My Experiments with Time

If there were no Phones! Mama would have noticed the spark in my eyes when I first tasted the cake she baked Papa would have noticed when I balanced myself letting go both hands while I was cycling Grandma would have sung the Gayathri Mantra for me rather than playing it on Amazon Music Grandpa would have narrated how India lifted the World Cup, rather than showing it to me on Youtube We need phones I know,  but we need people a little more than phones.... 

April has always been a month to relish and cherish, for numerous reasons. Today we are in the first week of the seemingly hottest April. Travelling to Chennai by Mangalore - Chennai Express brings back memories of my own vacation and train journey, the difference being that we are travelling in opposite direction; and the vacation is no longer mine; I'm the parent now.  Back in the 90s, planning for vacations began almost two months earlier. Getting the concession forms from school, booking train tickets, writing to my cousins about the D day of our arrival in Kerala were all part of the preparations. Those days our vacations were not about stay in resorts or chilling by the beachside. April brought along the long-awaited train journey, the chugging and rumbling sounds of the train wheels, the smell of rusted iron, hot air that blows through the non-AC sleeper compartments are all memories. Sitting in the AC compartment today, I miss the familar smell of train journey that seems t...

It’s not about the destination, it’s about the journey..   Our journey of a five hundred miles was about to begin, from the Western coast to the Eastern. Less than six months ago, we had travelled on the opposite route from Chennai to Nileswar. Our little champ was all too excited to hit the road again. Not that she relished the road journey, just that she was more prepared for the extended siesta this time around. As the rest of the family woke up early to see us off, the 6-year-old descended in her comfy palazzos carrying her Barbie, pillow and blanket. "We should have bought the XUV 700," she commented casually, leaving us parents dumbfounded. As we bid adieu and slowly rolled out onto the highway, the sun was beginning its ascent. It was a cool August day, so we kept the windows down allowing the cool breeze in. As we passed the Karyamkod river, the still green water surrounded by coconut trees offered a magnificent sight. Taking advantage of the lean traffic in...

It was a breezy Sunday morning in July. The monsoon must have pitied us poor human beings and decided to stay on for a while. The rains had just stopped; and the sun seemed to be unsure if it should make its presence felt. The magnificent panaroma of lush green trees adorned with droplets of water against the clear blue sky was soul soothing.  A dozen or more coconut trees spread across the stretch of land with plantains- in-between barely allowed a view of the neighbour's house. To my right were a pair of large mango trees, water drooping from its leaves. Our backyard was filled with a mix of jackfruit and coconut trees. It was no dream, I was in God's own country! It's been five months since I moved in, and this blog is long overdue. It was a hard choice to move from the bustling city of Chennai, which I call my hometown to Pallikara, a beautiful town beside the sparkling green Thejaswini river. But Covid, with its updated versions being released faster than Samsung and A...

I came across this Latin word recently, the meaning sounds quite interesting. It means a clean slate, just like the human mind at birth that is devoid of any preconceived notions and ideas. This word seems so relevant during current times. Until a year ago, we all had plans about our lives, including career, travel, entertainment and so on. But for the past one year, there has been so much of uncertainty that I wonder and fear if we will have to reimagine all our plans from scratch. For a year we had been postponing plans, but now things look quite bleak again. There has been so much of unprecedented changes around us, in the way we work, in our education system, and most importantly in the way we interact and connect with each other. Everything is so virtual, that virtual is almost real these days. Recently my six-and-half-yr-old daughter (she insists I mention it that way) casually commented ' I don't think Corona is ever going to leave us. We are going to live with it. '...

  2020, what a fancy number! A fancy-number-fanatic would have paid a handsome sum to obtain such a number for his vehicle. But lo, this very same number has been subjected to so many memes for its notoriety. 'What went wrong for you in 2020'? Most of us would have a unanimous answer. Let's tweak it a bit; I like to count my blessings: 'What went right for you in 2020?' In the first month of 2020, I visited Kolkata with family and friends to attend the wedding of my bestie. Kolkata had been on my travel list for a long time, being the only metro I haven't visited. The visit to the City of Joy had indeed been a blessing in disguise, which we all cherish till date for multiple reasons. That's the last time I boarded a flight, attended a wedding, stayed at a hotel and had food at a restaurant! Not to forget the Big fat Bengali wedding, the hospitality extended by the family, the Sangeeth, the midnight Muhurath, delicious food and all the fun. Having food a...

(Read Corona-onam) The God's own country and Malayalis all over the world are gearing up to welcome Mahabali Thambran (King Mahabali) on Thiruonam day. Mahabali or Maveli is one of the prominent kings in Indian history who enjoys the continued patronage of his subjects and their progeny to date. In line with the Onam images pouring on social media, I'm hoping he will come equipped with mask and sanitizer this time around, similar to his arrival on boat during the Kerala floods. Just like Lord Ganesha, Mahabali is considered an epitome of agility. 'The Cool king', you give him any avatar and he is game, one reason why kids adore him. The Mallu kids love to listen to the story of Mahabali, and mine is no exception. It has become a ritual every year to narrate to Aditi the story and the relevance of Onam celebrations. So here it goes. King Mahabali was a benevolent king, who treated all his subjects equally and people lived very happily during his reign. The Devas who gre...