Rathin Bhattacharjee

RNB'S Diary
18.01.2025
7.46 AM
For A Brighter World .......
It is 5.20 AM by the wall clock. I must have been awake for the last 2 hours or so. I tried chanting the Gayatri Mantra for sometime but the itching sensation all over my body, didn't abet a wee bit.
Lying by the side of my wife, I had lots of thoughts going on in my mind. I thought of Bhutan for a starter. How I left for the country in March, 1990 via Bongaigaon. From the station, I had to go to Kokrajhar as per the directions in the Appointment Letter.
How did I get there? By bus? By rickshaw? I found that I couldn't remember for the life of me! I remembered how I had to stay at hotel U-Me for 12 days. But how did I get to Kokrajhar from New Bongaigaon?
My mind drew a blank again.
That's when I had the Fear of God overtaking my entire being. I realised that my skin disease was just an outcome of something bad I have done in this life. Do my wife, daughters have to pay the price of my sins? The fear was quite overbearing. I looked at my wife sound asleep by my side. What if she starts forgetting things like me? What about my daughters?
I found my thoughts drifting to a dear brother of mine. He is getting forgetful these days. When I meet him next, I will BEG FOR HIS FORGIVENESS. I thought he was paying a price for being quite clever in this life. What about me then? What sins have I committed for MY FORGETFULNESS? Why couldn't I remember something I had done, an action I had performed some 30 years ago? How did I get to Kokrajhar from New Bongaigaon?
I thought of some of my sinful actions then. How some girls found me adorable and how I had fun at their expense.
I believe it for a fact that one life is not enough for repeaing the fruits of your karma.
I sat up on my bed again and tried chanting the Gayatri Mantra. I don't know if there is any mantra in Sanskrit for improving one's memory. Gayatri Mantra, as far as I know, is for one's overall wellbeing. Let me chant that at least to be physically fit and active.
I don't know whether I thought of my father-in-law as a result of chanting the Gayatri Mantra or not but I realised for the first time that he was quite an aged man by now, past 80! I cannot sit on judgement on him. My late Ma told me once that both my in-laws were like my parents. I thought of going to his place and enquiring about his well being. If anything is bothering him, I need to find that out. If not me, who else would think about him?
I hope that The Almighty will not deprive me of my sense of duty. I thought of my daughters and for the first time, I didn't want to add to their woes. They have their problems. As a parent, it is my duty to see to their overall well being and happiness. My younger daughter started suffering from some kinda "catphobia" lately as a result of staying at 41, Deblane. So, before I go to any place, I have to ask her if she is interested in going there or not. I have to respect their opinions as well.
I thought of my daughters, Akanksha and Anushka, then. They have done nothing to make me ashamed of them till now, by God's grace. As their father, the least I could wish for is their well being and happiness.
The picture of Akanksha getting married, raising kids flashed through my mind then. I could see myself playing with her son, having a hearty laugh, forgetting the pains in the process.
This is what The Almighty wanted our world to be like. Full of laughter, sunshine and happiness. A place where people didn't feel proud of having taken advantage of others; a world where people realised their mistakes and cared for the elderly as a result; a world where people were proud of their culture and traditions.
Happy in the knowledge that 'all is not lost and over yet', I got up and decided to get back to our bedroom to my wife then.....

