Friday, September 26, 2014

Blog Adda Game of Blogs: Team By Lines: Chapter 17




Chapter 17


Aryan switched on a light in his lab and the paraphernalia in front of them surprised Jennifer and Shekhar.  Many sophisticated and modern looking gadgets lay spread out on the various counters and tripods.

“This is the EMF meter. It measure fluctuations in electromagnet fields and is useful in detecting and documenting the presence or traces of extraterrestrial objects or communication. And this one is the UFO and Alien Motion Detection and Mapping Laser System. We can measure the physical aspects of a presence or any anomaly that passes in front of it within a range of 500 meters,” said Aryan, touching two of the instruments that came in their path first.

Shekhar and Jennifer watched Aryan coming alive with excitement as he introduced them to the various instruments in his laboratory. He had become excited like a kid visiting a candy store for the first time. He was animatedly talking about all of his gadgets.

“And this one is the best among them all. This machine can detect alien DNA. It has the DNA’s of all the creatures so far detected on the earth and the instant the DNA of an unknown species gets in touch with its sensor, it starts giving out beeps. I am afraid that it was damaged while transporting here. On the day I settled into this house, while reassembling it, it started beeping. It kind of spooked me out. I had just returned after meeting all the neighbours then. And I am sure, none of them were aliens to leave a DNA trace on me,” said Aryan, with a smug smile.

“You are lucky none of the other machines were damaged,” said Jennifer.

“I am not so sure. You don’t come across aliens in any neighborhood, do we? But now that I remember, my Alien Motion Detection and Mapping Laser System had also given out some strange signals. It had begun tracing the shape of something yesterday and afraid that it was also begin to malfunction,” said Aryan.

“Trace, you mean this machine can plot an extra terrestrial if it comes within its range?” asked Shekhar bursting with excitement.

“Yes, It has a laser grid system, which can tell us speed, dimensions and even help us make a 3D model of the anomaly. But the machine was surely malfunctioning yesterday, because it was tracing the shape of a human being. I got so disgusted and turned it off mid-way,” said Aryan.

“What if the machine was not malfunctioning? It could have been an alien in the guise of a human. Trust me, the alien I saw at the FOTA conference looked and sounded exactly like a human,” said Jennifer.

“You mean… I don’t understand. But..,” said Aryan, stupefied by the revelation by Jennifer.

“Is there a way, we can access the data that was recorded yesterday. I mean the recorded data that began plotting the alien on the grid?”asked Jennifer, her mind working furiously to decipher what all of that would mean.

“Yes. The data recorded can be accessed anytime to re-plot the earlier findings,” said Aryan.

“Can you do it now? I have a doubt?” said Jennifer.

Nodding, Aryan went towards the machine, signed in with a password and accesed the recorded data. He switched off all lights and then pressed the start button on the plotter. A 3-D laser grid turned on in the darkness and with tiny beeps the machine started plotting a 3-D human shape.

Two of them gasped when the final output, which gave a skin finish to the plotting, appeared in the grid. 

The third screamed.















Me and my team are participating in ‘Game Of Blogs’ at BlogAdda.com. #CelebrateBlogging with us.”

Monday, September 22, 2014

Blogadda Game of Blogs:Team By Lines- Chapter 10



Read the earlier chapters by clicking the links. CHAPTER I CHAPTER II CHAPTER III CHAPTER IV  CHAPTER V CHAPTER VI CHAPTER VII CHAPTER VIII CHAPTER IX

CHAPTER X

Tara sat on the living room sofa, flipping through a magazine. She was not reading a single line as her eyes were fixed on the closed study room door. She liked Jennifer, but her possessive heart was stirring up the green monster of jealousy. An hour had passed since Jennifer and Shekhar had gone into the study. Roohi had slept after a merry story time with Cyrus. Cyrus too had retired to his room. Tara eyed the door again and let out an involuntary sigh.

What was it that they had to discuss under closed doors?

Just for a minute, she thought about eavesdropping at the door. But she loathed treachery.  She took a deep breath and tried to calm down her wandering thoughts. Jennifer was still unmarried, but she had never felt anything romantic between them. Jennifer had been distracted at the dining table and she was staring at Shekhar a lot. The moment she had left them in the garden to check on Roohi, they had escaped to the study. Whatever existed between them must be purely platonic. Her Shekhar was a devoted and faithful lover. Wasn’t he?

“Tara, Can I speak to you for a moment?”

Tara turned hearing the question and found Cyrus standing near the door of the guest bedroom.

“Of course, come here Cyrus, take a seat,” said Tara, relieved that she got a reason to distract her devious thoughts.

Cyrus sat on a chair next to the sofa and sat staring at the floor. It was as though he was lost in thoughts or as though not able to decide where to begin.

