Untitled

A blog dedicated to rudimentary aspects of regular people's lives, which are often ignored, but need appreciation and attention.

[for-you-live-only-once]

The Rain Problem

It is monsoon time, and I wanted to go out for a walk. My grandmother casually said that it might rain, and advised that I should return home soon. I thought that maybe I should carry the umbrella along so that I don’t get drenched if it rains. Carrying the classic black umbrella, I walked out of the house, and within ten minutes, it began raining. Wow! The downpour, which was initially normal…

[for-you-live-only-once]

Aroma Therapy

It was a hot summer afternoon in April. I was too stressed because I had numerous assignments to finish, regular classes to attend, write a dissertation for my LL.M. (which does not expand into Large Language Models), having less than 10% plagiarism, prepare for the UGC-NET examination, prepare for the semester-end examinations, and look for jobs and prepare for job interviews. And to do all of…

View On WordPress

[for-you-live-only-once]

Showers

The sun shines like a fire ball above us, daily. Going out during the day leaves us tired, dehydrated and staying home seems the best choice. But homes get heated up, roof-tops converting into hot plates and kitchen heat beats human endurance levels. Still, my mother and our bungalow peon and occasionally my grandmother are found chopping vegetables, steeping tea, preparing meals – breakfast,…

View On WordPress

[for-you-live-only-once]

Hmm... 🤔

Okay.. so it’s a belated mother’s day post.. probably one of the simplest posts I’ve ever written. So, yesterday (2nd Sunday of May), I called my mother in the evening to wish her a Happy Mother’s Day. She picked up the call in her business-as-usual manner. And I said, “Happy Mother’s Day, Mamma” in a singsong-like voice.., to which her reply was the most unhinged “Hmm…” I had ever heard… 😂 I…

View On WordPress

[for-you-live-only-once]

The many ways of story telling

It has been a laid-back day. I had to run a few errands – getting my watches repaired, buying some fruits, flowers and vegetables, getting myself a new pillow etc. Dressed up in my comfortable breathable cotton kurta set, I was walking through the market after depositing my watches at the repair shop, where I was told that it would take some twenty minutes to repair them. Causally I walked out…

[for-you-live-only-once]

Simpler Things

When we were children, we chased bigger dreams. Dreams of getting a fancy degree, earning laurels in academics and extra curricular activities, landing on a high paying job, being in attendance among the who’s who of the industry and so forth. More or less, we all dreamt of earning a name upon growing older. Maybe it still is the dream of many. And nothing wrong with that. But, I feel that most…

View On WordPress

[for-you-live-only-once]

It's just Maggie

Fifty rupees for a plate of Maggie… This seemed a little too much to me when I was a Master’s student in Delhi. Maybe the tier 1 cities priced everything at a premium, I thought to myself. But this person who priced his Maggie at rupees 50 per plate, was frequently visited by my batchmates, who couldn’t simply stop appreciating the taste of the noodles he served. After 6 whole months of…

View On WordPress

[for-you-live-only-once]

Eat this

I was home for a few days, possibly the shortest trip I’ve had to home and back. I had never felt more homesick before and it’s heart wrenching how we progressively get less time to spend with family, and parents. My home isn’t just my family, it embodies our extended families living nearby and most importantly our tenant, especially their 8 year old daughter, who’s like an adopted daughter to…

[for-you-live-only-once]

Raju Bhai (Raju Brother)

“Raju” is a pretty common name in India. I’m sure each of us knows someone by this name, an acquaintance, a family member, maybe the vegetable vendor or the school rickshaw-man. Or maybe a humble side character in a movie. I’ve known many people with the name, all of whom have been known to me due to different capacities. One was a school peon who rang our school bell marking the beginning of…

View On WordPress

[for-you-live-only-once]

For Others

My father has a transferable job. Once in 2-3 years, we have shifted places, moved houses and tried to hold ourselves together amid all the chaotic changes. We have left pieces of ourselves everywhere. Nostalgia isn’t just one place for us.. it’s a bunch of government quarters, guest houses, transit homes etc., spread across different places in Odisha, Andra Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. Most houses…

[for-you-live-only-once]

Losing art

Finally it’s the holiday season, with ringing Christmas bells giving way to the fireworks lit sky of New Year’s Eve. Hearts lighten as families gather huddlled up around a fireplace, sharing warm foods. In such warm gatherings, come alive, stories – from the older people who have lived through generations. Snug underneath my blanket, I open my half sleepy eyes to look at my maternal grandmother.…

[for-you-live-only-once]

We will miss you...

A regular Sunday morning but an unusual time for the call.. I saw a missed call, on my phone, from my mother before 10 am.. that’s unusual.. I called back.. “Hello..!?” I said inquiringly, to which she replied with a happy “Hello…”, a singsong like happy go lucky kind… I was like…”Okay, what’s the matter?” .. and she said ” nothing, just that we are going for a picnic with college friends of…

[for-you-live-only-once]

Food

How many of you believe that good food is integral to a good life..? I do and do so strongly. Well, if you don’t believe in it already, think about it, again..maybe picture yourself going hungry for a whole day and imagine how you feel about yourself and others at the end of the day.. 😆 Anyway, I’ve always loved my food.. and my maternal grandma who ensured to feed my school-going self sumptuous…

View On WordPress

[for-you-live-only-once]

Ma'am, Taxi....?

Recently as I landed in my hometown, or to be specific at the place which I’ve called home for so long now that that’s the only place I think of when I think of home, I was waiting at the arrival for my father. Most naturally, many taxi drivers were around waiting on passengers , approaching them etc., to make a business. One of them approached me and said, “Ma’am, Taxi..?” I looked at him and…

View On WordPress

[for-you-live-only-once]

A slice of the sky

Having been a person who has lived in several places, especially smaller towns, I always knew that I have a sky over my head. Looking at the sky, gave me a sense of infinite peace and calmed me. I’ve seen the sky – blue and bright on a radiant summer morning, white and blazing during summer afternoons, overcast and dark during monsoons, and blue and clear during winters. The sunrises, sunsets…

View On WordPress

[for-you-live-only-once]

Nothing

Lately, work has been such that I’ve been fairly overwhelmed. Constantly having to look after client deliverables, managing issues within the team, helping and guiding new team members and keeping up with life in general, amid these has been quite a hustle. And sitting down, just to stare at nothing has been nothing short of luxury. With Navratri and the festive season beginning in full swing, I…

[for-you-live-only-once]

Care

As we grow old, we tend to lose touch with people from the past – schoolmates, friends, relatives and sometimes even family – not because we choose to, rather because priorities change and life requires us to be a certain way… And amid such chaos, certain times, when we feel low or lost, we crave for someone whom we can simply rely on, knowing that they are there for us. We reminisce about the…