RNB’s Diary
Dated 24th June,2024
If I was impressed with Mamon and Nandan’s performance last time we visited my Sister-in-law’s house, Dinka and Payel impressed me no less at ｔｈｅｉｒ residence yesterday.
We had hardly settled ourselves in the house, when my bro uttered something like how he blamed his wife of over 37 years for some of the things going wrong in their lives, that made my Sister-in-law very down and she nearly broke down wanting to be sent off to an old-age home ( the usual ‘scenes’ between most couples, you know) before things quitened down altogether. The moment my sister-in-law broke down, my bro looked lost and pained. End of the story or was it? Because there is so much to learn about Love, Understanding, Forgiveness and so on by watching these people from close quarters.
But Payel, my bro's daughter-in-law, someone he taught and has known for over 3 decades, had been busy all through, serving the soft drinks , preparing tea endlessly and never forgetting to keep that smile on her face!
I shared something with her later. A lesson I learnt from a fellow passenger while on a train to Alipurduar. The lady was actually sitting on one of those lower side berths, talking to my wife, Jaya. I was lying on my berth with my eyes closed when something uttered by the lady, drove sleep away from my eyes and made me sit up.
“You know,” she was telling Jaya, "All my life, I’ve tried to discharge my duties to everyone to the best of my abilities. Now, at the fag end of my life, I wish I could have gone overboard and do a little more for them….”
What a heartfelt confession! I spent the next 15/20 minutes talking to this Professor of a college in North Bengal.
I shared her utterance with Payel yesterday. I have never been known to be a broad-minded person. I always want people closest to my heart to be the best. I had to share this incident with Payel anyway.
You know, dear reader, there are many ways of winning a person's love and respect. The simplest way is by praising her to the skies. My late Baro Jamai Babu belonged to this school. But there is another school who will do exactly the opposite. They will make life hell for you just to see if you good or not.
The premises are that if you are really good at heart, you will never retaliate, no matter what. If you being an elder, call an younger names and if s/he retaliates by calling you names on your face or behind your back - that person doesn't deserve to be called a good human.
Payel reminded me of something my late Maa was very fond of reciting :
Bauer nei naaon/ Bauer nei khaon,
Bauer nei Katha/ Bauer nei byatha.
(The gist of this saying is - It's best for a daughter in law to keep quiet under all circumstances).
Try telling this to any of the modern day wonder girls of Bengal! They will either label me a mysogynist or an uneducated swine or something similar. But the fact remains that under the garb of women emancipation, a lot of our present day women are being totally misguided. The rising divorce rate in any part of India is a clear indication of that.

Anyway, Payel kept working till we had our mobile dinner served in different containers including a large chunk of the birthday cakes ( Cakes because there were two as we were celebrating my bro’s birthday at his residence in advance yesterday. Today, actually happens to be his birthday and God bless his soul. He should be en example to many of how one can conquer the heavy odds and raise a proper family). Payel is a living example of how a daughter-in-law has to keep her cool under all circumstances. And for those daughters-in-law who are happy right now showing utter disrespect to your in-laws, you wait and watch.You can take it from me that Life always pays back. And what is more, Life always pays back with interest.

I have never ever tried to bless a daughter-in-law of the house like I did yesterday and I am reminded of my Barda in this context. A bro, who tried to be there for each of his eight sisters-in-law ( my wife Jaya had tears welling up in her eyes the other day while talking about how much Barda loved her). Barda was a league apart. A friend and well-wisher for the people he really cared, and he cared for almost everyone including Anjan.

If Payel was Mrs.Cool and Graceful, Dinka, my nephew showed me why I always wanted a son despite many people telling me when I had one daughter born after the other, that in today's world, to have a daughter is a boon. Dinka kept running around, doing errands, sweating profusely while my Bro went on bossing him around. And didn't I feel jealous of my own bro at that time for the first time in my life?

