Confidence in my writing ability has been hard to come by. The power of my pen served as a primary source of expression. I’ve received positive feedback about my work from family and friends, but none has stuck. No matter how much they praised me, I still couldn’t find the enthusiasm to say, out loud, ...

Darkness filled the room with silence, the only sound available to me. My juvenile body felt a heavy weight. The rush of worry was loud and blaring like a fire engine. What could this feeling be? How did it appear out of nowhere? I didn’t have the answers to my questions or the words for ...

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 ...

It was early in my career, having only been released to solo patrol maybe a month prior. The primary sergeant on my squad instructed sections of my academy courses, and he remembered me the minute I stepped into my first assembly at 6 a.m. Even sporting a severe haircut. That was my first sign that ...

A week ago, I was deathly ill. At least that’s how it felt. I was feverish, my throat ached, and my body was weak from fighting the disease. My blankets were wrapped around me, trapping my limbs like a fuzzy straight jacket. In those moments, when I was most vulnerable, a realization struck me: I ...

The transition to Bangalore is epic. All our furnishings and heavy household items are to be sold. Even then, a moving company moves heavy trunks and boxes. The thought of having new furniture in a new city excites us. But first, we have to reach Bangalore. Daddy describes the train journey to us. It will ...

  “Yes, Daddy, yes! That’s the book the teacher read in class.” Daddy is turning pages of a children’s book entitled Fix it, Please. We are in a children’s bookstore. My teacher, Miss Beri, had read that book to the class this morning at school. She displayed it to the kids so they could see ...

Another darn problem! Nothing is going right today, simply nothing! The smallest of tasks has me beating my head against the wall. Now it’s the darn printer with a jammed piece of paper! Calm yourself, Sunita. It’s not the first time. Besides, it’s a straightforward fix. Pull the sheet out slowly and gently, and reset ...

I was ten when Daddy put me on a train to Ambala. Alone and unsupervised for the first time, feeling quite grown up, I hope I am hiding my fears. Daddy sent a telegram to his older brother, Har Narain saying, “Sunita is coming–please receive.” An immediate response comes back, “Who is Sunita?” I am ...

Once again, the eight-year-old me is standing under the mantle staring up at that serious, soft-eyed person in the picture. Sometimes, when passing through this room, I glance up and smile. Other times, I fear he is watching me as if he is judging. When no one is around, I return his gaze and try ...