This reflective essay explores how love evolves, from youthful fantasies of grand gestures to the quiet strength of companionship and presence. It contrasts enduring partnerships with lonely, transactional modern relationships shaped by technology. Ultimately, it affirms that true love thrives on equality, emotional labour, and self-respect,culminating in the most powerful love story: choosing yourself.
Reflecting on love beyond clichés, the narrator redefines Valentine’s Day as an act of radical self-love. Tracing her journey through desire, motherhood, body changes, and societal pressures, she embraces her evolving body with pride and sensual confidence,urging women to reclaim beauty on their own terms and “strike a pose” for themselves.
Returning to India from the comfort of the USA seemed like a reckless mistake, judged by many and doubted by herself. Yet from that uncertain leap grew The She Saga, Aashiyan, Veda’s, purpose, and independence. What looked like a bad decision quietly unfolded into a deeply rooted, meaningful life.
In the quiet after Valentine’s Day, I turn inward—to books that shaped me, words that healed me, classrooms that defined me, long walks that strengthened me, tea with mother that grounds me, Olive’s unconditional love, simple food joys, and solitary pilgrimages. These are my sundry, steadfast forms of love.
On the eve of her child marriage, young Pakhi shares a tender kitchen moment with her widowed grandmother. Amid societal cruelty, love, longing, and survival lessons unfold through cooking. A forbidden fish head added to vegetables becomes an act of rebellion, awakening suppressed desires and silent tears.
Turning twenty-five meant standing at the edge of change – marriage, leaving home, and learning to grow. Amid love, fear, hope, and loss, she discovered that home doesn’t disappear; it travels with us. With courage and trembling faith, she stepped forward, carrying her parents, her past, and herself into a new life.
A personal reflection on everyday misogyny, consent, and misplaced progressiveness—revisiting a conversation that revealed how deeply patriarchy survives beneath the mask of modern thinking.
A powerful reflection on married women reclaiming strength, identity, and sisterhood—where the gym becomes a sanctuary for healing, confidence, and choosing oneself without guilt.
A reflective personal essay on healing, resilience, and self-reinvention—tracing how loss, mental health, and choice reshape identity, purpose, and the courage to live life on one’s own terms.
A poignant narrative capturing the quiet aftermath of celebration, where two lives unfold amid contrast and reflection. It explores unspoken emotions, strength beneath routine, and the subtle shifts that illuminate the human spirit.
