Writer's Blog

I suggest you take all prying, protective male eyes (read father, brother & boyfriend) away from this post. And if you happen to like it enough, forward it to all the Bad Boys who have at certain points of time, touched our lives in manifold manifestations. I remember, whenever I have dined out with boring folk, and am therefore wearing the charm of a beatific smile as armour, my eyes veer. They rest and travel to all tables around me. They often land for longer on a man (irrespective of his age) who's armed with a twinkle or glint in his eyes. Sometimes, the eyes take me in enough, and I rarely take the  travel to the man's face. Very often, the eyes hold my attention long enough for my mind to wonder about the lady sitting next to this man. And then, the memories come flooding back. I will skip the specifics of the 'bad boys' I have hung out with. Most of them have been friends from school and college. Some have been more than friends for fleetin...

This post is meant to encapsulate what all women, often end up feeling or growing up to. Or perhaps, 21st century, Indian, working women living in various urban centers.  It's a 15 point piece. Do please let me know your responses to the same. Its after all, your space and your forum. 1. Anyone calling us fat, or mentioning how our hair isn't looking great, or that our skin is somewhat damaged, HURTS. Period. Truth be damned. 2.  Poetry, pearls, flowers,pretty promises and resolutions of faith forever melts our hearts. For centuries, men have made these weapons of our acqueiscence. We ALWAYS  give in to that. Or moves mountains to experience it again. 3. All the shopping in the world versus lacey,soft lingerie. (Preferably french). There's no contest there. Lingerie wins hands down. It makes us feel super beautiful in our own, personal slice of paradise. 4. We can love many men at the same time. and keep it seperate. And if need be, detach from it...

Right now, the background score to my thoughts that flow freely down cyberspace is the masterpiece by Gandhi. Only this time, its sponsored by KFC & some such. Such is the irony of India today:) I actually write in context of our freedom. Not from the British, mind you. I think so much that made sense and that didn't has already been said on that matter. I mean the freedom from the myth of 'beauty'. I spent some slow, unmoving hours in the changing room of Shoppers Stop during sale season before I realised how trapped all women are in the conventional norms of beauty. Each lady took an armload of tops, shirts, shrugs & leggings to try out. And by armloads, I mean serious numbers, big enough to injure a man who runs into that! Then each one crept, stepped, struggled, sucked in her stomach, & did all this to try out the clothes. Then each one called out to a rohan, ratan, akash, joy, jason etc etc etc to check them out! As per my observation in the last f...

I am expecting you to raise your eyebrows in puzzlement  after reading this piece. My thought process began with the folk melodies from Peepli Live that have become the nation’s rage. Composed by my college day favourite Indian Ocean & Raghuvir Yadav, each tune of this film reminds me of the many reporting trips through hinterlands of Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, interior Maharashtra & even, the brightest shade of green that comes alive in Assam's villages. I am not alone in loving the sound of the hinterlands. Or the sounds of the distant cymbal, dholak & chorus vocals echoing in the twilight from temple or tree top gatherings. Almost everyone in my work place is either humming these songs, or uploading them on their ipods and phones, or discussing their charm. For me though, the connect of Peepli Live's music brought back memories of another kind. When I was in college, in Delhi's university's most colorful institute, Hindu College, I ...