Books | City | Map Of Emotion | Pop Culture
Autorickshaws & Poetry: Dignity In A Post COVID World
Finding poetry & gentleness in an angry post COVID world. I found dignity in an autorickshaw driver. And a poem.
City
Cityscapes, city sights, urban communities, metropolis life, city dweller identity, focussed on Mumbai with an occasional mention of Delhi, Bangalore and other cities I’ve been in.
Bombay Meri Hain
I’ve been calling myself a Mumbaiker by identity. But yesterday, a compilation of Konkani songs sent me down nostalgia lane. I realised my history is a specific slice of Bombay culture. It is a Bombay of Koli fisherfolk, their current descendents dressing in westernwear rather than a kashta draped saree…
When Mumbai Awakens Again
I’ve always loved Mumbai but now feels like a new lease on life. A second chance to truly experience every breath.
Better Days: Growing Hope In A Wasteland
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.
Bombay Is Beautiful When It Doesn’t Rain
I mean, look at that sky! I’m rekindling my love affair with the city. Just like any romance, it feels terrifying, disorienting & sometimes overwhelming. I thought I knew this island for life, that its metamorphosing roads would never feel unfamiliar to me. Mumbai, Bombay, it keeps surprising me. Then…
Soft Places
You can be grateful for the beauty & also upset at the ugliness. The things that inspire these co-exist & sometimes in the same place. Why would the feelings that these bring up, not be able to occupy the same mind simultaneously? Human beings can feel more than one feeling…