New Delhi, Sept. 19 -- Two months ago, I was in a therapist's room, finding it tough to cope with a challenging time-the death of my mother, the unfortunate loss of another significant relationship and moving to a new house with my eight-year-old daughter. Handing me a pen and some blank pages, my therapist urged me to write a letter to my mother. "After that," my therapist added, "Write a letter to yourself in your mother's voice."

This "letter-response therapy" became a cathartic exercise, reminding me of a similar writing exercise I'd done three-and-a-half years ago at Creativegarh Retreats, a five-day programme to help people rediscover themselves, mainly through writing therapies. In the beautiful environs of Kasauli's Meadow on the...