Sundar unpacked his bags and looked out the window of the modest accommodation he had been allotted in the village. The fields spread out for miles around, intersected by roads carrying speeding cars. Very few commuters turned into the village itself but played touch-and-go with the cafe on the main road. A branch of a popular chain, this particular outlet was not very profitable but was sustainable and surviving because of some travelers who preferred its hygienic interiors to some of the more seedy messes nearby. But those messes, in fact, made more money because the local populace thronged there.
Fleeting, lasting, deep, light, amusing, thought-provoking... All that I encounter.
Monday, January 8, 2024
Sunday, September 17, 2023
Friday, November 25, 2022
The Safari Food Chain
Food chain, you have studied all about it in class 6 or 7, I am sure. Seen a diagrammatic representation, I am sure. Probably drew a crappy version of it too.
Even in the corporate world, you would have heard of how the hierarchy works - like a food chain, each level eating the one below to grow bigger. Politics is no exception and probably closer to the jungle raj than anything else.
But, food chain in the safari!?
Tuesday, May 24, 2022
The Noble Man
Initially, I was amused. And then I was thinking.
Rama sent his wife to the forest, but Ravana, the so-called demon, never touched Sita. What a noble man!
His anger was aroused on seeing his sister in agony because of her face being mutilated. He immediately set out to avenge her humiliation.
Saturday, April 23, 2022
Saturday, December 11, 2021
A World of Make-Believe
I love reading books and watching movies. More than movies, the books. Because, you can drift into a wonderland, imagine how it would be, be a part of the scene witnessing the events without becoming involved.
But after I put the book down, sometimes I am in that world, imagining conversations and scenes between the character and me. At one point, though, the futility of it hits me. Unless I want to write fan fiction, I can see that that character and my paths will never cross. I am not a character in the book and nobody writes me into a book, not even me. Some aspects of me may be reflected in some characters I write, but the dialogues the character speaks or the actions and behaviour are not necessarily unique to me.
Saturday, October 16, 2021
Knots
Saturday, June 26, 2021
The Mind Game
I had often wondered as a young girl, why the Vedic Indians who were far ahead in understanding the world, the cosmos, mathematics, and physics did nothing for human psychology. The tying up of mentally ill patients in temples, the neem treatment or just being resigned to fate when people in the family were afflicted with mental ailments hardly seems evolved and, in fact, it seems insensitive and crude.
Saturday, May 11, 2019
Wipe the Slate Clean
1. What we will definitely wear
2. What we wear every other day but should not because - yes, the cloth is soft and it was beautiful when we got it, but now it is beyond recognition and must absolutely be thrown
3. Grand, but sorry, too itchy, dazzling and not the kind we would wear ever though it looks brand new.
Thursday, March 8, 2018
Thoughts on Women's Day
For I don't feel like one
I am a free spirit
Taking one body now
And changing it next minute
Thursday, April 27, 2017
5 Reasons to Stop Thinking
When joyous thoughts surround us, we rarely give it a thought - pardon the pun. But the trouble is, it is never only that.
Friday, March 17, 2017
Hidden Layers in Idols
Though I decided I will blog about it, it slipped my mind this morning. But a speech I saw by Sri Narendra Modi on feeling pride in Indian technology and how idols and statues code some of them symbolically, reminded me of this.
Tuesday, January 31, 2017
Winning Without Running
"What happened?" I asked.
The school is gearing up for sports day this Saturday. "We had hurdles practice today and twice she toppled the hurdle. She felt bad that she was not contributing to her house's success... But she had crossed it the third time! I told her to focus on that."
"That's nice," I said encouragingly.
The PT sir does not take the girls seriously - this has been my sports-loving daughter's complaint for long. But she used that to her advantage. "I told her that PT sir has no expectations of her. So when she toppled it, it didn't bother him. But when she crossed it, he was so pleased! That made her think!"
I smiled, happy about her insight.
"I remembered what you told me when I was upset two years ago with my previous PT sir, and I told her the same things."
"Oh really?" I was piqued.
"In football, he used to keep the girls in the background and I would get frustrated. But you told me that I must be alert and take every chance to prove myself even there... I told my friend not to worry about what the PT sir or anyone thought. I gave her tips on how to improve her running and how to compete only with herself, bettering her performance every time."
