The Honey Cake

Bangalore’s Iyengar bakeries have the best honey cakes in the world. Yes, this is not an exaggeration. If you have doubts, please try one, I guarantee that you will be hooked for life!

This post is about that honey cake and also about the people in your life who get a honey cake for you.

I was having a bad day for many reasons. Experts say that when you are too happy or too sad or too confused (etc.) you feel like gorging on junk. I agree and felt the same. The honey cake started playing mind games with me. Now, I had to have it, no escape from that one! I could have walked down the road and got one for myself. Yes, sure. But a slight problem, I didn’t feel like getting up from where I was. So I had to rely on other people to get one for me.

There are two types of people in your life – one sort who would bring this cake for you without blinking and the other sort who would go all logical on you.

“It is not good for you”, “Do you know the calories and carbs and sugar in one cake?” I agree these are perfectly logical thoughts with my best interest in mind. No offense to these people in my life at all. They play an important role in making me see reality when required (...okay, when I want to). But there are certain times when you need the first sort of people – those who would just accept the way you are and know when sermons ought to be given and when not! Those with whom you don’t feel doubtful to share your cravings and needs.

Of course, my parents fall in that category! My dad came to my rescue this time (like several other times). Oh, and also, he bought two cakes because he thought one was too small! So, two honey cakes changed my mood, probably also added a few grams/kilos, but I was more amiable after the cakes, and yes, that counts too! Totally illogical and not correct? Please read my post on Love to get into a debate with yourself on what is right and what is wrong ;-).

Anyway, the point here is, don’t let such people go! Wrap them in silk and keep them close to you! They are few of the most precious souls around!

Present Continuous

Not the tense. But life. I have a tendency to dig into the past and worry about the future, while forgetting about the present. Someone told me to live in the present and treat it as continuous because that is the only truth. Makes sense. But the mind has a pattern and it has got used to a certain way of thinking and doing. Consciously trying to control it from wavering into the past and future, is not working. After all, certain decisions I take now will have a bearing on the future, and this cannot be denied.

But it is the paramount truth that life (or is it destiny?) has a style of its own, showing startling and unexpected things when we are not ready. So, what’s the point of living in a bubble assuming that everything is in my control? I will never know what will happen! There is something larger than me which is fitting every day of my life as a puzzle and the final picture will be seen at the end. I just hope that picture is worth it! And, that I have it in me to face the consequences of all decisions which I take.

As usual, DVG's perspective!

ದಿವಸದಿಂ ದಿವಸಕ್ಕೆ ನಿಮಿಷದಿಂ ನಿಮಿಷಕ್ಕೆ ।
ಭವಿಷಿಯವ ಚಿಂತಿಸದೆ ಬದುಕ ನೂಕುತಿರು ।।
ವಿವರಗಳ ಜೋಡಿಸುವ ಯಜಮಾನ ಬೇರಿಹನು ।
ಸವೆಸು ನೀಂ ಜನುಮವನು ಮಂಕುತಿಮ್ಮ ।।

Day to day, moment to moment,
Live on, without worrying about the future.
There is a Master to fit in the detail;
You only need to endure. –Mankuthimma

Love

When you are in love, everything looks good. All simple things will seem to have many layers hidden beneath and you will have fun peeling those layers. You will look for beauty in everything. You feel connected with the bigger network of what you can’t see but feel. You can be in love with yourself, or a person, or a thing, or an idea even. It is all the same.

Love is a positive feeling. It grows and nurtures the mind that loves. The one who loves himself is happy, content and at peace with everything that surrounds him. He understands people around him and behaves in a way in which he does not hurt them knowingly.

In the journey of life, each of us wear different hats – play different roles. Our capability to love is tried and tested at every step. It is easy to lose sight, react to situations and unknowingly behave in a way which masks our capability to act with love. It takes conscious training to put love first.

This emotion which we humans are capable of is such a gift – the default emotion which we have as children sadly outgrowing as we grow up. Rules about what is good and bad, what is correct and wrong, notions about the right way to grow up, to live life, definitions of success, failure – all together imbibed into a growing child’s psyche somewhere diminishes the ability to love – to accept without judgment, to think freely, to be creative. Barriers are already built by the time the child grows.

“Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it.” 
― Rumi

When the child grows and hopefully rediscovers love, a lot of time is lost, lot of decisions taken, lot of actions performed – the adult might feel let down. A new process then starts to rebuild what is lost.

Among all the stuff written about parenting, one thing which I feel is of utmost importance is to ensure that the child’s ability to love and to be happy remains untouched. If every child is brought up this way, imagine the world we will have.

How to do this? Well, it is a journey of discovery for the parents too – albeit with the big picture in mind! It is tough but it is worth it, isn’t it?

