Kumao, I say bowing deeply as I thank Saathi for something. He laughs. Dey, Kha, Saranghae. The words slip easily into conversation. My head is a soup of words in various languages at all times. I gush over the latest show I am watching to a friend and she says “They all look the same…
Hot on the heels of the recent Sanjay Subrahmanyan (@sanjaysub) concert in Philadelphia, a friend and I were chatting and she said “He was outstanding! The best I can explain is he makes love with his voice” I nodded heartily and we moved on to other things but I kept going back to her statement…
Our lives glide smoothly, seamless on predetermined paths. Occasionally, I pass you in the distance, the tilt of the head, the familiar gait causing my heart to quicken and a smile to appear on my face. Sometimes, I notice a picture on your status and I linger just a moment before I move on. Sometimes,…
It is quiet in the morning as I unload the dishes. There is enough light to make it seem like it is later than it actually is. A deer is cavorting in my yard. The vegetation looks sinfully lush. A baby deer gambols outside the fence waiting for the mother. Amid the greenery, I spy…
The yearning to go back to the place I once called home has been deepening, solidifying into something tangible in my body. When writers and poets talk about the pull of the land, I feel it these days, the weight, the tactile feeling of being attached to land, smells and, the memories they bring with…
The euphoria of the new year, the promise of a fresh start has faded. Omicron has done its rounds. Masks are second nature when we step out (if we do). We are pros at swabbing our noses and testing at home. In the year three since the plague, the ‘before’ part feels nebulous, out of…
I begin most days with cooking prep followed by a sort of brisk walk around my home as I listen to podcasts on the YouTube app. My playlist is filled with astrologers. Some are quick takes on mundane astrology, weighing in on the pressing news of the moment. Some are rambling philosophical takes on the…
I have not been posting as much as I once did. It is not for lack of things to say. On any given day my head is churning with thoughts – some radical, some mundane and, a few personal. I even type them out but pause before I hit publish. When I started this blog,…
“Two more days before school starts!” My youngest literally springs down the steps two at a time, her energy too bright for the morning. I am yet to have my coffee. I am grumpy. “One more day…” I correct her. “We are already on Saturday. One more day and you start school the following day.”…
The past few weeks have been eye-opening for me personally. I have put myself in rooms where I am not comfortable, rooms where at times, I have worried for my physical safety, rooms which I left with my heart quaking, arms and legs shaking. The words I heard in these rooms rudely brought me to…
A couple of years ago, I started searching for videos predicting the outcome of the 2016 US Presidential election, not data-based predictions but ones based on the US Sibly chart or the ones that used the then contenders’ charts. As I listened to astrologers opine about planetary placements, I watched because, at that time in…
I was logged in to work, early for a Friday morning that is, when Laddu, also logged into her school iPad in the same room, walked up to me. Her face was serious. I removed my ear phones and gave her my full attention preparing myself to send a note to her teacher whatever the…
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…
Towards the end of 2019, I received an email from Urbi asking if I would like to read a book she had translated. She sent me a blurb and I was definitely interested. I forgot all about it until the book turned up in my mailbox in February of this year. It is a slim…
Read more Nalak By Abanindranath Tagore – Translated by Urbi Bhaduri
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…
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…
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…
Earlier this week, a friend shared this letter (excerpt 3). Words that have stuck with me for over two decades now when I first discovered Bach and the Bridge Across Forever. There was even a time when I thought I could not get married to someone who cannot discuss stuff like this with me. Eighteen years…
I chew thoughtfully, very aware of the camera’s gaze on me. I try and ignore its presence. Sometimes I am successful. I go about my day aware of a third unseeing eye in the house. My children color on pages, the camera a benign presence. They chat about inane things. Sometimes, they say something profound.…
Late last evening, I sat with a new friend at the dining hall sipping tea and nibbling on tea cake as she ate her dinner. She mentioned she was planning to see New York City and shamelessly I asked if I could tag along. She agreed and before she could change her mind, we made…
I left home bright and early and caught the morning train from home to Philadelphia and from there the connection to New Haven. Going by train was a throwback to the countless journeys in India between Coimbatore and Chennai and later Chennai and Bangalore. The sense of timelessness knowing you are on your own with…
Lakshmi Iyer 