learnings

It is not uncommon to see orange, red and black quizzing past you as you drive through the streets of my city. Earlier it was the ambulance alone that deserved to be given way. But hey these are the food delivery guys. As I drove to work an orange guy almost crashed into me while ared whizzed past. Poor chaps work with minimum safety measures. I have hardly seen any of them spotting a helmet. They risk their necks to deliver food to connoisseur,to the bachelor, to the working woman, to the hungry kid, to the lonely senior citizen and to every other household. Hey it could be my pizza on its way. So I humbly and respectfully give way. Perspective and self do a tango. 

The other day I was very upset. I paced up and down and felt the anger rising in me. I took out my notepad and my Parker pen. I wrote a letter pouring  out my feelings. I then went about my day’s work. By the time I finished three pages of writing I also decided I would hand it over later. At the end of the day it amazed me that such negative thoughts had risen within me. In just half a day my perspective has changed drastically. So would this matter to me in a few days, in a few weeks , months or a year? The answer  was loud and a clear No. I was relieved that I had not typed an email or a message on my phone for I would have hit the send button and then regretted. Would writing help you too?

My son had once remarked that if something is stressing me, pause, observe what is stressing and remove the cause. It is a simple but such a powerful statement. Often we know but when someone puts it in the language we understand it becomes easier. I have been practising this as much as possible and obtained relief. This applies to any situation. This morning as I was juggling the reading lamp on my desk I paused to observe why it was not useful to me. I wasn't happy with its current position and was going to stack it away. It has always been on the right side as the desk had several stuff on it. I cleaned out and placed the lamp on my left. Lo and behold it works wonderfully for me. In our relationships if we can pause, observe and  change our perspective we can up our life and have wonderful moments

It was with great shock I heard of the death of Anthony Bourdain. My cousin wa so upset. He had a special bond with Tony. Tony Bourdain has visited my cousin’s restaurant in the UK. He shared a camaraderie with my cousin. So much so he even visited our native village Thrikariyoor off Kothamanagalam in Ernakulam district. He savoured the delicious food prepared by my aunt. I remember my aunt commenting on his humility. Such a great chef, a master storyteller and globe trotter!  He had everything going for him. At least that is what we thought. Maybe he had and maybe he didn’t. The human mind is so fragile. Our body is a miracle,our brain a greater miracle but our mind. Where is the mind , what is it? From the time Homo sapiens evolved many a philosopher, spiritualist, guru, poet, scientist and psychologists have tried to unravel the mind. The quest goes on. Tony’s death- I take the liberty of calling him so as he touched my life indirectly by sharing a slice with my relatives-...

I am on a short staycation at my cousin’s resort Rasa Gurukul in Chalakudy. It is set amidst 23 acres of greenery and on the banks of the Chalakudy river. Each time I come here I fall in love with it a little more. I looked forward to sleeping in late. The sound of the heavy rain woke me up t 6.30 am. I drifted off to sleep again listening  to the sound of rain. Ooh why is my alarm going off so early I thought. Ah it was not my iPhone. It was the actual chirping of real birds:))).

After three decades I went to watch my super star’s movie on the first day at the once popular theatre Albert. It is always a ritual watching movies of super stars in my city. This time fans, including our group ( my bestie was forced to adhere), donned black. The movie was screened an hour late. Amidst the stench of broken sewage and merry drunkards, the atmosphere was that of a festival. It was amusing to see the triumphant movie watchers of the previous show walking down the steps as if they had Sen the super star in person. They were greeted with loud cheers. No one asked their opinion of the movie lest they hear anything negative. Flop or hit all we’re here to cheer the star. It is an experience watching Rajini films at Albert. Nostalgia hit me. So we finally got our seats that have seen better days. I felt sad seeing the dilapidated theatre. In this land of crazed fans couldn’t we get a decent experience? The opening credits began with loud cheer and claps. The excitement mou...

I must be one of the very few people in my city who enjoys the summer and it’s bounty - mango, watermelon, butter milk, curd, warm water flowing through the tap, clothes drying crisp, air conditioning etc. It suddenly rained last evening for about 20 minutes. I revelled in the first few raindrops, inhaled deeply the wet earth fragrance and fell in love with the sight of the trees and plants outside my centre which were soaking in the rain. It was time to pack up. I hummed and began my drive back home. Meanwhile the radio was guiding me on the roadblocks ahead! It was shocking to see the roads being water logged and the traffic chaos. Immediately my thoughts went to Singapore which receives rain everyday and yet how wonderfully organised and maintained it is. As I sat waiting for the traffic signal to go green my attention went back to the radio. A man was talking about a village on the outskirts of my city. The village boasted of just one government school having 80 students. He sa...