A few weeks ago, a local community group posted a link to this, an article that exhorted people to give up circles and cliques and form “U”s instead leaving space for the unattached, the lonely and the misfits. Like most articles I read, I nodded along and moved on. The words, however, hung back, murmuring […]
Read moreAuthor Interview: L. Ryan Storms
I met Lorraine exactly two years ago today at a Writer’s Conference in Philadelphia. We met on the train to Philadelphia and have been friends since. I have rooted along the sidelines as she wrote and wrote some more. I have cheered her decision to publish her book and shared her gorgeous cover art when […]
Read moreThings I Am Grateful For This Year
My phone dings as I walk, interrupting the mellifluous voice of M.S. Subbulakshmi. I ignore the sound and continue walking. The air is chill and my nose is dripping. In the forty minutes that I take to circle the seventy odd homes that comprise my development, I see no other humans. I am home, mildly […]
Read moreWind Beneath My Wings
It is late at night, the darkness a cloak that encourages free-ranging discussion and soul-baring. We walk, my friend and I, our steps in sync. We talk about life choices, career choices, being left without choices, making the most of the cards we hold. We talk of finding balance, of discovering peace, whatever that means […]
Read moreYWW: Day Five
We sat in a circle around the table, a good twenty-five of us. We took turns reading from our work. A few were dramatic, some understated, a good number poignant. I finished reading knowing I aced it. The afternoon we listened to editors from literary magazines offer up tips. We sat as agents shared dos […]
Read moreTo Friends And Friendship – Thank You!
I am strolling through the aisles of my local grocery store looking for that small something to attach to the cards my daughters have worked on meticulously over the last weekend. A bag of pink M&Ms catches my eye. I calculate I should have enough in two bags and add it to my cart. “What […]
Read moreShattered Mirrors And Onions
For years, this scene from a Tamil movie has been stuck in my head, an early precursor of what families are like. Noisy, complicated and messy. The imagery of a shattered mirror to depict fractured relationships has stuck in my mind rising to the fore each time a relationship falls apart from the weight of expectations […]
Read moreUnlikely Friends
A little over six years ago, a bunch of us bloggers had some interesting discussions on what it felt like to be an immigrant. We started with writing posts, carrying on spirited conversations in the comment space and then making the leap to phone calls and eventually meeting in real life. Of these bunch of […]
Read moreOf friends, food and fun
We lay across from each other, half reclined, bodies settled in a comfortable nooks as we traded quips, exchanged parenting hacks and talked about our lives. The clock neared midnight and I half expected her to turn into a pumpkin and the weekend to be a particularly pleasant dream from which I was waking. A […]
Read moreInvesting in relationships
Every week, some times in the afternoon, some times late at night, I get a call or a message on GTalk. Questions that are insightful as well as reflective. They probe into how I am feeling, they offer support when I have not really asked for it out loud. Mostly they are there, silent company […]
Read moreMirrored memories
Taking a break from work yesterday afternoon, I made my way upstairs carrying a load of freshly laundered clothes. Putting them away, my eyes fell on the suitcase I had taken with me on my trip last week. It stood mute as if challenging me to open it up and relive the good times. I […]
Read moreReflections on the years past
As we turn the corner into December and watch the end of the year loom larger ahead, reflections on the year(s) passed creep into my head. It starts slowly. A sense of gratitude sneaks in along with the twinkling lights at night. The chill outside seems to edge the temperatures higher inside me. I feel […]
Read moreWhither friendship?
This past weekend amidst other things, each time I logged into FB, I saw a spate of “Happy Friendship day!” messages. Each time I smiled without fail. A trace of sarcasm escaping with the smile. Then the work week happened and a friend of mine said something along similar lines over email. That got me […]
Read moreFood, Friends, Fun!
My mini break is going rather well. I spent Monday getting stuff done around the home. I went produce shopping after ages and loved it. People ambling about with christmas decorations, the holiday music, the nip in the air all made for a nice outing. Today, I met a good friend for a long, leisurely […]
Read moreFriends are like wine…
they get better with age. This weekend, the whole van-load of us, K, my mom, the girls and I decided to brave our first road trip of sorts. It was not one long stretch rather a day full of driving with breaks in between. The girls fared well and we ended our day with dinner plans […]
Read moreSome good, some bad, all memorable
Continuing with the spring purge I started a week back, I attacked my contacts list with gusto knowing full well that I surely was not in touch with the 700 odd people the machine said were on my contacts list. Scanning the list quickly, some names popped out. Some had a vaguely familiar ring to […]
Read moreBlurring the lines
One windy afternoon in the early 1990’s, I tied raakhi to my close friend in college. At the time I did that I did not give it much thought other than to express my affection for this big burly friend and perhaps expected a kit kat or dairy milk in exchange. The look in his […]
Read moreGrace comes from being
This past Thursday I got home and was faced with the prospect of 2 hours to kill with no K around. Washing and loading the dishwasher my mind went places I wished it did not. I had a couple of voice mails blinking on the phone. One was from our neighbor wondering if she could […]
Read moreFriendship redefined.
Apar of Random Ruminations passed on this cool band of friendship and in her words “been there for me.” I am honored to accept and display it here. As I run through my list of friends and wonder how on earth am I going to mention each of those people who mean so much to […]
Read moreThe More We Get Together…
Oh, the more we get together, Together, together, Oh, the more we get together, The happier we’ll be. For your friends are my friends, And my friends are your friends. Oh, the more we get together, The happier we’ll be! As I sit working from home, I hear squeals of laughter coming from the basement […]
Read moreKindness is a vanilla milkshake!
Yes it is. Let me start at the beginning. I have had a few tough weeks at work earlier this year. Absolutely my doing of course. At a time when I was seriously thinking working in the US was a drag, no friends to lighten your mood up, no one to haul you over to […]
Read more