April 2021. Everyday, my country, India, is touching new heights in the number of Covid19 cases. Every day, more and more people are dying. Every day, we are hearing that someone we know has been infected. After one year, we are back in square one, that too a grimmer one. How did we reach here? …
We The People
The Indian tricolor. Our pride. Vibrant with a message, what we are, what we can be. We are strong and courageous. Peace and truth are our virtues. We are a fertile ground, auspicious and teeming with positive growth. We are moving forward, progressive in our thoughts, actions and development. And isn't our preamble simply beautiful? …
Journal Therapy
My sister and I started writing personal journals when we were super young, less than ten years old I guess. I don't remember who pushed us towards it. It must have been either Ma or Koka, our maternal grandfather. People would gift us corporate diaries, which they had received at new years and we would …
Book Review #75: Mohini the Enchantress
Name: Mohini the EnchantressAuthor: Anuja ChandramouliNo. of Pages: 240Genre: Mythological fictionPublisher: Rupa Publications IndiaPrice: Rs. 295/-Published in: 2020 How did I get it? A PDF copy from the author. THE BLURB SAYS: Elusive as a fragment of a forgotten dream, fragile as a figment from fantasy, Mohini is perfection made possible. Distilled from the essence …
Struggles of Life
Someone I know closely once said to me,"A girl either struggles before her marriage or after her marriage. I think I am struggling now." She was unmarried then. And her struggles, you ask? Well, she didn't get along with her brother's wife who always accused her of things she didn't do; and the brother often …
New Mothers and Grandmothers
I had always wondered why it is a ritual in our society that a woman goes to her mother's home to deliver her child. When I was pregnant with my daughter last year and once she was born in the first month of this year, I got my answers. The reason is the mother of …
The Turning Point
It was the end of my first semester of graduation and I was home for a winter break. I was studying in Kolkata, which was the first metro city I actually stayed in. I was a small town girl, so studying in a metro was a different experience altogether. Suddenly, the world felt bigger and …
Good News Delivered
In our society, family planning is a matter of public concern. Once you get married, you are expected to procreate immediately, as if it is the only reason you got married for. I have already elaborated this social trauma earlier in my post, The "Good" News. But even delivering good news has consequences! Once you …
Winter Warmth
Sunshine during the day, oranges in the afternoon and a cosy fireplace in the evenings. That is how I have always known winters to be. That is how we spend winters in Assam. That is how I wish my winters to be each year. I grew up in the educational town of Assam, Jorhat (in …
Pigeons of Delhi
In the Indian capital, the common pigeon has a consistent presence across the city. The familiar grey pigeons, known as the blue rock pigeons, have a very special place in the city. It is believed that feeding them earns you brownie points to reach heaven. At many prominent traffic signals in the city, islands have …
Natasha'z Points To Ponder 