Old is not cool

April 22, 2024.Reading time 6 minutes.

I get it. Old is not cool. I was young once myself. I’m guilty of not giving much thought about older people. I didn’t know what they liked or needed. I can’t remember spending time with them. I didn’t have friends, who were older than me. Old people in my life were my parents, my […]

Being older

April 15, 2024.Reading time 6 minutes.

My mum will be 91 this year. Every so often, she tells me she wants to go to her Tata or grandfather’s house. It’s a story she has created in her head. Part imagination and part memories. My mum’s Tata story has grown manifold since she first started talking about it when she became unwell […]

Losing my jolly

February 12, 2024.Reading time 6 minutes.

I’ve lost my jolly, and I want it back. I know the reasons for my general melancholy. It started with Covid and the restricted movement controls in 2020. Holidays became scarce. The rigmarole involved in organising any form of travel was a deterrent, as was the infectious disease itself. I remember the arduous loops my […]

Present and past

January 15, 2024.Reading time 6 minutes.

My brain, sometimes, stops in the present. Preoccupied with life, and daily routines. It forgets how she was/used to be. Right up to August 2021, my mum was the queen of her condo/castle. She had a daily schedule. Up every morning at 5.30am. Complained about being late even before she began the day. A constant clock […]

Brother number 1

December 11, 2023.Reading time 6 minutes.

I am sad and tearful when I think that my Gunda is no more. I know what has happened but my head and heart are having a hard time accepting, believing. Most of this year, brother number 1 was not in a good way. In and out of hospitals for his protracted prostate condition. And […]

A milestone birthday

September 25, 2023.Reading time 6 minutes.

My mum turns 90 on Wednesday. She is the only 90-year old I know, up close and personal. None of my immediate family members got this far. My dad and my maternal grandmother left at 62. My paternal grandfather exited at 72 while my father-in-law passed on at 82, a distant contender. Kudos to my […]

Old is not gold

August 28, 2023.Reading time 6 minutes.

This August is two years since my mum fell ill. I’ve written a lot about her. Her recipes. Her life. Her stories. More recently, it has been about her ailments. Only because of how much it has changed my mum’s life. My dear mum’s Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), heart failure and kidney disease have deteriorated. […]

Half-siblings

November 14, 2022.Reading time 6 minutes.

My mum has been chattier of late. Sharing stories with sister number 3 and me. Some people, some events I was already familiar with. Some not. I knew my mum is the first born in the family of three girls. Her parents, my grandparents, were Tulasi and Sandrakasan. I also knew that my grandmother was […]

Ordering food

October 3, 2022.Reading time 6 minutes.

I use food delivery platforms. Mainly to order vegetarian meals for my mum. Convenient, yes. But, not always straightforward. Like most things, I guess. My mum is the end user. I place the orders. She knows nothing about ordering online via a mobile phone or computer. She doesn’t want to know. She’s never been one […]

Turning 89

September 26, 2022.Reading time 6 minutes.

My mum turns 89 tomorrow. A milestone, and an achievement. Especially considering the tough year the old girl has had. Gratefully, through most of it, she has managed to remain curious, chatty, and alert. Yay. I like birthdays. Cake or cakes, presents, balloons, decorations. Fuss and focus on number 1. What’s there not to like? […]