I am keeping the conversation I had with Dinka aside for the time being. Though I told him in the course of our conversation that ‘Opportunity knocks on the door but once’ ( He has had a tremendous offer from abroad recently), I felt very proud of him when he told me in the end that having considered all pros and cons, he has decided not to accept this offer. He has to leave his present job as a result, no doubt, as per the Policy of the Company he’s been working for, he has to go abroad after a certain period of time. But he won't because he feels that his presence at home, is really of utmost importance right now. My Bro, Baudi, even Payel (I don't know her opinion though), they all want him to go though .
“There will be a second chance, Bappa Kaka. And if it doesn't come, I won't complain. I have seen some of my relatives. There is more important thing than Money in life, isn't it?”
I talked to him about another nephew, late Chandan Guha. Someone who ended up as the CEO of CEOs, teaching Zamba (?) Dance or something to his students, mostly girls in Mumbai, who were willing to eat out of his hand! Very few people could have lived Life to the lees like Chandan did. And mind you, he died at 42 only. I concluded my conversation with Dinka by telling him, “I’s going to Belgharia for a job that wouldn’t even pay me a decent salary. I would live my life to its dreadful end, I've no doubt about it. Even if I am sucessful in my next life or the life after that, I will never achieve what Chandan did in one single life!”
I spoke to Dinka about Chandan because I was trying to convince him that once he goes abroad and spends some 2 / 3 years there, by the time he comes back, he won't have to worry about money like I do. But Dinka is different from me. He exudes a lot of self-confidence, self-belief. And he is a very decent boy to the people who are respectful to his parents. The last quality will take him miles with God’s blessings, you mark my words.

RNB’s Diary
Dated : 23rd January, 2024

I twisted and turned in bed most of the last night. I had a decision to take. My Sis and my wife felt that I should do what is propah and all, while I had something else in mind. If I am able to take the right decision and stick to it, I shall consider it my late parents' blessings.
Let me tell you of a conversation that I had with a teacher recently. I told him that if a son or daughter is truly doting and dutiful to his/her parents, they will stay blessed for most of their lives.
I tried to be dutiful to my late parents when I was a child. I know that I didn't, couldn't do anything for them financially but I was happy staying close to them, by trying to lend them a hand whenever I could.
Yesterday, I had the blues thinking about why Life always subjects me to such harsh realities. We live in a strange world. Here people don't understand anything like gentleness, gratitude or such values. If someone is dealing you bad and if you still remain mild-mannered in your dealings with him/her, something has to be dreadfully wrong with you. Either you are a spineless one or you are trying to hide some weakness of yours. I would not like people to remember me as a coward though.
I still believe Our Creater wanted us to be nice and kind and compassionate to each other. But things are so different now, people consider themselves smart because the other person seemingly doesn't have the guts to question their decisions.
There are people who love bossing over their seniors as well in the presence of others because that way they can show others how spineless the seniors are! They have no sense of shame in doing so, and the hurtful thing is that others seem to enjoy such confrontations. Haven't got it, right? Let me try to explain. Ms.P works in a school. In a party, she wouldn't mind asking her Manager to go fetch a glass of water or something. She does it repeatedly to prove to others how spineless her Manager is. Whenever the Manager asks her to do something, he does it very rarely though, she will come out with a ready excuse, having learnt from her colleagues that the Manager or should I say, the Management seldom discusses such matters with the Manager! She is a smar lady as per the prevailing standards of smartness. She will take advantage at the slightest opportunity and try to prove to the Management how spineless the Manager is! And the surprising thing is, she will tell the people who matter that she is trying to make a man of the Manager! That is not all - the others will believe her as well!!!

Talking about the others - who give people the impression that they are avoiding the spineless man for a certain reason, for a certain period of time, till their desired goal is reached. They take all the important decisions, nothing wrong with that, I guess, as real decision- makers are very hard to come by - just to prove how spineless or useless the man is, never bothering to consult the person on a single issue!
Anyway, I hope I have made up my mind and these people will get to learn about their mistakes in due course of time and it is not for me to mend their ways.
I know, dear reader, that what I am talking about right now, may not make much sense to you but I don't believe in naming names, hurting people even at the cost of my own satisfaction or happiness.

While I was talking to Sis this afternoon, she told me that today happens the death anniversary of my late Baba, Principal Jogesh Chandra Bhattacharyya (https://masb6.blogspot.com/2013/12/the-invincible-spirit-that-was.html?m=1 ). Caught up in discharging the daily duties as I am now, I rarely think of my father these days. My sister finally concluded by telling me that I’ll always have my parents' blessing or something similar.
An hour later, a bizarre thing happened to me. I received the third Writing Contract in my life, and surprise of surprises, I signed the Contract for the first time in my life!
I was so excited that I awoke my younger daughter from her sleep and asked her to help me with the filling out of the form.
This is, undoubtedly, the greatest day of my life. I have just gone through the 15-page Contract Form and signed it, feeling like what Sir Edmund Hillary might have felt on conquering Mt. Everest!

