Reflections

I reckon the pain in my writings, that you talked to me about It has had its roots in fear, a state of unrest and fluidity The realm of my identity was a strange land to me I have been groping for “me” and my “self” It was easy to go by, past them, for long- Ignoring the persistent calls from within But they then assumed tones of warning and threat And yet, I remained apparently oblivious to them all Closed my doors and life was safe within The knocks grew to bangs and finally The secure door came crashing down Leaving me ‘alone’ to lurk in the dark It shook me to note that warnings strong cannot be ignored I was left clueless for a while but not for long There were miles to tread and the path was ‘less taken’ With the tough going also came new learning Now in the cozy confines of my ‘self’ I look back at times past and see what they brought home to me The ‘self’ discovered and untangled and the fears and unrest slowly turning to peace!

It’s been a week after she came to Calcutta, when one morning she came across an advertisement in the newspaper, ’Wanted a smart and intelligent lady to be in charge of our whole sales department. Should have some know-how about fabric colours and the latest designs. Walk in to our office with a self-written application” The office building was in a crowded street. By the time she reached that building in her light yellow silk saree and white hand bag, it was eleven o’clock. It was huge building with seven floors, which had more than two hundred rooms and great many verandhas. There were elevators and a group of people in front of each of them-fat merchants, office goers clutching their leather bags and the like. She couldn’t find a single woman there and had lost a great part of her courage by that time. She felt that she shouldn’t have ignored her husband’s opinion and come for that job. Spotting a peon near by, she asked him: ”On which floor is the textile company?” “Must be on the ...

My name amazed her a great deal “A Sanskrit name?”   “Yeah”   “Is it Sanskrit that you speak?”   “No”   “Then, why the name?”   “Malayalam as a language is very much akin to Sanskrit”   “Still, can there be a name like the Lotus King?”   The Lotus King?! I was embarrassed, yet I told her; “We worship the lotus”   She looked a little reticent. I saw that she was trying hard to tell me something, so I urged her to speak. She then asked me how we came to worship the lotus   “I don’t know”   “Does Obrion say anything?”   “I don’t know”   She grew even more shy. A faint red from her bare neck crept to her face “What do the petals of the lotus signify?”   “I don’t know”   “And the sepals?”   I was getting bored. Our conversation was beginning to sound more like an interview to me. I replied without much interest   “I have no idea”   “I’ll make a move” There was a smile of misc...

The importance of being "I" Life is definitely fleeting in nature. To live it up and thus be able to realize my dreams has been a thought of priority in me for the past few months. In this context I got the chance to talk to a lot of women friends of mine. Some have hardly been exposed to the real world while the others have been exposed much too much to the grim and ugly aspects of living so that their entire picture of life and living got muddled. I belonged to the first category until not too recently. Not that I am totally aware now but I know that I am headed that way. I find it a pleasurable journey, where you let go of your inhibitions and get the courage to actually question the various dogmas thrust upon you from the time you arrived upon this planet. It sounds easier said than done. But in this journey I have had some wonderful perceptions. To begin with, I was getting to know myself. In a conventional and orthodox Indian setting, (I was brought up in the strict env...

The charismatic Cochin Featured in National Geographic Traveler's '50 greatest places of a lifetime', Cochin is arguably the ideal starting point for exploring the unfathomable diversity and inexpressible beauty of Kerala. It has emerged as the commercial and industrial capital of Kerala and is perhaps the second most important city on the west coast of India. Cochin or Kochi as it is called today, still reminiscences one of old time glory where the impact of 18th century colonialism is still evident in many parts and aspects of the city. Aptly titled the Queen of the Arabian Sea, the city spans across industries ranging from ship building and petrochemical refining, to handicrafts and spice trading. Among the varied industries, IT is the upcoming one and tourism the all-pervading one. Cochin has undergone an almost sea change in terms of infrastructure, modernization and general upliftment. The marine drive itself is living proof for this. 7 years back it could only boast...