unheard voices

Two morning cups of tea, Mind you, only you and me Costs  2 cups,1 saucer, 1 spoon, 1 sieve and 1 plate; That is only if you share the snack. 5 things already lined up in the sink  Even before anything about the day you can think. Then you cook your breakfast  And now 1-2 bigger vessels, cutting board, knives, spoon, spatula all line up to join the pile; You take a shot at clearing them, 20 to 30 min depending on your speed and skill But dont you forget Right after you eat that meal Two plates, glasses, the serving vessels and spoon Will once again visit the sink. And then there is mid morning snack, For work from home demands munching here and there The sink my friend would never be empty This race is quite a pity! Bigger meals like lunch and dinner are unaccounted here And they show their faces with no delay Adding depth if you use their mechanical brothers The mixer grinder or even the chopper! This lockdown, in our race against utensils  We went from phases where...

In a long post-dinner discussion with a very close friend about the boy’s locker room, I wanted to understand more about his inhibitions with the issue and as I heard him speak, I learnt a lot about other dimensions about the issue that I feel require a voice. He thinks that many of us posting about the boys locker room should be guilty of having been actively or silently involved in similar situations that we call out today as the root cause of such behavior. I understood his inhibitions. We all must have been a part of such jokes or discussion at some point or the other. ‘A casual Google search for Whatsapp wife jokes is an indication of how popular these are, throwing up about 34,40,000 search results of all variants. Jokes in English, Hindi, other Indian languages, image jokes, ‘veg’ jokes, ‘non veg’ jokes, all available to pick and choose from’. Calling out anyone is not easy. Calling out might involve breaking relations, breaking families, legal hardships, economic...

Rongali Bihu (Assamese New Year) is a festival of merry-making- dancing, singing and new clothes. This is one reason why this still continues to be one of my most favorite festivals. Another reason for such attachment with Rongali Bihu is because it used to come after the CBSE annual examination and it kept you waiting and counting days as the light at the end of the tunnel. I have spent many Bihu’s outside home but have always managed to have some Bihu plans with my Assamese friends. I have missed out on Kati and Bhogali Bihu celebrations a few times but never on this one.   This is for the first time that we are in a lock-down and fond memories of bygone days are rushing in. In Assam, days before the Bihu festival you start hearing the Cuccoo bird sing and the flowering of the Kopou, an Assamese orchid. Streets are completely jam-packed on days leading to the Bihu as not only you need new clothes for yourself but you also gift new clothes to your near and dear ones. The ...

This piece is based on my experience of living in three different locations that I have called home. In our fast-paced world with mobile jobs and newer and bigger opportunities that come knocking from any corner of the world, I find it difficult to imagine how my parents decided to build a home, a year before their marriage and still continue to live there. Newer trends of globalisation do not allow such luxury, I guess. I have grown up in Guwahati, in a neighbourhood with people of the same religion, caste and family. The neighbourhood is tied together by the same festivals, religious ceremonies, social norms, cultural celebrations, food habits and some similar orthodox dos/don’ts that makes us upper caste. However, there is nostalgia attached to such bondings as well. I remember the grand-mother from right in-front of our house often teaching my mother religious norms and what to do/not do on certain cultural celebrations. Conversations/ get-togethers are often around such celeb...

The angry Hanuman, Angrily pouncing from the rear back mirror Or the windshield of the door to the cars behind,  or staring passerbys, Facing towards the opposite side,  Looking aggrieved; Probably by the refusal to meet face on! Raged he is, against the owner of the four wheeler,    Against a particular class who travels around him In similar looking vehicles, Wearing similar looking clothes, Unlike times when divine figures would face the passengers in the car, The angry Hanuman looks angrily away, afar! Forewarning urgency, To loyal followers; For loyalties have been proclaimed Almost like something  disastrous, cannot not wait! Unnerved by his arrival, His anger and outraged rage Guilty followers make him look the other way around Almost saying 'I am not to be blamed' 'Look at him, he has played the game' Hamuman probably says' I am not here to look at your face' 'You can turn me around and not...

A lot of my learning is from the didi who comes to my place to work. I genuinely look forward to the evening chat. It is a good way to come out of all the stress in your life otherwise and find similarities and dissimilarities in life and ponder. I come to know about the latest home delivery shop around the corner, the not-so-good uncle in the building and also about the flawed PDS system and how she is denied of her ration at times. Today was a dull day. I had a bad headache, fever and could not go to office. She came in the evening and sounded very depressed to see me. She told me ‘ In the last 5 years I have never seen you this sick’. The emotions in her eye made me want to hug her- various forms of love and ways of expressing it or maybe when you are sick you look for that extra bit of love and attention. What came after that left me stumped. She went about with her daily chores saying, you were looking so pretty in all your engagement pictures am sure ‘ tumhe nazar la...