This past week was hard overall. Too much upheaval in my life that left me feeling frustrated and at the end of my wits. Someone I was working with for over a year suddenly turned hostile and decided not to work with me. I had to scramble to find someone else to take over the … Continue reading Love is All Around
What started out as being an empty nester last summer has led to a year of changes this past year. Layoffs in my team urged me to look for another role last year. After several anxious months, I landed a new role in December and here I am six months later. I did some soul … Continue reading Another Summer of Change
A couple of weeks ago, I had a strange dream. I was in Chennai at my parent's place and had to catch a bus to DC. That's right! Washington DC! My aunt was given the task of booking an Uber for me to get to the bus station. She got distracted and ended up looking … Continue reading Did You Miss the Bus?
Several moons ago, Rajus from modern day Andhra Pradesh moved to a small town near Madurai. Nestled between the Sanjeevi hills and the Western Ghats, this town was named Rajapalayam after its early settlers. The Raja family cultivated the rich, fertile land and the land as well as the people prospered. Into one such Raja … Continue reading A True Raja
Lost my dad in the beginning of 2022 and it has been hard to keep my head above the water and carry on. This year was a mixed bag. Ups and downs, hits and misses, losses and gains. Come November, I didn't want to do this but I'm glad I did because it made me … Continue reading 30 Days of Gratitude in a Challenging Year
I have two biological grandmothers and one adopted grandmother. My book, "Thank you, Dadima," which is a memoir of my dad's mom has an entire chapter dedicated to Ganga, my adopted grandmother. But many of you don't know much about my mom's mom or Mutasshi, as I used to call her. Her name was Sumathi … Continue reading Sumathi Mutasshi—My Other Grandmother
I hate to say this but that title was hijacked and I was replaced by a mutt for the past 13 years. After my grandma passed away in 2009, my parents moved to her bungalow from their cozy 2-bedroom apartment not too far away. For years my dad and brother, both dog lovers, had been … Continue reading Papa’s Pet
It was Ekadashi, a day auspicious to Vaishnavites, when he collapsed on his wife's bosom while she was trying to wash him up. She called to her sister in alarm. "Call the ambulance. We have to take chetan to the hospital." He had lost so much weight over the past few weeks, refusing to eat … Continue reading Never Say Goodbye
I went downstairs at 10 in the morning to fix breakfast. There wasn't enough bread for the four of us so I decided to make pancakes. Not regular pancakes but healthy ones with coconut flour. I took a glass bowl and dumped half a packet of coconut flour. In order to avoid sugar I mashed … Continue reading Coconut Flour Pancake Balls…A Recipe Disaster (Or Not)
After years of trying to put myself together and reach the ideal I set for myself, it finally feels like I have succeeded. I have a home, a job, a family, vacations when I want and even where I want. And yet I feel like I have paid a steep price. When all the hollow … Continue reading The Hollow Truth
Punctuate Life 