Category: Life Happens
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Amma’s Angels
6th April 2026. It was the 13th day after my mother’s passing. We had finished a beautiful and soulful set of rituals to remember her by and celebrate the life she led for 86 years, caring for her family, and all who came in touch with her. This was followed…
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The “Adult Orphan” Syndrome
The author reflects on the recent loss of their mother, who battled Parkinson’s disease, and the earlier loss of their father. The piece explores the profound emotional void left by their parents, while also celebrating their love and partnership. The narrative emphasizes coping with grief through cherished memories and a…
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The Year My Family And Friends Wrote Me Off
Before you judge my family and friends, I promise you they did exactly what I needed this year! Some background first… I started 2024 with a view to self-discovery, leading to self-development and new challenges and opportunities. I took a sabbatical, signed up for an MBA which was due to…
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Amma’s “Mor Moong Dal”
Back in 2000, when I was about to embark into my life as a married woman, I sat both my Amma and Appa down and took down all my favourite recipes that they made. Over the years, I added notes to those recipes when a few years later, I sat…
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If Not Now, When? Embracing Academic Challenges
Last year when I took a short break from working life, and began to take stock of life and what I wanted from it, a long-lost dream resurfaced from my memory. I always wanted to pursue an MBA degree. But I worked shifts for the most of my career in…
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Our Two Appas
Every year on 19th April, the day my father passed away back in 2009, I slow down, centre myself, focus on my Appa and in minutes, a story weaves itself from my subsconcious to my conscious mind, to the fingers flying on my keyboard and to a post much like…
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Reflections on Life’s Curveballs: My Anniversary Post Journey
For the first time since I started my blog, my anniversary post is late. It has taken me a while to gather my thoughts as they are across a few countries, time zones and lives. In what is for me a change of pace, I am not beating myself up…
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The Art of Decluttering
I look around the house, feeling a little defeated. There are times in our life when dusty shelves and strewn clothes take a back seat over other priorities. This is one of those times. It doesn’t stop me from judging myself though. A lifetime of conditioning to keep a spic-and-span…
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A Sunday Morning, Appa and an Auto Rickshaw
It should have been 1988-1989 or thereabouts. My sister Neela was married by then and settled in the suburb of Chembur. We stayed in Andheri (East). On numerous occasions during this period, I would have visited my sister many times along with my parents. We usually took an auto rickshaw…
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Little Things That Brought Big Happiness
The life of my childhood (I am referring to the India of 1970s/80s) was very simple and very fulfilling. If I think back, I find so many memories of how a middle-class family stayed happy and content and enjoyed life to the fullest. You see, money in those days was…
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Covimusings – Four Years Later
When I looked at the date today, it struck me that it was four years almost to the exact week when the country I live in went into lockdown, along with many other countries in the world. What followed was a period of fear, uncertainty, loss and grief. It was…
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On Appa’s Principles of Money Management
When Amma developed arthritis, and had to go on an annual basis for treatment to an Ayurvedic hospital in South India, it fell to me to help my Appa with the household chores. I was all of twelve I think, but I never thought to question this arrangement. Questioning Appa…
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When Amma Made Aavakkai Ooruga
There are so many precious memories that form part of our childhood. Memories of familiar sights, sounds, smells, people. They travel with us for life, and many a times, something happens in the present that brings a long-forgotten memory to the fore. Sometimes, the feeling of recalling something you didn’t…
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Summer, Salt and Leaps of Faith
Growing up in Bombay in the ‘80s was a unique and special experience. Living in a bustling, cosmopolitan city which was fast becoming a melting pot of cultures through people that converged from all parts of India into this city of dreams, to try their luck, make a life for…
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Before There Were Hacks, There Was Jugaad!
Long before social networking arrived on the scene, long before videos were made of what to do with plastic bottles or straws or paper clips or old tyres, long before the word “hack” was coined by the rest of the world, there was Jugaad. So what exactly is Jugaad? It’s…
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Bai The Way
1970s – A bustling Mumbai with immigrants pouring in from all states, eager to make a living, maybe more. Dreams, hopes, ambitions soar high. While husbands busy themselves with work and prospective business opportunities, wives busy themselves with housework, bringing up the children. It was very rare those days to…
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Messages From The Universe
I’ve always believed in the concept of The Universe and its power, influence and benevolence over all living things on this beautiful home we call Earth. We each identify with this concept in different ways. Some of us align ourselves with nature and it’s wonders. Yet others find this same…
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mykidneybeans turns seven
Regular readers of my blog would probably recall my annual self-imposed ritual to turn to my friend Yosvon’s photo blog and pick one of his amazing clicks based on whichever one inspires me and fits the theme of the year best. There are years where the theme comes to me…
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An Artist and a Workaholic Meet at a Bar
She rushed in with the weight of a hundred worlds on her head. Even as she walked into the bar to meet a long-lost friend, her mind was miles away in front of her work laptop, trying to recall if she’d sent out that super urgent email as well as…
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The Guilt Trip
My spice rack. A creative idea that came years ago. A vision brought to life thanks to my husband. It has travelled with me since the last couple of decades across houses. There’s never been a guest or family member who has visited us and not marveled at the tiny…