“Am I seeing things?” asked my mother in surprise. “Yes, you are, dear Mummy,” I answered sweetly, as I pinched her cheeks and danced out of the room. I didn’t blame her for being so surprised. After all it was the first time in years that she had seen me in a skirt. I […]
The state of our schools
I visited my daughter’s home in November. Right opposite her house is a building which is barely plastered from the outside, leave alone painted. Most of the window frames have no windows and the windows that exist are without panes. The lane it is situated in is barely wide enough for two cars to pass […]
My Visitor
I stood back and surveyed the window. I had spent the better part of an hour getting it spotless and the result satisfied me. Suddenly the door bell pealed and my best friend, Maya, stood at the door. “Oh no!” I thought, “Not now.” Now don’t get me wrong. Maya is my best friend, but […]
Too young to die
Your eyes are closed Do they hide the million dreams you had But which will now remain unfulfilled? No worry lines mar your brow. Does it hide thoughts started But which will now be left incomplete? Your lips are relaxed Do they hold the conversations begun But which will never be completed? As you lie […]
A Skeleton in the closet
Skeleton in the closet It was a particularly loud burst of thunder that woke me up. The simultaneous flash of blinding lightning completed the job. I sat up gingerly, feeling stiff all over. “I guess I must have slept for too long in an awkward position.” I thought. But then I realised I was getting […]
One of those days
When I was a student almost every year we would have to write an essay on the topic, “The day everything went wrong” ; you know, one of ‘those’ days. Well, yesterday was definitely one of “those” days, but with a difference. Yesterday I had a day when almost everything went right! My day started […]
Sharpening pencils, moulding minds
This morning, before sitting down to plan my day, I started sharpening my pencils. I have just bought a box of “Funn” pencils and I love them. No more red and black, or black and grey pencils. These pencils are beautiful ! All the colours of the rainbow and then some! I call them my […]
Just another woman at the end of the day
Every morning I saw her as she entered the train. She appeared so smart in her well ironed police woman’s uniform. She seemed so much in control of herself. It was not just her uniform. It was in her body language, the way she held herself, the way she walked. She seemed so confident, as […]
The Beginning
I was all of fourteen. It was the 5th of September, 1979, Teacher’s Day. I was in the tenth standard and as usual the teachers had gone for a picnic, leaving us, the tenth standard students to run the school. I was in charge of the kindergarten. I had been told to ensure that all […]
Welcome
Welcome to “The Quill of the Phoenix”. Why the name? Well it’s a long story but it will suffice to say that I’ve had more than my fair share of knock me downs from life. I won’t bore you with the details, but the fact is that every time I reached rock bottom, I would […]