Let the waves comeLet the winds blowLet me be soaked, burnt, frozenTrampled by every manner of foe Let the shouts riseLet the voices echoLet there be slogans, insults, criesAnd words that land like blows I will melt, I will breakI will drown, I will searI will bear every wound &…
An old post for a new prompt uncovered the purity of my emotion & unabashed sensuality before I met moral policing. But I still like a good peach.
I’ve been a plant parent for 12 years. I started with a sprig of ajwain stuck in a pot & it grew & grew. Some of you adopted its babies in little pots & they grow with proud fortitude in your homes. Over the years, I added herbs (kadi-patta, pudina,…
GHOSTS OVER TEA – a poem
For some months now, Clubhouse has been my new social media toy. It has also been my solace, my refuge during the soul-shattering COVID-19 second wave. I’ve made friendships of a very different kind from any I’ve had before (even counting the pioneering days of chatrooms, blogs & Twitter). Hearing people’s voices through the dark desolation of a pandemic and having those voices be what carry you into choosing to wake up every day – this cannot be explained to somebody who hasn’t experienced it. This piece was written for a theme set by my steadiest co-host, Tareque Laskar – Better Days.
When the king falls, and he will fallAnother will sit in his placeAnd a hundred others will hold him up& plot his disgraceThey will talk about the politics of bodiesThey will gamble these bodiesThe woman with five husbandsWas shared property & objects have no agency He looks at me &…
𝘞𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘧𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 & 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘦. Smiling like I have a secret. Amused yet kind. I would like to leave in peace. 𝘖𝘤𝘤𝘶𝘱𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘐 𝘥𝘰 & 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘺 𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘥, 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘳 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘧𝘺. I would like to leave without worrying about what I leave behind….
I mean, look at that sky! Bombay is so beautiful.
I feel like I’m a different person out in the world. I enjoy dressing up because I love the reactions of the world to my style. It’s not always positive. I also find ridicule, envy, shaming & other things. Each is a reaction, a conversation with society, with humanity in…