nonfiction | Asha Rajan

A countdown of years

Posted on April 4, 2018 10 Comments

Seven When I was seven I started a new school. My fourth in three years. My third in Australia. I’d learned from the mistakes of the first two schools and was well on the way to camouflage. I had set down the heavy Malayalee-Malay accent I’d arrived with a little over a year previously. I’d […]

The Collection of Strangers

Posted on April 2, 2018 4 Comments

I just got back from walking the dog and am seated at the long wooden table on the balcony with my second espresso, reflecting on my family talent for collecting strangers. We’ve always done it. Some of the collections have been more successful than others.

Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes

Posted on April 1, 2018 7 Comments

Hooray! It’s the 1st of April and this is not an April Fool’s joke. April’s an important month in my world.

The Path to Paradise

Posted on March 29, 2018 10 Comments

On the corner of the block, at the meeting of two streets, at the end of the lane lived Veronica and Dorothy. Non and Dor, as they were known to everyone in the neighbourhood, were two delightful older women who shared a home. They’d been friends for most of their lives, and when Non’s husband […]

What starts with ‘F’ and ends with ‘uck’?

Posted on January 10, 2018 22 Comments

Q: What starts with ‘F’ and ends with ‘-uck’? When my eldest was still shorter than me, still small enough to clamber up onto my lap, take my face in his chubby little hands, and very seriously demand my attention, we lived in a remote town in the far northwest of Australia. (Now he demands […]

First Kiss

Posted on December 12, 2017 21 Comments

“Close your eyes,” he says, all bravado and fifth-grade-boy machismo. “What? Don’t be dumb,” I say. “Just close your eyes. I’ve got a present for you.”

Not Drowning, Waving

Posted on October 25, 2017 4 Comments

“It’s going swimmingly,” she said while catching the lifejacket and wrangling two teens.

Leader of the Pack

Posted on September 6, 2017 15 Comments

Storytelling and the awareness of the power of words started early for me.

Random Thoughts of an Angry House Cleaner

Posted on August 28, 2017 1 Comment

Housecleaning is not a benign activity. It’s hard to stay calm and centred when you’re vacuuming a floor, mopping with vigour, or scrubbing a shower. Those are inherently violent and aggressive activities. *~*~*