of Train compartments, only sown in white and orange leather fabric and ultra luxurious walls and carpeting. 
Rooms come with attached toilets while upper deck comes with common toilets the at the entrance of each compartment or boogie. 
The ship comes loaded with on borad pools and ski jets on the ship itself, yes this is a massive ship. With its own mini ski pool at the centre of the ship. 
The first destination of this cruise ship is a hill side by the sea followed by somewhere beachy like ibiza where everyone is allowed to party either in the ship or off it in the water
The last destination is the South Pole with penguins, snow and automated Shopping Floors. 
Ship cuts through ice then glide on it with wheels/skies that come out at the front and back. 

- 2. How they met - 

The families decided to send the girl and boy on a journey 'before' their marriage 
They have been introduced by family. 
Girls family is very rich and orthodox 
Boys family is away, the boy himself lives in a mansion by the sea. 
They are introduced and they fall in love right away.
Her family is very happy. 

The boy has an elder brother and a huge aunt but there is no ware about outs of the rest of the family. 
Both have decided to take residence in the girls house while the boy and girl have gone on the trip. 

The trip is about three and a half months.

They get on board the ship, bid their relatives goodbye and start this adventure together. 
They are happy and the boy seems to be crazy about the girl and her seeming innocence.
They begin holding hands and stealing kisses as frequently as possible, literally every chance they get
After about 3 weeks of sailing, they reach the first destination, a hidden hillside by the sea. 
During their first visit off the ship in the mountains hillside, the boy take the girls hiking. 
They find an old abandoned cottage. 

They both enter and talk about how nice it would be to live in a small house at the edge of nowhere all by themselves. 
The decide to picnic inside the cottage. 
The sun is up and the cottage is warm.
The boy spreads the sheets for them to sit and the girl has wine for the first time. 
They make out and the girl is very happy with how things are going and so it the boy.

- 3. Her story: The things you don't anticipate - 
'It’s like a match made in heaven, they fit each other like a glove 'she thinks. 

They understand each other’s expressions without words and the boy notices everything about the girl. The girl loves his attention to detail. 
The girl feels safe with the boy and when she shared this with him and he’s overjoyed. 
He kisses her all over and then begins to take her clothes off 
The girl is caught off guard but little by little begins to give in.. after all, their marriage is set?
The boy lays the girl down and asks her to relax 
She is tense at first but begins to give in,
Only to realise she’s now completely naked and the boy has backed away looking at her in awe from a distance. 

Then suddenly he pulls her towards himself and begins to devours her like freshly cut fruit. 
The girl is a bit overwhelmed and scared about the pace fo things but he doesn’t let go. 
Waves of a pleasure and fear go through the girl. 
'Is this even happening?' she thinks to her self.
It feels as if he’s another person all of a sudden, his movements become steady and mechanical and without warning or permission, be begins edging towards the third base. 
The girl shrieks and punches the boy in the face while pushing him off and then goes silent thereafter in confusion and shame. 
Fully aware that the boy almost took her modesty, the girl gets afraid of him losing control like this. 
It is only after he begins bleeding at his lip that the boy begins to come back to normal to the person she knows him to be. 
They lay there till evening after this and the girl begins to cry. 
The boy profusely apologises to her and consoles her for loosing control
He goes down on his knees and begs her to forgive his actions 
He says he loves her a lot and in excitement just didn’t realise how far they went but that it was inevitable to happen especially now that they were about to get married.

The girl is taken aback but agrees to him and the logic and eventually quiets down. 
Her mood is off, but later back on the ship, she can’t help herself from thinking about what happen more and more...

The boy begins acting frisky, leaving her alone and vanishing on the ship from time to time to gamble and do drugs. 
Girl, on the other hand, is straight like an arrow, ignoring passing comments and even simple requests to make friends with other fellow passengers on the ship and in her free time likes to explore the various parts of the ship as she’s afraid to get off again alone in fear of being left behind if not raped. 

She trusts the boy very much and always forgives him for going gambling or playing sports with other boys.
She, on the other hand, likes to venture on the ship by herself, explore every nook and cranny and the boy encourages her to do this, since it seems to give the girl a sense of peace after their last ‘encounter’.

Because of this she finds her friends also on the same ship but doesn’t tell the boy for some reason.
They begin to make out often, in different places across the ship. Some in the open and some dangerous. 

Then it happens, the girl realises that she's pregnant.

Thinks the boy will be overwhelmed to know. She finds the right moment and tells him enthusiastically. The boy is filled with joy for one moment but quickly gets very angry and almost goes crazy and says she will have to get operated right away. 
On the ship he means?! 
'WHAT THE FUCK!?!' she thinks
She lies and says that she was testing him but now after seeing a completely new side to the boy is fearful. 

It seems like the boy didn’t want anything to do with the girl and as if the baby was a complication he hadn’t expected on the way. 
She goes to her friends and explains to them the situation and they are equally shocked.
She spends the night with her friends on the ship as she ends up crying and falling asleep in their cabin. 
Wakes up next morning early and runs to the boy 

Boy is nowhere to be found, goes looking for him, finds him gambling at her expense 
He’s blown away a lot of money, leaving her with almost nothing 

She doesn’t say a world, she loves him but now begins the sense that something is wrong with the boy altogether
He hasn’t noticed that she was missing for the entire night?
This puzzles the girl even more but she doesn’t question him...

