I often wonder how many invisible pins are dropped on the map of my life. Tiny red markers that appear whenever I step outside the house. Some blink quietly on someone else’s screen, silently telling them where I am. Technology calls it convenience. Safety, they say. But I call it […]
Poetry
The Book on the Shelf
I remember the day I was chosen. It was bright outside. I could tell because the shop door kept opening and closing, and sunlight fell on my cover in intervals, like applause. I stood straight on the shelf, my spine unbent, my pages crisp and arrogant. I knew I was […]
I cannot be a bride anymore by Yuko Tatsushima
In a world where womanhood is often measured by marriage, what happens when that identity is taken away from a woman? This is the subject matter of the painting ‘I Cannot Be A Bride Anymore’ by Yuko Tatsushima, whose works are often explorations of femininity, identity, trauma, and societal expectations. […]
Someday, I’ll Be Living In A Big Old City
By the age of sixteen, every girl weaves a dream for herself — “I’m going to get out of here.” Why, it doesn’t matter. Perhaps the bloody contraption nestled beneath her ribcage wants to pump blood that aches for foreign air. Perhaps she no longer wishes to be constrained by […]
I Come From a Land Called India
I come from a land where a girl is first a prayer And then a burden, Where she is dressed like a goddess during festivals And buried like a mistake before she learns her name. A land that chants Shakti with folded hands And teaches its daughters to walk faster […]