Balancing Act

I am wandering, wondering
How to balance life
To surrender or strive
To capture the moment
Or let the memories fly by!
In the space between thoughts
Where I often feel lost
I am seeking answers
To saunter, gallop, or stop?

Daily Grind

Sublime requests
Of my creative mind
Overturned by demands
Of a cerebral strife.
Shackled to cubicles,
Paints and brushes
Paper and ink
Yarn and hooks
Painfully exchanged
For butter and bread.
Amusing musings
Garrulous silence
Thoughts playing
Hide and seek in
My restive mind
Wanting to break free
Of the daily grind.
Unfinished pages now
Brittle and yellow
Mocking blank canvas
Waiting for a splatter
Of pictures and words.
My mind is where
I left the crochet hook
An unfinished work
I can’t wait to unravel
Start the lace afresh
As new patterns emerge.

Book Review: Understanding Bullying on Religious Lines

Mothering a Muslim by Nazia Erum is an important book in our times. As the world embraces Islamophobia in daily rhetoric and our own nation walks a thin line of communal irrationality, Muslims are increasingly living threatened lives. The fear embeds in the minds and hearts of mothers, who face simple but difficult choices even in selecting a socially-acceptable name, when a child is born into a Muslim family.  Do all mothers face this diabolical question – would the child be bullied and socially ostracized if the child’s name connects it to a community? Not all but a Muslim mother, surely, be it in any part of the globe.

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Wrinkled Memories

Time after time
I return to the glade
Of joyous thoughtscape
Silver dandelion
Golden sunrays
Aroma of a picnic lunch
Love notes in the basket
In windswept letters
On fragile paper
Gossamer stories
Of loving, leaving, longing
Blowing in the breeze
With yellow petals
Wrinkled memories

Window Seat – Flashback 2014

The Window Seat is a collection of articles by journalist Supriya Sharma as she undertakes a 2,500-kilometer train journey across India. The compilation is available on the scroll.in site and is aptly complemented by photos from this vast stretch of land as it readies itself to vote in the 2015 Indian elections. In this blog piece, I look at a few key elements that emerge after reading the compilation. It is a satisfying and insightful read but most importantly it is a compelling work.

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