Instead, she starts to follow him silently across the ship here on.
As it seems the boy is trying to release some sort of tension but not at the expense of he girl.
He gently tells her to explore like she does and says he’s off to play with some of the boys he made friends with.
But she doesn’t follow orders this time. She follows the boy across the ship. Often finding him entering rooms with various women he starts conversations with at random. 
She’s still not expecting him to cheat, thinking he’s scoring drugs, 
One time She follows him and a girl and a bunch of other people into a big room. 
She watches what happens from the window while the group goes inside.
She is correct to the analysis they were all doing drugs 
But shocked seeing what happens next, 
And the boy seems to be the one directing and ordering the group as to how to go about hallucinating.
He isn't part of the hallucinating group, he is simply the orchestrator. 
Chanting harsh words at all the people in the room who seem to be under some kind of trance. 
She gets disgusted and at the same time feels nausea and runs off from the sight. 

Its almost the end of the third month now. 
She’s started to get morning sickness now, gets afraid that the boy will find out she lied about not being pregnant 
Starts getting off the ship and floating around in a big floater by herself there on.
Boy and girl continue to make love in odd places and this makes the girl very sad and disgusted but she doesn’t say a word or show an off expression.

She then tries going through the boy's things to find out more about him and finds odd ornaments which she doesn’t know what to make off. 
They are sharp and seem to be for precise use, but afraid the boy might find her snooping through his things she puts them away and continues to pretend like nothing happen.

She goes over to her friends and tells them about what all she found him doing and what she found in his luggage and they encourage her to leave him and take shelter in their cabin till the trip ends but she passes up in fear.

She still believes that’s the boy loves her in his own way even thought something seems to have snapped in him, he means well. 
Was it the pregnancy? Or is he over her now that he’s deflowered her?
She couldn’t understand but she knew something is wrong.

- 4. Gack home - 

They get back from their trip, the end of which seemed like she was alone on the trip by herself. 
She had gone shopping at the South pole and since she was out of money, only managed to buy herself a jumpsuit. 

Her family was going to be disappointed that she didn’t bring back anything for anyone but she couldn’t tell them what had really happen on the trip. 

She was ready put on a happy face for them. 

Maybe this is what all women go through after marriage she thought to herself. 
This must have been why she had often found her own mother crying crying by herself in the past. 

When she was younger and she would ask what it was that bothered her she would never tell her. 
It was always after a quarrel with her father she knew. 
But on what basis she couldn’t tell. 
She felt as if she could related to her mother right now. After all these years. 

These weren’t troubles worth discussing or telling other people she thought. 
They were just worth being absorbed and released through silent tears. Like her mothers. 

On the day the ship got back from the trip. 
The boy woke up the girl with a passionate kiss. 
Apologised for not being himself the last couple of weeks and convinced her that everything would become better here on. 
And he kept repeating it every now and then in their way back. 
'Don’t worry, it will all get better.  Everything will get better. It will end soon.' 

The girl starts getting a bit alarmed by this overly loving behaviour of the boys and also the words he kept repeating.

He takes her on a speed boat to take her to his house. He says, 'Let’s visit my house first. I know we’ve not had any contact with the outside world for three and half months almost, but my mansion is by the sea and has a water entrance. I’d like for you to come to see it before we go back to see your family, my brother and aunt at your place.'

The girl feels some relief seeing his behaviour and agrees to go along. 
She’s all too excited but as they enter the water gates she sees his aunt waiting for them at the water banks. 

The girl gets a bit confused, how come she knew they were coming home? They haven’t had any contact with the outside world in three and a half months traveling by sea? 

As they get closer and closer to the water stairs of the mansion she sees the aunts expression up close. It’s not one purely of joy. 
There is a strange sense of danger in her demure and smile. 

- 5. This is called madness - 

The mansion itself is on a small island which was spread over just a few acres.. it had vast hallways and pillar cast walkways overlooking the sea from one side. While the other side seem to be somehow merging into the hill behind it. 
It seemed as if the the mansion was cut into the mountainous hill and extended inside it. 

It suddenly begins to strike her that the boy has Some sort of control over the people around him. 
And that she too Somehow was under his influence despite so much having past. 
She begins to worry, what’s going to happen next? 
A shiver runs down her spine as they get closer to the stairs in the water... like something bad is going to happen.

Suddenly the girl begins to start looking for ways to escape and all possible escapes she may have at hand. 
And out of nowhere, she jumps into the water. 

This makes the boy howl in anger. 
As if he was already expecting this to happen. 
And instead of helping her out he starts shouting at her. 
One accusation after another. 
About how simple she was. How stupid she was. How backward her family was despite being so rich. 
About her getting pregnant and then trying to hide it. 

This alarms her even more. 
She stars crying in the water and tries to swim away from the boat towards the water stairs. 
As she approaches she sees the aunt headed towards her. 