She elaborated this some more. "I told her to remember how she was when she was younger. She has come second in running and hurdles! I gave her tips on how to improve her performance by setting targets for herself."
That night, my daughter dug out old sports day photos where she stood first and her friend second and sent it by whatsapp to her friend to encourage her further. Her friend posted her own progress that evening in the team sports coaching she goes for.
Meanwhile, my son, not to be outdone, told me, "My friend also used to be slow and asked me for tips. I made four of them improve their speeds by setting time for them and giving them tips."
The two started sharing details of the tips - some of which they have learnt in Karate and have practiced at home, motivating each other to improve their timing.
I was dazed as I sank into a self-congratulatory mode. But their conversation brought me back to reality. I sat up alert. "Hey, if you share all the tips with your friends, they are going to defeat you in the races!"
"That's okay, ma," they replied in unison. "They are our friends. We don't mind their winning."
I felt they had won even without running...
Saturday, December 31, 2016
Breaking Moulds, Aspiring for More
In 'Three Idiots', Aamir Khan said we must allow children to pursue their dreams.
In 'Taare Zameen Par', he said children need not pursue any dreams.
In 'Dangal' he says, make your children fulfill your dreams.
How confusing.
Sunday, December 25, 2016
Man(un)kind
Friday, December 16, 2016
Thinking and Thinking
That moment between thinking and acting on that thinking.
That moment between thinking and acting on something without thinking.
Wednesday, August 31, 2016
Mars is the Next Earth
Photo courtesy: Srikant Ranganathan |
In her words:
"Kalki avataram is the last of the incarnations after which the earth will be destroyed. Mercury and Venus are going to merge with the Sun, and earth is becoming the next Mercury - hot - as it is getting closer to the sun. Mars will come to Earth's position. Already snow capped mountains, underground water and atmosphere conducive for life have been found on that planet. So that will be the next earth. Then after sometime, that will also move closer to the sun and the next planet will become the earth, and this will go on till all are consumed by the Sun."
I listened with a thoughtful smile, thinking how close she is to the theory of expanding and contracting universes. I quoted:
ॐ पूर्णमदः पूर्णमिदं पूर्णात्पुर्णमुदच्यते
पूर्णस्य पूर्णमादाय पूर्णमेवावशिष्यते ॥
ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः ॥Om Puurnnam-Adah Puurnnam-Idam Puurnnaat-Purnnam-Udacyate
Puurnnasya Puurnnam-Aadaaya Puurnnam-Eva-Avashissyate ||
Om Shaantih Shaantih Shaantih ||
Meaning:
THAT (BRAHMAN) IS WHOLE, THIS (CREATION) IS ALSO WHOLE
FROM THAT WHOLE (I.E. BRAHMAN ONLY), THIS WHOLE HAS COME OUT (CREATION)
BUT EVEN THOUGH THIS WHOLE HAS COME OUT OF THAT WHOLE
YET THAT WHOLE REMAINS WHOLE ONLY
In 'Vashishta's Yoga', the idea that the whole cosmos begins from a mustard seed - a complete circle, that expands in creation and contracts in dissolution - seems to be indicated. What she told me, not based on any scientific fact or even with any understanding of what is given in the scriptures, seemed to reflect this same thought. Though this will mean that the sun will also move and so the relative cosmic distances with other stars, planets and galaxies will change, it is quite possible that in a contracting world, earth will eventually go back to its progenitor - the sun.
We will not live to see this, but I was pleased to see the radiant smile on her face when I explained what little I understood to her. And I was glad of the opportunity to give this self-generated nascent thought a direction.
Thursday, August 25, 2016
The Child-like Mind
One hue resulted in a debate; another pulled up past offenses; a third imagined a friend to whom I poured out my heart; a fourth thought objectively and judged itself petty for the frenzy it was getting into.
These further splintered into a myriad subthoughts. And, oh, a part was getting bored and sought to distract itself. So wave dipped and peaked, dragging the mind down while another sought to remain neutral and a third tried to boost it up.
