Smothering Silence

  Between romance and revolution a city runs. Delhi has always been a city that  has accommodated various cultures, interests and tastes. More importantly, it has matched my idea of romance better than any other city I've been to. I've grown up to realise that it is more of a colour palette than a city.  Delhi’s sense of royalty hasn't ceased to exist. It is still served in plates by small vendors, it glistens in its colours and the entire shape of the city itself. Delhi carries itself magnificently, acing the tests of time. But it belongs not only to the ones furthering its richness also to every person who has loved flavour, fervour, fables and freedom.  As someone who had never visited Delhi before she came there for higher studies and has now spent three successful years there, I can totally attest to the claim that Delhi embraces you each time you knock on its door.  The four different directions are a celebration in themselves.Be it the loud and vibrant st...

Carrying the taste of home to an outland, one deigns to keep a part of oneself devoted to one’s roots. But is it enough? Bhatt ki chidqwani, a prominet dish eaten mostly in Uttarakhand. The air in the house would be filled with the sweet aroma of boiling soybeans every Monday, usually in summers. As Manjula Joshi remembers it, it was a frequent occurrence till a few years ago, when her children hadn’t yet left home for work and studies.  The sweetness of the aroma still fills the house, but not as frequently.   When Manjula wed Jiwan Joshi, she had to leave behind the beautiful hilly village of Lohaghat. Located at an altitude of 1754 meters, Lohaghat is a serene village in the Champawat district of Uttarakhand. The beauty of the place remains unmatched for her even now, and her keenness to bring her culture to an outland and assimilate both could never fade away with time.  One of the strongest thread that weaves both cultures together, according to Manjula, is the ...

  It's hard to find "grass and straw" sometimes    From the shore of Santana Beach, Mahabalipuram. What could compliment the echoes of a grand sea, cold sand and sweet, cold breeze better than a plate of sizzling, crusty crabs? The aroma that dances its way to your nostrils and makes you crave it a little more every time can have a very different effect on someone else. As somebody whose  toes curl up every time one offers a graphic description of a dish made of flesh, I can never identify with the sheer happiness of having a plate of crustaceans or tender squid or fish in front of me.  The thing about vegetarianism I have discerned is that no matter how much you're after saving the environment or adhering to your religious and spiritual beliefs, you'll always end up eating alone and being persuaded by innumerable people to quit your adamant belief. “Once, just once, try it.” My inbox after dining out is usually flooded with the messages from friends adamant abo...

  Corroded love is a disease Like words that pierce through your heart And the little life that floats inside the cracks of your thoughts Through helplessness, it thrives. The body gasps for fresh air to be pumped up in the blood  A kiss by freshest flesh or maybe  some petting or thrusting would be fine  A Cure can be unearthed, there is a probability. Thriving on probable outcomes Let the noise be on a roll and until the time it wears down An "I love you too" will save us all.