It is hard to imagine what the individual sum of actions in your life add up to. You might be able to point out to certain actions that changed a situation for another, but in the overall scheme of things, it’s hard to see any meaning in that change. We […]
An Egyptian, a Belgian, and a Swiss walk into a bar
This is where I will modify it. They didn’t walk into a bar. They walked into a workshop in a university classroom in Krakow, Poland. The room was quiet and full with students. The lull is broken by the woman giving a presentation about the possibility of careers in the […]
Happy New Year, Said the Doorman
Suited up He holds one hand in the other Standing in attention Instructions memorized Professional attire Surveying, judging Who is for real And who isn’t Who has the money to enter And who doesn’t Cover charge, he says crisply Six thousand. He mocks those who exhibit outrage And welcomes those […]
What does it mean to be traveling in India?
A single or a couple of women taking a trip in India comes with its own volley of problems, as every step of the way throws up a new challenge. First of all, you cannot do the most travel-esque thing: hitchhike. A method tried and tested for travel experiences that […]
Money Can’t Make You Work
Marlo Stanfield, an unbelievably young drug kingpin in the city of Baltimore, is caught in a multi-million dollar drug bust. Behind the drugs lies a trail of murders and black money, pinning him responsible for all these crimes, something that can ensure that he stays in jail till the day […]
A Patch of Green
On a hot morning in the Chinese city of Guangzhou, I met a Chinese acquaintance who could surprisingly speak very good English, facilitating our conversation, as we headed towards a cultural park which I wanted to visit. A long metro ride ahead of us, we went on talking about one […]
MUSIC TO MY EARS
It became an unspoken rule that every vacation I’d take, I had to have a trip song- that one song which would transport me back to the place, flashing memories and moments alongside the beats of the track, making me wonder how perfectly the song fit the mood of the […]
A Story of Two Buses
[Image courtesy: https://www.gapyear.com/countries/india/getting-around] I quickly sought to repress the waves of horror that threatened to rise in my chest as I caught my first glance of the bus- peeling paint, sketchy windows, strange people, and rickety seats. I gulped down my panic, and took deep long breaths; nothing is impossible, and […]
And ultimately, the subaltern could not speak
[Image courtesy: Tarique Anwar] When they spoke about Gajendra Singh’s suicide, the ‘farmer’ from Rajasthan who hanged himself at Aam Aadmi’s anti-land bill rally, and the subsequent spectacle that followed, from the rally being carried on to one authority blaming the other for his death, something struck a chord somewhere; […]
Vishu, the auto guy: Aspirations, and Jaipur
JLF’15 was all planned out and spoken about- my train had almost arrived and I dialled his number from my phone. “Pick me up from my hotel at 11.45,” I told him. He said he would have to shift around a bit of time, but it could be managed- I […]