Of Cabbages and Kings

"Whimsical"

Another wonderful word. A perfectly mature and nuanced word. A word with a fully developed personality. Impossible to define properly without resorting to rambling. ahh... love it.

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I am about to start reading Cabbages and Kings only because I have heard this phrase a lot over the years. So yeah, Brand name awareness is legit!

Also, it is not entirely true. I have loved quite a few works by O Henry. And then to my surprise, he plucked this particular term from a poem (The Walrus and the Carpenter) from Alice through the looking glass. So obviously, I had to read this. Duh..

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The word of the year is Brain Rot. It might as well be the phenomenon of the decade!

A day of jalebis and spicy fries

 I've always enjoyed watching House. Dr. House, an obviously fictional character having no semblance to any real doctors (that I've met so far..) is an astute observer of the human condition. Apart from his many excellent observations, the one that sticks to me is - "people lie". The most frequently that people lie to, is funnily enough, themselves. 

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Very much like food and shelter, and perhaps more important or instinctive than both, loving something and caring for someone is a basic human need. When a subject is not readily available, people create one, conjure one or imagine one. It is very much possible to spend years living in a fantasy world, existing, even thriving perhaps, unbeknownst to the rest of the world. Is it wrong then? Who are we to judge? 

To each, their own.

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I am currently in the middle of "Before we visit the Goddess". Another book by Chitra Bannerjee Divakaruni. It is a bit different from her re-tellings of the mahabharta and ramayana (both of which I really loved..loved..loved). See, I am not familiar with this story. I do not know where it is going. Being led by her, in the dense forest of her own design, is like having a naughty travel companion with you. She like playing tricks on your senses and emotions. I do not trust her but yet cannot bring myself to veer away. I want to get to the edge of the jungle, out in the clearing. This particular book is profoundly and hopelessly sad at times, and hence my rush to finish it. 

I know I am going to be affected for the next few days. 

Bookmark and forget

My one toxic trait(or one of them :| ) is that I have to make a new bookmark every time i start a new book. Or else I cant finish the book. And of course I keep the bookmark when(if) I donate/discard/return the book. I have bookmarks hidden everywhere now.

The currency of true wealth

So last week I attended a traditional tambram wedding. It was quite amazing and endearing to see people trying their best to adhere to their cultures, to continue the traditions of their ancestors with all honesty. 

The food was great, courses of authentic dravidian satvik spreads. 

But the best of all was the people.. The groom was the son of my ex-boss who has retired several years ago. While in service, he had the reputation of being a strict and shrewd taskmaster. Both true :) But those close to him knew that he had a warmth that he usually kept hidden from the crowds, lest he be taken for a softie. Having worked for him for 10 years, we had grown used to his working style. Looking back, I can clearly see that his penchant for doing things right and having a strong image had saved us from unsavory elements countless times. Some worldly people said that he gave up on board level position because of his unbending attitude. Maybe they are right...partially anyway. And not where it matters really. I saw that among the attendees at the wedding were people who had worked with him/under him decades ago. They chose to come from all over the country to share the joyous moment in his life even when he no longer enjoys the power that he once had. Looking at that, I understood that the true currency of wealth is not monetary.. its the goodwill of people we come across in our lives. 

This and That

Diwali mode is full on now. The air has picked up a festive mood, it finally feels like the rainy season is over which I dont mind.

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I am reading "The seven husbands of Evelyn Hugo". The book is alright, not very gripping but an okay read, except for the fact that it seems to be a wannabe Netflix series. I dont know if I am making any sense right now. 

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This weekend was really fun. Its so funny realizing how effortlessly we fall into our college personas.. lol. It is quite refreshing to have such breaks. Touchwood :)

In the lap of nature

I understand why we associate the mountains with the divine. I totally agree too.

I'd rather look at mountains from down below than look down from them. I mean, I like when I am there, but the process of reaching there is...... meh.

Bittersweet

I am now the kacchi poodi whenever I join the boys for badminton. 

They are always quite gracious about it though.

And very cute :)

Beware the jabberwock

I have too many incomplete projects. Even V has given up nudging me to complete them :|

The thing is, I've kind of started the mural in their bedroom. But a half done mural is an eyesore. I am really thankful of the fact that the boys are not mad at me. 

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All geared up for this sunday. yay :)

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On a related note, its really difficult trying to twist my words so that I know what I am writing about without giving too much away!

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What is the evolutionary benefit in having a penchant for the arts? I am not just talking about the ability to create one, but even appreciating art. Because these two features do not necessarily co-exist in an individual. 

Should i ask GPT? or claude? gemini?

A long time ago(well ... about 15 years ago), in the glory days of the internet, there was the jabberwock.(oh.. now i want to read the poem!)  I do not know the tech behind it, but it seemed incredulous at the time. I used to try and see if there really was a person behind it. there were theories, that it makes two people talk to each other and makes them both wonder.. lol..

I once read that because most advances in technology are incremental, they fail to really impress us folks who are now used to new advances every now and then. The example they gave was that if Shakespeare somehow saw a computer screen, he would be impressed by the bright hard paper that lets you write and erase easily. But he wont be shocked, because its still English. 

On the other hand, by a very contradictory chain of thoughts, I believe that many of the tech we have now will fail to impress a person 75 years ago because they do not recognize the need for it.

I need to give it more thought. but running out of time. T needs to be driven to his drum classes. 

Of coffee and meetups

Just like with food, maybe human beings have a not null but finite requirement for social engagements. And just like with food, social activities also come in multiple flavors. Some folks arent so picky, they make do with whatever they've got, wherever they can get it from. Others, who have grown used to abundance of social opportunities, have developed peculiar, refined tastes. And just like food, there can be too much of a good thing. Like the dessert you just dont want to have because you've had your fill with the main course. 

