Love letter to Bombay

I don't miss you but whenever I spot the sky here switching hues from blue to gray; Dancing my heart out in the teeming rain 871 miles away is all my mind can replay. It's not like you have cemented your position in the canopy of my ever-racing thoughts, but even the widest of roads...

The Pandemic Patrollers

With a toy baton in hand and ONE definite dream patrolling her eyes,The hand drawn badges on her shirt giving away where her heart lies.“What is it that you want to be when you grow up and beyond?”“A police officer”, with a resolute smile; she used to always respond. The ten-year-old dreamer had now turned...

Press Enter More Often

'Backspace' has heard more stories than 'enter' ever will. As our fear of taking risks surpasses the excitement of potential thrill. While optimism is the fertilizer that helps you grow, pessimism shoves you back into the ground below. Analyze but don't fret; Explore but don't regret; For, can sweet success exist without bitter sweat? "What...

Happy Women’s Day :)

Not a day of demanding to put us on a pedestal, But that of celebrating our existence as an equal. Not a day of undermining/ ridiculing our counterpart, For we are just different bodies encasing the same heart. Not a day of parading the streets with a halo on our head, But of valuing the...

Unmasking Beauty

The foundations, the highlighter,The face packs and fairness creams.That vowed to make her face brighter,And become the beauty of her dreams. As her kohl-rimmed eyes scanned the so called 'beauty products', she sighed. They had turned her dark circles into the perfect smoky eye, her pale cheeks to a rosy pink, her dry, chapped lips...

‘JUST A FEW CLICKS’ – A DOUBLE EDGED SWORD

“Gone are the days man's only needs Were food, clothes and a roof above. For the internet now supersedes And is this generation's only love.”  Can we imagine a life without the internet? During this seemingly endless lockdown, internet has  proven to be quite a boon. From beating our boredom by converting our phones into instant  theatres to...

I think of you

When I click on shuffle only for it to land, on your favorite song from our favorite band. When the car swerves around the bend and I spot, the park where we used to meet without getting caught. When I'm scrolling, my thumb comes to an abrupt halt at a picture of 'us' , my...

To the 10-year-old Mananya,

I’m forever grateful to that 10-year-old little girl who chose, To pick a pen over a barbie doll and believed she could compose. Whose face lit up with joy when a pair of words she could rhyme, And while scribbling away in her sequined diary lost track of time. Who decided to question and do...

It’s NOT her!

Nervous glances over her shoulder she cast Adjusting her dress while her heart beat fast Live locations sent; with pepper spray in hand This is the story of every woman across our land. Some blame the dress, the caste or the time while attempting to justify this ghastly crime. In this sea of humiliation, she...

■human marionette■

The past few days have been quite a task with the many many emotions to mask. Hidden beneath an often delusive cloak of pain how many more smiles do I have to feign? Waking up to the same monotony everyday; with a lot on my mind but nothing to say. Don't need to close my...