After two decades of trying to tame my curly hair, I let it breathe. With time, the comfort of not having hickey-looking burn marks on my neck and forehead from the straightening iron became something I looked forward to. Embracing my curly hair has been synonymous with embracing my person.

She’s turning 40 and has turned temperamental, refusing to cooperate. I give her all the TLC and all this isn’t just a ruse to make her mushy. I reminisce about the good ole days when all it took was a kiss on the neck in a dark nightclub to get her going. She is amused but does not change her stance.

For the first 3/4th of the pandemic, I took pride in being responsible. My resolve remained absolute, my discipline unwavering in the wake of those setting worse examples around me – flocking to Goa, pubbing. Eventually, I gave in. I started travelling and doing things I don’t do even in a normal year, like attending weddings. But each of these outings is accompanied by guilt.

Hello Charlie is a hysteric comedy about Charlie who must drive a scamster businessman on the run across the Diu border. The film is replete with rib-tickling performances by Aadar Jain, Jackie Shroff, and the crew, and witty punchlines.

I had no choice but to take the vaccine. Unfortunately, I don’t live in West Bengal, Assam, Tamil Nadu, or Kerala, where there will be no COVID-19 surge until elections are over. I didn’t even book tickets to the Kumbh, where one holy dip could take care of it all.

In Gujarat, Marwari women lead dual lives. They fast with their mothers-in-law and sip mojitos with their friends.

College is supposed to be about new-found freedoms but here we are being mindful about every move we make. The hugs we showered on each other, after long breaks, have now become nods in the silent alleys of our campus. I hesitate to share my fried rice in exchange for fries with friends in the canteen even as we sit six-feet apart.

Ramzan in isolation doesn’t make the acts of fasting and worshiping difficult. Those are deeds deeply personal in nature. But what takes a hit is working for the greater good together. When you are looking to usher in change or fight the good fight, the support of a community only strengthens your resolve.

A new category of friendship has emerged during the pandemic: The Covid friend, someone whom you connected with over the last year and is now more than an acquaintance. I’ve a bunch of Covid friends – women I met at an online book club, a man I met via a dating app, and a host of home cooks who had joined a Mumbai foodies’ Whatsapp group during the lockdown.

While the idea of struggle is relative, I believe there’s a socially dictated equation for the logic of success. It goes something like: Struggle + Sacrifice + Ambition = Money + Security + Yay I’ve made it in life-wala feeling. Contentment and joy may or may not turn up in the answer, but that’s not part of the problem we’re told to solve, is it?