Lesson of the Day

Whether it's true or not, you should keep asserting to your family that you are deeply passionate about something. At least one thing. Else, in all probability, you'll end up feeling like the victim of everybody else's. 

Accidental Discoveries

Pappa, Anu and I attended a wedding over the weekend. Anu is thrilled having befriended some cousins she didn't know existed. Actually I myself was surprised to find that I had so many relatives in Bangalore. But the best part of it was PGM was there and I brought him home. He and his wife have been my favorite people since childhood and it felt good spending time with him. Anyway, he didn't stay overnight because he's got a son in Bangalore so I just made a simple dinner. And he's been going gaga over it ever since, saying he didn't know I was such a good cook. This is terrifying me now. What did I put in it! How am I supposed to replicate the success?

I wished SB happy birthday. He was surprised, of course and asked me if I managed to remember all birthdays like that - the last time I wished him must be 2001. I told him some birthdays just stick in memory and that's the truth. I mean, unfortunately I've forgotten birthdays of people who are closer to me and I don't know how to explain it. 

Bitter-mouthed

Jyeshta Madhu is probably the yuckiest home remedy I've used. You know, the kind that makes you curse under your breath and think it'd better be worth it. 

Sweet Sacrifice

There goes my beloved plum cake! I've finally succumbed to the pressure, more precisely Anu's howling. And much to others' satisfaction, I've extracted the return promise that she would study hard. So one of the few pleasures of life is gone too and I don't look forward to Christmas season anymore. 

Helping Hands

What's it with the domestic helps and the mothers-in-law? With the employer lady's mother-in-law, that is. The way my help was cursing the MIL, I thought it was her own till she finally said, "Thankfully she's going back to Kerala next week". Kerala!? Then I realized she was talking about my neighbour's. It's as if they mean, " I know you are missing your mom. Don't worry, I'm there to help you!". 

Harbinger

Winter is here. I tried to offload the coconut oil from the can to the dispenser and not a drop dropped. It's solidified inside, looking more like tender coconut ice cream.

And yes, it's raining and gloomy again. 

Uncomfortable Alliances

One of my problems with Patanjali brand, apart from some quality issues, is that it has the tacit support of the establishment. And if there are any serious issues with their process/products, we may never hear of it. 

Never before have I wanted to quit the job so badly as now and never before has it seemed more difficult. 

Lighting the Midnight Lamp

I'm getting annoyed when I see 'Work is Worship' these days. Basically I'm worshipping a little too hard. 

Speaking to the Gallery

Nehru's birthday yesterday and V and I were reminiscing about the school days. I don't remember a year from first to seventh grade, when I didn't speak about Nehru. Not that I was particularly fond of him. But Pappa was and he was my speech writer. All I had to do was to mug it up overnight and reproduce it on the stage the next day. Mugging was no problem. But when you have a stage fright, it's no easy task to modulate your voice. All you know is that your legs are shaking and you wonder if your voice is shaking too. I did it every year nevertheless. There was a prize to be won but I guess more than that it was an opportunity for me to be seen by M. I wasn't sure if he knew or cared that I existed otherwise but when I was up there, I knew he would be somewhere in the audience, watching or at least hearing me. It was quite an incentive.

Anyway, I doubt if Pappa likes Nehru so much anymore but after all those speeches, I ended up a an admirer. 

Hackneyed

Nadal should stop saying "It's been a good year, considering the injury worries I had at the beginning of the season... ". When was the last time he didn't have those worries? And anyway they seem to be making him stronger mentally. Of course I'm not complaining about that! 

Wrong Notions

Razia asked me how the Ayodhya verdict panned out. I am sure she knew about it already but just wanted to know what I thought. So I told her. Then we philosophized about it. Then she said these days anywhere any bombing happened, a clamour would ensue that Muslims were bad. This was a different turn and I said of course it was wrong and unfair to target the community as a whole. She said her community was given to hot-headedness(Berki is the word she used) but there were people like her who just minded their business and for who that itself was a struggle. Next she went off-track again and said while only Muslims ate meat before, now everyone was copying them. I don't know if she meant it had something to do with the Berki behavior. I was puzzled by this piece of information and asked what she meant. She said animals like chicken,goat etc. were created in this world only so that Muslims could eat them but now others were eating them too. I said meat eating preceded religion. I had to assert it again before I could get a "Oh really? I had learnt it otherwise... " from her.

