Yash Soni

To Baburao Ganpatrao Apte, There's something about you that left an indelible laughter in my mind ever since the first time I saw you on screen. Wait, do you understand you are no comedian or joker. You are an alcoholic, debt stricken bloke always swaying to and fro between Raju's cunning mind and Shyam's righteous attitude. You affirmed your seniority everywhere but you never made any sense to me or anyone out there. Tenants need to pay their rent. You get it right? On my off days, when I see your unadulterated smile it bewilders me - I mean how can this man live with such conviction and ease. What about his isolated life? His debts? These questions linger on my mind. It's not okay to be unambitious and surrender to your fate but when life doesn't give you 'Star Fisheries', you can always show some content in your dilapidated 'Star Garage'. Your innocent gullibility, incorruptibility and rustic lunacy bought chuckles. Well, you need to learn that Sh

"Room number 69?" I asked a half-asleep man at the reception. "Second floor," he mumbled. It was one of the shadiest lodges in town. I had my appointment at 12 AM. Satan's hour as my friend always calls it. 12:04 AM; I knocked on the door of room number 69. I gasped as the door clicked. I stepped inside and locked the door behind me. My friend had set me up with this person. I entered a dimly lit room. 6×4 cot on the left. A bathroom towards the far right. There was a window that faced the main road. TV was on low volume. 2:40 AM; I'm riding back home in an auto, writing my first draft of an experience. An experience that changed my life. Desperate times, desperate measures. From life changing moments to lessons for a lifetime. This was a night that changed my life, completely. 12:07 AM; She lay on her side, absolutely staring at me. She was beautiful! I sat on a chair at an arm’s length from the cot. "Nervous?" she asks. "This is my first tim

The rickshaw wala asked if he could onboard another passenger. Trampling on my hesitant approval, he came sat next to me. Cosied up on a cycle rickshaw as it peddled forward. I think there are no bigger signs for a feeling as ones when we are tentative – the fidgeting, the clamminess, the unpurposeful whistling, the show of looking the other way. – there’s just so much, given away so easily. And I am sure I did too. For I was excessively aware that I was sitting next to an eunuch but more so because of what he asked next. Darr lag rha hai? (Are you scared?) I nodded away – no – managing a nervous half-smile and a plastered silence. But our conversation escalated when he admitted his next sentence – hum bhi toh insaan he hain (We too are humans). I shot a glance at him, at his face. The 14-year old me didn’t know any better. But when I retrospect today, I wonder what would have hurt more – to have someone look at you with un-bargaining denial or with sympathetic acceptance

Tujhse Naraaz Nahi Zindagi is a landmine of life’s wisdom. Despite being tapped into countless number of times, it still has more to offer.  Its layered texture is without the overbearing appendages of pretence. No wonder it is wielded by the pen of Gulzar Saab, one of country’s most aware and prominent literary voices. In its own right this summons life to a center table. And then submits to it. Ensues an engaging conversation that I’ve never had the courage to move away from. For it has often felt a bit too personal when pain is made to sound like a due to be paid. In lieu of life’s grand moments. But isn’t that true? Even without the poetic justice. Come to think of it, don’t we always carry the pain like a tagged baggage? How terribly independent though are our joys, squared up only by infrequent bouts of nostalgia. Barely anybody has spoken about adversity with such poignancy. Life’s hard questions are not innocent whims but Gulzar Saab, a stellar wordsmith, romanticizes pain with

Ever wondered why the world seems to exaggerate romance like it's the best thing that has happened to mankind? Be it the countless movies glorifying the act of falling or being in love with the number of romance writers who make the singles feel almost miserable. There are perhaps thousands of songs about love too. Put the numbers aside and just imagine how many people depend upon this whole idea to earn their livelihood! Maybe love is literally in the air. It's all around us. Sometimes to the extent that it's choking us, all. This beautiful feeling is often accompanied by setbacks, disappointments, challenges, etc. And it's not like 'When the going gets tough, the tough get going.' People who have experienced heartbreaks or have been cheated on or fall out of love never tend to go all out in public. Why? When you were in a relationship, you are proud of your partner, you're happy. You'd post pictures with them, of them, and let the whole world know what

You still cry about someone who left you for someone else, Who doesn't think of you anymore. It's been a year that he broke your heart. But you still couldn't talk about it; you tremble when someone enquires about it, You little girl, you dared to push someone out of your life whom you loved with all your heart. You didn't give him the chance to destroy you anymore emotionally. You're wise enough to sense that he is not the one for you even if you've loved him for a few years now. You deserve someone who will treat you the way you treat every important person in your life. Someone who will travel half the world just to see your eyes. You deserve someone who loves books as much as you do, Who plays tennis as much you do, Who will be ready to travel 20 kms at 1 am to drink masala chai with you. You deserve someone who won't give excuses or beg for second chances. You deserve a man who calls you his queen and not a guy who keeps switching betwee