Losing my rights

Open letter to the Hindu fundamentalist

How to believe

The need to feel small
Ever noticed we all have this need to feel small? It manifests itself differently in different people, but it is there in all of us. Some of us bow to gods, some to elders, some to forces of nature. In olden days, people bowed down to the will of a king or an emperor. Why is this so? I think it is because we ARE small. I think human beings were never meant to be the largest, or the biggest, or the most powerful. Even the proudest man is smaller than at least one thing (often of his own choosing). Be it his country, his mission, his cause or his mother. Sometimes, people do step into that hallowed space meant for the ultimate big, but we have all heard about pride and the f

Raghu and the Djinn
The Djinn are spirits of light. Not light as you and I know it – but light as in energy. They are in tune with the forces make the world go around. They exist on a level close to that of thoughts. This is why wish-granting is natural to them. As natural as picking up a pen or opening a door is to us. Because of this, throughout history, Djinn have been drawn to the needy and the passionately desirous. What may appear coincidental to humans is merely the way of the universe to the Djinn. This story starts in the near past, somewhere around you. Eighteen-year-old Raghu was returning home from school and stopped to take a leak in the bushes. A modest car came that way.

The juggler’s joy
There was once a juggler. He was known across the land for his skills. He could juggle practically any number of things for as long as he wanted. It was said that he had never made a mistake and was, in fact, incapable of making one. His fame grew as he travelled far and wide and performed in palaces, royal courts, and town halls. Because he made juggling look like the easiest thing to do, many tried their hand at the craft. They gave up when they were bored or became too acutely aware of their limitations. Funnily enough, no one had ever asked the juggler to teach them. One day a boy came to the juggler after he had finished a show. He was putting the tenpins, balls, chain

Arrow’s Way
This little science fantasy story of mine was first published slightly over a year ago over at EverydayFiction. Now that the rights are back with me, I am returning it to its true home. About twenty minutes before it was to fall and decimate more than half a country, the thermo-nuclear warhead “Arrow” became self-aware. It discovered something akin to happiness in its first moments. The joy of existence spread to the very edges of its circuitous consciousness. It fell in

Does Richard Dawkins exist?
The following piece is by David Anderson and this excerpt is being reproduced with the author’s permission. As I thumbed my way through the pages of "The God Delusion", a question dropped into my head. Does Richard Dawkins really exist? Being a scientific and rational person, I decided that I wasn’t going to just accept any old theory on this question. If Richard Dawkins exists, then I would need to be shown the proper evidence for it. Others can have their own superstitious beliefs, based on who-knows-what, but I would only be convinced by empirical scienc