My Perfect World

The past few days have been hectic. Too many changes happening to my perfect world. Change is not my best friend. I am trying to take one day at a time for now. I am also practicing the art of deception to divert my mind.

So, I‘ve been reading some Kannada since the past few days. Accidentally stumbled on “Mankutimma”. I have read only a few verses till date and not really pondered over the relevance. Wiki says, the work “Mankutimmana Kagga” is called the Bhagavad Gita in Kannada. You have to agree with that. The Kagga has answers to all the questions we can ever ask ourselves. How could one man have written this in his lifetime? It is hard to imagine the experiences he has had that’s enabled him to write this profound piece. I am unable to describe the awesomeness of the work. If you know the language, it is even better!

Now there’s one verse that’s gnawing my mind from many days describing the illusion or everything perfect. The habit of expecting the “prefect everything” will only spread negativity. The perfect house, the perfect partner, the perfect job, the perfect lunch, the perfect blog post…….it never ends…this obsession. Once you stop this mania, I think you will start finding  satisfaction and happiness even. I also understand that there is a balance you ought to achieve. Less expectation also throws you back in life. Balance is the key…which I am struggling to find!

On a lighter note, I’ll stop worrying that my house is not really spic and span. I see that I am raising happy children in the same house J.

ಸರಿಯಾಗಲಿಲ್ಲವದು ಸರಿಯಿದಲ್ಲವೆನುತ ।
ಹರಡಿಕೊಳಬೇಡ ಮುಳ್ಳನು ಹಾಸಿಗೆಯಲಿ ।।
ಕೊರೆಯಾದೊಡೇನೊಂದು ನೆರೆದೊಡೇನಿನ್ನೊಂದು ।
ಒರಟು ಕೆಲಸವೊ ಬದುಕು ಮಂಕುತಿಮ್ಮ ।।

"This is not right, that is not correct":
Saying thus, spread not thorns on your bed.
So what if something is not perfect?
Life is but a rough job. --Mankuthimma

[With reverence to Sri DVG]

[Reference: http://daily-kagga.livejournal.com/19576.html]

English Vinglish - Time well spent

English Vinglish - here’s a movie you should not miss. It’s not idealistic or preachy even though  the synopsis of the movie might suggest so. You really feel for Shashi, the protagonist. You cry when she cries, you cringe at her embarrassment, you feel proud of her, you dance with her…you feel everything she feels and, that for me, is the definition of a well-made film.

Subtlety is used for the most defining scenes, which works very well. Nothing over-the-top and dramatic. Music aides the scenes rather than being a hindrance to the pace of the movie. The supporting cast is perfect. The movie is as close to reality as it can get.

Few scenes where I felt that the dialogues have been inserted only for the general good-feeling and whistles in the cinema halls were the ones in the consulate where Shashi goes for her visa interview and the one where Amitabh’s character talks with the I-94 stamping guy. Like I said…feel-good scenes :-).

One might also wonder as to how the people in the English class get attached to each other in a matter of just a few weeks. But again, maybe the common dilemma of being left-out in a foreign land bonds them intimately.

Day-to-day happenings are shown with such honesty

• Shashi’s mother-in-law’s scenes…excellently etched out. You’ll want to hug her.
• The scene where the husband talks to Manu, Shashi’s sister, inviting them over to USA for her daughter’s wedding. You can see Shashi constantly trying to get the phone from her husband to talk to her sister but how he never hands her the phone and the silent exchange shown is outstanding.
• Shashi goes to bed in her saree. She does not change her routine or her style even when she lands in the USA. Even such small quirks of her personality are displayed and the character is not compromised till the end.

Many incidents portray Shashi’s  personality

• The café-coffee-day revelation and how she takes it in her stride without berating her teenaged daughter
• The motherly love for her younger child leaves you with a warm and cuddly feeling :-)
• How she makes a business out of her passion
• Her acceptance and thoughts about the homosexuality of the class teacher
• How she is brave enough to venture on her own in a foreign land
• Her ability to decide her priorities on whether or not she should attend her exam
• How she hits the nail on the head when she delivers her final speech….each of these brilliantly executed.

The portrayal of sensitive issues is outstanding, especially considering that this is mainstream Hindi cinema

• “She was born to make laddoos”, wow! Never has such a statement shown to be degrading to a woman in Hindi cinema :-).
• Handling the attraction between the French guy and Shashi is brilliant. No guilt-trips. Just acceptance.

Finally, we come of age. 

You can’t end any piece of writing on this movie without mentioning Sridevi, the actress. She’s brilliant – the master of subtle nuances of body language. She represents so much with just that. Agreed her Hindi sounds funny …but she’s always spoken Hindi the same way for the past 3 decades, isn’t it? And that she’s beautiful is an understatement! You’ll root for her. You’ll root for every woman who has been-here-done-this.

One of the cleverest and entertaining movies of recent times. Don’t miss this one for sure!

Listen to your body

Lately, too many health issues are surfacing. I cannot put a finger on the root cause, the issues all look so trivial. The logical thing to do is to consult the doctor. But all I am getting is stuff to curb the symptoms. One-tablet–headache-gone type of consultation. Alternately, someone told me to “listen to your body”. He said, “Observe your routine, what physical activities you do, what you eat, the mood, etc.. You will find a pattern and you will figure out that something you do/eat/think disturbs the balance in your body.” This sounds like good advice. It’s going to take a considerable amount of time but maybe it’s worth following.

