childhood | From Outside The Mall

Browsing All posts tagged under »childhood«

June 15s from my past

June 15, 2020

My book writing hasn’t been doing well during the pandemic. While I view myself with compassion and understand that this is a global crisis and not a writer’s retreat, I am determined to gently guide myself back into writing in a more disciplined fashion. It’s not even a writer’s block that I am experiencing. It’s […]

Rediscovering a joy from childhood

January 28, 2018

My childhood was spent reading all the time. A.L.L T.H.E T.I.M.E. So much so that my mother had to ration my reading time. When I went home to India this time, my aunt was telling her granddaughter that she never saw me without a book and how I used to take my lunch/dinner to my […]

Whom do you love the most?

March 17, 2016

Memories of mom – physical and emotional resurface every now and then. Precisely for this reason, I did not look at pictures of her, especially from the times she was sick. One of the major regrets I have is not taking more pictures with her when she was well. We barely have pictures of her […]

How to (NOT) Get a Good Husband as a 9-Year Old

April 16, 2012

Growing up in a Gujarati Jain-Saraswat Brahmin household, my sister and I were exposed to a minimal amount of traditions and festivals. While this practice led us to become broadminded and less religion-governed, it used to be a great source of distress when we were younger. Living in Gujarat, a lot of my classmates were […]

My Experiences With Motherhood – III

July 24, 2011

To get a background of this post, you may want to read the previous ones. My husband and I went to a waterpark with a few friends. Among our friends was a couple and their 6-year old son. Sid and I were left alone for a while with the handsome li’l boy. We decided to […]

The Boy Who Loves Me

November 18, 2010

For those who know me, it will not be a surprise. I don’t like my name. EKTA. That is one of the reasons I chose to write under a different name. I live on the 2nd floor and he lives on the ground floor. The place where I park my scooter faces the back door […]

Fasts and Feasts from Childhood: Ganesha and Samvatsari

September 11, 2010

This day has such a deep connection to childhood for me. I was born to a Gujarati Jain mother and a Saraswat Brahmin (Konkani) father. Eight or nine days before Ganesh Chaturthi would begin “Paryushan“. For eight days my mother would abstain from cooking green leafy thingies (Yayyy) and no onions, garlic, potatoes and the […]

Fruits From Childhood

July 6, 2010

Moving to Besant Nagar has probably been the best thing that happened to me. It has put me in touch with myself. I guess part of it is because I am forced to live alone most of the times and introspect on the smallest experience that I have. About two weeks ago, I walked into […]

A Living Example of Horrifying History

March 18, 2010

I saw 4-year old Aditya dangling from his mother’s arms. I wondered why she would ‘handle’ a child that way. And I soon found out why. I edged closer to see that the boy was unkempt. Dirty clothes, saliva drooping, eyes crisscrossed…the works. He was mumbling to himself and walking, rather stumbling at every step. […]

My Caregiver’s Song

September 26, 2009

I watched her wither, I wished she died, And then I burned in shame, I tried to hide. I spoke to none, I knew I’d be shunned, In my own private hell, I began to reside. She knew me not, yet I wanted her to know, I was her little one, the one she bore. […]

I Also Love You

September 17, 2009

I like myself. I like that I can learn about life from anyone. No matter what their age. I like that I can respect even the youngest person I know 🙂 Anoushka – my niece – she is my connection to childhood, to innocence, to experiential learning. A few minutes spent with her rejuvenate me […]

My Experiences With Motherhood – II

August 30, 2009

So it was again my time to meditate. It was raining. Pouring actually. Visibility was not even at 2 feet. But somehow there was something calming about the whole scene. I was just ending with my prayers when I heard the famous trio shouting. The school van had come and the brothers had to go […]

My Experiences With Motherhood

August 23, 2009

I know several mothers closely. But closely cannot be considered as authentic, can it now? Yet, from whatever I see around me, I am convinced it ain’t easy. DUH. Bringing up one child in 2009 is bad enough, but someone who raises 2 surely deserves a medal, and someone who does it well, needs to […]

How to greet a classmate after ten years?

August 15, 2009

I was browsing through the FICTION section at Landmark this evening, when suddenly just right down the aisle, I saw her glancing through the myriad genres. For a minute, I froze. Then I stole a glance at her. She was standing less than a few feet away from me. She wore a black t-shirt and […]

What Difference Can A Mentor Make?

June 16, 2009

How many times have each one of us thought we wish we had someone to walk with us, help us negotiate this complex world! Well, the Dream Mentoring Programme does just that. We may or may not have had the benefit of a mentor, but sure have a chance of making that difference. The Dream […]

A Requiem

May 14, 2009

Will I be missed when I die? How many times have we thought about this? Some of us like to fantasize about the void that we will leave behind when we pass on to the next world. Some of us, very conveniently avoid even thinking about it, some others among us just don’t have the […]

	Preeti on The First Week of Parenth…
	Mamta on 65 things about my mom
	Vivek Hattangady on 65 things about my mom
	Preeti on A Diwali Miracle
	Luvena Rangel on A Journal Entry from 1997
	Ekta on Tea Meditation
	Ekta on Tea Meditation
	Shashank on Tea Meditation
	Preeti on Tea Meditation
	Karishma on June 15s from my past
	Preeti on Living my Yoga
	Preeti on Unexpected expense
	Preeti on Unbecoming – My Journey…
	Ekta on A Journal Entry from 1997
	Disna on A Journal Entry from 1997