Kathiresan Ramachanderam

Love was a strange emotion to say the least, and it was difficult to define at best. It gave her butterflies in the stomach and made her knees go wobbly. Her heartbeat would go up a notch and her palms would get all sweaty whenever she saw him, and she’d try her best not to look in his direction, but she wouldn’t be able to stop herself from doing so every now and again to steal a fleeting glance. She started to lose appetite and she was beginning to lose weight. She struggled with it for months but the feeling did not go away and if anything it only got worse. Auria-lia was at a loss. She didn’t know if the feeling was mutual, she didn’t even know if he noticed her, and she wasn’t confident enough to approach him. He was tall, lean, with shoulder length black hair and his features looked like they were chiseled from a block of granite. Just thinking about him got her all hot and flustered. There was something else about him, there were rumors in the palace that the younger warriors w...

Thea sat on the stool in front of her dressing table and looked at herself in the mirror. She was pretty to say the least. She was tall, lean and petite, and she had sharp enticing features, and made for a sultry, attractive, woman that could catch the eye of any man, with the exception of the man that she had set her heart on. He seemed oblivious to her attentions, and no matter how hard she tried, and despite the numerous figure hugging, and revealing outfits that she’d used during their meetings, he never as much as gave her a suggestive look, and that for some reason or the other made her want him all the more. Born in an affluent family in Chiang Mai, she was not short of money, and she could more than afford to splurge on herself on a regular basis, but despite all her efforts, the man that she had her eyes on didn’t seem like he wanted to take their relationship further. Somewhat disheartened, she consulted a friend, who was well-versed in these matters, and she in turn made ar...

The tantalizing aroma of freshly brewed coffee pervaded the air, and it was both inviting and invigorating. I took a seat after placing my order at the counter, and paying the bill, and I waited patiently for the cup of freshly brewed coffee, and the slice of cheesecake that I had ordered to arrive. I sat close to a large window that overlooked a street in one of Bangkok’s more popular suburbs, and watched the cars roll down the street, and the people that were walking on the sidewalk pass by, dressed in their trendy, gaily colored clothes, the Thonburi riverside district attracted more than its fair share of tourists. I caught a glimpse of someone dressed in white, walk by and my thoughts instantly turned to the angel that had appeared out of nowhere slightly over a year ago. I tried to recollect her features, she was slim, tall for a woman and fair. She had shoulder length hair that was neatly tied behind her back. While I had some difficulty recollecting her features, I remember he...

“Is it possible to see an angel?”, I asked and the man that sat in front of me replied with an affirmative nod of the head. “However,” he said, “they are only seen by those who are extremely pious, it is common especially among those who have devoted their lives to their faith”, he hesitated briefly before he continued “and those who are about to meet their demise”. “If it is any consolation, it normally means that you will die a good death, I know if you’ve seen one it’s not because of your piety”, he added with a smile. The man who is known only as Martin was a priest and he was well versed in matters with regards to paranormal activity. He belonged to a religious order that was particularly secretive especially because it was one of the few orders that when the situation required it, conducted exorcisms.  We parted company soon after that and approximately half-a-year later, I received a phone call from Martin. “I think I’ve stumbled across an actual case of possession”, he sai...

Anyone can fall in love, it’s not all that difficult to do, however you have to keep it going, and to keep it going for a lifetime, does take some effort. Fortunately, with us there was very little effort required, and things just fell in place. Everything that we did was more or less in togetherness, to the extent that the roles would sometimes get reversed. I remember when we went to watch ghost, we went for the evening show, and prior to watching the movie I was told, that it was a romantic comedy that might make me cry but I was skeptical, and I was dead-certain that my partner would breakdown while I remained unmoved, she was the type to cry at the movies, and I had my shoulder all ready for her to lean on. I vividly remember what happened when the movie was over and the lights came on. She looked normal, while I was all teary eyed. From what I was told later, the stains of the tears that had streamed down my cheeks were plainly visible. It was a relationship where she’d be in ch...

Just like every other story, this story too has a beginning, only it begins a very long time ago, in the unlikeliest of places, at a time when busses were the most common means of transport, and it was the means of transport that I used the most. I really didn’t have to use the bus, but I liked it especially the minibus with drivers speeding down the road, ignoring the speed limit, blaring their horns ever so often. I still have a fondness for them, and trains. I’ve always been a huge fan of trains, especially when travelling long distance, and the most memorable train rides, that come to mind, is the ride from London Victoria to Amsterdam, and an evening ride from Melbourne to Bendigo. This particular story however concerns the bus or rather the bus-stop. I remember the day very well. I was walking past this particular bus-stop, it was between 11 am and 12 noon, when I suddenly spotted this tall slim girl, she was fair, more so than others, and I still remember what she wore, image...

Shinto, also called kami-no-michi, is a religion that originated in Japan, and it is often regarded by its practitioners as Japan’s indigenous religion. This ancient faith, deeply interwoven with the cultural and historical fabric of the Japanese archipelago, represents a unique spiritual worldview that has evolved over millennia. While its roots stretch back to prehistoric times, Shinto as a named and organized entity began to coalesce in response to the introduction of Buddhism to Japan in the 6th century. Unlike other major world religions, Shinto does not have a single founder, or a primary sacred text that codifies a set of moral laws. Instead, it is characterized by a deep reverence for kami, a vast and complex pantheon of deities or spirits, and a focus on maintaining harmony between the human world, the natural world, and the divine. The practices associated with Shinto are diverse, ranging from grand state ceremonies to simple personal prayers offered at local shrines. Schola...