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It was one of those lazy mornings in Folsom with my kids, Gauri and Matthew. The coffee machine at home had gone on strike, so I asked Gauri to walk me to the nearby Starbucks. She raised an eyebrow: “Mom, seriously?” I lowered my voice like I was confessing a crime: “Beta, I can’t face Read more

Maybe the one I need to forgive, give another chance, or hold tightly… isn’t someone else at all.Maybe it’s the girl I’ve kept waiting in the shadows of my own heart. For a long time, I thought my anger was directed at others. But deep inside, it was turned on myself—for the mistakes I made, Read more

Someone told me, “You’re so strong and confident.”Sweetie, no. I’m not strong — I just never got the luxury of other options. When life hurled lemons, I could’ve sucked on them (teeth chatter 🤪), or drowned in acidity. Instead, I made lemonade… sometimes vodka. 🍸 (Just the kind my Dad relishes, neat and sharp!) But Read more

These days, rudeness walks around wearing sunglasses and calling itself “straightforwardness.” They say something harsh, watch your face fall, and then swoop in with—“Oh come on, don’t be so sensitive. I’m just being honest.”Translation: I’m rude, but let me make it your fault. 🙃 And there you are, doubting yourself… Was I overreacting? Did I Read more

I see it in her eyes lot of times.Whenshe looks at me with that pause behind her smile, and I shatter a bit inside.She wants me to believe his absence doesn’t matter.But I know it does. I saw it at her graduation…her first job .. her marriage..I see it in the way her heart beats Read more

We buy Huskies that faint in our summers. Labradors that shed like snowfall. Rottweilers that make headlines when something goes wrong. And in that blind chase for “foreign,” our own jewels — Rajapalayam, Kombai, Kanni, Chippiparai down South, the Rampur hound up North — are slipping away. These weren’t just pets. They ran with kings, Read more

“From butter tea mornings to Capfus giggles, a Ladakh tale steeped in love and innocence.” ….In Basgo, mornings begin with butter tea and laughter swirling in the mountain air. Two Dolmas, a little white Alto, and me—driving through Ladakh’s endless roads, where monastery bells echo, momos steam in the kitchen, and even cappuccino has a Read more

“Happy Birthday, Hemant”🥹🫶🏻❤️ “See you soon, Di,” you said that July afternoon.Blue shirt, khakis, glinting eyes, that half-smile at the corners. My handsome little brother more than my cousin. I was rushing—just a week’s leave for our sister’s wedding. You opened the car door, “Di… write letters.”I laughed, “Where do I have time? PG kar Read more

There I sit, in the middle of good old Bareilly traffic —Unmoving. Unblinking. Accepting my fate with zen-like grace. And behind me… one hopeful honker.Going at it like his horn has magical powers. Clearly, he believes that if he just honks long enough…my humble chotu si car will suddenly grow wings,sprout a propeller, and take Read more

Every summer vacation, I found myself in Pithoragarh — then a sleepy little town in the hills of Uttarakhand, where my Naani Maa’s small pahadi house stood right near the market. The wooden floors creaked in rhythm with time, and a small courtyard smelled of wet earth and freshly plucked aadu. But most vivid in Read more