I woke up this morning feeling incredibly blessed. Yesterday was a dream come true. It was my book birthday. I was live on FB, joined by a handful of family and friends. I answered questions. I cut a cake as they cheered on. My local friends joined for a bite of the cake. My brother […]
Read moreDreams: The Long Story
In a few days, “Why is my Hair Curly?” will officially be out in the world in paperback. In itself, this day will be no different from the day the Kindle or Audible versions were released. In the words of a wise friend, “the story is no longer yours, let it fly”. Last year, after […]
Read moreInterview with Lakshmi Iyer: How to Grow your Blog as an Author
Hear from veteran blogger and new author, Lakshmi Iyer, as she talks about her blog, her first book and her journey as an adoptive mother. Continue … Interview with Lakshmi Iyer: How to Grow your Blog as an Author
Read moreUnboxing Happiness
The package lay on the floor, tossed carelessly by a child who found it on the front porch. It lay there unclaimed until I took a break from work to get some water. I picked it off the floor, noticed the absence of any Amazon branding and wondered who might have sent me something. As […]
Read moreCOVID-19 Diaries: Doom
My right eye twitches. I press my finger on the jumping nerve to still it. Tears poke behind my eyelids. My eyes burn. I am feeling feverish from a lack of sleep and running on adrenaline for two weeks now. My phone lights up with a notification. An extended family member reaches out hearing of […]
Read moreCOVID-19 Diaries: Direct Hit
Over the weeks, I have mused countless times about how much the pandemic occupies my thoughts. I have imagined in vivid detail what the virus does and can do to our bodies. I have feared that someone dear to me might be affected. Amma spiked a fever ten days ago. A mild fever she said. […]
Read moreCOVID-19 Diaries: Longing
It is past bedtime but the five of us are crowded around my laptop peering into the screen. My siblings and their families are in small rectangles on the display. It is chaotic. It is loud. We sing off key as my niece cuts her birthday cake. The whole meeting is less than thirty minutes. […]
Read moreCOVID-19 Diaries: Politics, Race, Children
There is a pain between my shoulder blades that is nagging. It has been a week. I lower myself to the ground so my upper back can find something firm to rest upon. My kaapi is by the side. I snack on cheese curls as I scroll through my feed. Hasan Minhaj’s video has been […]
Read moreMilestone: Fifth Grade Graduation
For the last day of the school year, today did not seem any different from the three months preceding this. When the school decided to close on March 13th, there were no goodbyes, no last day pictures, no walkouts to cheering children, no teary-eyed parents waiting in the wings to ferry their children to douse […]
Read moreAdoption: Do Not Adopt Unless You WANT To
I woke up to a message on FB with a link to this Buzzfeed article on Myka Stauffer. Prior to reading the article, I had no idea who she was. It is a reflection on how little I am connected to the world of influencers and their ilk. I read the article a few times. […]
Read moreCOVID-19 Diaries: Ceding Control
Waiting. This word in itself sums up the entirety of my existence these days. I am waiting for many things. Sometimes, it feels like all of my life is one big wait for something to happen. Everything is scripted in my head, the joys, the grief, the anticipation, the highs, the lows. It is frozen […]
Read moreCOVID-19 Diaries: Moments
She is seated on the kitchen island, a tad too big, still small enough as she watches her Appa eat sautéed brinjal and warm rice. Every now and then, she would look inquiringly at her dad and he would oblige, the way parent birds feed babies. “Is this your dinner?” her question is thoughtful. Her […]
Read moreCOVID-19 Diaries: Emotional
I have broken down every alternate day this week. Some days it’s been a full meltdown replete with ugly crying. Other days, it has been that heavy feeling in the head, with the tears hovering right inside my eyelids, threatening to fall. Today, the emotions are of a different kind. I received the final versions […]
Read moreFilm Review: the half of it
About twenty-three years ago, I created my first personal email account. It was an account that I shared with my best friend. It was also an account that saw a lot of emails go back and forth with “pen pals”, people we did not know. There were no smartphones, no way to scan and send […]
Read moreCOVID-19 Diaries: Jugaad
I am in the bedroom browsing through my phone when I hear Laddu’s voice. “Mommy, my glasses broke.” It takes a minute to register. “What do you mean broke? Broke?” The questions swirled. How? When? Who? In the end, I inspected the glasses, pronounced it dead. The lack of emotion, the lack of panic. The […]
Read moreCOVID-19 Diaries: Good Days. Bad Days.
Yesterday was a bad day. It also was a good day. I started the day with excitement. I woke up brimming with ideas for book promotion. My brain was on overdrive, making lists, thinking of ways to promote the book. I logged into work and diligently prepared for a presentation in the afternoon. I had […]
Read moreBook Update: Why is my hair curly?
So, I have news. “Why is my hair curly?” will be available on Amazon in a few weeks in Kindle format. The physical book will take a couple of months to be available given the lockdown in India. While I wait for the book to be available and permission to share the cover for the […]
Read moreNever Have I Ever… felt so much before
I spent the last two days binge-watching Never Have I Ever on Netflix. I know, I know the hot takes are already out there. The show will have its share of analysis and disparagers. I liked it. I also was irritated by so many things in it. I cried. No, I sobbed at the end […]
Read moreWestland Books – An Author A Day
Westland featured a clip of me reading from my favorite book for their An Author A Day series. https://www.instagram.com/tv/B_mnL6pAWfi/?igshid=113ma58ddrb0j
Read moreCOVID-19 Diaries: Wear Those Dresses
I am speaking on a work call, my palms animated as I to explain my position when I spy Laddu outside my study door. Beyond the mullioned door, she mimes something my preoccupied brain fails to comprehend. I shoo her away and adjust focus back to the matter on hand. The call ends and Laddu […]
Read moreCOVID-19 Diaries: Openness When Confronting Mortality
My watch buzzes and a familiar name pops up. My smile is huge, stretching from ear to ear. I reach for my phone and open the Messages app. It from Gigi, my daughters’ great grandmother of sorts. This time, the picture is of my newborn twins. A week ago, she sent me a picture of […]
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