
We are the Women We want to be
A reflection on unlearning the social conditioning many girls grow up with, celebrating women who challenge expectations, redefine roles, and inspire others to claim their space with courage and conviction.

A reflection on unlearning the social conditioning many girls grow up with, celebrating women who challenge expectations, redefine roles, and inspire others to claim their space with courage and conviction.

A slice-of-life vignette that observes the gentle flow of a weekday morning, revealing the unnoticed details that make up everyday domestic life.

Through vivid imagery and quiet reflection, this piece examines the contrast between the calm rhythms of daily life and the unsettling questions that linger beneath the surface.

Theme for 2026 When I sat down to write this piece, out of plain curiosity, I googled the theme for this year’s Women’s Day. It

Echoing Virginia Woolf’s words, the article revisits the erased legacies of Indian scientists Bibha Chowdhuri, Kamala Sohonie, and Rajeshwari Chatterjee. Despite pioneering contributions to physics, biochemistry, and engineering, they faced systemic gender bias and invisibility. Recovering their HERstories challenges patriarchal narratives and restores women to India’s scientific history.

The article dismantles the myth that women dress or wear makeup for male approval. Drawing on psychology, research, and everyday logic, it argues that style is self-expression, confidence, and identity, not performance. Women’s appearance choices are personal, internal, and autonomous, reflecting empowerment rather than a bid for attention.

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.

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.



