I was 16 when my mother called me fat. My father’s Punjabi family had a tendency to be on the larger side, my mother’s Gujarati family were all small and thin. Flitting between the two cultures I heard all the jokes of the fat Punjabis and the thin Gujaratis that each family seemed to revel in. In one household I More →
Love is missing you so much today that it hurts Love is missing you every single day Love is smiling because of a memory of you Love is crying because of a memory of you Love is knowing that you are in the sunshine Love is knowing you are in the rain Love is knowing that two bodies became one More →
“Do have a listen as I discuss mental health issues, grief and widowhood with Maryum on the first episode of her new podcast. We look specifically at the South Asian community and how these aspects affect it.” Shalini Bhalla-Lucas Interviewed by podcaster Maryum Iqbal on her new podcast Maryum Talks – available on YouTube, Spotify and iTunes. Watch the interview More →
These photos signify the Hindu widow – wearing a white sari – with a bare back. The inspiration was taken from the film Water by Deepa Mehta. The long hair is in defiance to the norm where a Hindu widow’s hair is shorn back. The photos are taken in a cold, grey tint to show the starkness of the story. More →
After Jeremy died I didn’t look at myself in a mirror for a whole year. I couldn’t bear to see the sadness in my own face, to see the dead look in my dull eyes and to see the grief that was consuming my whole body. And, getting in front of a camera was almost unthinkable for me! Jeremy loved More →
In the moment that my husband Jeremy took his last breath, my identity changed from being his wife to being his widow… On 28 July 2016 my beautiful, kind husband Jeremy died from a rare form of renal cancer. It was the most devastating thing to have happened to me in my life. During the first two years of grieving More →
The last photograph Jeremy ever took was that of the moon. Every time I look at the moon I think of him – and feel as if he is looking after me as the moon’s light and rays fall over me. So, I choreographed this dance in tribute to him for the 18th of May 2019 – what would have More →
We grieve when we experience loss which comes in many forms. The loss of a loved one. The loss of a pet. The loss of a job. The loss of good health. Grieving fully takes courage. Grieving allows us to let go. Grieving allows us to come to terms with what we have lost. How we grieve is personal to More →