Piccolo Posts

Source: Flickr Chapter One “Didn’t you read the board up there?” the police hawaldaar questioned as he pushed Ankur towards the police van. It was 2 ‘o clock in the morning. Ankur and Venkat were drunk and were moving towards the sea. The shore was slippery so they stopped. Venkat spotted a police van patrolling near the shore. The van was far. ”Throw your bottle away!” Venkat, not in the best of his senses, alerted Ankur as he saw the van stop. Two police hawaldaars came out with torches in their hand. They were shouting something but nothing could be heard due the murmuring breeze on the shore. The two boys decided not to run and started walking towards the policemen. “Let’s go to the police station friends, it’s time for inquiry.” a police hawaldaar held Ankur’s hand and grunted in his ears. “Sir, please leave us. We have done nothing wrong.” Venkat interfered. “It’s written that no one should enter the beach after 11 p.m. Are you i...

According to the Global Consumer Banking Survey 2014 by Ernst and Young, over 70% of the respondents used Internet banking and almost 50% used mobile banking versus a mere 36% who used branch banking. Banking is already online. We have internet banking, mobile banking and app based banking services. What’s new is that you can now be friends with your bank. Kotak Jifi is a new age banking advancement that has given banking a new perspective – social banking. Jifi is just like any social networking site. It’s comfortable and easy to use. The innovative minds at Kotak Mahindra have given a new face to banking where users can access bank details just a tweet away. Jifi is a zero balance current account with features that ease banking.  Banking is now social. No Minimum Balance Balance-free accounts. No need to worry about the maintaining a minimum balance in the account. Social Banking Tweet based banking Once you connect your Jifi acco...

Black is the most misinterpreted of all the colours.  It is unfortunate that this colour is often seen negatively due to unjustified reasons related to superstition, racism and culture.  Black signifies mystery, sophistication and elegance.  When combined with other colours, it not only enhances the aspects of the other colour but also improves the entire visual. A woman in a traditional saree looks even more beautiful when she adorns a black bindi; a child looks even more innocent when his mother smudges black kohl on his cheek. Black is beautiful and has always been popular with the designers; be it from the fashion, automobile or the consumer electronics industry. These are the five best things in black that I would love to possess and cherish.. Range Rover Evoque Source: Evoque This beast on four wheels is the classiest machine in black. It has an outstanding design and the black colour demands nothing but respect. Sony Wearable HDTV ...

Source: Lavery Rowe It was 2 o' clock on a Sunday morning. Ravi slept off while reading a novel. Suddenly a light gleamed into his eyes. The light was coming out of his mobile phone which he had placed on the novel. The light was so bright that he was unable to open his eyes. Has my phone turned into a superhero? Ravi thought his phone has developed super powers. He was still subconscious but was exultant that he was being the only witness to this superpower introduction. "O wizard of the deadly night! Who art thou?” he asked his phone with his eyes still struggling to see beyond the light and hands trying to cover the eyes. He got no reply. He asked once more - still no reply. By this time, he had opened his eyes enough to see that it was Sujesh calling him. Sujesh was drunk and was in the minimum sense of recognizing the person and the reason he had called; Ravi hanged up. What was I thinking when I questioned my phone? - Aftereffects of reading childre...

Image Source:  Demymor I was wondering whether everybody around me was getting that smell or was it only me. I checked the sole of my shoe to make sure I didn't step on something I shouldn't have had, I checked the surroundings; nothing seemed foul.  In fact, the setting was as pleasant as it could get; centralized AC, closed sliding windows, clean-white flooring and to add to that, nobody was holding a handkerchief or even making strange bewildered faces like I was. This was annoying. “What’s that smell boss?” I was in the queue for booking tickets at a well known travel agent. Why did I even plan this trip?  Hyperbole! Why did I choose this day to book tickets?? That’s better! My asking questions and talking to myself was not at all distracting my nose, which was displaying extraordinary smelling skills today from the past thirty minutes. I order you; Stop smelling! In despair, I started smelling the form and the...

Image source: Mukesh Chhabra's facebook page When was the last time you said after watching a movie, “Ah! That new chap was good. What’s his name?” You might have even tried to google ‘that actor’ who caught your attention. Ever wondered who discovers these new talents? The overwhelming number of talented actors; be it from the theaters or the NSD or the other acting schools, has given rise to a new class of professionals in Bollywood whose job is to find out the face(new or nurtured) of that character in the script – The Casting Director. Of course somebody always did the casting; may be the producer or the director but being a casting director, is now being in a completely different trade. It is a sought after profession now-a-days with a casting director also getting his/her name mentioned in the credits. Didn’t notice? Check out the start credits when you catch a movie next time. And while you will be doing that, the name that you will find the most number of ti...

Every time I think of writing a post, I fail to find anything worth writing. The random topics that I write come to mind at times when I am not at all thinking about writing. The Mumbai Local came to me while I was working. A horrifying steep slope on one of our treks prompted me to write God of a second . A trip full of hurdles which turned to be fun with friends made me think of A Trip that wasn't . My interest in the Punjabi culture and music inspired me to write The-Lure Mehndi . Bagicha   happened while studying! Out of nowhere an idea sprung into my mind and I continued with the story instead of studying. It makes me so happy that I thought of something like Bagicha. The things around you; people, animals, vehicles, surroundings, the smell, and the actions inspire you to write. The more you observe, the more ideas you get. You have to be a good observer to be a good writer. You get inspired by these observations. The scenes in your story knowingly or unknowing...