Friends Instead— my entry to the Get Published contest

The Idea Description:

You know how you think that you’ve broken up on good terms and you can continue to remain friends? Disha was of that opinion.

  She and Aryan were mature adults—surely they can move and be happy for the other person, right?

  Wrong.

What Makes This Story ‘Real’:

The ownership aspect isn’t as easy to severe as a relationship. It’s like an almost invisible thread—almost.

  Let’s see, if it breaks with the strength they are pulling or the elasticity of it brings them closer.  

Extract from the story:

“So….” I call Aditi up and squeal into the receiver. “Guess who I’m bringing with me to the New Year’s party tomorrow?”

  “The cute guy from your class.”

  “The cute guy from my class,” I confirm. “He didn’t have anywhere to go cause he’s from Delhi so I thought I’d ask him and he said yes. I can’t believe it, Adi.”

  “Oh. My. God.” Aditi lets out a heavy exhalation that says so many things a million words can’t. “But won’t it be awkward, you know, with Aryan around?”

  I hesitate before answering. “No. I don’t think so. We had a mutual understanding.” I shrug even though she can’t see me.

This is my entry for the HarperCollins–IndiBlogger Get Published contest, which is run with inputs fromYashodhara Lal and HarperCollins India.

I Like You, I Don’t Like You— my entry to the Get Published contest

The Idea Description:

Devanshi hadn’t given much thought to relationships. Sure, her friends had boyfriends and she had considered the thought of having a boyfriend—but dismissed it as soon as it passed through her mind.

  So when Harsh, a mutual friend’s friend takes a liking to her and asks her out, her friends ask her to think of it as just another experiment.

  Will this experiment be a success or will it leave Devanshi  or Harsh with singed eyebrows and perhaps a broken heart?

What Makes This Story ‘Real’:         

 There are some relations where they seem true throughout while some are only true for  the moment. This story might be of the latter kind.

Extract from the story:

 “Devanshi, you’re going to die an old woman who can’t reach her toenails to paint them if you let this continue,” says my friend Aastha.

  “I’ll do Yoga and remain flexible.” I smirk at her.

  “Please. Do this for me.”

  “What if I don’t want anyone right now? Why am I being forced into this?”

  “Don’t make it sound like a rape. I’m not forcing you. Just think about it like an adventure, something to try out before you die. You know, something on your bucket list.” Her eyes sparkle as she says this. I don’t know why she’s comparing this to with an entry on your bucket list. With the way she’s dated, it seems less like a pet project and more like the mission of her life to have a successful relationship.

  “I have a bucket list,” I defend myself. “I want to go to Egypt to see the pyramids and Spain to study Gaudi’s work, I want to get accepted by an Ivy League—”

  “Great. That’s all very great, Devanshi. I’m just saying add another entry called Have a Relationship.”

This is my entry for the HarperCollins–IndiBlogger Get Published contest, which is run with inputs fromYashodhara Lal and HarperCollins India.

: Long Distance — my entry to the Get Published contest

The Idea Description:

Yash and Mansi dated for three years—they were the golden couple. They clung onto eachother as all their other friends had failed relationships and had one fling after another. But then Yash decides to go abroad for his post-graduate and Mansi’s old insecurities emerge.

  They make eachother all kinds of promises but their relationship is tested with time and distance.

  Do Mansi and Yash have a chance or will they too become a victim of Long Distance?

What Makes This Story ‘Real’:         

 Every couple thinks that they’re story is going to be different when they part. This story is about that.

Extract from the story:

 “What do you mean…” I begin before swallowing. I stare at his oh, so serious face in my computer screen. Technology does wonderful things, brings people closer—and apart. “You want to…split up?”

  “Don’t make me sound like the villain here, Mansi. You had to know that this was an option.”

  “What about all those things you said?” I am shrieking now. I have thought of this moment before but the pain that thought caused me was a figment of my imagination. It was like having a nightmare and smiling at my good fortune when I would wake up. My subconscious was playing tricks, I would tell myself. But, how do I deal with this? How do I deal with it now that it has become my new reality?

This is my entry for the HarperCollins–IndiBlogger Get Published contest, which is run with inputs fromYashodhara Lal and HarperCollins India.

