MAHESH SHARMA

Translated from the Original Hindi by Kanwar Dinesh Singh

There  were  neither  many  likes  nor  comments  on  the  social  network  for  quite  a few days. Every post was falling face down. So, today I used the Brahmaastra on holiday  and  updated  my  status—“Down  with  high  fever!”  Thereafter, first I  ate my  breakfast,  then  cleaned  this  rented  one-room  set,  washed  some  clothes, prepared  lunch,  and  then  took  a  bath.  Meanwhile,  the  notification  beeps  of  likes and comments kept on ringing one after the other. The arrow had hit the target.

―After lunch, taking my phone in my hands, I leisurely lay in bed.

―“Get  well  soon”—“O  baby,  take  care”—“What  happened,  you  rogue”—

et cetera, et cetera!

―While  counting  and  reading  each  comment  a  hundred  times,  and  while watching TV, I could not sense when I fell asleep.

―I  woke  up  shocked and  saw  that  the  evening  had  deepened,  and  someone  was knocking on the door.

―“Yes, please?” I asked in a confused tone.

―“No,  no,  nothing  special,”  the  middle-aged  man  standing  at  the  door  said.

“You  did  not  get  out  this  morning,  so  I  thought  I  should  ask!  I  live  in  the  one room set in front….”

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Dr Kanar Dinesh Singh, Poet. Storyteller. Translator (English/Hindi), Associate Professor of English & Editor: Hyphen

Email: kanwardineshsingh@gmail.com

Mobile: +91 94186 26090