March, 2023
Mother Teresa & MF Hussian: Touching Lives
Prithvijeet Sinha muses on how Mother Teresa’s painting by MF Hussain impacted his life. Click hereto read.
Meredith Stephens writes of her sailing adventures to Nouméa. Click here to read.
Musings of a Copywriter
In Simian Surprises, Devraj Singh Kalsi describes monkey antics. Click here to read.
Notes from Japan
In Multicultural Curry, Suzanne Kamata reflects on mingling of various cultures in her home in Japan and the acceptance it finds in young hearts. Click hereto read.
Poets, Poetry & Rhys Hughes
In Indian Pale Ale, Rhys Hughes experiments with words and brews. Click here to read.
A translation from Nabendu Ghosh’s autobiography, Eka Naukar Jatri (Journey of a Lonesome Boat), translated by Dipankar Ghosh, post scripted by Ratnottama Sengupta. Click here to read.
February, 2023
Wanderlust or Congealed Stardust
Aditi Yadav meanders through the human journey and suggests travel as an ultimate panacea. Click hereto read.
Ratnottama Sengupta continues with her own family saga looking back to the last century. Click here to read.
From Gatwick to Kangaroo Island
Meredith Stephens compares her experience of immigration at London airport to the bureaucracy she faces at Kangaroo Island. Click here to read.
Musings of a Copywriter
In Camel Ride in Chandigarh, Devraj Singh Kalsitalks of animal rides with a dollop of humour. Click here to read.
Notes from Japan
In Sweet Diplomacy, Suzanne Kamata tells us how candies can well save the day in Japan. Click here to read.
Poets, Poetry & Rhys Hughes
In Climbing Sri Pada, Rhys Hughes takes us on a trek to the hilltop with unusual perceptive remarks which could evoke laughter. Click here to read.
January, 2023
What do Freddy Mercury, Rishi Sunak & Mississipi Masala have in Common?
Farouk Gulsara muses on the human race. Click hereto read.
Ratnottama Sengupta relives the past. Click here to read.
Sails, Whales, and Whimsical Winds
Meredith Stephens continues on her sailing adventures in New South Wales and spots some sporting whales. Click here to read.
Sarpreet Kaur travels back to take a relook at the tsunami in 2004 from Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Click here to read.
‘I am in a New York state of mind’
Ravi Shankar shares his travel adventures in the city. Click here to read.
Mike Smith introspects on his travels to New Zealand. Click here to read.
Musings of a Copywriter
In Back to the Past, Devraj Singh Kalsi muses on the need to relive nostalgia. Click here to read.
Notes from Japan
In The Year of the Tiger Papa, Suzanne Kamata gives us a glimpse of Japan’s education system with a touch of humour. Click here to read.
Poets, Poetry & Rhys Hughes
In I Went to Kerala, Rhys Hughes treads a humorous path. Click here to read.
December, 2022
Near-Life Experiences: Hiking in New Zealand
Keith Lyons escapes city life to find his happy place while hiking in New Zealand. Click here to read.
The Seven Grandfather Teachings
Saeed Ibrahim introduces us to Native Indian lore from Canada and shows its relevance in the current times. Click here to read.
Meredith Stephens takes us for a sailing adventure with photographs in the Southern Hemisphere. Click here to read.
Musings of a Copywriter
In Of Mice & Men, Devraj Singh Kalsi talks of his encounters with rats. Click here to read.
Notes from Japan
In A Clean Start, Suzanne Kamata tells us how the Japanese usher in a new year. Click here to read.
Poets, Poetry & Rhys Hughes
In Some Differences Between Wales and India, Rhys Hughes makes some hilarious comparisons. Clickhere to read.
November, 2022
Rhys Hughes gives an unusual short story centring around food and hunger. Click here to read.
Prithvijeet Sinha writes of how Edvard Munch’s painting, The Scream, impacts him. Click here to read.
Mike Smith travels with a book to a Scottish beach and walks in the footsteps of a well-know novelist. Click here to read.
Ravi Shankar mourns the loss of a friend and muses on mortality in his experience. Click here to read.
Meredith Stephens writes of her experience of Covid. Click here to read.
Dim Memories of the Festival of Lights
Farouk Gulsara takes a nostalgic trip to Deepavali celebrations in Malaysia. Click here to read.
Musings of a Copywriter
In Strumming Me Softly with His Guitar…, Devraj Singh Kalsi talks of his friends’s adventure with the guitar. Click here to read.
Notes from Japan
In Therese Schumacher and Nagayoshi Nagai: A Love Story, Suzanne Kamata introduces us to one of the first German women married to a Japanese scientist and their love story. Click here to read.
October, 2022
Devraj Singh Kalsi visits the colours of a marquee hosting the Durga Puja season with its spirit of inclusivity. Click here to read.
A Five Hundred Nautical Mile Voyage to Tasmania
Meredith Stephens writes of sailing to Tasmania when the pandemic had just started loosening its grip. Click here to read.
Ravi Shankar recommends walking as a panacea to multiple issues, health and climate change and takes us on a tour of walks around the world. Click here to read.
Ali Jan Maqsood introduces us to a strong matriarch from a Balochi village. Click here to read.
Musings of a Copywriter
In Drill, Fill, Just Chill, Devraj Singh Kalsi gives us humour while under a dentist’s drill. Click here to read.
Notes from Japan
Suzanne Kamata writes of her A Ramble on Bizan, focussing on a writer, also by the surname of Moraes, who lived on Mount Bizan more than century ago, moving to Japan from Portugal having fallen violently in love. Click here to read.
Poets, Poetry & Rhys Hughes
In Crossing the Date Line, Rhys Hughes talks of his fascination with this imagined construct. Click here to read.
September, 2022
A Tale of Two Flags in the South Pacific
Meredith Stephens visits an island that opted to adopt the ways of foreign settlers with her camera and narrates her experiences. Click here to read.
G Venkatesh revisits his Korean experience in a pre-pandemic world. Click here to read.
Mike Smith in a short poetic monologue evokes what the season means for him. Click here to read.
Musings of a Copywriter
In El Condor Pasa or I’d Rather be a Sparrow…,Devraj Singh Kalsi explores his interactions with birds with a splatter of humour. Click here to read.
