To edit, or not to edit, that is the question:

I face a big dilemma - should the previous posts of this blog be edited or left untouched.

Why edit?

That's because more people (other than my close circle of family and friends) may wish to unearth the blog.

Why fantasize about more people reading your blog?

Well. That's because my debut book will soon be released by Rupa Publications.

So what?

The readers and critics might want to understand where I (the author) come from. And it is a natural expectation from all writers, big or small, old or new, that they have something more to share other than their book/s. Thus, this humble and sleepy little blog must be woken up to offer a glimpse into my past writings, should anyone bother to find out.

Okay. Got it. But, where's the dilemma?

What will they think? Will I not be found out through these cooing and gurgling baby posts? Most of these posts date back to the years 2009-11. These were my first feeble steps in the craft of writing. An editor's nightmare. Not that I claim to be any more accomplished as an author now, but hey! I can still do better than 2009 in 2017, no?

But then, here's what I still choose to do - no post-publish editing.

Why not edit?

That's because this blog is a journey, my journey. It would be unfair to try and change the itinerary once the actual travel has been completed this far. Although there's a lot more left.

Any attempt to hide the flaws and shortcomings of my early writings would reek of pretense:

• to hide my non-literary background (I'll always be a hotelier first) 
• to hide my struggles at writing stories
• to dress up my vulnerabilities in an imagined poise
• to understate the emotional mess I had made of my life back then 
• to belittle the first few readers of this blog (who appreciated my writings and made it look possible for me to write longer stories)
• to undermine the courage to bare my soul without the fear of getting judged  

Please make no mistake. This is not to underestimate the value of good story-editing and copy-editing that breathe life into roughly written manuscripts. I willingly submitted myself into the hands of the commissioning editors and copy editors in the process of creating my debut book.

But, not this one, eh!

Let me celebrate the flaws in my early writings along with my debut book readers. The blog is just too special.

Times of India - Write India Contest Win!

So, yeah!

Here was a confidence booster for shy writers like me...

At Food & Hospitality World, a fortnightly business publication of The Express Group (2005-06)

Housekeepers - Climbing The Ladders Of General Management

www.expresshospitality.com/20050509/avenues01.shtml

Hotels Must Train To Gain

www.expresshospitality.com/20050228/management02.shtml

Well Planned Duty Rosters - Key To Staff Satisfaction

www.expresshospitality.com/20050131/management01.shtml

Losing and finding myself...

NOVEMBER 2016

Today, I lost and found myself while exploring the streets of childhood!

It was a trance-like state, as I walked inside the house where I was born. The backyard. The old garage. The dried-up well. Those crumbling walls.

The present occupants were kind enough to allow an insane-looking stranger, without any business, to enter their premises.

A medley of sounds reverberated throughout- my late mother singing, friends laughing, the cooker whistling, birds chirping, buses plying and my pet dog barking. I climbed up the guava tree one more time. I opened and shut the main gate, over and over again, to hear the joyful clanging of my parents returning from work.

It was a pilgrimage. My salmon run.

Yes! I am back where I was born. For good.

Mother's Day Tribute

14 May 2017

I salute my mother who remained the 'strongest' - even in death. Thank you Dainik Bhaskar DB Post for sharing my special tribute to Maa!

Those Nine Days

(during the navratris of April 2017)

I stepped out to buy some eggs today.

The first corner shop was shut and the second one was also closed. The third shop was open but had stopped selling eggs a week ago. The fourth shop which was further away had displayed their last remaining crate of dirty eggs outside the premises. The owner asserted that he would not touch the eggs as he handed me a cheap plastic bag to count and store the eggs myself. Never mind the profit from selling those dirty eggs that he was ready to lap up! I left silently and drove for at least another kilometer before I could buy the simple grocery item.

Chaitra Navratri - When the Hindu Goddess ‘Shakti’ is worshiped and offered prayers during the nine days. When people fast and abstain from eating non-vegetarian food and worship one of the nine forms of the goddess on each of the nine days. Little girls are offered tasty treats of halwa-poori-chana and fussed over by bhakts who wash their feet, decorate their bodies with ornaments and new dresses and gift them bangles and bindis. Girls are regarded as the timeless manifestation of the Goddess Shakti. During those nine days.

