I was in the office loo, panicking. I could feel the seconds ticking by, and I knew that many minutes had passed since I got in. I wondered what my colleagues were thinking about my long absence. But I was most worried about how to pull out the menstrual cup that was stuck inside me….
Author: Vani
My Own Little Singlish Dictionary
So long ago, in 2006, when I was a naive college-goer new to Singapore, I came up with this post on Singlish, the Singaporean form of English. This was written in only my second year in the country (I went on to live there for seven), and in the years to come, I would have…
Whose House is it Anyway?
I woke up with a start to some extremely loud (not to forget really annoying) Tamil religious movie song. Heart beating wildly, I opened my eyes and wondered what had hit me this afternoon. I looked around, trying to find my bearings, and realized I was home. Well, technically, my parents’ home. But still, home….
Iran – 2016
My 2016 vacation to Iran will, for sure, be one of the top three destinations I will have travelled to in my life. There are many things fascinating about the country which often don’t make it to popular media (and hence into our list of dream destinations!) The country has so much to offer, and having…
PP
This story was published in Spark‘s November 2017 issue. Anandhi jumped up with glee when the doorbell rang one dusty summer afternoon in Madipakkam, Chennai. It was about time. She rushed to the door and signed for the package. On her way back in, she ripped apart the plastic packaging with her fingernails, went into…
2017 and its surprises for me
Ah, the joys of working only 4 days a week! (I do have freelance work to get to on Fridays, but well) The song I’ve picked to kickstart this evening – at 8.50pm, at home – and the weekend, is Mayya Mayya from Guru. I love this song for many things – the very genuine/generic sounding…
Hey there!
Oooh! Welcome to my shiny new site! Can you hear the screechy excitement in my words? This – a site of my own, a step up from my lovely but now passe blog – has been a dream of several years. But now, sitting at home recovering from a surgery, is when I found time…
Fleeting, Adulting
Note: This, and a few other pieces you’ll see on this site, are from my blog, http://chennaigalwrites.blogspot.com. Over time, I hope to be able to move my favourite pieces here. Oh hello! A million thanks to you if you still come by this page (of course, that could have been due to social media). Eleven…