I must've been a harmonium in my previous birth. 

Silent Figures

I think frequently about my grandfather these days, when the dinner table more often than not resembles war front. My paternal grandfather never spoke a word during lunch or dinner, it was a vow he had taken. He hardly even looked up while he ate. My mother or grandmother served him food and they understood what he wanted by the signs or grunts he produced. It was a marvel to me but since he was also quite short-tempered at that time, there was always a worry at the back of my mind that somebody would misunderstand what he indicated and it would be disastrous. It never happened but it kind of killed my happiness during dinner.

Conclusions

Girl 1: Hey, did you draw this sheep? It's so good!
Girl 2 : That's a pony!
Girl 1 : Ah, okay! Hmm, the tail is too big for a sheep... Nice!

Ayodhya verdict is out. Is this the end or the beginning? 

The Conversationalists

I'm not a talker when I'm on the road. I prefer to look around. The cab drivers usually keep to themselves until you draw them out. But with auto drivers it's 50-50. Some of them start from the word go and go non-stop. But you typically end up having disjointed conversations either because it's tough to catch the words in the traffic or the driver is not really interested in your answer. All he wants is to be heard, so to say. So you oblige with, "Houdu Sir" etc. or blame everything on the politicians.

But yesteeday's driver was different. He started with a crib on traffic violators. I was a little anxious that I was already late so I just gave him my customary smile. But he asked me what I thought. I told him. Then we ended up having quite a bit of conversation through the mirror on the roads, population, people's reluctance to use public transport (sitting inside an auto, ironically) and their reluctance to walk even a small distance etc. To top it, he even returned 3 Rupees, which is almost unheard of in my part of the world. And his look almost chastised me that I should insist on it. I returned a sheepish look.

Sometimes I wonder how I seem to strangers; do I come across as wide-eyed helplessness(I AM NOT)? I went to this notary's office yesterday - 'office' is flattering to that place, which was just the underbelly of the staircase leading upstairs. I appreciated the usage of space but not for long. The place could only seat three people and a computer and the only way an extra person could enter/exit was by squeezing others. Anyway, they spared me of it and made as much space for me as they could. But the guy who was ahead of me inspected me for a minute and decided that I needed to repay him for that. He started talking. He gave me a list of dos and don'ts, even telling me how to behave with the notary guy. All in that guy's presence. I don't know if I should blame myself or the man. 

The Hunter

Who says it's only the big cat hunting which needs strategy and execution? Mosquito hunting requires no less. Makes me feel quite in the league of Jim Corbett and Kenneth Anderson, my childhood marvels. 

The Souplicker

Anu : Aayi, where is the vessel in which you made the soup?
Me : I washed it.
Anu : Oh! (Groaning)  wanted to lick it clean!
Me : Come on, there was nothing to lick there.
Anu : You know, you should let me decide that. From now on, please... Okay?
Me : Okay!

Covered in the Past

I went to buy Anu's slippers from a nearby shop. The shop owner is from South Kanara and I had spoken to him once before. Today his wife was managing it, along with another lady and 4-5 children. Among the children were two girls, not more than 8 I think, both covered from head to toe, except for their faces. Their attire was just like the older women, except that the women's burkha was black and the children's with some colour. This was the first time I was seeing such small girls covered like that and I felt sorry for them, especially seeing the boys run around freely. The lady was friendly enough and I should've asked I guess. 

Past and the Present

'Fucking' as a swear word seems to have had patronage right from Henry IV. That's what Chalamet's The King makes me believe.

A gloriously sunny day after a very very very long time. I didn't know how much I missed it till I saw the blue sky with white clouds. 

Old Feelings

Swimming in nostalgia today.