This holy period of fasting has more of a special prominence in the Northern and Central India than the other parts of the country.

Anyhow, I served a bowl of boiled egg salad to my husband, who has been following a strict diet plan for the last three months. His daily diet plan is uploaded on his phone app by one of the leading health programs in the country.

Afterwards, my day at work began as usual.

Until my eyes fell on this recent piece of news while surfing some websites for Indian demographics -  19 aborted female foetuses found in Maharashtra's Sangli. A few more related news items appeared that gave out a stench of some dark statistics. These headlines were - ‘Female foeticide, India's 'ticking bomb' from Al-Jazeera; ‘Female foeticide continues to dog Indians in the diaspora!’ from Indian Express.

As if it was not enough, stark articles of female infanticide cropped up alongside - ‘India loses 3 million girls in infanticide - The Hindu’. As per UNICEF, the decline in child sex ratio in India is evident by comparing the census figures. In 1991, the figure was 947 girls to 1000 boys. Ten years later it had fallen to 927 girls for 1000 boys.   Since 1991, 80% of districts in India have recorded a declining sex ratio. A deep-seated cultural preference for boys is skewing India's sex ratio and making slaves of women.

And, guess what?

The States with the worst child sex ratio topped up with crime statistics of female foeticide and infanticide also belonged to the Northern and Central India - Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh. (Daily News and Analysis)

I was left baffled!

Is it by sheer chance or a random observation? But, how can we, the masses that submit ourselves to the holy service of the supreme Goddess Shakti, also KILL her? After all, we worship little girls for nine days, don’t we? Is it possible for a family to sing glories of the Holy Mother and light a lamp at dawn before visiting an ultrasound centre for sex determination at dusk? Or go for an illegal abortion the next morning? Wait! We might be abstaining ourselves from such activities during those nine days. Just like we abstain from eating non-vegetarian food on those nine days.

Those. Nine. Days.   

We need to reflect. This is not about mocking particular parts of our nation or a religious ritual. Nor is it about teasing vegetarians. It is about attacking the hypocrisy that has assumed mammoth proportions. And it isn’t doing any of us a favour.

Let’s believe in the powerful form of Goddess with all humility - not necessarily confined to those nine days but throughout the year... and during our entire lives.

Can we do this? Please.

After the term-break...

I hated the endless knocks on my office door,
and yelled at you, till you could stay no more.

The playing cards, ludo and chess all gone,
for good, I know, this is the new dawn.

I feast on my time off that doll and picture book.
Yay! Your school term-break is off the hook.

Until my eyes fall on the table beside me,
that remind me of yesterday's milk and tea.

I look the other way, trying hard to forget,
stealing a glance at the clock of the handset.

Two more hours of freedom, I whisper,
before you enter home and bring a twister.

Focus on work, there's so much to do,
trying to make the most of the time without you.

But, do I wait for your return of some kind?
What's wrong with me? Have I lost my mind?

Come back, my baby, come to your Mamma,
to eat, wash, play and finish our daily drama.

An impromptu Ode to Kashmir

(During my visit to Kashmir in March 2012)

श्वेत धवल दिव्य शैल,
श्वेत धवल हिमज शैल,

गगन निकट, किरण प्रतीत,
वायु भीषण, प्रचंड शीत,

जन-जंतु वन विहंग,
अदृश्य सर्व सृष्टि भंग,

ब्रह्मा, केशव, चंद्रचूड़,
देवी शक्ति रहस्य गूढ़,

चतुर्दिश ध्वनिराहित प्रबुद्ध,
ह्रदय स्पंदित किन्तु निस्तब्ध,

सरिता भूमि अति परिष्कार,
सुमन-सौरभ नाना-प्रकार,

श्रुति, कृति संग ॐ-नाद,
मन-मानस अद्भुत उन्माद,

प्रकृति छवि अति सुप्रिय,
नमामि नमामि हरिप्रिय I