The Princess and The Pleb
Growing up female means escaping identity boxes & those who embrace them at your expense. The Princess trope isn’t a nice one, when you’re the girl standing next to her.
Silence – Impaired
There’s no value for silence. Bizarre day. Presentation, twenty thousand phone calls before and after and then a meeting on a conference call. I stumble back to my seat and announce: I’m tired of talking. SNC (in an indecently gleeful tone): I think I’ll send that out on an all-company…
Blue and Not Sweet
Meeting man who has been sternly warned not to exhibit any of the annoying behaviour that have so long been his joy and pride. We won’t go into the details of what entails ‘annoying’ here, it’s fairly wearing out. But said man has sheer genius talent in this and brings…
7 bizarre ways to die in Mumbai
Oh yes, everybody, we love the Island City. Not for its glittery Page 3 crowd, not for Bollywood, not for the stock markets and business hubs. We love it because it is a city of survivors, it is the city with a never-say-die attitude. Well, why not? That’s the only…
Rude and Red
Yesterday I was called rude. And all I was doing was describing a revolutionary new idea I had. Hmph, no one ever accepts brilliant new ideas when they are first born. But whatever am I IdeaSmith for, if not to express new ideas, despite all opposition? Transcripts from the conversation…
An Affair To Forget
The best of times. The worst of times. It was an affair to forget.
India Independent
Independence was a mass movement, spread across a vast geography and clashing over a concept. We emerged as an Independent India. What does that mean today?
Office Capers: Set me free….
Independence day celebration in office. Everyone asked to wear the tricolours in their apparel. And the office is full of excited, squealing kids running around all over the place. Oh, alright, fresh-out-of-college, barely out of their teens newbies who’re all gung-ho about the fact that office-goers have ‘fun’ too. *Grumble…
The Mumbai Caste System
I sometimes hear people describe Mumbai as a place where people treat each other equally and that this city doesn’t face the societal seggregation that Chennai and even Delhi have. I disagree. This city has its own version of a caste system. It is subtle and isn’t immediately apparent, especially to people who haven’t…
Real Passion
A week of passion is always followed by a hangover.