Sivaram Govindaraj

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Aug, 2019

Stories (248)

248 Stories

1590 karma pts

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“SAPPḤO REDISCOVERED” by Sivaram Govindaraj

I am female and my name is Ruhi. I am about 26 and am descended from a family of Sanscrit scholars. In fact one of my forebears was a court poet and had even advised the king. I have a large number of books and even ancient palm leaf manuscripts which I store in a fire proof cabinet. I have no specific calling but spend my time reading or writing about Sanscrit classics. One of my books has been converted into a screenplay and had been quite popular with filmgoers. I have been fortunately endowed with agricultural land which an uncle tends t...

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“TURN OF THE TIDE” by Sivaram Govindaraj

If you look at the title deeds of farmland owned by me - farmer Jagan - you will find it adjoined a Hamilton estate on one side. I had asked my late father about the estate and the man had merely said “In British days someone with that name had an extensive piece of land here with a bungalow within it and various plants and trees around it. It was taken over by an Indian firm and has been renamed.” I am about 30, a man with a rugged build and a huge moustache. My education had been meager and I had concentrated on getting the most out of my ...

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“SLEEPING PARTNER” by Sivaram Govindaraj

My name is Jack. I am 32, 6 feet tall and slightly bald. I would say I am not unhandsome. I got a degree in software technology followed by one in business management. I would say I was always on top of my class. So it won’t be surprising if I said that the international consulting firm Hesketh Associates picked me up from college to be a manager. Old man Hesketh told me when I joined “Jack, you’re single and you’re going to be involved supervising a number of women. You know what it could do.” I smiled and accepted the advice meant. I will...

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“"SPEAK NOW....."” by Sivaram Govindaraj

“Speak now…….” said the stentorian voice of the churchman addressing the gathering. I was seated at the end of the second row in a dark corner of the church. I tried to rise. I thought I had risen, but I felt weighted down. The churchman ended “…..or forever hold your peace”. I saw the ring being fitted on the groom’s finger. My purpose in coming to the wedding was over as Ruhi had got married to Francis. Let me tell you about myself. I am a male of average height. I was born in a forest is what I was told. I grew up in the woods. My dad tau...

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“RIDING A TIGER” by Sivaram Govindaraj

You might think that I became a politician by choice. No. I was forced into it. I am a male nearing 40. I don’t have much education as I hated books. Persuaded by my dad I finished schooling. My dad owned a small farm in our village. The neighbor had a big holding but we managed to live peacefully together. After my dad’s passing, I took over running of the farm. Whereas my dad had been a strict disciplinarian I treated my farm labor with compassion. I was liberal with advancing money in fair play. Small tokens of benevolence were appreciate...

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“FAIT ACCOMPLI!” by Sivaram Govindaraj

“So what’s the catch?” asked Lima. She was talking to CM (Chief Minister) of Zygos, a prosperous land on planet tellus – earth’s twin. Lima was nearing 40 but still was attractive with a figure eight shape. She was a widow having lost her newly married husband to a stroke of lightning. She had been left very prosperous and through her own initiative had built up a roaring trade in various commodities. She lived in style. When there is a chief minister there is a ruler. The king who had ruled Zygos had died recently. He had left behind two so...

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“CAT IN THE MIDDLE” by Sivaram Govindaraj

That morning, high above the skies over planet tellus, Egyptian God Ra and his female counterpart Sera were going on a sky route. Sera said “I like planet tellus which is just like earth. Let us land here for a while.” Ra agreed and said “Okay. That is island Q, full of bandits and pirates. But it is prosperous with  gambling dens and bars flourishing.” They came down to the top of a tree. Underneath that tree, stood fisherman Fez who worked for a big fishmonger on island Q. Fez was only 16 and was quite handsome. He had been given a w...

