After completing a Master's in English Literature, I worked in various capacities—as a learning content specialist, editor, corporate trainer, and very briefly as a safari guide—before transitioning into a self-directed work life. Now, I juggle the roles of a self-employed writer, editor, photographer, work-from-home mum to a daughter, and chief ideator at one-new-project-idea-a-day-dot-com.

Between Books and Birdsong

I grew up in the liminal space between loneliness and solitude, with stories—folklore, ancient literature, and the outdoors—as my teachers and companions. This is where I return when I need comfort or inspiration.

I was watching birds and trees long before I knew they were considered legitimate hobbies for city-dwellers seeking refuge from noise and grind. There came a time when I, too, tried to escape the noise and grind. But by then, my curiosity had taken a definite path—I was searching for meaning in the things I observed.

Why is the coucal a lucky bird? Why does the swan grace palace gardens as a royal pet? Why is the tiger a cunning villain while the lion reigns as king of the jungle? Why do our gods have the strangest creatures as their companions and mounts?

Now, I explore both nature and culture, tracing the boundaries where they blur, searching for the other within each. I seek the human connection to untamed nature—how we related to it, derived nourishment from it, revered it, worshipped it, and all through, tried to set ourselves apart from it.