Stand Together

The Sun has been rising way too early off late, Rajesh thought, summer is near. Rajesh, a street side ice-cream seller, was not ready for summer. The schools would be closed, the parks would be hot and there would be no children around, which means he won’t be earning much for the next two months, not that he made any money now. The little money he earned everyday was spent towards the daily sustenance of his wife, three children and the medications of his paralysed father. He needed to come up with a plan to survive the Delhi heat. He was planning on installing a temporary umbrella on his ice-cream trolley to protect himself from the Sun and carry a bottle of water from home to avoid dehydration. He could eat his own ice-cream if he got too hot, he figured. But first, he needed to cash in on the ‘summer vacation’ excitement at as many schools as possible to amass as much cash as he can. Toiling through the month of April Rajesh amassed quite a bit of cash. He headed ...

I have been coming across several articles about ‘full time mothers’ and ‘working mothers’. I am not a mother but these two terms confound me and I have only one question to ask. How can anyone relegate mothers to two different judgemental baskets? A mother, no matter how she chooses to mother her children is a ‘Mother’, nothing more and nothing less.  In my limited circle of friends there are women who have chosen to stay at home with their babies and women who are employed. Staying at home or being employed should not matter to third party viewers such as us. Both those situations must not take away from the status of a ‘Mother’. Instead of valuing the heart-warming efforts with which each mother brings up her child, we have become a population that tells one mother that her ‘mothering techniques’ are not as good as other mothers. I believe it is time we let mothers, especially young mothers, be the mothers they want to be. In my view, every mother is a full tim...

A few years ago when my grand uncle told me that I am stubborn in my opinions and a bit narrow minded I did not readily agree. To which, he very agreeably added that my mind-set will change when I see the world. I haven’t seen the world yet but I have experienced living in two different countries and passing through a third very often. I would like to believe that my world view was not shamefully narrow when I was living in India. I was very much on the side of rebellion. The growth and mental maturity that comes with traveling and experiencing other cultures should never be discounted. In the past, when I was a fresher in the job market, I was strict about religion and I called myself ‘spiritual’. Now when I turn back, I realise I was just being a fanatic, not using reason to defend what I believe. Over the years I have come to realise that being a person who does not judge others is the way to live. Why should I and how can I judge anyone in this world apart from myself...

I believe I come from a family of pioneers, female pioneers. Each woman in my family has in her own way crafted her own world and is happy with it. I never had the pleasure of meeting my mother’s mother but I believe her to be the start of this pioneering gene. I am not talking about scientific inventions or social movements, I am speaking of those little and big decisions the women in my family made to be who they are and be proud of their achievements.  Two generations ago, my grandmother was the first woman in the family who decided she needed an education. Most of us confuse education and literacy with knowing and studying in English. But this is not true in several parts of the world. My grandmother was perfectly literate in Urdu and expertly educated about the Bible. I have seen copies of her Bible and have been mesmerised by her class and elegance. My grandmother made another crucial decision; she decided that her daughter would get an education too. My mother ...

It was just one of those unreasonable days that no matter how rigid my plan nothing fell in place. It was a day that was making me sick with worry about a presentation I was not prepared to give. It reminded me of my mathematics exam 14 years ago where just the idea of the question paper being distributed lead me to the school toilet.  “Anika”, he said as soon as he walked in. I was expecting my name to be called having become an expert in reading into the footsteps in the office. “I need you to put everything aside and pull up a presentation for Jazz. I need to present at the client’s site tomorrow. Please make it quick as I also need to practice it.”  “Of course, Udi” is all I could say. I could see the colour drain from my palms and feel a strange weakness coming on. I wished I could have stepped out for just a second to clear my mind and breathe in some comforting air but doing that would make the fierce environment around me question my professionalism and my pr...