One of the most treasured memories of my childhood is of being in my grandparent’s house in Kerala at night; with no electricity, a million cousins & a handful of torches.
At least one cousin would be flashing the torch from below their chin pretending to be a ghost,
While the rest of us tried to identify insects from the sound they made in the dark.
& we would all talk in to the night – ghost stories and all.
Aaj kal bijli kam jaati hai

Having been told quite early that I must not attempt to sing,
The only times I did was when the power was gone,
And I needed to distract myself from the darkness and from wondering “what’s that shape near the door?”
Soon I would forget all about odd shapes, refrigerator sounds and the darkness,
As I tried to remember the paragraphs of old Hindi songs.
Aaj kal bijli kam jaati hai

My mother & all other aunties in the colony would come out and sit at the entrance of our building when the power would go
They would just sit around there talking, cutting vegetables for dinner,
While all their kids would be sitting around playing Antakshari or Hide & Seek.
Have you ever played Hide & Seek in the dark? It's the most fun.
Aaj kal bijli kam jaati hai

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Am writing this in the comfort that no one ever comes here and the ones who do come out of deep unconditional love for me and will not stop coming because i wrote random things (again).