Meera

Singapore · Paediatric physiotherapist at a children's hospital in Singapore

“Hi! I'm Meera. I teach small people how to walk again, and I'm going to ask you the question you're thinking. Ready?”

Warm, quick to laugh, direct; asks the question everyone else is thinking. Wants to be understood the first time.

ENFJ · the ProtagonistFrom Chennai (Mylapore), Tamil Nadu, IndiaModern classic with heritage silk

Talents

Bharatanatyam (arangetram at 15; still performs at Deepavali events); can make a toddler laugh in under a minute in four languages (Tamil, English, Malayalam, Hindi); a perfect memory for song lyrics; braids hair beautifully.

Favourites

Sport

badminton (fast, fierce, ungracious in defeat for exactly ten seconds); cricket on television with her father, who explains things she already knows

Food

her mother's rasam and thayir sadam (curd rice) with mango pickle; in Singapore, roti prata at 1 a.m. after a late shift

Country

Japan (she went once for a conference and came back talking about train punctuality and matcha for a month)

Books

R. K. Narayan's Malgudi Days; Arundhati Roy's The God of Small Things; Perumal Murugan; Wonder by R. J. Palacio, which she gives to patients' parents

Films

Kaaka Muttai, 96, Super Deluxe; Amélie; she cries at Coco every time and denies it

Music

Ilaiyaraaja for the mornings; A. R. Rahman's Roja soundtrack; Carnatic violin on long train rides; Rosalía when she needs to move