Sutured Dreams

  It has almost been 5 years since my father passed away . 5 years since I decided that in order to survive going forward, I had to find a way to turn my emotions off. So, on the few occasions in the year that I allow them to come back on, I’m reminded of how painful my reality truly is. 2019 was the worst year of my life – so much so that even the Covid pandemic ravaged 2020 and 2021 seem pale in comparison. Financially, I was at rock bottom, and despite working almost nonstop most of the year, I was barely paid 2 months of salary by the start of December after getting screwed by both the government and private sectors. Near the end of the year, I found myself trying to sell furniture that I thought was surplus to my needs in order to try to get some cash to pay the bills. I was humiliated on multiple occasions by my new landlord for being a doctor who couldn’t even pay the rent on time .   I was in a toxic relationship that was getting worse every day and destroying my...

  There is an unwritten rule that you should never get into business deals with your friends. The logic behind this is simple – it’s easier to make your friends believe in your crazy idea through blind faith than it would be with a complete stranger. And like most lessons in life, this is one that you never quite appreciate as much as you should until you get your fingers burnt. Friend of a Friend’s Optimus Prime was a friend of my childhood friend, Mr Magpie. I had known Mr Magpie ever since 7 th Std in school. He was one of the rare friends one could always rely on when in trouble. We had always managed to maintain our friendship even after he changed schools in 10 th and even after he had moved to the UK for a few years. Optimus became friends with Mr Magpie in the other school and I had met him years later when we all went for a movie at Sree Padmanabha Theatre in Trivandrum. Me and Mr Magpie would catch up every now and then – maybe once a month. And Optimus would ...