Part Of Being Sane Is Being A Little Crazy

For all the intelligent and ignorant people out there, today is Mahasivarathri. To sensible people like you and me it means nothing more than yet another festival for which we get a much needed holiday from the drudgery of work. And seeing as how this made it just in time to make it a glorious weekend, maybe even take a little trip someplace. But to the thousands of religious people in this sleepy little town of Guntur it is apparently a time to crowd into what seems to be the only Siva temple for miles. Mom having persuaded me to come by means of promising to 'make it quick' I followed in the car. The fact that my mom made that promise should have itself made me suspicious. As for trusting a woman to know the meaning of quick, only goes to show what an incurable optimist I am. Or an ass. One of the two. We reached the temple and what a scene! The first day first show of a Rajnikanth release in the nineties could not have been more spectacular. There must have been a l...

"I'm going to the temple tomorrow morning and doing 108 Pradakshinas." Silence greeted this once in a lifetime announcement. And then came the reactions ranging from incredulity to amazement. "Thank God!" breathed my mom, her eyes shining with unshed tears, "At last my daughter sees the light." "Why on earth?!" "What the hell!" exclaimed my uncle who couldn't for the life of him imagine such a scene. "You can't get up that early in the morning, nyah nyah nyah." This from my 7 year old cousin also known locally as a  pest. Hopefully it's just a phase and he'll grow out of it. Given the track records of little brothers however, there isn't much hope. Suffice it to say that my announcement had quite the effect and with good reason. I'm an atheist which means I'm a card carrying member of that tribe so thoroughly despised by religious people - One Who Ask Questions. Though not m...

Money can't buy happiness. If I had a penny for every time I heard that old chestnut, I'd be a millionaire by now. Funny part is that it's usually spouted by people who don't have any. Talk about rationalizing! I guess they need to feel that rich people  have to have some handicap in exchange for all the money they have. All I say is  - it's way more comfortable to cry in a Mercedes than on a bicycle. But lately I've found that it is a truism, albeit in a way I never thought of. Money can buy happiness, but only if you're willing to actually spend it. There isn't a store in this world where you can walk up to the counter to buy joy. But, if at this moment, a particular video game is the key to my happiness, then money can certainly buy that. The only thing to keep in mind is that you have to hand over the moolah to buy it. Once that game/food/whatever is paid for, your stock of money - the key to your future happiness - is reduced by that amount...

I woke up with a start. Finally managing to see the time after several attempts, I practically leap out of bed. Or tried to at any rate. I'm not one of those people who jump out of bed in the morning and sing along with the birds. In that respect I’m more Rachel than Joey. It usually takes me some time to adjust. So the fact that I tried, even just once, must be enough to tell you that it was eight and I was unpardonably late. Making my bed and brushing my teeth took the usual 15 minutes. Most people begin the day by wishing others good morning. My mother, on the other hand, makes a resolution to tell me to do something exactly 30 seconds before I drag myself to do it. It's a gift; one which most mothers seem to have, especially mothers with lazy children like me. As per schedule then, she popped up in the mirror behind me and said, "Drink your lemon juice and wash the glass when you're done." "Already did." Ha! score one for me. ...

The Date – 4/2/2012 Time – 8:30 AM Venue – Front yard (My grandparents’ home in Guntur) Scene – The space usually occupied by a white Skoda was now home to a white cow & a calf. Bovine Rites VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL What were they doing here? They were being given away (donated) by my grandmother. What their feelings were on such a momentous decision I do not know. Why was my grandmother doing this? She just bought a place in heaven for the next 7 generations of this family! (promised by the Brahmin). Don’t follow? Neither can I. The little I know of Hindu philosophy tells me this is not possible for the simple reason that every person’s sins is his/her own little burden (as evidenced by Valmiki himself). It’s also highly improbable given that we don’t e...

Two things I really really hated to hear when I was growing up – ‘You’ll understand when you grow up’ & ‘That’s what you say now, but just wait.’ The first I stopped believing quite a bit before now, seeing as I’m now 25 and still don’t understand things. I don’t get why staying up past 10 is a punishable offence or why I need permission to get my hair styled even though I’m 26 going on 27. I’m as grown up as it is possible to get & no closer to enlightenment. As for seeing things differently when I’m older or in this case when I have my own kids, there’s just one way to find out. One sticking point between my mom and me has been how much control parents should have over the behaviour, thoughts & feelings of their adult offspring. I say none while she says all. Will I be singing the same tune when I’m 50 and my kids 20? How do I find out? Time to put my money where my mouth is & my words on paper aka my blog. Reality Check time. Will an older & wiser me look...

Guess whose birthday it is today? He was a music legend (south of the Vindhyas) and was born long long ago. Still nothing? Today is the birthday of Tyagarajar , one of the greatest composers of Carnatic music along with Muthuswami Dikshitar & Syama Shastry aka the Holy Trinity of South Indian Carnatic music. By a curious coincidence all three were born in Tiruvarur. Wikipedia says he was born on May 4, 1767 but then we all know how accurate that is. Besides, the Indian calendar is based on the moon you know, so we can just about pick any date we want. So today is his birthday. To celebrate, there was to be a procession from our school to the temple and back again (I assume, I don’t know the exact route). After all the confusion that such an occasion entails in my house, we were finally prepared for it. Mom and I left for the school but unfortunately the procession started the moment we reached. There was nothing to do but walk along with them. Then we waited for it for to re...