It was already past 9 in the morning. The market was about to open, and here I was- paying the price of being a good neighbor. I jabbed the doorbell impatiently. She opened the door right away as if she had been waiting there the whole time. I handed her…

I want to be young again. I want to laugh carelessly and cry unashamedly. I want to believe again- in innocence and guile. I want to be bright and loud. I’m uncomfortable that I’m too comfortable with pastels and neutrals and everything mild. I want to know and look at…

“…Sheila .. Sheila ki Jawaani! I’m too saaxyyyyy for you…” my 5-year-old daughter soulfully screamed at the cars stopped at the traffic signal. It was a particularly long red light. She also took my shushing her as direct encouragement and sang with more gleeful enthusiasm. She made full use of…

2020 has been the most happening year in many years. We started it normally, making plans and resolutions, only to have been brought to a standstill. This is the distillation of what brought me peace in the most anxious times. Reality #1: The world is not here to make your life any easier. Imagine you live in the middle of a desert, where…

I was never meant to be a mother. It was just not supposed to be. Not like this. Not now. It was Amit’s decision. I had simply gone along with the ride. As far as I was concerned our life was already perfect. Amit and I were true soulmates, secure…

Series of 9 Micro Stories from Nov 2019-June 2020 — “We have to move” . . . . are four ominous-sounding words. These 4-word sentences have a way about them that makes them sound like bad news, like “ we need to talk”. Right? The ‘finalness’ of the sentence and yet the uncertainty regarding future circumstances is like a dark cloud hanging over the…

(if that happens) My erstwhile boss used to start every new financial year with a discussion about it being a new journey. Like every journey we need to pack our bag with ideas,habits that will be useful for the coming time and discard the things that are no longer needed…

The best art, literature, poetry have come from deep anguish or longing. Best humor is derived from difficult times and total misery. The best lessons are learnt in failure and best questions are answered when totally desperate. The best challenges give best sense of satisfaction. …

This review is for people who are Murakami newbies and have just read the book and just can’t find the nearest well to climb into (get it?). Why? Because this is a nice 600+ page book at the end of which you really come to know what…