When seen through an Indian’s eyes, India looks very different from the promos one sees internationally. It’s not about the monuments, it’s about the moments.
personal
A sliver of India
Tag Archive for Indian
poetry
A patriot’s story
A soldier stationed on the border is passionate about protecting his country. Why can’t all of us be as passionate about preserving this planet?
personal
A diverse line up
I’ve written about friends and my process of selecting them. While I don’t have many friends, the ones I do have are quite a mixed bunch. I have friends who are gay (and I don’t just mean happy). I have friends who don’t want to have anything to do with homosexuals. I have friends who…
personal
Billion Hearts Beating
Even before my dad had a heart attack a couple of years ago, I was keenly aware of the dangers we, South Asians, face when it comes to heart problems. Despite my slender physique and primarily vegetarian diet, I knew I wasn’t in the clear. But I was afraid to get the tests done —…
personal
Doing things just because…
Every time I cut my nails, I think of Nani, my maternal grandmother. She visited us briefly every other year – couldn’t stay for long, since it was her daughter’s house. Over the years mom rationalized with her…telling her she was not a “burden” and that if she ate in our house, she wouldn’t be…
personal
Spicing things up
I have been a very conventional cook. Partly because I learned cooking very late in life (the only way to eat “familiar” food in Iowa City was to cook it) and partly because living in the Bay Area allows me the freedom to go on culinary adventures without spending time and energy in my kitchen.…
personal
A cultural adventure
For the first time in the eight years that I have been in the States, I had an amazing cultural and culinary adventure. A Korean coworker took me to one of her favorite restaurants, a little eatery tucked away in the corner of a shopping center – Cho Sun Myun Oak. It was a whole…
personal
I am my own woman
We were newlyweds at the Lucknow airport checking in for our flight to New Delhi, onwards to San Francisco — we had been assigned seats a couple of rows away from each other, so we requested to be seated together. The agent refused. “You don’t have the same last names,” he said. Wait. What? I…
personal
Fasting — why do you do it?
Note: I apologize in advance if this post offends those who believe in religious fasting. You may find yourself outraged, but please know, I am not attacking your belief system, simply stating my own. There are several reasons why people fast: spiritual, political, therapeutic. In the three decades I’ve been on this planet, I’ve mostly…
