Art & Crafts!

 I have never been artistic in my life and appreciate what it takes to be artistic. It was more of a chore than an interest in school which is reflected in all my so-called artwork. It was bad, mundane, and painfully mediocre.

So much so that I never thought of art as a part of my life for long. In recent times I have started to appreciate others and wish I could do something similar. Trust me it is a great start given where I was (thinking it is an absolute waste of time).

Yesterday was one such time when I was in awe of an artist. He is my boss S, one of the most creative minds I have ever met. Restless most times and frustrated that the rest of the world is not keeping up with his pace. He is a go-getter, a kick-ass salesman, and an awesome business consultant. One thing I had never related to him was art but the last few yrs have changed that mindset.

He is crazy about the Dasara gombe setup (a ritual where dolls are put up for display during the Dasara festival) and has taken it to the next level. He thinks of a theme for his Dasara which is different every year and designs the entire story around it. It is not just a display but complete end-to-end storytelling of our history :)

This year's story was Ramayana with Ayodhya as the centerpiece. He has taken the effort to start with the ancient scripture that defines Ayodhya and painted a picture of the journey.

• It starts with Ravana lifting Kailasa to show his strength and get Lord Shiva's blessing. The 10-headed Ravana had to be custom-made and shipped. He managed to give a 60 yr old movie scene to the artist to replicate NTR's face. Each face had different features which would the attention to detail.
• The gods pray to Vishnu to save them and Dasharatha Maharaj does a homa to get the blessed with children. He is given a payasam which he shares with his 3 queens and is blessed with 4 boys. The boys are trained by Rishi Valmiki in a gurukul. The elegance of the queens and the poise of the boys in gurukul were super.
• Janaka Maharaj finds Sita (I did not know Sita means Plough/negilu) in a field that has a cow with a plow for detailing.
• Sita swayamvar was so clearly shown. There was a small cart to push the Shiva Dhanush to depict that it was very heavy and could only be handled by Sita and the Groom had to be equally strong🙂
• The marriage happens and they are soon exiled to vanavasa. The pain ok Dasharatha's face is clear and the humble stance of Rama shows his respect
• The bullock cart shows all the stuff that Rama, Sita, and Laxmana leave behind.
• The scene where Bharatha takes Rama's paduka to rule was beautiful. It showed respect for each other on the face
• The next scene of the golden deer with Sita almost ordering to hunt was clear
• Next was the scene of Vali fighting Sugreeva and Rama slyly killing him from hiding (Vali had a boon to get half the strength of the opponent, so had to be killed from hiding). Rama's posture showed the slyness and discomfort of this act clearly.
• Next was Hanuman looking to present Rama's ring to Sita in Lanka before the Lanka Dahan. The expression of the demons who guarded Sita was incredible, for me the best piece of the lot.
• The last scene was Ram offering prayers to shiva in Rameshwaram and building Ram Sethu to cross the ocean and reach Lanka. Ending with Rama's fight with Ravana and winning.
• This then moved to the crowning of Rama as the King with his family and friends around him
• All this story shows the significance of Ayodhya in Hinduism and then shows a real-life replica of the temple being built. He has taken a miniature of the temple and got a scaled version done by looking at multiple videos. The attention to detail in a number of pillars, levels, and structures was crazy.
• There were a few other setups like the Thirupathi Bhramostava or Vadirajaru with his book talking depicting the key places in India.
• He had also added European cities in the mix to tell his travel stories with a big toy train.

What makes me wonder is the time that is spent thinking of the entire story, imagining all the small details, and then working with different artists to bring it to life. S has managed to bring uniqueness to every doll which fits beautifully in the story. Not one doll has the same expression, they are actually living that moment. He then created each scene manually to depict the exact thought process with painstaking detail (trees, animals, jewels, water bodies, etc). And all this has been done while working 14 hrs a day. I don't know when he manages to rest or sleep.

Looking at the scale and the detail, I was so impressed with what is possible if you can put your mind to it. He was like a kid explaining the whole journey to everyone who visits his house to have a look.

I guess art can have that effect on you, you lose track of time and get immersed in the creation. 

My respect for artists shot through the roof😄 I wish I could bring in such energy on something creative🙂I hope I get immersed in creating something I love🙂 

Homes!

