tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-60879453949467568722024-03-14T09:01:52.395+05:30Wake Up and Smell The Million Dollar StoryThis blog is a six-month project to fund my studies at LSE. I will be writing a short story everyday for these six-months. The first story would be published on the eve of 30th Nov 2007 and the last on would be published on 30th May 2008.Ankur Shankerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05526675402405958335noreply@blogger.comBlogger38125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6087945394946756872.post-31866646949045443072008-06-25T01:26:00.002+05:302008-11-24T01:42:59.579+05:30Updates30th Nov 2007: Wake Up and Smell The Million Dollar Story launched10th Dec 2007: Momentary Lapse of Sanity11th Dec 2007: Back on Track04th Jan 2008: Blog opens to direct advertising - Advertisers/Companies: Get the maximum Aroma out of Stories!25th Jun 2008: The Conclusion** End of an Adventure **I am not going to LSE this year nor will I ever. This is the end of an immensely exciting journey Ankur Shankerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05526675402405958335noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6087945394946756872.post-88467608570271768982008-01-09T04:16:00.000+05:302008-12-12T06:16:30.294+05:30The Story is Still Hot!Auction-led advertising slotsFixed-cost advertising slotsAuction-led advertising slotsThe FIRST BLOG in the world to hold such an Auction!What to bid for?There are five advertisement slots B1, B2, B3, B4 and B5.B1, B2 and B3 are all equally sized (468 pixels x 60 pixels).B4 and B5 are same sized (120 pixels x 600 pixels).Please refer to the pic above which shows the placement of these ad slots. Ankur Shankerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05526675402405958335noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6087945394946756872.post-39468549817242847922008-01-08T01:01:00.000+05:302008-01-08T01:15:17.013+05:30# 32 - A New Beginning - IIAt eleven in the morning that day, he had gotten the news that his company was going to be hostilely taken over by the rival firm. Overnight, he had turned from being the majority shareholder to just a petty player in the company politics. Instead of being angry at being made an outcast in his own company he just chose to keep quiet. He bore this news very calmly.Angesh was disturbed by the fact Ankur Shankerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05526675402405958335noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6087945394946756872.post-27134509297690009902008-01-07T00:01:00.000+05:302008-01-07T00:05:50.877+05:30# 31 - A New Beginning - IHis entire life, he had always stood by one principle - everything happens for our own good. No matter how harshly life treated him he would always come out unscathed, at least in his perception. He would always find a ray of hope even in a mire of deepest troubles. He would say if something had already happened and despite the fact that it bore ominous results for you, there was no point in Ankur Shankerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05526675402405958335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6087945394946756872.post-85800741639009824412008-01-04T00:19:00.000+05:302008-01-04T00:49:13.227+05:30# 30 - Vichitra and Chanchal - IXVichitra called up Deep.‘Hey man how are you doing?’ Vichitra tried to sound as if he was his very good friend.‘I am fine’ Deep was a little confused; he had never heard this voice before.‘So what are you doing nowadays?’ Vichitra continued the conversation casually.‘I am doing engineering. What about you?’ Deep was trying to figure out the voice but anyways he kept up the conversation.‘Oh that’sAnkur Shankerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05526675402405958335noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6087945394946756872.post-53204535404646587482008-01-03T00:13:00.000+05:302008-01-04T00:23:27.766+05:30# 29 - Vichitra and Chanchal - VIIIChanchal was very hurt. After her latest romantic stint she decided she would never get emotional about anyone ever.Now that Vichitra knew Chanchal was no longer going around with Deep, he was also in his usual jovial state. They had again become terrific friends; it was as if nothing had happened.One fine day he was talking to her on the phone and another surprise was waiting for him.‘Vichitra, Ankur Shankerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05526675402405958335noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6087945394946756872.post-59239984695489472362008-01-02T02:20:00.000+05:302008-01-02T02:32:51.556+05:30# 28 - Dangers of Sound Sleeping - Bubblegun to Bubblegum-IVRick’s and Hammer’s latest ride was scarier than the first one. They were sliding down at an alarming speed. The chute was completely dark, and there seemed to be just no end to twists and turns.The ride seemed so long that Rick thought they would end up being on the other side of the planet or whatever it was. When it didn’t get over after some more time also, he thought they had probably jumpedAnkur Shankerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05526675402405958335noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6087945394946756872.post-53258111969566688612007-12-30T01:39:00.000+05:302007-12-30T15:34:18.692+05:30# 27 - Vichitra and Chanchal - VIIVichitra and Chanchal had gotten along so bloody well right from day one when they had met a few months ago that he had never felt the need to say anything to her. He thought it was a tacit understanding that their terrific friendship was supposed to graduate into a fabulous relationship; it was just felt.Chanchal, on the other hand, wanted to restrict their relationship to just what it was – a Ankur Shankerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05526675402405958335noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6087945394946756872.post-34797053345676021862007-12-29T02:06:00.000+05:302007-12-29T02:44:09.674+05:30# 26 - Vichitra and Chanchal - VI‘Vichitra, this guy is bugging me like hell. He is after my life’ said Chanchal.