Mr and Ms Popular — my entry to the Get Published contest

The Idea Description:

You know that couple in school that were that you admired from afar? Thecouple, you secretky wished you were a part of?

  Well, Ananya and Sarthak were that couple but was it all hearts and flowers as it looked from the outside?

  Follow these two mere fifteen-year-olds deal with what seems to be the biggest problem they’re going to face in their life.

What Makes This Story ‘Real’:         

Even though its been years since we left school, we don’t forget our biggest crushes and our ‘first loves’. This story is about the innocence and the naiveté that young adults show.

Extract from the story:

“What am I going to do without him, Anaita? He’s the love of my life. I’m sure of it.” I fall on the bed, removing the only photo I have of him from the pillow covers and staring at his chubby tanned face. In the original photo he is standing with his parents but I cut them out after saving it from Facebook and printing it. I let my tears fall on the thin piece of paper, smudging his face so that it looks like he has black holes for eyes and a twisted nose.

This is my entry for the HarperCollins–IndiBlogger Get Published contest, which is run with inputs fromYashodhara Lal and HarperCollins India.

Queen of Rejection— my entry to the Get Published contest

The Idea Description:

Naina was tired of getting rejected. She doesn’t know what it is about her that sends men running, no sprinting, in the opposite direction.

  Sure she doesn’t look like America’s Next TopModel but she’s seen uglier and way more stupid girls get a guy.

  So when she meets Arun who is a friend’s friend, she is self-assured that that attraction is not going to be mutual.

  Will it be any different this time?

What Makes This Story ‘Real’:         

This isn’t a century where women can hide under their duppatta and blush to do the trick. Women have to put just as much effort in wooing as men do.

   Let’s see if Naina breaks out of her shell to get Arun or not.

Extract from the story:

I had to have a certain taste for masochism to be doing this to myself again and again—it was like standing on the rail tracks, waiting for the train that you are sure is come and screaming, “Hey, kill me!”

This is my entry for the HarperCollins–IndiBlogger Get Published contest, which is run with inputs fromYashodhara Lal and HarperCollins India.

The Popular Boy— my entry to the Get Published contest

The Idea Description:

He is the golden boy of the college—the football captain, the chairperson of rhe Rotoract Club and also a part of the student council. Everyone was his friend and everyone shut up when he had something to say.

  She wasn’t ordinary either but maybe not as popular as him.

  Obviously she had no defense against Mr. Always Politically Correct’s charms  but then again did she have to be that insecure?

  Or was he just too friendly with every member of the opposite sex?

What Makes This Story ‘Real’:

Usually women are attracted to money, power, attractive looks—not say they’re shallow but I guess we have all had a little thing for the most popular boy or girl in college.

  But what if you get them? You are bound to be a little insecure, right?

 Extract from the story:

“Why are you always seen with that slut?” I ask him, anger evident in my voice. “If there is nothing between you’ll then why do I always—”

  “She. Is. A. Friend.” He grits out. “How many times do I have to tell you that?”

 

 This is my entry for the HarperCollins–IndiBlogger Get Published contest, which is run with inputs fromYashodhara Lal and HarperCollins India.

Shoved Together— my entry to the Get Published contest

The Idea Description:

  They both have tried to find a respective other with no luck.

  He is tongue-tied around the opposite sex and she speaks too much— effectively shooing them away.

  So when their friends decide that they will be the perfect couple, what do these two have to say?

What Makes This Story ‘Real’:

  Sometimes its only peer pressure that makes you want to pursue a relationship. But what if you just can’t find a girlfriend or boyfriend for yourself?

  The question here is—Do you have someone significant in your life that you want or do you just want a girlfriend or a boyfriend? Or maybe its both.

  What is it for Preeti and Kartik?

Extract from the story:

He takes a deep breath gathering all the courage he can and sits to type this message—

Hi,

Have you seen Life of Pi?

If you haven’t then will you like to see it with me?

-Kartik.

  He hits send before he can over-think and talk himself out of it. After sending it, he reads it and groans on how absolutely ridiculous he sounds.

  But, he needn’t have worried because her reply is instantaneous.

This is my entry for the HarperCollins–IndiBlogger Get Published contest, which is run with inputs fromYashodhara Lal and HarperCollins India.

