Thursday, April 30, 2009
Rediscovering life in India
Now, it has been more than a couple of months since I returned to India. Since that blissful night when I couldn't control my peeping teeth inside my mouth, seeing my plane landing in the Bangalore airport...
Simple things look so beautiful to me these days- just because they are so unique to my place.
For example, when I was in the train, back home to trichy , I admired the passion and creativity with which Indians build their "Own house". As though these houses had never existed before...
And then, in March, I was staying in a rented house with Yogi, one friend..And we relished the "nila soru" one night... What's a candle light dinner in comparison to nilaa soru...
Next night was a beautiful, windy and drizzling one.. How I enjoyed myself in the terrace, dancing about like a typical tamil heroine always does!!!
And this weekend, I was back to Samarthanam.... You know how flattering it is, when beautiful-hearted kids flatter you with compliments that you really dont deserve...
Ok, ok, I understand how boring it can get when u try to blog something that happened months back.. I'll try to blog more regularly, hereon...
Introspection, and trip to Seattle- Jan 2009
I cannot believe that out of my one year in Toronto, there have been only as many as fifteen days when I did not
have to switch on the stove! All of a sudden, luxury has been redefined for me- as not having to cook.. And not having to take the bus when I step out of the house. As having someone to plan the day for you…Having someone to wake you up.. and remind u to have breakfast!
It was very different an year back! Whining about the food in the PG. Taking an auto to office when I feel like. Beginning my day whenever I want to. Taking a trip home when I feel like it. Chatting with a roommate until 2 in the morning.
I don’t mean to say I am leading a hectic life 24 hours a day, no I cant even do that. But I mean to say I am leading a
life I hadn’t envisaged an year back! But which I took up with an elegant, matter-of-factly attitude when it came to me. I should confess that it was interesting in the beginning. Having the liberty to truly own your day and home. But in some time, it got tiresome. Managing work & domestic chores & the cruel weather…And it’s only human that you can’t just live with the love and care of people thousands of miles away, for 365 days in a row. Sometimes, you need someone’s shoulder, right here, right now...
I used to believe I can live anywhere, alone, acclimatizing myself to whatever the situation demands. I have proved myself wrong more than once. For yes, I can live, but not very cozily, till I make friends in my new environment. My problem is my own innocence and keep-it-simple attitude. For when I talk about friends, I mean it. I mean people who r there for me, who will place my interests at par with theirs, while I do the same. And it takes a while to find such friends. It took me a couple of years to feel at home in college, an year to feel secure in Bangalore and not yet, in Toronto. This is a fact which I assimilated only a few months back!!
Ok, that’s enough philosophy for a while! Lemme tell u how my trip was. Waiting in the terminal, flying alone and getting through the jet lag are not particularly my cup of tea. But sleeping in a cozy bed, being woken at 10 in the morning to have a brunch, getting into a car & going on a trip perfectly taken care of by someone I trust are! So did my days go, carefree and with an option to take responsibility only when I want to. One day we went skiing. It was painful, the shoes were hard on me, the skiis were naughty, yet it was fun- out there in the snow, falling down and getting up, with someone to guide u all the way, and ask u if u r doing okay!!! I should mention that half my days went in online shopping- trying to shop electronics from Canada in the boxing day discounts! Almost the rest half went in shopping in the US- Going to scores of shops to shop a few picky things. Poor things my bro & sis-in-law, though! I appreciate their helpless patience!
One day we went to the Snoqualmie water falls, and then drove back long miles to the Deception pass (a strait), only to find that it was too dark to see anything, let alone enjoy the place. He apologized for having driven me all the way to a hopelessly dark place. Funny him, it was he who drove hard- while I was happily sleeping all the way! He also taught me about a lot of things- worlds I haven’t explored much yet- but really want to, when I get the company that suits- biking, hiking, snorkeling, skiing, snow-shoeing and what not! We also went on the New year night to see the fireworks in space needle (I call it the Seattle version of CN tower in Toronto). Not much of a sight it was, the smoke from the initial fireworks, combined with the low clouds & fog- made a most unwelcome mixture of smog- even as the on-lookers tried to keep up their spirits up with hurrahs to overlook the bad show!