‘Who?’ asked Vichitra.‘Deep who else?’ replied Chanchal as if this was very obvious.‘Oh! You mean that same guy… the one who had some soccer match a few days ago’ remembered Vichitra. It was after a long time that Chanchal had mentioned about him.‘Yeah…’‘So what is the matter?’ asked Vichitra sounding concerned.‘Ankur Shankerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05526675402405958335noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6087945394946756872.post-18152092160119832702007-12-27T01:21:00.000+05:302007-12-27T01:26:53.549+05:30# 25 - Dangers of Sound Sleeping - Bubblegun to Bubblegum-IIIRick and Hammer were in a desperate situation now.They were in a blind alley. The blind end was the wall of the cliff – it shone like steel, and the other end was blocked by two crazy aliens who were supposedly after their lives.Yitteroy and Zitteroy were right at the entrance to the alley. Yitteroy was pursuing them just to observe their movements; he was still confused why his twin had actuallyAnkur Shankerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05526675402405958335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6087945394946756872.post-83244533151663162082007-12-26T01:00:00.000+05:302007-12-26T01:03:30.546+05:30# 24 - Dangers of Sound Sleeping - Bubblegun to Bubblegum-IIHammer saw a small purple-colored bubble coming towards him. He then saw one of the twins holding a hose – it was already aimed at him.Hammer could reach only one conclusion – the bubble was the bullet which that stupid mannequin had just fired. He was aghast. He was sure he was going to die. Dumbfounded he kept staring at the bubble for a few seconds. Suddenly it dawned on him that something wasAnkur Shankerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05526675402405958335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6087945394946756872.post-77660136986994122132007-12-24T02:02:00.000+05:302007-12-24T02:07:16.906+05:30# 23 - Dangers of Sound Sleeping - Bubblegun to Bubblegum-IAs Rick and Hammer couldn’t think of something better to do they thought of roaming about the city.They city was freakishly silent. Their footsteps could also be heard.They must have walked for ten minutes when Rick saw two men in the distance. They were slowly advancing towards them. When they came near, Rick noticed a bag hung on their shoulders and a hose coming out of it. The bag and the hoseAnkur Shankerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05526675402405958335noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6087945394946756872.post-47417460142524650532007-12-23T00:18:00.000+05:302007-12-23T00:22:07.889+05:30# 22 - The Kite Flyer - IIAn hour into it and the job was still half-done. The real ordeal was yet to begin; getting the kite to fly. Bhanu again had to furtively observe other guys how were they dealing with it. After spying for some fifteen minutes he decided to give it a try.Somehow the final stage didn’t turn out to be as tricky as he had expected it to be. There was a gentle breeze blowing that day, which is a Ankur Shankerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05526675402405958335noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6087945394946756872.post-91821952252502251692007-12-22T01:20:00.000+05:302007-12-22T01:26:42.327+05:30# 21 - The Kite Flyer - ISomething led him to open his eyes. He didn’t know what it was. He turned to one side of the bed, and without getting up looked at the bedside table clock; it was seven now. Luckily he was not supposed to go to school this morning. Otherwise he would have had to get up at six. He decided to sleep for some more time.Bhanu had no hurry to wake up early today. This was the first day of the two-monthAnkur Shankerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05526675402405958335noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6087945394946756872.post-69774348970462365112007-12-20T01:52:00.000+05:302007-12-20T02:05:43.122+05:30# 20 - Dangers of Sound Sleeping - The Green Inn-IIWillie was deeply thinking about something.After thinking about it for sometime he forgot what he was actually thinking about. He was now thinking about what it was that he was thinking about. After some more time he stopped thinking altogether.He took one sip of Zooldruad. It tasted like vodka. He wondered if Gingerene had some arrangements to get it imported from Earth.Right when Willie and Ankur Shankerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05526675402405958335noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6087945394946756872.post-85188487493488968602007-12-19T01:06:00.000+05:302007-12-19T01:08:48.719+05:30# 19 - Dangers of Sound Sleeping - The Green Inn-IWillie pulled the door open.As soon as Willie stepped out of the room, he was greeted with a deafening roar.‘What is this noise?’ asked Willie looking totally flustered.Everywhere he looked, he saw people talking to each other. There was no person who was not talking to anyone.Without saying a word, Jupiter simply handed him a pair of ear plugs.Fusterlok had the reputation of being the most Ankur Shankerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05526675402405958335noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6087945394946756872.post-41076616883247956322007-12-18T01:37:00.000+05:302007-12-18T01:47:46.767+05:30# 18 - Dangers of Sound Sleeping - Another Soul-IIIRick had just lowered himself into the opening and he heard a loud howl from just under him.‘Is that you Jupiter?’