I was always an awkward skinny kid

I was always an awkward skinny kid. Couple that with my height (I’m tall by Indian standards) and there were more than enough jokes by well meaning uncles and aunts on how they can use me as a stick (thotti- a long think stick/bamboo pole) to pluck fruits from high branches.

Continue Reading 11 Sep 2017

Chai. Tea

It was towards the end of fall, when copper corpses of leaves lined most roads, that I bought the first packet of tea for myself. I was in London, doing my Masters, and for the first time beginning to understand what ‘biting cold’ really meant. I needed something to warm me up and remind me of home. Since cooking was out of question back then, I turned to the next...

Continue Reading 10 Sep 2017

Here's to swallowing our pride and learning to accept criticism that helps us grow.

There’s a lot of talk these days of cutting off negative people from your life because they kill your vibe. I am all for the ‘You don’t need this kind of negativity in your life’ line of thought if what we are talking about is toxic relationships and people who are out to pull you down. But that’s the extent to which I will support it. I don’t think you...

Continue Reading 06 Sep 2017

A love note for my brown girls

I’m here, right by you,

Continue Reading 29 Aug 2017

brought them into the world

I want to talk to the parents. The new ones and the old ones. The ones of toddlers and teens and grown adults. I hope you will listen.

Continue Reading 28 Aug 2017

Part of growing up is realising you were scared of the silliest things.

I still remember my primary school ‘aayah’. She used to sit at the same spot everyday and monitor the kids during the lunch break. We had this tree in our school courtyard with tasty berries on them, I don’t know what they are called. My friends and I used to pluck the low hanging ripe ones and gorge on them. Apparently they weren’t supposed to be plucked by students (just...

Continue Reading 23 Aug 2017