Dear Reader, Two years have passed in quick succession since this author discovered the Bridgerton series. What with a plague running rampant and a show released on the books, one wonders what the greater evil is. While most might argue the widespread death in wake of the plague is definitely the greatest evil to beat, […]
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 […]
I have seen the roads in Aleppo, Dry tarmac and asphalt Flood with a crimson liquid. A mixture of rain and drain water And the lives of little children Seeping through, Broken bones & torn arteries Coloring the streets With their blood. Two little boys Who sat amongst A pile of rubble Smiled, holding each […]
“Feminism – the advocacy of women’s rights on the ground of the equality of the sexes.” When Rama rescued Sita from the hands of the great Lankan Asura, instead of comfort and care for his wife who had just been recovered from a traumatic experience, he asked her to prove to him her […]
As Editor of Vasant Valley Today, my school newspaper, I planned a special supplement for the 70th anniversary of Independence. I had a series of prose written crossing through time in 1947, 2017 and 2047 discussing a variety of issues, problems and progress through the century. I picked nationalism and communalism out of the hat. […]
She is the folkloric woman, Passed down from generation to generation. Body draped in a traditional kanjivaram sari Or perhaps those so finely woven In holy Banaras she is invoked as a Goddess Devi. Reigning from the time That Sita rose from the earth And Draupadi from the flames. ‘Staining’, The name of their husbands […]
The subcontinent is a myriad of colors and faith. We are told to accept those people who have different skin colors, who believe in different Gods, who have different castes, who choose to love boys or girls irrespective of their own gender or decide to choose their own gender. This is the India we look […]
In wake of recent events, I thought I needed to write about what’s been going on around the world and profess my grief in the best way I can. Here’s praying that we can heal and live safe still… I had been ravaged. Scars form ravines on body, scorch marks have become adornments to a […]
They could never seem to capture my silence, It was a thick rigidity that filled the air, Heavy. Dense. They heard my music even though I could not sing A yet shapeless, Formless thing. And they spun me Tighter and tighter, Pulling me tautly Against their calloused hands Giving my amorphous body Shape. Delicate, meandering […]