Shashi has been an inpatient at the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences for the last several months. Her mom, my paternal aunt, is her caretaker. Auntie stays with her day and night at the hospital, sleeping in a chair. She faces immense coercion from the staff to leave with her child, but she refuses to ...

A slow trickle of information, spanning years, helps me become more familiar with Pal Bhapaji and his household. The partition of India and Pakistan, displace the family. They lose their home and belongings, and arrive in Delhi as refugees. All of them, including Pal’s parents, wife Leela, and his sisters, Harsh and Santosh, comprise the ...

It’s the early fifties, and the city of Delhi is expanding outside its boundaries. It is advisable to return from distant sightseeing trips or visits before sundown. Despite this expansion over the past 500 years, the iconic Qutab Minar (tower) stands several miles away from city limits. New townships are sprouting far away from the ...

Our youngest sister, Juji, was born with her own rules, and demanded everyone follow them. To understanding her logic took some effort, but ultimately, she’d won. By the time she was ten, her combative instincts had been honed through years of academic authoritarianism. When the nursery section of the Sacred Heart Convent accepted her, she ...

I have twisted ways of thinking.   I see fault in my husband’s thinking as if I knew better. Silencing him hurts me.   I interrupt my friend in mid-sentence as if I know what they’re going to say. Silencing them hurts me.   I talk out of order disturbing the peace of the assembly ...

I can’t record audiobooks in this country because of my heavy accent.   When I audited for an organization I support, they said, “In America We employ American accents.”   I said, “I’m an American. My accent is American,” but they wouldn’t hear me.   I have such a lovely voice – Loud, Affirmative Expressive. ...

The Chameleon says to her Mom, “I want to be many creatures and do many things, all at once.” Mom tells her she cannot be any more than one creature at a time, and cannot do more than one thing at a time. She has to pick one. But Chameleon can’t. Her mind travels fast ...

Summer nights of yore in a sparsely crowded Delhi, dhurries on rustic charpoys layered with cool white sheets, stars pricking in a darkening blue sky, Sudhir and I ready for our bedtime ritual with Daddy – an enduring childhood memory of growing up in Delhi! Delhi summers, unlike the winters, require a rare mindset to ...

A Woman’s a Lotus planted firmly, deep into the water yet unattached, her leaves – they float above all.   She rises, holding chin up, and smiles through the day.   Outside temperature may be 50 degrees Fahrenheit, but she regulates the temperature of her flowers at 86 degrees Fahrenheit, bringing warmth to all, regardless ...

A moment that ‘is’ may soon turn to a moment that ‘was.’ Warbler’s singing a tune. Listen ‘now,’ as she may sing a different song or not…next moment.   The Sun rays ‘re piercing through space between railings. Natural light’s causing a geometrical design of shadows on the deck. See ‘now,’ as new shapes may ...