being a North Indian, there are times when my soul craves some lip-smacking ‘Dhaba’ food. A Dhaba is a road side food stall that are found by the sides of most major highways in India. Most of them cater authentic and flavorful cuisine. However, the dhaba’s in North India, I …

Daal bukhara is a traditional North Indian dish made with pulses. Although, its Punjabi cousin ‘Maa ki Daal’ or ‘Daal makhani’ has gained more popularity over the years, I prefer this gentler version of the dish. It uses less ingredients and is more flavourful than its robust cousin. Its full …

My dear… Do I miss you? Ah, that is an understatement. Does the dawn miss its dusk? Is the moon complete without the stars? Yes, it is sacrilege to ask, ‘Do I miss you?’ I wish… I had valued you more when I had you. Had I done that, mayhap, …

In the shards of the mirror Strewn around me, I see life scattered Peeking furtively From the jagged rims.   I see instances And I see incidents, Some long forgotten Some fresh Peeping from the corners.   Like life, the shards too struggle Do they not? At a semblance of …

  Through the spun filigree of dusk As I bade farewell to another day I ached for you.   Did the sifting sands of time stop? Did my maimed heart skip a beat?   Swathed in reams of gloomy regret I felt my heart throb painfully as It ached for …

  Why does pain hurt? Like a hot spoke burrowing through The soft chambers of our heart, It cleaves a severe path. Oh, the agony of heartbreak. How agonizing is the feeling! The pain of it clamps its hot fingers Around our tender feelings, Suffocating their softness To leave us …

Teetering on the brink, As if unsure and uncertain, It totters. Indecisive or may be hesitant It reins in its dampness, and Contracts into a moist orb, Glistening like a drop of dew. It lays there for a while Vacillating On the moist rim of emotions Which churn in the …

Mother, Do you remember those summer nights? We would lie under the stars On the Charpai in the aangan? You would urge me to look for shooting stars And prod me to wish upon one. I did that. I was young, I believed in magic. But, more than magic, I …

  Far removed From the eviscerated Maw of pugnacious humanity I buzz… A mute spectator Hovering over the rim of the world. Like an open book, the world lays open, Its spine fractured under The onus of its bludgeoned self. Will it recover, ever? Will it be able to snap …

I spent the first 5-6 years of my life in South India. My father was in the defence services, so we moved around a lot. But, the formative years were spent in South India. No wonder, I love south Indian cuisine so much. I mean, that was literally my first …