(written about a man i met while in the village of jhadpoli) he stares at me his lungi stained with life that never waited for him sagging skin showcased a grey stubble. i walk with an air. he has not smelt. speak with a chin. he has never lifted. my processed cotton and lycra bands the camera that has a bag of its own muddled … Continue reading the unknown man
one of my favourite authors growing up was jane austen. and i read or rather devoured all her books, atleast a couple of times each. i still remember the order: pride & prejudice, emma, persuasion, mansfield park, northanger abbey, sense & sensibility… i didn’t like sense & sensibility. i have watched the BBC production of pride & prejudice twice, watched the movie emma once (not seen … Continue reading ‘living’ in my favourite teenage novels
it was a mom-daughter trip. to sri lanka! there were multiple ways to play it.. go to colombo + kandy and then head down towards galle and mirisa. however we decided we didn’t want to meet the indian ocean (will have to go back there for that one day, as always here such rave reviews about sri lankan beaches) decided to even skip colombo! people … Continue reading sri lanka: exploring the cultural triangle…
this was 15 years ago. my dad worked abroad and i was traveling across the seas to stay with him during my summer break at college. there were a lot of ‘new’ things, first times, to handle! it was my first international flight, and just the third time i was traveling by air anyway. and one of those three times was when i was 8 … Continue reading how a turban made me, a south indian, feel at home!!
i do not get politics and i don’t like to get involved in it… but this has touched a vein deep somewhere. while i am not equipped to comment on politics (don’t know much, or follow much), i am certified to comment on my life! over the last two days, mumbai has been held at ransom. i work from home and have a cocoon-like existence … Continue reading when mumbai came to a standstill…
i visited sri lanka last year and that is the first time i came across a sandakada pahana or moonstone in english.
this is a semi-circular stone that is seen at the entrance of the temples at anuradhapuram and polonnaruwa.
buddhism flourished during the anuradhapuram. this is when the moonstone was supposed to have developed the most and become the most elaborate with intricate carvings. prior to that it was a square slab of stone.
carved in stone, the moonstone embodies the teachings of buddhism.
Continue reading “stepping on the sandakada pahana (moonstone) at srilanka”
there are many beliefs about solar eclipses in india… superstitions. i had heard all these growing up!
bad time. deformations. don’t go out. don’t look at the sun. stay indoors. don’t go out!
in 2010, when the annular solar eclipse was passing and would be visible in india, i decided to go and watch. the inspiration came from a friend who was planning to come down from pune for this, but cancelled her trip. i am no star-gazer, or astronomer. i have studied about eclipses in school, but forgotten most about it. i went because i was curious – to watch a total solar eclipse, to visit rameswaram again.
Continue reading “can i walk out of my house during a solar eclipse?”
the holocaust was a part of this huge war that happened years ago. history, books, stories, movies had built what it was in my head. it was huge. it was drastic. it was despicable. but it was very distant. as an indian, it wasn’t my fight. it had never been. my people at that time were waging another war – on the british raj, for our independence!
on that day, in berlin. it became very real. Continue reading “how the holocaust museum changed history for me…”
there is a sense of freedom, independence and managing all your issues on your own. plus i realise i am more open to the outside world, given that i am not self-sufficient – i seek more, i listen more (eavesdrop more!). i want to form other connections, higher levels of curiosity… more sponge-like,
and at the other end, i can easily retreat into my own world… to music, books, day dreaming… with no one asking me why i am doing that? whether i am bugged, peeved etc? (given that i am a chatter-box!)
preference for the known non-indian exotic? but not excited by unknown indian exotic? even at the same cost?
merry to go around 