A prayer for peace in paradise
On day two of our Kashmir trip, I got into an argument with our driver, Javaid. He said that we would start from Srinagar for Pahalgam the next day at 10 am. Now, both Subodh and I…
Savouring Kashmiri hospitality
We are sailing on a brightly painted shikara on Nigeen lake in Srinagar in Kashmir. We have unexpectedly landed in Srinagar on the day of Eid. Our plans were to travel further north, but those have been…
The apparent parent
I chose not to have children. So I have never had to go through the rigmarole of attending parent-teacher meetings (PTMs as they are called) and have no clue of what this entails. Until now. My niece,…
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…
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…
A surprise at my door
I am in a hurry as it is already ten minutes over my scheduled time to start for work. I quickly stuff my lunch box into my backpack, and also an umbrella as some showers are forecast.…
Buried in the sand
“I was admitted in the hospital with an oxygen mask on my face when my seven-year old video-called me,” he said. “All five members of my family had been detected positive for COVID, and except for my…
