Life Lessons From Indian Roads

If it appears to be too good to be true, it usually is. The road appears without potholes, no traffic and the view is just perfect. Watch out. Right there. There is something that does not meet the eye and you cannot put your finger on, but just watch out.

To get to anywhere worth going within a reasonable timeframe, you have to break a few rules.

There will always be jerks who will slow you down, distract you with stupid antics and cut in between. Decide your approach beforehand and be prepared with all jujutsuness.

Within the realm of your car or helmet, you are the best singer. As long as nobody else is accompanying you. 🙂

You can work hard for a long time. For optimum results, you need to take a break so the engine does not go kaput.

Sometimes, it is ok to just keep your eyes on the view.

There can be only one driver per vehicle. Even one more causes chaos.

All journeys end. You can take different paths. But at a different time. At any given time, you can ride/drive down only one road. There is only one you.

My Musical journey – Ga

So, the whole music lessons lied dormant for sometime. While I was glad, the hunt was already on to find a teacher who could make me sing. Well, if only someone had that talent! Sigh!

Then, entered Lakshmi maami – the longest in my music learning journey. She insisted we start from the beginning – so, saralai varisai it was. The upside – she lived in an apartment down the street with 50 apartments in the complex. That gave me access to a few friends to play hopscotch, “Queen of England lost her ring” and the likes. It was such a welcome break after playing cricket with the guys on my street and always being picked last for the team. Grrr. I still hate cricket and all the guys on my street.

We moved to janti, tarasthaayi, daatu, alankara, geetha and then the varnam and keerthanam. All this took around 8 years, I subjected my neighbours to the torture of hearing me sing many days from 7:05 am till 7:25 am till my dad left for work and stop abruptly to get ready for school. While walking to school, I would ensure I don’t make eye contact with anybody on my street lest they figure out the voice behind the cacophony they hear every morning. 😀

With my music going in cruise mode and maami cribbing about ‘not enough practice’ whenever she sees my mom and me eyerolling, the time came when I wanted to just stop singing. I had stopped enjoying it and my 10th grade gave me just the right excuse. While maami was aghast and brought in examples of 12th grade ppl coming, relaxation from my studying all the time (like that happened ever), my loss of interest won and I stopped there.

I was glad I didn’t have to go 2 days a week and I could instead take an afternoon nap on Saturday and study on the Thursday, which, by the way, never happened. I did read a lot that year. So many books from the library. I had already attempted to start preparing for IIT-JEE in 8th grade holidays and given up. So, I was clear that the mediocre path didn’t warrant so much effort. So, the time of preparing of IIT was now given to Nancy Drew, Hardy boys, three investigators and the likes.

Apart from the coaxing of “I paid so much for your classes. Sing here, Sing there”, life was largely peaceful. I did not even regret the decision to quit at this time.

That ends the note ga.

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Ouch.. So much dust and cobwebs! Need to go to work right away. Brooms out! Creaky doors.. Rats scurrying away! Takes a peek into to assess the place.

Back to my home in the internet.

Will I stay? Let me first clear it up! Too early to say! I don’t know. I really don’t know. Ouch.. Watch the drama! By the way, there are 2 of us now. I realised that with the dialogues in my head, it can’t be just one of me. There are 2 of them always contradicting each other.

Grown older.. My belly fat refuses to go! Got more responsibilities in life! But one thing that has remained unchanged is my madness quotient! Evident in the re-opening, right?

Well, hello world! Let’s kick but!  (Pun intended, if it qualifies for one)

Adieu

It’s been a nice journey of blogging, of writing whenever it feels like, to not write whenever you want to hold your silence. But there slowly comes a point where you need to exit. Every show must end.

I may come back a few days later and claim I was just taking a break, or just disappear into the anonymity of the blog world never to resurface. I’ve enjoyed some conversations, some interesting people I’ve met over this.

Deleting my orkut account was an instantaneous, no brainer decision. Reason – not a single scrap on my birthday. But ending this blog was a more mulled over and thought out process. But here, it is.

The patterns of Aurora give way to the rising sun. And with the blinding light, the patterns disappear. Till we meet again, so long.

Working Woman

From those few rebels who were outlawed and were looked at with contempt and suspicion to the huge numbers that walk within the workplace today, a career woman has come a long way. The journey is, along with being a personal victory, a stepping stone for the rest of the generations to build on. Every woman who dared, created a rung of the ladder for others to step on and enabled them to create rungs higher up.

When Sudha Murthy who refused to be disqualified by Tata on grounds of being a woman, it opened up many more windows of opportunities for the others to partake in the fruit without even having to fight tooth and nail.

By slowly ascending into the upper echelons of the working world, the rules of the game are altered to accommodate the female species with a myriad of responsibilities. They make it easier for us and the next generation of daughters to come by, bringing a total level of normality with it. Even the current cynical woman who scoffs at a working counterpart labeling them as “works for need of money, which I have lots of ” will still find solace that the daughters she brings forth will have it easy in the workplace and the world in general.

And to every one of those women who were scorned for being a working woman but went on unfailingly, I pass on my gratitude. For every one of those who refused to bog down to the dictates of the society and rose high up from the image of just bearing and raising children, I salute silently. It’s not one or two of them at the top that made the difference. It’s the collective force that’s responsible for the wonderful respectable place a woman has at work today.

Awkward conversations

Have you been caught up where people just talk, not just talk, but talk passionately. Without even the slightest consideration that you may not be interested. The tone is usually gripe, I’ve started avoiding people who can go at lengths about issues with in-laws, maids and the like. Spouses, kids, household work! The list is endless. The issues are not even worth a rat’s ass, but making a mountain of a molehill and assuming the status of a victim tortured intensely by a cruel world around. And they assume you are genuinely interested just because your nervous smile of discomfort is misconstrued for a look of empathy.

What I’ve always wanted to say, but not done yet to scream aaaaaaaaahhhhhhh…..please no……not again…..I’m bored… OR
Dial the object of complaint or admiration as the case may be, and subject them to listen to the conversation. Whatever, but spare me.

Khamas or kaamaach

Some raagas are so effortless and the joy they give is immeasurable. Khamas is one such one. Be it the swarajithe – “Saambarshiva” or the ever soothing “sujana jeevana raama”

It has the effect of silently rocking on a swing in the midst of a lush green forest with a blue stream nearby.

‘Uyirum Neeye’ sung soulfully by Unni Krishnan is from the same raaga. Incidentally, this is the current loop mode song.

Now, what just happened?

Is it possible to wake up one fine morning and realise that you feel indifference for everyone in the universe? And everyone includes just about everyone. Sigh!

Distilled Gyaan: Attending trainings

On day 4 of a rigorous training, when everybody else in the class is discussing the kernel internals and debating about it, when you doze off – make sure that your pen is on the desk.

Having the pen in hand causes you to drop it when the doze happens.

And the worst part is – others in the training are more concerned with difference between ‘fork’ and ‘clone’ rather than take a moment off to observe gravity.

Yay moment for the day

After listening to Mannippaaya song (of Vinnai Thaandi varuvaaya) for a few times, I noticed the interlude that goes exactly like the Charanam of Raravenugopabala.. (Ga….RiSaNiDha… Ri…..RiSaNiDha….) I mean – exactly the same swaras. I deduced this song should be based on Bilahari and googled to find out I was right.

Well, after 12 years of music lessons and listening, this is all I can find out. But, still, yay for me!