 I wanted to write something different as I have been away for so long, but I just reached the office and took out the phone when Google reminded me of the below pic 5 yrs back and every thought vanished.

What is special about this pic? This is Albert docks in Liverpool and my view from home for over 6 yrs. It was my office for 2 yrs and probably the best office I have worked in. And this pic was taken on the day I was moving out of Liverpool just a couple of weeks before I permanently moved to India.

I have always been a Bangalore boy and was very proud of my life here. So much so that I was adamant not to get a passport until 2005 as I did not want to go onsite. I was happy roaming around in India and said no to any onsite opportunity that came by until 2005. I might have settled in the US if I had not been so adamant about it, sigh!!! Little did I know that I will change my nationality in 12 years and become a Brit (I was such a freedom fighter kind, I can't believe I would be a Brit, that is what an open my mind can do).

Eventually, I convinced myself to visit the US in 2005 and got my passport and Visa done. The travel was canceled 1 day before I fly out :)) Story of me and the US😄

After that, I traveled a lot mainly to different cities in UK and Sydney but never felt at home. I had an urge to return and be with family and friends. Even after getting married when we moved to UK, I was so unsettled and wanted to come back. So much so that I and my Mumbai friend (we used to share a house with his family) used to crib every day and he eventually could not handle it and returned to India (another story that he came back after 2 yrs and is settled in UK).

The first time I visited Liverpool it was different, something about the place felt nice. And I had my best friend as my manager and flatmate. The client team was hostile, there were some insane stories about how bad they were (later realised the fault was on our end). I was in my element and turned it around so much that they were in tears when I was returning.

I worked my ass off for 6 months 15-18hrs a day but never felt any stress. I was cool and had a great time with the people around me. After almost a year of being in Liverpool, the miracle of my life happened, kiddo was born. The bond with Liverpool changed overnight, it was HOME❤️

I finally felt settled and fell in love with the city. The people were great, no filter, they liked you or hated you, nothing in between. They cared they fought they mattered. They had time for a chat or an ear to listen. I have had so many incredible memories and such affection for almost every street there.

That place from where I took the above pic had the highest memories. Kiddo used to walk/fall as a toddler on the cobbled street. His first cycle ride was on the same spot which was super to watch. I have spent hrs looking at the kayaks/rowing on the river, the walks with wifey and kid on the river bank, the high street shops, the small places where we sat while kiddo used to run around bumping into people (not once anyone felt bad about it such caring people), the coffee shops, the restaurants, the night out pub hopping, the early morning runs, the movies, the street vendors, so many things. And when I had to leave, it felt like I was leaving home. The family was already back and I was leaving for good. I remember sitting there just after taking this pic and crying. Like proper tears in my eyes but not heavy sobbing😞 It was one of the most emotional days for me (which is very unlike me).

I have visited/lived in Liverpool few times and stayed for over 2 weeks since then and relived some of the memories. But the feeling was different, I did not miss it as much as I was on that day. Initially, I felt the connection with the city is gone but I realized it was not about the city. It was about the people. I found new people, new streets, new restaurants, new hangouts, new gangs, and home was created! Home is where your loved ones are and how you connect. Lucky for me, I have always connected with people and lived fully.

I cant believe it has been 5 yrs since then. I was happy that Liverpool happened, it not only gave me home but opened my mind that other cities can also be home as long as you find the connection 🙂 Liverpool holds a very special place in my heart and will continue to be my second home. That is where I found joy and probably some of the best days of my life thanks to the Kiddo!!!

Cheers to finding more homes!!!

PS: weird that most of my memories are from the outdoors. Probably because I grew up outdoors and hardly remember sitting at home watching TV/playing games/etc. I have always related to open spaces than enclosed areas. 

I Know!!!

 "I know" is such a powerful word isn't it, it shows confidence, knowledge, pride, etc like there is nothing else to improve on. What we do not realize is that there could be a better version of the truth or a different viewpoint which will make you think and reconsider your knowledge.

I want to talk about what I learned after listening to one such podcast called the Trojan Horse Affair. For anyone who is not aware of this, look it up. This incident changed a lot of things in UK education system and also the laws for extremism. It all started with a letter that surfaced in UK talking about how schools have been taken over by certain religious groups (no points for guessing) and radicalizing them using a formula. 2 journalists (Brian from NY times, Hamza a Pakistani Muslim doctor brought up in Birmingham who wanted to become an investigative journalist) dug deep into the story to find what actually happened and made a podcast out of it.

