The Sunday

'TGI Friday!' Nothing captures what Friday signifies better than this American restaurant chain's iconic name. Don't we all love Fridays! I just feel it in the air. A spring in my step, a song on my lips, wishing everyday would be a Friday.

Why do we all love weekends so much? Some of the reasons are obvious. It means we don't have to go to work. Kids don't have to go to school. We get to wake up a little later than usual. Sack on the sofa and watch 'Madagascar' for the 1000th time (not that I'm complaining ;)). And all this comprise the sexy part of the weekend! The rest of the time is pretty mundane.

Still, weekend is a weekend. I often wonder, what do the highly accomplished people of the world do over weekends? How exciting can a weekend get? Do they go to a long-winding spa sessions to rejuvenate their mind and body? Do they golf with some hi-profile company? Or do they also sack and Netflix for the most part? I always end up feeling I wasted the weekend doing nothing useful. Thank you, hustle culture! 

For me, an average person, weekends mean a logical break. A chance to start afresh - I will start my diet from Monday, I will start exercises from Monday, I will create a new to-do list blah blah. It's almost like a mini new year resolution list (which we never keep anyway :D). So this said, it does mean hope and positivity. 

With all this bounce, the weekend progresses. My mood is at its best on Friday and Saturday. Then comes Sunday. The bounce has reduced, my mood is a little grumpier and the sunshine has lost its sheen somewhat. The evening on Sundays is seriously the worst time of the week. The weekend's getting over. I need to return to working the next morning. Throw in the domestic chores too.

But Eureka! Sunday evenings don't have to be this way.  I found a way to address this and it's worked for me. All I do is spend about 15 minutes on Sunday evening with my laptop, figuring out what I will be doing the next couple of days. I also plan out what I will be cooking on each day of the coming week. It immediately calms my mind and makes me feel back in control. This is an investment that helps me enjoy what's left of the weekend. It creates a space in my mind which was earlier filled with unfounded worries and loads of weight. Hey, I knew this already, you say? Good for you! It was still Eureka for me.

So, let make this small investment of 15 minutes to make Sunday part of the weekend again!

Clutter free zone

Maybe Gandhiji is to blame for all the clutter of this world. Gandhiji was a staunch believer in reducing waste. He believed that one needs to preserve every little resource one has, lest it becomes useful some day. This seems to have seriously influenced whole generations of people in India. Anything and everything needs to be preserved, started from the plastic carry bag to the pen that no longer writes.

Over a period of time, the house accumulates so many things, and along with them, a who lot of sentiments and memories. Am I the unsentimental type? Not at all. I am totally emotional. I see my daughter's first day on her bicycle when I see that tiny red shorts she wore that day. Yes, I still have them :) Or that first key chain I used with my first car's key. Yes, I still have that too :) Oh so special. I don't think I would ever be able to let go of things like this. They transport me to memories that are so fresh and strong.

So is that clutter too? Not in a million years. Those are treasures. So my rule of thumb to make sure I don't accumulate clutter is this. Keep those things that make me feel special and don't come by everyday, and get rid of things that I can get a dozen of for a dime.

I use the same yardstick to clear the clutter in my head as well. There's so much clutter all of us carry in our heads, which is far more harmful. Harboring them takes up all the energy, consciousness and vigor. We need to learn to keep the sweet memories, useful streams of thoughts and some important facts stored safely in our head. The negatives, the stuff we can pick up so easily from so many stimuli around us, like jealousies, insecurities, anger, hurt and the rest of the heavyweight junk in our head, we need to be as fast as a bullet in getting rid of those.

This does call for some practice and conscious conditioning to start with. But once we get the hang of it, it becomes second nature. This is true liberation!

A clear head and a clean home. OMG. Just saying that puts me at complete peace. :)

Om Shanti Om.

'Thirupachi' therapy to beat the sunday evening blues

Sunday evenings are always dreary. They stand for the impending end of the weekend. The end of relaxation. The start of a hectic mechanical week ahead. But every once in a while, there comes a small something to brighten up Sunday evenings. Today, I was fortunate to get one of those super treats - Thirupachi, the superhit comedy…er…. action movie of our own tamil superhero Vijay on television.

I should give it to the makers of this movie. They have completely understood the seriousness of the 'Sunday evening blues' syndrome! They have given a movie that makes you laugh – laugh at serious scenes, action scenes, ‘love’ scenes, bloody scenes (no pun intended). The villains make you wonder why they are not comedians. Picture this! Pattasu Balu, Panparak Ravi, Saniyan Sagada… These are top-class brand names that marketing gurus would die to come up with. So while you are enjoying the villains and their names, along comes our superhero Vijay with his breath-taking dialogue delivery and crackling-knuckles-style-machoism and a brain to match his crackling knuckles. The spirit in my house instantly lifted to one of merriment.

