The first time I heard someone refer to me as a “Goddess,” I was at a new-age workshop in California. I must confess the appellation created a pleasant feeling in me. I had grown up in India, so perhaps deep … Continue reading
“I thought of you,” a friend called to say. “Oh yeah?” “When I heard the news about Alice Munro.” A strange stirring went across my body. It was not elation, but something deeper; a sense of being known. For, if … Continue reading
Published in India Currents The summers of my childhood were long, hot and boring. The main distractions were playing cards, gazing at the stars at night, and occasionally, eating Blue Bell ice cream. When relatives visited, therefore, I was overjoyed. … Continue reading
My first taste of tea was second hand. I would stand behind the door curtain hanging between the front room and the middle room, twirling the fabric between my fingers, and peeking at visitors drinking tea. I would imagine its … Continue reading
Sheryl Sandberg, the COO of Facebook, believes that women have themselves to blame for not succeeding in business and profession. That is what her opponents are saying anyway. Still, taken at face value, her message seems worth listening to. In … Continue reading
There is a a debate raging among American feminists about whether the show Girls on HBO is good or bad for the cause. Girls depicts four white young women and their romantic and sexual partners in New York City. Even … Continue reading
The confirmation process for Judge Sonia Sotomayor has demonstrated once again that we have a long way to go in achieving racial and gender neutrality in America. Why else would a high achiever like Sotomayor be forced to reassure people … Continue reading
One of the benefits of having the Obamas in the White House is that we will now have a couple we can all look up to as role models. In the age of divorce and single parent families, it is … Continue reading
Whenever Hillary Clinton touts her “experience,” an imaginary mockumentary plays in my head. In it, I am walking into a high rise building in downtown San Francisco, dressed in a power suit. I have an interview for the position of … Continue reading
Even though Shangri-La has become an idiom for utopia and an advertising slogan in the Western world, it originated in James Hilton’s 1933 novel, Lost Horizon, in which he describes a valley deep within Himalayan peaks, where, in a monastery … Continue reading