How do we discuss our bodies?

The other day I read a beautiful, heartfelt article on how we should talk to our daughters about their bodies. The gist of it was to NOT talk about it. At all. That we shouldn't make any comment about it- good or bad. That we should praise them instead for inner traits that have nothing to do with their physique. While after the first read I cheered the powerful message,...

Continue Reading 21 Feb 2016

The Connector in Our Midst

Yesterday I met one of my father's Airforce course mates. If you meet them both, you'd be surprised at how they ever got along. They are just polar opposites in their personalities. My dad is the kind who gets restless after spending just one day bound to home. He's the happiest when he is travelling and meeting family and friends. Jacob uncle, on the other hand, would rather stay home...

Continue Reading 31 Jan 2016

The Umbilical Cord

The umbilical cordOnce cutDanglesFrom the navelTill it dries intoForgotten anatomyUnless you were bornInto a labelThe Umbilical Cord thenBleeds and never leaves asIt ties you to your mother,her mother, your foremothersand stretches to revealthe outlines of painengraved on your backs andthe blood on your bonesSo when other mothers feedtheir unborn what they need,the Othered Mothers seekinherited deeds to teach their childthe skill of unravelling Umbilical Cords morphed into noosesthat kill you by...

Continue Reading 19 Jan 2016

The Big Little Things

Once upon a time, in a far away land, lived a people who did not care for the Little Things. They cared so little for the Little Things that soon the not-so-little things became mere Little Things too. One may wonder what took up all their attention, so much so that they stopped caring for the poor Little Things. Well, it was the Big Things- much much bigger-happening in lands...

Continue Reading 15 Jan 2016

The House

The House was a spectacular sight. Even in the yellowed photo I carried around, it stood tall and proud, reveling in its own grandeur. No one knew for sure how old it was. At the last count, five generations of family had lived and died there, each leaving a mark only my grandmother could tell. Each night before my eyes grew heavy with sleep, she would stroke my head on her...

Continue Reading 05 Jan 2016

A Train Ride Across India

Would you like to accompany me on a train ride from Jabalpur to Bangalore? A journey from central India to South India?Here's the soundtrack to our journey. Plug your earphones in and listen as you travel with me. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sK7riqg2mr4Come with me. Come prepared though. Take your sweaters, jackets, mufflers, gloves. It’s 6.30 am and Jabalpur is very cold now, around 6 degree Celsius. In the station you will see men huddling...

Continue Reading 19 Dec 2015