On January 11th 2022, The Hindu newspaper had an article that said that the Corporation of Chennai would come to citizens’ homes to administer COVID booster vaccines to those over 60 with comorbidities. The next evening, I called the 2nd number listed in that article. The phone was picked up…
As the rain keeps pelting down in Madras from Cyclone Nivar, with bursts of hyper loud thunder and incredible flashes of lightning, looking at my waterlogged street and my semi-inundated yard with the ever looming threat of a power outage, I get a few distinct memories, all associated with water.…
COVID-induced travel restrictions meant that my daughter and I spent 6 months continuously in Pennsylvania with my husband and son – the four of us have never been together for so long a stretch in over 9 years. An additional happy side-effect of this stay has been my son’s attempting…
Note: I normally edit after I write but it seemed appropriate NOT to do so in this case. So, please excuse all errors. Every now and then, I get asked if I am jobless. There are those who camouflage it in the seeming courtesy of “so, what DO you do…
On Tuesday last week, my daughter and I decided to look at returning to India at the earliest. An intended six-week sojourn had extended to almost six months. It was a really tough decision to split up the family back again at this time of a pandemic – and frankly,…
Recently, a classmate posted the following: “Would you rather deal with someone who tells you exactly what they mean (even if it hurts sometimes) … or someone who…. never confronts you directly? Just curious what people think.” Well, it definitely got me thinking. Developing the appropriate filters in communication is…
As a faculty spouse, I have continuous and regular interaction with 20 and 30 something graduate students – moving from being on first name basis then to being Ma’am-ed and Aunty-ed now (which I embrace happily). Pickled in this age group for 25 years, I can unequivocally say it is…
The self-inflicted death of a healthy, young man is always a tragedy. Following the suicide of the young and successful Indian actor, Sushant Singh Rajput, I have seen several social media posts in the vein of (self-paraphrased) “If you need someone to talk to, I am here. You are never…
Death, Birth. Marriage, Widowhood. Sickness, Health. Music, Silence. Vignettes of utter contrasts back to back all within 18 hours. Life itself, in fact, encapsulated in a nutshell. Last night, I ‘attended’ a wedding online. Today, an online memorial meet for my husband’s schoolmate. Right before, I caught what I could…
As I drove through Kotturpuram, the pillion rider on the whizzing motorbike gesticulated wildly. I looked him in the eye and drove on. Now, a car sidled up, the driver miming. He brought his vehicle to a complete stop beside mine, opened his windows and gestured. His lane was free.…