When Life Happens, You Write.
When you’re a writer-at-large, you let life happen to you. That way, you let your eyes steal everything that they see, put a spin on it and spill onto paper / machine some “stream of consciousness” kinda cool stuff. And if I am a true writer-at-large, it’s only fair that I must observe, muse and write about it.
Homesick for the Stars
When I stumble into landscapes like these, I can't help but laugh at the audacity of man — thinking we can tame this beastly beauty of nature and dare to call it "mine." Let everything happen to you: Beauty and terror. So I do. I stand still in trembling reverence at...
How I Travel to My Village Poranki Anytime Without a Passport
Poranki, my small hometown a few kilometers from the center of Vijayawada, is a place where your morning walk will take you through banyan groves, tall college buildings, and cow-dung-filled roads. I travel there as much as I can, but when I cannot, I just have...
Inside The Moth Atlanta: A Night of Stories About Belonging, Bravery, and Being Human
At the Moth spoken word storytelling event yesterday, the stage was literally set. But, I was never meant to be there. Who pays $80 and drives to downtown Atlanta on a weeknight to listen to five ten-minute stories? I had told myself. But then came a last-minute nudge...
Help! Bengaluru’s Living Rent-Free in My Heart: A Love Letter to Chaos, Contrast, and Everything In Between
- After stepping back onto the plane from a work trip to Bengaluru, I was sure this essay would write itself. As the plane climbed out of Kempegowda, I looked through the window to say goodbye to the city that shimmered like a galaxy on land. I felt captivated...
A Lifetime of Poems, Fiction & Essays – Read by Rachana
Hey, welcome! I write about the enduring human spirit via essays, stories, and poetry. This podcast is my way of bringing those pieces to life in audio, so you can listen while you’re on a walk, driving, cooking, or just needing a moment of reflection....
The String of Pearls: Deep Connections And Friendship in the Digital Age
- Picture This Whether you know me or you're a stranger reading this, I want you to picture this. We're standing across from each other and holding hands. We smile at each other and look around us. Once we decide on a direction, we start walking together. That...
At Atlanta’s Bobby Dodd Stadium, The Line Between Faith And Football Is Blurred
I just walked out of a Georgia Tech vs. University of Pittsburgh football game at half time. And it was not looking good for our Yellow Jackets, let me tell ya. Yup, by the time I finished writing this, my son has told me, we've lost. When our 21 year old got us...
Why Darkness Can Be a Gift – A Poem Read by Rachana
https://youtu.be/kIYM07fLXZM - Want To Listen To The Article Instead? - And so you sit up straight, wring your hands. But the weight of silence, makes you wonder, Can darkness be a gift? This silence that’s so violent — can it be a...
The Invisible Brandons Hiding in Plain Sight – Read by Rachana
https://youtu.be/m64m4MyMcIM - Want To Listen To The Article Instead? - A Night To Remember I came home and couldn’t go back to bed without cleaning my kitchen countertop with my hands. As I cleaned, I thought of Brandon and how he was a...
Nostalgia in Ruins: Watching My Childhood Home Fall and My Memories Rise
- My mother visited her (and mine) childhood home for the last time today as it will be demolished starting tomorrow. Nostalgia, as it turns out, will not have a home anymore. Yet, somehow, we'll have to continue living on. Since I've moved to the US 23 plus...
On Living Out Loud – Read by Rachana
https://youtu.be/KHnRhdHrQyE - Want To Listen To The Article Instead? - The Actions Of A Free Man Here’s the truth. The things that make us feel alive, laughter that makes our ribs ache, projects that ignite curiosity, connections that fire...
Writer-At-Large: The Invisible Brandons Among Us
Listen to the essay- Yesterday I went to a restaurant with a couple of my friends. For now, let's call the place CF Pangs. We were shown to a booth in the back, and I briefly excused myself to use the restroom. As I came back, I saw our waiter, Brandon,...
Why I Really Have 3,452 Friends: The Quiet Ethos of Enduring Friendship
- Fun days are when I meet many brand new strangers and also have a chance to invite some of them to my home. Yesterday was one such day. I was witness to an event where two friends who had never met after 7th grade, but had stayed in touch, met in person after...
Love Made Me Do It – A Poem Read by Rachana
https://youtu.be/toLd4m-ofRk - Want To Listen To The Article Instead? - As you slip and fall, my thoughts ride along with youatop the death train – La Bestia. A smiling young man you were, one heartbeat ago,the next – a limp body in the overgrown,...
The Night I Aired My Dirty Laundry In The Heart Of St. Petersburg
- As my friend, A, and I wandered around downtown St. Petersburg with a diet coke and a hoagie in hand, she stopped to open a dirty looking glass door. She tilted her head motioning me to step in. "What, inside here?" I asked, eyebrows raised and quickly glancing...
I Crashed a Wedding in Seville. Sorry, Curiosity Got the Better of Me.
- I have so much to write about Spain and its aura, but where can I really begin? I’ve already written about an Indian wedding in the heart of Sitges, and a child who was a cutter at the Mirador de San Nicolás in Granada. I also wrote about how Spaniards camp...
ఎన్నో భయాల్లో ఇది ఒకటి – A Poem by Rachana
నాలోని భావాల లోతు వినిపించాలంటే,తెలుగు తప్ప నాకు మరో భాష తెలియదు.నిజంగా చెప్పాలంటే, తెలుగులోనే చెప్పాలంటే —ఈ పదాలు, ఈ వరుసలోనే రాయాలి. నీ కోసం శ్వాసల సముద్రం నింపుకుంటా,కానీ నీ తలపు తీరాన్ని తాకగానేనా ఊపిరి ఆవిరైపోతుంది —మిగిలేది నీ జ్ఞాపకాల తడి మాత్రమే. కోపం వస్తోంది...
Babysitting and Brain Rot Stations: What Kids Can Teach Us About Living in the Now
- Last week, one of our funniest Swamijis (Ramakrishnaji) was in town for a Satsang, so I was assigned the task of babysitting kids at a local chapter of the Chinmaya Mission. As I got on with the task of monitoring what I wondered would be a wolf pack of...