There’s an adage about how we learn who we truly are when faced with difficulty. Of course, there is truth in this, but we don’t really talk about the flip side; how we face a difficulty is determined by where we are in our lives at that point. This past year, I’ve often wondered about… Continue reading Mirrors, Meniere’s, Me…
It is 22:50 and I just found out that today is the International Day of Persons with Disabilities. I like to believe that I've been an ally, and studying in a school that had students who were neurodiverse helped. But, I'm certain that I've made many mistakes along the way - been ignorant, offended someone… Continue reading International Day of Persons with Disabilities
Okay, so maybe some amount of self-pity is inevitable. I’ve tried resisting it. In the initial days of experiencing this chronic disorder, I was overwhelmed by fear and anxiety of not knowing what was going on with my body; of losing control and truly wondering if I was dying. The effort it took to get… Continue reading Self-pity
I don’t know where to start. I’ve wanted to write this piece for a while, but I kept waiting for ‘it’ to end; for closure, so I could tell you what happens at last. But, that’s not happening any time soon, so I guess I’ll start at the very beginning. (A very good place to… Continue reading That drunk, woozy feeling
As we said our second round of ‘Om’s, my ever distracted mind was reminded of a conversation Amma had with us yesterday. She talked about a Vedic mantra ‘Om Purnamadah Purnamidam’ which roughly translates into “That is whole; this is whole; From that whole this whole came; From that whole, this whole removed, what remains… Continue reading Searching for Harmony
I’m the fat girl! I’ve been the fat girl with acne my entire adult life. As a child, I was the skinny kid who was a fussy eater. It was so bad that when I was eight, Amma and Appa enrolled me in Judo classes with the hope that the sport would help me build… Continue reading The fat girl
“...the true measure of our commitment to justice, the character of our society, our commitment to the rule of law, fairness, and equality cannot be measured by how we treat the rich, the powerful, the privileged, and the respected among us. The true measure of our character is how we treat the poor, the disfavoured,… Continue reading Responding to Covid: A case for strengthening decentralisation
This piece has emerged as a result of a recent conversation I had with someone from outside the development sector. We were talking about the transcription of interviews and I realised how much imbibed knowledge I take for granted. As someone who has grown up being exposed to the work in the development sector, spending… Continue reading Why contextual understanding matters in Qualitative Research
“Sometimes you go through things that seem huge at the time, like a mysterious glowing cloud devouring your entire community. While they're happening, they feel like the only thing that matters and you can hardly imagine that there's a world out there that might have anything else going on. And then the glow cloud moves… Continue reading The Toll Untold
I would have begun with something along the lines of “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…”, if only I had the verbal prowess of Mr. Dickens; the sentiment stands true for the story about to be told. Recently, my work has taken me to resettlement colonies scattered across Delhi.… Continue reading A Tale of Two Colonies
THE GLASS ELEVATOR 