Chandra Shekhar Bhatnagar

Two women lay side by side, waiting for their babies to be delivered. The first woman had her delivery first and the second woman felt a sickening feeling to hear that the child had been born with malformed limbs. Even during her tremendous labor pain, she could hear the other woman's superstitious mother-in-law rebuking her for chopping vegetables during a solar eclipse. And barely five minutes later, the second woman delivered her child....without any physical abnormality.

In the early morning hours on Saturday, November 16, 1968, the nurse slapped me in the bottom....and I breathed in and wailed, much to the delight of all concerned.

I was born at Faridabad in India and grew up at Patiala, which is in the state of Punjab in India. A part of my childhood saw Punjab go through a tough militant phase. Guided by the love for our homeland, my parents and myself did not relocate, though the indiscriminate killings and fear psychosis did take a psychological toll on us.

I completed my masters degree in Business Management and doctorate in commerce from Punjabi University at Patiala.

At present, I teach finance curriculum at The University of the West Indies, St. Augustine Campus in Trinidad (West Indies). I also write poetry and short stories. My first work in literary fiction "The Farewell Ride and other Stories" is available at Amazon.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Farewell-Ride-and-Other-Stories/271085173005146