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…
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…
Once again: A film where silences speak
Once in a while, while browsing Netflix I stumble upon a film which I ought to have watched earlier. And although the reviews might seem dated, I feel like writing about films which touched me. Once again,…
