A Myth in Creation

We are programmed creatures, and while it is absurd to follow the inbuilt algorithms, it is equally meaningless to rebel.

It is midnight The ceiling opens up its secrets: a graveyard of massacred butterflies I do not know whether to mourn their lost innocence or their lost beauty

In the grandest scheme of things, one's position is invariably one of humility. In a sense, all conceit is an illusion derived from the relativity of perspectives.

"I'm glad to see you out in the open. Believe me, I am. To see you speak with your own voice, and make your presence felt, it gives me a certain pride. You weren't always like that. There was a time when you could only whisper, and I was lucky that you entrusted your whispers to me. I gave you my voice, and in turn you took my mind to new heights. I miss that. I miss that connection. I do not long for it to come back, I do not long for things to be the way they were, I am not foolish or selfish. But by God, I do miss that."

I co-translated one of the short stories (Pandokey) in this collection with Ali Madeeh Hashmi, published by Penguin India. If you can get your hands on the book, check it out.

I have come to the realization that the central theme of most of my dreams is failure in the face of an over-whelming obstacle. In various scenarios and manners,in one dream after another, I am trapped without escape, fleeing only to be caught, or struggling with a task in vain. To what end? I do not know.

Gifts from gods to men are often also curses, but rarely vice versa.