What a world we've created, in which news of every fluttering butterfly reaches us instantaneously and we are expected to react intelligently. How much of it are we supposed to absorb? How much are we expected to remember? I remember a time in India when there were no 24-hour cable news channels, no mobile phones, … Continue reading Too much news →

Thoreau couldn't get enough of it. Beerbohm wished that he didn't have to do it. Gandhi used it as a political act. Evolutionarily, it is one of the things differentiates us from most animals. Most of us need to do it. Some people could use more of it. Few of us actually think much about it. I’m talking about … Continue reading On learning how to walk →

A few simple questions. Would people publicly share naked photos of people they did not know and in the process destroy lives? I expect that in any civilized society, the majority of people should like to answer "no" to that question. Why then, in the aftermath of the Boston Marathon bombings, in which three were … Continue reading Questions in the aftermath of Boston →

When a group of activists spontaneously gathered at Dhaka’s Shahbag a little over a month ago, little did know that they would serve as a catalyst for a broader movement and countermovement in Bangladesh. The initial outcry was over a sentence handed out to a conspirator and war criminal, who had not only opposed the … Continue reading Shahbag and identity →

This morning I intuitively sensed that I could no longer see a particular color. “Sensed” was not the right word, because I could not remember if this was actually true either:  how do you really know if something is missing if it had never been there and you had never asked?  For an instant I … Continue reading At daybreak →

One year ago, we came into your life. It is all so vivid in my memory. I remember the day you came home from the hospital, the first day you dipped your toes in water, the day you first said baba and ma, the day you got your first tooth, the day you ate solid … Continue reading Today you turn one →

The facts are now well known. The elected government (and/or the law-and-order infrastructure) of West Bengal prevented noted author Salman Rushdie from visiting Kolkata to promote the cinematic version of Midnight’s Children citing security reasons. In the aftermath, this heavy-handed action has met with disapproval, and quite rightly so.  An author with a valid visa … Continue reading In defense of Kolkata →

As I type, my ten-month old son is licking the track-wheel of a mouse that has been sanitized for the purpose of toddler tasting. He has two visible teeth and has now been eating solid food for four months, in which time his mother and I have observed that his early interests are not so … Continue reading Feeding the toddler: or how I learned to stop worrying and love K-pop →

Some days I wake up when it is cold and dark outside and you are still asleep. I quietly make coffee and get ready for work. Just before I leave, I kiss your forehead, ever so careful not to disturb you. And then I pick up my bag, and walk towards the door, secretly hoping … Continue reading The well-traced line →

I decide to visit the ancestral village. There is protracted discussion on how best to get there. The driver has a theory. “We should take the national highway across the state border and loop back, after which we take the dirt road down to the village.” That was the plan when we left. We are … Continue reading Reincarnation →