When patriotic songs rent the air
It is the 15th of August. India is bathed in the colours of the tricolour- saffron, white and green- as it celebrates its anniversary of freedom from the British imperial powers. From dawn to dusk, you hear…
Sharing her happiness
It was Khushi’s birthday. She is my niece’s daughter. And we were in Nagpur for the celebrations. It was her eighth birthday. As people walked in I observed Khushi’s guest list curiously. She had decided who she…
The Intruder in my Dreams
I am a dreamer. I dream every night. They are long-winding technicolour dreams. And the best part is- I remember my dreams vividly. Just this morning I was dreaming a multi-part dream (they do exist, if you…
The pensive pen stories
We were on vacation in Ootacamund that summer. Ooty. We were staying at Lawrence School, Lovedale, where Do aur Do Paanch was recently shot. My father was attending a summer training there and we accompanied him to…
The loony goon
I was assisting an appendicectomy in the middle of the night in the operating room, when a senior colleague came up and offered to take my place. ‘There’s a message from the casualty,” he said, “They are…
The words in my head
“Ask her not to waste her time writing blogs, and switch to more productive things.” The message that I receive, doesn’t bother about being subtle, and is in my face. I pause for a moment to imbibe…
Bridging the divide
There are two vivid images in my mind from my years in Pondicherry. I must have been seven or eight years old then. The first image is of glass from the windows of our classroom shattering noisily,…
Nothing can bring back the hour
The auto-rickshaw swerved, trying to avoid the many potholes on the road, while I clutched desperately on to my suitcases. This was going to be a long break. We were on the way to the railway station…
Clipped wings and our silences
“Care for a coffee break?”, I asked my colleague, peeping into her room. She looked at the papers strewn on her desk with a frown and shrugged. “You go ahead. I have work,” she smiled weakly. “No,…
A bloody night to remember
It was the winter of 1995. I had just wrapped up work for the day and stepped out of the Surgery ward where I was posted. “Doctor!” I heard a voice behind me. I turned around to…