Notes from Japan
In Rabbit Island, Suzanne Kamata visits the island of Okunoshima, where among innocence of rabbits lurk historic horrors. Click here to read.
August, 2022
G Venkatesh has a stopover in the airport to make a discovery. Click here to read.
The Loyal Dog in Loyalty Island
Meredith Stephens makes friends with a dog in the township of Wé on the Lifou island, an ‘overseas territory’ of France. Click here to read.
The ‘New Kid on the Block’ Celebrates…
Dr Kirpal Singh ruminates over what led to the making of an island state, Singapore. Click here to read.
Remnants of Time Once Spent Together
Sayali Korgaonkar ruminates over loss and grieving. Click here to read.
Rupali Gupta Mukherjee journeys through the moonlike landscape housing a monastery with her camera and a narrative. Click here to read.
PG Thomas revisits a performance that mesmerised him in a pre-covid world. Click here to read.
Musings of a Copywriter
In A Bone in My Platter, Devraj Singh Kalsi shares a taste of running a restaurant. Click here to read.
Notes from Japan
Suzanne Kamata writes a light slice from life in The Boy & The Cats: A Love Story. Click here to read.
July, 2022
Grune Point and an Inkling of Eternity
A poetic account by Mike Smith as he explores the area that hovers between England and Scotland. Click here to read.
Olympic Game Farm: Meeting and Greeting Animals from Disney Movies
Hema Ravi visits a farm that houses animals that had a past in Disney. Click here to read.
Notes from Japan
In A Visit to the Isamu Noguchi Garden Museum, Suzanne Kamata visits a Museum dedicated to an American Japanese artist. Click here to read.
Musings of a Copywriter
In Shopping for my Funeral, Devraj Singh Kalsi goes on a bizarre spree. Click here to read.
Mission Earth
In On a Bamboo Bicycle from Thailand to Indonesia, Kenny Peavy revisits his trip across Asia exploring the biodiversity and conservation efforts. Click here to read.
Poets, Poetry & Rhys Hughes
In The Anthology in my Mind, Rhys Hughes talks of a make believe anthology. Click here to read and find out what he imagines.
June, 2022
In Memoriam: Star of the Stage Shines on Screen
Ratnottama Sengupta pays a tribute to famed actress, Swatilekha Sengupta (May 1950- June 2021). Click here to read.
Keith Lyons discovers the import and export of desires in Varanasi, one of the oldest cities in the world, beside one of the most revered rivers. Click here to read.
Notes from Japan
In Marathon Blues, Suzanne Kamata talks of pandemic outcomes in Japan in a lighter tone. Click here to read.
Musings of a Copywriter
In Journey of an Ant, Devraj Singh Kalsi explores life from an insect’s perspective. Click here to read.
Mission Earth
In Tuning in to Nature, Kenny Peavy tells us how to interact with nature. Click here to read.
May, 2022
Mike Smith uncovers the wonders of British writer, H.E Bates. Click here to read.
Ruleman Ngwenya and Johannesburg
G Venkatesh shares the experience of his first trip out of India long, long ago. Click here to read.
“You don’t have to understand life. You just have to live”
Shubha Apte muses on a book that taught her life lessons. Click here to read.
Mission Earth
In Falling Down and Getting Up, Kenny Peavyexplores how to raise resilient children. Click here to read.
Notes from Japan
In An Encounter with the Monet on Naoshima, Suzanne Kamata writes of snacking on Claude Monet’s hundred year old recipes while savouring his art and that of the famed artist who makes bold art with polka-dots, Yayoi Kusama. Click here to read.
A Special Tribute
In Jean Claude Carriere: A Writer for all Directors, Ratnottama Sengupta pays homage to Jean Claude Carriere (1931-2021), the legendary screenwriter of Peter Brook’s Mahabharata. Click here to read.
Poets, Poetry & Rhys Hughes
Rhys Hughes shares why he put together an anthology of humorous poetry with seventeen writers, Wuxing Lyrical. Is his logic funny or sane? Click here to find out.
April, 2022
Erwin Coombs laces his cat’s story with humour. Click here to read.
Adnan Zaidi has analysed his poetic abilities with tongue-in-cheek comments. Click here to write.
G. Venkatesh looks at the ability to find silver linings in dark clouds through the medium of his experiences as a cricketeer and more. Click here to write.
What can be more scary and life-threatening than the risk of getting Covid-19? Keith Lyons finds how his daily joy has menacing dangers. Click here to read.
Musings of the Copywriter
In When Books have Wings, Devraj Singh Kalsi talks of books that disappear from one book shelf to reappear in someone’s else’s shelf. Click here to read.
Notes from Japan
In Owls in Ginza, Suzanne Kamata takes us to visit an Owl Cafe. Click here to read.
Mission Earth
In No Adults Allowed!, Kenny Peavy gives a light hearted rendition in praise boredom and interaction with nature. Click here to read.
March, 2022
San Lin Tun writes of how, in Yangon, he spends the lockdown watching a travel blog by Eva Zu Beck. Click here to read.
Messages through Space and Time
Meredith Stephens explores how the art of letter writing creates links across borders of time and place. Click here to read.
It’s Amazing the Things We can Do
Erwin Coombs takes us through his life in Egypt and has a relook at Nazi occupied Europe with a dollop of humour to come to an amazing conclusion. Click here to read.
G Venkatesh uses the laws of thermodynamics to try to interpret the laws that define life. Click here to read.
Musings of a Copywriter
Devraj Singh Kalsi ponders on his Visit to a Book Fair. Click here to read.
Notes from Japan
In Imagining a Possible Future: Filmmaker Felicity Tillack, Suzanne Kamata introduces us to an Australian film maker who is making films in Japan now and some are in Japanese. Click here to read.
Mission Earth
Kenny Peavy starts his column with Mama Calling, a cry to go back to living with nature. Click here to read.
Pandies’ Corner
These narratives are written by youngsters from the Nithari village who transcended childhood trauma and deprivation. A letter to God by Tanveer Hussain uses the epistolary technique to asks questions that would be relevant for all humankind. It has been translated from Hindustani by Vritika Thareja. Click here to read.
