My calf muscles and hamstrings are sore from bending over one too many times. This time I am on my knees and elbows reaching for a hard to reach inflated ball that is wedged right in the middle of the futon width. I let out a string of curses knowing no one can hear me. […]
Read moreThe Author Life
“So, how does it feel like to be an Author?” I have been asked this question by various friends over the past few days. I laugh and answer that I am living the dream. It is true. This all feels like a dream, a lovely one. The truth though is that the day of the […]
Read moreThe Race Conversation
“What is the meaning of race?” My elbows are flat against the kitchen island, my face level with my girls. “Run?” “Bring children up?” The twins come up with every possible meaning but the one I was curious to know what they knew. We drank our kaapi, set Laddu up so she could Facetime her […]
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: 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 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 moreCOVID-19 Diaries: First Lost Tooth
We are all sitting around our dining table. The afternoon sun feels pleasant as it filters through the window even if it is windy and cold outside. The steam swirls and diffuses into the air from the keerai kootu. I serve the children while the husband dutifully mixes the hot rice, ghee, and kootu for […]
Read moreCOVID-19 Diaries: The Little Things
With this week, we have all been home for over four weeks with the rare exception of the weekly grocery runs by the husband. Some days, the kids and I step out for some sun keeping to the small grassy oval in front of our home. On adventurous days, I even walk the full loop, […]
Read moreCOVID-19 Diaries: I Am The Lottery
I see my reflection on the dirty powder room mirror and pause, really pause. The face staring back at me is beautiful. Perhaps it is the lighting or the two years of sticking to a walking routine or just the effect of being indoors all the time for over a month. I like what I […]
Read moreCOVID-19 Diaries: Schooling Unschooling
It is a day into week three of the five of us at home. This week also marks the start of formal online school for all three children. While I struggled the past two weeks, the knowledge that all of it was optional let me operate a little guilt-free. This week they started easy. About […]
Read moreThe Irrelevance Of Almost Everything
I scan the news. I work. I scan my email. I work. I refresh my Twitter feed as I eat. The stress bands at the base of my neck are back as is a near-constant headache. This time though, I know the cause for the stress, COVID-19 aka Coronavirus. I have watched from afar, in […]
Read moreComing Home
I stand stir-frying okra at the gas stove. It is past our usual dinner time but then it is a Saturday that also involved a solid two-hour nap in the afternoon. The smell of asafetida in oil, the heady scent of turmeric as it mixes and coats the now dry okra takes me back to […]
Read moreTen Years. Many Lessons.
This week marks ten years since we went from being a couple to parents of twins. Each year I struggle with marking the day. Obviously, it is of import to me. It also is of import to my children in ways I cannot measure or understand. I consciously stay away from anything celebratory. I […]
Read moreGreying. Aging.
I declare my #henna #indigo adventure a success! — Lakshmi (@lakshgiri) January 13, 2020 It has been a day since I colored my hair. I pause every time I pass a mirror. I look critically noticing the grey along the sidebangs, the center of my parting. When I think no one is looking, I lean […]
Read moreLooking Back. Looking Forward.
Rituals are just that, repetitive things that we do because they serve some purpose for us. My annual ritual of poring over everything I have written over the year, culling out the ones that mark a transition or milestone of some sort and assembling them to tell the story of my year gives me joy. […]
Read moreThank You For Coming To My TED Talk
“Thank you for coming to my TED talk!” I almost laugh out loud as my inner voice makes this statement in my head. Most mornings, I am on the elliptical walking at a moderate pace while my thoughts and ideas jump from place to place. One day I imagine my book signing. I let my […]
Read moreThe Color Of Regret
The garage rattles noisily when I press the switch. I wince. It is not yet 6:00 am. The breeze feels deliciously chill when I drag the two-wheel toter that houses my garbage bags out to the edge of the driveway. I position it and return for the tub containing recycle trash. I stand for a […]
Read moreUntaught Lessons
I am driving home from my brother’s place. Amma is in the passenger seat beside me. Pattu and Laddu are in the back seat bopping to the music streaming from my phone. In the front, we are catching up on the weekend and trading stories. New Rules by Dua Lipa comes on. I lip sync […]
Read moreA Certain Smugness Of Being
My call is just about over when a frantic text pops up on my phone. I ignore it and focus on being present, engaged and active. The call ends and I pick the phone up and go for a walk. I walk around my office building, a concrete tower that is older, stark and bereft […]
Read moreNotes From A Newly Minted Working Woman
I survey the place around me from my elevated perch. I am on the elliptical chanting Vishnu Sahasranamam while pushing my body to do more, to sweat more. Laddu walks down from the bed. Her hair is mussed, her face unwashed and sticky from sleep. She lazes on the sofa before me. The twins are […]
Read moreSilent Epidemics
Special Needs Mom. I roll over that label in my head. It feels alien, like when you first refer to yourself as Mrs or spell out your address to friends for the first time. You are not quite sure how you arrived there. But you are there, with all the baggage that comes with that […]
Read more