Someone told me long time back that good things happen to good people. I don't know if I am good or not but I am in constant awe of The Almighty. I know that if I do something wrong, something that my conscience doesn’t approve of, I will be responsible for my action and punished accordingly for my wrong-doing.
I could never imagine that I would sign a proper Writing Contract Form one day. Nor did I realise that I have it in me to give up some lucrative offers at the drop of a hat!
I remembered the words of my Sister then. Today is my late Baba’s death anniversary. Something good was bound to happen to show his blessings for me. On my father’s 44th death anniversary, I have signed my first Writing Contract (It is actually the third I have received in my life including the 20-page one I received from Webnovel some 4 years ago).
‘tis quite unnerving, really. The happening today has convinced me that there is a Superior Power watching, guiding our every single movement. And foolish is the man who phoo-phoos this belief of mine. Similarly, the benefits of staying true to your parents are many.
Do you understand me now, dear Reader.
Happy Netaji Jayanti.

The Invincible Spirit that was J.C.Bhattacharya. ttt Hold fast to your dreams, / For when dreams go, Life is a barren field / Frozen with snow. Right at this very moment, while I am ...

Another story I wrote some days ago. That's what the problem has been with me days. I can feel, smell, sense stories all around me. Life is so very full of stories! All we need is people with patient ears and seeing eyes. And the stories won't fail to leave their marks.
I hope you, dear Reader, are able to see the funny side of the story as well. Happy reading and good night.

The Day I Nearly Knelt My Daughter Down To Death ! | English Children Stories Story | Rathin Bhattacharjee To cut a long story short, I made life hell for Anushka that day. My fury hadn't subsided by the afternoon and I had been pushing, pulling my daughter throughout, compelling her to confess to her sin.