Nature’s Musings
In Storms & Seas, Penny Wilkes explores birds and the ocean during rough weather. Click here to read.
‘When will we ever learn? Oh, will we ever learn?’
Ratnottama Sengupta comments on the current situation in Ukraine while dwelling on her memorable meeting with folk legend Pete Seeger, a pacifist, who wrote ‘Where have all the Flowers gone’, based on a folk song from Ukraine. Click here to read.
Candice Louisa Daquin explores war and peace pausing over the attack on Ukraine. Click here to read.
February, 2022
Ratnottama Sengupta sings her own paean in which a chorus of voices across the world join her to pay a tribute to a legend called Lata Mangeshkar. Click here to read.
Forsaking Distant Hemispheres for the Immediate Locale
Meredith Stephens introduces us to the varied fauna found in South Australia with vivid photographs clicked by her. Click here to read.
P Ravi Shankar takes us through a breakfast feast around the world. Click here to read.
Musings of a Copywriter
In Life without a Pet, Devraj Singh Kalsi gives a humorous take on why he does not keep a pet. Clickhere to read.
Notes From Japan
In Bridging Cultures through Music, author Suzanne Kamata introduces us to Masaki Nakagawa, a YouTuber who loves Lativia and has made it big, playing for the President of Lativia at the Japanese coronation. Click here to read.
Poets, Poetry & Rhys Hughes
Rhys Hughes explores the paranormal with his usual wit in Three Ghosts in a Boat. Promise not to laugh or smile as you shiver… Click here to read.
January, 2022
For the Want of a Cloth: Ratnottama Sengupta muses on an NGO who has won a Magsaysay Award for his work with cloth distribution in India contextualising it against the issues raised in Give Me a Rag, Please by Nabendu Ghosh.
Munaj Gul writes of how volunteers are engaged in wooing children from poverty stricken backgrounds to school in Turbat, Balochistan. Click here to read.
Ravibala Shenoy ponders over various interpretations of the past in media and through social media. Click here to read.
Meredith Stephens writes of her sailing adventures in South Australia. Click here to read.
Kavya RK finds her fascination for plants flourish in the pandemic. Click here to read.
P Ravi Shankar trots through winters in different parts of the globe. Click here to read.
Ratnottama Sengupta muses as she translates a Tagore’s song. Click here to read.
Musings of a Copywriter
In The New Year’s Boon, Devraj Singh gives a glimpse into the projection of a new normal created by God. Click here to read.
Nature’s Musings
In Best Friends, Penny Wilkes takes us for a photographic treat. Click here to read.
Poets, Poetry & Rhys Hughes
In Making Something of Nothing…, Rhys Hughesexplores sources of inspirations with a dollop of humour. Click here to read.
December, 2021
Alpana gives a glimpse into her own marital experiences through the lockdown. Click here to read.
How I Transitioned from a Desk Worker to a Rugged Trail Hiker at Age Sixty
Meredith Stephens shares the impact of the pandemic on her life choices. Click here to read.
P Ravi Shankar travels back to the Kerala of his childhood. Click here to read.
The Voice that Sings Hope through Suffering…
Rakibul Hasan Khan pays a tribute with a twist to a recently deceased Bangladeshi writer, Hasan Azizul Huq. Click here to read.
Sunil Sharma reflects on the colours of the fall in Canada. Click here to read.
Candice Louisa Daquin explores the magic of space travel. Click here to read.
Ratnottama Sengupta recaptures a time when as a teenager she witnessed a war that was fought to retain the suzerainty of a culture. Click here to read.
Musings of a Copywriter
In Statue Without Stature, Devraj Singh Kalsi muses on erecting a bust with a dollop of humour. Click here to read.
Nature’s Musings
In Lewie, the Leaf, Penny Wilkes explores the last vestiges of autumn with her camera and a touching story. Click here to read.
Poets, Poetry & Rhys Hughes
In Trouser Hermits, Rhys Hughes muses over men’s attire and the lack of them. Click here to read.
November, 2021
Ratnottama Sengupta recalls her experiences of the Egyptian unrest while covering the 35th Cairo International Film Festival in 2012. Click here to read.
An account of life of dochgirs (embroiderers) in Balochistan by Tilyan Aslam. Click here to read.
Gita Viswanath takes us into her father’s world of art and wonder. Click here to read.
Ishita Shukla, a young girl, explores patriarchal mindset. Click here to read.
Welcoming in the dark half of the year
Candice Louisa Daquin takes a relook at the evolution of Halloween historically. Click here to read.
Musings of a Copywriter
In Crematoriums for the Rich, Devraj Singh Kalsi regales his readers with a dark twist of the macabre. Click here to read.
October, 2021
In this lighthearted narration, Farouk Gulsara uses humour to comment on darker themes. Click here to read.
Nitya Pandey talks of a virtual friendship that bloomed across borders of countries during the pandemic. Click here to read.
Travel in the Time of Pandemics: Select Diary Entries of an Urban Nomad
Sunil Sharma gives us a slice from his travels with vibrant photographs, changing continents and homes during the pandemic. Click here to read.
Musings of a Copywriter
In Surviving to Tell a Pony-tale, Devraj Singh Kalsi journeys up a hill on a pony and gives a sedately hilarious account. Click here to read.
September, 2021
Mike Smith muses about a black and white photograph from his childhood. Click here to read.
Sports fan Saurabh Nagpal explores the magic realism in famous footballer Messi’s play with a soupçon of humour. Click here to read.
Infinite Possibilities & Mysterious Riddles
Keith Lyons gives a lively account of traveling across borders despite the pandemic. Click here to read.
Geetha Ravichnadran explores additions to our vocabulary in a tongue-in-cheek article. Click here to read.
Musings of a Copywriter
In When I Almost Became a Professor, Devraj Singh Kalsi gives humour tinged reasons on why he detached himself from being an academician. Click here to read.
August, 2021
Poets, Poetry & Rhys Huges
In Dinosaurs in France, Rhys Hughes explores more than tall tales; perhaps, the passage of sense of humour in our lives. Click here to read.
Mike Smith’s nostalgia about artist Pat Cooke (1935-2000) takes us back to England in the last century. Click here to read.