The most important aspect of the trip ofcourse is that my bro and I got to be together for more than a week after a long time. And realized yet again how important it is to get together often! For we still didn’t get enough personal time together! See you soon my blog!
have to switch on the stove! All of a sudden, luxury has been redefined for me- as not having to cook.. And not having to take the bus when I step out of the house. As having someone to plan the day for you…Having someone to wake you up.. and remind u to have breakfast!
It was very different an year back! Whining about the food in the PG. Taking an auto to office when I feel like. Beginning my day whenever I want to. Taking a trip home when I feel like it. Chatting with a roommate until 2 in the morning.
I don’t mean to say I am leading a hectic life 24 hours a day, no I cant even do that. But I mean to say I am leading a
life I hadn’t envisaged an year back! But which I took up with an elegant, matter-of-factly attitude when it came to me. I should confess that it was interesting in the beginning. Having the liberty to truly own your day and home. But in some time, it got tiresome. Managing work & domestic chores & the cruel weather…And it’s only human that you can’t just live with the love and care of people thousands of miles away, for 365 days in a row. Sometimes, you need someone’s shoulder, right here, right now...
I used to believe I can live anywhere, alone, acclimatizing myself to whatever the situation demands. I have proved myself wrong more than once. For yes, I can live, but not very cozily, till I make friends in my new environment. My problem is my own innocence and keep-it-simple attitude. For when I talk about friends, I mean it. I mean people who r there for me, who will place my interests at par with theirs, while I do the same. And it takes a while to find such friends. It took me a couple of years to feel at home in college, an year to feel secure in Bangalore and not yet, in Toronto. This is a fact which I assimilated only a few months back!!
Ok, that’s enough philosophy for a while! Lemme tell u how my trip was. Waiting in the terminal, flying alone and getting through the jet lag are not particularly my cup of tea. But sleeping in a cozy bed, being woken at 10 in the morning to have a brunch, getting into a car & going on a trip perfectly taken care of by someone I trust are! So did my days go, carefree and with an option to take responsibility only when I want to. One day we went skiing. It was painful, the shoes were hard on me, the skiis were naughty, yet it was fun- out there in the snow, falling down and getting up, with someone to guide u all the way, and ask u if u r doing okay!!! I should mention that half my days went in online shopping- trying to shop electronics from Canada in the boxing day discounts! Almost the rest half went in shopping in the US- Going to scores of shops to shop a few picky things. Poor things my bro & sis-in-law, though! I appreciate their helpless patience!
One day we went to the Snoqualmie water falls, and then drove back long miles to the Deception pass (a strait), only to find that it was too dark to see anything, let alone enjoy the place. He apologized for having driven me all the way to a hopelessly dark place. Funny him, it was he who drove hard- while I was happily sleeping all the way! He also taught me about a lot of things- worlds I haven’t explored much yet- but really want to, when I get the company that suits- biking, hiking, snorkeling, skiing, snow-shoeing and what not! We also went on the New year night to see the fireworks in space needle (I call it the Seattle version of CN tower in Toronto). Not much of a sight it was, the smoke from the initial fireworks, combined with the low clouds & fog- made a most unwelcome mixture of smog- even as the on-lookers tried to keep up their spirits up with hurrahs to overlook the bad show!
The most important aspect of the trip ofcourse is that my bro and I got to be together for more than a week after a long time. And realized yet again how important it is to get together often! For we still didn’t get enough personal time together! See you soon my blog!
The spark of life
The Spark of Life...
Back in 2009, three years into the corporate life, I seemed to have lost it- the inevitable SPARK in life, the one which keeps us going. Nothing excited me, everything seemed so ordinary. Incidentally, it was the time for my first onsite visit. My thought was, "Ok, I am going to Canada. The new place will automatically trigger my excitement".
I arrived in Canada. Nothing, not even my life's first snow, impressed me! I even went for ice skating. It was yet another day. Any new place was yet another place. "What's so great about it?" I told myself. So I started being at home, all the time. What's so exciting about going out, after all? It was office then home wherein cooking, eating and sleeping. These were what made my day. Well, cooking did excite me for a few days, but eventually transformed into a routine chore.
People talked about gadgets, movies, Xbox and Nintendo.
“Grow up guys”, I fussed.
"Do you like the latest ifone?"
"Sorry, that’s the least of my interest"
"Will you come for a movie?"
