Immigrant Messenger

We are two strangersIn a new land Putting on our smilesAnd best hairdos We connect on screenTwice a week Hello Teacher, she saysHello there, I wave Tell me about the weatherTell me about your home How many rooms do you have?Do you have couches, cushions, curtains? Red is my favourite colour I say. I like …

Blue Maqm

It has been over five months since I blogged. Was it the virus, or the winter or just my self-induced lethargy that pushed me into inaction - not sure. All of us have had our moments this year - of frustration, anger, sadness and confusion. Many of us managed through a process of patience and …

They made black lives matter

The indomitable spirit of Harriet and Miriam had long ago been been indelibly cross-stitched into the present-day reality of race and colour. Their brave and unstoppable efforts made sure that ‘Black Lives Did Matter’ for all generations to come.

Transition is a constant in our lives

We live life seeking the familiar and the comfortable. We want to be at home with known people, food, locations, and opinions. We want to be accepted and validated, and to have routines and habits that are comforting.  But we do not recognise and accept that our lives are in constant transition. Distractions and disruptions shape …

The Magic Mirror

Snow White’s stepmother, the wicked queen, asks the magic mirror, “Mirror mirror on the wall, who is the fairest of all?” The mirror confirms that she is the fairest of all. One day the answer is different. The mirror replies, “ There is a maiden fairer than you. Her name is Snow White.” Corona Virus …

Journey to the centre of a protein molecule….

"In the world of science, any discrimination or bias has no role to play, and I hope women, as well as men, will be allowed to live by the same rules."

I am a survivor – Maryam Sheikh Abdi

The cutting began with the eldest girl and on went the list. Known to be timid, I was the last among the six. I shivered and shook all over; butterflies beat madly in my stomach. I wanted to vomit, the waiting was long, the expectation of pain too sharp, but I had to wait my turn. My heart pounded, my ears blocked; the only sound I understood was the wails from the girls, for that was my destiny as well.

Awesome native tongue

Mark Twain, in his essay ''the Awful German language'', wrote that a person who has not studied German can form no idea of what a perplexing language it is. He found that in German, a young lady had no sex, while a turnip had. Think what high-strung reverence that shows for the turnip, and what …

Oil lamps, jasmine flowers and an indelible identity…

A yellow radiance filters through the dew-laden leaves of the sapota tree outside my grandmother's house in Chennai that morning. Bright patterns of light dance on Thayamma's skin as she bends down to sweep in front of our home. She sets the broom aside and starts sprinkling water from a metal bucket. After evenly spreading …

Barefoot Heroes

Awer Mabil and Awer Bul, two young men of South Sudanese origin, visited the Kakuma refugee camp in Kenya in 2014. The brothers brought with them 20 football shirts to distribute among the young footballers in the camp. The sprawling Kakuma camp located in Turkana County in arid northwestern Kenya had been their home for …