The thoughts fueled the morning chores, which got done early due to the anger energy flowing with the blood. A refreshing bath changed the direction of the thoughts. A brief yoga session later, the mind started singing a song and presto! the mood had changed. Like a child that saw a new toy and forgot its tantrum, the mind now easily flowed to other, more pleasant thoughts.
'Dil to bachcha hai ji' - suddenly this line flashed through my mind (the very same, the very same). The mind is indeed a child, pretending to be mature and adult-like, but really a child that sways with whims and fancies. It throws tantrums, becomes stubborn and clings to its views without any rationale sometimes. The ego stands like a guardian - a short-sighted parent - assuring the mind of its perspicacity and encouraging it in its rash and unreasonable behaviour that becomes self-destructive eventually.
A little bit of sugar can distract a crying child. A little focus on our breath can distract our child-like mind. But just like the child enjoys the tantrum, we enjoy our spiraling thoughts.
I bow to our ancestors who identified the gentle guide, the guru - our breath- that calms us, guides us, releases us from the vice grip of our thoughts and emotions without much effort.
The One who gave us problems gives us solutions too, it is said. Most of the times, problems are of our own making. And yet, we have been given a solution in anticipation. Let's at least use that well.
Do problems go away? No, but they cease to become a problem - just a situation that needs to be faced and will pass... A child needs its games. Let it have its fun. Like a mature parent, smile and watch but don't get too involved. The next fancy will change the direction of the thoughts in any case.
Also Read:
Fighting Fears
Armed Against Anger
Thursday, April 7, 2016
The Bucket List
A luxury car.
Expensive jewellery. Well, make that just jewellery.
Fancy holidays to exotic destinations.
Best education for children.
Latest fashion.
Fun all life.
Saturday, May 30, 2015
Nature Warriors
As always, I started chatting up. The two men were from Mumbai, where they worked with Bhavan's rescuing snakes and spreading awareness about the need to protect snakes. "People used to kill snakes out of fear and I felt it was wrong so I joined Bhavan's which had started rescuing snakes," said Prabhu, a Tamilian who was born and brought up in Mumbai. His friend Hemant, was a Maharashtrian, and both worked in the same place. They had been working non stop for the last two or three years and so they were on a 15 day or one month vacation, going to different places in Tamil Nadu and maybe unintentionally focusing on the fauna around. They told us about the birds they had spotted in Kodai and Meghamalai, apart from Kudalur, of course.
"How did you get into snake rescue?" I asked.
I was stunned to hear that the two boys had done engineering, one of them in IT and the other in Civil. But as they matured into youth (they must have been in their early 20s), they were slowly drawn into rescuing the snakes, and their career path changed. They draw a salary, which they are happy with. They also do other work, but all around rescuing animals or working with children creating awareness about the need to protect the environment.
"How did your parents agree?" I asked.
"They were upset initially, but then they agreed," Prabhu, the outspoken one, said. I admired the parents who endorsed their sons' decision and are supportive. Maybe they had fights about the money spent on engineering education, but they came around and accepted it.
While going around the fields, I saw several kinds of birds and I learnt that mynah, owls and parakeets have their nests in coconut trees. I saw bee-eaters in certain kinds of fields, while some other birds preferred a different kind of greenery. They previous day, during a nature trail through Thekkady forest, the guide - a tribal whom the government had trained to be a naturalist and guide - told us about one kind of parakeets that went only for banana plantation. They had become rare to sight in between because banana cultivation had come down. But now again there was a revival it seems.
I was reminded of a story I had heard when working on a dance-play on bees - that bees in China were vanishing . I wondered if the farmers in the surroundings appreciated the rare birds that they sighted regularly. I wondered, when we cut forests to plant a particular kind of plant/crop, what happened to the birds that depended on those trees. When we replant in a different locations (if at all we do), then do we consider the need for variety? Because we cannot know which plant houses which bird and what will happen to a species if 'useless' trees are cut.
With these thoughts came the constant struggle between man and nature. Ironically, it is only men who can fight other men who destroy nature. And there will always be a conflict.
Meanwhile, we can only hope that more and more Prabhus and Hemants are created so that at some point, we can hope for the natural order to be restored.