“Cyrus…What is it? What do you want to tell me?” asked Tara with a smile, after minutes ticked by and Cyrus failed to utter a word.

Cyrus looked at her then and the pain reflected on his face surprised her.

“What happened Cyrus? What is it? Tell me,” asked Tara, her eyes wide with concern.

“You don’t remember anything? You don’t remember me?” asked Cyrus and Tara sat stunned.

Until the moment, their family friend Aditya had requested her to allow his student to stay for a few days at her house, she hadn’t even known about Cyrus. But she had to admit, he seemed familiar. Yet she was clueless as to how or where she had met him. She had stirred her cauldron of memories, but had been unable to remember anything. There was a strong pull she felt whenever she looked at Cyrus. As though, there existed an invisible thread that bound them. As though that thread might break any moment because she was striving hard to get away.

As if her silence disturbed him, Cyrus shook his head and then hunkered down onto the carpet near her.

“Tara, Remember… Try to remember. You have forgotten all your promises, all your vows. How can you do this to me… to us?” asked Cyrus, grabbing both of Tara’s hands.

Tara stood up freeing her hands and glared at Cyrus.

“Get up this moment. What is this nonsense? And what do you mean I have forgotten my promises? I don’t even know you?” hissed Tara.

“Tara..Tara… Relax. Let me help you remember,” said Cyrus and took hold of her hands again.

“Try now Tara. Look into my eyes. Don’t you remember anything?” asked Cyrus, removing his glasses.

Tara looked into Cyrus’s eyes and in the depths of his gray-green eyes; a million memories began to wake up. Caught in the web of those memories she didn’t notice that she had moved nearer to Cyrus and that he had taken her in his arms.

“What the hell is happening here? What is the meaning of all this?” screamed Shekhar, who had just come out of the study along with Jennifer. Tara and Cyrus flew apart. Tara had a dazed look and Cyrus looked impassive.
“Shekhar, cool down. You are over reacting. Tara will explain,” said Jennifer, holding onto Shekhar’s arm. Jennifer feared that he might launch himself at Cyrus.

“What do you mean she will explain? This bastard, we gave him a place under our roof, considered him like a brother and this is what he gifts us back. You scoundrel, I’ll kill you,” hollered Shekhar. Tara’s silence and Cyrus’s wooden looks was infuriating him further.

“Mr. Shekhar, you are misunderstanding me. I didn’t do anything wrong. Your wife and I have a few old scores to settle. You can ask her. And I don’t wish to stay here anymore. The purpose of my visit is fulfilled. Tara… Remember!” said Cyrus and stormed out of the room, leaving Shekhar and Jennifer staring at Tara with their eyes wide open and mouths open in the shape of an O.

Within moments, Cyrus came out from the guest bedroom carrying his suitcase and laptop bag. He gave one last look at Tara who had become as pale like a ghost.

The door closed behind Cyrus with a loud thud and startled Shekhar and Jennifer out of their trance. Unable to digest what had happened, Shekhar floundered towards Tara.

Tara’s eyes flitted between the closed door and Shekhar frantically. Then she swooned and fell in a heap onto the floor.


Read: Chapter XI here






“Me and my team are participating in ‘Game Of Blogs’ at BlogAdda.com. #CelebrateBlogging with us.”






Wednesday, September 17, 2014

Team By Lines Chapter Seven



Blogadda Game of Blogs 

Chapter Seven: Team By Lines

Dressed in a sleeveless green T-shirt and knee length black shorts, with her Nikon D800 dancing like a necklace, Jennifer looked like any other tourist in Mumbai. Getting out of the rickshaw in front of the National Centre for Performing Arts, the NCPA as it was popularly called, she smiled as the salty ocean breeze played with the few of her curls  that had come loose. She loved Mumbai!

The setting sun coloured her dusky complexion with a tinge of gold. Her short curly hair was pinned up in a high ponytail. In her left hand, she carried a small leather bag.  A tattoo of a scorpion stood in stead of a bracelet on her right hand which was trying to put the errant curls back in place. She had the typical carefree air of a seasoned traveler.

Once inside, she handed over her member pass and the invitation to the conference to the burly guard stationed in the foyer. The famed double-leveled foyer of the Jamshed Baba theatre looked magnificent with its historic marble staircase. A registration counter gave her guidelines to the conference and requested her to handover the camera and bag at the counter.  Later, they gave her a medieval princess mask, which she had to wear throughout the duration of the conference. Another masked volunteer guided her to her seat. Being a regular at the conferences of FOTA , she was used to this mask ritual. The members preferred anonymity.

The conference that was about to begin was a highly confidential one. If the rumors were to be believed, the speaker was one among the top ranked and most respected members of the FOTA. The theatre was filled to its capacity. A masked speaker appeared before the giant screen, and the screen flickered on with the welcoming message.

