Thus spake zarathustra

"Oi shafiq...... us Mv Alpha ke ship ke kaptaan ke pant main pistol gusedh aur bol tum logon ko drop dene ke liye"

"ji bhai"

"Chikne... in teeno ko saath leke VT gus.... aur bindaas firing kar.... thoda usko her side gumaan... "

"zaroor bhai jaan" ... and he makes a practice wave.

"Aur gafoor... tera favorite hotel konsa hain?"

"bhai... woh juhu main ek hain... corner main..... mast chicken tikka deta hain.."

"Abe chirkut...... thoda uncha soch.... chal ek chun le... oberoi ki taj?"

"bhai... mujhe taj main ghusna hai.... saala woh guard bas firangiyon ko andar chodta hai..... mere ko andar ghoosna hai kaise bhi"

"achha... ek kaam kar..... pehle us guard ke bheje main ek magazine utaar.... us ke baad hotel tera.... jo karna hai kar..."

"shukriya bhai!..."

"Gafoor ne toh chun liya taj.... agli baari tere ko pehle chun ne doonga... is baari tu oberoi jaa.... woh bhi accha hai...."

"theek hai bhai..." in a sad voice.

"abe saleem.... kai ko sad hota hai... wahaan bhi achha cook hai.... chicken tikka wahaan bhi jakaas banta hai..... chicken kha aur goli chala... do hi toh kaam hai"

"ab bache tum punter log.... nariman house main jao.... tum logon ko wahaan ka khaana pasand nahi aayega .... dus pandra dry lelo.... kyon ke tum log chicken nahi ka paaoge.. tum logon ko nokia fone de raha hoon... waise tum logon ko aur acche fone mil jayenge firanaga logon se... eh tum apni bandi ko dedo"

"shukriya bhai jaan... mast hai!"

"Abe teri!... leopold chhoot gaya....jo loga taj ja rahe hain... woh pehle jara leopold main ek do tiski piski pek dena.."

"par bhai.... ek idea hai... pehle taj jaake chicken khaake fir leopold..."

"abe.... tu aur teri chicken.... saale ... chicken leopold main bhi milta hai.... kha liyo... goli chalana mat bhoolna...."

"arey bhai!.. aap fikar na karo"

"alvida shera... jannat pahuchenga tum log"

"alvida bhai" in chorus.

Street Fiction

Black Armani Tux and a Vuitton overcoat. A hidesign leather bag in his right hand and a starbucks coffee cup in his left. He looks up on his right. A billboard reflects in his half-rimmed glasses. As he walks his Blackberry curve 8330 rattles off voice messages( using the SpinVox Technology that converts text messages to voice). He throws the coffee mug in the dustbin on the one past Lexington Mall. Pulls aside his left sleeve to find out his Breitling Navitimer shout at him that he is running five minutes late.

He pushes the glass door gently. His eye meets the eyes of receptionist. A small nod from her and he goes to the mailbox to collect. Picks up a copy of WSJ from the stand as he jumps at the stairs.

Sound of a fast sequence of push of buttons and nine LCD screens come alive. He picks up the phone
"1000 calls at 75 on crude. Offload Motorola immediately. Swap 4 million at 4.5. 3000 swaptions on Lockheed at 5. 1500 butterflies at 100 on Cisco. 500 straddles at 82 on Northrup Grumman. Any complications let me know"

As he reads WSJ to find out Nigerian militants getting restless with the progress the rest of the world is making at the expense of their oil

"2000 more calls on crude"

"what?"

The phone is cut.

1 Pm."Its been a while we had chinese. More importantly its healthy. I want to get rid off the inch that I have gained in the last year."

"Girlfriend didnt approve huh?"

"Yeah, Trying out certain numbers had become difficult over the days"