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
It's February and hearts are popping up everywhere. You can't go to the grocery store or watch TV without a constant reminder that this is the month dedicated to love (read as buying heart shaped stuff. Heart-shaped Cheerios anyone? ) And what if you have no one to shower with heart-shaped gifts? Spend it on … Continue reading Love So True
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
Dear Papa, When Amma was sifting through your things, she found your Madras Literary Society card and said, "Papa wanted to give them a copy of your book." Little did I know that this would put in motion a string of events that would lead to my book launch---something you wanted to do when I … Continue reading For you Papa
While most parents bought toys and games for their children, Damayanti’s parents bought her a lot of story books; fairy tales, comics, and adventure stories. As she grew older, even more books were added, and as she began to write, fountain pens joined the collection. Biographies and autobiographies are usually not very popular and normally … Continue reading Memoir of a trailblazing granny, way ahead of her times by Ravi Damodaran
After 24 years I returned to my alma mater, Women's Christian College, not as a casual visitor to roam around campus and take selfies, but as a speaker on the occasion of World Book Day. I still marvel at how the whole thing sort of fell in my lap without great effort on my part. … Continue reading Meet the Author Day at WCC
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
If you have ever lived in North Carolina, you know how unpredictable the weather can be. You can experience spring, summer, and winter, all on the same day. But the past week leading up to Christmas and New Year was anything but normal, weather-wise. We experienced record high temperatures that haven't occurred in a 100 … Continue reading The Power of Believing
Punctuate Life 