Her eyes bloodshot red and mumbling something to herself. 
As she gets closer to the banks she realised that his aunt was holding not a chest or a big box but a very large slab above in her hand as if to crush her skull with it. 

The girl suddenly turns course and begins swimming back towards to the boat. 
The boy by now has reached the other end of the stairs himself and suddenly she sees the odd sharp ornament in his hand. 
But instead of charging towards the girl he takes the ornament and clips one of the hands of the aunt! 

This causes the stone to fall on her own body and leg. 
Her head begins to bleed and she falls to the floor. 
He starts screaming at her for her bad behaviour and the aunt begins to cry, begins wiping away the blood like an psychotic obedient child putting up a good show for a parent. 

He leaves her aside and turns back to the girl. 
She’s in the water but frozen still in shock and horror of what she had just seen. 
'What the hell was happening?!", she just couldn’t make any sense. 

Then he looks at he ornament on which the girls eyes and fixated and throws it to a side and lunges at the girl to get her out of the water. 
Hurting the aunt has some how calmed him down and restored his sense of surroundings and reality. 

He pulls her out and hugs her. 
Begins saying he wouldn’t let anyone hurt her. 
She was his. And he wouldn’t let anyone else every hurt her.

The girl breaks down hugs the boy feeling hurt, fearful and in utter confusion.
The boy just stands there hugging the girl drenched in water for a while like this.

Some guards and house help show up at this point. 
They see her wet and order for towels and begin to pick up their luggage. 

That’s when she notices that one of the helpers picks up the ornament and puts it back in the bag and for some reason, no one was paying any attention to the aunt despite her having hurt herself. 

Whatever it was, it was her chance to face it next she realises. 
As they walk towards the mansion she realises that there must be about 20 rooms on the ground floor alone facing the sea. 

Was it his house or an abandoned hotel? 

He takes her to one of the rooms, puts her down on the bed and put our some clothes for her to ware. 
Says she should dry herself and he’ll be right back and leaves the room. 

The girl is alarmed and panicked. 
She quickly changes out of the wet clothes only to find that the new clothes laid down for her on her bed aren’t her’s at all? 

She still puts them on, it’s a delicate skin hugging kimono dress. 

She looks around the room and find a phone connection and immediately dials Akira. 
Without a moment to waste as soon as Akira picks up the phone, she begins babbling about being kidnapped and about her life being in danger and then hears footsteps walking towards the door in the lobby so she puts down the phone receiver, but immediately instinctively picks it up again and dials a random number. 

The boy walks in with some food and fruit at this point and sees her holding the phone. 
She freezes in fear so he keeps the food down and walks towards her, take the receiver from her hand and puts it to his ear. 
Hello? Then he cuts the phone and presses re-dial. 

The number says it doesn't exist. 
So he looks at her straight in the eyes and asks her who she was dailing to very calmly. 

She said she wanted to phone home but since she had never left without a family member she didn’t remember who or what to dial.
 A lie she realises quite handy at this point in time. 
She’s relieved of her instincts.

He bursts out laughing, pushes her on to the bed behind her and orders her to have some food. 
He says she needs her energy and its circuit she eat right away. 
Then turns his attention to the rest of the room and it’s set up. 

'What does she need her energy for?' 
She can’t imagine what’s coming next only to find the ornament in his back pocket. 

She’s immensity alarmed. 
She needs to get out of here she thinks to herself. 
No one knows she’s out here.
 And begins crying and blurts out “But what do I need my energy for!?” 

To which the boy shoots back a cold look at the girl and beings laughing the next minute. 

He comes over and kisses her on the head. And hold her, looks into her eyes and says she needs her energy for their long journey ahead to her house. 
After all, she jumped into the water for good knows what! (completely disregarding the fact that he injured his aunt at the water stairway.) 

He couldn’t let her look so worked up and exhausted when her parents and family saw her. 
She begins to calm down and he begins to tell her how she’s different. 
How he’s torn into two parts. 

How he’s seen many women before but never had the same connection with them. 
He mentions how her pregnancy scares him. 
He’s very calm and composed about it. 
He said he knows she’s pregnant and that she’s been hiding it. 

He says it’s terrible timing and it would reflect badly on him as her family is so conservative. 
He politely suggests she get an abortion on their way back and that he wouldn’t say a word to anyone about any of this having taken place. 

That since they were to be married shortly it could be their own little secret. 
That he didn’t want to be a father right now and they had all the time and age at their side to plan kids in the future. 
They couldn’t possibly become parents right away. 
There was so much life to be seen he says. 

She brings to sob silently in his arms. 
He says he knows how hard it has been for her in trying to hide it but her body had been giving the indications all along. 

But he didn’t want to show that he was upset about his doing and hence tried everything he possibly could on the ship to maintain a respectable distance from her all this while since Ibiza. 

He confesses to her that he started gambling heavily and got into taking drugs while on the ship (he leaves out the part about orchestrating raves with random men and women and something tells her not to bring it up either). 

