Sourav Moitra One Twilight always made Juhu Beach look like a painting someone had brushed in haste—the sky neither day nor night, streaked with orange fading into violet. The waves came and went with their tired rhythm, dragging along whispers of the city, mixing them with the smell of roasted corn and sea salt. Amid the children chasing plastic balls and the couples leaning into each other as if the world had shrunk into just two bodies, sixteen-year-old Viraj Mehta sat cross-legged, his toes buried in the sand, staring at the horizon. He often came here after school, not because…
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Akash Tripathi 1 The salty breeze of the Arabian Sea drifted through Girgaon Chowpatty, curling around sizzling pans and the spicy perfume of crushed coriander and garlic chutney. Tara Joshi stood behind her grandfather’s chaat stall, apron tied around her waist, expertly arranging plates of sev puri with the finesse only years of helping at the stall could teach. The sky had turned a buttery orange, and the usual crowd of couples, college kids, and beach walkers had begun to gather around the row of food carts. Dattatray Joshi—Dada to everyone—stood beside her, his wrinkled hands moving steadily, his voice…