The fragrant cloud

    The Flying Bed-Episode 4: The Tigroid Cloud   We are about to retire for the night. Much as I try to ignore it, I can’t help but notice the boys’ ears perking up for the ritual bedtime story which is nowadays nothing other than the nightly adventure of the flying bed. The flying bed is a little crowded these days with the addition of Snowman and Panther, Optimus and Maximus’ dogs on board. Everyone is excited and can’t wait for the flight to take off. There is rumour of a strange turbulence in the hills of Ngariyan, a range of hills on the eastern boundary of the state. Every evening, a storm starts in the jungles of these hills and wreaks havoc to the inhabitants. The strange thing about this natural menace is that it cannot be detected on any weather forecasting stations. Everything is calm without a hint of any disturbance and suddenly at night, the strange dust cloud gathers momentum and destroys everything in its way.   Eyewitness account reveals that the cl...

  It is especially cold tonight and sleep is fast approaching. But habits die hard and we must embark on our nightly mission again. The flying bed is ready.   Captains Columbus, Optimus and Maximus are also ready. Genie wants to stay curled up inside his lamp but will still tag along. Today, there are new members in the team because Optimus and Maximus’ faithful dogs ‘Snowman’ and ‘Panther’ do not want to leave their masters’ sides. The flying bed wants to protest against the extra weight but warm company overrides everything and we are all set for our very important mission. Among all the urgent issues floating around on the grapevine, the resurgence of the sleeping monster at Kangla poses a huge threat to the existence of mankind especially children in Imphal. So, we decided that we must tackle this issue first and foremost. For general information, Kangla is a heritage site in the heart of Imphal, the capital city of a north eastern state in India. It embodies the cor...

  A sort of Condolence A doctor friend of mine is a popular practitioner in his neighborhood. His humble and modest nature and helpful attitude make people like him a lot. He also truly honors people’s trust in him. Here’s one incident that proves the point. There’s a man in his locality, who has been quite helpful to him, like working as a driver for him and dropping his daughter to school, running small errands, etc. Moreover, the two families have been associated for a long time helping each other in their own days. One day, the father of this man passed away. ‘Shradh’ ceremony is usually held on the 14 th day. We have the practice of visiting the deceased’s family atleast once before the ceremony. The busy doctor always thought of visiting him but never could make it due to his tight schedule and with one thing or the other always coming up, the final day came. He tried ringing up all his close friends to ask about the date of the ceremony but everyone seemed to be busy ...