On that note, here’s Calvin with his big picture ;-)

ಎಲ್ಲಿಯೂ ನಿಲ್ಲದಿರು, ಮನೆಯನೆಂದು ಕಟ್ಟದಿರು, ಕೊನೆಯನೆಂದು ಮುಟ್ಟದಿರು....ಓ ಅನಂತವಾಗಿರು!

~~ Don't linger long anywhere, don't build a house that you call yours, don't ever rest...be homeless, Oh, infinite one! ~~

She took the song too literally, that one should not build an abode. The song spoke about the soul and she thought it was for the body. She does not consider any building she stays in as her own. She does not feel attached to a place. She does not mind if you ask her to move to any other part of the city. She would do it, without blinking an eye, no emotions, no drama, no nothing. She does go on long trips, away from home. She is joyous when she thinks of going back home. She is happy to return home, to the people living in it. “Home is where the heart is” and “home is where love is”.

Lately, she is stressed about how there is no place for anything in the house. That the house is not planned well. That there is no place for keeping her stuff. That there is no one place called hers to rest. That some renovation should be done. Which is making her question – is she getting attached? Is it a bad thing?

Yaana (ಯಾನ) by S L Bhyrappa (ಎಸ್ ಎಲ್ ಭೈರಪ್ಪ)

Note: I have tried not to provide spoilers, but if I have done so unknowingly, please accept my apologies!

I had carefully avoided all reviews, abstracts and any kind of information about the book with a decision that I would read it with an unbiased view. Honestly, I did not like Kavalu (ಕವಲು), SLB’s previous novel, too much. While Avarana (ಆವರಣ) was like a bomb blast, ಕವಲು was like a wet firecracker (ಟುಸ್ಸ್ ಪಟಾಕಿ). In retrospection, I probably did not like ಕವಲು because it looked regressive in some parts. I did not have high expectations from ಯಾನ as a story, but as usual, did have extremely high expectations on the author himself!

When I read the first page, I was taken aback – this story looked like science fiction! In the very first page, Bhyrappa introduces us to the premise of the whole story, no dillydallying, no prologue. It was a tad bit uncomfortable because right from the start, I started thinking about whether Bhyrappa can deliver! He proved that such doubts were unnecessary.

After reading the book, I can say for sure that this book is as much a piece of science fiction as it is about philosophy and mankind! Such is the work of this master storyteller!

Here is my view of the book – it begins with raising a pertinent question on the morality of an incestuous relationship (or what looks like) and ends with the protagonists taking a stand on it. In between, we get glimpses of several related facts, thoughts, beliefs and principles - some of which are turned upside down and some of which are newly established.

What is a relationship? Does a relationship need (ಸಮಾಜದ ಮನ್ನಣೆ) a formal name that is accepted by society? If you get into promises and agreements on earth, do they hold good when you are out there, billions of kilometers away from earth? ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಮಾಡುವ ಆಣೆಭಾಷೆಗಳು ಅಲ್ಲೂ ಉಳಿಯುತ್ತಾವ? Is there any court of law that will hold you for the promise you broke? If Sun is your God (ಪ್ರತ್ಯಕ್ಷ ದೇವರು), what about the billions of such stars all around you? What is the Sun? Who is God or, rather, what is God? What is consciousness (ಪ್ರಜ್ಞೆ)? Is consciousness, as defined on Earth, the same in our Sun’s solar system? Is it the same in our galaxy, in other galaxies and in our universe?

Such questions are asked and an attempt is made to answer too. But the beauty is, you form your own understanding and also in the process, you increase your confusion, which is a good thing J.  

Few more thoughts -

• I remembered Kuvempu’s Ananamaya Ee jaga hrudaya (ಆನಂದಮಯ ಈ ಜಗ ಹೃದಯ) when Bhyrappa extols about the Sun, also understood the poem a bit differently this time.
• I could remember the countless hours I have spent on understanding the "Nasadiya Suktha" (ನಾಸದೀಯ ಸೂಕ್ತ) and also when I gave up on it J. At a high level, I understand it, but when you dig deeper, it was and remains beyond my understanding. When Bhyrappa brings in this suktha, I had goose bumps. It was brought in at the perfect time with the perfect words; I cannot describe the feeling!
• I had reveled in the description of the Himalayas in “Parva” (ಪರ್ವ). There is a lot of difference between the Himalayas in ಯಾನ and that of ಪರ್ವ, signifying the destruction at the hands of man.
• Lots of scientific concepts/theories are written in a concise manner – continental drift, formation of the Himalayas, black holes and quantum theory, applicability of Newton’s laws, distance and time, etc..

Overall, if you are someone who believes that science and spirituality (call it philosophy if you want) coexist, please read this book. It is an excellent attempt in Kannada.

Here’s a bow to Bhyrappa!