The court was modest by design. It did not announce power so much as contain it. Pillars stood without ornament. The floor bore the soft polish of years of movement rather than display. Incense burned lightly near the doorway, its presence more habitual than ceremonial, a faint sweetness that mingled with paper, oil, and the dust carried in on feet that had walked far to arrive. Indore preferred usefulness to awe. It measured its authority in rooms that could be entered without rehearsal…
To read the full story and 19 other short stories in this series click on the links below:
This story is a part of the book “Lives Between the Dates“, my first printed collection of short stories, bringing together twenty well thought moments from twenty well known lives across twenty Indian cities. These stories do not revisit achievement. They enter the quieter hours around it. The hesitation before action. The doubt behind conviction.
Rooted in real places and shaped by history, this collection gathers the unrecorded moments that define a life more truthfully than any monument.
If you have found something here that stayed with you, some of my other books are now available in print and digital editions. They gather longer journeys, quieter questions, and stories that continue beyond this page.
Nice. I love the description here. Although for its humility it still sounds like a palace
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Dear MM, that is such an interesting observation.
I wanted the place to carry a certain dignity without ever tipping into grandeur. Sometimes humility has its own architecture. High ceilings of memory, corridors lined with restraint, light that enters carefully. It can feel palatial not because of wealth, but because of the weight it holds.
If it sounded like a palace, perhaps it is because institutions built on quiet authority often carry that echo. Not in marble and gold, but in history and discipline.
I am glad the description stayed with you. When a space feels real enough to question, it has begun to live.
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I already see it in my mind. It looks wonderful.
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I am ever grateful for feeling my stories to such deep levels. Your appreciation works as a mighty encouragement to my writing efforts.
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And your writing is the medicine my soul sometimes needs to heal and rest. Thank you for that my friend 🙏
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You are most welcome MM.
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🙏👍
Aum Shanti
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Thank you so much.
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