Ashok Sharda

Toss of Coin Ashok Sharda

Toss of Coin is an anthology of stories intended to reevaluate human relationship with their god, fellow beings, animals, and plants. Centuries together, people have lived without establishing any kind of real communication. The invariable underlying reason is a conditioned, self-centered mind that closes all doors and windows that lead one to the other. The other in relationship becomes object of subjective convenience. They turn into a replaceable commodity-A is equal to B is equal to C is equal to D, and if D is unavailable can be replaced by C and so on. In normal course, relationship is a happening guided by three metaphysical laws, epitomized by the toss of coin. People become prey to their own internalized self-hypnotic autosuggestions: He or she has light brown hair and eyes, he or she has confident masculine or feminine strides, and they see the aura. Incidentally, the color of the eyes and hair remain, the big frame and the strides remain, and yet the aura turns into that of an abominable bummer when the law turns friend into foe. Relations commencing from akinness of vibrations are built on different footing, developed on some different levels, and is everlasting. Such relationships don't confine to one of umpteen selves but one's whole being. Unfortunately, humans are fond of nomenclaturing relationships but have failed to traverse the path where they can meet one another. They have failed to realize that a good father only exists when exists a bad father. Humans, owing to their insensitive, egocentric, and violent character traits have failed to establish any kind of relationship with animals and plants who live around us. In three of the stories, the author emphasizes the need to extend 'human' hand in love to win their trust. These stories are real-life stories-if not in the depiction of the events, in author's experience-seen not through two normal eyes but on some different dimension personifying the whole experience. His approach to any happening is metaphysical.