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The Hyderabad Playlist – A song story

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It is human nature to dwell in the past, worry about the future and forget all about the present. I still miss the days spent in Hyderabad. I miss the study schedules, eating out, street shopping, and the city tours. I miss the roads, the townships and the metros. But I clearly remember that I just wanted the days to pass quickly so that I could return home, while I was there. And today I miss the view from the terrace of the ladies hostel we stayed in, the floral decorations with chalk, colors and flowers, the flower market, the abundance of curd during lunch hours, the constant ‘amma’ recitals by our wardens and so much more.


One of the highlights of the hostel life in Hyderabad at Sri Kamali was queuing up for tea, puri and dosa during breakfast time, and then hurrying to secure a chair the very next moment. And conversations and complaints flowed unhindered during these hours in many languages at once- the most prominent ones being Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi and English.…
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Thinking Out Loud ~ Once In a While

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I don’t know what to write about. Well, there is a lot to write about though. The month of December 2018 brought in so many new experiences in my life, that I ought to write about them. But I don’t know where to begin. Well, for one, I am afraid. I am afraid that the tumultuous emotions that I have been long evading, ignoring, shutting out could overwhelm me before I could even attempt to put them in words coherently. I am afraid that the more I try to reason things, make sense of events that occurred, the more I would confuse myself. Maybe that’s the reason it has been difficult to write all these days, even when all I wanted to do was write- jot down all those thoughts that trespassed my conscious mind. I still don’t know what to type, where to start, but I’ll make an honest attempt. A vulnerably honest one.
The sound of typing feels so familiar. I wonder why I had been away from words and blogging for so long. Certain someone had said that I reside too much inside my own mind and t…
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My Last Foster Mom: A Novella

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Book Blurb:
"Cynthia is a young widow struggling to raise her six-year-old daughter. Mathilde, an eccentric and short-tempered old woman, tries her best to keep people away. Despite their differences, Cynthia's circumstances draw them together.
Will Mathilde turn her back on Cynthia? Will these women learn the true meaning of a family?"


The book starts with Cynthia Dawson trying to make ends meet for herself and her daughter, Jeanne as they are left alone to fend for themselves after her husband passed away a few months back. But being the wife of a rather violent war veteran was nothing better than the life of a widow. He hit her and Jeanne whenever he felt like it and hung himself one fine day in the garage.

Charming moments between the mother and the daughter set pace for a heartwarming read. Cynthia has been an orphan living with several foster parents since childhood. And as the title suggests, the story revolves around Cynthia’s last foster mother.

A fateful meet with …
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The One To Leave First

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I have always been the one to leave first. Be it luck or circumstance, it has always been this way. Some of the times it has been my decision to venture out of my comfort zone first before all my peers decide to do the same and I am left behind, alone in the old world. The decisions are out of fear of being left alone, most of the times. Or is it self-preservation instead? 

I am a person who takes time to adapt, make new friends, get accustomed to new surroundings- an unlikely one to leave first- yet I do. You might think me selfish, but I am just afraid, and I decide to take care of myself first. Some might see this as a major risk-taking attitude, but I mostly see it as fleeing before the 'desertion' hits me instead. Now that's a strong word indeed. I am always in search of safe ground, always so insecure and calculating my moves lest I end up being alone on the island.
Paranoiac. Several things bother me at once. What if my peers get on with their lives leaving me behi…
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The Gu Family Book- A Review

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The Book of Gu/ Gu Family Book




Gu means nine in Hangeul(Korean). The book here refers to the bible of a mythical being gumiho- the nine tailed fox(it's not the werewolf of western concept), which has instructions to live life, protect the mountains and transform into human being through penance.


Set in the olden times in Josheon, the story is about a gumiho named Kang Chi, who has no knowledge of his actual identity. He was abandoned in a river at birth, and was adopted by the owner of ‘The Hundred Year Inn’. A monk had professed that raising Kang Chi would bring him and his family health, wealth, happiness and prosperity. Playful and adorable little Kang Chi grows amidst the numerous servants, guests, masters, and ladies residing in the inn, unaware of his hidden nature and capabilities. In the meantime, there’s the entry of Yeo Wool in his life, the silly yet tough girl who would prove to be his one true love in future.

On his 20th birthday, Kang Chi feels changes around him, and w…
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E[x]ploring Odia Literature Through 'Punyatoya'

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Odia is my mother tongue but I had never really focussed on Odia novels, given that I love reading. Of late I realised that I should explore the culture and language of my native land, and see for myself whether it suits my reading sensibilities. I read “Jagyaseni” by Pratibha Ray a few years back, over a span of several months. It is a retelling of Mahabharata from Draupadi’s perspective, which brings about her inner turmoils, confusions, decisions, desires and dreams, really well. It was the first Odia novel I ever read. Three days back, I completed reading my second novel in Odia, coincidentally it is by the same author. “Punyatoya” - literally it means the river, or ‘as pure as the river’. It is also the name of a revered river in Indian mythology.
The book has been translated into Hindi with the same title, with the tagline “the story of a village girl Meghi”. Other translated versions are in Marathi and Malayalam.
The story follows a young girl named Barsha, dearly called Meghi at…
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Lohagard Trek

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Long time no see.

I needed motivation to write, and finally I got one. My typing has become slow and words don’t flow as they used to. They feel like some guest long left unattended. 


Days in Mumbai are different, very different than those in Dehradun. It doesn’t rain here, it pours, quite literally. The rush is unimaginable. And the lack of space, whether it is in the double sharing rooms that we stay in or the houses that we see around, is shocking. It was a huge shift of lifestyle. From Dehradun where the terrace had views of the beautiful mountains and horizons, to Mumbai where terraces don’t even exist, neither do horizons. Well, I have heard how romantic monsoon here is, and how the city grows on you with time. And I seriously hope they are true. I want to like this place, since I have to spend a long time here. Slowly and steadily, I am hopeful, that this city would open up to me.


The friends get together planned in Pune finally happened, and the biggest joy is that I could attend…
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