Strokes Of Pen

‘Kidney’ by author R K Raj presents plethora of grave serious challenges of child labour, recycling, waste management, environment, and many forms of ‘divides’ in the forms of interesting and spell bound story woven around an orphan like rag picker with adopted ragpicker family in landfill area of Ghazipur. In an exclusive chat with Strokes of Pen , he shares his thoughts on the idea behind ‘Kidney.’

Image Source She loved eating yogurt, She would eat day and night, The other thing she loved, Was her hut. Alone she would eat, All flavors of yogurt. Strawberry, Lemon, Kiwi, Watermelon and even Chocolate. Yes, Chocolate yogurt; She had her factory of manufacturing it, Behind her hut, Away from everyone eyes.

Image Source Vejali was a vagabond. She was like a butterfly, sometime here, sometimes there. She did not have any fix place except her parent’s home. But she had left it since her late teens. She did not liked to be under someone. Better to have a life, she can handle than letting others taking decisions. Her job kept her busy and on toes. She travelled a lot. And had made an OCD that she would not stay in any company for more than one year. Whenever asked her, she used to say, “Staying with someone or something for too long makes you emotionally attach. And I do not want emotional complexes.” She was totally a wanderer. She explored, travelled, ate, enjoyed life more than anyone else. On such a travel, she befriended a group of gypsy and had a blast. They spent there days & night, partying, drinking, and smoking. She loved this kind of atmosphere. No guilt, no remembrance and no one knows the other person. On such a party night, when she was not too high, she sa...

Image Source Urvashi was busy with her morning household chores. She had to make tiffin, prepare breakfast, tea, make milk for kids, get ready for school, and prepare for other small things. This was a regular routine of her life. She had adjusted herself to it and her speed had increased a lot during last years.  Her parents could not believe that she was doing so much in her in-law’s place. Her maiden life had been easy. She was born and brought up in Dubai. She never had to ask for anything. She lived life a queen’s size. She had never entered kitchen and now, she was a master chef at her home. On such a conversation with her mom on skype, she said, “Mom, it is not so. I am happy here.” “Yeah. I can see that. Whenever I talk to you either you are busy in kitchen or with other household chores.” “So what’s the big deal in this? You too do it.” “I do it but to a limit. Just look at you, you have degraded to a typical homemaker. Why do not you start workin...

Image Source Rishi loved Mitali from the core of his heart. But he could not express it. They had mutual friends but even the group get-together, he use to shy away from her. Rishi was like that only, an introvert. He loved her quietly, without any questions asked or formed. He used to notice all her little things. Her hairstyles, her clothes, her love for Pani – Puri and her sunshine smile. And he was happy from loving her that way. Mitali on the other hand was an extrovert. She had many friends and loved hanging out with friends. A single sight of her and the group was brighten up. She knew that Rishi liked her. And she too loved him. Yet awaited him to confess his feelings. Days went by and it was their farewell. Everyone was busy partying and enjoying with his or her friends. Mitali hoped that, at least today, he would confess his love for her. She tried to approach him but every time, he was either buys or surrounded by his friends. “In this way, I would not ...

Image Source Siara and Sana were twins. They looked same and nearly had similar habits, except one! Siara being elder was compassionate while Sana was edgy. They spent their childhood alongside the woods. They grew up loving nature and knew everything about its traits. They knew the natural surrounding so well that they could literally disappear amongst the wild trees, shrubs, and all. As they grew, they turned into beautiful ladies and everyone around them appreciated their beauty. It was then, when they turned sixteen, they experienced their first teenage love. And as it is said, ‘your first love is your first love’ – something similar happened to them. Siara found her true love with Adam while Sana fell in love with Radal. It was in Summer when their love blossomed. They both used to make an excuse of collecting flowers and end up meeting their lovers for hours. Their mom did not said anything because she thought that girls needed to have fun. As the days passe...

Image Source Risha and Tanya were finally meeting after 10 long years. They were excited, nervous, and happy. They had so much to tell each other. Especially to decide who had fared better. They hugged each other tightly. They could not believe that they would be able to live separate for so many years. “I am so happy to see you,” Risha said. “Me too,” Tanya kept hugging her. They finally sat down at their favorite spot and ordered their favorite meal. “So what’s up with you?” Risha asked. “I have submissions. Have to complete my novel. What about you?” “I am still a struggling actor.” “You will be a superstar soon.” “I hope so,” Risha sounded quite disheartened. “Are you okay?”

The first year was around the corner. Misha was excited, happy, nervous, and sad to shift to an alien world. She was tired of all the travelling and just prayed that she reached Udaipur soon. She sat on her berth and gazed at watch, “it is just 2 a.m., there are still some hours left”, she thought and went back to sleep as the train whistled through darkness towards the station. In her adjoining compartment, sharing some similar thoughts was Rahul. He was soon going to be in his dream university, achieving his aim to be a photographer. The big name and fame of the campus had driven him crazy. He was anxious to make new friends, meet new people, especially since his university did just not limit itself to photography courses. “So many options, so many people, so many new friends and… girlfriends”, he smirked as he changed the music in his phone. It was 10 A.M when the train halted at Udaipur Junction. Misha and Rahul both climbed down with new hopes, dreams, and aspiration...

Winning is a complex word. From childhood, we are habituated to associate winning to glory, fame, money, status – but do winning really mean these aspects?

[Those meant to stay in life, stay, not being visible all the times, not being approachable at times; but they are always there. Like a shadow, they follow you, without making their presence felt. They are like the breadth, one always take, but without acknowledging it. Those, who are never meant to be part of life, will always break away, no matter how hard you try to hold them.] An accident changed her course of life. She had waited all long for this miracle. Call it a destiny or call it coincidence that accident was meant to happen. Her life had major vicissitudes, had fluctuated, had given her reasons to hate life completely, but she carried on to an unknown destination. What was she looking for, no one knew. She went to the roads unknown, paths unpaved; only to face dejection. Where was her life leading her, she had no clue. She just went with the winds, to deepest and darkest tunnels and dungeons of life in search of a light. To search for something that could give meanin...