My Saree Stories: Part 20 (Embroideries of India)
India is home to several stunning forms of embroidery. Here is my humble attempt at recording some of the popular embroideries which are featured on sarees. These come from several states of India, and there are distinct…
My Saree Stories: Part 19 (Ikats of India)
The term ikat comes from the Malay word ‘mengikat’ which means to tie or bind. When it comes to the ikat technique, it is difficult to say where it originated. The art of resist dyeing the threads…
Your idea of beauty is not mine
In the month of September, I returned to Sevagram and it was raining. I rode my scooter to work in the morning. Both sides of the road were lined by overgrown bougainvillea. In all possible shades of…
Drama at the departure gates
Airports are buzzing with stories. Scripts can be written and rewritten in minutes. The gates at T3 terminal in Delhi are so far from the security check that I should have been huffing and puffing by the…
Looking back at my fifty
I am wondering why everyone is making such a big deal about this birthday. After all birthdays come and go. I notice little oddities happening around me. Conversations stop abruptly when I enter. I can sniff something…
A donkey’s life
It feels like being whipped. And you are the donkey drawing the cart. The orders come at you fast and furious— like the searing pain inflicted by sharp lashes. And they draw blood. Working under people who…
The intriguing tale of Begum Samru and her haveli
How did an impoverished fourteen-year-old girl in a brothel go on to reign over a wealthy Indian kingdom for more than five decades, during a phase when the mightiest of empires crumbled? It is a story that…
Naughara: A hidden gem in the alleys of Chandni Chowk
Chandni Chowk is Delhi’s most bustling market place. But early on a Sunday morning, immediately after the lockdown, it seems deserted and quiet. Most shops are shut and an ugly knot of criss-crossing electric wires seem to…
Ahaan: A world uncomplicated by guile
In a world which is so complex and contorted by ambitions, goals and guile, 25-year-old Ahaan comes across as refreshingly simple and uncomplicated. His dream in life is: “I want my money. I want to buy my…
Love under the bloody gateway
I see a black dusty blanket, full of holes, placed in one of the recesses of the monument, as I cross the Khooni Darwaza one morning. The Khooni Darwaza or Bloody Doorway is a huge gateway which…
