if i were an author…history (non-fiction)

It is believed that Mahatma Gandhi was indirectly responsible for Bhagat Singh’s entry into the freedom struggle. Bhagat Singh took the route of violence as he and his cronies felt that was the only way to counter the British. “An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth” was their answer to Gandhi’s “an eye for an eye makes the whole world blind.”

What led this young lad to leave a youth full of promises in return for a life filled with struggle and eventual martyrdom?

(An assignment for Writestuff Writing Club – A community for writers who meet every alternate Sunday to discuss their work and learn more about writing and also to sharpen their writing skills.)

if i were an author…political (non-fiction)

Forgetting their earlier stance of ‘Hindi Chini bhai bhai‘, China has yet again stabbed India in the back. From making their presence felt in Arunachal Pradesh to forcing Indian Government to discontinue providing refuge to Dalai Lama and the displaced Tibetans, China is proving itself to be India’s nemesis.

(An assignment for Writestuff Writing Club – A community for writers who meet every alternate Sunday to discuss their work and learn more about writing and also to sharpen their writing skills.)

if i were an author…religion (non-fiction)

To avenge an age old feud fuelled by politicians with vested interests, the greatest majority and minority in India are at loggerheads with each other. The Muslims built mosques over temples. The Hindus retaliated by breaking the Babri Masjid. This led to the communal riots and an apparent ghettoism in cosmopolitan cities like Bombay. The holy cow has once again been sacrificed at the altar.

(An assignment for Writestuff Writing Club – A community for writers who meet every alternate Sunday to discuss their work and learn more about writing and also to sharpen their writing skills.)

if i were an author…travel (non-fiction)

As soon as the train enters Jammu, the air is rent with cries of ‘Jai Mata Di’. Jammu with its security personnel outnumbering civilians seems like another world. From there you proceed to Katra and begin the walk to Vaishno Devi. You climb all night and early in the morning, you catch the first rays of the sun illuminating the snow capped mountains. The breeze on your face feels cold and the marble beneath your feet feels like ice.

Come with me as I take you through a journey steeped in piety in a state torn by political and religious factions.

(An assignment for Writestuff Writing Club – A community for writers who meet every alternate Sunday to discuss their work and learn more about writing and also to sharpen their writing skills.)

if i were an author…biography (non-fiction)

From the sleepy town of Turin to the understated elegance of 10 Janpath Road. From the sylvan surroundings of Italy to the power corridors of the Indian Parliament. One woman has seen it all. A dream dreamt with her Prince Charming led her to the mystic of India under the watchful eyes of the nation’s Iron Lady. A happy marriage  and 2 beautiful children, life for her was a bliss. Till a blast shattered her dreams and threw her into the throes of a political upheaval.

The journey of Antonia Maino to Sonia Gandhi…

(An assignment for Writestuff Writing Club – A community for writers who meet every alternate Sunday to discuss their work and learn more about writing and also to sharpen their writing skills.)

if i were an author…classic (fiction)

Rochester, an orphan, leaves his shelter at 18 to make it big in bad England. Jane Eyre, 16, an heiress with a hot head and arrogance to the boot scorns at all things lowly. One morning, as she passed the town square in her swanky carriage, she glances upon a frail and scrawny looking Rochester. Their eyes meet for a fleeting second and he sees the scorn in her eyes.

10 years later their paths cross again. By this time, Rochester has amassed enough wealth and Jane has blossomed into a striking beauty.  Do her eyes still hold him with scorn?

(An assignment for Writestuff Writing Club – A community for writers who meet every alternate Sunday to discuss their work and learn more about writing and also to sharpen their writing skills.)

if i were an author…humour (fiction)

Bollybics, Flabattack, Gym…all these and more have been unleashed upon me by my groom crazy mother. “What’s the use of all your dance, you still look like a baby elephant?. Can you not apply some besan on your face?”. “For whom Ma…that oily haired nerdie who came to see me last month or the simple ‘vegetarian’ who almost choked on my ‘non vegetarian’ joke?”

Read on to know how a poor unsuspecting soul was subjected to beauty torture…

(An assignment for Writestuff Writing Club – A community for writers who meet every alternate Sunday to discuss their work and learn more about writing and also to sharpen their writing skills.)

if i were an author…action (fiction)

The war was at its peak. The soldiers lay in their bunkers and trenches half dead with hunger and thirst. Everyone thought the Drass Point was captured by strategy and the never-say-die attitude of the soldiers. But what nobody knew was that they couldn’t have accomplished this feat without the help of a Kashmiri girl, Jheel, who secretly supplied them with food and water putting her life at risk.

Does Jheel survive the war? Is the victory of a peak at the cost of someone’s life?

(An assignment for Writestuff Writing Club – A community for writers who meet every alternate Sunday to discuss their work and learn more about writing and also to sharpen their writing skills.)

if i were an author…historical (non-fiction)

Emperor Akbar was as headstrong as he was fearless. His conquests have been well known. From countries to people’s hearts, he ruled them all. They say, “behind every man is a woman.” And behind Emperor Akbar’s victory was neither his mother nor his wife, Jodhabai, but his governess Mahamanga.

Did the hand that rock the cradle really rule the world?

(An assignment for Writestuff Writing Club – A community for writers who meet every alternate Sunday to discuss their work and learn more about writing and also to sharpen their writing skills.)

if i were an author…religion (fiction)

Krishna, the evergreen casanova openly flirted with his gopikas. Everybody who knew Kanha, knew his fondness for Radha who he would invariable reduce to tears. But unbeknown to Krishna, there was another gopika, Mriganayani, who was on the threshold of youth. Each day she would churn fresh butter, hang the pot and keep the doors open, hoping Krishna would visit her someday. Each morning she would sway to the river and back balancing filled matkas (pots) on her head and hip hoping he would break them with a stone. But he never seemed to notice her.

Would she be able to open her heart to him or would she be ignored and forgotten like other gopika?

(An assignment for Writestuff Writing Club – A community for writers who meet every alternate Sunday to discuss their work and learn more about writing and also to sharpen their writing skills.)