The other women
I have several sautans. To those unfamiliar with Hindi, sautan means ‘the other wife’ or ‘the husband’s mistress’. So yes, I have to deal with these vixens who distract my husband’s attention so much that my existence…
Welcoming hearts and hearths
That vacation, we kids were told to clean and vacate our rooms as we had guests coming over. It was a familiar dictat. We lived in a two-bedroom house. Every time guests came over, the children would…
A study in contrasts
Both my grandmothers were poles apart. Nani and Dadi. My last memory of seeing them must have been when I was around thirteen. Then we lived in Pondicherry, a lovely coastal town which used to be a…
Memories of another day
Facebook has this feature called ‘Memories’. It is a feature which gives you great learning. Every morning it pops up something which was posted on your timeline on the same date, several years ago. It shows you…
Scorching times ahead
It has been a rather harsh summer. The earth is parched. We hear that wells are drying. We now get restricted water supply at fixed timings. Three hours in the morning and three in the evening. Summers…
Losing your voice
I’m sitting outside a government office. This is one of the best offices in the city, I was told when I was first ushered in. This is now my third time here in the last month. I…
Saying thank you
I looked at my Dad’s face. He looked crest-fallen. As he caught me looking at him, he quietly muttered, “Thank you bhi nahi bola.” (She didn’t even say thank you). It was familiar sight for me. My…
Technical fault
As I reached the departure gate, my eyes fell on the display board. Five out of the seven flights scheduled for that evening were either cancelled or delayed. Jet Airways, of course, had cancelled its flights. But…
The locked door
We were in Hong Kong. On a two day trip. We were travelling with another couple who had kids. We had booked an apartment through AirBnB. It was a risk we were taking as this particular one…