I do not want to go through the entire series as it is best to hear the podcasts. There were a few highlights that I thought were important.

When I heard about the letter, my initial thought was "this could happen". Even though I am considerate to all religions and look at people as individuals than a group, there is an underlying preconceived notion I guess which made me think so. And many world events have influenced our thinking as we have seen what extremism can do. What I failed to look at is facts and then conclude if there was truth in that or not. We do not think much about such bias as it does not impact us a lot. 

The first thing that they discovered was that no one cared about who wrote the letter. The source did not matter and they only focussed on the content. Without knowing the source, you cannot know the intentions behind the act which is very important to understand if the content was true or biased. I have always said to take feedback by looking at what is said than who it comes from (dosnt matter if it is from a CEO or a chaprasi). But many times, you need to see who is telling it to understand the emotions and intention behind it to get the whole picture. The authorities had sidelined the source and went on a witch hunt to take down the ones mentioned in the letter and fire many teachers and make huge changes in the system.

There is one incident when both Brian and Hamza go to interview someone and were threatened to call the police on them. Brian did not understand as they were not doing anything wrong and why someone had criminalized them without even listening to them. Hamza jokingly said 'welcome to my world. Being Muslims, we are criminalized irrespective of who we are and what we think'. The initial reaction 'they could have done it' which is so unfair. Imagine living a life where many already have such bad notions about you.

Almost everyone knew the letter was a hoax but they did not care much and went ahead with the content. So much so, it became a huge issue in the parliament and everyone jumped in to make it as political as possible. Not once did they think of the people it might impact and fuel the huge problem of phobia. It went on to be a total bashing and many people got fired and impacted for life. Being considerate is very important. especially when they are already being beaten up for someone else's fault.

There was no conclusion on who wrote the letter and the consequences. But it did give a good idea of who actually gained from the letter. It helped cover up a different fraud situation in one of the schools. What seemed like a get-out-of-issue letter ended up creating such a major problem for a country. I don't think they realized it could have made such a big problem, if known, they might have written it in the first place. Small things have big impact in the wrong hands.

The biggest thing that came out of the series is how difficult being a journalist is. Hamza was so passionate about the story and is personally involved given he is from the same community. He gets carried away and writes letters requesting info with personal thoughts and it end ups killing a few strong witness prospects. A true journalist asks for right questions and reviews all options without judging. It is very difficult to leave your personal opinion aside and actually work on all possible options. You just can't pass judgment and leave it to the readers to arrive at their conclusion. Even when you know what is right, you have to be open to other perspectives. And most times it does not end as you expect, you have to accept the fact and carry on. In this case, they could not find the details with facts and bring the culprit to justice. It was left with the hope of changing people's perspectives.

Thinking about it, it is true for everyone isn't it? Leave your ideologies out and look at the facts. The whole thing about 'I know' has to change just to look at other possibilities. There are loads of things that have made us think the way we do and is not easy to leave our opinions out. So much so that we cling on to your opinions in this ever-changing world. A close friend once said 'The world has been too absolute. People pride themselves in holding strong opinions, we should pride ourselves when we change our mind about something we care about'. A lot to ponder over!!!

The less rigid your personality, the more powerful your presence - Sadhguru

Ab(e)le

There are a few stories that are not just for entertainment but also for some soul cleansing and thinking too. I have always believed that the funniest people or stories are the most emotional and come with great learning. I have been watching one such coming-of-age series called Mrs. Maisel. For anyone who does not know who it is, please spend 1000 bucks to get amazon prime and watch it. Trust me, you will not regret it.

The first thing you notice about Mrs. Maisel is her sense of humor, calm nature and obviously her looks, the 1st episode does a lot of justice to it :D But I am not going to talk about her today. I have always been a fan of transformation which shows progress and a way forward or someone quirky who stands out in the crowd. Let it be Tyrion Lannister who went from a drunk whore mongering piece of useless shit to one of the most trustworthy emotional strategic thinkers in GOT. Or it could be Phoebe, who was as quirky as it gets with her stories, songs, ways of thinking/running/living, philosophies, etc, she has inspired an entire generation to embrace themself and enjoy life.

