Sitting under these old trees at the Ambassador (Heritage Hotel, New Delhi),I can’t help but feel that they’ve seen everything — the changing skies, the restless footsteps, the city’s noise blending with its memories. There’s something about this place… The air smells of time. I hear the distant traffic, the soft chirping of birds, the… Read more

In Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland, the Mad Hatter looks at Alice — no longer the fearless child but a grown woman, uncertain and careful — and says: “You used to be much more… muchier. You’ve lost your muchness.” That line was never in Lewis Carroll’s book, but it feels like it always belonged. Because… Read more

This morning, after two days of hiatus—aka internet shutdown—the net came back. I opened my eyes, stretched like a yogi… and there it was. The glowing monster, the one that drains life faster than any vampire—my phone screen, full of notifications. And like a true damsel in distress, I whispered, “Oh God, he’s back… INTERNET… Read more

This Sunday morning, while spring-cleaning for Diwali, I was in ruthless mode — yeh nahin chahiye, throw it away. Bag after bag filled with clutter, until my form-help pulled out a couple of old diaries. “Madam, dekh lo,” he said. Curious, I opened one. On the pages before her birthdate 14/02 there it was ,… Read more

It’s been 25 years without you, Hemant.Today I met one of your course mates, and in that moment it felt like time folded. My mind tried to imagine the years you never got — the face you might have worn now. So I did something both brave and foolish: I created an image of you,… Read more

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