The clean and the unclean
My mobile phone rings while I’m in the middle of work. It is the delivery man from Amazon. I had ordered some computer peripherals which were slightly expensive. Since my landlady’s house was out of bounds due…
The bloodsuckers
It was around 7 pm. I had flown from Nagpur to Delhi that afternoon. Then got on the airport metro to New Delhi metro station. Next, walked into a group of haggling auto rickshaw drivers, all quoting…
Comfort for the soul
My fingers automatically go towards the green icon among the apps on my phone. Bigbasket. It is like a daily ritual now. Get bored. Scroll through Bigbasket. Add to the list. Order when the list is long…
The dance of death
Every morning on my way to work, I cross this long line of cycle rickshaws, autos and parked cars. And in seven minutes as I cross that patch, I overhear bits and pieces of conversations which give…
The curious cases of the false-negative RT-PCR tests
I find it unusual. I have returned to Delhi, and even after two days my landlady has not paid me a visit. She is one warm woman, and perhaps needs someone to listen, and so she often…
The death of logic
The turbulence starts even as the flight is beginning to land in Nagpur. If it weren’t for the turbulence already on my mind, I would have been unnerved by the shaking of the aircraft. Nagpur is awash…
Memories from a shared childhood
In Bangalore, two schools, Sacred Hearts Girls’ School and St Anthony’s Boys’ School, shared a common boundary wall. I studied in the former, and my brother, Manish, studied in the kindergarten in the latter. The schools were…
The walls around us
As we exit Delhi airport, my eyes spot a pink ‘Women on Wheels’ board. There is no queue in front of it, and I prefer to book a cab there. The heavy suitcases I am carrying squeeze…
Travel in the times of corona
I am flying anywhere after precisely fourteen months. And it feels awkward and unfamiliar to be carrying a negative RT-PCR report with the boarding pass. In the departure lounge, alternate seats have yellow stickers saying “Do not…
