Life As I Know It

If sadness is a drug, I think I overdosed on it.

November, 1996 stands out in my memory because that was my first encounter with the concept of death. My parents told my brother and me that our uncle had passed on and that we’d be going to Bombay to visit our aunt for a while. I knew what death meant. I had squished the life out of way too many insects to be completely oblivious to the idea of death. Yet, I believed death for humans was way different than death of insects and animals. I hadn’t seen other ants mourn for the ant I had killed. The ants just carried on with their task, when an occasional ant would stop and nudge the dead ant and it would just continue with the task at hand. When dogs got run over, the other dogs never stood around the dead dog and paid their respects. When we went to stay with our aunt after the funeral, I would always see her crying. I had never known her to cry. When we returned home, my brother came in to our room and sat across me and asked me, “Have you ever thought of what will happen to us if...

Let me just say that your smoldering gaze has resulted in every woman expecting her man to look at her the way you look at Anastasia. Having said that I just have to tell you, after India being branded as the rape capital, thanks to the banned documentary “India’s Daughter”, the movie based on your life was banned here as well. You see, the rapist said that, if his victim hadn’t fought them off she would still be alive today. You understand don’t you? The Indian man was just impressing upon the woman his desire to dominate her and all he expected of her was to simply say “yes sir” and lay still while he pleasured her. I know, I know you and Anastasia had a contract, but you ought not to be so dense as to think that the first few instances of your pleasure making didn’t happen under the terms of the contract which at that point was still being negotiated and had ergo not been signed by both parties. The Indian lawyers, I being one of them will be pleased to inform you that, that littl...