“Welcome to all Friends Of The Aliens,” read the message.

“Good Evening dear members of the FOTA… For those of you who are attending it for the first time, a warm welcome. Those of you who are returning after a while, welcome back,” said the Speaker and the auditorium resonated with applause from the audience.

The speaker had an unusual aura unlike the regular speakers and the audience hung on to every word that he spoke.

It was while in college that she had first heard of the FOTA. Her obsession with aliens had begun after she had read a small storybook in school. She didn’t even remember its title but the story had got etched in her heart.  The story was that of a powerful, warm-hearted alien who had come to the rescue of a small girl. She and her neighbor Shekhar would spend hours on their terrace scouring the night sky with their toy telescope looking for aliens. Even after she moved to Kochi, their common craze for aliens and FOTA was the bond that kept them close.

Jennifer had managed to crack a puzzle called the ‘FOTA- Code- Hunt’ that enabled her to attend these elite conferences held by FOTA. It would be an all expense paid trip and the attendees flew in from faraway places. Scientists and students from all over the world coveted the data supplied at these conferences. But as always, no one leaked the data, it was like an unspoken oath.

 Jennifer felt guilty; she had broken the oath many times, as she couldn’t resist sharing the information with Shekhar who was still an ordinary member. Happiness of sharing things with someone who understood your madness was something incomparable.

An applause that brought a pause in the speech ended Jennifer’s wool gathering.

“Since centuries we had proof before our eyes. A series of ancient designs stretching more than 50 miles called the Nazka lines etched into a high plateau in Peru’s Nazca Desert, has baffled archaeologists for decades. Our epics the Ramayana and Mahabharata written more than two millinia ago, spoke of the Vimanas which could travel from earth to sky, planet to planet or from universe to universe. The Moai of Easter Island, the 887 giant human figures with enormous heads that guard the coastlines of the Polynesian island of Easter Island are 500 years old, 13 feet high and weighs 14 tons on average. How could human beings without any sophisticated machinery transport and erect these giant structures? The statistics doesn’t end there. Look around and you will find a million of examples that proclaim that we are not alone in this universe. Extra terrestrials exist. Period,” the Speaker paused and the auditorium buzzed with cheers.

The brief introduction to the conference was followed with reports on various planets which supported life. After it ended, the question-answer session began. Any one could ask questions.

The first person selected to ask the question stood up.

“Sir, I am a newbie FOTA member. Can you brief me about the different classification of Aliens?”

“The Aliens have been roughly classified into three categories by eminent scientist Robert M Stone according to their behavior during their visits to earth. The Gray Aliens, who wish to gain control over the earth and earthlings, the Peacekeepers who keep act as the guardians of earth and the visitor aliens. The bad guys, the little gray aliens, are the ones you always hear about in most presentations. They abduct and exploit humans. The good guys, called the Peacekeepers, are ones you rarely hear about, perhaps because they look human rather than humanoid, thus, not visually exciting. Also contact with them is more difficult to remember and the memories are more difficult to retrieve. The tourist Aliens passes by the earth from time to time and sometimes picks up a human for study. However, it is nothing more than curiosity and they are aware of the planetary rules; humans are returned unharmed. With some of the human looking alien civilizations, one could be sitting next to you right at this moment and you wouldn't know they were an extra-terrestrial,” said the speaker and Jennifer heard many in the audience whistle.

The next question was about what attracted the gray aliens to earth.

“The earth is considered as a gem among the planets of the universe. The blue gem. The oceans conceal one the most coveted metals that the gray aliens seek. The Gelladium, which would help them prepare a potion like the famed elixir that would increase their life span. The average life span of a gray alien is 1200-2000 earth years whereas for the peacekeepers it is more than 10,000 earth years. In order to prepare the earthlings to survive the attacks of the gray aliens, peacekeepers have been interbreeding with the humans to produce a new line of powerful beings. You can find them referred to in the scriptures as the yogis and saints who could do miracles.”

“Sir, but do these powerful beings exist still on earth?”

“Yes, many. Nevertheless, most of them have forgotten their powers and are surviving like mere humans. Over the years, their powers have deteriorated as they have inter-bred with humans and half the earth’s population are now the progeny of those early peacekeepers.”

“Sir, then why are humans beings still having a few decades of lifespan?”

“It is the conditioning that has been happening since the dawn of civilization. Man forgot his power and has become a slave to his emotions. The negative emotions rule and the positive are trashed which make them vulnerable to quick demise. Only when he learns to use the power of his ego will man survive the wind of time. And we need to trash the technologies and return to our roots. We are capable of telepathy and even intra-galaxy travel using just the power of our mind. We need to develop that because the time is crucial.”

“Sir, why do you say that the time is crucial?” asked Jennifer, as it was her turn.

