• English - Romance

    Across the Ganges

    July 27, 2025 - By 

    Pranab Kr. Joshi 1 The sun rose slow and golden over the Ganges, pouring its light like molten honey over the ancient stone steps of Dashashwamedh Ghat. Gauri dipped her oar into the water with practiced grace, the boat slicing through the morning mist as temple bells chimed in rhythmic waves. The air smelled of incense, wet earth, and camphor. Her father, Dinesh Mishra, stood silently at the stern, adjusting the floral garlands tied to the bow for the morning puja tourists. Gauri, clad in a faded blue salwar-kameez and a dupatta flung over one shoulder, barely looked up when…

  • English - Horror

    Night Watch at Bhangarh Fort

    July 27, 2025 - By 

    Nishant R. Ahuja 1 The screen flickers alive with the booming digital countdown: 00:01:58…00:01:57…. A flurry of live comments races down the chat— “Let’s goooo!” “Bet this is all fake again.” “12 HOURS INSIDE BHANGARH?? THEY’LL DIE 💀💀💀” At exactly 7:00 PM, the livestream begins. The scene opens on four figures standing outside the broken archway of Bhangarh Fort, silhouetted by the amber light of a sinking sun. A crisp boom mic catches the rustle of wind through overgrown grass and ruins. Aarav Malhotra steps into frame, flashing his signature grin at the camera. “Yo what’s up, NightWatchers! Tonight is…

  • English - Suspense

    Zero Hour at Shyamal Ghat

    July 27, 2025 - By 

    Achinta Guha 1 The last stretch of the journey into Shyamal Ghat was unnervingly silent. Rik Sen leaned forward in the jeep, squinting through the cracked windshield at the red dust road that seemed to curve endlessly between patches of dying sal trees and bamboo groves. The BSF checkpoint he had passed thirty minutes ago had been completely unmanned, its boom barrier half-lowered and swinging loosely in the wind. Even the guard dogs, usually the first to bark at a stranger, were absent. Overhead, a low grey sky hung like a lid, pressing down on the earth with a stagnant…

  • English - Romance

    Notes from Nalanda

    July 27, 2025 - By 

    Nabin Desai 1 The air in Nalanda carried a kind of hush, as if time itself had slowed to accommodate the weight of its history. Dr. Rhea Sen stepped off the dusty SUV, adjusting her dupatta against the sun’s fierce glare, and looked out at the crumbling red-brick ruins of the ancient university. Her breath caught—not from exhaustion, but awe. Despite the relentless July heat, she felt a chill ripple through her spine. Nalanda had been a name in her textbooks, a place she’d imagined between brittle pages and archived microfilms. Now it stretched before her like a silent witness,…

  • Crime - English

    The Last Signal from Kalka Mail

    July 27, 2025 - By 

    Sagnik Basu The Kalka Mail pulled out of Howrah Station at exactly 7:40 p.m., its long, rattling compartments groaning like a creature awakened from slumber. Among the many passengers boarding that evening was Anant Vashisht, a man in his late sixties, lean and upright, with a faded Nehru jacket and an expression that gave nothing away. He moved quietly through the First AC coach, berth 42, settling into his compartment with the calm precision of someone trained to disappear in plain sight. He carried one thing of interest—a brown leather briefcase with steel corners, chained to his wrist. Fellow passengers…

  • English - Suspense

    The Marble Lion of Bhowanipore

    July 26, 2025 - By 

    Shyamal Roy 1 The monsoon evening wrapped Bhowanipore in a damp silence, the kind that made the air feel heavy with memory. Trisha Dutta stood alone in her grandmother’s crumbling study, the scent of old paper and camphor oil curling into her nostrils. Dust motes floated like silent watchers in the fading light as she lifted the marble lion from the bookshelf, more out of habit than intention. Its weight surprised her—denser than it looked, colder too. Beneath it, tucked neatly in a groove in the wood, was a yellowed envelope sealed with wax that had long since cracked. Her…

  • English - Romance

    Midnight Jasmine

    July 26, 2025 - By 

    Punit Verma Chapter 1: The Scent of Silence The train to Jaipur had arrived late, and by the time Naina Kapoor reached the haveli, the sun had already begun its descent behind the sand-kissed domes. Her taxi curved through the narrow lanes of the old city, honking past cows, scooters, and spice-laden carts, before halting before a tall wrought-iron gate. Beyond it stood Rathore Haveli — ancient, quiet, and steeped in the kind of forgotten grace that makes you instinctively lower your voice. The caretaker opened the gate with a creak, and she stepped into a world of fading frescoes,…

  • Crime - English

    Shatranj Ke Khiladi 2.0

    July 26, 2025 - By 

    Mayurakshi Sharma 1 The monsoon had painted Lucknow in sepia — wet alleys shimmering under rusted streetlights, the scent of damp earth clinging to the city’s bones. Zoya Rizvi sat on the floor of her small apartment in Hazratganj, hunched over a half-broken laptop and sipping over-steeped chai. The newsroom she once called home had shuttered six months ago; now, freelance gigs and occasional bylines were all she had to show for her stubborn honesty. She was finishing a piece on encroachment near the Gomti when her encrypted ProtonMail pinged. The subject line read simply: “1994. Truth rots slowly.” Attached…

  • English - Horror

    Whispers from Observatory Hill

    July 26, 2025 - By 

    Trisha Das 1 The toy train chugged out of Ghum station, leaving behind a curl of white smoke that quickly vanished into the thickening mist. Tiasa Sen leaned against the cold windowpane of the shared jeep, her fingers absently tracing the condensation forming along the glass. Darjeeling, shrouded in monsoon fog and quiet pine-scented air, unfolded around her like a faded photograph—half remembered, half imagined. She had been here once before as a child, but the sharp edges of memory had blurred over time. Now, as an anthropologist specializing in postcolonial folklore, she returned not as a tourist but as…

  • English - Young Adult

    Lagaan Girls

    July 26, 2025 - By 

    Avinab Seth Chapter 1: The Ball That Broke Tradition The dusty field behind the temple wasn’t much—a patchy stretch of cracked earth, a pair of mismatched wickets, and a tattered red cricket ball held together more by tape than leather—but for sixteen-year-old Meera Patil, it was a universe of freedom. That late afternoon, the village sun was merciless, but her focus was sharper. Dressed in a loose kurta and borrowed pajama pants, she took her stance like she’d seen her heroes do on TV. As the boy opposite her bowled, Meera swung with every ounce of her strength and connected…