No rice recipes in this piece, just a rice-eater’s lament on quibbles over how to cook rice — More than 3.5 billion people in the world eat rice. I am one of them. My rice consumption, however, is not on a regular basis. It would not make a dent in the 504.3 million metric tons of rice which was consumed worldwide in the 2020–2021 crop year. With this…

Placing the phrases ‘writing for a living’ and ‘not all about money’ in a sentence smack of contradiction. But, really, it isn’t so. — The phone call was not unexpected. It was general election year, and crunch time for the candidates was only five weeks away. The caller, for the second time, wanted me to accept an election project. Her client was a candidate seeking re-election to a national post.

And get away with it (promise, no plagiarism involved) — There will be moments, even days, when a writer’s creative juice would one day take a jaunt to somewhere. This is not unusual. It’s not even something (for writers) to be overly worried about. Our intrinsic creativity sometimes takes a break. Even machines need downtimes, right? But what about when…

Both can cut and either can kill — Time and again, I come across and experience situations in which someone bad-mouths another. Like a freelance writer who called a young editor a b**ch just because the latter had rejected the former’s story submissions, one after another. After calling this editor names, the contributor continued to submit his manuscripts…

Isn’t over-consumption of anything being ill-advised already a given in life? — Lucky are those of us who happen to be close to or exactly under cherry blossoms when the wind blows. The blossoms are like falling snow. Trust me, it feels magical when this happens. …

Apologies to all hyacinths — Harlot is very old-world. The word is so archaic that it had not been included in any of the English pocket dictionaries I compiled and edited for intermediate pupils and high school students, in my other life. But this word, harlot, which I only come across in historical novels was…

Ever smell a cup of freshly brewed coffee with eyes closed in anticipation of the first delicious sip, instead of gulping the hot brew in a hurry due to a deadline? — Two and a half years ago, when the CEO of the company I worked for announced that I was “retiring”, our multi-country staff sent me their hearty best wishes. Time to smell the roses, they said. Now you can enjoy watching the Great British Bake-Off, one other executive messaged me.

The stage in life when we thrive — I look at my face And I see creeping old age But there’s no sign of rage For beauty’s slithering beige I look at my hands And see sneaky wends No tears for contretemps On life’s variegated trends I look at my feet And see naught but mirth For places giving me…

Lesson from certain weeds and flowers we adore — Throughout life, most of us will likely meet people who would try to make us feel small, or unworthy, or simply imperfect. They could be schoolmates. They could be workmates, even the boss. Worse, they could even be a friend or family, maybe a parent, a sibling, or a relative. …