Here I am, back to blogging. Geez, it is almost a year since I wrote last here. Hmm....Time sure does fly away and guess what I did not realize it is this long!
So now that am here, what am I going to write about?
First things first. Am sitting in a hotel room in Hyderabad. Checked in an hour ago and checking mails out of habit! Decided to have an omlette and a glass of milk for dinner.
Voila! Here comes the experience. City dwellers rarely get to taste 'real' milk. Ever since I was sent out of the village for studies, I lost touch with fresh cow milk. All I am used to is the Aavin milk. I find it tough to have a glass of milk whenever I go to my village as I find the taste and smell repulsive. My mom complains that I have lost touch with what is natural and good.
I experienced the same tonight. Tried so hard to wash down a glass of milk here. The restaurant confirmed that they use only fresh milk and it should be since I was unable to drink it. My my, I yearn for a glass of Aavin milk which I have at home every day, and can't stop thinking how nice it smells and good it tastes!!!
There is yet another candidate on the same lines. Coconut oil. Back home, in my village, they use coconut oil for cooking. And yes, when I was a kid I had been eating that food and once I was out in a town, lost touch with that taste and flavour. I can eat food cooked in other oils, say gingley, olive(in fact i love this taste better), corn oil, sun flower oil, rice bran oil et all. But I just cannot stand coconut oil as a cooking medium.
We are such slaves to habit, aren't we?
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Can relaxation be tiring?
I had decided to just relax during the weekend and relax I did! But at end of the 'weekend', I am feeling tired though. So tired that I had a tough time pulling myself off the bed and had to skip workout. Wondering if relaxation could really be tiring!!!
Watched lots of movies, well it was actually 3 movies and that is lots for me as I normally do not spend so much time watching movies, that too on a weekend.
The movie Jodhaa Akbar was very good. There were scenes when I felt that the artists and the characters they were playing did not gel. Otherwise it was flowing well and was entertaining.
The other movie I watched was Water Horse. It was an awesome movie with graphics et al. Towards the end, it turned out to be like Free Willy ! I had a very funny experience watching this movie though. I could see the video, hear all the background music but not the dialogue. I was so smitten with the movie that I did not want to give up. Guess what I did? I turned the subtitles on and watched the full movie!
Watching the movie with no audio and with the sub titles was a novel experience and one that made me live like a hearing impaired for a short time. Real life does not provide one with subtitles, and I wonder how easy it would be to follow what the fellow beings say?
Watched lots of movies, well it was actually 3 movies and that is lots for me as I normally do not spend so much time watching movies, that too on a weekend.
The movie Jodhaa Akbar was very good. There were scenes when I felt that the artists and the characters they were playing did not gel. Otherwise it was flowing well and was entertaining.
The other movie I watched was Water Horse. It was an awesome movie with graphics et al. Towards the end, it turned out to be like Free Willy ! I had a very funny experience watching this movie though. I could see the video, hear all the background music but not the dialogue. I was so smitten with the movie that I did not want to give up. Guess what I did? I turned the subtitles on and watched the full movie!
Watching the movie with no audio and with the sub titles was a novel experience and one that made me live like a hearing impaired for a short time. Real life does not provide one with subtitles, and I wonder how easy it would be to follow what the fellow beings say?
Friday, March 21, 2008
Crow Turf
Have you been on “Kuppam road” which runs parallel to “Santhome road”? South Chennaites who travel between Adyar and Beach Road would know what am talking about! This road is a blessing in disguise during peak traffic hours. The road is well laid of course with lots of speed bumps.
This road has a row of fishermen dwellings on one side and busy fish shops (not on the entire stretch though!) on the other. These fish shops attract so many people and is normally crowded during evenings. Well, that is when I take that route and I am yet to do that in the morning to see if it is crowded even then.
That is just to give an idea of what to expect on the road. What one might normally not notice on that road is the "crow turf" as I prefer to call it.
There are a series of lamp posts on this road. One thing I have noticed during early evenings on that road is how the crows define their turf. One crow perched up on one lamp post. Just one per lamp post and no more. It appeared unusual to me as I have never seen that before. I started thinking about it only after I saw the same thing every time I had gone that way, "one crow per lamp post"!
It appeared like an unstated agreement that each one would stick to his/her area and not trespass on another's. No crowding, no hovering and so much silence and discipline! Yes, it is more human than crow! Aren't crows supposed to be sharing what little they get by calling out the others? Is it because they are sure that they would all get their share with so much food in front of them?
