learnings

  Mylapore festival is on. Baba temple is crowded on Thursdays..there is not an inch of space in Mylapore. In my native place temples are holding their annual festivals and Trichur Pooram is going to be hosted too.  Politicians and ruling governments in these states are keeping mum due to fear of losing vote. Airlines are finally pulling up their socks. I remember flying #Indigo airlines and I had requested the air hostess to remind my fellow passenger to put on the shield as I felt unsafe. With a cold stare she said it is a personal choice. Piff!!  It is with continued amazement that I witness people flouting norms and fearlessly thronging places of worship where there is no space or effort taken to maintain physical distancing. Cops stand staring helplessly at the milling crowds.  Of course I am part of groups where there is a lobby who bring out intellectual reports that vaccine is not needed, distancing and masks are not needed etc. Such groups are present in eve...

  I had begun my tryst with a fountain pen a few months ago. I enjoy writing with it. I have used up the four cartridges and i am so happy about it. Of course I have used it for mundane purposes only. During one of my evening walks I bought a bright red pen from the neighbourhood reynolds store.  I love the feel of the pen on paper. I was ruminating this morning that I wished to buy an expensive pen now. earlier I had been gifted and sadly  had not treasuredit. I thought I would lose it and had given them off. I remember my son telling me, rather he had blogged about it, that when we buy something cheap we would treat it so... when we buy something of value then we would definitely be more careful in handling it. I find this resonating. i would like to add that a thing of value bought ( of course the value factor is varied) bought at the right time is meaningful. The value is then enhanced. Or else it is Tughlaqian!

  I was swayed by an email offer from HDFC regarding the upgrade of credit card. Being so easy to operate HDFC net banking, without researching or pausing to ask my RM, I chose to 'upgrade'.  Within a week the new card arrived. Excitedly I called my RM to discuss the privileges. To my dismay I realised I had actually downgraded myself!!  Ah that embarrassing moment when blood rushed to my face and heart skipped many a beat. Took a few minutes to sheepishly acknowledge my foolhardiness. Well now it would be a wait to get upgraded again. Read up, research or ask... and thy questions will be answered. Throw the 'know it all' down the drain.. 

 Tall, fair, light eyes- that's our Gnana Sundar or Sundar for short- as per his name he is indeed good looking and an enlightened soul. He has been the Man Friday in our street exclusively. He has been serving as the Security Guard, Housekeeping gardener, car cleaner, dog walker, source of maids, cooks, butler etc. in my apartment since three decades.  He is such a compassionate person, benevolent to his extended family to the point of his family getting irritated with his kind acts. One has to learn from Sundar on how to be a loving spouse and father. It is so cute to see him with his wife, Rani. I have never seen him raise his voice or get angry with anyone. Always polite, punctual and conscientious he is also the epitome of honesty. He is so concerned about our safety that he would never allow an unknown person to knock at our door without him being present. He would ensure our doors are locked properly. He carries out our banking job as well. So much so my neighbour even ...

  As a responsible citizen I continue to follow safety protocols to safeguard myself, my family and the community.  It amazes me or should I say shocks me that during such a crucial period, the current test match is being held in the world's largest stadium. More than 60,000 spectators have turned up with a very meagre minority wearing masks. So sports 'breaks' the chain? Cricket and its gods are exempted as they have a financial crunch?  So how is the media now keeping quiet about this small gathering? Is this fair? Is this beneficial to all? 

 It is a year! 365 days have gone past. What started as mysterious, unearthly, conspiracy, bio war etc... stayed on and how!! I remember being so confident last year that by June 2020 all things would be back to normal. It is going to be June 2021 and I have embraced the new normal. Personally and Professionally it has been an interesting journey.  This period gifted me many things. One among which was a friendship gained across the seas. I had met this tall American psychologist a few years ago at the school I was working then. I was fascinated by his knowledge and experience. His persona was so positive. I have always believed that we meet people for a reason. During this pandemic year, I requested him to guide me on Adlerian psychology. He replied instantly. From then on it has been a wonderful journey of learning and friendship.  I was humbled that he found time (and still finds) to interact with me. We exchange our life stories, learnings and I am so fascinated by th...

 I am not a great driver. My favorite comment begins so and ends with I just drive! Thanks to my son who motivated me to learn driving so that I would be independent. And I enjoy being so.. Now I am going to change this thought and the words. I am getting there .. this will be my quote now on. I love it when I drive alone for I learn deeply from my mistakes. With no backseat drivers and comments I feel so liberated.  Recently I also realised how much opposition is there when I have to take my car to a new place or use a new route. It makes one so diffident. I am pretty cautious myself; I am not comfortable driving in the night and prefer driving to places where I know I can park comfortably.  Coming back to opposing voices-take the driver; it is election time and there could be a traffic jam..  Last Sunday I took a new route; to a new place in spite of the dissenting voices. I then realised it was about me listening to them. I have a choice not to.