A nest hangs just outside the window of the front room. Its residents are two tiny sunbirds waiting for their parents to come with food. I stood watching in the mellow morning sun as the young ones waited patiently, and the father, in all his resplendent colours came fluttering with food in his mouth. He...

How many times do we reminisce about childhood summers spent climbing trees, picking mangoes, and licking the sweet, sticky juice off those fruits? Today I got to relive a sliver of it when I helped pluck fresh green mangoes from the tree in my in-laws’ house. I stood in the brilliant, golden sunshine soaking in...

I felt the hand of Time as I walked through Bazaar Street in Fort Kochi yesterday. This three kilometer stretch that ends in Jew Town is packed with slices of Cochin’s mercantile history, which can be seen in its many ancient multi-storied warehouses. Some of the buildings display more recent time stamps from the 1900’s...

I spotted this framed picture showing the ‘Navarasangal’ or ‘nine emotions’ adorning the wall at the Kerala Fine Arts Hall in Cochin today, where I had gone to see a puppet show. A student of dance has to master this essential set of facial expressions to convey emotions effectively. But I wondered how effective it...

The dark has always been associated with negativity, bad energies, and everything that’s not really good for you. But there are some things dark that are not only good for you but also act like a serious dose of sunshine on a gloomy day. For me, that’s a big chunk of dark chocolate. It elevates...

For yesterday’s theme ‘Boots’, I couldn’t think of anything better than SM’s pair. Well, at least she had this pair intact. So far. She is famous for always losing one boot or shoe, and every time, she has no recollection of where she lost them. She drives her car the old-fashioned way. By removing her...

Today’s theme was actually ‘Sunrise’. But my still jet-lagged, sleepy self could not wade through the deep waters of sleep to catch the rising sun. I was disappointed but I thought I could at least a glorious sunset to make up for it. But this is what I got in the evening. A pale, washed...

The first thing that came to my mind with today’s theme was not the ailment but the weather. Being in Dublin, cold is not just the weather but almost the voice in your head. It chills your skin and touches you to the bone. But despite being so cold it doesn’t snow. Sometimes I wish...

Blue. Should be one of the easiest themes to shoot, right? Well, not when you are in an airport or airplane the whole day, I thought. I was also a bit annoyed with myself because I had forgotten to ask for my preferred aisle seat when I was checking in. I ended up getting the...

This was tough. I find so many things magical but they are mostly so difficult to portray. Then, I remembered this little tree-island near my apartment. It’s difficult to believe that this grove-like place exists right in the middle of three roads with cars whooshing by it every second. Every time I pass by I...