Ramya Abhinand, Author at Me Otherwise

August 31, 2017 Ramya Abhinand

A home in a dozen odd boxes- Life as a Fauji Wife

My entire home could be put into a dozen odd boxes. I live life as a fauji wife, an almost nomadic existence, moving places and making a new home every few years, or sometimes even months!!! For the initial twenty five years of my life, home was Bangalore! Seldom had I moved out of the city, except for short holidays. And then, I was baptized into the Armed Forces fraternity. As the flight took off, soaring high into the sky, I found it difficult to come to terms with the shock and realization that the city of Bangalore would no

August 27, 2017 Ramya Abhinand

Book Review: A State of Freedom by Neel Mukherjee

Desire and need, may well seem to be the two sides of the same coin. A State of Freedom by Neel Mukherjee, explores these complexities through five different characters, in five different circumstances. Reflections of contemporary India, these lives have an unquenchable thirst for a better life, as they push themselves beyond mere existence. Neel Mukherjee’s earlier published books include Past Continuous in India, which won the Crossword Prize. His second book, The Lives of Others (2014) was a shortlist for the Man Booker Prize and won the Encore Prize. A State of Freedom is Neel Mukherjee’s third novel. Sectioned into five parts,

August 9, 2017 Ramya Abhinand

The Paradox of Choice

“The Paradox of Choice”- I may have borrowed the title of this post from the 2004 book by American psychologist Barry Schwartz, where Schwartz argues that eliminating consumer choices can reduce the anxieties of shoppers. To me, this seems so true. With the plethora of choices available today, isn’t it actually getting to be exhausting for us, the consumers? Egg Journey to the center of the paradox My mobile device had been giving me considerable trouble, hence I decided that it indeed was time to scrap it and get myself a new one. So an entire Sunday afternoon was spent surfing

August 2, 2017 Ramya Abhinand

Indian Weddings and the Joy of Shopping for Outfits

The family was very excited. The news of a cousin getting married reached us and it was an opportunity for us to be a part of the celebration. Indian weddings are surely grand events. Multiple ceremonies, colorful decorations, meeting people, and of course dressing up in fine Indian clothes- weddings in our country is a grand spectacle. With barely a month left for the wedding, we had just about time to get all the outfits in place, and deciding what would be more appropriate for each of the ceremonies. With a full time job, packed schedules and two school going