So I am starting this series writeup with Abe, Mrs. Maisel's father, a very strange choice. When I started watching, he was the one I just did not like. He was too stuck in his ways of living from what he eats, to what he reads to the way he talks to people. Imagine a Math lecturer who has his own ways of working, is quirky, strict (biased toward a few students and treats others like shit), and easily irritable prick. A total MSP who wanted his daughter to wear good clothes/makeup to impress the son-in-law who has left her for his secretary. Instead of being angry and supporting his daughter, he tries to work with her father-in-law to fund a house for his useless SIL to return. He was so insensitive to his family, he refused to get an additional TV for the kids as he is not a 2 TV kinda guy (I don't even know what that means). He would fight with many and be a pain for those who work for him.

One of his worse traits was to take people around him for granted. Rose (his wife) has dedicated her life to taking care of the kids and her hubby. No one actually cared for her thoughts and was taken for granted. She is heartbroken when she gets to know that her daughter Midge did not agree to get back to her husband and did not discuss it with Rose. she decided to leave for Paris as she is no longer required. I think Abe had a selective hearing or ignored her completely. So much so, that when Rose says "no one cares for me and I am not needed so I'm booking a ticket to Paris, I have made lamb for dinner", all he heard was the lamb and said 'Lamb is fine!!!'.

When he found out that his wife had left him, he was furious and kind of blames her for it. And when he hears that his maid, Zelda knew about it, he questions her loyalty. "Zelda, we should have a talk about your loyalty, you should be loyal to who signs the cheques than whom you actually like, that is how American loyalty works". It shows how insensitive he could be of a situation.

Abe and Midge travel to Paris to get Rose back. As usual, Abe is a prick who is irritated with the dirty room or does not know French, etc. He would just not understand his wife wanting to live life the way she wants and live in the moment. One of the best lines Rose says is "Stay in the moment, you are in Paris, look around and take it in. Stay in the moment" which resonated with how frustrated she was and wanted to make up for the lost time. 

One of the best scenes: Midge to mom - I have missed you, mama. Rose replies: I missed me too :D

Abe is adamant to stay in Paris until he convinces Rose to return. I was kinda surprised and thought he will make her life miserable. But to my surprise, he completely embraces living in Paris. It is one of the best transformations I have seen in recent TV/movies. He mingles with locals without knowing a word of what they talk about, visits art museums, shows interest in Rose's art classes, wears a hat and a scarf to look completely local, and spends time with Rose with great love. It was kinda strange to see him like that but it was all genuine, not once did I feel he was faking it.

So much so that they end up dancing on the river bank with 'Wonderful world' playing in the background, how crazy is that:)))) There is true love between them and Abe expresses it beautifully. And since then, he is super sensitive about her. The way he convinces her that Pris is not their home and gets her back to NY is awesome, it was not forced at all. He goes above his capability to enroll Rose in art classes at his university and when she screws up with a few students, he has her back without being annoyed. He also signs up for dance lessons as they were not good at dancing on the river bank :D. He was genuinely a changed man and the change was so beautiful.

And then when he returns, he is shocked to see his kids doing different things and were not open to him about it. He doesn't know how to react to his daughter going after the family in a standup gig, absolutely hilarious shit. He is bitter and hurt (almost childish about it) which shows he could be an emotional person also. The best was when he sees Midge on TV and has a smile on his face, It says he is turning it around for the kids also :)

This makes me think there is never too late to change and start living in the moment. If Abe was able to do it, anyone can. You just need to be sensitive to your surroundings, care for your loved ones, genuinely try to be there for them and prioritize yourself also. Of all the characters, I would not have picked up Abe for this but his transformation made him stand out. He still is irritable, quirky, and annoyed, but when the time came, he showed he cared and can be a loving person. What else do you need from a man!!!

PS: there are so many characters and relationships that are worth talking about in this series. I will definitely write as I explore them more.

And I spoke too early. I did not know he had a rebel past and his stint to get back to that by quitting his job :D I am going to add it here as it progresses.

Piece of Shit!!!!