Clinging To The Past — my entry to the Get Published contest

The Idea Description:

  She thought she’d found her The One and her mission of life was accomplished. But this illusion is shattered when her boyfriend of four years dumps her.

  Two years later she thinks she still needs time, which Rohan, her co-worker isn’t ready to give her.

  Is Dhwani ready to give up the fantasy of her past and courageous enough to go after her future?

What Makes This Story ‘Real’:

  This isn’t the era of everlasting love. Relationships break more frequently than they last and serial dating is the norm.

  But how does one actually recover and move on?

Extract from the story:

  “It has been two years since Anshuman, Dhwani,” points out my elder sister, Devika, resting her hand on the enormous bump that is her stomach. “It’s high time you move on.”

  “Thanks for that point of information, sister. I was completely unaware of the time that has passed,” I say in a saccharine sweet voice.

  She rolls her eyes. “What is wrong with this guy?”

  “Nothing.” I sigh. “That’s the problem.”

  “That’s impossible.” She snorts.

  “I like him and everything but I’m just, I don’t know, guilty about dating him.”

  “Rohan really did a number on you, didn’t he?” she asks softly.

  “I don’t want to talk about it.”

  She sighs. “OK, then. Let’s talk about this guy. Do you have a picture?”

  I nod and pull out a picture from my phone. I pass it over and hear my sister whistle under her breath, no doubt enchanted by his height and muscular frame, contrasting drastically with his geeky glasses.

  “Wow.” She looks up, her eyes shining. “Why are you making him wait, again?”

 

 ready to give up the fantasy of her past and courageous enough to go after her future?

What Makes This Story ‘Real’:

  This isn’t the era of everlasting love. Relationships break more frequently than they last and serial dating is the norm.

  But how does one actually recover and move on?

Extract from the story:

  “It has been two years since Anshuman, Dhwani,” points out my elder sister, Devika, resting her hand on the enormous bump that is her stomach. “It’s high time you move on.”

  “Thanks for that point of information, sister. I was completely unaware of the time that has passed,” I say in a saccharine sweet voice.

  She rolls her eyes. “What is wrong with this guy?”

  “Nothing.” I sigh. “That’s the problem.”

  “That’s impossible.” She snorts.

  “I like him and everything but I’m just, I don’t know, guilty about dating him.”

  “Rohan really did a number on you, didn’t he?” she asks softly.

  “I don’t want to talk about it.”

  She sighs. “OK, then. Let’s talk about this guy. Do you have a picture?”

  I nod and pull out a picture from my phone. I pass it over and hear my sister whistle under her breath, no doubt enchanted by his height and muscular frame, contrasting drastically with his geeky glasses.

  “Wow.” She looks up, her eyes shining. “Why are you making him wait, again?”

 
This is my entry for the HarperCollins–IndiBlogger Get Published contest, which is run with inputs fromYashodhara Lal and HarperCollins India.

The Pursuit— my entry to the Get Published contest

The Idea Description:

  He has been hitting on her for years now and she has been rejecting him for just as long a time. She lived in Mumbai and he in Delhi but when he decides to come to Mumbai for further education, he decides to go full out.

  Tired of refusing and playing the Hard To Get Game, she gives in.

   Will their relationship last or was it just a game of pursuit?

 

What Makes This Story ‘Real’:

   People often mistake attraction and the challenge to achieve that they are attracted to for true passion and love.

  But is it the same for Keya and Gautam or will circumstances bend for them?

Extract from the story:

Looking around the yacht all, I see are red roses and the water beyond. It can’t get any better than this, I think to myself.

  I lower my eyes to his, where he kneeling down with a bouquet of Orchids—my favourite flower, I just can’t find my usual pessimism when it comes to Gautam.

  Gautam Punjabi has charmed me, that much cannot be denied. 

This is my entry for the HarperCollins–IndiBlogger Get Published contest, which is run with inputs fromYashodhara Lal and HarperCollins India.

The Story Title: A Teenage Love— my entry to the Get Published contest’

The Idea Description:

  She’s been in love with the unreachable Football Star of the school since she was thirteen. But school is over now, but Priya still thinks that he was her soulmate.