‘Have we already reached the city?’Hammer could hardly hear even the first question. Hammer wasn’t very far from the opening, and in a moment Rick was on top of him. Rick’s impact pushed Hammer further into the abyss, and they both started to accelerate down the chute.The next few Ankur Shankerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05526675402405958335noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6087945394946756872.post-5627825862844809362007-12-17T12:08:00.000+05:302007-12-18T01:37:37.805+05:30# 17 - Dangers of Sound Sleeping - Another Soul-II‘What do you say?’ asked Rick looking at the city below.‘Can you jump?’As soon as Hammer heard this he quickly stepped back.‘Alright, I am going to jump. I can’t die twice.’Hammer preferred not to say anything. He was sure this guy was the limit of insanity. Anyways he was still intently staring at Rick just to see if he was crazy enough to actually jump.Just as Rick was about to prove him right,Ankur Shankerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05526675402405958335noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6087945394946756872.post-83220366650115431772007-12-16T00:06:00.000+05:302007-12-16T16:38:33.424+05:30# 16 - Dangers of Sound Sleeping - Another Soul-IExactly one kilometer from where Rick had landed another ball had landed at exactly the same time as Rick’s.Hammer got out of the transparent ball. He saw a placard that read ‘ULTERLOK’ and below it in small font ‘This is not a pub’. Anyways he couldn’t care less. Even if it was he was not going to booze at this shady place. He had always had the most expensive of wines and this place didn’t lookAnkur Shankerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05526675402405958335noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6087945394946756872.post-44281149253499045862007-12-15T01:08:00.000+05:302007-12-16T21:33:44.449+05:30# 15 - Vichitra and Chanchal - VChanchal was a normal-looking girl - five foot and five inches tall with a good figure, and she knew really well how to carry herself around. She always looked for variety; she wanted to try out everything in life so that later on she wouldn’t repent she could have done this and she could have done that. She wanted to meet so many people and wanted to have as many friends as she could possibly Ankur Shankerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05526675402405958335noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6087945394946756872.post-6394530626669552252007-12-14T01:12:00.000+05:302007-12-16T16:38:05.357+05:30# 14 - Vichitra and Chanchal - IVVichitra was of course upset about the latest development but he chose to ignore it. He and Chanchal continued talking to each other the way they had always been. In fact if more than anything else, their friendship only strengthened out of this.Two weeks after Chanchal called up at night.‘Hey what’s up?’ chirped in Chanchal.‘Hmm… nothing much! I am reading a book’ replied Vichitra.‘Okay… which Ankur Shankerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05526675402405958335noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6087945394946756872.post-67681922706402736242007-12-13T00:47:00.000+05:302007-12-16T16:37:52.937+05:30# 13 - Vichitra and Chanchal - IIIThe French class was held only on weekends.The next weekend Vichitra was again late for the class. He arrived at eight – late by half an hour. As soon as he entered the class he was glad that Ajitabh was not ducking behind the table. He thought Shararati Jaat was in a good mood today.Vichitra looked for an empty seat. He ran his eyes around the room, and with a jerk he stopped them in the middle.Ankur Shankerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05526675402405958335noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6087945394946756872.post-32333705575198231572007-12-12T00:48:00.000+05:302007-12-16T16:37:38.416+05:30# 12 - Vichitra and Chanchal - IIThe next day it was Vichitra’s turn to arrive late to the class. He was full twenty minutes late.As soon as Vichitra reached the door, he saw Ajitabh ducked behind the table, and the angry young man was just about to fling his pen at him. Today also it was someone’s entry right at this crucial moment that saved Ajitabh from the guy’s vicious temper.Fortunately Vichitra wouldn’t have to sit with Ankur Shankerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05526675402405958335noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6087945394946756872.post-7330704894192151382007-12-11T00:41:00.000+05:302007-12-16T16:37:19.371+05:30# 11 - Vichitra and Chanchal - IIt was Vichitra’s first day at the French class.The class was supposed to begin at 7:30 in the morning. He was ten minutes early, and was sitting quietly in the second row. Other students were also slowly trickling by – most of them looked like they were still sleeping, and they had sleep-walked to the classroom.It was the new session of French semester which was starting that day. Everyone was Ankur Shankerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05526675402405958335noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6087945394946756872.post-90936100940777728382007-12-10T00:22:00.000+05:302007-12-16T16:37:03.639+05:30# 10 - Dangers of Sound Sleeping - The Hijacking-IIIWillie had no idea what was he supposed to do with USEA – unpronounceable silly extinct animal.Neither had Rick any idea how was he going to spot a spaceship.Even Jupiter was clueless how would he find an earth man.While entering the earth’s atmosphere, the space ship lost a vital part. This was the personality-sensor which had the information about the earth man Jupiter was supposed to hijack. Ankur Shankerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05526675402405958335noreply@blogger.com3