Category: prose

I Have Many Mothers

Hindi is my Devaki, English is my Yashoda. Marwari is my grandma, Bengali, my maasi-maa (mother’s sister) — and Sanskrit is my great-grandma. Each of them, in their own way, have nurtured me. They all have a very significant place in my life. All the languages of India, indeed all the languages of the world… Continue reading I Have Many Mothers

My Mind and The Internet – The Dangerous Divine Relationship

That was the most lonely and isolated period of my life. Then the internet came to me — when the world was, as per Jesus, in its late 1990s, and I was in my late 20s. My brother had bought home the first computer of the family, despite bitter criticism from my father. He also… Continue reading My Mind and The Internet – The Dangerous Divine Relationship

Blank Pages Shall Remain

Whatever and however much I may write Blank pages shall remain – For the sky is never-ending This is a boon Given to me By the universe itself – The story will not ever end For the sky is never-ending मैं जितना भी जो कुछ भी लिखूँ रिक्त कागज़ रहेंगे क्योंकि अनन्त आकाश है यह… Continue reading Blank Pages Shall Remain

Honor Yourself First – or How To Be A Ninja Ganesha

In the ticketing system of Spice Jet, Indigo, Jet Airways, and yes Air India too, a passenger is “born” when a ticket is booked. A passenger “dies” when the passenger commits suicide (sorry, I meant when the passenger cancels the booking) , or when it is transported to another realm (city!) on the hallowed flight… Continue reading Honor Yourself First – or How To Be A Ninja Ganesha

Processing Pain: What I Have Learned

The child was playing. The child fell down, got hurt and started bawling. The mother (or whichever other elder was in the vicinity) rushed to the aid of the child, picked her up and started consoling her. The child continued bawling. One strategy that mothers (or elders in general) resort to in this situation is… Continue reading Processing Pain: What I Have Learned

When I Marry, My Forgotten Friend Will Do My Makeup

I don’t know if I have forgotten her. If I had, I wouldn’t be writing about her. There is such contradiction inherent in Cheryl Strayed’s writing prompt ‘Write about someone you forgot’ that it is capable of causing nuclear fusion. She was a practicing lawyer in Pakistan. Now in USA, she managed her toddlers full-time,… Continue reading When I Marry, My Forgotten Friend Will Do My Makeup

No Longer Chasing Good Health or Nirvana

In 2008 I was officially diagnosed to have Multiple Sclerosis. In 2017 I have now officially accepted the diagnosis, made it my own. Yes the mind body connection is so deep and intrinsic that maybe two different words ‘mind’ and ‘body’ is a gross misconception. Yes thoughts do impact the body absolutely directly. Ever since… Continue reading No Longer Chasing Good Health or Nirvana

Serve Him Poison

It is not just that He can drink poison, He actually loves drinking poison. Some people say He likes drinking bhaang (a drink made with cannabis, milk and other goodies). It is not easy carrying bhaang but so many of us live with it churning inside us – crazy unpredictable see-saws of exultation and despair.… Continue reading Serve Him Poison