Lol.. am I hungry right now?

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Yesterday, the solutions for wordle and plusword were same - cloud. Now what are the odds for that? 

Bragging Rights Reserved

I was trying to find an image of a wisteria archway on the internet. You know, as a reference for painting something. And I found myself falling down the rabbithole of internet... the happy and glorious kind - people on reddit showing off flowers and their gardens. It is so cute and pure when a person talks excitedly about their hobbies to kind but random strangers. In my opinion, having shared interests bonds people faster than common enemies.

T has been dabbling in growing plants for some time now. His tomatoes have a teeny tiny bud and he is so happy about them.

Slipping memories

When V was younger, I used to drop him at stairs of the pre-school every morning. And every morning, without fail, he used to give me 30 hugs, rights on the stairs. He wasn't even 3 yet, but he would gladly count 30 hugs before going to school. :) For me, it was one of the highlights of the day.

When he was 3, T used to call Amazon as daana-avutta, which was a mispronunciation of "download the voot app". He must have heard that from a television advt.

The way these words have entered our family's vocab and made their homes here: gaana-song, waain, yay, n***gu pants, mittar, doodhu...

The phase when V refused to get any pics clicked and deliberately made a frown face in ALL of them.

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I am really thankful to the person/team at Google Photos who thought of flashing old curated pics to their users. Thank you :)

Also, to the team working on blogspot. Please dont kill this.. ever. I already hate you a bit for google podcasts. 

Bamboo

Our balcony overlooks a small thicket of bamboo. Bamboo leaves tend to make a very distinct rustling sound. You can hear the thin dry-wiry-papery texture of the leaves as they move abound in the slightest of breezes. Each one of them twists around and swings in a distinct rhythm as if performing its own dance. There is no choreography and yet, they paint a pretty picture. I kind of understand why so many painters have been mesmerized by them.

One of  my very early memories is lying down in a cool thick bamboo grove on a very hot summer day back when summer vacations literally meant detox from all things urban. There used to be a very large and thick bamboo grove behind my grandmother's house. At a little distance of course. The bamboo trees were very high, at least 3-4 stories and so thick that even at the very heights of  infamous north-Indian summer, the grove remained cool. I remember the ladies of the house retiring to the grove for the afternoon, chatting and gossiping. Simple pleasures of a simple life!

Of drums and stings

T had his first stage performance yesterday! Opening song :D I was so proud.

The experience of watching good live performances in person, is one of the few joys which I cant fathom getting marred by any advent in technology. In yesterday's lineup, there was a kathak recital, a group of senior dancers. They were all very talented of course and were dancing very elegantly, energetically and in perfect symphony with the rhythm. But one of them was particularly mesmerizing. it was evident that she was enjoying herself tremendously. It was as if her movements were surprising and delighting her too. The audience were captivated! 

I believe our ancestors understood what they now call Stendthal syndrome better than we do now. There is a reason we associate arts with Gods and Goddesses. 

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Last week I was bitten on my arm by a wasp or a hornet, or some other equally horrendous insect. I dont know for sure because by the time I felt the sting, the culprit was gone! We were in a particularly overgrown and thick part of the hill at the time, so looking around wasn't an option. I know its not a bee because I have been bitten by bees before and bee sting is not this painful.

So anyway, the sting was particularly nasty and has tormented me for over a week now. I looked up on the internet to try an find ways to soothe the pain and something very interesting came up. The vast majority of the pics of the hornet/wasp sting were similar.. on their upper arms! Same as my case. Why though? Do these insects confuse human arms with some natural predator and attack? What? I demand research.

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Apparently, this is also the snake season in this part of the world. Last week, two baby cobras were spotted in our community!! 

Travelling through time

I try to familiarize my kids with my childhood book collection every chance I get. T is taking nicely to them, V still has to warm up to my favorites. It is a pleasure to see the books being enjoyed by another generation. It is not easy though. Going through them again made me realize that like most other things in life, most children's literature has become ... simple and straightforward (dim-wit friendly). There is hardly any compulsion for the reader to think. There is a very overt attempt to shield the kids from any negative emotion, turning every plot into a bland dinner, a 2-dimensional mural. 

On another note, just like NatGeo, RD also concluded its publishing. Fall of another giant. Well, a has-been really. RD stopped being great in the early 2000's in my opinion. But still, there were so many memories. The 80's and 90's were golden periods for a lot of artistic endeavors that produced content that could be consumed by the everyday man constructively. 

I got out my old Walter Foster book recently. I have decided to finish a canvas, that had been left unfinished for at least 20 years. Though I haven't actually started working on it again, the process of going through the book took me back a couple of decades ago. So time travel is real. 

I would have answered Aalupur !

The kids love spending time with their grandparents. Understandably so.. :D

So the other day, N and V were playing some sort of atlas game when the following conversation took place:

N: OK, beta tell me the name of a place in India that shares its name with that of a vegetable.

V: (thinks hard for a while then answers with a grin) Tomatopradesh !

What

After a long long period, I have gone back to painting. Not very well, I must add. I've managed to claim a corner of the house all to myself and littered it with oils and colors and brushes.. (I've decided that the family needs to embrace my chaotic side you see.)

So anyhow, I am not very regular with the actual painting part :D..  The one that I am working on right now is a kind of take on Van Gogh's almond blossoms. I absolutely love his eye for color.. (I think Van Gogh is to visual art is gulzar to poetry. Effortlessly flowing and pulling you in with it in a way that you are happy.. almost thankful to drown.)

Yeah so, as I was saying I am not very regular with painting.. So what's happening is I paint a part of the canopy each time I pick up the brush.. And as a result, different parts of the tree (poor tree) are being painted in different styles !!

:D