Or… the thousand (more or less) words that are hidden in one picture! Basanti sat on a large rock looking at her reflection in the still, clear water of the pond by which she sat… waiting. The midday sun shone brightly on the sparse countryside around her, but a large tree provided a pleasant […]
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Appa
This is the email I wrote on Feb 18, 2004 – the day after my father passed away. The email was addressed to our family email group – and tried to capture the jumble of thoughts that passed through my head on the day after… As we live through this – and try to let […]
Amma
This was written as an email to my family, a week after my mother left us in March 2017, and reproduced here as originally written. Last week, I wrote on my Facebook status as I boarded the flight to India, Amma belongs to the ages. She passed away on the morning of March 2, 2017 […]
Zawlpuan – a Lushai Love Story
This story is written exclusively for the participants of the Team India dance in Archana 2023 – the annual fundraiser for the India Friends Association. One of the costumes we used in this dance was something that we took to calling a ‘lungi’ – just because that was a convenient name for it. However, the […]
PEARL AND THE LAW-GIVER – A LOVE STORY IN LETTERS
These are imaginary letters between two people – I hope you will read them all, and then read the postscript to this love story My Dearest Pearl I trust that you will excuse the liberty that I have taken in addressing you with this term of endearment, a name that suits you so well. […]
When I met a Great Man…
I started writing this as a response on WhatsApp and soon realized that the story I had to tell was much longer and perhaps needed a bit of background, as well as greater detail than could be conveyed in a short text message. The prompt was a comment on an excellent episode of the podcast, […]
Read *ALL* The Words on That Statue
Thanjavur, or Tanjore as it is sometimes stylishly referred to, is a historically significant place in Tamil Nadu. Even among other places of storied interest in the region, it occupies an important place in the culture, history and geography of the Tamil country. The city of Thanjavur, and its surrounding area, nestled in the lush, […]
Streaking … for a whole month!
The title of this essay is deliberately provocative, and although I hope that many of you who read this may be pleasantly surprised, it is just as likely that many of you may have immediately guessed what the ‘streaking’ in the title refers to. I will get to that, eventually – I promise – but […]
An Origin Story
This is an origin story – a story about my origins, because it is based on stories told about my ancestors. This is a slightly fictionalized account of family lore handed down over the years – most of this is true and of course, the main core of this story, the story of divine intervention, […]