  Nirav’s been in a relationship, if that’s what you want to call it. It did entail a particularly entertaining chat on MSN messenger and a very long phone call, in his defence.

   When Priya and Nirav are teased mercilessly by their friends so that they forget their past, will they succumb to the attraction building up between them?

  Or will they decide to cling on to their past?

What Makes This Story ‘Real’:

   This is a story of my best friend and I was a witness to her struggle to give up her infatuation and to enter a real relationship.

  Most teenagers believe in love at first sight and are quite dramatic about it, but they must realise that they don’t really know the person.

Extract from the story:

Priya, I kow thid is late at night. But I kuv you.

“He sounds drunk,” observes Sonal from where she is perched on my beige living room sofa.

  She breathes a sigh of relief. Surely he wouldn’t be serious about it then.

  “People say the truth when they’re drunk, Priya.”

  And the dread fills her again.

  “What time did he message?”

  “Around two. I think. I was sleeping,” she mumbles desolately.

  “Definitely drunk,” She says. “I don’t understand why you are so upset about this. He seems like such a nice guy.”

  “Yes but I am interested in—“

  “Don’t even say his name,” Sonal warns. “You’ve never even spoken to Ronak and you think you already think you’re in love— ”

  “I don’t think I’m in love with him. I know so.”

  “Shut up. Get to know this guy. He’s so nice and he looks good.”

  She stares at her vine coloured rug, “He is very nice to me,” she agrees.

  “Great! Now, about your reply to his message….”

This is my entry for the HarperCollins–IndiBlogger Get Published contest, which is run with inputs fromYashodhara Lal and HarperCollins India.

The Break-Up— my entry to the Get Published contest

The Idea Description:

  She keeps the wallpaper on her phone as DON’T CALL HIM to stop herself from calling him and asking him to patch up.

  He has deleted her from BBM but has asked his friend to send each and every picture she updates and each status she updates.

  Yes, he was the one to break her heart but he had a reason to. What she doesn’t understand is that he also has a plan to get her back.

  Only things aren’t going according to plan and the next thing he knows she is going on a date with some boy.

  Will he make her see truth?

 

What Makes This Story ‘Real’:

  Love these days isn’t the Happily Ever After kind. It takes a lot of work and a lot of experimentation.

  Relationships break up all the time but then there are also those who work through their issues.

  This story sheds light on wheat relationships are like in this generation.

Extract from the story:

 “Dude, her status has changed again,” says Ronak over the phone.

  “What is it this time?” I sigh, pinching the bridge of my nose. I know she’s hurting but does she have to bloody publicise it to the world and make me feel like a loser? I had my reasons for breaking up.

  “Um, well…”

  “Just spit it out, Ronak.”

  “It says, and I quote, ‘Waiting for tonight’ and her DP is showing a picture of a girl immersed in a pile of clothes with a caption HAVE A HOT DATE, TONIGHT.”

  I gasp.

  “I spoke to Ria,” continues Ronak, “and she says it’s some guy from—”

  “I don’t want to know,” I snap at Ronak and hang up.

My Best Friend’s Brother— my entry to the Get Published contest

 The Idea Description:

  Alya has always had a little thing for her best friend, Anita’s brother, Arjun. But to Arjun, Alya is nothing but his kid sister’s friend who runs around imitating him.

  He knows of her little crush from the way she stares at him and takes notice of all his moves and from the way she regards all his girlfriends with scorn but he tries not to encourage it.

  But things change when Arjun comes back from London after two long years and finds that Alya is not a fifteen- year-old with braces and socks that go up to her knees. He finds the transformation in her staggering.

  But why is she so cold to him all of a sudden?    

What Makes This Story ‘Real’:

   This story is of my brother. My best friend had a crush on him for ages before she gave up and decided to move on.

  But fate had other ideas.

Extract from the story:

She looks at him from under her eyelashes in the crowded dance floor. His pale skin is contrasting against his black shirt and pants and he has his hands shoved inside his pockets carelessly while leaning against the wall. Some girl is talking him up but his eyes are on her. He takes a small sip of his whisky before lowering the glass on the bar table and excusing himself from his companion.

  Shit, thinks Alya, he is walking up to me.