RNB's Diary
6.07 AM
Saturday

I Am Truly Humbled

By the time I got back home, I was completely exhausted. Besides, Virat played a blinder and that put paid to whatever urge I had to write about one of the most love-fun-filled days of my life. It all started like this :
When the English Teacher, Tamal Chowdhury Sir entered the Principal's Office at around 3.10 in the afternoon, I enquired if they had arranged any vehicle for getting back to Bagnan from school. He informed me that our Chairman Sir had a bus arranged for the teachers returning home from Jaipur.
At around 3.20, while I waited for the teachers to sign their departure timings in the Attendance Register, a couple of them asked me to hurry up. Shuvra Madam even told me that they would wait for me outside. I signed in the Register, left the Principal's Room, headed towards the bio-metric for pressing in my fingerprint, found a couple of teachers there, ran back up to my room, picked up the bags and scampered down the stairs. The school car was waiting outside. As I headed to the car, I could see that it was packed to capacity. OK, I'll manage somehow. Either I'll find a bus or some other means of reaching till Bagnan, I thought to myself.
"You won't find anything," Mr. Priyabrata Samanta, the eldest son of our Chairman said to me. So, I didn't want to take any more chances and peeped inside the pool car. It was packed. Tamal Sir, a very nice human being, having noticed me, got out almost immediately. Then I heard another teacher, Madam Poulami, remarking that they would all get out of the car to make way for me.
Next moment, it was Sourav Sir, our PT teacher, speaking,"Wait Sir, I'll reach you till Bagnan." Can you believe it, dear Reader? Bagnan is some 50 minutes ride from Joypur. I heard his equally large-hearted wife, Sangita Madam, muttering next, "Why, you can reach Sir upto Khalna and come back to pick me up!"
It was only then that I decided to run away from the scene. Sourav Sir once reached me till Khalna to help me catch the bus. The way he drove his bike in the rain in front of the bus waiting at the turning there, will always be etched in my memory.
I was trotting away when I bumped into Priyanka Madam, the Mother Teacher of Nursery near the Gates.
"Madam, are you going home walking?" and finding her nodding, I continued," Can I come with you." She nodded her head again, smiling before suggesting that I could get to Khalna by a Toto and get into the school car from there as a few teachers would get off the car by then. But inorder to get into the school car, I had to make a call to the driver. I quickened my walking pace then. I had also seen, on turning my head that Tamal Sir and three other teachers heading towards our direction. I bade a hasty 'good bye' to Madam Priyanka and broke into a trot.
A bike came from behind and stopped beside me.
"Sir, get on. I'll reach you there." The helmetted rider cried out from inside his helmet. It was Saikat Sir, another favourite Teacher working at St. Xavier's Public School, Joypur. I tried not to trouble him but he kept on telling me that it was no trouble and asked me how he could ride on while finding his senior walking like the way I was. He even asked me if I had any problems riding on his bike. Finding me denying his request still, he asked me to wait and made a U-turn back to our school. He came back after 5/10 minutes and started entreating me to get on to his bike again. I saw Tamal Sir with the other three teachers coming from behind and told Saikat Sir not to worry any more as I would go along with them.
Saikat Sir left me only after that once he was sure that I had company!
We had hardly walked a few steps when an Auto halted beside us. ( "We found the car the moment we met you, Sir." Poulami Madam's witty one-liner would also stay with me for long.) As luck would have it (surprise of surprises?), it was going to Bagnan. I had to sit beside the driver while the rest squeezed themselves into the back of the Auto. Though it started raining after a while, it was a pleasant ride as I looked up ahead at the gloomy sky and the vast stretches of the green fields on both sides of the road.
Bagnan is a wonderful place. As we were nearing our destination, I heard Shuvra Madam's teaser. "Sir, the Head is supposed to be the roof over us teachers, especially in times of trouble like this, but here we found you running away!"
At Bagnan, we had tea from a tea-shop by courtesy of the ever so friendly Tamal Sir. As we were moving towards the station, Pallab Sir, our new Physics Teacher wanted to accompany me to the station. I tried to stop him but he said that he had to wait for tuition and had enough time in his hand.
Sitting on the concrete seat at the station, he talked about his family; late father, Mr Amal Ganguli, a prominent leader of the erstwhile Left Front; his mother and the subsequent dilemma.
I was listening to his tale so raptly that I didn't hear the Howrah-bound train trooping in. It was Pallab Sir who brought me out of his spell and urged me to get inside fast as they train stopped at the station. As the train started moving again, I looked out of the window to find Pallab Sir looking back at me, smiling.
"Sir, I'll listen to the rest of your story shortly." I cried out from inside. I don't know if Sir could hear me but as I looked around, the faces of my fellow passengers appeared so loving and caring like never before!
Thank God for bringing me to Bagnan, for letting me get acquainted with all these kind, loving and wonderful people. I had a feeling that happiness was bound to elude me after my departure from The Happiness Country.
Thank God for letting me be truly happy amidst such lovely people even after leaving Bhutan some 5 years back.
I am truly humbled.

RNB's Diary
Dated : 24th June, 2023
10.30 AM

When All Good Intentions of Wishing A Bro On His Birthday Turn Terribly Sour …….