Then he pulls away and tells her to eat her food. 
At this point, she calms down and settles on the nearby sofa and begins eating. 
A helper knocks at the door and the boy swiftly moves towards the same as if hoping for the girl not to be able to look at what News or item he bore. 
He lifts the curtain and quietly gestures to the helper ‘no this won’t be needed’, then there is a pause and the helper gives a salutation and moves away. 

As the helper is leaving the aunt turns up at the door.
She’s changed into a new dress, another deep red and has redone her makeup and doesn’t seem to be in any kind of pain. 

She asks the helper to stop and gestures to the boy ‘what’s going on?’ 

And the boy freezes in place and asks the help to keep moving and not to turn back again and asks the aunt to come into the room. 

On seeing the aunts face the girl is a bit nervous and stands up in shock (more than out of respect) and the aunt politely asked her to be seated and be comfortable. 

At this point, the boy goes over to her and asks her to forgive him for what she say happen at the water stairs and give a chance to him the explain what had happen. 
The girl feels as if she has no other choice but tries to be confident and nods to him to go on. 

- 6. Stroaks of bad luck - 

He explains that her aunt had lost her twins right at birth a few years ago. 
And to make things worse, they had been found on the banks of the water where they got off with the skulls of the kids smashed in with a rock. 
This had caused her aunt some serious brain damage from the shock of the matter and eventually, she started believing that she herself had done that to her own new born children. 

The kids were bastards as the man who had fathered the children had no intention of marrying her and when she went to him to have mercy on her, he had sedated her and passed her around to a large group of men, all of whom had taken turns to rape her and left her off outside the mansion by herself whispering to her that it would be best for her to take her own life. Crush her head with a rock. And so on. 

And since then she had attempted doing so a multiple number of times at the banks of the mansion. 
And she believed she did that to her own children who she carried in her womb for 9 months in the end. 

So it had been a coincidence that they found her at the banks almost as if repeating the same thing from past trauma.
But due to her size, no one could possibly take her down so he had managed a method after many failed attempts to put her through alternate shock and bring her back to reality. 

The girl turned to the aunt at this point and the aunt apologised to her in gestures as if almost ready to cry. 
He says he fears pregnant women and small children were at threat around his aunt. 
(But how did she know she thinks to herself) 

The girl settles herself hearing all this and finally gives a sympathetic smile. 

She’s been overworking herself all this while. 
After all, everyone has problems she thinks to herself, thinking of her own younger brother who had gone crazy a few years ago after the death of their mother. 
He was the one to have found her dead. 
If it hadn’t been for her relatives he wouldn’t have survived either. 

Now he would stick around the house, almost like an adrenaline junkie swinging from floor to floor and never taking a conventional route through the doors inside their house. 
He spoke to her sometimes but it never made any sense. 
It seemed to her as if he was always predicting the future or telling alternate truths about other family members.

All lies and dementia of course. 

She was happy again. 
But her guard was up. 
She had seen the ornament with which he had cut his aunt in his back pocket. 
Why did he have it on on his right now? 
But as she had her food and began to normalise she realised that the ornament was no longer in his back pocket. 
'What? But it had just been there?' 

Her gut told her to keep her guard up. 
His aunt was not in the room but the boy had suddenly misplaced the only thing he could use to defend himself?
She didn’t utter a word. 
For now, she was satisfied to an extent with his words and actions. 
It seemed like she would get home safe. 

(To. be continued.)

Friday, August 17, 2018

Short story: The Spirited Pup

‘Its so tiny!
'Why did you have to find such a secluded spot?' 
'This house is so dingy!'

They all complain and no one offered to unpack. Instead, all glued to their phones, they decided to leave him home and go out for lunch in their new neighbourhood. 
They forgot to ask him if he was hungry... yet again.. 

'Oh well..' he thought. He opened Zomato and called the nearest food delivery service... 
'Guess its a boon to be able to eat what one wants when the wants to?... or not." 
But who was he going to have this debate with now? He hardly had the opportunity to speak or have a discussion with anyone in his family. They seem to live together but no one seemed to really bother talking to him. 

But deep inside, today he was happy. He had the sense of accomplishment. 
It had taken all his saving to buy the house without a single rupee in a loan.
He was dead set against loans. 
This attitude seeded due to various family drama's he had lived thought as a child that had made him dead set against taking loans. 

This caused him to start working early, saving early on and being his family life late.
He married late when he was capable of earning enough to support another person and to provide for the two of them.
The having kids late, when they were ready to support the idea of having kids and providing them with the right upbringing.  

But the latest was to buy his own house. and when he finally did, his wife and kids didn’t seem to like it one bit. 

He was old and his office was starting to expect his resignation; pushing on him new medical test after test. He would often feel left out or out of place when commuting or working. At work.. all the same. This was probably because he didn't have too many friends in the office or in his city. 

Everyone working with him seemed to have grown younger or replaced by someone younger and he was the only one growing old. It was starkly visible. He noticed, just like everyone else. But at least at work they courteously greeted him when they ran into him and asked him how he was doing... 

