It was a 4 ft by 4ft dilapidated tent with the wet soil for a floor and two sagging cots for beds. There was a pile of clothes in an open trunk and not a trace of comfort or life- just a stark, mute testimony of poverty and helplessness. Bhanu greeted me at the door and then looked around for the most befitting corner to spend the next one hour with me in. We mutually settled for the one where there was a semblance of light. I sat down on the damp floor and Bhanu dropped down facing me. I… Continue

The clear, cloud-less blue sky stretched limitlessly above me and as I leaned back and looked up, the sun dazzled my eyes. Life seemed to have stopped. Here I was outside a church in Sydney, at rest while the world went round around me. People of all ages were out in the sun soaking in its warmth and regaling themselves with ice crèmes. A young couple stood…

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60, 59, 58………… the light blinked at me. The cold outside settled in a mist and enveloped the car in an ominous vapour. I was ensconced within, my hands a wee bit numb and the only reminder of the winter. I peered out through the misty side glass and realized I had drawn up along the divider, home to an old woman. For a moment I lost sight of the blinking numbers and an eerie chill ran down my spine. She was a bundle of bones draped in remnants of what must once have been clothes. Her feet were… Continue

The sunlight filtered through the dense canopy of foliage, forming

a beautiful parquet on the grass. It was 4.30 in the evening and the languor of a winter Sunday was evident in everything and everyone around. I had taken my regular 1 hour walk and was now heading towards an inviting bench in one corner of the park. As I neared my destination I noticed two children being chased around by a reluctant maid. In contrast, there was a little girl sitting on one corner of the bench. I hesitated… Continue

As I stood outside the Charles de Gaulle Etoille station, with the Arc de’ Triomphe behind me and the Champs Eleyees stretching gloriously ahead, I was finding it hard to resist the temptation to forget time. I had first stood here years ago, an awkward teenager trying to make too much sense out of everything. Today I was 43 and I didn’t like anything with too much sense.



Looking back I wondered how much better I could have done, given who I was and where I came from. I had lived… Continue