Frequently Freaky

They were looking for a governess to manage their home and were happy when Maruti joined.
A short and fair woman, Maruti was very efficient with her work.
But, things never remained the same after she joined...

They wondered why there were frequent storms.
The drastic weather change was a point of concern.
Their tent got blown away.

PHOTO PROMPT © Jan Wayne Fields

When their new tent also got damaged, there was niggling doubt and fear.

Odisha Rasagola Earns GI Tag #OdishaRasagola

Odisha has finally earned the GI tag for Odisha Rasagola on 29th July, 2019!

The GI Application for "Odisha Rasagola" was filed on February 23, 2018, by Odisha Small Industries Corporation Limited (OSIC), under the MSME Department of the Govt. of Odisha.  Utkal Mistanna Byabasayee Samiti, an association of Rasagola sweet-makers of Odisha, was the joint applicant.

Busy Night

The first time he saw her, he desired to whisk her away.

Her exquisite beauty cast a spell.

He could not wait to lay his hands on her.

He had been working diligently to make a secret passage to her room.

He was excited that all his sleepless nights would finally make his dream come true.

"Gonna be a busy night", he thought as he bridged the final barrier.

                                                             ----o----

He was the focus of her attention.

A Journey Cut Short

Little Sam was excited to get ready for his first train journey.

He had just seen the pictures of trains in his books and videos of trains on TV and internet!

He would get to finally experience a real train!

He held on to his mother's dress.

She was busy with her cellphone.

PHOTO PROMPT © Sandra Crook

Suddenly, a burly man pushed his mother.

He picked Sam up and started running towards another train that had started moving in the opposite direction.

Beautiful Attraction

The street party was exciting.

There were food-stalls and plenty of fun-events.

They had invited the city's most important people.

She felt privileged to have got a pass.

She was enjoying herself when she saw him...

She was seeing him after nearly a decade.

He looked smart and handsome as usual.

He had always made her go weak in her knees.

She did not want him to see her.

PHOTO PROMPT © Roger Bultot

The Young Scientist

"Just because you won the 'Young Scientist' award, doesn't mean that we will believe your crap!"
Twelve-years old Ashok heard this from his classmates.

While his friends played games, he was lost in his science projects.
He was explaining about powering up satellites.They asked him to "act his age".

PHOTO PROMPT © Dale Rogerson

Hera Panchami - Goddess Lakshmi Expresses Her Anger

Ratha Jatra is celebrated every year on Ashadha Shukla Paksha Dwitiya (second day in bright fortnight of Ashadha month). This grand festival that began in the Shree Jagannath Temple, Puri, Odisha, is now very famous and celebrated all over the world. But, many are yet to be aware of the celebration of the days following the pulling of the chariots to Gundicha Temple on Ratha Jatra.

On Ratha Jatra, Lord Jagannath leaves the Shree Jagannath Temple and goes for a nine-day-sojourn with His siblings, Lord Balabhadra & Devi Subhadra, to their birth place at Gundicha temple, located 2.6 kms away. Lord Jagannath does not take His wife, Goddess Lakshmi along with Him when He goes with His brother and sister for the Ratha Jatra.

Text by Dash Benhur; Art by Tapan Moharana

Box Office Hit

She felt elated to walk into a movie hall after ages. A huge movies fan, she had to watch the latest release.

The last two years had kept her very busy in completing her autobiography.

A book publishing-house had accepted it.

She was excited that she'd soon get to see it in print. 

She hoped that her story would be accepted by a movie production-house as well. 

PHOTO PROMPT - Ted Strutz

Fellow Passengers

He was glued to his phone in the airport when he dashed against a fellow passenger.

Picking up her boarding-pass, he noticed her Indian name - "Roopa Dev".

Apologetically handing it over, he saw that she strikingly resembled his fiance, Natasha.

PHOTO PROMPT - Rochelle Wisoff-Fields

As Roopa walked away, Natasha came alive in his mind.

They were to get married some years ago.

She went for a trip to the Himalayas.

He was devastated to hear the news that Natasha had perished in a bus-accident there.

Three Musketeers

The journalist was eagerly interviewing the billionaire, who lived a frugal life.

There was a huge glass showcase where he had displayed trophies of all shapes and sizes.

The journalist could not understand why an old tea-kettle, a spoon, and an iron occupied space there.

PHOTO PROMPT - Valerie J. Barrett

"Don't these three stand out from the rest of the showcase?" he wondered aloud.