  The washroom is the safest and the quickest exit and so she makes a dash for it. Once inside the cubicle she calms down considerably.

  When she comes out he is standing there outside the bathroom and there is no escape for Alya. His hands are shoved inside his pant pockets once again and he leans over her, his lips brushing her ear and whispers, “Are you done running from me?”

This is my entry for the HarperCollins–IndiBlogger Get Published contest, which is run with inputs fromYashodhara Lal and HarperCollins India.

Love at First Sight? — my entry to the Get Published contest’

The Idea Description:

  She looks across the corridor and finds herself staring at a Greek God. His hair is wavy and black as night, starkly contrasting to his pale skin. She stares at him, stunned speechless by his looks.

  But what she thinks she lacks in beauty, she knows she makes up in courage and sass.

  Men aren’t the only ones making the first move these days.

What Makes This Story ‘Real’:

  This story is about a friend of mine who firmly believe that women are equal with men. So if she finds a man attractive, she is going to do something about it and not just hide her face and blush.

  Gone are the days where a woman waits for the man to make the first move. This story is about courage and confidence.

Extract from the story:

“You’ll look desperate if you go to him and speak to him.” says Tina, my best friend. She is holding a thick volume Marketing Research in front of her face so that I can only see her eyes.

  “What’s so desperate, dude? They don’t worry about looking desperate when they hit on us left, right and centre. We have the right to objectify them as well.” I shrug but my heart is thundering in my chest. I wonder how Tina can’t hear it. For all my talks on feminism, I think I should be able to walk up to a guy and ask for his number. “Look at him, Tina and tell me you don’t want him.”

   “I do want him. All I can think about is grasping that thick black hair of his and stroking his naked chest.” She sighs in a daze.

  “Ew! Keep the details of your dirty fantasies to yourself.”

  “Please,” she huffs, “as if you aren’t thinking of the same things.”

  “I am,” I say taking a deep breath. “And now I’m going to do something about it.” With that I make my way over to the Greek God I’ve had my eyes for all morning.

This is my entry for the HarperCollins–IndiBlogger Get Published contest, which is run with inputs fromYashodhara Lal and HarperCollins India.

The Email Proposal– my entry to the Get Published contest’’

The Idea Description:

He proposed to her on a yatch under the moonlight. They popped some champagne and shared a sensual kiss.

  He proposed to her by hiding the ring in the cake. There were violinists playing in the background. His heart was beating wildly and there were tears in her eyes.

  He proposed to her by hiding the ring in the fortune cookie. She was stunned speechless and she slowly nodded her head, yes, yes, a million times yes. His face broke out into the most glorious smile.

  J didn’t propose to P in any of these ways.

  He was just a nervous engineer trying to make it in America.

  Mr. Techno-Savvy decides to fucking email.

  Does she reply?

Optional sections: Feel free to include anything else you’d like to include (within the word limit) about why your story deserves to be told.This can include –

What Makes This Story ‘Real’:

This is the story of my cousin. Almost a decade ago, he was striving very hard to make it in America and his wife’s condition was pretty much the same.

  What made me want to write this story was how things have changed because of innovation of the world wide web or the email.

  The use of technology and real emotion makes this story real. 

Extract from the story:

Dear P, I type on my old and battered laptop. No, this sounds too fucking formal. I back space.

Hi, P.

How are you?

We’ve been friends for how many years? Three? Four?

How many years have you been friends with her for, idiot? You want to flatter her, not sound nonchalant.

I  look back to the day I met her. She was in front of the computer typing codes swiftly. We were introduced to eachother and being the only Indians in an American office, our friendship was instantaneous.

Until she moved to Canada.

Getting back to the email, I delete the last line.

We’ve been friends for four years.We know eachother decently well. We are friendly. Well, most of the time we are friendly.

I was wondering if we could take it a step further.

You get what I mean?

Probably not since I sound like such an idiot right now.

I know I should be doing this in person, P. But, I just don’t have the balls. This isn’t romantic or anything and God knows you deserve better but this is just me. And I can’t help but give it a shot.

Will you marry me, P?

Thanks,

J.

 This is my entry for the HarperCollins–IndiBlogger Get Published contest, which is run with inputs fromYashodhara Lal and HarperCollins India.