The Second Circle

She said she didn't like me. I keep going back to the day again and again trying to look for any clues why or how I rubbed her the wrong way. I went to their family house party on occasion of Diwali. I wore a red saree with a blue ajrakh blouse. The blouse in question had a wide opening at the centre of the back portion with one button at the nape of my neck and the other one at the lower end of the blouse. I had accessorized this outfit with my stone studded gypsy headband worn as a choker necklace. The look was meant to be subtly seductive and not provocative. I had carried a 12 year aged single malt for his father(which had been consumed by him and his friends eventually). On the terrace, where the fireworks were being set off, I had briefly held her son. I remember she came and took him away abruptly stating he was hungry. Don't know if she knew then. Her husband and his friends were congenial during the dinner. My car was dented by one of the immersion parties bu...

"How happy the blameless Vestal's lot The world forgetting, by the world forgot: Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind! Each prayer accepted, and each wish resigned."       - Alexander Pope in 'Eloisa to Abelard'

On one rainy, depressed night, I pledged my soul to the Devil. I told him he could take me as long as my child's health, safety and longevity were taken care of. That night, I went to sleep thinking how would the Devil come to me? Having seen "Rosemary's Baby" and related horror movies, I knew he might want to sleep with me. What else would he do? What are the ways in which he would be manifesting himself? About three days later, while taking off my new pink dress, I noticed weird red rashes on the side and under my left boob. I applied some Boroline and went to sleep. The next day, a Monday, white gooey gunk (which felt like it contained pieces of shredded tissue paper) started coming out of my left eye. The eye in question shrunk to half it's normal size and turned red. That day, while taking bath in the evening, I realized that there were wounds on my back - looking into the bathroom mirror, I could see red, elevated bumps starting from the side of the...

The second circle of hell in Dante's "Inferno" signifies adultery. A 'sin' that I have never committed nor intend to commit in my life. Notice the miss I gave to the word 'ever' in the sentence above. Completing more than three and a half decades on God's(?) earth has made me understand that 'ever' and 'never' should rarely be used in conjunction. Because when one does use one with the other, the Devil smiles to himself and cooks up circumstances which would make one repent the use of those words together. So, why the second circle if I do not have adultery on my mind? I do not remember the name of the adulteress whom Dante meets in the second circle but the words she uttered have been imprinted in my mind forever. And are the inspiration behind my new blog. "There is no greater misery than to remember in times of sorrow, the times when we were happy". These words were quoted by the character Dr. Spencer Reid in one of ...