Wandering Soul Writer
This is the last in the series. Check out the previous posts in The Chronicles of Village Life series under Jharkhand Diaries. There are now barely a few days to go before school reopens after the summer vacations. The first thought of living in a village was exciting and instilled in me a sense of thrill. Sure, … Continue reading The Chronicles of Village Life – Part V
June 5th, 2019 Today marks the end of the month long fasting for Muslims called Ramzan or Ramadan, the festival of Eid. No, I am not very familiar with the tenets of Islam. (And, in all honesty, I am just as ignorant about most things Hinduism too. The only time I actually dug deeper into … Continue reading The Chronicles of Village Life: Celebrating Eid
May 29th, 2019 So… One week to go for me to complete 2 months here at Brambe, a village near Ranchi. Just putting it out there even sounds unreal. And yet, here I am, living the life. Living the life of constant struggles, frustrations, and unending battles. There is no fun and no excitement in … Continue reading The Chronicles of Village Life – Part 3
April 28th, 2019 Writing is the only thing that keep us writers sane. With every high point in life comes a low. And, right after every low comes a high. After yesterday’s excitement, I feel lonely and miserable today. There is no reason to feel so. And yet, I do. I had some comfort since … Continue reading The Chronicles of Village Life – Part 2
My relationship with Readomania is one I cherish immensely. So when I initially heard about a Crime Writing Festival I was most excited for it is a genre I had debuted as an author with. This is what every newbie as well as established writer needs, I thought. So imagine my happiness when I found … Continue reading Delving into the Mystery of Penning Psychological Thrillers
An acid attack is, in my opinion, one of the most heinous and damaging crimes against women.When I first visited Sheroes Hangout Cafe at Agra and met the acid attack survivors, it changed me forever.I wrote about that first experience - an article I share regularly even now.This year, too, I've written two articles on the subject. … Continue reading Book Review: Being Reshma by Reshma Qureshi
I often remind myself that if my writing makes any difference to even one person and makes them think again or impacts them positively, then I'd consider my writing a success. Recently, though I was surprised and thrilled to note that my writing is deserving of a nomination for the prestigious Orange Flower Awards for … Continue reading Nominated for The Orange Flower Awards 2018: VOTE APPEAL
Aryanka put in the final strokes of colour and paused to see her handiwork. The edges were a little off, she thought and set down to correct it. Finally, after two hours of painstaking work, she stepped back and looked at the clock. It was almost eight o’clock. The bell would ring any moment now. … Continue reading Yours, Forever
Rupa defiantly stared back at the slice of sinful indulgence - the dark gooey chocolate brownie. It had given her enough heartbreak over the last few months. Have it, not have it - it was always a battle between the heart and the mind. Rupa remembered how she had excitedly announced to her husband she … Continue reading Vengeance with a Smile
The wind was picking up speed. Worried the weather would worsen before she could reach home, Titu hurried. It was important to collect all the material to put it all together. She infused renewed energy in find the binding agents she so desperately needed. She had started her search a week ago. Her foresight and … Continue reading A Stitch in Time
The wreckage that he had caused while Ayesha had been away was substantial - monetarily and, for her, sentimentally. She sighed and got around to cleaning the mess. It was cushions and rugs all strewn around, a broken vase her best friend had gifted her on her twenty-fifth birthday, a handmade windchime she had left … Continue reading Oops! I did it again.
I don't know how to start this story. I just don't. I've made several different attempts but deleted them all each time. May be because instead of giving you one story based on the alphabet J, I want to give you three! Just Another Day, under Readomania Shots (an online imprint for short stories, poetry and flash … Continue reading Just Another Day
A cackle of laughter from her boss’s cabin startled her. She waited patiently, for the conversation to end and the man to leave, after which she waltzed right in. Seeing her irate expression, her manager spoke up without preamble. ‘Look, Rhia, you can’t possibly object to someone smiling.’ ‘His hand brushed past my chest. And … Continue reading Devil and The Deep Sea
Rhia bolted the door and looked around the house. Or rather, her home. Was it a home? When did it come to this? When did she become the unpaid maid? There seemed to be no other purpose to her existence other than cooking and cleaning. What was her role in this house? Rhia shook her … Continue reading Charity Begins at Home
Just before I first picked up A Thousand Unspoken Words, I had finished reading some very difficult but hard-hitting books like Status Single and Mornings in Jenin. In fact, the only reason I picked up this one was that I was looking for a feel-good romance that would make me all dreamy-eyed and therefore reduce … Continue reading Book Review: A Thousand Unspoken Words by Paulami DuttaGupta
Ten days to go for April 1. Ten days to go for Blogging A2Z Challenge to begin. Also, ten days to go for Camp NaNoWriMo, since I foolishly decided to participate in both. I'm already feeling the heat. The other participants have already begun to put up posts with the theme reveal, and here I … Continue reading April Double Attack – A2Z and Camp NaNoWriMo
I received the book Mornings in Jenin by Susan Abulhawa (along with another book by the same author- The Blue Between Sky and Water) as a birthday gift from Kirthi Jayakumar, author of The Doodler of Dimashq. Because I had loved The Doodler of Dimashq, Kirthi thought I may enjoy this book too. Thank you, Kirthi, for … Continue reading Book Review: Mornings in Jenin
I recently received a WhatsApp forward similar to the image below. The person in question being an ex-boss who I highly respect and consider to be a feminist for the way he has treated me during the time we were working together. 'Write about this,' he urged. At first, I was taken aback at reading … Continue reading The Day After Women’s Day – Featured Article on WomensWeb
Not Anymore. I'm not cowering in fear, not anymore. I'm not shedding a tear, not anymore. You can try But I shan't cry. You can scream, It's nothing but a bad dream. I shall wake up, Emerge stronger, For I'm not meek. This is me. My story. And it will always be about me. I hold … Continue reading Not Anymore (A Women’s Day Poem)
I feel like I'll burst with happiness and excitement. Today was a big day for the writer in me. I just got promoted to being an author. My debut book - Just Another Day, a collection of 3 short stories, published by Readomania - was launched as an eBook on Kindle today. The book is … Continue reading Why I Feel My Heart Would Burst!
