Musical But Not By Identity
I come from musical history. I trained in vocals & an instrument. I’ve won prizes, performed concerts. But music is not my identity.
Violence against women
Different Shades of Grief
In how many ways shall I experience grief? I watched THAPPAD and thought about all the people who have hit me. In plural
Make That One Water: Saying No To Alcohol
This December I passed a milestone in my life and quit alcohol altogether. I am part of a culture that has mixed messages about alcohol & gender.
The Gifts of February: Surviving Triggers
February brought a lot of gifts and a lot of lessons. Hear that, 2017? Lessons don’t all have to be hard and suffering-riddled. Well, perhaps not true.
Poem For An Ex I May Have Told You About
I had a chance to get this off my chest last year. I’m so grateful for the stage giving me a chance to voice things that had been eating away my insides for too long. I’ve been silenced by well-meaning friends and others who are just inconvenienced by anything other…
Old Healed Wounds That Ache In Bad Weather
At the Performance Poetry workshop I attended yesterday, we looked at some videos of performers. One of them had a few notes playing in the background and the performer speaking in a characteristic singsong, often-rhyming style. I blurted out, “But that’s rap!” The others smiled and told me that rap…
Buzzfeed’s Imaan Sheikh & Rape Culture
Imaan Sheikh was the name on Twitter’s buzz because of a screenshot of her tweets from three years earlier.
Ladies Compartment
The Mumbai metro recently announced a separate coach for women only.
Wake Up And Smell The Bruises
I know what I saw. I know the sense of danger I felt. I know that unmistakable instinct women develop about trouble. There was something off. I didn’t need to see the bruises.
Saadgi: The Indian Plain Jane ideal
Western feminism talks about the infantalisation of women. Childish behaviour is rewarded, glorified and in some cases, forcibly attributed too. I think the Indian counterpart is a bit different – but there is an Indian counterpart. The Indian culture, across states idolizes the Plain Jane. In general conversations among my…