Seventy-four Years After Independence…
“Mil ke rahe gi Azadi” (We will get our Freedom) by Aysha Baqir muses on Pakistani women’s role in the independence movement and their current state. Click here to read.
Kanchan Dhar explores personal freedom. Click hereto read.
Niles Reddick tells us how Covid and supermarkets combined into a discount coupon for him. Click hereto read.
Musings of a copywriter
In 2147 without Borders, Devraj Singh Kalsi meanders over Partitions, borders and love stories. Click here to read.
An Account of ‘Quit India’ Riots
Ratnottama Sengupta translates from Bengali the excerpts recorded by Sandhya Sinha (1928-2016), who witnessed an uprising in the wake of the Quit India Movement, part of India’s struggle against colonial rule. Click here to read.
July, 2021
Jared Carter writes of a childhood in mid-twentieth century America. Click here to read.
Marjuque-ul-Haque explores Mughal Lalbagh fort left unfinished in Dhaka, a fort where armies were said to disappear during the Sepoy Mutiny of 1857. Click here to read.
A Stroll through Kolkata’s Iconic Maidan
Nishi Pulugurtha journeys with her camera on the famed grounds near Fort William, a major historic site in Kolkata. Click here to read.
Musings of a Copywriter
In Managing Bookshelves, Devraj Singh Kalsi cogitates with wry humour while arranging his book shelves. Click here to read.
Adventures of the Backpacking Granny
Sybil Pretious concludes her adventures this round with a fabulous trip to Generous Indonesia, a country with kind people, islands and ancient volcanoes. Click here to read.
June, 2021
Candice Louisa Daquin tells us what it means to be an American immigrant in today’s world. Click here to read.
Wendy Jones Nakanishi, an academic who started her life in a small town called Rolling Prairies in midwestern US, talks of her journey as a globe trotter — through Europe and Asia — and her response to Covid while living in UK. Click here to read.
Arjan Batth tells us why he identifies with an Indian sweetmeat. Click here to read why.
The Significance of the Roll Number
Shahriyer Hossain Shetu writes of ironing out identity at the altar of modern mass education. Click here to read.
Musings of a Copywriter
In Creative on Campus, Devraj Singh Kalsi with a soupcon of humour, explores young romances and their impact. Click here to read.
Adventures of a Backpacking Granny
Sybil Pretious visits volcanoes and lakes in Frenetic Philippines. Click here to read.
May, 2021
Danielle Legault Kurihara, a Quebecker in Japan, writes of differences in rituals. Click here to read.
Why I write?
Basudhara Roy tells us how writing lingers longer than oral communications. Click here to read more.
The Quiet Governance of Instinct
Candice Louisa Daquin, a psychotherapist, talks of the importance of trusting our instincts. Click here to read more.
Musings of a Copywriter
In Nations without Nobel, Devraj Singh Kalsi takes a fresh look at national pride with a soupçon of sarcasm and humour. Click here to read.
Adventures of the Backpacking Granny
In Visit to Rural Baoying, Sybil Pretious travels to spend a night with a local family in rural China in a ‘hundred-year-old home’.Click here to read.
April, 2021
Pohela Boisakh: A Cultural Fiesta
Sohana Manzoor shares the Bengali New Year celebrations in Bangladesh with colourful photographs and interesting history and traditions that mingle beyond the borders. Click here to read.
Ratnottama Sengupta, a well-known senior journalist and film critic lives through her past to make an interesting discovery at the end of recapping about the silk route. Click here to read and find out more.
Mike Smith drifts into nostalgia about mid-twentieth century while exploring a box of old postcards. What are the stories they tell? Click here to read.
John Drew, a retired professor, cogitates over a tapestry of the Ras lila. Click here to read.
Naomi Nair reflects on life infiltrated by technology, by Siri and Alexa with a tinge of humour. Click hereto read.
Adventures of a Backpacking Granny
In Inspiriting Siberia, Sybil Pretious takes us with her to Lake Baikal and further. Click here to read.
Musings of a Copywriter
In Tributes & Attributes, Devraj Singh Kalsi pays tribute to his late mother. Click here to read.
March, 2021
Musings of a Copywriter
Devraj Singh Kalsi ponders on Creativity and Madness in a lighthearted tone. Click here to read.
Adventures of a Backpacking Granny
In Where it All Began, Sybil Pretious recounts her first adventure on Mt Kilimanjaro. Click here to read.
Aditi Jain philosophises on how the pandemic could be perceived as a patchwork quilt. Click here to read.
Moving from the Podium to the Helm
Meredith Stephens from Australia maps the impact of the start of the pandemic a year ago with the lockdowns being put in place. Click here to read more.
Translation
The Magic Spell of Scheherazade’s Nights are reflections by Sandhya Sinha (1928-2016) on the magic of storytelling in Arabian Nights translated by Ratnottama Sengupta. Click here to read.
February, 2021
Musings of a Copywriter
In Lessons from Partition, Devraj Singh Kalsi explores how Partition impacts not only countries but families. Click here to read.
Adventures of a Backpacking Granny
In Homestay at St Petersburg, Sybil Pretious travels take her to St Petersburg where she tells the story of a woman she meets, a survivor from the 900 day Siege of Russia. Click here to read.
A discussion by Candice Louisa Daquin based on reading Candace Owens’ book Blackout: How Black America Can Make Its Second Escape from the Democrat Plantation. Click here to read.
Who’s the Dummy? Or, ALS Recertification Thumping At 4:35 A.M. In the Morning
A hilarious take on how Will Neussle, a coach for new dads, passes his CPR training. Click here to read.
Mango Trees & Mangoes, with a Pinch of Salt & Chillie
These are fragments of memories from her childhood by Pronoti Baglary. With them, she tries to recap the flavours of an Assamese village. Click hereto read more.
Krittika Mehta journeys through Erich Segal towards self discovery. “The world was dipped in swirling, glittering celebrations with friends, family and unknown to embrace a new year…” Click here to read more.
January,2021
Musings of a Copywriter
In Private Lessons, Devraj Singh Kalsi takes us through a hilarious episode of elopement with surprising conclusions. Click here to read.
Keith Lyons from New Zealand looks back at challenges of 2020, and expectation that lessons learned will translate into action in 2021. Click here to read.