 Yes, I want to talk about shit/poop, the actual one and not something I am comparing to. Yes, I want to talk about bowel movements and if you are disgusted then do not read ahead :))

For the last 3 weeks, I am vegetarian (or Eggetarian if there is something like that) thanks to the holy month of Shravana. Not that I am overly religious about it but have multiple reasons to turn veggie. Firstly meat is not prepared at home as mom wants to keep it away which means I will have to eat outside which is not great. My meat intake has gone through the roof in recent years to almost half of my weekly meals having non veg. Thanks to this my veggie intake have reduced drastically. So this is like a detox break of a month every year. And there are so many festivals, I end up not eating for most days anyways.

Now, you may ask how is it related to bowel movement (If you are still reading it :D). Thanks to being vegetarian my veggie and fruit intake is great. Like yesterday I had musk melon, papaya, guava, pineapple and apple on the same day along with sprouts with palak and nuggekai soppu (moringa which is like a superfood nowadays), curd rice, chapathi with moong, etc. I mean, this is like a pro athlete diet :) This has made my digestive system light and improved my bowel movement a lot. For someone who has struggled with digestion and burping issues for a long time, it is a huge relief. How has this helped me and what should you get out of this??

It has become so good and consistent (I am not talking about texture here :D) that it is my inside alaram. I have to get to the bathroom at 5.45am daily. The best part is that no matter what, I can't snooze it which means I am forced to get out of bed at 5.45am :)) Can you think of a better alarm, nope? And once I am out of bed, the morning plans work out well. Today I was up by 5.45 am, freshen up and was at the baddy court at 6.10, played till 7 and got home and ready by 7.15, had breakfast and dropped kid at school by 7.30, visited a friend on my way to the office at 8 to drop the bike and reached office at 8.25 am. Tell me who can manage this kinda schedule with ease, yes I am superman :D And out of bed at 5.45 am has become the norm for every day, including weekends. Days when I don't play baddy, I cuddle up or lie on the yoga mat pretending to stretch. Both are great TBH :)

I have been reading atomic habits which talks about having cues to make things a habit. Bowel movement is the best cue I have had for my morning plan. I wish I can have a few more like this for the rest of the day to make more rituals without thinking :D

So, please work on your piece of shit, it is worth it!!!

Lucky Shirt!

 This has been long coming, probably I was waiting for my lucky shirt to be washed but I am hanging on to it for longer :D 

Since I remember, I have always found some material lucky for me. I think it started with my Grandad's hero fountain pen. I used to love it but did not manage to use it for long (Ballpens were easy to maintain and use). I did hold on to it for long. 

Then PU college happened which was like a turning point for most of us. I don't know how I got my parker pen, but boy I loved it. So much so, that I wrote every note with it. It was my fav pen ever and I have written every exam from PU to Be using that. Trust me it was not practical to use it as I used to run out of ink in the middle of a test and I had to replace the cartridge. I still have it and relish it for memories. 

Until this, I did not have any inclination toward clothes. Mainly because I could not fit into any ready-made stuff and was holding on to the tailor-made simple shit. My first jean which was a 26-inch waist was when I joined engineering. It was very special as I bought it using the money I saved thanks to the government college fee. Along with it came a bata chappal with a back belt. That was actually when I went ape shit on this luck thing. I loved them so much that I made sure I preserved for all my exams for 4 yrs. It was almost into 2 pieces but managed to keep it going. I actually gave my interview for Oracle in those chappals (I actually did) and got through it. 

Since then I have had multiple things that I thought were lucky.

-The black sweatshirt with an eagle print was gifted to me by my best friend at work. I still have it even though I have not used it in 12 yrs. 

-The black jean jacket which I and my chaddi dost bought as a pair is still running well. So much so that I wore it over the weekend :)

-The brown Clarks shoes that I used for 8 yrs in UK. They were so comfy I used them for all my client travel. 

-the striped tee that I wore almost every day to the hospital when dad was unwell. It became my hospital shirt and I wore it for major decision days. It did wonders and dad came home after 60 days of ICU stay :)

-The UCB jeans which I have abused so much thanks to the comfy and the look.

My collection of sweatshirts that I used during cold winters in Liverpool. Thanks to my dry skin, I could not use artificial heating and the shirts were the savior. I had such a hard time giving them away when I was moving to Bangalore. This is after I had used them like mad for 6 yrs :)

-The maroon shirt reminds me of the best time spent with friends and is super lucky :)

-The pink sweatshirt that turned out to be super lucky multiple times, from cold nights in UK to morning chill in Bangalore, has kept me warm and made me feel loved. 

