Short Story:  Havana Mi Amour by Shashank Chimbalkar

In this short story, Shashank Chimbalkar has a unique narrative of a tale within a tale that talks about love and longing in a style that tugs the readers’ hearts.

When I first met Hikmat in the bylane of Vasco, he had a sling bag on him, a blue hippie shirt, and jeans torn near his knees. He was taller, and broad-shouldered than me, and looked like a bodybuilder in his past. The Goan elections were on the verge and the campaigning was in full swing. Hikmat noticed a copy of Kanakadasa in my hand and instantly started to talk about the poems he had loved for years. He spoke about a cafe that serves mutton gosht unlike anywhere in Goa.

I noticed the unusual energy he had as he spoke animatedly, and passionately about the poems. Only Kanaka can write such sublime poetry praising god and also make him part of our daily world, he said and mouthed the poems from his memory. I was impressed. As we walked to the cafe, I noticed the walls were filled with posters, sometimes a dozen people smiling like Gods.