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“A FRAMING TALE” by Sivaram Govindaraj

PROLOGUE:  “ALLONS” (let us go) I say (like a Frenchman would) as I start a tale of a road! Highway HH was being opened 5 years ago. The politico spoke into the mike addressing a large gathering. “Despite so many difficulties highway HH has been completed. I say again where there is a will there is a way. HH is an important link between two important industry centers P and Q which only had a narrow  road between them so far.”  Traffic started flowing. Three years had passed. .CITIZEN DICK OF TOWN P SAYS:  I had been invit...

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“CURSE OF THE AMETHYST” by Sivaram Govindaraj

“I wasn’t expecting you to visit me here in my home. I see you’ve come carrying a shopping bag. I suppose you’re on your way to the fish market next door.” “No. I’ve come on a mission to your place. I know you don’t approve of me. So would I if I were you! You are a young widow whereas I run the best brothel on this part of our planet. But we are of the same age and we grew up together until we grew boobs. I must laugh as I’m using a coarse term! But you’ll be surprised at the terms and language my clients seek! If I didn’t cater to them whe...

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“WAR OF WORDS” by Sivaram Govindaraj

“It is mine and you can’t have it.” To explain, I have to go back three days.  But before that you will ask who I am. I am Fez, a fisherman of Rubi Isle. RI is on planet tellus - earth’s twin about 800 years younger. I am 20 and live with my wife. We have no children. Three days ago I was summoned by Rook the supreme law giver of RI. He worked only late evenings and it was nearly dark when I reported to him. He asked “Fez did you inform us that the Dragon bandit was back?” The bandit had the tattoo of a dragon on his thigh. I had noti...

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“THE RETRIBUTION” by Sivaram Govindaraj

‘The height by great men reached and kept/Were not attained by sudden flight/But they while their companions slept/Were toiling upward in the night.’ This is a great truism. The man Nero, despite considerable inherited wealth had worked hard in the jewelry trade for his considerable prosperity. He was descended from a line of four generations of goldsmiths, was a connoisseur of gold ornaments with a hoard of gold. He was now an old man and over the years had collected quite a number of rare antique gold ware including ancient gold coins. Ner...

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“FLOW OF SOUL” by Sivaram Govindaraj

I got this message from my friend Tim, continents away, in America: ‘There is so much hullabaloo about CHATGPT as they haven’t heard of LODESTAR-8 developed by my team. With the same knowledge source, LS-8 can write by itself. I know you write. Try this software and let me know.’ I loaded LS-8 to enter a competition sponsored by a Reedsy prompt. LS-8 asked me to fill in various fields from choices listed. Some of what I filled are in italics. TITLE: To be filled by U or I?: U. Word length:1K; GENRE: fiction. MAIN CHARACTERS: two females;&nbs...

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“VIVE LA DIFFERENCE” by Sivaram Govindaraj

ISAAC SAYS:I am known as R.Isaac and you will assume I am male. I am Rita Isaac female aged 29. I worked my way using the name Isaac to become an academic in an educational institution teaching mathematics. Let me describe myself to you: I am tall and good-looking. If you take my vital statistics as they are called I will be a sexy female despite my masculine name. I went to a university the USA for a short while but returned without gathering weight in degrees. I was content to become an academic again. I have completed 5 years in the job. ...

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“SEQUEL” by Sivaram Govindaraj

It had rained like it was the coming of the apocalypse. All waterways were flooded. So were all streets and roads. Men and women had to move about in boats to help the needy. The rain had now stopped and relief work was on. The chief minister of the ruling party called a meeting of all concerned to review the situation. The CM said “Our people have suffered a lot due to the rains and are looking to us to ease their problems. See this map on the board before you. The satellite town marked T40 was worst affected and I had sent teams to help. I...

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“CEASER'S DISAPPEARANCE” by Sivaram Govindaraj

This is not an historical story! It is the story of a person whose initials contract to the famous name. If this were to be a one-line story I would say: ‘The judge said the accused deserves no sympathy for what he has done, and I sentence him to undergo 18 months simple imprisonment’. Let me continue the 1K word story: Ceaser was born into a middleclass family in a city in the southernmost tip of India. It took a great deal of sacrifice on the part of his parents to educate him. Fortunately, he was bright and gained scholarships due to whic...

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