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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 human like me and not a hand that refilled my hot water, brought me extra napkins, or cleared out the empty plates on our table.
But, hey, here’s my ask. I want you to listen to those quiet crackles in the background, the ones of desire and longing to be the best you can be. The ones that feel forbidden, and the ones of love that don’t follow any norm. And you know what I think?
Read the essay HERE.
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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 you 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.
Totally Reckless – Micro Poetry by Rachana
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Building Trust and Safety: How Accountability Strengthens Law Enforcement and Communities
I have lived in the United States for nearly twenty-four years. This is my home. I am a person of color, and so are my children. In my city of Johns Creek, a suburb northwest of Atlanta, I often see police officers on the roads. I respect the work they do. They show...
Madi Sikharam: The Peak of the Mind and the Inner Himalayan Journey to Self-Realization
Is it strange if I tell you that even though the icy wind of the Himalayas has never touched my cheeks, I have felt that chill within me? When I sit down to meditate and think of the mountains, I feel as though I can taste the thin, luminous air that circles the...
Brain Rot Is Infecting AI Too: How Doomscrolling Is Breaking Human and Machine Minds
People are writing research papers on which biryani (Indian-flavored rice) is the best, but more on that later. 😅 This might be the most important paper on AI we will read. Scientists are showing how large language models can rot their own minds, in the same way...
I Stumbled Upon a Baby Shower in a Café. It Became a Reminder That Joy Finds Us Anywhere.
It's safe to say it's been a while since I've attended a baby shower. I don't even come across infants on a regular basis. I last saw a baby (almost 1 year old) was at a party this past Thanksgiving. My friend had a grandbaby in 2025. So, that's that. And also...
Kagemni Slayed Me With a Reed Pen: A Love Affair With Ancient Egyptian Scribes and Tombs
Falling Into A Saqqara Tomb Silly me, when I visited the Djoser Step Pyramid complex of the Saqqara necropolis (ancient Egyptian burial ground city), I was worried I would fall into a catacomb, one of those recesses between the ancient Egyptian tombs. Little...
Living in America’s Melting Pot While Confronting the Housing Crisis No One Talks About
It’s safe to say that even in America, as a true blooded Indian, I live in my own world of Indian food and Bollywood style parties. What little I understand about how everyone else lives is mostly through shows like Friends, Seinfeld, Sex and the City and movies like...
Becoming a Writer: The Night I Found My Voice – An Essay Read by Rachana
https://youtu.be/qm6ygiEOWdc - Want To Listen To The Article Instead? - On Becoming A Writer I have to write great opening lines if I’m going to become the most famous writer in the world. I don’t remember the exact moment I started calling...
The Festival in My Heart: An Essay Read by Rachana
https://youtu.be/U8Cx2Bj6nsQ - Want To Listen To The Article Instead? - To Live Or Not To Live Years ago, I traveled to the Piazza di Spagna in Rome in search of John Keats. Never mind that it was approaching his 100th death anniversary, I simply...
My Productivity Playlist: Opera, Hans Zimmer, and How I Get Work Done as a Right-Brained Adult
Music To My Ears I feel like every artist I meet has the same exact goal in life. Spend all the money they make on their art on other people's art and then die happy. I try to do a little bit of that myself to encourage other fellow right-brainers to keep...
One Road Trip, Many Spains: A Soulful Journey Through Art, Faith, Food, and Freedom
A Slow Drive Through Spain’s History and Heart I have a million essays planned about Spain. I’ve already written about some gorgeous places HERE. We went on a 16-day road trip through Spain, starting in Barcelona, traveling to the tip of Catalonia, looping...
A Dream Mehendi in Sitges: An Indian Wedding Celebration Where Tradition Meets Mediterranean Magic
In Sitges, a coastal town in Spain's Andalusian region, we once attended a beautiful mehendi function. A mehendi event is a pre-wedding celebration where family and friends gather to decorate the bride’s hands and feet with henna. Henna (or natural tattoos) is...