The Quiet Power of Starting Again: Why It’s Never Too Late to Reinvent Yourself Life has an amusing way of rewriting our carefully prepared plans. Just when we think we have figured everything out, it quietly nudges us onto a different path. A career change. Children leave home. A dream takes longer than expected. Health…
Category: Offbeat Living
The Songs We Keep: Celebrating the True Soundtrack of Our Lives
Have you ever been stuck in traffic, completely lost in a boring to-do list, when an old classic melody shuffles on? And suddenly—your entire mood shifts. You’re not staring at a red light anymore. You’re decades back, wrapped in a memory so vivid you can practically feel it. With World Music Day just around the…
Queer Voices in Indian Literature: Stories That Refuse to Stay Silent
June is celebrated worldwide as Pride Month—a time to acknowledge, celebrate, and support the LGBTQIA+ community. While discussions around gender identity and sexual orientation often seem modern, the truth is that diversity in love, identity, and expression has always existed. What has changed is our willingness to talk about it openly. As a reader and…
Motherhood, Choice, and the Right to Life: A Difficult Conversation We Need to Have
When the Right to Life Becomes a Duty to Suffer Some newspaper articles don’t leave you after the morning tea is over. They sit quietly in a corner of your mind, like an old song playing from another room. I recently read (in the Indian Express) an opinion piece titled “Right to life cannot mean…
S for Self-Worth — How to Know Your Value Without Approval
There is a quiet truth that many people spend years searching for their worth, which was never meant to be measured by others. Let’s bring this one home with clarity, strength, and dignity. S for Self-Worth — Knowing Your Value Without Applause Self-worth is the foundation of how you see yourself and how you…
The Colours That Live Inside Me
When I first read the prompt “Colours of Your Personality,” I couldn’t help but smile. Colours have always meant more than just the five primary or secondary ones to me. They have always meant moods, memories, and sometimes even silent conversations with myself. When someone asks me what colour represents me, I honestly wouldn’t know…
Objects That Outlive Us
Objects That Outlive Us: Sarees, Utensils, and Kurta-Pyjamas Some objects outlive people. They hold their breath quietly in cupboards and trunks, waiting for the hand that will touch them again, the eyes that will remember, the stories that will unfold. When my mother passed away in 1993, I inherited not just her sarees and…
One World, Many Laughs: My Take on British and Desi Humour this May
They say laughter is the best medicine—and I couldn’t agree more! The World Laughter Day (May 4) celebrates the quirks, the giggles, the belly laughs, and the subtle smirks that connect us, even across cultures. Did you know? World Laughter Day is celebrated on May 4th every year. But why stop at just one day? I’ve…
Nukkad Natak – Theatre for the Masses
🎭 In the bustling streets of Indian towns and cities, where life unfolds in all its chaos and colour, a powerful form of storytelling quietly takes centre stage—Nukkad Natak. Derived from the Hindi words “nukkad” (street corner) and “natak” (drama), this grassroots form of theatre has been educating, entertaining, and awakening people for decades. It is…
Jharokhas in Indian Architecture: Exploring the Beauty, History & Heritage of Overhanging Balconies
Have you ever walked through an old fort or palace in India and spotted a charming overhanging balcony with delicate lattice work, jutting out from a wall like it’s whispering a story from the past? That’s a Jharokha – one of the most graceful elements of Indian architecture, especially prominent in Rajasthan, Gujarat, and Mughal-influenced…