I moved out of the main door, wore my archaic Birkenstock sandals and proceeded to take a left after opening the main gate. A couple of girls were running around playfully, one of them had a basketball in her hand which she hoisted above her, away from everybody’s reach while the others struggled to grab it by jumping and nudging her to lower it. She must have been the oldest in the group, I wondered. I walked another 100 m to notice my neighbour having erected a wooden fence around his house. A wooden fence for the tropical/humid weather of Goa was unheard of. What would happen to it during the monsoons? My pattern of thought was interrupted with his gregarious Hi! He was arranging logs of wood for the ‘Holika dehen’ for tonight - a festival with is celebrated with much pomp by North Indians. I noticed his twin daughters hover around him with excitement. I waved a goodbye to them and continued to walk ahead. I saw two ‘indie’ dogs relaxing in the verandah of a house to my right. The o...

“Can we turn around?” my cousin asked me as she was struggling to control her panting and talk to me at the same time. “We’ve come so far, let’s try to walk a bit more” I replied. The view was amazing! We were walking along the edge of a cliff with an expanse of ocean to our left. However, we were trekking aimlessly with Google Maps navigating us in circles. The route was pretty dangerous and secluded from public purview, apart from the fact that if we missed a step, we would have tumbled head-first into the sea. On scrolling Instagram randomly, I came across a post by a celebrity couple on a pristine secluded beach in Goa – like one I have never seen before. Curious, I checked for the location tag and noticed it was Baga which is one of the most famous beaches in Goa and a couple of kilometres away from my place. Incidentally I had visited Baga a couple of days earlier and was wondering how did I miss out on a place like this. There is a creek of fresh water at the end of the ...

Ever thought about why birthdays are so important to us? Essentially it is a day on which we were merely born and there is absolutely no reason whatsoever to ‘celebrate’ this day every year. Have we achieved something extravagant? Or is the fact that we made it around the sun for another 365 days enough for us to celebrate? Only the fortunate ones get to is what one may argue. Have we added any value to this planet? Have we made someone else’s life better? Chances are very high that the answer to either of these questions will be a no. Then why do we celebrate this day with such pomp and grandeur? We were brought into existence because our parents wanted to. Not because we wanted to. As a child, this is the only day when we are showered with gifts and attention and probably that’s why are conditioned to believe that this day is special and have an emotional value attached with it. We need to shake this notion or challenge it. We don’t need a single day in our lives to feel spec...

Dressed in a cute half dungaree with a white tee shirt and a lovely high pony on her head, she yelled out “Maa, i am going to play!” “Hang on” Maa replied and ran after her. She quickly scanned her from top to bottom while carefully tucking a strand of hair behind her ear as her daughter rolled her eyes impatiently.  “May i leave now?” She asked. “Yes, be careful” her mother replied with a faint smile and looked at her attentively as she opened the gate and frolicked to greet her friends at the crossroads on the left. She knew each and every friend’s name and the fact that they belonged to well meaning families was an assurance to her.  No boys allowed - she was firm on this rule since day one.  No speaking to strangers - rule 2.  Be home by 6 - rule 3 There was nothing else which was missed out on conveying. She reassured herself and headed to the kitchen. Inform unsolicited attention to us. Is this something she missed out on? Perhaps. The girls giggled, playe...