And he needed the job. His kids were still depended on him. He earned and he saved, while everyone else seemed to spend and still weren’t happy with what they had. 'Did they even appreciate him?' he often wondered... this issue seemed to primarily stem from his wife's attitude.. the kids treated him exactly how his own wife did.. who could blame them? 

She was younger than he was, in the initial years of marriage she seemed to understand, but over the years he suspected she felt she was too young and was now stuck with him.. he even suspected she was glued to her phone all the time because she was seeing someone behind his back.. but he wasn't going to waste his energy on this at his age.. what if he was wrong? Maybe she deserved someone younger too... and all he could do was get out of her way at his age.

So they slept in separate bedrooms and only spoke in the evenings when they all watched TV together. He  

He is walking back one day and on his walk back from the metro finds a carton in the middle of his path back home. Inside the carton is a little puppy.

This old man looked at this puppy and mixed emotions run through him.
The puppy looks up to him as if expecting him to come to pick him up and take him. 

'Maybe his children will like the puppy and it would make up for their not liking the new house they just shifted into…?"

He decided to take the box and the pup in it home.
He then washed the pup and groomed it and put a bow around its neck from his daughter's box of stationery.
Then he waited for everyone to get home.
He waited for everyone to gather the living room to watch TV in the evening and then brought the box over. 

The kids were thrilled, so was his wife for a change, and things seem to be fine for a while.
Then the kids lost interest in the pup as it began to grow up and the wife started complaining... so as he had expected in the back of his head.. he ended up taking care of the pup. 

But it gave him immense pleasure in caring with the dog. He didn’t have many opportunities to speak or express himself.. so or him the pup was a companion, a listening ear.

So he woke up each morning and fed the dog.
Took it on a walk, then left for work, thought about the dog all day long, then came back and took the dog for a walk, fed it and spent time talking to it in the evening. 

He felt revived, rejuvenated, energetic at the end of the day knowing he had done well. The dog loved him and him the dog. 
This went on for a few years. The kids grew up, the wife also started to grow old. Faster than they all should have he thought sometimes.. but who could stop time he thought.
But strangely, the neighbours began to talk. They said that he had started taking care of his appearance. That he looked younger, he had started colouring his whiting hair to a grey. But he didn’t pay attention to any of it. He felt good and this gossip didn't matter to him.  

One day his school friend called and told him. He was passing through town and wanted to very much like to catch up with him for old times sake. 
Thinking about his obligations to his dog, he decided to invite his friend over to his house. At 65, he didn’t feel very comfortable with going to the local bar anyway. So it felt like a good excuse. 

Sharp at 7 there was a knock on the door. He opened the door and there stood his friend. He said, 'You must be Akira, very glad to meet you. I’m looking for your father, is he home? He was expecting me at 7 for dinner today.'

He stood there frozen at the door. What had just happen? Why was his friend behaving so strangely? It had been over three decades that they had met, and of course, they looked very different from how they looked back then but mistaking him for his son was a bit absurd? 

So he spoke and said, "Takashi, it's me... I think your memory seems to have fooled you.." 
And hearing these words his friend began to sept back in shock and then his shock quickly turned awe. 
"Is it really you? But how have you managed to look so young?" 

This baffled the old man, this wasn’t what he was expecting to hear! What? He felt like he had just snapped out of his trance and looked at himself in the window sill next to the door of the house and was shocked!

It was true, he didn’t look a year over 35! But how was this possible? Had he aged overnight? None of his family members came out to even greet his friend, but he was happy his dog kept them company. 

His friend had asked him how, and he had nothing to say. All he could say was that he thought taking care of the dog and taking it for a walk regularly has given him some exercise over the last few years.

His friend continued to praise him and his obedient dog the entire night, even though the mean that the man had prepared and then before he left, he told the old man that he had taken inspiration from him and would adopt a dog and take care of him and himself.

When his friend left the man ran up to his bathroom and took a good look at himself. How was this possible?
Had God rewarded him in some strange way?
But why him? Did the dog bless him for his kindness somehow?

The man didn't know how to face his family that night. 
Had they noticed this themselves? 
If they had, why didn't they say anything to him? 
Is this why the neighbours had been gossiping lately? 
He decided to go off to sleep early that night, after all, they really didn't care about him or what happens to him... 

He had the most vivid dreams that night. In his dreams, the dog was glowing and turned into a spirit that expressed his fondness for the man. The something fantastic happened, the man remembered something his grandmother used to tell him when he was a child. 


Apparently, the dog was a mystical spirit and anyone who took care of it reversed in age until they turned into a baby. They wouldn’t notice themselves unless someone pointed it out. 

This was an old folklore that his grandmother other used to tell him stuck him. About this kind spirit who manifested as a pet in the house and rewarded those who took care of it by reversing their age. But if the spirit wasn’t respected, it had the opposite effect on the members of the family. 
The dog had the same effect on the rest of the family. They all aged faster because they had refused to take care of him. But they didn't care enough to notice the man had grown younger and they didn't themselves know, for no one had pointed it out to them openly. 

Now with his illusion broken he woke up in the morning and tuned to see the dog, and to his surprise the dog was strongly glowing in the same way it had in his dream the night before. The dog's tail was wagging affectionately, but the man knew that this was as far as he could let all this go.