Couple of days have gone by with this conscious observation routine. First observation is about how I breathe. Whenever I have noticed, I am holding my breath! For no apparent reason…just forgetting to take regular breaths. Now that is not good, isn’t it?

Sigh! A pandora’s box type of situation faces me I think. Let’s see where I go from here.

Thus Spake...

It was his first ever formal test at school and Skanda was really nonchalant about the whole matter. He still does not know about the rat race you see?

I was reviewing his English answer sheet. I had to sign and return it to his school the next day. Below is an excerpt on the actual conversation.

I see a picture on the paper with questions related to that below it. There is a basket of apples placed on a table among many other things in the frame.

Me (reading aloud): How many apples are there in the basket?
Skanda (reads out what he’s written): There are many apples in the basket.
Me: Okay, your teacher has written six. Why did you write many?
Skanda (patiently explaining): Amma, this is an English test not a Math test.
Me (okay!): So you did not think you should count? The picture shows 6 apples.
Skanda (duh Amma): It shows that there are 6 apples on the basket, how can I count the apples inside the basket? So, I wrote “many”. Ma’am is wrong. I am correct.
Me: Yes. I agree :-)

Out of the box thinking isn’t it? He really does have a good perspective of things. We should let kids “think” more often.

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Here’s another interesting dialogue between an aunt and my younger one (Pranav).

Aunt: What will you be when you grow up?
Pranav: A Ghost.

Should I write what happened next? Aunt was scandalized; my mom reproached me for watching Supernatural when kids were around ;-). But I ask, could you please learn how to speak with kids aged 3 years? Is that a question to be asked? You asked for it!
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Well, I am thoroughly loving it with the kids in such form :-) !!

Recipe for a Heartening Lunch

There are days when you surprise yourself. Today is that day for me. Pondering throughout last night about what to cook for lunch for the next day, I finally decided to let creativity take over. I started putting things together with intuitive measurements. Amma told me that whatever I would prepare would be the breakfast for the day too…so there!



What I created was not only edible, it was beyond great :-). Had a wonderful lunch today! So lest I forget what I did, I am noting down the “recipe” here.


Recipe for Vegetable Pulav
Ingredients:


1. 1 1/2 cup basmati rice + 1/2 cup normal rice
2. Vegetables - carrot + beans + alu, cut like fingers
3. For the masala paste - 4 spoons coconut + 3 Lavanga + 2 elakki + 3 large pieces of Chakke + 2 green chillies
4. For tempering – Oil, Jeera , Gasagase (Poppy Seeds), Onion, Ginger garlic paste – add according to spice level preference
5. Tomato puree - of 3 large tomatoes
6. Garam masala powder – ½ spoon
7. Red Chilli powder – ¼ spoon
8. Salt to taste

Method:


1. Grind masala paste with little water
2. Wash the rice and keep it aside
3. Make the puree out of tomatoes
4. Pour 4 tbsp of peanut oil in cooker -> Add Jeera, Gasagase, Onions and G&G paste
5. Add vegetables and fry
6. Add ground masala paste and fry till the raw smell is gone
7. Add the washed rice and fry
8. Add tomato puree and fry for 2-3 minutes till it becomes gooey
9. Add garam masala powder (1/2 tsp) and red chilli powder (little) if spice level is not enough
10. Add water and salt
11. Cook for 2 whistles+1 minute
12. Pulav is ready to serve


And here is how it looked....

Life's Milestones - 2

It was a cakewalk really. The whole pregnancy and delivery thing second time around. Some friends asked me why I decided to go through the whole thing again, was one time not enough? The pain, the angst, the check-ups and the one that tops the list – the delivery. I did not want to give them the mushy answer of how the tiny person at the end of all that was worth it and how the first cries rejuvenates you to take whatever comes next head-on. But that was actually it. I cannot forget that scene – the husband, seated on the hospital chair and holding the new born in his arms with Skanda, curiously touching his little brother’s fingers. I even remember the smell of the hospital mingled with fresh flowers from a bouquet. It was picture perfect.


I used to miss being pregnant after my first son was born. I would miss the fresh smell of babies just bathed and whole lot of such things that came with new babies. I would even sit up most nights without complaining. I would not share these feelings with anyone lest they think I had gone mad! I always thought if I was born in another century or maybe even in another country, I would definitely have a gang of kids of my own! But practicalities are woven into our lives and there is no avenue of escape from them, isn’t it?


Time is known to fly at alarming speed. Yet, I am always amazed by it. So, my second son, Pranav, came kicking and screaming into this world three years back. It just seems like yesterday that I held him in my arms admiring the miracle that he was. He is a little person of his own now and his sunny personality is beginning to show. He is full of love and naughty to the core. He loves books and riding his bicycle with anna. The brothers have formed a strong bond of kinship which, I hope, will only strengthen with time. He loves dinosaurs too and rattles off names of the species! He has the cutest lisp - he cannot pronounce "s", "sh" and "r". He has the most adorable sulk when he is admonished and I have a whale of a time cajoling him out of his anger!


He insists he is only two years old because for him a birthday means cutting a cake, which we could not on his birthday. So I have promised him a cake this weekend and he has promised that he will turn three that day :).


Happy birthday, my dear child!

On a beaten to death topic

"I'm the one that's got to die when it's time for me to die, so let me live my life the way I want to."
- Jimi Hendrix.

Feeling stifled by expectations & rules. How long can one pretend to care?