A few years ago, my husband and I decided to take our two children on the train to NYC. We always drove but I wanted our children to experience train travel; they struggled to understand why. It was deep-seated, you see. I wanted us to have a shared memory with my...
It’s Spring. The birds perch on the bird feeder and peck at the grains playfully, making chirping sounds. They remind me of ma, my mother. A woman of small stature, slightly bent with age, deep wrinkles on the face, the kind that tells stories. She has hands with...
I saw the man for the first time in Budapest on the Széchenyi Bridge. The chain bridge connected the western and eastern parts of what was once two cities, Buda and Pest. We exchanged a smile, as any two people might. Standing a few feet apart, we saw the Parliament...
Pathankot, India. The boy put down his Commando comic and scrambled up the stairs of the farmhouse as fast as his six year old legs would take him. He opened the door and ran to the far end of the terrace where his view would be unobstructed by the mango trees in the...
They hung in a noisy jangle a few inches to the left of Padma’s well padded belly button, tucked snugly into her sari’s waistband. Keys of iron and brass, jostling each other around a communal ring meant for expensive Harrison locks and cheap padlocks. The center of...
The doctor stepped off from the tonga (horse-carriage) at Jalalpur Jattan Railway station, in Pakistan, the horse whinnying as he did so. “We will meet again soon, I hope,” he said to the tongawallah (horse-carriage driver). The younger man nodded. “Inshallah.” ***...
