It was a shy afternoon in Koramangala, then one of Bangalore’s ‘emerging’ areas, when I first met Saanvi. I never considered myself gangly, having acquired corners in all the right and wrong places from an early age, but Saanvi was. With her short hair and long limbs, she towered over me. I was never sure […]
A few weeks ago, I was contemplating going to Dharamshala for my year-end vacation. I looked at flights and guesthouses to stay in before changing my mind. I changed my mind when I read that the Dalai Lama rarely gives public talks these days. When I read that the monk has cut down on his […]
What really is friendship? The dictionary says it is the state of being friends. I met a good friend a couple of Saturdays ago and I left her crying. No. Not what you think. I am not a monster all the time. I had been speaking with this friend (and you know who you are, […]
I came across the Chinese phrase, “Wu Wei,” in a book I am reading by Emma Seppala called the “The Happiness Track.” Wu Wei is the heart of Taoist philosophy and roughly translated means “the art of doing nothing.” It can be misinterpreted in many ways, but it does not mean sitting idle. It just […]
It was a day just like any other. Except that it wasn’t. My father is in his corner, in the hall as we like to call it. That’s how I knew it. The hall. The verandah. The bedroom. The kitchen. Now, we have fancier names. Living room. Gazebo. I sip the coffee, hot despite the […]
I had been staring at this prompt for a while now. It took me an hour of staring and mindless browsing before the word for 2017 came to me. Faith. I want this to be my word for 2017. Faith that the Universe will continue to be kind. Faith to believe in dreams. Faith that […]
Gratitude. It’s a strange word, this. It has received an explosion in popularity over the last decade and more. We have gratitude meditation, gratitude journals, and even courses that teach you the art of gratitude. Gratitude has been proven to be a happiness expander. The more we have things we are grateful for, the happier […]
The other day, a friend asked me: What is your dream? I said I dream of earning just enough to travel, to maintain a living where I can provide for my parents, to be able to have the time to read and write, to live without succumbing to the pressures of time. “Those are just […]
I had read this prompt early this morning. I thought that I will honor this prompt. I shall spend a quiet moment today. A moment where I will take my book and I will sit in the park outside my apartment on that bench I had been eyeing all these months. Yes, that’s my quiet […]