Floating Islands

Floating IslandsA collection of 18 short stories by CHANDRA MOHAN BHANDARI These stories veer around events that tend to define contemporary realities, the human urge for perfection, and ever-present conflicts out there and within. I often walked from one to the other during low tides and returned before the high tide. Often I watched the reversal of the flow of water during the low and high tides. I gradually discovered that this rhythmic variation in the scenario reverberated deep within my psychic layers.He raised his hand bringing it to his forehead as if in salutation to the flag, and retraced his steps. He became emotional and said to himself: “Our ancestors discovered zero, common people like me would someday discover infinity.”As the train moved his train of thought also started rushing. Next morning he would be back to the region where he belonged. Before he started his life there was nothing (a zero) and after he would be back there would be nothing (a zero), in between the two zeros he had been moving on a circuitous path coming back to the starting point (another zero). However, the experience he had gained between various zeros was virtually infinite.And she was amazed at the variety of dark corners and crevices in the deep recesses of her mind. It was impossible to guess the happenings in deeper realms of the unconscious. Man’s psyche often resembles the subterranean sewer network that bears the burden of city’s affluence, culture and life.