"Sorry, I don’t watch English movies"
"Which Xbox game does u like?"
"Please direct the question to someone else"
But I soon found myself losing out. I realized it wasn’t the coolest thing to say. The plain ignorance was making me a boring person. I recollected what my brother had challenged me years earlier, "What’s so interesting about you? Can you talk on any subject for two minutes?" Back then, the validity of his point had failed my brain. But now, it made more sense than ever. To get over this, I started showing interest, even a bit artificially to begin with. I forced myself to learn things. Very soon, I found myself being able to give so much information to people. Suddenly, I found myself useful, helpful and interesting!
Meanwhile, the monotony of the routine was bugging me- weekends passed off in laundry, cleaning and grocery shopping. Mondays were days of regret, leading to the urge to fast forward to the next weekend. In overcoming this, I started to realize that "Something is better than nothing”, “Let me go out somewhere. Eat out. Go to a movie. Go to a friend's house. Visit a spot. Enjoy the sheer thrill of not doing the regular stuff”.
Suddenly, I learnt a very simple, but important lesson. "Appreciate little things in life. If we take little things for granted, there is no fun in life. And the loser is none, but us". I made sure I spent at least one day of a week outside. At leisure time, I tried to do something that I had never done before- playing tennis, watching a science fiction movie, visiting friends. Surprisingly, life no longer seemed pointless in the remote land. I gained friends. I started living.
It’s amusing how easily we miss the basics of life sometimes. But my moment of truth had already come. Since that day, my years have been exciting, passionate and brimming with life!
Back in 2009, three years into the corporate life, I seemed to have lost it- the inevitable SPARK in life, the one which keeps us going. Nothing excited me, everything seemed so ordinary. Incidentally, it was the time for my first onsite visit. My thought was, "Ok, I am going to Canada. The new place will automatically trigger my excitement".
I arrived in Canada. Nothing, not even my life's first snow, impressed me! I even went for ice skating. It was yet another day. Any new place was yet another place. "What's so great about it?" I told myself. So I started being at home, all the time. What's so exciting about going out, after all? It was office then home wherein cooking, eating and sleeping. These were what made my day. Well, cooking did excite me for a few days, but eventually transformed into a routine chore.
People talked about gadgets, movies, Xbox and Nintendo.
“Grow up guys”, I fussed.
"Do you like the latest ifone?"
"Sorry, that’s the least of my interest"
"Will you come for a movie?"
"Sorry, I don’t watch English movies"
"Which Xbox game does u like?"
"Please direct the question to someone else"
But I soon found myself losing out. I realized it wasn’t the coolest thing to say. The plain ignorance was making me a boring person. I recollected what my brother had challenged me years earlier, "What’s so interesting about you? Can you talk on any subject for two minutes?" Back then, the validity of his point had failed my brain. But now, it made more sense than ever. To get over this, I started showing interest, even a bit artificially to begin with. I forced myself to learn things. Very soon, I found myself being able to give so much information to people. Suddenly, I found myself useful, helpful and interesting!
Meanwhile, the monotony of the routine was bugging me- weekends passed off in laundry, cleaning and grocery shopping. Mondays were days of regret, leading to the urge to fast forward to the next weekend. In overcoming this, I started to realize that "Something is better than nothing”, “Let me go out somewhere. Eat out. Go to a movie. Go to a friend's house. Visit a spot. Enjoy the sheer thrill of not doing the regular stuff”.
Suddenly, I learnt a very simple, but important lesson. "Appreciate little things in life. If we take little things for granted, there is no fun in life. And the loser is none, but us". I made sure I spent at least one day of a week outside. At leisure time, I tried to do something that I had never done before- playing tennis, watching a science fiction movie, visiting friends. Surprisingly, life no longer seemed pointless in the remote land. I gained friends. I started living.
It’s amusing how easily we miss the basics of life sometimes. But my moment of truth had already come. Since that day, my years have been exciting, passionate and brimming with life!
Samarthanam- Apr 2 2007
The Vision of the Blind…
The bones of the Disabled…
A month back, I had got a mail forward from someone about an organization which needed scribes for writing the exams for blind… Already inspired to do some social work, I promptly called them up- Samarthanam, an NGO in J.P.Nagar, 2nd phase, (Near Woody’s). But they had already got enough scribes by that time. But I was already impressed by the motto of the organization- “Instead of pampering the disabled with food and shelter, we give them education.”
