Japanese

      You have got only three lines to say it. You have lesser characters than you have on twitter to write it down. To be precise, you shouldn’t be exceeding more than 17 syllables. The traditional number of syllables for the three lines is in this order respectively – five, seven & five. We talk here about the ancient form of Japanese poetry called Haiku.   The origins go back to 17th century Japan, where the form was then cal...

Where I grew up, cool kids played sports and losers read books. Can you guess which side I belonged to? When my mother came to find me for swimming lessons, I would hide in a bank of violets with The Dark is Rising. I’d nestle in the same spot with The Railway Children while the other kids in the neighborhood enjoyed softball games. I declared my “time of the month” lasted two weeks, with dreadful cramps, to excuse my absence from gym class. Naturally...