So he put the dog in a carton and took some food and decided to placed the carton in front of an old age nursing home. Then he left his thankless wife and children and decided with time on his side now, he could start fresh and be a better vision of himself again and have a happier life. 

Tuesday, July 17, 2018

What next for Myntra, Jabong and Nykaa

So cash of delivery is great. (thank you Flipkart)

But since then, how have e-commerce really made things more convenient for shoppers in India?
There's this phenomenon that currently prevails - which is called causal browsing on e-commerce sites. Especially true to Apparel, Cosmetics, Gadgets or Electronics and furniture.

To explain this phenomenon; it is the aspiration to buy but lack of funds to actually make a purchase.

The TG this phenomena most works with is young jobbers in tier 1/2 metro cities who have the spending capacity on such purchases and hence the 'wishlist' is a big deal for them.

They see the rising and falling prices of the items they wishlist and if possible make the purchase.

Now, not everything can be based on creating the intent to purchase for users. Because while the discounts and schemes may be unlimited, the user funds are not.

So how do you translate an active wishlist into a phenomenon using cash on delivery as a means to deliberate a purchase?

----drumroll----

By creating an option to schedule selected wishlist items to be delivered on a certain date for cash on delivery!

Silly right? But it should work! If you liked something in week 2 - 3 on the month and as a responsible adult decided to not make a purchase right away due to limited availability of funds, nothing really stops you from scheduling the same to be delivered for COD one day after your salary comes in the next month now is it?

And then I wonder why no one still hires me as a product manager. 

I hope this idea reaches the right eyeballs and someone benefits from this idea!

Thursday, May 24, 2018

The next big steps for AI personal assistants

We’ve all seen the recent Google assistant video that makes a call to a restaurant/hairdresser for reservations on behalf of a user right? That’s really how AI is shaping the future now, isn’t it?


But I believe only Google is the winner at the end of the day, or the ones really working on enhancing the AI-based personal assistant in that space.

Because really; what happens the day Google services start restricting third-party integration with their apps and platforms to make other AI personal assistants as capable?

Like Google maps, business listings, weather, jobs, flight, hotel bookings etc?

The true winners that day will be an app like Zomato, Just Dial, Practo, Ixigo etc, that have data or data pulling capabilities of their own and are able to fulfil AI based user requests by letting them access their data rather than heavily relying on Google products!

Two examples of a smart query that can work this way are:

E.g.: Like Zomato + Alexa / Siri / Cortana is stronger than Google for food and restaurant search (in India at least!)

Which basically uses the data from Zomato + data mining and human interactions capabilities of Siri / Alexa / Cortana

E.g.: Just dial + Alexa / Siri / Cortana are stronger than Google for business listing in India (or can be)

They should ideally do this before these players develop their own AI bots (which will be a bad move and a waste of time in many cases, unless you’re JustDial and offer almost everything)

If you look at it, this is why AI right now is not progressing beyond a point.

Because we aren’t we making apps that integrate with apps on smart devices with Siri or Alexa or Cortana and enhance their knowledge when someone is on devices and browsing through content.



In short: “We’re all only contributing to making Google stronger!”

On the other hand, why isn’t Google working on second-degree search queries?

E.g.: Tourist places around Delhi that have weather below 30 degrees right now

Query: Tourists places + kms range + weather

Places around my house that serve risotto and delivery food below the value of 250/- under 45 minutes?

Query: Location service + radius + dish + Order value for free delivery


This is also probably the point when Amazon, Yahoo and Microsoft should up their game with their own search engine listings / digital properties for similar products such as weather, maps, listings etc and enable Siri / Alexa / Cortana to integrate with them as well in place of Google products!

I guess this is probably why Apple launched its one maps a while back? Or why Amazon continues to buy smaller technology products across the world. But they haven’t really done too much with it in places like India at least where Siri or an Alexa are still dependent on Google to throw up search results. That’s technically Siri / Alexa doing the bidding for Google assistant now, isn’t it!

Hence making consumers more likely or adaptable to Google assistant in the future? What say?

Tuesday, May 15, 2018

I was reading through the Hawkins app -
The first chapter is on the Big Bang, what was the universe like at the beginning of time?

The answer / explanation written below read:

Science seems to have uncovered a set of laws that within the limits set by the ‘uncertainty principle’, tells us how the universe will develop with time, if we know it’s state at any other time.

These laws may have originally been decreed by God but it appears that he has since then left the universe to evolve according to them and does not now intervene.

Alternate theory in understanding and interpreting this:

I think when God creates us,
He created us in a matter and dimension that respond to certain laws created to be activated in this dimension and point in time.
But that would mean that instead of being in our universe, aliens exist in other different dimensions and don’t time travel but dimension travel to reach us.

Which also means our efforts to go find other life in this dimension according laws of the universe function we will only find beings that look like us. And never like any other thing that movies show as aliens. As their laws of existence and universal laws determine the shape of energy in matter and equivalent of what life is in shape and structure possible in that dimension.

Which only make two things valuable -
Time and dimension.

