Arranged marriage, I believe, is the greatest act of optimism. What could be a bigger testimony of the propensity and capability for adjustment than vowing to spend one’s life with someone whom we don’t know very well or may not have chosen ourselves? What faith Indian children have on their parents to be able to…
Some questions I don’t want answers to: Marriage Edition
I have been pondering about marriage a lot, lately. Partly because it’s been wedding season since the last one month which has been difficult not to notice, and partly because I anticipate questions having to do with my plans for marriage pretty soon. Needless to say that I dread those questions, and the vulgarity of…
A letter I won’t send
You are the quiver in my voice, and the apology in my eyes, So how do I forgive you before your legacy in me dies? I’m supposed to love you, as everyone around keeps reminding me, But you were supposed to love me too! How come your definition of love was never criticized, But my…
Lifting the fog
During a conversation with a friend recently, I said something about myself that caught me off-guard but also felt right, and cathartic. It was as if a thick fog had been pierced, and answers to some tough questions were slowly coming out. In the midst of discussing books and work and research, I had found…
Chasing myself
So much to do, so far to go, So much to conquer and so much to be; My soul that longs to take flight, Can barely be contained in this body. My dreams come bursting through my seams; My feet leap, can’t rest. My heart pounds away to the familiar tune, Of a distant song…
HOME: A whole world living inside a word
Home. Don’t you just love how that sounds? One can almost taste the nostalgia dripping from the syllables as one speaks, while wisps of longing slowly make way for a smile or a sigh. Home. So much contained in a word. Was there ever any other word more pregnant with emotion? Maybe ‘mother’. But seriously,…
From Brothers and Sisters, to Friends
Connecting with our parents as adults is tricky, but no less tricky is connecting with our siblings as adults. One would think that belonging to the same generation and having the same complaints against your parents would mean that you speak the same language, and that it’s enough for understanding each other at least in…
The Gifts of Imperfection: Book Review
This review is for Brene Brown’s book The Gifts of Imperfection: Let Go of Who You Think You’re Supposed to Be and Embrace Who You Are. The book is essentially a map with 10 guideposts for what the author calls Wholehearted living. These 10 guideposts appear simple enough on the surface and are to be…
When the student is ready, the teacher will appear
When the student is ready, the teacher will appear. This saying has been proven to be true for me numerous times. The right book would come along just when I would be desperately looking for it or be in a position to truly appreciate it. It happened for the first time when I was 18….
Let me have my anger, my sadness
I am my mother, and my grandmother, and my great-grandmother; I am all the women that came before me. Don’t ask me to lower my voice, or wipe my tears. Don’t say I have no reason to be angry or upset. You do not see what I see, you do not feel what I feel….
A Rain of Moments 