Let me tell you a story. A travel story. In 2003, I was teaching Spoken English in a tiny city called Lianyungang, China. It was the first time I was in a foreign country. Living by myself. Teaching a language I wasn’t confident speaking. And had narrowly escaped the confines of a Chinese prison. (A story […]
My best date ever. 🌹 I have been in love with Oscar Wilde since I read ‘A Picture of Dorian Gray.’ I love the writer’s wit, humor, and brevity that still brims with soul. The novel was considered vulgar for its homosexual overtones and was banned. Wilde anticipated this already with a classic quote from […]
Today marks a confluence of New Years. I love celebrating New Year’s. There was a time in my life when I made it a point to celebrate the New Year in a different country every year. I have seen the New Year ushered in Wadi Rum, Jordan, with a singing bedouin who proposed marriage to […]
The last few days have been trying for me as I watched the light of my life – my mother – hospitalized yet again. It scares me to see her like this, and my heart is restless. As always, I turn to what gives me the most succor: words and, through them, memories. And this […]
“Happiness is a mysterious thing, to be found somewhere between too little and too much.” – Ruskin Bond If you are a book lover, you can’t really visit Mussoorie without realizing that this is Ruskin Bond territory. You see it in the winding roads and rolling hills. You hear it in a chirp or a […]
February is the month of love, isn’t it? That Hallmark-magnetized celebration on February 14th?It’s only fitting that I tell you I celebrate this month with not one Valentine but five. I am not polyamorous, but these Valentines are my forever corners – I go to bed knowing they have my back. Meet my Valentines: Voozy […]
Who remembers Malgudi Days? Right from the time I remember watching ‘Malgudi Days’ on Doordarshan as a kid, I have been drawn to RK Narayan’s world. It’s a world of humor, witty observations, and philosophical ruminations on life, and one that holds our humanity in the deepest compassion. There’s no better pilgrimage for a writer […]
Sometimes, running isn’t about the run at all. I spent the first Sunday of January running 42km in the bone-crunching humidity of Chennai. I sailed through the beginning, thought I was a rockstar in the middle, and crumbled in desperation at the end, wondering how I would ever reach the finish line. You see…a perfect […]
That’s me at the Thiruvanmiyur beach in Chennai last week. Let me tell you a story about that bench. Our memories are transitory. They shift and change. And as we grow into them, their character changes. Scientists know that our memories are fallible. They also know that the brain is hardwired to remember the bad […]