In finer print...

Meet Akhila: forty-five and single, an income-tax clerk, and a woman who has never been allowed to live her own life - always the daughter, the sister, the aunt, the provider - until the day she gets herself a one-way ticket to the seaside town of Kanyakumari. In the intimate atmosphere of the all-women sleeping car - the 'Ladies Coupe' - Akhila asks the five women the question that has been haunting her all her adult life: can a woman stay single and be happy, or does she need a man to feel complete?
This wonderfully atmospheric, deliciously warm novel takes the reader into the heart of women's lives in contemporary India, revealing how the dilemmas that women face in their relationships with husbands, mothers, friends, employers, and children are the same world over. 
It is difficult to be born as a woman. From day one, she is burdened with expectations. No, I am not talking about Indian women only but worldwide. There are many a moniker bestowed upon women – she is a dau…

In the wake of Plastic ban in Maharashtra, thanks to a professional assignment, I met Afroz Shah. His name is synonymous with the largest beach clean up activity in the world. A lawyer by profession, Afroz is now a United Nations Champion of the Earth Volunteer. Over the last three years, he, along with scores of volunteers, students and local residents, he led the clean up and restoration of the Versova beach.
Prior to this, the beach like any other in Mumbai was filthy. It was a dump and seemed beyond repair. My takeaway from meeting him was how we need to think on an individual, personal level of how we can help the environment. We cannot create physical waste and pollution, and then blame the government. I hope to I can try to curb some waste at my end. This is my goal for the year. What is yours?
See the beach? Its gorgeous, blue and looks inviting! In fact, the Oliver Ridley turtles were spotted for the very first time in Mumbai at this beach. Apparently, the turtles think of…

Dear Ms. Pseudo,
You were the girl in class who always had many questions to ask. As soon as the lectures ended, you made everyone wait (read waste their precious lunch time) as your pretty, manicured hand shot out, aimed at having your curiosity quenched. And soon as the lecturer was done answering the said questions, you’d walk up to them, never once turning back or barely mumbling an apology to a class full of hangry students.
Your face wasn’t much different from your pretty hands. Your notes were organized, folders decked with glitter and flowers. You found time to match your eye-liner too. Yeah, I sound like quite the stalker, don’t I? Let’s call it curiosity. In fact, the way your hand shot up for questions, your interest got me curious. On observing and pay attention to your questions, I deduced that you either – never paid attention to anything the lecturer said in the class or just did not have the mental capacity to absorb anything. What worked for you then was your intelli…

Let’s call him the man in yellow and coincidentally, today yellow has been quite the highlight. May the heat be causing my vision to yellow…
So, I spotted the man in yellow on my way to work. Unlike everyone else running to seek shelter in the blazing heat, he seemed to be on an agenda of his own. I first spotted the chalk scribbling about 50 meters before I saw him. As you can see, I have no clue why he was dressed this way or what he wished to convey or protest. The signal wasn’t long enough for me to read what he was writing. But whatever his reasons were, maybe they need attention. At the signal though, with the peak hour rush, he was a momentary distraction only. 
Have you met this man in yellow or perhaps in another color on some other day? How would you caption this pic?

Like the view? Me too. One of the reasons for moving into this new flat is the view – far and wide, speckled with greys of new constructions and diminishing greens. It makes for a worthy skyline view, don’t you think? But I am not sure I am happy. I am used to looking at my potted greens, woken up by the blaring VT local train and of course, the humdrum of the busy street below. The new home is not far from my real home, but it won’t have my pup, Bolt. I must get used to solitude all over again.

Caption this picture, please. Do share what it makes you think of in the comment below.

Everywhere she went, people spoke of her eyes.
Hooded under thick eyelashes, a tinge of gold added a depth to her penetrating hazel green orbs. They changed colours, or so people thought each time they stopped her in the street to admire her. But unlike them, the colour of her eyes always remained the same. Only perspectives changed. 

She always wore a smile to every praise being said about them. But the smile never travelled to her eyes.
Little did they know that while they saw her beautiful eyes, she saw much more about them than her young heart should have ever known. 

People wanted to see through eyes like hers and she wished to unsee everything she saw.