“The only thing that harms the gray aliens from entering the earth’s atmosphere is its thick ozone layer. If they encounter the layer, they die. Their vehicles are damaged heavily and they cannot transport anything substantial back to their home, the Pandorus in the Sirius Galaxy. But now the Ozone layer is being depleted rapidly and the gray aliens are helping the humans develop machines that will deplete the layer further. Check the major UFO sighting years in history and you will find an invention in the same year that changed the way humans have lived. Be it the Jet Engines, the optical fiber, the Arpanet or the Large Haldron collider, we have corresponding UFO sightings to match. The gray aliens are plotting the downfall of humans and they are not aware,” the speaker paused and a fog of uncertainty and dread hung in the auditorium.

“Is there no way out?”

“Yes, we have to revive the latent power hidden in each one of us. And yes, the peacekeepers are always there for you,” said the speaker.

“How do we believe you? What is the proof that peacekeepers are present on earth?” asked a skeptic newbie.

“Because… I am one of them,” said the masked Speaker and an eerie silence greeted his declaration.

As though to prove his point, the speaker raised his hands and drew an arc above his head, and then moved them in a circular motion forward as though drawing curtains close. A turquoise blue glass like dome appeared around him. With the sound that could be likened to the sound of a splash; the dome took off at a speed never seen by human eyes. It disappeared in the horizon after moving out through the closed windows without any apparent damage to the glass panels.

Jennifer gasped and she heard screams of disbelief and fear echoing in the auditorium. Sounds of hurrying feet followed as people scampered out of the crowded auditorium like a pack of scared lambs.



“Me and my team are participating in ‘Game Of Blogs’ at BlogAdda.com. #CelebrateBlogging with us.”






Wednesday, September 10, 2014

The Second Life





For aspiring authors, the day when their work becomes published for the first time is the harbinger of a new life. A second Life. Moreover, my dream has come true. From a writer, I have graduated to an Author.

I feel blessed doubly, because the first anthology that I am part of is The Second Life, by Write India Publishers. The Write India team selected 25 life changing stories that will inspire you, after a nation wide hunt for inspiring stories. The editor is best selling author Bhavya Kaushik and it is compiled by Prakash Kumar. The collection has a bonus gift of renowned authors like Preeti Singh contributing to an anthology for the first time.

The Blurb: "There comes a moment in your life when you feel terribly vulnerable, helpless without any hope and faith, and alas you forget the fact - your helplessness can never leave you irreparably shattered. Trust me, sometimes at this very moment, 'newness' from nowhere will intervene in your life and change everything. Just everything. That newness brings in front of you a more inspirational and exciting journey known as THE SECOND LIFE."

Contributing authors with the title of their story:

1. Aathira Jim- 'I am Sita'

2. Aayesha Hakim- 'In the Classroom of Life' 

3. Abhik Chakraborty- 'The hug of Ishwar and Allah' 

4. Anirootha K R- 'Everything happens for a reason' 

5. Archana Mishra- 'The Blanket' 

6. Deepti Menon- 'Jasmine at the doorstep' 

7. Garima Behal- 'Thank you, Samar' 

8. J. Alchem- 'The Highway man' 

9. Madhurima Halder- 'The girl with a glass of cocktail' 

10. Nalini Chandran- 'Faith can move mountains' 

11. Neha Somani- 'The Long Winding Corridor' 

12. Preethi Venugopal- 'The Arabian Dream' 

13. Preeti Singh- 'A mother's miracle' 

14. Prity S Pujari- 'Love is for beginners' 

15. Renuka Vishwanathan- 'When love has gone' 

16. Saral Joshi- 'Yes!' 

17. Shrruti Patole Clarence- 'A daughter's diary' 

18. Shruti Fatehpuria- 'Wildrose and Snowflake' 

19. Shubham Singh- 'That kid in the corner' 

20. Shubhi Mehrotra- 'A piece of paper' 

21. Smriti Mahale- 'Through her eyes' 

22. Somya Singh- 'Joy to the world' 

23. Sunanya Pal- 'Khushboo- the fragrance of Kindness' 

24. Swagnikaa Roy- ''Aurora'' 

25. Trippayar Sahasranaman Priyaa- 'A thing of beauty'


Pre-Order it Now: bit.ly/TheSecondLife-Amazon at an amazing discount.

After you order, post the order ID or screen shot of the order on the event page here

 https://www.facebook.com/events/1500863643486555/ and you might just win goodies and gift hampers from Write India Publishers.

So what are you waiting for? Click on the link and book your copies.

The book releases on September 20th. Yes…only ten days to go.

Thank You Team Write India Publishers, Atul Purohit, Bhavya Kaushik and Prakash Kumar for this dream come true.

Congratulations to all the Contributing authors.

Together we will Rock!!!



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Monday, September 8, 2014