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
The other day I was lamenting to my parents about stubborn belly fat that won't go away and they told me that happens at "my age". I felt like it was a little premature for me to be having this conversation but it really got me thinking. I just celebrated a milestone birthday last month … Continue reading The Roaring 40s…
When my domain expired last month, I called my web hosting provider to renew it and was told that my web hosting service was also going to expire in a month. Of course they tripled the costs now that I was renewing it and wasn't a 'new' customer. I pledged to shop around for a … Continue reading To Blog or Not to Blog?
The other day while surfing channels I chanced upon a news story that made me stop. A janitor was cleaning floors at a school and the reporter was saying that we shouldn't judge a person by the work they do. And yet I had made a lot of assumptions about this silver-haired person with a … Continue reading The Best Job in the World
Punctuate Life 