Written specially by Nishi Pulugurtha keeping the Indian Republic Day in mind, what can we anticipate for a year with pandemic protocols? Click here to read.
From the Pages of a Soldier’s Diary…
Mike Smith takes you on a journey through the pages of a colonial diary and muses on choices he has made. Click here to read
No Longer Smug in South Australia
Meredith Stephens gives a first person account of how the pandemic free South Australia is faring balancing fears. Click here to read.
Pandemic Tales: The Diary of a Hypochondriac
Mayuresh V. Belsare takes us on a hilarious journey through his battle with the pandemic with thanks to divine intervention. Click here to read.
December, 2020
Musings of a Copywriter
In Pray to Win, Devraj Singh Kalsi gives an entertaining account of Tumpji pujas across India during the US elections. Click here to read
Anasuya Bhar takes us through 2020 — what kind of a year has it been? Click here to read.
Kavita Ezekiel Mendonca tells us about the ancient Jewish festival of Hanukkah with its origins in the early BCEs and the Seleucid Empire. Click here to read.
There’s an Eternal Summer in a Grateful Heart
Sangeetha Amarnath Kamath brings a Singaporean School to our doorstep with a sentimental recount of her experience at relief teaching. Click here to read.
November 2020
Musings of a Copywriter
Encounters with my Tenants by Devraj Singh Kalsiis a humorous take, almost a la Bollywood style, on what landlords face from aggressive tenants. Click here to read.
Of Cats, Classes, Work and Rest
Nishi Pulugurtha takes a look at lecturing classes in the past and the present with some gumballing kittens for distraction. Click here to read.
Dr Anasuya Bhar takes us on a nostalgic journey of what was the spirit of the Durga puja — a community event. Click here to read.
Mike Smith makes a trip to Trieste to photograph himself with a favourite author… And then? Click hereto read.
Blade of Grass: A Lesson Learnt
“Is this pandemic a pre-planned act of Nature? Is this outbreak to make us comprehend that human organism is not the most all-powerful species on Earth?” Click here to read DR D V Raghuvamsi’s musings.
October, 2020
The Musings of a Copywriter
Devraj Singh Kalsi in his typical part humorous and poignant style travels down his memory lane. Click here to read
A thoughtful walk down the memory lane with the shades of Bapu influencing the author, Lina Krishnan. Click here to read.
Dr. Nishi Pulugurtha meanders through the passages of Aga Khan Palace in Pune, where Gandhi had been imprisoned, and wonders… Click here to read.
September, 2020
Musings of a Copywriter:
An Encounter With Snakes: Our non-fiction columnist, Devraj Singh Kalsi, amuses with his hilarious take on snakes and snake charmers in his home in a pre-COVID world. Click here to read.
A nostalgic journey back into the past by Julian Matthews, set in Malaysia. Click here to read.
Lounging through Lucknow Lores
Nidhi Mishra takes us on a nostalgic journey through the syncretic elements of Lucknawi culture. Click here to read.
Vignettes of life: Unhurried at Haripur
Debraj Mookerjee journeys into the heart of rural Bengal. Click here to read.
Anasuya Bhar journeys to her childhood recalling her experience of having an artists for a father. Click hereto read.
Racism is not only an American Problem
Young Shivam Periwal shows how it seeps in large parts of the world outside. Click here to read.
Click on the names to read
Musings, August, 2020
Musings, July 2020
Click on the names to read
Over years of reading, some authors are likely to emerge as your favourites for various reasons and occupy the venerated position forever. When an author enters your list of favourites, you tend to grow intolerant of criticism of his work or personal life, even on valid grounds. All the foibles are tossed aside as natural or unavoidable. There is no chance of losing respect once an author achieves that glorified status in the eyes of a reader. (Click here to read more)
(.n) a place which has a bustling atmosphere otherwise, has become deserted, abandoned and eerily quiet suddenly.
It’s a new-fangled word which I chanced upon quite recently, all thanks to the pursuits propounded during downtime and this inescapable lockdown. I took upon one of them to building my vocabulary. Though this word was a novel one, the sentiment associated with it was not alien to me. I just didn’t have a name for it back then. (Click here to read more)
Rohingya people, who have no identity of their own, are now facing another danger. The pandemic of COVID-19 took away one of the Rohingyas, who found shelter at a camp at Cox’s Bazar in Bangladesh on the wake of genocide in their own land in Myanmar. (Click here to read more)
Chicago O’Hare’s international terminal offers street theatre. I arrived recently at Terminal 5 to meet a friend, coming from Kathmandu, Nepal, via Abu Dhabi, UAE. Henry sent numerous texts once he landed as to where I might meet him and his luggage. He encouraged me to wait in the quiet of my car till he arrived. True, it was our nation’s busiest airport and often chaotic. But I refused. It was the drama of the arrivals gate that fuelled my 90-minute drive — not souvenirs that he brought back from his time in Kathmandu, Nepal. (Click here to read more)
“I have reached an age when …”
Personal experience is always a milestone to reminisce in life as its memories evoke mixed feelings of euphoria or exasperation, depending upon the incident that wrought that at the first instance. Though this one occurred a couple of years ago, it flashes in my mind quite often, pushing me to set my thoughts on paper so that I could relieve the feelings I sustained and shift the same to readers for them to partake of the pleasure or pain such narratives impart. With this preliminary let me begin at the beginning. (Click here to read more)
When condemnation comes from a decorated officer with eight medals in his kitty, you are left without any defence. He throws one salvo after another, bombards you with criticism – your self-esteem blown up in smithereens. Being one of the most successful among all your cousins, his fusillade is not dismissed as the rant of a demented relative. Every single word he uses without caution is accorded profound respect. (Click here to read more)
Impact of the Pandemic on Nepal’s Book Market
Printed books by authors from around the world did not reach the market and the books that were about to be published got stuck in the printing presses. Thousands of literature festivals as well as book-tours were put on hold. As Nepal went into lockdown, all sectors and industries were locked down too. Citizens were seen returning home from east to west and from west to east, dreading an uncertain future. (Click here to read more)