Last Saturday, we got a chance to be in Jayanagar.. Not sure of our next plans, my friend and me decided to call up Samarthanam, which was nearby.. We were invited, we went there empty handed since it was such a sudden plan. The idea of visiting them with nothing to donate was bothering us at the back of our heads. We reached there and got in touch with Ms. Vijaya, a lady in the wrong side of 50, surrounded by kids whom she was mentoring.. There were kids who were telling her about their assignments, about exams, marks, future plans… Great atmosphere indeed.. We never minded the fact that everyone was too busy to talk to us! There was a blind gal who wanted to get her assignment done, but her helper(volunteer) did not come that day..Vijaya was promising her to help her with the assignment herself at night… But this gal had to submit her assignment the next day and was in urgent need of help.. We offered to help her since the assignment was in English.. Man, no Webster has words to describe her happiness!!
For a few essay questions, she had typed the answers in her computer and taken a printout. We needed to format them and write it by hand. Initially we found that, while her spoken English was good, her essay was quite disorganized. Later, we learnt that it was the first essay in her life, and that’s y she was scared. BTW, it was Neela’s Foundational English paper in Ist B com. She was doing a correspondence course in IGNOU. Soon, we finished her first assignment and were inspired to do the second. We had divided work in this way: While I read out the questions, help her understand, and extract her answers, my friend writes them down for her.
Her second assignment was a reading comprehension and grammar. Since she was doing that fresh, I had to read to her the comprehension, help her understand and answer.. Their grammar was quite a high standard and Neela was not quite comfortable at it. But once I gave her an example, she managed to answer the rest of the exercise, awesomely well!!! All the time, she told us “I was so scared how I am gonna finish this assignment.. U came like God”.. She meant that each time she said..We wanted to leave at 7.30 PM, which meant we’ll not be able to complete her assignment.. But when Vijaya asked “Is there anyway u could complete?”, we didn’t have the heart to say “NO”.. We wrote her assignment till 9.30, in the process helping her understand her lessons, and entertaining her too…Her determination & dedication were amazing.. They were reflected in the kind of anwers she gave to her lessons..
One example: Use the word “Vital” in a sentence.. Her answer: Education is vital for everyone. This was the way she looked at everything.. We sure had a lot of lessons to learn from her.
One thing that I loved about this institution was attitude..Nobody asked us to spend a penny for them. Instead they offered us tea, paayasam, and invited us to their dinner with love.
They prayed in the evening with nobody to force them.. It was heart rendering to see kids with crutches climbing up the stairs for their prayer.. They prayed before dinner.. They were always busy doing something.. They knew the value of time- much more than us.. The best thing is that when we went there, we never developed sympathy for them.. We never felt sad..We were simply astounded by the greatness of their attitude and abilities..
This is an organization which helped educating the blind, the physically challenged and the poor who had the will to study. It helps them find jobs.. A great task carried on with great sincerity.. I am sure we have a few hours every month to give those humans.. To teach them..To help them with assignments.. Be the scribes for their exams- like the scores of people who already volunteer…
Hats Off to Samarthanam!!!
The bones of the Disabled…
A month back, I had got a mail forward from someone about an organization which needed scribes for writing the exams for blind… Already inspired to do some social work, I promptly called them up- Samarthanam, an NGO in J.P.Nagar, 2nd phase, (Near Woody’s). But they had already got enough scribes by that time. But I was already impressed by the motto of the organization- “Instead of pampering the disabled with food and shelter, we give them education.”
Last Saturday, we got a chance to be in Jayanagar.. Not sure of our next plans, my friend and me decided to call up Samarthanam, which was nearby.. We were invited, we went there empty handed since it was such a sudden plan. The idea of visiting them with nothing to donate was bothering us at the back of our heads. We reached there and got in touch with Ms. Vijaya, a lady in the wrong side of 50, surrounded by kids whom she was mentoring.. There were kids who were telling her about their assignments, about exams, marks, future plans… Great atmosphere indeed.. We never minded the fact that everyone was too busy to talk to us! There was a blind gal who wanted to get her assignment done, but her helper(volunteer) did not come that day..Vijaya was promising her to help her with the assignment herself at night… But this gal had to submit her assignment the next day and was in urgent need of help.. We offered to help her since the assignment was in English.. Man, no Webster has words to describe her happiness!!
