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…
Callousness in a crisis
It begins drizzling just as I step into the campus gate. The raindrops come as such a relief in this heat, that I don’t bother to hasten my pace. Soaking in the pleasure of the raindrops falling…
Let sleeping dogs lie
It is hot as I walk to work, and I know it will be hotter by the time I get back. The month of May is like that. The lane between the hospital wards and my lab…
Photo-Prem: How do you want to be remembered?
My own mother was extremely fond of the camera. And those were the days when cameras reels came with a limited option of 36 clicks. She would dress up and pose, and then would enjoy the display…
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 Tehrvi films: Inspired or plagiarized?
It is a strange coincidence that both the films I’ve chosen to watch during a phase when my family is mourning, have the tehrvi, or the ritualistic thirteen days of mourning, as their central theme. The two…