I look up to find the evening sky stretch out like a canvas with a multitude of hues, change like a kaleidoscope of colours. It is the like the work of an artist, our Creator. I have often been startled by the beauty of life amidst my own fake despair. I do not have many concrete problems in life. Not the ones that could be touched with bare hands, seen with naked eyes. Not the ones that could be described with a flourish. Not as if problems could ever be explained. (Click here to read more)
Three months later, Florence restarts. But not quite
The epidemic is almost over in Italy. After almost three painful months of lockdown and the loss of about 30,000 lives, the daily number of victims of the coronavirus is slowly dwindling to zero. In a couple of weeks at most, the epidemic will be completely gone. It is time to restart, but the damage has been terrible. (Click here to read more)
The fiery accents of orange-gold in the western sky had gingerly muted into a soft peach. Rich hues of champagne and pastel pink blended with the steely greys in the horizon. A flurry of various birds and their dark silhouettes dotted the myriad tints as they returned to their roosts. They cackled joyously as they flew overhead. (Click here to read)
Amphan Stories: Uprooted Trees & Broken Nests
A fleeting thought of grafting its small branch in my garden – with a concrete slab to perpetuate its memory – did cross my mind. And the epitaph recording the cause of its death: Amphan. Does a tree deserve to be immortalised? Does a tree become evergreen in history? Or it remains just like us ordinary mortals who come and go? Enlightenment makes all the difference. We are all uprooted from time to time, in so many different ways. The uprooted tree left behind a lot for me to dig up within. (Click here to read more)
The lockdown has, in various aspects, limited me to circumscribing through the daily routine, inside my house. It might sound odd but for the last few days, my timetable has been rudimentary and timed, something that has never happened before. I have returned to my old home at Chandannagar where I hardly stayed as an adult. There are the same old forces at work, ordinary things like burning the incense sticks, drying the towel out, filling the water bottles — not quite voluntary but somewhat of a meditational retreat, almost like a recreational conformity. Amid these circumstances, I re-watched Alfonso Cuarón’s Roma (2018). (Click here to read more)
Grace in the Times of COVID 19
The roads were clear of people and machines, covered with fallen leaves on both sides, leaving the centre untouched. The contrast of yellow leaves and black tar was striking, soft and fragile leaves against tough and durable tar. After decades one could delight in bird song, crystal clear, not buried under the noise of incessant traffic. Feast for eyes, feast for ears, heart’s delight. My feet walked me to the first grocery store. (Click here to read)
I am not a prolific writer at all. A lazy academic, I procrastinate at the very idea of sitting on my laptop or tablet to pen down a few lines every day as most writers do religiously. But, lockdown has eventually left me with little option but to find a way of filling twenty-four long hours over twenty-one days, which has now extended much beyond. And hence, I am here on my table. (Click here to read more)
Forecasts and news did not prepare us for the actuality of it all till it actually happened. We had taken all necessary precautions but what happened on the evening of the 20th of May 2020 rattled and disturbed a lot. Cyclone Amphan was moving slowly over the Bay of Bengal and was expected to make a landfall in the southern parts of Bengal and lash the city of Kolkata as well. (Click here to read more)
Non-believers have no God to thank when the virus dies. Believers have too many replicas to genuflect before once the pandemic gets over. This virus came with the huge potential to ensure the mass conversion of believers into non-believers across the world, across multiple faiths. But the virus is most unlikely to destroy the cells of faith. God has survived many such catastrophes and epidemics in the past. He is going to survive Covid as well. (Click here to read more)
The Bookshelf and The Lockdown
I have always wondered, when I am not at home, do the inhabitants of my bookshelf come alive like those children’s playthings in Toy Story? Apart from what their titles bind them to narrate, do my books have other stories to tell? Is my bookshelf some sort of a universe in itself with each compartment and the contents – an entity of its own? Are there dimensions to a bookshelf that we, humans, are not aware of – something that is beyond our realm? (Click here to read)
Write in the way you love to write…
I had never felt the need to move out of the city. Let me correct myself here. I had never felt the urge to move out of the city. All my friends were determined to leave the city after completing their studies. They had convinced themselves that there were no opportunities here. A better future, a dream career was only possible elsewhere. I did not buy this sentiment. I was not swept by the tide of majoritarian thinking. I was a loner marooned on the tiny island of my hardcore beliefs that withstood the winds of change. (Click here to read more)
It was the post on Facebook, in the early days, before, you know, before it got really serious. “Does anyone know of anyone actually getting this virus?” The question behind the question was something like ‘this is all fake news, all made up, this is not real’. In the comments section, her FB friends and followers were quick to respond. No. No. Don’t know. No. No. Don’t know anyone. As if to confirm suspicions. So, the poster followed up. Wasn’t it interesting that no one of her hundreds, perhaps thousands of friends, had themselves or knew of anyone with the virus? (Click here to read)
A fresh morning with a generous sun awaited me on the balcony outside. It was flooded with birdsongs — the caws of the crows, the chirps of the sparrows and the continual trills of a magpie. As my south-facing balcony door opened on a pond and a meadow that stretched up to the street lining it, leaving at least 90 feet to 100 feet in between, I had no dearth of morning breeze or late afternoon gusts of wind in summer. The time of this corona-scare was quiet and soundless. All these birdsongs, whoosh of a car-engine on the road 70-100 feet off my balcony were soothing to my ears. (Click here to read more)
Notes from Singapore: Ordinary inspirations
“Walking is a pastime rather than an avocation.” Rebecca Solnit
In the weeks since social distancing measures were imposed and circuit breaker measures implemented in Singapore, despite having more time on my hands, my writing output has decreased. Have I been afflicted by the dreaded writer’s block?