We might be able to time travel in the future
We may not find other life in this dimension

Which means this dimension is circular and anyone who tries to leave earth never return but will eventually go find the other earth  in this dimension. Only thing being the difference in life cycle and stage of that earth we would have actually time traveled and reached a different state of earth - cornering it alien land.

Which can mean the the Big Bang is a continuous processes and that every thing defined by minute a new universe is born. And that the big bang hasn’t ended but life is existing in the explosion of the universe and may end when the big band ends

Maybe it’s regulated by the force of the bang and that is what regulates life and energy of alive force to being or put into motion and speed at which we’re capable of functioning.

Which means other dimensions are other explosions parallels happening to ours. Creating different laws of the universe for that dimension within the energy of that explosion.

And then spontaneously going on Big Bang is happening over around each other and life has to find a way to jump between two bangs to find other life. And that can’t happen as the force and energy around us that cause atmosphere or space restricts us from dimension traveling.

So the only way to tell if we ever cross into another dimension is of the basic 3 laws of the universe are found changed.

So effectively the only thing we’ve e found out till now about matter around us are the various applications of time to various matter in this dimension causing certain actions or reactions in retrospect.

We will be able to time travel but not find other life in this universe.

Maybe the Hubble telescope is able to look through dimensions and not time and space in this universe? Which changes the theory of what we mean by

But it is also possible that when we jump into another dimension, we may not be able to survive and the principles of that universe / dimension creating life may be completely different.

And we will that means be in need to first be able to observe that dimension / universe from a distance and understand how their laws of the universe exist. Understand them from a distance and then do test runs to try to survive  physically in that universe / dimension.

Monday, May 7, 2018

Making ends meet - Natural Progression of Technology and Ideas

There are some great tech products on the market today. Products that offer very focused content based solutions for people in different life stage. 

But, there seems to be a stagnation in the natural progression on these platforms... 

I wonder why that is, maybe there is a lack of 'need analysis' or too narrow a view of looking at the tech and start-up ecosystem since new startups seem to be popping up filling need gaps in place of these existing companies diversifying their brand offerings?

Let me state a few observations based ideas on the existing Indian ecosystem at least; 
  1. PopXO should think about offering a pregnancy and parenting councillor on chat/call for women. Work that audience base! Be its best friend.
  2. PopXO should also think about offering peer counsellor for women and girls on chat/call. Tap into its 85% audience base that is outside its top 10 metro cities and needs this kind of support that currently brands are becoming custodians of giving. 
  3. Hyperlocal players like Grofers / Big Basket should push the agenda like Zomato/BigF/ Food Talk India are doing in the food space for 'in hotel dining' to increase 'in-store footfalls' in retail brand store in key cities. As marketing competition is already high there and the option of malls is available. 
  4. Same way, eCommerce sites like Amazon / Flipkart can also offer in-store shopping opportunities with local mom and pop stores / big bazaars, west side gourmet etc. Feel this will / can work out well with measuring sales/footfalls in offline stores during campaign duration or as always-on components for consumers to avails better discounts in store (in turn helping build stronger brand preference). Also helping e-commerce companies capture a larger number of people from offline to take them online. This will work majorly for electronic brands and CPG / FMCG brands? 
  5. Myntra / Jabong / Nykka should integrate with Eleve/Plixxo for user-generated photos/videos of wearing their products in exchange for redeemable points. (For UGC Submission.) Help create mini infomercials to help retailers turn their Insta / FB / Snapchat stories into sales leads. 
  6. Practo / 1MG / Parentune - option diversify their product offering as a solution to new parents / young or old couples. They can do this by starting gifting options on e-commerce sites which can be gifted. These gifts can be in form of a set number of doctor consultation on chat/video call / phone call. 
Isn't this the role of a good product marketing manager? Whats the use of only upgrading current features when the overall intent and purpose of trying to be category leader is defeated in the broader sense? 

If you find these interesting, comment below and let me know your views and takes on the same!

Friday, May 4, 2018

These great platforms ensure that your learning never stops

If you’re like me; “In between jobs” then this is defiantly for you. Otherwise also, if you have this constant desire in the back of your head to learn more, do more with your free time, to look for ways to gain that competitive edge, then here’s the thing for you. 

I’ve been accessing and going through these bunch of new websites and apps, (because what’s more convenient than your phone?) that help build up skills for the job industry, giving you certifications that you can add to your LinkedIn and sometimes even PG certification! What's even better is that some you can complete at your own pace! 

