Stories that demand to be told | #52

"You write movingly about tenderness, fear, and loss, yet often use writing as an exit ramp, not a place to dwell..." That one stung. Because it was true. Except it was delivered by a machine.

Welcome to Ochre Sky Stories, a home for writers from the workshops and courses facilitated by

Natasha Badhwar

and

Raju Tai

.
This is the 52nd edition of Stories that demand to be told, a curated spread of the most evocative, resonant, real stories.

---

1. Reading kyun karein? ~ by

Vimal Chitra

vimalchitraa

A post shared by @vimalchitraa

---

2. The AI Companion You Didn't Ask For ~ by

Ajay Kelkar

Try this prompt in whichever AI app you use regularly: “Now that you can remember everything I've ever typed here, point out my top five blind spots.”

I almost ignored it. Another productivity hack floating around the internet.

But something about his phrasing-"you use regularly"-stuck with me. As if he assumed I had a relationship with one of these machines. Not just access to a tool when I needed it but something that had been quietly watching me think.

I opened ChatGPT and typed it in, not expecting much.

The response came fast. Too fast.

"Your dominant blind spot lies in the tension between doing and being... You've long equated value with pushing things forward, driving, and controlling. But beneath that is a quieter avoidance: not staying long enough with your emotions. You write movingly about tenderness, fear, and loss, yet often use writing as an exit ramp, not a place to dwell..."

That one stung. Because it was true.

"A deeper leadership presence can emerge- not from action, but from trust. Not from sharpness but from softness. Not from knowing, but from simply being."

It felt like therapy. Except it was delivered by a machine.

---

3. My Father's Egg-ventures ~ by

Alaknanda Sengupta

I miss this most about him – his excitement over little things. The house-help’s child getting admission into nursery school. The neighbour buying a new car. A young friend getting a good job.

And when there was nothing to mull over, he created adventures with eggs! “How many eggs do we have in the fridge??!!” he would call out excitedly in the middle of a quiet morning, totally out of context. "Many," my mother would reply, "more than many!" But still he would make her count, and how many ever there were, he would want at least six more and then my mother must make him either a double egg omelette or a nice, spicy bhurji with lots of green chillies.

And there must be at least a dozen eggs left over, sitting and waiting in the fridge for the next time the mood came upon him - for the next time he ran out of little things to put right in the world!

---

4. Another morning ~ by

this is more better only

No.

I refuse to devolve into something complex.

I look past my muddy thoughts,

Past the unswept floor,

The wall made of light,

Far into a people beyond my reach.

There,

A boy chases another, jumping over a pile of bricks,

Another dips into the oblivion of a dying river,

A woman smaller than my smallest finger looks at me.

---

5. How Two Years of Freelancing Rewired My Understanding of Work
~ by

Kanchan Balani

Us, millennials, have been sold a beautiful lie: "Find that one thing, love what you do and you'll never work a day in your life," they said.

What toxic, destructive BS.

I spent a very long time trying to become someone else. Someone whose work filled every corner of their identity.

But then, I discovered a powerful antidote to career anxiety: curiosity.

The thing is curiosity operates differently than anxiety. Anxiety narrows your vision, forcing you to focus on threats and catastrophic outcomes. Curiosity expands it. It invites possibility rather than limitation. It transforms mundane tasks into opportunities for discovery.

---

6. A poem for those helplessly watching the helpless ~ by

Reema Ahmad

We smoothen shrouds on your

Bodies

You do not go unremembered

You do not go unmourned

Your life is documented

We bear witness to your death

We are here holding a cup of water to your parched lips

We hear your last words to

Your beloveds

We turn our ears to your open mouths

We open the door to our hearts wide open

Please enter

People of pain

You are not going un-held"

---

7. Amazing gentleness and candour ~ by

Natasha Badhwar

---

8. But we are gorgeous ~ by

Raju Tai

---

Upcoming Workshops from

Ochre Sky Stories

:

1. The Rhythm of our Stories
   Facilitated by

   Raju Tai
   and
   Vimal Chitra

Ochre Sky Stories is a reader-supported publication. To become part of this joyful, supportive community, become a subscriber.