I grew up reading ‘Gone With The Wind.’ Then, I thought of slavery in a romanticized, removed manner that had nothing to do with reality. That classic tome, written by a white woman, made me think of slaves as dancing around in the grand, white mansions while their white owners indulged them. The Mammas were […]
‘If you can spend a perfectly useless afternoon in a perfectly useless manner, you have learnt how to live’ – Lin Yutang Lin Yutang was a Chinese philosopher who knew how to lead the good life. I clearly am not a philosopher, and neither do I seem to be doing great at leading the good life. But there was […]
“Gratitude turns what we have into enough.” – Anonymous. When I started my meditation practice today, it was a bit chilly. (By South India’s standards, not Michigan standards). I meditate on the roof, facing a wall. As has been the case over the last month or so, my meditation is all over the place. I […]
I have been a bit quiet on the writing front. I sit down to write, and then my mind takes me on a whirlwind that has nothing to do with writing. Or I stare at the blank canvas of Google Docs, and I can’t bid the words to emerge from where they are colliding with […]
There are some books that are beautiful and transformative. With gentle kindness, they invite us to embrace ourselves. They call on us to accept change. They allow us to free ourselves. Vanessa Zuisei’s ‘Still Running’ is one of those books. When I read this last month, I had no idea that this book would take […]
“It’s too late.” In my mind, those are some of the most damnable words in the Universe. Along with “If only.” Those are the words we tell ourselves when we brush aside our regrets, pile up our weaknesses, and refuse to meet our strengths. When was the last time you told yourself “it’s too late?” […]
The recent death of a popular actor by suicide triggered a wave of conversations in India around mental health in the last few weeks. I don’t watch too many Bollywood movies, but the young actor’s death seemed to have struck a chord across the country. I don’t know why it was so. Was it because […]
Over the last week, at least 6 people have messaged or spoken to me about the restlessness they are going through with this pandemic. Make that 7. I will include myself in that list. As the conversations flowed, over email, text, and phone, I could only offer crumbs of comfort. Cliches. “It will get better.” […]
Someone I knew used to love buying me soap from Kerala. Don’t ask me why. I don’t want to know. Now, it has been months since this person left my life for good. But the other day, before Bangalore’s second lockdown began, I went to my now-desolate apartment to pick up some books. When I […]