When I think about something which I can never get bored of, the first thing comes to my mind is food! Food is magic, its delicious, goes into your body and makes you do everything you do in your life! Sometimes, I follow Joseph Campbell’s “Follow your bliss” therapy, that is when you are sad or depressed think about the day when you were happy, just calm, composed and happy! When I have to recall such a day, till date the only day comes to my mind, the day I volunteered to cook for 40 meditators for a week! Recently I discovered Mr.Sanjay Thumma also known as vahchef, with his online website, videos he shares lots of recopies online, believe me he is not just any other chef , when you see his videos you can see how passionate he is about cooking (I get tears in my eyes seeing him cooking), I guess he also loves food and cooking as much as I do..Hmm! may be more! Long live Food! Cooking! and Vah-chef!
As Uma is writing..and writing...trying to get her ‘precious’ thesis! Often she and her loneliness have some conversations like this!
Uma+ : We wants it, we needs it. Must have the precious.
Uma-: No. No..you can’t have it!
Uma+: Yes, precious, I will have it! Everybody tells us! We can have it.
Uma-: You don't have any friends; nobody likes you! No one will help you for your precious!
Uma+: I'm not listening... I'm not listening...
Uma-: You're very bad in writing! Fit for nothing!.
Uma+: No!
Uma-: *Stupid*.
Uma+: Go away!
Uma-: "Go away?"
[Uma- laughs as Uma+ begins crying]
Uma+: I hate you, I hate you.
Uma-: Where would you be without me, Uma-, Uma-? I saved us! It was me! We survived because of me!
Uma+: [stops crying] Not anymore.
Uma-: What did you say?
Uma+: I can manage! I am not stupid! I looks after us now. We don't need you anymore.
Uma-: What?
Uma+: Leave now, and never come back!
Uma-: No!
Uma+: Leave now, and never come back!
[Uma- screams in frustration]
Uma+: LEAVE! NOW! AND NEVER COME BACK!
[Uma- is silent]
Uma+: [looks around] We told her to go away... and away she goes, Precious! Gone, gone, gone! Uma+ is free!
If u were familiar with this sort of conversation, it may be because of this (check out the video!) now Uma knows why we love so much the character Gollum! We connect so well! The best friend and worst enemy of anyone is oneself ....Uma thinks so!
“It’s written in your head” ! That’s the translation of a Tamil phrase which is very commonly used in the place where I was born! Especially when you are going through a hard time and hoping that it’s a blessing in disguise, people always say this to keep us afloat! How easy or difficult is it to convey this Indian philosophy to people, to this new generation who believe more in free will than destiny! Danny boyle beautifully explained this strong belief of Indians (at least for one from the old school) through his movie Slumdog millionaire! Every hardship faced by the protagonist in the movie was just taking him one step closer to be a millionaire! What a beautiful screenplay! Me, as someone caught between East and West often wonder if my life is built by my free will or destiny, so far the pointer is still closer towards..... “May be it’s written”! Oops! May be my life is written, but I wish I can say the same about my thesis very soon!
After Christmas holidays, I am back to school! Almost during the complete holiday, I was having a nocturnal life like an Owl. Nice to get back to the human cycle! This break also made me realize two major things. Number one, how much I missed people, it was nice to meet and greet people, to hear their exciting stories about the holiday. Two, I feel I am also ready to break my umbilical cord with Paris. I never thought I will be so attached to Paris. Paris no doubt one of it’s kind in the world, but I did miss certain things here, like walk in the woods, sunny weather and a place to sit and stare at the horizon ( there is no place inside Paris where you see the horizon) . I will miss Paris more for the amazing people who walked into my life in Paris, a very unique combination of friends, their presence is like food and oxygen for my life. But now it’s time for this kid to break that umbilical cord, this vacation time made me realize that I am sort of ready for that, after all you cannot spend your complete life in Paris’s womb right?
PS: I am very grateful for the positive responses I get for my blog. It is very encouraging. No doubt, this blog has become a part of my life and routine. Having said that, I also like to keep the blog discussions restricted only to my blog, through the blog comments. Thanks again!
This is how I am starting my new year! Me, with my blog! Wishing everyone a very wonderful new year! I will recover soon from my flu to tell you more stories here! Sorry if I have been rude with people, I know there is a list of people who have been hurt by my blog during last years!
We are all conditioned by the society, religion , culture and even by science which is programming us to think in a conditioned way and defining ‘rights’ and ‘wrong’ and living with conflicts with ourselves and with others! I am sure the conflicts I had last years was because of these conditioned thoughts, the conditioned thoughts of mine, my family and friends and the people around me added some conflicts which were even reflected in my blog! I like to start this New Year with my favourite philosopher’s(J Krishnamurti) thoughts! He kept me good company during my sick days!
I was listening to this thought provoking conversation between Krishnamurti & David Bohm about The Future of Humanity! It’s a long playlist! Need time and patience to watch this! If not now, I hope someday in this New Year you may have sometime to listen to these two great minds! Until then here is the summary!
“Amidst so much confusion and sorrow it is essential to find creative understanding of ourselves, for without it no relationship is possible. Only through right thinking can there be understanding. Neither leaders nor a new set of values nor a blueprint can bring about this creative understanding; only through our own right effort can there be right understanding.
How is it possible then to find this essential understanding? From where shall we start to discover what is real, what is true, in all this conflagration, confusion, and misery? Is it not important to find out for ourselves how to think rightly about war and peace, about economic and social conditions, about our relationship to our fellow men? Surely there is a difference between right thinking and right or conditioned thought. We may be able to produce in ourselves imitatively right thought, but such thought is not right thinking. Right or conditioned thought is uncreative. But when we know how to think rightly for ourselves, which is to be living, dynamic, then it is possible to bring about a new and happier culture.” -JK
