stories

“ఏమైపోయావురా? నేన్నిన్ను పోల్చుకోలేకపోయాను తెలుసా?” నమ్మలేనట్టు యెగాదిగా చూస్తూ అడిగాడు బట్టతలమనిషి. చింపిరిజుట్టూ గడ్డంతోవున్న మనిషి యేమీ మాట్లాడలేదు. పుసులు కట్టిన అతని లోతు కళ్ళలో తడి. బలహీనంగా వున్నాడు, మాసిన దుస్తుల్లో. కాలాన్ని అందుకోవాలన్నట్టు రైలు దూసుకుపోతోంది. ఇద్దరి మధ్యన నిశ్శబ్దం. బహుశా వాళ్ళు వాళ్ళ బాల్యపు బావుల్లో పడి కొట్టుకుంటున్నట్టున్నారు. తగ్గిన స్లీపర్ కోచ్‌లవల్ల కాస్తంత రద్దీగానే వుంది బోగీ. బట్టతలమనిషి తన వుద్యోగము గురించి చెప్పాడు. ఆతరువాత పిల్లల చదువుల గురించి అలాగే అనుకూలవతయిన భార్య గురించి చెప్పాడు. అన్నిటికీ సమాధానంగా జీవంలేని నవ్వు ముఖంతో చూశాడు చింపిరిజుట్టు గడ్డంమనిషి. “అది అట... యిదట

The moonlight was bright! Green fields surrounded by rows of coconut trees greeted the comrades who had traveled from afar, easing their fatigue and offering them a pleasing sightas they halted among the sweet limetrees on the village outskirts. The wind blew, frantically trying to extinguish the fire of hunger in their bellies. While everyone else was engrossed in admiring the beautiful scenery and trying to forget their tiredness, Ashokanna

‘Chinnamma, here, have just this one idli’, Aruna said to her aunt pleadingly. Kamalamma  shook her head in a way that showed more inability than refusal. Aruna put her arms around her aunt’s shoulders and said, ‘You haven’t eaten since this morning, you must eat.’ ‘No, bidda’, she said, turning away, hiding the tears that were threatening to flow out of her eyes, and rested her head against the seat.

(About The Author Com. G. Renuka well known to readers as Midko, hails from Kadivendi village in Warangal district. While pursuing her LLB in Tirupati, she was involved in the women's movement as a member of "Mahila Shakti." In 1995, when Mahila Shakti merged with nine other organizations to form Chaitanya Mahila Sangham, she actively participated in the statewide women's movement, working from Tirupati until 2000 and from Visakhapatnam until

 Palamaner is a small sleepy town endowed with six to seven marriage convention halls. All these are in newpet only. Once there was a small marriage hall in pathapeta(oldtown). It was closed in the wake of small disputes followed by court cases. Now a days everyone has to depend on kothapetha (New town) marriage halls for all marriages and other functions. For this they have to cross the N.H.4 national

Narmada was lying down with the saline drip inserted into her veins and looked very weak. I sat beside her on a stool. I looked in turn at the saline bottle and Narmada’s face with death writ largely on it. Occasionally I looked out of the window located above her bed. ‘The skies are so dark. It is going to be a heavy downpour,’ I thought. “News of our comrades

I deliberately took the lower berth so that I can feast my eyes on the picturesque Konkan. The winter season had just begun.  The greenery covered with the mist fills the heart with such pleasantness! And the pleasure of sipping a hot tea in that ambience is at a different plane altogether. How happy Keerti and the children would have been if they were here now! We should definitely make

The train was speeding along. Trees and hills were racing past with equal speed. The events of the past seven months flashed before Lakshmi's eyes. --- Itwas 11 o'clock. As soon as the train stopped at the station, Lakshmi got down, waited for it to leave, and then crossed the tracks. Her eyes scanned the station premises. She held the signals she brought tightly in her hand. Meanwhile, a middle-aged

My name is Ungi, and I am eighteen years old. My family lived in a village near Geedam Town in Dantewada district, Chhattisgarh. We lived a life where we had to work hard just to survive. If we didn’t find work on some days, we would go hungry. Despite his old age, my grandfather too would go out for daily labour. Since my mother didn’t have enough milk, I used

“BheemjiHajir ho... (Mr.Bheem present yourself) SuniljiHajir ho... (Mr.Sunil present yourself) JuliejiHajir ho...” (Ms.Julie present yourself) The court attender shouted loudly, so his voice echoed from the court entrance to the far end of the veranda. The entire veranda was bustling with activity. Above the entrance, there was a board written in Hindi indicating that it is the honorable judge K.N. Srivatsava's court, Court No. 4. There were many such courts