Online School In The Times Of Lockdown

Lockdown 3.0 is a reality I wake up to everyday. Not that I'm complaining. Lord knows, I needed this time away from school, children, term syllabus, piles of corrections, PTMs, the usual song and dance. I juggled my domestic goddess persona (had no excuses to hide behind this time) and built bridges socially with old…

Living In Interesting Times

It finally happened, India is under a complete lockdown for 21 days. Today happens to be Day 5 and unlike the voluntary Janta Curfew of last Sunday, this is the compulsory kinds. Stay at home! China, Italy, Spain, England, the US, practically every country around the globe is doing it or on its way. So,…

When Corona Came Marching Home.

Corona Virus with an official name COVID-19 hopped across China, Korea, Iran, skipped to Italy and finally jumped to India. When WHO declared it a pandemic, I had to google the word since my vocabulary on contagion began with outbreak and ended with epidemic. Social distancing physically continues to be propped up like Captain America's…

The Case Of The Vanishing Voice

Come winter and like clockwork my health flip flops in spite of every precaution I take. This time it was just a scratchy throat. I thought it would become alright; I had much faith in my legions of white blood cells. The next day my voice had transformed into a deep throaty whisper reminiscent of…

Surviving Sheru

He arrived in a cardboard box, all the way from Kashmir, India seven years ago, a pup no one wanted, with a desi name Sheru that no one liked. In a household with two established fur balls, he was already the outsider. He made the adults apprehensive but the kids were ecstatic; he with the…

Happiness is…

...counting the minutes to the midnight hour. ...The 2018 Ferrero Rocher Sula, chocolate and wine, all entwined, painstakingly crafted by the apple of mine. ...giggling, whispering, springing, "SURPRISE", 46 brats, Jack in the box style. ... a Bucket Bag , a road map. ...and wishes that came on wings. ... and via phone calls that…

Stopping by a Tea Shop on a pleasant evening.

Bright, cheery yellow! That is how I remember the nondescript tea stall in the picturesque Himalayan foothills, by the side of the tall iron gates that lead to a sort of retreat. I was looking for the place that served the most 'divine lemon tea'. Was this it? Inside, it looked exactly like any other…

Anticipation and Preparation: To be or not to be, a helicopter parent!

Last night neither my firebrand teen nor I could sleep. She was hyper excited, the biggest Inter School Competition was here and she had to be in school at 6 am to catch the bus. I was hyper anxious not to oversleep for she had to be in school by 6 am to catch the…

Five times when 2Cellos left one fan thunderstruck.

Ok! I need to say this - I'm utterly obsessed with the two cello wielding musicians from Croatia called 2Cellos. I mean that's the only explanation for actually standing close to an hour, headphones wrapped around my ears, scrolling down their videos, watching each till the very end, without fidgeting or fast forwarding at all.…

Food Drama – Alien Eyeballs anyone?

Sunday evening, I sat haunched over my phone, multiple pages open- 20 must see places to visit in Delhi, 10 places accessible by Metro, Broadway shows in Kingdom of Dreams, HoHo Bus 1 Day tour, Akshardham timings, I was in the flow. Then it hit me; almost all my must see places were closed on…