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The City Through Its Streetlights
What all could the streetlights in this city have seen? Cars rushing past, swerving and overtaking, and people navigating their way through this tangle of vehicles cautiously – holding their palm out impatiently as if the traffic will halt at the mere raise of their hand. Rain or shine, these sentinels say ever-rooted at their…
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A Night of Magic: Jashn-e-Rekhta
“Be-sabab muskurā rahā hai chaand,Koi sāzish chhupā rahā hai chaand…”- Gulzar Last week, I had the privilege of getting to attend the 10th edition of Jashn-e-Rekhta: the largest celebration of Urdu. A place where language is a living, breathing thing, nurturing the spark of Urdu through mushairas (poetry recitation), ghazals, dialogues, music, drama, and art.…
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The Silence Promised to Meet Me: On “Meeting Place”
A tragedy.A world too stubborn to understand.A tormented artist.A spiritual journey. All of these, a smorgasbord of stories, entangled and intertwined, are concealed within a track of 1 minute and 9 seconds. Meeting Place, composed by A.R. Rahman, written by Irshad Kamil (inspired by a Rumi poem), and voiced by Ranbir Kapoor, is a short…
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Brain static.
Today… wasn’t a great day. It didn’t begin badly – I woke up a little late into the morning, ate a decent breakfast, and sat down with the intention of studying. And then I saw the to-do lists: a wall of upcoming tests and assessments. Pages and pages of things that needed my attention, and…
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#Question of the Week
#QuestionOfTheWeek: If you had to describe love in one sentence, how would you capture it? 💌 “Rok dena janaza merajab uska ghar aayeKahi woh khidki se jhankeaur mera dil dhadak jaaye…” “Stop the funeral processionWhen it passes by her homeWhat if she peeks from her window,And my heart beats again?“ -Attributed to several poets
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I Wish There Was An Off-Button for My Mind
Sometimes, I find it difficult to let sleep envelop me at night- when my thoughts scintillate and flit about like fireflies. My brain seems to operate in two modes: a permanent glitch when I need it to work, and an unwarranted software update right when I need to fall asleep. Last night, I was awake…
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This City Writes Poems in Exhaust Fumes
I’ve heard a lot of people complaining about the “unromantic-ness” of this city. The traffic, the heat, absolute disregard for personal space, and cacophony- but the truth is, it’s teeming with poetry. In the mornings, the city wakes up unevenly, like a sleepy child tugged out of a dream. Lights peter on before the sun…
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Surviving the Circus: An Honest Guide to Indian Weddings
I recently went to a wedding, so I thought I’d write a wedding-season special- how to survive the Indian Wedding. 1. Social Experiment Observe people like you’re a journalist writing a satire piece. It’s always incredibly entertaining to rate sarees, decode drama, and figure out comebacks to spiteful comments by aunties (which you’ll never have…
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The Mountain Cure
Mountains, definitely. I have nothing against beaches- the feeling of cerulean waves lapping against you, feet sinking slightly into sun-warmed sand, and seagulls cawing in the sky, dipping towards the water every now and then to skim their wings through it. It’s incredibly relaxing. But mountains hold a different kind of quietude for me. As…
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I Keep Old Conversations Like Souvenirs
Some people collect fridge magnets.I collect old texts and half-finished arguments. I have a habit of never deleting things (whether literally from a phone, or from my memory). Old texts, voice notes, compliments, letters, messages that made me smile or frown- they’re all tucked away somewhere. As someone with the memory of a goldfish on…
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“There is no greatness where there is not simplicity, goodness, and truth.”
– Leo Tolstoy
