Shreya was already regretting the precious Sunday she had sacrificed to attend her cousin's wedding reception. Cousin was perhaps a generous word; she had met him only a handful of times and knew very little about him. Still, here she was, dressed in an outfit she had spent far too long choosing, sitting at a …
Beyond the Boxes We Create
I recently read The Tree, The Well and the Drag Queen by Salini Vineeth. I picked it up with absolutely no clue about the story. What drew me in was the promise of magical realism and folklore, and before I knew it, I was immersed in a world that felt both enchanting and deeply human. …
Home: The Quiet Shelter of Love
I was born into a nuclear family where life was neither extravagant nor dramatic, yet it carried a quiet sense of stability that I only truly appreciate now as an adult. My mother managed everything with remarkable ease — two children, household responsibilities, social obligations, guests appearing unannounced, school schedules, illnesses, celebrations — all without …
The Overbridge
Pic credit: Anirban Bagui “Taratari hato, Reema (Walk faster, Reema). The 11:20 local won’t wait for you.” Baba didn’t look back. He never did. Missing a train was almost a moral failure in the Banerjee household. I followed him toward Konnagar station. The overbridge rose ahead- tall, grey, and mostly ignored. Konnagar is a small …
The Unexpected Twists That Shaped My 2025
Every year carries its own surprises, but 2025 gave me two plot twists I never saw coming. Each one nudged me gently, yet powerfully, into a new version of myself. They were disguised as new opportunities and endless possibilities that I didn’t fully understand at first. But as the year draws to an end, reflection …
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Ageing Through Frames: A Gradual Shift in Perspective
Recently, Google Photos reminded me of pictures from my marriage seven years ago—right on cue as our anniversary approaches. I smiled at the screen, I remembered how I had posed in all possible styles, switching outfits, adjusting my dupatta, asking the photographer if the lighting was right. I had two albums made—one traditional and one …
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Where It All Began: The Inspiration Behind The Song of Our Bond
Khurda Road — the name reminds me of summer holidays, nani ghar, and the warmth of simpler times. It’s a small town in Odisha where my maternal grandmother lived. Being part of a coastal region, its air carries a gentle saltiness, the palm trees sway lazily, and the red soil glows under the sun — …
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Taking the Wheel: Overcoming an Old Fear
Last August (2024), I was in Kolkata visiting my parents with my young one, who was 7 months old then. Being home with them gave me the perfect window to try something new, to learn a new skill, and I decided to learn to drive because, like Maths, driving scared me. So, I thought, it …
Dreams Don’t Expire
Life is non-fiction… or is it?Some of the wildest fiction is rooted in truth,And some truths feel borrowed from stories.Maybe life is both—a manuscript we live,and a tale we keep rewriting. Dreams spark in unknowing moments. When I was a child, I would stare at the stars and wish for so many things. One day, …
An Ode to Coffee and the Memories It Brewed
I’ve always called myself a hardcore tea person. The kind whose morning doesn’t kickstart without a self-brewed masala chai. Yet, somewhere deep down, there’s this soft, undeniable corner in my heart reserved for coffee. Because “coffee” isn’t just a drink for me, it’s a memory trigger. Each sip takes me back to a different phase …
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Cerebration 