learnings

 I deleted the FB app from my phone on Sep 29th evening after watching The Social Dilemma.  Sep 30th: Time crawled. I actually sat doing nothing. I picked up a book.  I felt restless and began to scroll LinkedIn as if it were a social networking page.  I paused. What am I doing? Am I substituting one for the other? I didn’t peek into FB the whole day.  Oct 1 - I checked FB from laptop for less than ten min. I did not sit. I stood and checked. Profundity. I realised my urge  to reply to comments or posts had reduced. Before I got hooked more I shut my laptop.  Oct 1-1 afternoon- I have uninstalled LinkedIn from phone. 

  It is my sincere hope that no one misses this short film. I am glad I have always kept notifications off.  AI is upon us, practically, interwoven in our lives. I had always wondered about the polarisation happening in India; whatsapp groups breaking up long term friendship and causing heartaches.; conspiracy theories where people have denied the existence of COVID 19; some even believing that the earth is flat! We have been played; we will continue to be played by the tech giants. Can we please not just blame our kids and each other for the being addicted to the screen. We are  mere puppets on a chain. I uninstalled Facebook from my phone. I uninstalled all unnecessary apps too. Yes I do have my whatsapp but I am also going to be wary of the news that trickles in. I enjoyed the rain today whilst keeping my phone far away from me. I do not know how long it would be before I install FB on my phone. 

  Shraddhanjali- a  tribute. SP Balasubramanian is no more. SPB was how he was called by fans. The city of Madras aka Chennai is synonymous with this singing legend. His mellifluous voice is an emotion. His voice is part of my school and college times. His songs coloured our crushes,infatuations, first love, friendship and break ups. The song Anjali anjali is so poignant that I still break into tears. It was the song that my brother used to sing when he was at his romantic best! It was a dead give away! His songs embraced my difficult years. It is interesting to note that everyday, for the past so many decades one would hear SPB songs somewhere in the city.  For a man who has sung more than 40,000 songs, recorded 20 songs in a day, acted, dubbed, being a flautist SPB was so grounded. He literally walked the talk. He respected life; respected others. He was so humble never failing to appreciate talent. He remained grateful to his past, to his mentors, to the people whom he worked with a

  I have begun a new volunteering project. I am now part of a group of passionate people who are giving Spoken English classes to underprivileged and orphaned students of a Trust in my city. Two girls aged 15 and 17 are assigned to me. One is bubbly while the other is slightly withdrawn.  These classes are huge learnings. I realise that there are no examples in the typical rhymes and lessons that the girls can relate to. One of them did not know what 'toast' is. Their curiosity shook me.  Their daily routine, growing up without parents and relatives, their small worlds made me realise how we take our privileges for granted. Today when I showed them some pictures of landscapes they asked me if such places existed!