For a few essay questions, she had typed the answers in her computer and taken a printout. We needed to format them and write it by hand. Initially we found that, while her spoken English was good, her essay was quite disorganized. Later, we learnt that it was the first essay in her life, and that’s y she was scared. BTW, it was Neela’s Foundational English paper in Ist B com. She was doing a correspondence course in IGNOU. Soon, we finished her first assignment and were inspired to do the second. We had divided work in this way: While I read out the questions, help her understand, and extract her answers, my friend writes them down for her.
Her second assignment was a reading comprehension and grammar. Since she was doing that fresh, I had to read to her the comprehension, help her understand and answer.. Their grammar was quite a high standard and Neela was not quite comfortable at it. But once I gave her an example, she managed to answer the rest of the exercise, awesomely well!!! All the time, she told us “I was so scared how I am gonna finish this assignment.. U came like God”.. She meant that each time she said..We wanted to leave at 7.30 PM, which meant we’ll not be able to complete her assignment.. But when Vijaya asked “Is there anyway u could complete?”, we didn’t have the heart to say “NO”.. We wrote her assignment till 9.30, in the process helping her understand her lessons, and entertaining her too…Her determination & dedication were amazing.. They were reflected in the kind of anwers she gave to her lessons..
One example: Use the word “Vital” in a sentence.. Her answer: Education is vital for everyone. This was the way she looked at everything.. We sure had a lot of lessons to learn from her.
One thing that I loved about this institution was attitude..Nobody asked us to spend a penny for them. Instead they offered us tea, paayasam, and invited us to their dinner with love.
They prayed in the evening with nobody to force them.. It was heart rendering to see kids with crutches climbing up the stairs for their prayer.. They prayed before dinner.. They were always busy doing something.. They knew the value of time- much more than us.. The best thing is that when we went there, we never developed sympathy for them.. We never felt sad..We were simply astounded by the greatness of their attitude and abilities..
This is an organization which helped educating the blind, the physically challenged and the poor who had the will to study. It helps them find jobs.. A great task carried on with great sincerity.. I am sure we have a few hours every month to give those humans.. To teach them..To help them with assignments.. Be the scribes for their exams- like the scores of people who already volunteer…
Hats Off to Samarthanam!!!
As cute as a kid can be- Jan 11 2007
Kids today r getting over ansd oversmart...Here is an incident which happened last weekend, with two year old Deepak, who is Veera Manohar's little joy!
Its 10.30 at night.. We are at Veera's home.. Deepak is in the hall, on his mother's lap... Appa wants him to come to the bedroom.. And Deepak is least interested...
Appa plays a trick to fool Deepak:
He hides himself in the bedroom, persuading Deepak to find him.. Deepak looks at appa till he has hid himself, makes an unassuming turn towards the TV and continues watching TV in the hall...If this wasnt what the bewildered appa wanted, there was more to come!
The unconvinced appa decides to make a second attempt. He hides himself in the bedroom, asking Deepak to find him out. This time, Deepak stands up and starts walking toward the room. He goes towards the bedroom and closes the room from outside (with his dad inside)... Quite unhappy with the result, appa opens the door to come out... Little Deepak stands there, gesturing his hand towards the bedroom and instructing his appa "po, ulla po"!!!!
Its 10.30 at night.. We are at Veera's home.. Deepak is in the hall, on his mother's lap... Appa wants him to come to the bedroom.. And Deepak is least interested...
Appa plays a trick to fool Deepak:
He hides himself in the bedroom, persuading Deepak to find him.. Deepak looks at appa till he has hid himself, makes an unassuming turn towards the TV and continues watching TV in the hall...If this wasnt what the bewildered appa wanted, there was more to come!
The unconvinced appa decides to make a second attempt. He hides himself in the bedroom, asking Deepak to find him out. This time, Deepak stands up and starts walking toward the room. He goes towards the bedroom and closes the room from outside (with his dad inside)... Quite unhappy with the result, appa opens the door to come out... Little Deepak stands there, gesturing his hand towards the bedroom and instructing his appa "po, ulla po"!!!!
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