• English - Romance

    Saffron Skies

    July 9, 2025 - By 

    Shreya Mehra ONE Aaravi stepped off the plane into the crisp, cool air of Kashmir, her senses immediately overwhelmed by the beauty around her. The mountains, dusted with snow at their peaks, loomed majestically in the distance, while the air was thick with the scent of earth and pine. This was supposed to be a new beginning—a chance for her to break through the creative block that had gripped her for months. She had come to Kashmir at the urging of her gallery, to capture the essence of the saffron fields for her upcoming exhibition. But as she stood in…

  • Crime - English

    The Calcutta Code

    July 9, 2025 - By 

    Anirban Guha 1 Detective Rishi Das stood at the edge of the Howrah Bridge, watching the river churn beneath him, his eyes unblinking despite the chill of the early morning air. The city was alive around him, the sounds of honking horns and distant voices mingling with the smell of freshly fried kachori from a street vendor. But Rishi was no longer part of the city’s pulse; he was detached, his mind consumed by the case at hand. Rajat Sanyal, the prominent businessman whose car had been found abandoned at this very spot, had vanished without a trace. There were…

  • English - Young Adult

    The Song of the Peacock

    July 9, 2025 - By 

    Vikram Nair Chapter 1: The Flute’s Call The sun hung low over the village of Vypin, casting long shadows across the palm-fringed backwaters that glimmered like silver ribbons. Arjun, a boy of sixteen, stood on the rickety dock, watching the fishermen return with their daily catch. The salty breeze tousled his unruly hair, and the familiar scent of the river filled his lungs. Yet, despite the peaceful scene around him, Arjun felt a deep sense of restlessness. His heart was not in the daily grind of fishing that his family had been bound to for generations. While his father, Raghavan,…

  • Crime - English

    Spices and Scars

    July 8, 2025 - By 

    Meghna Varma 1 The monsoon clouds rolled in like silk unfurling over the Arabian Sea, casting a silver hush over the old Varghese estate. At the edge of Fort Kochi’s quieter inland, the ancestral home stood like a memory that refused to be erased—timbered walls darkened with age, red tiles mossed over, and spice trees bending slightly in the drizzle, as though listening. Maya Varghese stood on the veranda, her silk kurta absorbing the faint scent of rain and cardamom. The culinary retreat guests were arriving—five in all—but her eyes lingered on the tall man with a limp, stepping out…

  • English - Horror

    𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐌𝐚𝐥𝐜𝐡𝐚 𝐌𝐚𝐡𝐚𝐥

    July 8, 2025 - By 

    N. V. Rao One Kartik Rajan had written about many strange things in Delhi—forgotten cinema halls with broken projectors still facing empty screens, a clocktower in Chandni Chowk that ticked in reverse during an eclipse, and a hermit who claimed to dream in languages that no longer existed. But when his editor slid a dusty manila folder across the desk marked “Malcha Mahal – DO NOT ENTER,” he scoffed. It was the kind of gimmicky fluff assigned to rookies or burned-out writers nearing retirement. “Ghost Story Saturday,” they called it—an online weekend column for bored readers. Still, something about the…

  • English - Suspense

    The Rosenthal Secret

    July 8, 2025 - By 

    Om Jindal Part 1 – The Transfer Order Ooty, 1895. The train hissed as it wound up the Nilgiri mountains, its wheels screeching around narrow curves, as though the very hills resisted intrusion. From his open window, Devendra Nath Rai watched thick clouds drape over eucalyptus trees and tea plantations like a shroud. The air had a peculiar chill—unlike the searing plains of Madras Presidency, where he’d spent most of his career. He was thirty-two, a quiet man with neat handwriting and a taste for facts. The British admired him for his efficiency; Indians called him “Sarkari Sahib” behind his…

  • English - Suspense

    The Last Move

    July 8, 2025 - By 

    Riaan D’Souza 1 Rain fell like memory over the shanty roofs of Dharavi, each drop tapping out a rhythm older than the city itself. Inside the dimly lit, one-room Dharavi Chess Club, the walls smelled of damp wood and resignation. But within that space, a quiet miracle unfolded every evening. His name was Arjun Menon—ten years old, barefoot, and already a mystery to the men who came here to play. The board was his world. The black and white squares did not care who you were outside their borders. They did not ask how much money your father made or…

  • Crime - English

    Raktarekha

    July 8, 2025 - By 

    Niharika S. Rao The Lok Sabha was unusually loud for a Tuesday. It was Budget Week, and the chamber buzzed with tension as news channels lined up outside, their OB vans broadcasting red-tickered hysteria. Inside, Home Minister Veer Pratap Singh stood tall in a beige Nehru jacket, sleeves rolled to the elbows like a man ready for war. His voice thundered across the hall, echoing with the force of someone who had weathered revolutions and riots. “And let it be known,” he declared, slamming his hand on the podium, “this government will never bow to blackmail. The truth will be…

  • English - Suspense

    The Lake House Murder

    July 8, 2025 - By 

    Devika Chatterjee Chapter 1 The mist rolled in early that morning, curling like silk threads over the dark waters of Naini Lake. Vihaan Kashyap stood by the promenade, his gloved hands wrapped around a steaming cup of chai from a roadside stall. The scent of pine and damp earth clung to the cold air. It had been three days since he arrived in Nainital, hoping for silence, detachment, and the unfamiliar comfort of anonymity. The lake, rimmed by colonial rooftops and shuttered windows, had offered just that—until now. As he sipped slowly, Vihaan caught sight of the headline splashed across…

  • English - Travel

    Breezes of the Lost Horizon

    July 8, 2025 - By 

    Atreyee Pradhan Part 1: The Call of the Mountains Neha sat by the window of the train, watching as the landscape shifted from the concrete chaos of the city to the serenity of the countryside. The air felt lighter, the rhythms of the world slowing as she neared the foothills of the Himalayas. It had been weeks since she made the decision to leave behind her life in the city, a world that had started to feel more like a cage than a canvas. She had always felt tethered to a life of constant motion: deadlines, meetings, and the unrelenting…