The Curry Affair

  It’s that time in my writing epoch: the keyboard box is being dusted, but just enough to still retain the essence of my last piece. Some red liquid courage is being poured, but just enough to not drown the tsunami of emotions my most visible of arteries are whirling through. Some lights are dimmed, but just enough to be still able to visualise my reactions and outbursts these walls have seen me go through over the last few days. Some light music is allowed to reverberate, but just enough so as to not overpower the riot of lyrics my mind is waiting to drain out.  Chaliye, shuru karte hain, shall we :P  To set the context for the theme of this piece, let’s circle back to yesterday morning: my landlord scolds me yet another time for keeping food for pigeons outside my place, says it litters the floor and area around. In my defence, I get the space cleaned each day, I think I pretty well understand what behaving like a responsible tenant means. She still scolds me hard, I have stopped sa

Like any traveller who loves exploring India, Kerala, popularly cited as God’s Own Country, holds a special place when it comes to topping many a traveller’s checklists. But unlike many of my friends and family members who have made a visit to this state, I wasn’t a big fan of covering X cities of Kerala in Y days, at a stretch. From my experience exploring a lot of Indian states, I have to come to solidify the belief that each new city or town in India has a different vibe to it and slow travel is the only way one can do justice to it, at least in my theory. So this fine March, I decided to head to the Queen of Arabian Sea, a.k.a Kochi. Kochi, also known as Cochin, is a vibrant city in the state of Kerala, India. Known for its historical significance, cultural richness, and bustling commercial activities, Kochi is a popular destination for tourists and a significant economic hub. How to Reach Kochi? One can travel to Kochi by train, bus or flight, depending on where one is starting fr

As a corporate professional, long weekends hold great significance and if you are a traveller, you know you have hit a jackpot. This fine day I was designated the task to short list a place to travel to by my sister, which is easy to reach to, has great stay and food options, is a bit chill and less commercialised, has great weather and is pocket friendly as well. With this in mind, I started scouting for cities in India which could make a great escapade during the Independence Day long weekend. The task might have been effort and time consuming, but this is where my travel aficionado planning comes into picture: while travelling and creating content around it, I always have a handy list of places shortlisted for my next escapade and this time, Puducherry was a quick find and considering the weather there in August, and the checklist my sister gave, we locked the destination almost without a debate. Known for its rich and unique cultural heritage, the Union Territory is a unique blend

  October was a tumultuous month: unexpectedly though, because this is usually the time things chill down at work, the festive cheer fills the air and the weather becomes a lot more comforting and inviting.  But life had different plans:) With its usual streak of surprising you with situations you least expect, the month brought upon corporate re-shuffles (which mostly always destabilises things for a while), saddening sunset of friendships you had never imagined taking the course they did, difficult conversations with work peers, a constant demotivated outlook, an out of the blue medical emergency, my refrigerator getting fucked up one fine Monday. Not everything was saddening though: some good family time (a tad bit more than usual), some surprising wins at work, discovering a new park for my morning walks, cooking more often for myself. Cutting short to the theme of this piece: when life stitches together a lot of difficult and tough situations within a narrow span of time, you usua

  As simple and non-complicated it sounds, places, yes: non-living state of matter ‘places’, have the capability to evoke so many emotions. This other day, I happened to accompany my mom to her college, where she has spent the last 30 years of her life imparting to students, what she knows best: Chemistry Lessons (joking, she is the best at everything:P). The moment our car crossed the humongous, yet very beautifully maintained playground, I had a surprisingly quick flashback to the time me and my sister spent at the very same place 20 years back. The same grass, the same trees, the same walls; albeit the grass a bit greener, the trees a bit taller and the walls more maintained and higher. But that was not the contrast I was more absorbed upon. It was overwhelming to trickle in the realisation of how quickly we grew up ; from worrying about how to sneak in a 10 rupee crispie to buy our favourite notebook and a small bag of chips to share and ultimately fight upon, to now worrying about