I know not, but I really marvel this! If you take that road in the evening, when it is still day light, look up and see if it happens. You may see the row of lamp posts with one crow on each!
This road has a row of fishermen dwellings on one side and busy fish shops (not on the entire stretch though!) on the other. These fish shops attract so many people and is normally crowded during evenings. Well, that is when I take that route and I am yet to do that in the morning to see if it is crowded even then.
That is just to give an idea of what to expect on the road. What one might normally not notice on that road is the "crow turf" as I prefer to call it.
There are a series of lamp posts on this road. One thing I have noticed during early evenings on that road is how the crows define their turf. One crow perched up on one lamp post. Just one per lamp post and no more. It appeared unusual to me as I have never seen that before. I started thinking about it only after I saw the same thing every time I had gone that way, "one crow per lamp post"!
It appeared like an unstated agreement that each one would stick to his/her area and not trespass on another's. No crowding, no hovering and so much silence and discipline! Yes, it is more human than crow! Aren't crows supposed to be sharing what little they get by calling out the others? Is it because they are sure that they would all get their share with so much food in front of them?
I know not, but I really marvel this! If you take that road in the evening, when it is still day light, look up and see if it happens. You may see the row of lamp posts with one crow on each!
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Soul Filling
Wondering on the topic? Well you would not be once you read what am about to share!
I guess it is one of those moments in life when you realize you need to give something to the society, when I decided I need to spend some time with visually challenged kids and read books for them. Hunt I did for some place I could do this, but in vain. Working full time came in the way as most of the organizations that work with differently abled people are open only 5 days a week.
I did continue my search and as a Godsend a friend of mine gave me the contact number of SMILE, an organization who does exactly what I wanted to do (among other things that is). I grabbed the chance and stayed in touch with them and believe me, it took 2 months of follow up for me to land up with an opportunity to do read!
And read I did! Not for a kid but for a young man!
The boy I read for, is a first year English Literature student, coming from Krishnagiri, staying in Government hostel. My assignment was to read 2 essays which he would write in Braille. That was the first time I ever saw a Braille board leave alone knowing how it is used. Deft he was and had a good grasp on the language. 2 hours just flew by and before we could realize it, the work was done.
He wants to be an English teacher and mind you he has a back up plan should that not happen and that would be to join a call center. He has plans for the summer holidays already too! To do a basic course in computers and to supplement it with a type writing course to give the required speed to use a computer!
He was all smiles, humming some tune while changing sheets of paper, refusing to waste time to even eat the snacks provided lest it should stop him from completing the scheduled task. He has promised to recite the 2 essays when we meet next week. Has even suggested me some other place where similar activity is done!
I was sitting in awe with his jest for life, his confidence, his clear vision and what not. The time I spent there with him made me realize that life is much more than our every day struggle to gain (power, material etc...). Those 2 hours filled me with a unique sense of peace and happiness which I never knew existed.
Now, that is what I call soul filling!
I guess it is one of those moments in life when you realize you need to give something to the society, when I decided I need to spend some time with visually challenged kids and read books for them. Hunt I did for some place I could do this, but in vain. Working full time came in the way as most of the organizations that work with differently abled people are open only 5 days a week.
I did continue my search and as a Godsend a friend of mine gave me the contact number of SMILE, an organization who does exactly what I wanted to do (among other things that is). I grabbed the chance and stayed in touch with them and believe me, it took 2 months of follow up for me to land up with an opportunity to do read!
And read I did! Not for a kid but for a young man!
The boy I read for, is a first year English Literature student, coming from Krishnagiri, staying in Government hostel. My assignment was to read 2 essays which he would write in Braille. That was the first time I ever saw a Braille board leave alone knowing how it is used. Deft he was and had a good grasp on the language. 2 hours just flew by and before we could realize it, the work was done.
He wants to be an English teacher and mind you he has a back up plan should that not happen and that would be to join a call center. He has plans for the summer holidays already too! To do a basic course in computers and to supplement it with a type writing course to give the required speed to use a computer!
He was all smiles, humming some tune while changing sheets of paper, refusing to waste time to even eat the snacks provided lest it should stop him from completing the scheduled task. He has promised to recite the 2 essays when we meet next week. Has even suggested me some other place where similar activity is done!
I was sitting in awe with his jest for life, his confidence, his clear vision and what not. The time I spent there with him made me realize that life is much more than our every day struggle to gain (power, material etc...). Those 2 hours filled me with a unique sense of peace and happiness which I never knew existed.
Now, that is what I call soul filling!
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