Today is a very sad day for me. I had just finished taking bath when my wife cried out from our room :
"Mana, today is Anuda's birthday." I don't remember when I talked to my bro last. Most probably last May. Did he call me on my birthday this year? Whatever, I decided to call and wish my bro after the daily Puja. There was a time when I simply adored this Bro of mine.
The phone kept ringing for sometime before it was picked up by Dinka, his son. I asked him to hand the phone to his father.
"Kire bhalo achhis?"
He replied something like him being in the midst of "bhalo" (good) and "mando" (bad).
"Tor aaj Kato bachor holo?" How old are you today?
"68," he replied.
"Dara, ektu bhebe dekhi 68 porjyonto anader kajon dadara chhilo." I had barely gone past Chhotonda in my mind, when he cut in :
"Tabe, Deblaner barite sab theke beshi ami thekechhi." Immediately, lots of scenes and memories of this bro of mine and another for having stayed in this house, cropped up in my head.
I thought that he had some regrets for staying that long at Deblane. I was unimaginably wrong.
"Tui ei barite sab theke beshi thakte paris na. Sab theke beshi chhilo Chhotonda." You couldn't have stayed at 41 for longer than Chhotonda, another brother of mine.
I didn't pay much heed to what he was blabbering at the other end.
"Tachhara, tui ekhan theke '97 sale chole gechhis. Tar pare buri chowa…."( You left Deblane in 1997. Your dealings with Deblane were reduced to a mere formality from then on), I couldn't resist telling him.
He answered something to that that I can't remember. Then the tone of this bro of mine, someone I loved and respected at one point in my life, started changing.
He first said something about his desire to give me right and left. I still took it as a joke and replied," Er par jakhon Deblane a asbi, tor ei ichchhata puran kore nis." ( You can have this desire fulfilled when you visit Deblane next). He was still going on and told me something like my habit of shouting at and disrespecting all my elder siblings and their spouses.
He told me that he was expecting me at his place today though. ( I later told my Sis over the phone that I don't feel that obliged to go to his place anymore.) I told him on his face that that was not possible today.
This bro of mine, the bro very few people have thought highly of ( probably, no one thinks better of me either), the bro I tried defending to every Tom, Dick and Harry - then told me that I could never present myself before him due to some sense of shame ( "tui amar samne lajjai aste parbi na"). That's when I lost my patience.
"Keno, ami ki korechhi je tor samne lajjai aste parbo na? ( What have I done to be ashamed to present myself before you?) Tor bou, chhele, chhele bou eder karo sange kono kharap byabohar korechhi? ( Did I behave badly with your family ever?) Tui, je jibane kono bhaider samparke bhalo katha bolli na, tui amake lajjar katha bolchhis? (You are talking about the sense of shame? You who never uttered a single good thing about any of your siblings?)
I simply lost my control and would have said lots of nasty thing to this bro of mine had my younger daughter not taken the phone from my hand at that moment.
The line went dead. I called Sis then regarding the last remark of my bro. I was hurting, hurting and trembling. What did I ever do not to present myself before this bro of mine or anyone for the matter? That too due to an utter sense of remorse and shame?
I kept calling my bro for the next ten-fifteen minutes. I just wanted an explanation. The phone was not answered. That's when I deleted all contacts related to my brother and his family.
Like I told him over the phone that I had called him for the last time today on the occasion of his birthday.
Happy Birthday to this once dear bro of mine. God bless him and his family.

I Don't Know What Fate Has In Store For Me !!!

I think it was around 12.05 PM that I received an email from AWC ( Australian Writers' Community). Let me produce the letter here :

Hi Rathin

Welcome to June’s FURIOUS FICTION challenge! Please engage your right brains (we’ll wait) and get ready to jump right into the middle of our creative criteria…

Here are your TWO creative challenge criteria for June:

Your story must begin in the MIDDLE of something.
Your story must include the words ROCKET, POCKET, SOCKET and LOCKET. (You can use longer words – e.g. ROCKETING or SOCKETS – as long as they retain the original spelling within them.)
So, why do we want you to start in the MIDDLE of something? Well, with flash fiction especially, there’s no time to simmer in backstory or build up. Your reader wants to be dropped, Tom-Cruise-Mission-Impossible-style, into the action from the first paragraph. So that’s why we’ve made it this month’s focus!

Of course, as always, you can interpret it how you want:

You might begin in the middle of an argument
It could be in the middle of the ocean
The middle of the road?
The middle of a mid-life crisis!
Whatever you choose, just make sure it’s fairly clear that we can understand you’re beginning in the middle of something (and no, you don’t need to spell it out!).

