Lakshmi Iyer's Blog, page 11

Devolve. Disconnect. Dissolve.

This has been years in the making I guess. This week, I watched passively as a group I am in made plans to organize something. In the past, I would have been eager, loud and passionate about being the architect of such plans. This time, I watched, a little amused, unaffected by what was happening.…

The Moon Is Beautiful – Romance Is A Bonus Book Review

The moon is beautiful, isn’t it ? Instead of “I love you”, Natsume Soseki said “The moon is beautiful”. When the author, Natsume Soseki, was a teacher, he told his student translated “I love you” into Japanese, he just translated it word-for-word, “I love you”. Since Japanese people don’t say that often, he told the…

Remembering My Perima

I woke up to news of my aunt passing. Beyond the first rush of hot tears, my mind went back decades remembering the warm person she was. In the years following my move from Coimbatore to Madras, we (amma, my siblings and I) would pile into an auto and go to Nungambakkam where she lived.…

2022 – The Year In Review

January – The year started with a bone deep exhaustion from two years and counting of the plague. Winter has never been my favorite season and the cold had me burrowing inward and burying myself in reflections. February – The month started with news of Westland closing and my book rights being reverted to me.…

Twenty Five, Twenty One – Trip Down Nostalgia Lane

The show starts with vivid color and a certain sterility as a teenager waits to perform ballet during the COVID years. The mother, our protagonist waits in the car as restrictions prevent anyone from being in the audience. The girl walks off, throwing away her place in the competition and runs away from home to…

The Art Of Language

Kumao, I say bowing deeply as I thank Saathi for something. He laughs. Dey, Kha, Saranghae. The words slip easily into conversation. My head is a soup of words in various languages at all times. I gush over the latest show I am watching to a friend and she says “They all look the same…

A Different Kind Of Funk

For some reason my mind went to the December of 1999 when the world was on the cusp of a new millenia. Back then 2020s was the future. I was 24, single and, working for an MNC. I remember the hope I carried in my heart like some flame that could not be put out.…

The Rocking Fifties

This week has been one for milestone birthdays, twenty fifth wedding anniversaries and other time markers that has me thinking. People of my age are at a cusp in their lives as they stare at empty nests and retirement in the not so distant future. As I walked around my home this morning striding to…

Kdrama, Saranghae

“Want to see pictures of my crush?” I ask, a goofy smile plastered on my face. My 13-year-old is scandalized. She reluctantly takes my phone and scrolls through the IG feed I show her. She is quiet and after a beat asks me “Are married women allowed to have crushes?” I laugh out loud. She…

The Truth Shall Set You Free

The ring lies on the ledge inside the shower stall. I remember to bring it outside when I am done. I wipe it dry and inspect it in the flickering bathroom light. Teal and silver, it is nondescript. I slip it on my finger, it is loose. I slide it into my pocket when dressed…