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Showing posts from May, 2023

Prayer without piety is like a promise without proof

  "If I really wanted to pray I’ll tell you what I’d do. I’d go out into a great big field all alone or into the deep, deep, woods, and I’d look up into the sky—up—up—up—into that lovely blue sky that looks as if there was no end to its blueness. And then I’d just feel a prayer." -  A nne Shirley in 'Anne Of Green Gables' by  Lucy Maud Montgomery I was sitting inside a temple, accompanied by my grandmother, enjoying the beauty of the golden yellow evening sunlight falling on the walls and pillars. I derived a unique pleasure from the scene  that was spread out in front of me.  The sight of the women in their colourful sarees, their oiled hair neatly combed and adorned with flowers, and their turmeric tinted traditional features accentuated by sparkling nose studs and large, round bindi s; people meditating or reading from shloka books, the distant hum of the priests chanting.. ..the kids determined to reach the overhead bells all on their own, jumping wit...

I love rava upma. There, I said it.

Social media seems to be flooded with upma memes. I just happened upon one showing the troubled face of a husband who, after being asked by The Wife to pass his verdict on the taste of the upma ominously lurking on his plate, has almost forgotten to chew and swallow his mouthful in the shock of the worst dilemma of his life - if he were to say it is tasty, she'll heap two more karandi s of it for him to struggle through; on the other hand, if he were to admit the absolute truth and declare his lifelong enmity with it , the aforementioned karandi will end up as a weapon against him! Although I thoroughly enjoyed all the creative memes, I am scared to tell people that I actually like upma , lest they should turn their dismayed, scornful gazes at me. But now that the sluice gates have been opened, I am going to just go ahead and let it all rush out and brave the consequences - I hate ice cream. Okay, before you get the sneaking premonition that I must be cracked and close this win...

No templates, please

"Anyone who ever gave you confidence,  you owe them a lot. " - Truman Capote in 'Breakfast at Tiffany's ' We have all been completely consumed by, and assimilated into the digital world - like insects trapped in an invisible pitcher plant, that never fails to lure us in with its enticing scent of entertainment and convenience.  And so, as we get on with our lives amidst the omnipresent digital signals darting and flitting all around us, our sense of empathetic understanding - our perception of,  and insight into, the minds and personalities of fellow humans - has been benumbed. We have started treating people like apps.  J ust as we choose themes on our devices, we are expecting people around us to conform to templates too. We are trying to customise humans .  It is 2023, in supposedly modern India, and here is our society still brutally judging people for simply and honestly being themselves.  I cannot recollect the last time I saw an  introvert being...