The Sa-Sha-Sh Conundrum
I often wonder what makes parents decide the names of their children. Our parents named the three of us- Anshu, Manish and Ashish. Now there is nothing wrong with that. In fact when you say the names…
The meaning of freedom
The main road near my house has been dug up for major repair work. Vehicles have to navigate trepidatiously as only half the narrow road is available for movement. It is expected to take almost four months…
Never say never
As a child I detested dahi (curds). I used to eat dahi but something happened which put this food item off my list of edible things. One afternoon after school, as I was eating off my Dad’s…
She never called me Kanniya
Three days into my wedding, sitting in the bedroom, I overheard a furore in the kitchen. It was an anxious phase for me. I was still getting used to a strange new culture and tradition in a…
To pee or not to pee
It was a Sunday, but I had pending work piled up. So I decided to spend the morning in the office finishing off some work. At noon, as I exited the department, I noticed two middle-aged women…
And the heavens open up
I wake up before dawn as the lunch boxes have to be packed. As I am rolling out the phulkas, I hear a different bird song. It is a song that I haven’t heard since a year,…
Of mobs and herds
This is an anecdote narrated to me by my friend several years ago. But it has stayed with me for what it taught me. My friend was on her way to school with her sister on her…
At the mercy of a deaf system
The year 1995. Our Unit was on emergency duty that Saturday. I was posted in the ward, while my seniors managed the casualty. Around five in the evening, a group of around eight or nine patients were…
The choice
She looked longingly at my cupboard and said, “Can you lend me a salwar kameez which you don’t wear often?” I had never ever seen my mother in a salwar kameez as far as I could remember.…
