Where are my roots? where is my aasmaan!

I have often wondered
about my roots
if I have them
at all
or am I a hyacinth
that will always be afloat

I’ve lived in more houses
than the next one
and yet
none have felt like home

and when I reflect
my earliest drawings have been of houses
from those first huts we drew
all of us
a rectangle, a triangle
and a bush and a tree
and three triangles and half that were mountains
the ticks for birds
a sun and a moon
a cloud and some stars
depending on day or night
and a meandering river, always

which have now graduated
to Pinterest boards
saved reels and posts
of houses in Bali
in Sri Lanka

we bought our first house
a flat on the top floor
where I have plants
and skies
with chaotic beginnings
and rough day to day
it feels many times
like a convalescent home
a pit stop on a highway

the air feels toxic
especially around this time
and no
nothing feels like home
yet

I still dream of my jungles
the winding roads
the clean air that filled my lungs

where do I find my home
where do I find my roots

maybe this longing
is the only place
I’ve ever lived fully

maybe this ache
is my address

Happy Women’s Day 2025 !

To the incredible women-

who rise, not because of a day,

but despite the weight of history,

despite the quiet exclusions,

the unspoken rules,

the ceilings made of glass and stone.

To the men who see -

who do not treat women as tokens,

who do not turn them into goddesses,

but as equals, as humans,

who recognize their privilege,

of being a man in a man’s world, 

and use it not as power,

but as responsibility.

who stand beside women,

who listen,

who learn,

who choose to act.

This day is not for flowers or praise,

not for fleeting gestures,

but for reflection, for reckoning.

For asking—how far have we come?

And how much further must we go?

Women are here,

not because the world made space for them,

but because they carved it out,

fought for it,

claimed it.

Silently,

loudly,

relentlessly.

But “here” is still far behind 

And to get “there” is a long walk

So today, and every day after,

more power to the women.