I Promise

I Promise... A Story Of Love And Deceit

by Tahira Kashyap

I Promise... is a story about a perfectionist. Every job demands the same but who had ever thought of Raghunath, a pyre maker, to be a cynical perfectionist. Each pyre that he made was a masterpiece for him. Every time he built a pyre, his father's instructions used to run over and over again in his head …The wood should not be soft – checked; it should be dry – checked; it should be seven feet in length and two-and-a-half feet in breadth – checked; the hollow ones separated from the solid and heavy ones – checked; the hay and burning material all ready – checked; ghee – checked.

Thirty-two years of his life went by living with the dead. But then somebody's presence changed everything about his existence, for good or for worse? Let us have you decide the same….

I promise... brings Raghunath's life to a question. 'Is it better living dead, when life is like your mistress, or is it better getting a life right before death, like an unfaithful one?'

The perfectly made pyre stood staring at Raghu. Who had ever thought of witnessing one's own pyre? But in Raghu's case, it was justified …read on to know Raghunath's story …a story never told before.

About the Author:-

Tahira Kashyap is a young Mass Communication professor, settled in Mumbai. She ran her own public relations agency, Direct Relations, in Chandigarh. After which she joined Big 92.7 fm as a Programming Head, in Punjab.

The story was conceptualised by her when she was nineteen and with support from her theatre group, Manch Tantra, it got staged as a two hour Hindi play in 2002 by the name 'Socha Na Tha'.