Ripples In A Teacup

I read Merchant of Venice in High School for my ICSE board exams and now as an Higher Secondary (ISC Board) student, I am reading Macbeth. I enjoyed reading both these plays and couldn’t resist writing some fiction based on these plays, in modern, Mumbai settings. Here goes: Macbhai (adapted from Macbeth ) in three parts: Part 1: https://kitaab.org/2024/03/31/short-story-macbhai-by-anika-joseph-part-1/ Part 2: https://kitaab.org/2024/04/07/short-story-macbhai-by-anika-joseph-part-2/ Part 3:   https://kitaab.org/ 2024/04/14/short-story- macbhai-by-anika-joseph-part- 3-final/   Merchant of Vetaverse (Adapted from Merchant of Venice ) https://www. weeklyyarnsthewiseowl.art/ january-yarns (Please scroll down a bit, around 1/4 th of this page, to read Act I which was published on January 15,2023. There are four Acts, all on this page, one below the other.)

 Folks, "College Days" a short story I wrote at the height of Covid (those dark times) has now been published on Spillwords . Here's the link .  I hope such a dystopian vision never becomes a reality! 

 My short story "A Jar of Laddoos" has been published on Story Mirror. Please give it a read and tell me if you liked it. https://storymirror.com/read/story/english/tjjofjtv/a-jar-of-ladoos

  I live in a rather old house. Vines have crept up its blackened, decayed sides and twisted themselves into an intricate maze. Blood red roses grow on large sprawling bushes in a wild, maundering fashion. At night, the moon throws an ethereal, almost ghoulish glow over the landscape, casting parts of it into soft, muted shadow. The dead trees outside sway melancholically in the gentle breeze. My friends called me crazy for buying this dilapidated mansion. It is far from town, and completely isolated. The neighborhood is practically deserted. The truth is, it was offered to me for almost nothing. The original owners left in quite a hurry. They seemed frightened, speaking of “strange happenings” and “mysterious voices”. People really do get into a tizzy over nothing. Frankly, I’m not the crazy one for accepting a deal as good as this.  I’ll admit, when laid stark and bare in the cold light of day, my residence appears unseemly. The cracked, peeling paint is the only sign of its...