Wink Antholgy 2.0

8/4/2019 Wink Antholgy 2.0

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WINK Anthology 2.0


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ForewordTucked away behind the lush green acres of Jubilee Park and the bank of the Subarnarekh

er is XLRI, Jamshedpur - India's premier B School. I spent the two most transformative

of my life there. My relationship with XLRI has evolved over the last two decades. I was a

dent at XL in the eighties. With iconic professors whose impact was far beyond the su

they taught, it instilled a love for learning even in someone like me. More than anything, i

ated relationships with XLers, Profs and the support staff that have stood the test of time.

Five years after leaving XLRI as a student, I came back to teach as a part time faculty. The

gest perk of being back was that I got to spend five more years at the XL campus without

ing to worry about grades and assignments. Then over the course of my career, I came

many times to hire and to share an idea over a talk. But for me XL is the place where I b

my journey as an author.

This is the venue I chose when I launched my first novel Mediocre But Arrogant. That w

2005. That novel is about love and life in a B School. Many incidents and pieces of XL fol

showed up in many of my writings. Married But Available, my second novel, is about the

ten years of the protagonist who is a HR professional who experiences the transition of co

rate India in the 90s. The setting is Balwanpur, a fictitious town in North India. I am sur

living in a town like Jamshedpur shaped much of my imagination of what a small town

Balwanpur would be like.

What is so special about XLRI? The opportunity to shape ones dreams as I stared out o

classroom windows to the Dalma range of mountains. Watching the sun set as I sat trans

along the bank of Subarnarekha river helped me understand why the river is so named. It

look like a pot of molten gold as the rays of the sun bathe the meandering river. It is not

prising that XLRI has produced so many musicians, theater artistes and accomplished wr

Anu Kumar, Mini Dileep, Nirupama Subramaniam, Vijay Nair, MK Ajay, Prem Rao and

recently my favorite bloggers like Gautam Ghosh, Ramaa Ramesh I could go on and on

This WINK anthology is like the first gathering of people who celebrate writing. It was

ceptualized to collect a sampling of some of the best writing to come out of XLRI tha

could get our hands on. It is a sprinkling of short stories, poems and blog posts - stuff

dreams are made of. We hope the next versions of the anthology will showcase the wo

students, faculty, staff and even the friends of XLRI. Just imagine the joy of being able to

a few pages of a book and then turn to your fellow traveler and say, I know the authors

are all friends from XLRI.

While I am glad you are reading this book, invite you to write out a piece that will find plac

the next collection of WINK. It is only when you catch 40 Winks that you get to dream. A

the Roman wrote forty as XL!

bhijit Bhadurihor and blogger

p://

hijitbhaduri.com/day job is that of


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Editorial

So, heres the second edition. Finally.

Majorly because the lazy-ass buggers (that would be us!) who were suppto do all the running around, well, didnt. Weve lived our lives accordingreat XL tradition of FRAXing and making exceptions for an antho

would seem unfair to the millions of projects and assignments we scrour way through.

In a country that practically runs on fake promises, let me assure you tha

next edition will be out on time. Theres new blood now. Weve been suannuated and I hope youd support the new faces in the same way you ported us.

Let us take this opportunity to announce our association with the iconicthor of bestsellers like Mediocre But Arrogant and Married But Avail

Abhijit Bhaduri, who as we all know, is our alumnus back from the batc1984. Presently the Chief Learning Officer at Wipro, he has made XL calive in printed pages like no other has. WINK had organized a special

sion in our own lecture hall earlier this year for the budding writers who completely bowled over by how down-to-earth could a man of such corate and auctorial stature be. He has been kind enough to write the forewof Anthology 2.0 as well.

As we retire, let us thank the kind presence and guidance of stalwarts Madhukar Shukla and Prof. Uday Damodaran for believing in us; of the ous professors, staff and students who showered their encouragementblessings when the last edition was published; and Bishu Da because, u

hes a sweetheart.

Theres a little lump in our throats. Were handing over our baby to ageneration of parents who were sure are far better than weve been. Rofolks!

rdit Singh Sachdeva

run Kumar Gupta


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The Young Blood !


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The Fifth Number by Abhijit Bhaduri


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The Fifth Number by Abhijit Bhaduri


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Life. 40. byVarun Kumar Gupta

Editors note: This is an attempt at doing something different: writing an entire story in 40 words.)