(Click here to read more)
The world of advertising is already getting creative to give a positive spin to the image of corona virus. Digital media is flush with out-of-the-box renditions. These wonderful interpretations indicate we have the rare ability to mutate this symbol into something exciting. Despite its malevolent impact on human lives and livelihood, the image does not look threatening in isolation. When we look back a year or so later, we are likely to remember a lot regarding the pandemic including the lockdown. (Click here to read)
What Ramayan Taught me about my Parents
Who knew a repeat telecast of a mythological series based on the life of a man/God would set me on the road to new discovery about my own parents. When Ramayan began to be re-telecast on the national television, I had no intention of being glued to it. I am not a big fan of men who abandon their wives, even if they are the Supreme Being/Leader. So, it was a surprise that I ended up watching a whole episode of the series with my family. (Click here to read)
If all time was eternally present…
After almost fifteen days of this ‘lockdown’, I drew a long breath and took up my laptop to scribble away my thoughts. Know not why! Just a way of keeping myself busy, just a mode of whiling away the ‘time’ which otherwise might lie heavy on my heart, cannot say exactly why. Or maybe, being inspired by the ‘lockdown diaries’ penned and shared on Face Book by my friends! Cannot tell you the reason exactly! (Click here to read)
Embracing Imperfections: Kintsugi Hearts
As I wipe the sweat from Pogie’s spotted coat, I think about what horses mean to me. Aside from their centuries of service to mankind, for the work they’ve done and the wars they’ve carried us into, I think horses bring out the best in us. I am especially an advocate of equine interaction for people on the autism spectrum. Horses certainly saved me. (Click here to read more)
COVID 19: Days by the Arabian Sea
I thought the sky is the same as the one I had seen from the rooftop of my house in Imphal on certain days when there were no clouds and the sky was exceptionally clear. But as I continued to look up almost breaking my neck, I twisted my head a little and wondered that it was the same sky yet it was different like a picture with filters. Spellbinding both though, in their own ways. (Click here to read)
Creativity and Corona: Responses of Artistes
Meanwhile, the students and teachers of FTII — Film and Television Institute of India — have been making short films exhorting us to stay at home. Bollywood stars led by Amitabh Bachchan and including all others, have made a comedic short wherein they’re all searching for Big B’s misplaced chashma or glasses — from the confines of their individual homes. (Click here to read more)
During the lockdown phase, I started taking interest in what did not interest me earlier. As a writer fond of observing people and the world outside, my operating space was restricted now. Everything inside the house began to draw my attention. The small, minor issues and objects assumed greater importance than they actually deserved. My appetite for keen observation was evident every hour of the day. (Click here to read more)
And then the tranquility got shattered
Inexplicably, a few moments later, it swerved violently to the right and hit a pillar of the Kochi Metro at high speed. The thud sounded like a thunderbolt. All of us looked through the windscreen with bulging eyes and open mouths. I braked as a black piece, probably a part of the bumper, ricocheted away and came to a stop just in front. I quickly moved the vehicle to the left, without looking at the rear-view mirror. Thankfully, there was no vehicle behind us. I parked on one side. (Click here to read)
When your Child Becomes a Vegan
Not only that, times of global turmoil when movement is restricted are ideal for slowing down and appreciating nature. As Alain de Botton says on his homepage, “You normally have to be bashed about a bit by life to see the point of daffodils, sunsets and uneventful nice days.” In these tumultuous and uncertain times there is an exquisite pleasure to be had in communing with animals and birds. (Click here to read)
Tsunamis of viral microscopic particles surge across continents to flood our cities, streets, and bodies. I stock up on masks, sanitizers, all that is anti-viral and anti-bacterial and watch my ‘home-store’ burgeon with a manic fascination ready to protest that I am not hoarding. (Click here to read)
Lockdown! Stay at home! I know not how long this period of incarceration will continue! More than a couple of weeks have already sped by! But believe me, days are not appearing long, neither the nights. The self, I was groping for in the closet of my being, peeped out and hollered to me, “So finally we meet!” (Click here to read)
Covid-19 seems far away from the district I live in. But deprivation has already set in. On my way home with a bag full of grocery items from the nearby kirana store (minimart), I was stopped by two masked women outside the park. (Click here to read)
Today my daughter came to me and said – ‘its evening, lets make tea’. A common statement but uncommon because it did not have a time stamp – as in ‘Its 5:30 pm, lets make tea’.
It set me thinking what a luxury it has been to be free of the ever-ticking time bomb. ( Click here to read)
Converging Worlds Converging on Screens
Adelaide is half an hour ahead of Japan, and today while in lockdown in Adelaide I keep an eye on the clock so I can join a meeting over 7000 kilometres away in Japan. Ten years ago this would have been a scene in a science fiction novel (at least for me), but now I just have to click a link and I can participate in meeting in a distant place and in a different language. Until now my worlds of Australia and Japan have been hermetically sealed. It has been impossible to be simultaneously present in both, but this crisis has brought them together for the first time. I can sit in front of the screen and attend a meeting in Japan, with the comforting presence of my ageing Labrador snoozing at my feet in Adelaide. (Click here to read more)
Notes from Kerala: Running during COVID
Every day, at 6 p.m., I set out from my home in Kochi for a run. In these coronavirus times, I have marked out a route that runs parallel to the main road. For a few days, the cops, in khaki uniform, were stopping cars and two-wheelers but they left the individuals alone. I have started running after a decade. During those years, I was swimming. But the pool, where I swim, is closed. The lifeguard has gone home. The club is shuttered. There is a lone watchman in a blue uniform standing at the gate and saying, “Nobody is here.” (Click here to read)
Slices of Life: Volunteers for Humanity
Pakistan, like many parts of the world, has announced a lockdown in most of the country. In some of the cities, however, there is a partial lockdown. The district Kech in Balochistan is partially locked down (from morning till five in the evenings with essential services still open like groceries, vegetables, banks, medical stores etc). However, all of the educational institutions will remain closed till May 31, with a warning that the date may be extended, depending on future developments. (Click here to read)
Her multiple complications turned worse around the time the first case came to light. During her last medical check-up, she was diagnosed with aggravated problems related to heart, liver, and gall bladder functioning. Hypertension, diabetes, arthritis, and cataract left out as routine and manageable disorders. She heard the doctor warn her of fatal consequences if angioplasty was not done immediately. She chose to bypass it with a smirk that offended the doctor and he prescribed three new tests at his specified diagnostic centre to locate more illnesses residing within her. (Click here to read)
