I have sat at my window Today To see the sun rise… The golden fairy lights Are draped Over the trees Like golden blooms of Late fall bougainvillea, And they twinkle out Fading from the night as Sunlight showers the ground. A typical October morning With smoggy skies, Filled with The fragrance of Diwali The […]

Complimenting my previous post Shades on Delhi~ (https://thezoyaproject.com/2020/10/21/shades-of-september-discovering-the-color-of-delhi/) and it’s artwork here are the books I read, to understand the character, history and secrets of my beloved city. Delhi isn’t just a city, she is a character, just as she is in my life. Delhi, by Khushwant Singh Twilight in Delhi, by Ahmed Ali The […]

I have been born and raised in Delhi. It’s a city of contradictions. Here the magic of Mughlai history is paradoxical to the dirty streets and gol-gappa vendors that you know hold the chance of painful food poisoning within the teekha paani. It’s messy and polluted, and steeped in an array of cultures all while […]

I quite enjoyed this book by Katherine McGee. Her previous series lost me at book one, but that might have also been the fact that it took three years for the entire series to come out. So I’m glad I picked this up right before I picked up Majesty. This was a very new concept. […]

I have seen The stars, And all the stories You have embroidered In their arms. I have seen the sirens Hanging on the tips Of the moon, Singing a bewitching melody, For the sailors Roaming the skies. Those Who drink rum And those Chasing Dragons With fiery breath That pursue Falling stars To the ends […]

CASSIOPEIA ~ the vain queen They cut my features From the cosmic brilliance, Of every beautiful thing The world had produced. The blood gushing around my body In whorls of white, Like the salted tips of Every ocean wave Pulled towards the night sky. Will they tell you the stories Written by winners and stars […]

ANDROMEDA ~ the maiden of sorrow They must have examined The light bouncing off Teardrops, Before they placed me In the sky. That tiny glimmer Of white light In a single drop That gleams gold and silver. A single drop Of molten stardust Extricated from mortal bodies So unlike The sea spray From the angry […]

PAVO ~ the peacock I let my light, leak out of my veins Translucent and silver. I let it, dance around the cosmos Skating amongst the planets And all the other rocks and dust, Spreading out like Long fingers Splayed across the universe In an eternal hold. I let it drip slowly Leaving streaks of […]

The stars are a wondrous thing to behold. They twinkle in the dark skies like little beacons of hope. A reminder of the light. For me, they’ve always held enchantment. The constellations even more so. After all, the stars are placed in the cosmos in no particular order. It is we who give them an […]

Indian marriages are considered sacred unions. Once the pheras have been taken and the ‘swaha’ said it’s permanent, this is the way of life. Divorce is a rare option. In some ways I find myself pondering the flip side of the Indian marital coin. We’re taught that once the mangalsutra is on and the sindoor […]