We’ll share some of our favourites in the showcase!
I spent the next 2 hours writing a story on the given prompt. Here is my story :
The Missing Locket
"Lemme put it together," Siddharth said.
"You're telling me that this locket, worth some crores, was gifted to Queen Indira Devi, the wife of Maharaja Jitendra Narayan, by the King himself? And the locket went missing soon after the demise of the Queen?"
"Spot on. Recently, the government of India announced a heavy reward to whoever found it." I replied.
"Tell me more about the locket." Siddharth urged.
"The heart-shaped locket, weighing nearly fifty gram, made of gold bedecked with exquisite diamonds, had the Queen's picture inscribed inside ." Finally, I found myself in a familiar zone.
"Did you get a picture of it from anywhere?" He asked me.
I shook my head before replying :"Forget about the locket, there is said to be just one framed photo of the Queen in the Palace-turned-museum now."
"Ok, Ron," Siddharth said, getting up. "Get ready by 7 tomorrow morning. We're heading to K***h Behar. Be seeing you at the Airport then." Having said this, Siddharth scurried out of the room, his cup of tea was left untouched!
**************************************
We reached Bagdogra at around 8 AM by a chartered flight. As we came out of the lounge, there was a choffered Mercedes waiting for us. We reached Cooch Behar via Alipurduar, a thriving city in north Bengal, at around 11.30 AM and breakfasted at a wayside dhaba, and walked towards the massive railinged gate of The Palace next, having bought tickets from the Counter.
The Palace, modelled after Italian Renaissance architecture, literally took my breath away. Inside, there were gigantic halls full of artefacts and the regalia. I was especially taken much by the arms and ammunition in Hall 16, including a canon in the middle and what looked like a miniature rocket to me.
"Did they use missiles way back in the nineteenth century as well?" I couldn't help asking Siddharth.
"Don't think so. Must have been a gift from the Brits. Anyway, let's not waste any more time here. The locket has to be here inside if it hasn't been found yet." Siddharth quipped.

Whatever Siddharth was looking for, he didn't find it in the halls. Dejected, we were coming out the Exit.
"That's the photo of the late Rajmata.' I shouted out to him, pointing to the framed photo just above the door. Siddharth looked up at the photo first, looked to the CC camera behind next before taking a screw-driver out of his pocket.
"I think, we've got it, Ron." He uttered with a glint in his eyes.
It's best for me not to describe how he, having disclosed his identity to the Guard, made a fool of him in letting him bring the photo down. How he hurriedly detached the photo from its frame with that socket-like thing attached at the back, and took out the long-lost locket from inside it.

We became the national heroes that day with our pictures all over the social media. The President invited us to Rastrapati Bhawan for the awards and tea.
The end

No sooner had I submitted my story than I received this mail from AWC :

THANK YOU
YOUR STORY HAS BEEN RECEIVED
How good is that? That story you just wrote has been fired off into the universe – a new creative star in the sky – shining bright for all to see. Twinkle twinkle, little story, how we wonder if you’re gory. Or maybe gentle, funny or sweet – perhaps a tale of two left feet? Twinkle twinkle, little rocket, a brand new story in your pocket. Up above the world so high, like a pig that’s learnt to fly. You’ve done the deed, planted the seed, so sit back now while we have a read!

Well done on completing the June Furious Fiction challenge!

Over the coming weeks, we’ll be (furiously) selecting some of our favourite stories – ones that ticked the criteria boxes AND thought outside them!
Then, on Friday 23 June, we’ll share this selection with you on our blog (we’ll email you to let you know it’s live). Who knows – YOUR story could be there, or you might be longlisted!
For now though, ride the creative high and tag on socials to let them know you just took part in this month’s challenge.
Congrats again on rising to the challenge
The Australian Writers' Centre team
In conclusion, I know that no awards or rewards are for me. What a tragedy!