It started on Saturday, or perhaps even earlier on Friday, twenty-eight days ago, with tiredness and an odd tenseness in my body, which I attributed to stress. My husband returned to our home in Toronto from Pakistan on Monday afternoon and went into quarantine in our guest room. Our COVID-19 days had begun. (Click here to read more)
Ruminations: Lockdown is a Long Flight
But the real reasons (and that is why I am linking it to the lockdown) was that I was mentally at peace since once on board there was nothing under my control. I was blissfully devoid of FOMO – fear of missing out on the chance of utilising my time better. There was nothing I could do high up there – no clearing long pending tasks like visiting the bank, replacing my torn handbag, arranging for a birthday party, getting my car serviced — in general all the tasks that I postponed with guilt while on land. (Click here to read more)
People, mainly the theistic type, are in a dilemma now. They are currently undergoing a test of faith of sorts. On the one hand, they feel they should not have been subjected through such a trial. Whoever had heard of man-made laws preventing believers from performing their daily mandatory salutations of the Divine Forces? Furthermore, at this time of calamity, if they cannot turn to the Divine for help, what else can they do? (Click here to read more)
Hope in the Pandemic: Notes from a Wuhan Physicist
I run a research group made up of more than 20 graduate students, and in a “normal” workday my job is to supervise and direct them on research activities related to opto-electronic devices such as solar cells and light-emitting diodes. I also teach an undergraduate course in polymer physics during our teaching season, with lectures two times a week. I would normally also go to conferences, although not every week. (Click here to read more)
Yesterday, someone shared with me a video by Serena Williams that went viral last year, where she is emotionally urging her little baby girl to grow up and take to a sport, ANY sport, but some sport. I remembered watching it together with my young daughter — in fact, many times over. (Click here to read more)
Julie Felix: Singer, Star Gazer and Child of the Universe
It is not easy to classify Julie Felix, who died the week before last, aged 81. Most of the labels don’t fit. Sure, you could tag her as a folk singer, as she had one of the longest careers in folk music, spanning more than half-a-century. The singer-songwriter was also a humanitarian and human rights activist, having been politicised in the 1960s and was active in peace and environmental movements. But to dismiss her just as a protest singer of yesteryear would be to ignore her much larger contribution. ( Click here to read more)
Hope never dies; not even in the times of Corona
This feels so dystopian. The world today. The television streaming clippings of people, suddenly thrown out of work and asked to leave, to go back to wherever; just leave. Isolation is the keyword, it seems. Lock yourself in your homes, if you don’t have a home somewhere; in a drain pipe, a hole, a box anywhere. Just leave they have been told. They have been let down by the cities of their dreams, the people they worked for, the world collectively. Can we do anything about it? Nothing! And we hang our heads in shame, in our living rooms. (Click here to read)
Notes from Myanmar: Human vs Virus
Birds are at ease, showing no worries, looking down at the helter-skelter of humans, struggling and striving to survive under this ruthless virus’ attack. Before that, birds caused flu and migratory birds could not be seen easily. That time, people hated birds; they stopped bird watching for the fear posed by the threat of bird flu. Birds migrated from one end of the world to another, crossing boundaries, as was their natural tendency. Now, the Covid-19 virus is traveling almost throughout the world. (Click here to read)
Is it funny that every time Man thinks that he has it all figured out, Nature (or fate if you like to call it) just jolts him back to reality? Like Will E Coyote and his spanking new latest invention from ACME Corporation, it just falls flat and blows right on his face again and again, and Roadrunner always goes scot-free, scooting off yet again, screeching “beep..beeep!” (Click here to read)
A Planet of Missing Beauties: In Memoriam
Six decades later, in this grim coronavirus March of 2020, with my city essentially in lockdown and myself in something like self-isolation, I have to admit that I feel a little embarrassed writing about that bird. In fact, I feel as if I should apologize for doing so. After all, who can doubt that we’re now in a Covid-19 world from hell, in a country being run (into the ground) by the president from hell, on the planet that he and his cronies are remarkably intent on burning to hell. (Click here to read)
One thing that the tiny virus, which we cannot see with our naked eyes, has taught us is that mankind in its suffering cannot be bordered by economic, religious, cultural or political boundaries. As we all stand, in isolation, willing or unwilling to take up cudgels against a virus that has forced us to disturb, break and destroy the tenor of our lives, perhaps the time has come to assess our blessings. (Click here to read)
My college is closed, classes are off and examinations have been deferred. We need to go in only if and when there is a need. It is not a holiday as I keep telling all my students, it is a shutdown, done for the sake of social distancing and isolation. It is difficult convincing all about the seriousness of it all, how important it is to take precautions. There are many who dismiss it as media hype, as unnecessary, as India is safe, etc. Convincing does not seem to work, nor does rationale, some just refuse to see logic and reason. (Click here to read more)
Apparently, my 75 year old uncle, Kailash, is immortal.
His astrologer, the one whose perennially hanging VIP undies on the terrace are a Google Maps landmark, told him so.
I quote my uncle verbatim. “My Jupiter is in t he 6th house and even if I want to, I cannot get killed this year.”
(Click here to read more)
In time of a growing pandemic: Some thoughts
On Sunday morning, I hardly noticed that the Japanese Magnolia outside my study room window is in full bloom as it is mid-March. Every year, in late winter, some of the area trees do flower before leaves start to come. That is the first sign to remind us that spring is upon us. There is an undeniably joyous feeling to it and most of us get busy in planning flurries of activities after a long winter. But on Friday afternoon, at 3 PM President Trump declaring National Emergency had everyone put in a panic mode. He had to do it because of the growing spread of the corona virus across states as it is affecting 49 states now. (Click here to read)
As I write this, I am sitting at my workstation at home, a cup of hot green tea in hand, like any other day. But that is where ‘like any other day’ ends. My husband is working from home, no longer out on his weekly tour. The kids are no longer at school. We are watchful of every sneeze, alarmed at every cough. At least, three sanitizers would greet you on the way from my apartment, down the elevator to the ground floor reception. (Click here to read more)
Stray Musings–Love at times of corona, as it were
Those familiar with the cult author Ayn Rand (she of The Fountainhead fame) will possibly remember her somewhat sobering thoughts on love: “After a point, YOUR LOVE for a person becomes more important than the object of love” (Capitalisation mine). What is love, or the easier poser: What do we make of the idea of love? That love is a compelling emotion, which is perfectly democratic and non-discriminating in affecting the bright and the otherwise, the poor and the rich, the old and the young and so on is an incontrovertible fact. (Click here to read more)
Borderless 