Rohit Sharma

Her name is lily . She has brown strips and like most cats, she is cute. She comes here at her own will. She sits at the spot and look at the passing crowd of buyers and strangers. It's a fun watch. She enjoys the human circus. She also likes to listen to the ladies' talk, yet we do not know if she understands what they are murmuring. When she is hungry, she just has to meow in a cute little voice, and voila! Human's heart melt to this and they arrange something for her! They feed her. They also caress her fur and it makes her feel comfortable. Some of the street dogs envy her! Anyway, that's not it. Her presence is soothing to the lady keepers. They always have something to express their love. Customers like me stop to take a picture of her & rejoice at her curious look. She doesn't care much. She knows all about social media. Some of her friends are already in the Instagram. Their owners are over-possessing of them. Unlike lily, they are kept indoo...

It is afternoon. Mahesh is busy ironing the clothes of his customers. He works here at a monthly fixed wage. He looks serious and concentrated in his job. This tiny place is his space of work where he spends 50% of his day's time. He is the HR, the commercial guy, the security guard & also the hardworking employee! There is a watch on his left. There is a ceiling fan above him. One calendar hangs by the wall. At empty times he gets to sit on a plastic chair. The place is basically situated at the footpath! There are a number of QR scan code stickers of PayTM, Google pay, etc. that are sticking at the front. When asked, he replied with a non-glimmering face, "sab maalik ne lagaya hai (all posted by the lord)"... When the ironing is done, he keeps the clothes stacked at the back. Peeking closely into the shop, we would find a CCTV camera fitted at the top corner. He dares look directly at it. Iron man is obviously under continuous surveillance by the shop ow...

On those tougher days when you are unwillingly stuck at a certain place, a small lane filled with unknown faces, by a monotonous aura, or a one-room apartment, how do you let it go? What makes you not shout and how do you cope with the inner chaos of wanting to break free? There are no lies. He murmurs to himself, stares at wall blankly & thinks of hope, his only tonic. He daydreams of everything he wanted to become, he wanted to feel and that which he wanted to explore. Time passes and only a meagre part is accomplished. Ambitions suffer. There are no lies. How do you say your name when it means nothing and express nothing. It is just one in a million. How does age matter, when you are aging early and feel pain in your legs even though you haven't walked enough. Oh, these thoughts... They weigh heavy. He feels burdened & chained. There are no lies. You see those imaginary keys? Unlock these doors and open the cage. Let him fly. But, he will return. He will retu...

Packed with at least 14 passengers & a wheelcart overhead, a Tata Sumo private vehicle is ready to make another round of trip from the city of Aurangabad. It is painted black with few yellow strips over its body. A woman wearing a blue saree is talking with someone over her feature phone. There is chatter in the air. There are other vehicles nearby. It takes about 35 to 40 minutes for the vehicle to be full. Aurangabad is a district place and is one of the fastest developing cities in India. More number of people from the adjacent taluka places ought to travel here everyday. They come for several reasons, e.g., to make their day job, to bulk purchase for their local businesses, to celebrate, to visit government offices, for education and so on. With India's Purchasing Power Parity being second only to China in the world, it offers many such cheaper travel options for the people. Besides there is a lack of tax scrutiny on such businesses. Passengers are paying in cas...