I emerge like a tree from a dirty seed;

(The conversation happened in tamil) Few months back: She: You have gas cylinders that you don't use. Shall I take one? Me: I don’t have a gas stove. But my mother asked me to keep this on stand by. I might buy a gas stove when she comes for a visit or if I hire a cook.  Few days back: She: You have two Brush dusters. Shall I throw away one Me: Both are good. I don’t want to throw that away Last weekend, I found one duster missing Me: Where is the other duster? She: I threw it away. You had two. Me: I asked you not to though I had two She: I thought that you were not aware that you had two dusters when you told me not to throw it away Me: But you did mention that there were two and I asked you not to throw it away She: Is it that important? Me: This is not really about if it's a small thing or a big thing She: Ok, I will not throw away things without asking you. I threw it away along with some containers* *I am racking my brain to find o...

Chetan, Insulted! - Yes, that's what I felt after reading your column ' Don't worry, Be happy ' that has been lapped up with great gusto as an inspirational article. While preaching against the 'regressive attitude' of the Indian society, you conveniently forget that you are peddling the same garbage in a shiny package. You say // It would be a universe full of messy, aggressive and ego-maniacal males running the world, trying to outdo each other for no particular reason. There would be body odour, socks on the floor and nothing in the fridge to eat. The entertainment industry would die. Who wants to watch movies without actresses?//    Touche. Did you actually write that to make women feel indispensable! Should I feel proud with this new found wisdom that the world might collapse without women titillating men on screen, cooking food for men or picking up after men? As a child, I noticed most of the women in the family embracing life as handmaids to thei...

The woman, they say, has come a long way. She is no longer a nameless consort in the harem, a witch hanged in the Middle Ages or a house wife who could not vote because the world after all is a gentleman’s game. The question is ‘Have we done enough? Why take the 'gender' factor seriously when the world is rife with major divisions and classes of discrimination ? I am yet to read a story of infanticide triggered by the infant’s caste, creed or religion. Gender is the quintessential factor that determines an infant’s right to live in most villages in India. It is still the determining factor while choosing an educational path and more times than not, the freedom of 'choice' itself. Financial freedom could help. But that is a tricky road too. Women contribute to more than 50% of the graduates passing out of major Universities but the figures in the corporate world in terms of women leadership is nothing to be proud of. Women in the workforce come from differe...

The marshy fields stretch in front me Inviting me with that sweet smell of earth The evening breeze brings a lone feather Twisting and turning in the wind Making shapes that ought to be the new language beyond sound My first step surprises me The moist clay encasing me knee deep Freedom beckons but commitments hold me back I take in everything and close my eyes Letting it sink in and fill me with its promises I shut the door and return Immersing myself in the everyday humdrum No regrets, No remorse The door is within me, keeping safe my ‘freedom’ behind its bars The paradox of life is Freedom within bounds and captivity out of bounds