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Rain by Gurdit Singh Sachdeva


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Rain by Gurdit Singh Sachdeva


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by Abhijit Shukla

, , , ,

,

,

,


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Life is wasted on the Living - Aditya Gadre

Welcome, weve been expecting you, a woman said cheerfully. Or rather as cheerfully a

she could manage. She even smiled. It was scary.

Thanks, said Uther tentatively. What do you say to the dead? What are their social prac

tises? What is accepted and what is not? You could never be too sure. Thanks seemed to

be harmless enough.

She didnt seem to mind. So Thanks was not something that offended these people

Cool.

So, Im dead? asked Uther. Stupid question, of course. His spirit had seen his own funeral. Stupid idea that was. Watching all those people cry was terribly depressing.

Well ,yes, she replied patiently. Denial was generally the first reaction while making thi

transition. You need to rest and get used to this. Ill show you to your room.

She led him down the street. On earth, this would be called scary as hell or wrath of

god or maybe the end of the world, but here in Necropolis the sky was pleasant

blood red. You are lucky to come today. Such lovely weather!

She took him to a huge structure and led him to a room. It was simple. One table, on

bed. Thats it. The dead dont wear clothes. Complete waste of time.

Uthers first reaction on seeing the bed was to ask Can I lie down for a bit? She nodded

understandingly and walked out of the room, closing the door behind her.

He slept like a baby, like he had never slept when he was alive. He woke up and went out

Shit. He hadnt asked for her number or any other way to get in touch. He hadnt even

asked her name. He hadnt even told her his name for that matter. But that was more be

cause he was embarrassed of it than anything else. Who the hell is named Uther? King Ar

thurs father? Seriously?

Hi said a familiar voice behind him. It was her.


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I am so sorry about earlier. I was really un-gracious. Im Uther. Whats your name?

Nadine

Thats a nice name. So, Nadine, what do you guys eat out here?

Nadine looked at him as if he had politely asked if he could chop her head off.

Nothing. Nothing? , Nothing.

Oh.

Awkward silence.

What about, um , dating and stuff?

Were dead, love. Cant have a life can we?

That made sense. Somewhat. This death thing was getting increasingly depressing.

Uther tried changing the subject. So hows the weather here?

Its okay today, its not raining.

It normally rains a lot here?

Oh yes. Does it still rain on earth?

It did when I left. Uhh , how long ago did I leave?

No idea. Just a few days ago I guess. Of course we can never tell the difference between days. Theres

no concept of night or day here you see.

So, who sent you to pick me up? I thought a scary dude with a scythe normally does that.

Umm, I am the reaper!

Really?

No. sorry. Havent joked about in a few thousand years. Couldnt resist.

Youve been here that long? You dont look it. , She did.

No need to lie any more kiddo. Youre dead now. You can be honest.

Its a wonderful feeling. Just saying what you feel to whoever you feel.


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Identity by Amarnath Chatterjee (FPM)


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CONSCIENCE-LESSby Anurag Sanwal
http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=177653468928741http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=177653468928741


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CONSCIENCE-LESSby Anurag Sanwal
http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=177653468928741http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=177653468928741


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You may not hold my hand by Priyendra K. Dutta


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Tears by Priyendra K. Dutta


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Silence holds its breath by Priyendra K. Dutta


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The Widow by Debomita Mukherjee


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The Widow by Debomita Mukherjee


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The most Beautiful Pearl by Chinappa Reddy Avula


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The most Beautiful PearlChinappa Reddy Avula


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An XLer is Born by Mr Naresh Gupta, XL Parent


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An XLer is Born by Mr Naresh Gupta, XL Parent


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Mother by Himanshu Saxena


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Soldier Side by Jaideep Singh Juneja


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Soldier Side - Jaideep Singh Juneja


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Perdition by Jaideep Singh Juneja


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Stare-Away To Heaven by Navroz Singh Dhillon


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A Gift for Valentines Day by Raman Choudhury


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ANANYA- Love of my life.


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Never, I never want to see you or your fucked up family ever again...I just stood there. What do you do when the world seems to have their eyes only for you but for the wrong reasons?

Sir, how are you going to pay for this? the cashier broke into my thoughts.


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Complicated by Maneesh Dhooper


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The Unfulfilled Last Wish by Manmeet Kaur Chhabra


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To XL from VARUN by Varun Gupta


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WINK Team

Wink Antholgy 2.0

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