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
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
Right after the car accident in the summer of 2019, I remember penning a blog post. My priorities had changed after a terribly close brush with death. I wanted to (a) publish my book, (b) devote more time doing Reiki, and (c) I’ll get to that in a bit. This month, I crossed off (a) … Continue reading Ticking off Items on My List
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)
Recently I had a discussion about helping others with someone who thought I was helping others more than I was helping myself. "Take a break and focus on yourself," this person said. I know s/he was trying to be helpful but it somehow didn't sit well with it. Yes, I admit that I used to … Continue reading How to Balance Self-love and Helping Others
Where can I find love? While sitting indoors, Behind closed doors, Staring at a screen, And everything that happens in between. The stolen glances, At a foggy mirror, The disheveled hair, And stained pajamas, Pasty sallow cheeks, And sunken eyes. Who can love this? With a heavy heart, I fall to my knees, Hot tears … Continue reading I Still Love You
Punctuate Life 