On a sunny but chilly afternoon in Amsterdam in 2018, VK and I took two ‘resolutions’. One was to somehow bring Tamil to centrestage in our lives, for despite being Tamilians born and raised in Madras, both of us could not sustain a conversation in Tamil any longer, didn’t know much of Tamil history and…
Author: Vani
How I like my entertainment in gloomy times
I like it funny, hopeful, short and colourful. In a world that is engulfing many of us in different levels of despair, desperation and helplessness, I seek escape through entertainment. This has been a trend for a few years now, where I’ve expressly avoided dark, gritty, realistic films or series (except for The Game of…
In times of the C-word
There seems to be only one thing to talk about these days, and no matter how hard you try, you go back to it. What will we remember of these days (or weeks or months :O) of social isolation, work from home, quarantines and economic losses? What do we have to be cheerful about? This…
On 2020, and on writing for 15 years.
Hello, dear reader. Wish you a fabulous 2020! As we wrap up a year and a decade, I wanted to share with you a little bit about my journey as a writer. I started my blog ‘The Musings of a Chennai Gal‘ in 2005 and filled it with teenage angst, passion and idealism. Through these…
The story of a ballet. In two acts.
(This might be the last of my stories from my trip to Russia. Maybe. ) Act I: A ballet in sandals By day two of my trip to Russia, I was sick. A cold that made it seem like my face was stuffed with cotton wool. I struggled to breathe and a headache made me…
Taking buses in Delhi
I am a public transport advocate. I’ve used public transport in every single city I’ve lived in and in many cities I’ve visited. I’m proud to be able to ‘crack’ the basics of public transportation wherever I go, and it’s a big part of my process of learning more about a city. But in Delhi,…
Live concerts, Clapton and discovery
I simply love concert versions of songs I like. There are magical new elements in these versions that make you fall in love with the song even more. The music is fresh, live, and there’s the joy of being part of an audience that is rediscovering the song with you. Among my favourites is Eric…
How Tea is Made
Nighat teaches the story’s narrator how to make tea, and friendship blossoms, with tea at the centre of it all – until they meet again, seventeen years later.
The things you leave behind
… On a trip. Out of the blue, I remembered two things I left behind in trips spaced eight years apart. In Delphi, Greece, I left behind a travel guide that I’d borrowed from the Ang Mo Kio public library in Singapore. My friend and I realised it when we’d left Delphi, I think, and…
Rahman in St Petersburg
14 August 2019 Hello Rahman, Last night, I tried to explain your music to a couple of Russians in St. Petersburg. It came up because my partner tried to explain how religion had influenced your music so. We argued mildly about which should be the first song of yours we play to introduce you to…