Author Archives: Curio City Collective

Piglet sidled up to Pooh from behind.”Pooh!” he whispered.”Yes, Piglet?””Nothing,” said Piglet, taking Pooh’s paw. “I just wanted to be sure of you.” Dear Friends, Every night before bed this past week, I’ve turned to my favourite companions, Pooh and Piglet—just to be sure of them, and me, and us. Every day, I find myselfContinueContinue reading “The Commune: Connection in the time of Corona”

Dear Friends, While most children were dreaming of being doctors, teachers and police officers when they grew up, I had every intention of growing up to be a witch – a wise nice one. Raised on a steady diet of Enid Blyton’s, Roald Dahl’s and other fantastical literature, I was surprised at the lack ofContinueContinue reading “The Commune: Returning to soil”

Dear Friends, Growing up, taking the garbage out was the chore I was always disliked. Washing dishes, cleaning out cupboards, dusting—any of those trumped the two minutes it would take to lift the black plastic bag with the day’s refuse, tie it up and leave it outside the apartment door. That was the sum totalContinueContinue reading “The Commune: Turning waste to wealth”

Dear Friends, On good days such as today where my morning outing led to spotting golden orioles twirling through the skies even as the chirping of the local tailorbirds and barbets resounded through my neighbourhood – it feels surreal to consider that we might be living in a moment of environmental crisis. Yet as multipleContinueContinue reading “The Commune: Trashing the waste mindset”

Dear Friends, My love affair with the ocean began from an early childhood spent beside it. I remember taking walks with my grandmother by the sea, going out on a jetty to feed bits of atta to shoals of fish, and carefully choosing seashells with my sister on visits we’d make to islands in theContinueContinue reading “The Commune: A date with the ocean”

Dear friends, I don’t quite remember at what point in my life I began to recognise that mental well-being lies on a continuum of sorts. From happiness, wellness to mild or limited distress to diagnosed or undiagnosed mental health conditions – it has many shades. Things were different when I was 17. I discovered SylviaContinueContinue reading “The Commune: Emotional distress in cities”

Dear friends, Here we are tumbling head-first into another freshly minted on the clock – New Year! I hope you found the holidays restful and reflective filled with all the loveliness that time off can provide. Yet holidays can be complicated depending on who you are. As any Harry Potter enthusiast will remember, each holidayContinueContinue reading “The Commune: Lost connections”

Dear Friends, It’s my favourite time of the year. The end-of-year holidays are round the corner and there’s a nip in the air (even in Mumbai where I swelter through the rest of the year). As a child, this was a particularly exciting time because of Christmas. It marked the 6 months my grandmother wouldContinueContinue reading “The Commune: The Spirit of Gift”

Dear friends, Perfection is such a potent drug. I have spent a lot of time “perfecting” this email too; just like I spend time perfecting how I do things or say things or how my body and mind are. Ever since I fell ill (chronic pain from Fibromyalgia and Rheumatoid Arthritis and subsequent fatigue) atContinueContinue reading “The Commune: Moving from fixing to healing”

Dear friends, What is air? I’ve been thinking about this for the past couple of weeks as meme after meme of dark humour spells out the dire situation in Delhi and other parts of North India.  In school, most of us learnt this simple definition: Air is approximately 78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen with small amountsContinueContinue reading “The Commune: Seeing from the lungs”