What a superhero!! What a movie!! And what fun!! ‘Thirupachi’ therapy works like a dream!

And as the adage goes, all is well that ends well! And so with the movie and my Sunday.

Did someone here say sunday evening blues? Nope. Not me :P

The vanishing point

Almost everyday, there's a major hiccup in our morning routine. While most part of the routine goes off smoothly, like a well-oiled machine, there comes a point, when the girls are ready to be taken to school. They are thinking about myriad things - the books they need to carry, the snacks, lunch, the tests that day, even shoelaces. What just does not seem to get into their scheme of things is, well, the point. Literally. The point.. on the forehead.. the Bindi. Yep. Their father starts by throwing a gentle reminder asking them to go and wear the bindi. And, more often than not, it falls on deaf ears. Then there comes a second reminder, and a third. And then, all hell breaks loose! Now comes the tough part. I need to take sides knowing very well this is going to make or break the morning :)

So here's the point! What's with the bindi that makes it such an important aspect of a woman's, or girl's life in India. Is it religion? Tradition? Aesthetics? Or all of the above?

For the girls, it is a decorative element for the face. Just like the earring or eyeliner. Nothing more. So, as typical kids of this day and age, they give it a miss. Girls tend to look at these with the least bit of emotion - 'if it goes with the rest of the attire, I'll wear it. Else I skip it.' Is it fair to impose old-world thinking on these little girls who are exposed to a whole world of rational thinkers and minimalism?

We are living in a transition stage. We are moving from a traditional to a modern world. We are half-way there. Unable to let go of traditional practices and unable to follow them completely. How do we deal with this transition? We definitely have the responsibility of ensuring that our traditions are upheld. But we need to allow our kids to embrace the future. Quite a balancing act!

I have come to realize that the only way we can get the kids to do something is by free will. They need to love doing it. Gone are the days of fear and hypocrisy. Kids are more straightforward than our generation ever was. We as adults, need to understand that meek obedience is not respect. Respect is in looking up to elders and cherishing their affection, achievements and wisdom. Smothering their independent thinking and insisting on blind obedience may work for us, but definitely not for them. They need to be encouraged to think on their own and express their individuality without fear. We need to listen, respect and debate, rather than impose.

While the bindi may be a small case in point, it throws light on much larger generational tussle. Let's resolve this, not by coersion. But by making the kids love tradition and the fun aspects of it. They will love it and embrace it. And guess what. There's a lot to love in our tradition. So go ahead and find them and have fun propagating them. Yo! B-)

I'm getting late and got to run now. Wondering whose side I took today? Guess! :)

Tech blitzkrieg!

The gleaming black crow perches itself on my kitchen window sill waiting for its morning feed of whatever I have to offer – boondhi, rice, veggies – anything to satisfy its hunger. What started off as a one off cawing that I wanted to get rid of with some goodies, has become a routine. How long has it taken for the crow to learn and understand that my window sill is its breakfast table? Barely about three to four days.

Have crows always been this smart? Can conditioning bear fruit so quickly? As a student of psychology, I was given to understand that the legendary pavlovian dog learnt, with conditioning, reinforcement and more stimuli. But this crow has definitely outperformed the dog.

Moving away from crows, to our own species, how long do you think we, humans, are taking to learn something? Has the learning curve shortened? Are people grasping things faster? Do you think your children are smarter than you? Do you think they are able to assimilate things faster and earlier than you did?

Now! What do we attribute this faster learning to? Exposure? Better teaching methods? Or just plain smarter kids? I would definitely put my two cents on the last option. I think humans are evolving, and how! Where are we going with this evolution? Monkeys-to-humans is one thing, but humans-to-super humans? Is this good for us as a race? Maybe it is. But I am sure at least a half of the world’s population yearns to have simpler, uncluttered lives, moving back to the basics, where you can have real relationships untouched by gadgetry. Technology is good, definitely yes. But do you want to live with a profusion of it? I cringe to think of a life where I can’t take a quiet walk to the beach and buy cotton candy from the stall; Switch on my stove for my morning coffee or read news from the crisp morning newspaper.

Evolution is inevitable for sure. It’s truly amazing to see how smart kids are. My heart does swell with pride at my little girls being way smarter than me. But I just wish the world remembers to slow down now and then and remind itself of the wonders and charms of the simple life.

Now I got to rush to my social media feeds. Hail technology! ;)