So without wasting more time, here’s my list of Top 8 apps/sites that are truly awesome for learning: 

1. Simplilearn; want to learn the basics of programmatic? No problem. And get a certificate for it while you’re at it. Paid but inexpensive. 
Website Link: https://www.simplilearn.com 
App version available: Yes

2. Instareads; Don’t have time to read books? Still, want to know the gist? Here’s your answer. Free is good, the paid version is even better. Pocket-friendly. 
Website Link: https://instaread.co/ 
App version available: Yes

3. Khan Academy; well, this is good for you and good for your niece! Polish up those basics physics and math skills again, only this time with animation and examples. And it’s free! Also has courses on entrepreneurship as well. 
Website Link: https://khanacademy.org 
App version available: Yes

4. Primer; Google's gift to every CMO/CXO/ Marketer and entrepreneur! In a bite-sized app that’s constantly updated to help you keep up with the times! It’s free! Download now, never delete it! 
Website Link: https://www.yourprimer.com/in
App version available: Yes

5. CreativeLive; learn from the masters. Short courses by industry experts, some free. Some paid. But alternative learning doesn’t get better than this! 
Website Link: https://www.creativelive.com/
App version available: Yes

6. GradesDontMatter; it’s new, it’s the Indian version of CreativeLive and The Master Class! But very relatable. The courses are cheap (199/- all access is being offered at the moment) no completion certificates thought. 
Website Link: https://www.gradesdontmatter.in/  
App version available: Yes

7. Swayam; this one deserves a special mention and a standing ovation. An initiative by Ministry of Human Resource Development of India, in collaboration with everyone from IIM Banglore to IIT Bombay! This form of Education is called MOOC's - "Massic open online course". It’s free! And courses offer certificates and PG diplomas! Can life get any better? Why the heck isn’t this advertised more? 
Website Link: https://swayam.gov.in/ 
App version available: Yes

8. edX: Similar to Swayam, this is an international MOOC platform, here you can obtain certifications in a verity of interesting courses from everyone from Berkely to MIT. For a small fee, you can then give an online test and obtain certification from the said university or college.
Website Link: http://edx.org
App version available: Yes

Download them now! And if you find them interesting, share your thoughts with me in the comments below!

PS: More interesting apps, that didn't make it to my top 8 list:

  • Blinkist
  • Audible by Amazon
  • AudioBooks
  • EDUCBA
  • Mimo 
  • Coursera 
  • CreativeLive
  • Lynda
  • Udamey 

Thursday, May 3, 2018

Dfaq with Zomato! - Part 1

They say you should keep your friends close, but your enemy's closer! Especially true - when you're out to run an empire! i.e.: Case and point - Zomato

Off late, the battle between Zomato and Swiggy has been steaming up. 
They were in talks on merger a while back but my best guess is, it was an attempt to look at each other's books and processes. After all, if Zomato is the King of the North, Swiggy is the Empress of the South. (and heck women have always proven to be more efficient rulers throughout history! But more on that later)

I'm a long-standing user of Zomato. Probably a 'whale' amongst users; like they say while defining mobile gaming user type. But its far more out of necessity than out of actually liking the app now. Its become an evil I cant do without. At least for the time being.

As an outsider, even a customer with one eye closed (looking at any form of digital screen connected to the internet) can tell that both Zomato and Swiggy have up the ante on new user acquisition. And from the looks of it, Swiggy is dominating this fight right now. 

But lots of users and F&B brands seem to suddenly be favouring Swiggy in North India. And Zomato's greatest weakness right now is not being able to address their concerns. i.e.: the concerns of its biggest stakeholders - its existing users!

To my understanding, either their brand team is trying to do everything at once, (like trying to eat all the french fries, the burger and drink the entire soda can in one big gulp) without any prioritization of agendas or clear focus. 

Whatever be the case, if they continue this way, they will definitely be going down as a case study in Indian business history soon; as 'The leader who lost the right to its opinion holders'.

No, I'm not going to give any 'gyaan' on what they can do better (no one is paying me for it), but I'll like to gently point out notorious things that they are doing off late; 

1. They have taught their CRM team the art of lying and defending their position instead of addressing customer issues. 
- CRM team responses are also very fake and repetitive (like banging your head against the wall an expecting a different outcome each time)
- Their social media team is far more receptive than their CRM and PR team; post something on Twitter to the founder and people get in touch with you way faster. (even if they don't take adequate action ahead of that) 
- The PR team or whoever the hell it is sending sorry packages to customers, which doesn't even care if the wrong sorry note is sent to the wrong customer.

2. They decided to take on new challenges, i.e.: Zomato delivery, and now they are causing business losses to F&B owners. 
- Reducing delivery radius so that they can deliver food quicker
- Quietly switching restaurant ordering off when they don't have staff in an area to pick up delivery in a certain area
- Creating new features like kitchen hygiene ranking and asking F&B partners for money to rank high up in them for a year. 

3. Not being intuitive enough in developing and launching new features on the app like they used to
- I'm not able to use the rating filters under subcategories 
- I'm not able to find half the items as they haven't been tagged to restaurants 

4. Doing dumb things like turning the app clour blue for people who pay them for Zoamto Gold service where all they do is highlight the BOGO offers. 
- Have they taken a look at their selves in the mirror off late? I think not. Plus they haven't been looking at what other competitors have been doing either. 
- Food Talk India - is able to partner with brands and curate interactive events that Zomato hasn't been able to do. 
- Big F and Food talk India have been giving far better in restaurant dining offers than Zomato by a MILE! Why the heck will I avail a BOGO on a single food dish at a restaurant when I can opt for 15 - 20% off on entire bill or 1 + 1 on the buffet instead? 

I'm not done yet. Part 2 coming soon.