A humming word

/wrote it for a friend's birthday/ He stood by the courtyard of his storied house surrounded by the canopy of trees He looked around awaiting and watched the hawkers carry their baskets of greens Their tanned torso was their kameez and kutcha roads were now a sole of their shoes from the pit of their empty stomachs, they yodeled, sang, screamed to sell their produce. He dipped his finger to check its warmth of the milk bowl that he had placed on the ground His eyes moved from one corner to the other – from the bakery wallahs to the huge bins, round Yikes, he hated when the milk turned cold and the broken stems and leaves garnished it Still there was no sight of his mate; his legs grew tired and sweaty with no place to sit, Finally, like a beacon of hope, his friend came running towards him His green eyes shone brighter in the sun though its brown-and-white coat Was greasy and shoddy; an endearing charm, like a jersey, he did sport His frown vanished ...

There are few stories that move you to tears and Kabuliwalla by Tagore is one such story. Though the story has only three characters: Mini, the father (the narrator), and Kabuliwalla, it will inch into your heart and move you, deeply. Is it the picture painted by Tagore? The same way that Mini's father is transported to Afghanistan listening to the mere word. So, are we transported. The autumn, the gate, the nuts, and the innocent friendship between Mini and Kabuliwalla. The story is simple: A hawker who visits several houses, meets a young scared girl and slowly forms a perfectly saccharine bond with her. As she talks to the Kabuliwalla and he becomes an enthusiastic listener, you become a mute observer on the porch of Mini's house and wait for the mighty Afghan too. But things slowly take a turn and soon, the Kabuliwala is forgotten till he returns years later. If you haven't read it, I'd nudge you to. After all, a perfect story is one that you live and relive an...

/The years 2008-2013 were filled with learning and wonder. I had freelanced for Young World, The Hindu, where I met Syeda Farida ma'am (Or fondly known as Farida ma'am). This post is an ode to her./ In a world full of fanged monsters, Farida ma'am was a chubby-cheeked angel. The first thing you'd notice were her eyes - calm yet fiery and next, her tenor: a sing-song rhythmic quality that fitted her so well. I first met her at The Hindu office. It was a dream-come-true for me. She offered me coffee, which I reluctantly had and she pored over my blog posts that I printed for her to see.Her eyes lit as she smiled and told me that my interests were in social service, art and literature related articles. And, she suggested me to write in those beats . She gave me some writing tips, since I did not major in journalism. However, I enrolled in one, immediately. Such was her effect! Initially, I was hesitant to speak with Farida ma'am and a couple assignments later, we ...

Dear volunteer with a good ear, The movie, Dear Zindagi directed by Gauri Shinde, that stars Shahrukh Khan and Alia Bhatt, and the more recent, Marriage Story directed by Noah Baumbach, that stars Scarlett Johansson and Adam Driver, clearly underline the need for a therapist. A therapist is a third person who offers a perspective that your biased loved ones cannot. While depression has to be taken seriously, so has to be therapy. You cannot move about saying "Please, talk to me. I will be your ears." Sorry, you're not a student of psychology. Sorry, you're don't champion mental health problems. Skills such as empathy, counselling, trust are embedded in them through years of learning and training and they are professionally adept to handling people with anxiety and mental health issues. If a friend or relative says, I have a stomach pain, you don't say, come I will diagnose it. I have given pudin hara to my friends earlier and they were fine. Yo...

Made in Heaven, a drama series about two wedding planners, focusses on Delhi and its layered classes and the issues that silent domestic issues that plague our country. It is neither melancholic nor apologetic. It is as is It is such a relief to watch protagonists dipped in shades of grey. The story is simple. Two ambitious people run a marriage bureau: Tara Khanna and Karan Mehra. It is a 2020 version of Rishta.com, set in Mumbai. Each episode focusses on the grandeur of marriage, be it grandeur emotions or the pomp and show and camouflaging the societal issues. So, what’s new in this? The screen play, the script is so crisp that you’d root for each character and hope they realise their follies or realise their hidden strength. Tara Khanna, a lower-middle-class ambitious woman, is married to Adil Khanna, a socialite and an entrepreneur. They have an endearing friendship with Faiza, played splendidly by Kalki Koelchin, but she is not the star of the show. Neither is Jauhari, the p...

You are the dancing fox and you are the charming moon You are a dollop of winter Wrapped in June With Your characters, Rusty, Gautam, Suraj, Koki, Uncle Ken And those rolling hills and the mighty mountains Those sumptuous stories And couplets and loony tunes And the endearing tales of love That are clipped too soon

A collection of seven stories, Men without Women by Haruki Murakami isn’t different from his other books, yet it is! The book revolves around relationships, supernatural phenomenon, love, deceit, but the translation in this book lacks the poetic depth that one yearns for in a Murakami book. Few stories are exceptional—it is a habit now for Murakami (genius dripping out at the top of his hat). But a few stories give a Deja-vu feel. Nevertheless, give it a try. The stories that I enjoyed were: 1.        The Woman Driver which starts with the common sentiment that women are bad drivers, it progresses onto a deep friendship between the two protagonists—a woman driver and her employer. Their camaraderie doesn’t translate to any physical relationship and that’s comforting. 2.        Scheherazade, inspired by a character in the Arabic folklore, is about a kleptomaniac, narrated by her paramour. The intricacies of the theft a...