The Rhyme

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My sister had penned this, and I loved it! Read on..


‘Ringa ringa roses..,’ the little girl sang fiddling with the rings, not bothered by the two men standing a little away.

One of them threw the white flower that he was holding at the older man. ‘Pocket full of poses…,’ the girl continued the rhyme playing with the rings. The younger man took out a gun and pointed it at the old man’s forehead.

‘Haisha .. Huisha..’

His eyes looked merciless and firm while he got ready to shoot.

‘All fall..’

A gunshot.

She let all the rings fall as the old man fell.

‘Down,’she finished.
P.S: This short story has its origin from the creative juices of my dear sister, Samikshya Mishra. You can read more of her stories and beautiful imaginations here.

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Queeristan by Parmesh Sahani

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  Queeristan (Amazon Link) Thanks to Audible Free Trial I listened to this amazing non-fiction on LGBTQ inclusion in Indian workplaces. Author Parmesh Sahani identifies as gay Indian, working closely with Godrej higher management and employees for years to create an inclusive workplace, both legally and in spirit. This book is a result of those years of experience, research, collaboration with individuals from difference spectrum of the society and organizations who has successfully transitioned into a queer friendly one.   Indian history is inclusive. From the Khajuraho temple architectures, to Konark to the Rig Veda, there is existing proofs even 2000 years ago of Indian inclusiveness of queer. It’s the draconian British law that criminalised it, which was scraped in 2009, came into effect once again following a sad judgement in 2013 and eventually was scraped off for good in 2018. I am in awe of the lawyers who fought this legal battle- colleagues and partners – Arundhati Katju
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