Thursday, January 05, 2012

The Illusion

Spark, the online magazine that I have been contributing to, completes two year. As part of their special anniversary issue, they asked their regular contributors to work on specific topics. I got asked to write a short story on 'Exploring Relationships'.

So, here goes - a thousand word story not for the faint-hearted. Here's the build up: "Vishruti is waiting for someone as the waves go about their business in the busy city of Mumbai. Who is she waiting for and what’s the meeting going to be all about?" Read on.

6 comments:

Vidya said...

Not at all how I expected it to end!

Parth said...

@Vidya: You didn't spill that cup of coffee you had in your hand when you got to the end, right? :)

frissko said...

Liked the premise, the setting, and the conversation...Not sure about the ending so much (i see that you were working towards shock value :), but if my girl cheats on me, i'd rather let her go than end her life)...

ps1: Typo in line 1...should be 'expanse'...

ps2: I guess it is impossible for us to not borrow certain aspects from our lives even when we write fiction :). (I know you only from your blogs, but mumbai, beach walks, and the cricket part are probably borrowed from your courting days :)...

Parth said...

@Frissko: Thanks for the detailed feedback. I view the action as a crime of passion, and not out of the bounds of human behavior. If it did not sound convincing, then perhaps I did not do a good job of setting the stage in the thousand word limit that I was dealing with. Thanks for calling out the typo. I will ask for it to be corrected. Lastly, yes, we find it easier to relate to the experiences we have ourselves had - I *could* set this story in a village square in Prague, but it wouldn't come naturally to me. You know me well enough by now - I am quite a Mumbai beach boy who is passionate about cricket :) Specific to this particular story, the audience of this magazine is largely Indian, so it didn't make sense to set it any other place.

Thanks again for the feedback. Very happy to see at least some folks hanging around the blog :)

Priyanca Vaishnav said...

kudos! you're becoming a more versatile and comprehensive writer...

Parth said...

@Hopeless Romantic: Thanks much! That is a good compliment to hear :)