Category: Family
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Coffee And Conversations
She walks down rapidly, a speed that belies what time it is. Her face is scrubbed, a hint of damp from washing her face and drying it. Her fingers are cold as they reach for my arm. Her lips are deliciously chill as they land on my cheek. “Good Morning Amma!” Pattu exclaims as she…
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Of Family Reunions And Impossible Hope
We flew out on Christmas Eve, the five of us, to Florida for a family reunion. One that had been months in planning. One that we had said we wouldn’t join. We left home at 3:30 PM for a 7:30 PM flight. We reached our gate two hours early and then found that the flight…
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The Making of Memories
“I don’t have a family.” Ammu looks glum as she sits beside her appa, her knees drawn to her chest. I am feeding Laddu across the room. My ears perk up but I do not turn, waiting instead to hear what propelled that comment. I hear Saathi’s voice, a hint of amusement in it. “What…
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The In-Between Kind Of Love
It exists, this love between us, in the seconds you pause before you reply to me. It tells me you give weight to my words, consider them as you answer. It exists, in the lift of your head, as you raise your eyes to meet mine, in the middle of chaos before the school bus…
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On kids, growing up and gratitude
I stand on the stoop, Laddu in my arms, the fall air refreshingly crisp. Ammu and Pattu walk along the pavement, their strides keeping pace, their arms gesticulating wildly as they make their way to the bus stop. I stand watching till the bus leaves and I head back inside. Laddu demands to be set down…
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Rainbows near and far
We reached the temple in the late afternoon, the sun playing hide and seek behind rain bearing clouds. Having done our rounds, we found ourselves at the door to the Navagraha sannidhi. Looking up, a rainbow beamed across the sky. Stopping to take pictures, I hurried inside. Falling in step behind my cousin, I walked…
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Space in the middle
We savor each moment. We look at the horizon together, our hands linked by the little ones in between.
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Cake, Gifts and Balloons
I walk quietly, my footfall muffled by the carpet. The silence from Laddu’s room is reassuring. I am about to walk downstairs when the mess that is Ammu’s room catches my eye. I step inside annoyance ruffling my Zen. I pick the blanket up to fold and my eyes are drawn to the handmade card…
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Right here. Right now.
The baby swing in the back yard sways in the breeze. I notice Ammu and Pattu in my peripheral vision trying to dislodge a ‘popsicle’ from the faucet on the outside of the house. It is bitterly cold. My nose burns. I feel alive. I glance absently at the stretch of road visible from my…