-The luck black suit that I used for major events (now also, even if the style is outdated). I recently wore it to Great Place to Work awards and look at the results (rank 1 in mid-size companies in India). You can argue that the survey was submitted months before and the ranking had nothing to do with the suit but I beg to differ :)

-the cross fountain pen I use for all signatures

-the flat wallet which is an all-time favorite, I'm not going back to the old-styled ones any soon :)

The list is endless, no wonder I hold on to them for long. Not changing sizes (what a showoff :D) has given me a reason to keep them even though I know the style is changed and will not wear them. I also end up wearing them multiple times which is how clothes have to be used. I don't get the point in wearing them just once as it is uncool to repeat them, how stupid is that!

Thinking about it now, probably they were comfortable and felt so good that it made me relaxed. That helped me become well-behaved/energetic or whatever worked out in my favor making them lucky. Or it made me look good which is not very difficult (you know me, cocky)!! Or it was a special day that made me cling to things. Or I was in a situation which went my way and the clothes became special. 

It might seem to be stupid and people might think it is bullshit. TBH, it is, as nothing might have changed if I wore something else.

You can call it being materialistic which is OK as it makes me feel good about myself. Whatever it is, it reminds me of good times with lovely people, and has helped me get through situations and feel special. If that is not luck, I don't know what is!!!

One moment!!

I was all set for a long drive to Coonoor with family for my cousin's housewarming ceremony. Thanks to the weekend traffic and the coordination between multiple people, it ended up being a tiring journey. The biggest saving grace was the fun conversations with cousins. We reached around 4 in the evening, kinda tired but the place just lifted me up. The scenery was heavenly and the clouds made it unreal. I had never seen a cloud being sucked up from above.

The evening that followed was awesome. Surprise from by best cousin was so overwhelming, I gave her a big hug and almost squeezed the life out of her kids. They are so cute and cuddly. The drinks were flowing thanks to the world's best bartender (aka me) who likes making people drunk 😆 The rain was lashing down making it slushy and cold. It just didn't matter as we were having a great time talking and laughing. Once the rain stopped and all had reached a good high, a pianist opens up the floor for some karaoke. And man that was crazy. Most of us besuras managed to entertain the lot with old Hindi songs. It was so much fun to remember the lyrics we cousins wrote down in the 90's listening to radio channels (those were the days of no internet but we found what we wanted by working together). I don't even remember eating anything, such was the atmosphere. Sitting around the fireplace with my cousins brought back old memories.

Thanks to my newfound routine of waking up early, I managed to get out for a walk (thanks for the encouragement). I wandered around the narrow lane which heads to the dolphin's nose viewpoint and walked for 3-4 kms between tea estates and houses with good gardens. The whole place felt great. When it was time, we got ready for the pooja. The typical Tamil breakfast of Pongal, masala idly, appam, etc was brilliant. The conversations from the previous night continued. After the pooja and lunch, I had my plans to drive. I got the keys to a stunning Harley and wanted to take it for a ride to a nearby dam. Unfortunately, the bike had other plans and stayed put without starting. With a heavy heart, I got back to the room to rest and get ready for the evening cocktail party. My spirit was high and had no signs of sleep, so I got out on the same lane for a walk which was so pleasant. The evening party was much soberer as most of them were recovering from the previous night's craziness. The accordion player was special and managed to play some old hindi/kannada/tamil classics. We wound up around 11 and headed back to the hotel.

I was dreading the next day but man it was worse than what I was expecting. 11 hrs of travel, cranky tired people, bad traffic, cramped in the last seat with people nauseating, and trying to catch sleep wasn't easy. The saving grace was singing in the car to avoid nausea. Lunch was mediocre and my appetite was lost by the time I got home. 

But one moment made the entire day and the trip worth it. I'm glad I walked to my cousin's house before leaving for Bangalore and meeting the family and also having a moment for myself. It was a good 4 km uphill hike on a well-maintained road that gives you great mountain views. The weather, the feel, the scenery, the conversation, the silence, everything was just perfect. That one moment when I sat on a rock staring at perfect tea mountains in the silence changed everything. Just felt special, like nature wanted me to feel that I guess, and keep it for the rest of my life.

All you need is one moment to make up for the whole day or even a lifetime. Glad I had one such incredible moment. Looking forward to many more that will make every day worth living!!!