15 minutes

i’ve a need.
i’ve a want.
i’ve a distrction.
the need:
in all my privileged naivete used to believe that needs would always be taken care of. given freely. fueled by necessity, why would anyone have to work tirelessly for them. and then i grew up and saw people denied basic needs. i find myself drawn to him all [...]

anangu

I like writing. It makes me happy. I feel certain when I write. It’s a way to divulge all that is inside me on paper. I can share what is in my deepest recesses with the reader. There are very few topics that I’ve been apprehensive about bringing forth- I’m privileged in that respect. Both [...]

miss great britain

“I’ll make you proud even though I’m a girl”- Preeti Desai to her Mother.Under normal circumstances, a woman (any woman), succeeding would make me ecstatic. Furthered only with her motivation and hopefully progressive stance on making things easier for other women. It’s remarkable when women are able to overcome adversities (of gender, race, religion, size, [...]

the new “lost”

When I first moved to NY and didn’t have my tv or cable, I would make Kristo call me in the middle of the night (what would have been close to 3 am eastern time) to tell me what happened on “Lost.” I was enthralled. The twists were surprising. The writing was superb. I [...]

kala/kali…maya/m.i.a.

m.i.a.
my sister from another mother,
you look more beautiful than i remember!
holy kali! have you any idea how amped i am?
i cannot wait!
kala (out august 21) is the sanskrit word for artistic virtues.
i would like to officially state for the record that way back in 2003, i was the one who mentioned her to the poseurs [...]

pieces of peace

When I was young, I lived with my maternal grandparents in a small town in south India. My favorite place in that three story house was on the second floor- my mother’s old room. She had a balcony that faced the street and the temple that seemed to cast a protective aura around us. Visitors [...]

uncovering

pull the palu, twirl me around, uncovering,
hair dancing into your face, grazing your eyes.
skin the color of roasted cumin.
unruly hair flowing into your hands.
black pools of eyes shedding layers to invite you in.
see me, stark and naked.
touch me, pull me close to you.
in the stillness around us
read the scars,
ones of growth and ones of infliction.
see [...]

5 year plan

Early last year, a few months shy of my 23rd birthday, I got a phone call from my mother. She called me to inform me that as per her plan, I’m on a 5 year track. According to her, this plan would have me meet a “nice Indian doctor/lawyer/engineer,” get along with him (by not [...]

pablo neruda

…is a beautiful soul.
because sometimes having them live in your dreams is all you can have.
and sometimes that works out better, there are no restrictions on what you can dream of.
the possibilities are infinite.
sonnet lxxxi
and now you’re mine. rest with your dream in my dream.
love and pain and work should all sleep, now.
the night [...]

stormy weather

It was pouring rain last night, I had my curtains drawn, the blinds up and the windows down. The lightning lit up my apartment. The thunder provided the soundtrack to the stillness inside. Grey skies and storms always bring to my mind one very specific image, (though it is from Charlotte Bronte’s “Jane Eyre“) a [...]