22nd October, 2020 Dear Anand, mianhamnida. Of every apology in all the languages around the world, I think the Korean mianhamnida (미안합니다) is the most beautiful word. It doesn’t have that crassness of a sorry,the curtness of a perdón orthe piteous of a mujhe maaf kardo.No. It’s first part mian pronounced as bian breathes off your lips as if it’s coming straight from your heart; … Continue reading 22nd October 2020 | Dear Anand
“Madam, now vhat does a lion have to do with books?” asked my taxi driver for the evening. “uuuhh…..” “Exactly. Nahhthing.” I watched the young novel-wala outside my window disappear into the evening Dili traffic. He couldn’t have been more than 14 years old. Maybe the cab driver is right. There is no point in contemplating our accesses. His to … Continue reading 11/24
I miss the days. When cupcakes were just vanilla sponges with icing. Sprinkled with hundreds and thousands. I miss the days. When I wore fake gold bangles and played pretend in our building’s abandoned stairwell for hours. I miss the days. When I would go to sleep in Prague and wake up in Zurich. When cupcakes could heal, gold was kept for … Continue reading 5/24
Beats of light fusion music above the hum of chic conversations float to my ears. One look outside the large glass panel and it’s almost as if the leafing trees on the street are sashaying in tune. The afternoon sunlight streaming through the dark decor of timber and brown pleasantly warms the crisp air. I deeply breathe in the frothy aromas of hot milk and … Continue reading Spring and Hope
Where is Shyamni? 