Small Hands and Open Hearts
A stranger at the mall gave my daughter a blue penguin clutching a mushroom. It reminded me that despite everything, people are still kind — especially to children.
Short essays for busy people
Atomic Essays is a quiet place for 300-400 word reflections that can be finished between meetings, trains, and ordinary errands, without ever feeling rushed.
Latest essays
The most recent pieces, newest first.
The Beauty of Being a Cog
Some people say they hate the grind. They call it mechanical, soul-crushing. But maybe being a cog isn't a bad thing. Maybe it's how we find rhythm, stay afloat, and hold each other.
In Loving Others, Don't Forget Yourself
Your life isn't yours completely. There's a part of it that belongs to your parents, your partner, and to your kid. But we often fail to keep a part of our life to us.
The Magic of Being a Regular
I visit A.E. Tea stall every morning for a cup of coffee, one medhu vadai, and a butter biscuit. I'm a "regular" according to them. It's a simple label that carries more weight than it seems.
The Present We Live Is Already Dystopian
The dystopian future from sci-fi is already here. We've built a world where we can't simply exist without performing for an audience — and the scariest part is we're all willing participants.
Essay series
Some ideas needed more than one essay. These are the ones that became a series.
Life in Shared Spaces
A series about the ordinary places we pass through together, and the unexpected warmth, memory, and meaning they hold for us.
When We Were Then
Memory is strange. It buries things for years, then returns them without warning — in a song, a smell, or an old console cartridge. These fourteen essays go back to the places, people, and moments that shaped who we are before we even knew it was happening.
The Geography of Feeling
Some places do something to you. A beach, a café, a neem tree in Hampi, or the evening sky from a terrace. These twelve essays are about the geography of the world and the feelings it stirs in us — the ones we carry home long after the trip is over.
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