Good Morning, World!

I’m waking earlier than usual. Well, before my alarms go off. I have three set on my phone, each five minutes apart. That’s because when I reach to turn it off, I get sucked into the scrolling game. The training to chuck the phone away quicker or better still, to ignore its siren call, is…

Last Chance

I spent the last three months struggling to write a post. Just when I had almost given up, the universe sends me a sign. It literally said 'Last Chance'. That's the name of the Lens-Artist challenge for the week. So taking the chance to get it done, before December ends. How we spend our days,…

Back To School, Hybrid Classes Rule!

December so far has been an eventful month. After much dithering, our primary section reopened for offline classes. Goodbye ‘work from home’ and ‘hello school campus’. School Ahoy! The parents whooped and cheered but when it was time, many decided not to send their children. “Omicron is spreading and no vaccination as yet for the…

Now and then

Thanks to COVID-19, we have found ourselves in a pickle. Squashed at home, adjusting, adapting, remembering the pre-Corona days with plenty of time to do all the stuff we always wanted to. So pickling is one of the activities done with a gusto these days. Homemade Dalle Chili Pickle. Red hot, eat at your own…

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…

Struck By Wanderlust

So it is official and the countdown has begun to my very first international holiday. Yay! I am still pinching myself. For the longest time, my deepest desire was to go on a trip around the world. I lapped up travel shows, movies, articles, books (Travels by Michael Crichton tops the list). I would dream,…

Unexpected Beauty Of Akhnoor, India.

When your expectations are low because everyone says there isn't anything to see in a small, dusty town called Akhoor, you hide behind your sunglasses and nod off. You instead look forward to sampling the flavours of the sprawling Jammu City next door, perhaps launch a pilgrimage to the Vaishno Devi Shrine. Till your eyes…

Reading Challenge: And The Mountains Echoed.

It was a March Mayhem- exams, hectic term ending schedules, fatigue and figuring what I really wanted to read for my monthly Reading Challenge. Now that was a challenge in true sense. I picked 'And the mountains echoed' by the March born Khaled Hosseini. I was curious about it as I remember enjoying both his…

Identity Crisis and The Indian Election Mahakumbh!

"Where are you from?" I am often asked this question. I blame my non distinctive looks that place me anywhere from the North Eastern region of India to Nepal, Tibet, Thailand. Once I was even excitedly pegged for a Japanese by my country men. Sigh! Closer home, confusion reigns supreme in my state of Uttarakhand.…