April 2025

Making a House a Home

Living in a place for a long time, one tends not to delve deep into the history of the place, taking many things for granted. The extent of my knowledge about Mussoorie at the time I first arrived in the mountain town

First Spring Blossoms

first spring blossomsstreaming down in thehot-pink windagainst an azure skyone by oneexudingtheir spicy perfumeinto the earth’s poresintoxicating scentsswirlingaround & aroundmaking the airheavy & drunk below insidethe mother treea cluster of blue flowerssprouting like childrenopeningtheir armsheavenwardawaiting their maturityto shedtheir petalsto pour out theirfiery

Pastel Pink

spring deepens…almost open lilac budspulsating light cherry tree in bloom –love is sweeterunder its branches it flows from the gutter –the morning sun carressingthe house porch blossoms after dark –the sky pulsating perfumein pastel pink the solar lampin the garden turns on…cherry

Craving Time

Scattered sunrise peeks out from the horizon,its warm colour clotting the sheets, oh! that Indian blush, the morning awakensslowly on flushed skin. If one can only be so lucky to find oneselfin these moments in time, when there is balance to be

The Ship

If you were to travelto the opposite hemispherethe moonwould appear upside down.I think about that a lot.— my moon is a capsized shipto people way up north— if I were everto set foot on the motherland,my world would be flipped entirely.What does
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Women are Never Hungry

Women are never hungryyou see, through the artists eyesthey are but food, noodle-like,long, voluptuous or nubileand ham-med in,always sitting besideupon but never at the tablewomen are to be consumed. women are never hungryas through the system of servitudethey make and make food,stirring,

Neiman Marcus Cookies

Preheat the ovenBeat the sugar with the wet ingredientsSift together dry ingredientsStir everything togetherRoll into ballsBake for 8-10 minutes I preheateverything.The oven ready forthe next batchbut nothing goes in. And stillit isn’t enough.I tried to put theingredients in there,the salmon,the avocado,the other

Kill the Wabbits 

Three little kits appeared one morning in the back corner of Hop’s hutch, writhing sightless as moles in the straw, pink as the little piggies on my baby brother’s smooth, un-walked-on feet, hairless as a Brazilian sauntering barefoot along the breezy Copacabana.

Not pamilya enough to be

Donkey Kong, kumusta ka?I miss you whenever I happen tothink of you. How can I not?Our childhoods were spun together: ako; looking after you ikaw; looking after your baby brother, changing his nappies in lola’s red brick apartment. No one else in

The Kite

The pigeon laid her eggs in the narrow space between the window and the AC outer. She knew it to be a safe space beyond the reach of predators. Patiently she sat on her eggs the chicks hatched she watched them grow.

Video (Re)calling

A lazy afternoon in my parents’ bedroom. An idea sprang to my mind, muselessly. I ran into my room, shut the door hard and sat to write the piece. Oh yes, I locked the door, so that Maa doesn’t intrude. Clearly, I