Sangeetha Kamath

   There used to be a golden age of annual vacations once upon a long forgotten time. These school holidays would invariably arrive after the first mid-week of November until school reopened on the first Monday of January in the coming year. Diwali that would have just gone by would be only a cozy affair with family and a few good friends at whose homes invitations would be extended for lunch or dinner with potluck themes.  But the real deal was the treat that was waiting for us back home. My parents, empty nesters would eagerly await the arrival of Babylou as soon as November arrived.  “There's a surprise for you later,” my father would chime as soon as she crossed the threshold. He thoughtfully bought a packet each of the various firecrackers available during the festive season and kept those aside.  These would be spread out in the morning sun until high noon everyday for a week before our arrival until they were fried to a crisp-- ready to crackle and spa...

The sleek steel grey landline with it's cordless handset gleams in the mid morning sunlight. It's only a fixture on the tabletop these past several years yet loved and flaunted for old times sake. Also, for the numerous times the handset had nestled in our palms. The vintage feel of it and the stronghold of memories I associate it with beats the smartphone by miles.  It has in turn been a confidante of our precious moments, some idling talk, some annoyance oh yes ! and all before Whatsapp made an entry into our lives and the poor dear was no longer in demand. The world was at our fingertips. It doesn't complain, doesn't whimper, not even a sigh, murmur or a slightest hint at a whisper of life for the past decade and more! Except… On Thursday the daylights were socked out of me! Lost in mundane chores, I had my gloved hands deep in a pile of soapy water scrubbing away at the breakfast dishes. The usual swell of silence was harshly rend by the landline from the livin...

The day began like any other August morning in Singapore but the nip in the air embraced me a bit tenderly today and I just wanted that extra dose of coziness.  August 21st ! Today marks a significant milestone in my life - the anniversary of my open heart surgery . It's a day I'll never forget, a day that gave me a second chance at life. As I look back on the past year, I'm filled with gratitude and awe at the journey I've been on. An Open Heart Surgery and a collateral damage of a minor stroke that had left my limbs immobilized on the left side whilst in the ICU right after shifting from the OT .  A gruesome 7 hrs must have gone by before I regained consciousness and informed them about it. I was hurriedly wheeled in for an MRI which revealed a tiny clot which must have occurred when I was plugged into the heart-lung machine during the surgery. A 3% chance of freak accident I signed a disclaimer for.  With swift action from the team of cardiologists and neurolo...

August , just as its name, is so regal. This year it hits quite differently as it stumbles along heavy-footed and highly lethargic. August this year is an excruciating dead weight sandbag. Peppering the phases of sleepless nights and restless days are moments of regrets---unspoken words, words that could have been paused, things that could have played out differently, moments that could have been lived more deeply...  What once was a month which gifted colour back to the dawns and dusk as the shy, mellow sunshine breathed a golden glow in the air after the dense and gloomy monsoons bid a goodbye, August this year is a frosty overcast of a grey, damp July chill. My dad's birthday falls in this month and if he had just made it four months longer, he would've been 80 years old on the 22nd. He had held with the last ounce of his laboured breaths to see this milestone which was not to be. A final wish in his every delirium moment that would shatter my heart every time he expressed i...

  Prompt: "What happened?", asked my mother. “What happened?” asked my mother. I had hurled the door open and dashed inside, breathless and disheveled. The rain outside was an endless torrent since late evening. Blurring the neighborhood and the garden. We could see nothing clearly beyond the porch. My jacket was drenched and more droplets of water trickled on the carpet as I swept the hoodie over my head with shaky hands. She tried to hold my gaze but my eyes darted about in panic. The force of what had just occurred was yet to fully register. As I shrugged off the jacket it slid to the floor in a heap. In a daze, I walked over to the doorway leading to my room and froze. The walls started to close in. My vision swam.The sound of the rain and thunder seemed to amplify while the soft glow from the chandelier dimmed further. The buzz in my ears was unbearable. Weakly, as I covered them with my palms, a wave of nausea overpowered me and I slumped onto the floor. The world turne...

  Books and more books 📚! All I talk about are books and Babylou. And for good reason. One is my creative board and the piece of my heart is a wise Sounding Board. When I interact with either of them I get great eye openers and enlightenment. There's of course a story behind this with these two main star casts and in no way are disconnected at all with random mentions.  Yeah, so with all my Ring Binder Journals and the various diaries having been filled to the brim with my daily writing plus visual embellishments, they now look no less than chunky blocks--overfed and hard to shut close. Having almost run their course, it was time to get new ones to document the rest of the year.  Amazon showed me the Paperideas A5 Journals with a shipping price to Singapore that would buy me month's worth of groceries for the household! Heck, ah ?! What the...! Is it trimmed with gold and encrusted with precious gems ! Plus the aesthetic pastel colours were all SOLD OUT with only some ga...

It's one of those days that I don't look forward to at all but try my best to focus only on the silver lining and send thanks to the universe that I have access to the best healthcare the world has to offer. It's also a a gift I give to myself ever since I've placed my health and its sustenance as top priority. So today was a day full of follow ups and tests…and an overwhelming anxiety to top it all when it was all done as the reports will be out only next week when I meet up with the specialists for the review.  A stretch of 2 hrs with an assortment of procedures which to me seemed like an endless one, finally wound up with me walking out with a million-gadzillion thoughts blitzing in my head. Even though the technicians saw me off with a load of assurances, drilling me to keep calm, to be positive and to have a good rest after going home, I was anything but calm. Nap was the last thing on my mind although my eyes were already weary and were shutting on their own. Afte...