About

Public Forums

Work with me

Search

Archives
A wooden pallanguli board with tamarind seeds in carved hollows, placed on a dark desk.

The School of the Open Street

A friend keeps a pallanguli board on her desk. Between meetings, she moves tamarind seeds from pit to pit. As I watched her do this, and something from decades ago walked in and sat down.
Crispy masala dosa served on a banana leaf with tomato and coconut chutney

The World Ranked Our Dosa. We Have Feelings.

Masala dosa just made it to sixth on a global pancake list. Sixth. In a country where 99.99 out of hundred makes parents wail in despair. But that is not why I am unsettled. It is the list itself that is the problem.

The Bowl That Holds Everything

Painted black. Hollowed from a Mexican fruit shell. Travelled oceans. Then settled quietly into temple life, as if it had always been there. Accumulating wisdom through the ages when all I thought it collected was coins.

The Fort That Forgot Its Kingdom

Thick walls, stubborn stones, and a silence that carries the weight of centuries.
A serene Sayalkudi beach with gentle waves, empty sands, and a wide, calm sea meeting the sky.

The Road Ends, the Sea Begins: Notes from Sayalgudi

Some beaches ask for attention. Sayalgudi behaves like it has better things to do.

Lightly, Child, Lightly

When you loosen your grip, even a cup of coffee feels wiser.

Insurance !

Anyone for coffee ?

Tamil Times !