Shop Till You Drop…Dead

Babies are difficult. Yes, that’s an undisputed fact. Doesn’t matter whether you’re a super mama or a mega super mama, or you’ve read all the pre-parenting, post-parenting books. Your baby is going to drive you crazy. Period. But that’s not the point of this post. The point is, I am tired. Not of my baby,…

Motherhood is Rewarding

Do you know who wrote lullabies? I know who didn’t. Extremely exhausted mothers. They couldn’t have written such soothing beautiful words. What they could have written is this: That’s the fan you’re staring at… That’s the air con-di-tion-er… That’s the roo-oom heater…. Your mom is such an eater…! One more time from the top! I…

T-Rex has Arrived!

You remember how the 90’s hindi movies would show leading ladies turning into snakes and back to the human form to protect/avenge their partners and how the killer’s face would reflect in the eyes of this snake lady? I grew up to believe it to be true. I grew up to believe that it was…

When the Enchantress Came Calling

I am back! Just like the terminator.Of course with no intention of saving anybody.Where was I?Well, know if you must, I was happily stuck in the mountains.Another day about that. Today I am writing to do a bit of soul searching. Identity searching to be precise. No, I haven’t lost one. I am just confused…

After the dust had settled and the marriage hullabaloo was over, the time had finally come to move to the husband’s posting location. Akhnoor, he had mentioned. The name had an emotion to it, like it was calling out to you. Kashmir! people gasped. Both in awe and shock. “Are you sure!?” Some would ask….

Of Many Firsts

The house was pretty much set, I just had to move a few things around. The kitchen utilities were laid out neatly; I didn’t know the purpose of many, made a mental note to video call ma. There weren’t many street lights around and I saw two neighbouring houses, one of which looked uninhabited. I…

Welfare Meet 1.0

I was chilling in the Officers’ Mess, when I got my first call on the sarkari phone. I didnt know if I was supposed to answer it. “CO madam baat karengi”. My tongue went dry for some reason, like I had committed treason. I was pretty sure I had messed something up. The husband didn’t…

When the husband wasn’t working, which was never, he was lecturing me on “unit ke taur tareeke” or he was threatening to send me “uss paar”. It was our little joke. It all started when I was on the verge of a nervous breakdown, which was every second day because vanvaas wasn’t going to be…

Let’s not Forget

We are a forgetful bunch. All of us. That’s how we have been programmed; that’s what we’ve heard growing up, “Time heals all…” With time, we tend to forget that which was once important and that which wasn’t, the one who mattered then and the one who’s now in a box. It’s nobody’s fault, I think….

#SayNOtoWar

Time and again, I’ve made an attempt to write about the peculiarity of this place, sometimes resorting to humour, sometimes to pain, and sometimes I’ve narrated things just the way they were; in every way I’ve tried to be truthful to myself and this place. This incident is in the light of a recent event,…