Writings On The Wall #8: Staying Human

It is human connections with each other that make us who we are. And an integral part of that is personal, face-to-face interactions, which technology only allows so much of. But at least we have that; people who suffered the Black Death or the Spanish Flu didn't know what was happening to their family members… Continue reading Writings On The Wall #8: Staying Human

Discovering Virginia Woolf, The Critic

A connection on LinkedIn shared a new book by Virginia Woolf published by Times Literary Supplement and I decided that I must buy and read this book of hers. Titled Genius and Ink, Virginia Woolf on How to Read, it is a selection of her essays and criticism for the Times Literary Supplement, to which… Continue reading Discovering Virginia Woolf, The Critic

Owl About Words: Made for Post-Lockdown

Covid-19 has been a time of turning inward, of withdrawal from the world. But it's also been a time of binge-watching, binge-streaming, binge-listening and more online. Now that lockdowns are being relaxed, people have already begun talking of binge-shopping. I am not so sure about that yet, but it's just the time to discuss the… Continue reading Owl About Words: Made for Post-Lockdown

What End of Lockdown Means for Women

As India and many other countries gradually lift or relax lockdown conditions in their towns and villages, no one would welcome this more than the women who suffer domestic violence and abuse in their homes. They will finally have a chance to breathe free. At least for most of the working hours that they or… Continue reading What End of Lockdown Means for Women

Open Sesame… Big Other is Here

We have allowed so much technology into our lives, we are hardly conscious of it. From checking our mobile phones for messages from the time we awake, to streaming a film before going to bed, our entire day is lived in a technology bubble or envelope. We have never ever questioned its relevance, nor the… Continue reading Open Sesame… Big Other is Here

50 Years of Earth Day

Today, April 22, 2020, happens to be Earth Day. Not just any Earth Day, but the fiftieth anniversary. What a time to be commemorating it, right in the middle of a Covid pandemic. That's why the event has gone digital this year, the official website informs us. Speaking of climate change, it is unfortunate that… Continue reading 50 Years of Earth Day

Owl About Words: The Fuss Over a Folk Rhyme

Alright, time for yet another word from the days of yore. More precisely, the eighteenth century word, crinkum-crankum. Do you think it's another way to describe a cranky child or a crotchety old man? Or even an old jalopy that needs to be cranked up, in order to start? Those were certainly the thoughts swimming… Continue reading Owl About Words: The Fuss Over a Folk Rhyme

Perpetually Locked-down Women

As a sort of post script to my blog post of yesterday on women in crisis all over the world - through Covid and beyond - I thought I'd share a little poem that I wrote. It is about women who live their lives under a kind of perpetual lockdown, Covid has merely cast a… Continue reading Perpetually Locked-down Women