Cheer-me-up manifesto

I’m feeling so bored and low… it’s a feeling that has been settling down upon me slowly the past coupla days. There’s no particular reason that I can nail down as the cause, but nothing’s been happening to cheer me up either.

So I decided to try and check if I can cheer myself up. I thought, lemme think and write about the stuff which I know will brighten my mood.
And so I made a list, which reads something like this –

What do I like doing best?

# Hanging out in Malleshwaram – shopping alone – window or otherwise/ going hand in hand listening to a chattering sis/ chatting up at Asha sweets with Anupama over cutlet and coffee

# Eating pani puri at the Iyengar bakery, nearer home

# lounging at home the whole day just reading my favourite book and doing nothing else

# watching a TV show – Indian Idol/ Saregama/ any other musical show and talking non-stop with my sis, offering an opinion on anything and everything

# pestering mom to make us coffee, atleast 3-4 times a day on Sundays/ holidays

# getting together with Sharada and Shilpa for a round of gup-shup at either of our homes

# sleeping soundly after a nice lunch on late Sunday afternoon and waking up to a hot cup of mummy-made tea

# listening to the golden oldies played on radio city 91.1 FM on the weekend afternoons

# watching a Hrishikesh Mukerjee movie with dad – Chupke Chupke, Anand, Bawarchi, Abhiman, Golmaal – to name a few

# catching up with old friends at Coffee Day/ Barista

# eating pani puri with hubby dear at Gandhibazar or Banashankari BDA complex or nearer home… or just about anywhere on earth! 😀

# just going around the streets of Bangalore riding pillion with hubby on his bike

# buying vegetables at the NR colony market with hubby

# going to the malls/ catching up on a movie with hubby

# talking nineteen to the dozen and nagging hubby to respond as he tries to drive the car on the crowded streets 😀

# singing for myself

# singing for people who haven’t heard me before and are pleasantly (only! :)) surprised/ shocked

# shopping for self/ someone dear to me

# watching ‘ede tumbi haaDuvenu’ with hubby and mil on Sunday nights

# listening to my favourite songs – anywhere – at a live recital/ on the radio/ on a TV programme/ in a movie/ on the comp

# spending an entire holiday outdoors with hubby doing chores/ visiting relatives/ buying stuff, ending with us gorging on all the assorted stuff at the VV Puram roadside eateries

# drinking a hot cup of good filter coffee – again, could be anywhere!

Well, that’s quite a list … hmm…yeah it has made me feel a little better, but now I’m getting all nostalgic and wanna get back to doing all of these again! 😦
At least lemme make a beginning – get some coffee, I know it won’t be like the filter coffee back home, not even a remote chance of that! but still, anything to drive away the gloom! :p

I-Day post

Today is Independence Day – the day India became free from the clutches of foreign rule, 60 years ago. 60 years – a long time indeed. Probably there are very few people who actually witnessed the historic event and were a part of it all. They and the families of those who were in the thick of action at the time, be it the trauma of partition or the freedom struggle itself, will be truly able to feel the real significance of this day. Not meaning to undermine anybody’s patriotic fervor, I don’t think the rest of us can feel about it the very same way as they do.

Every year when this day comes around, people accuse the younger generation of not valuing the true meaning of this important day. People just consider it as another holiday and go about their tasks – planning an outing or catching up on a movie. I agree this is true in many instances, but then I wonder what would be the right thing to do to celebrate this day.
Is it enough if we attend a flag hoisting function, sing a few patriotic songs and distribute sweets, like it is done in most Government offices? Will we be true to the Independence Day spirit then? Or should we diligently watch the I-day parade and the President’s speech, held at the Red Fort, early in the morning on our television sets? Would that mean we are contributing to the celebration?

I, for one, don’t think so. I think this is a marked day, for all of us to remember and realize the struggle that our country men and women had to endure to get us the rights and privileges we enjoy today. It is a moment for us to stop and think back on the sacrifices they had made then, so that the future generations can see and be a part of a free nation. It is a time for reminiscence and to pay a thoughtful tribute to all such people who laid down their lives for the country.

It is also important for us to realize what freedom means and what it would have meant if we were still ruled by someone else. We have to question ourselves if we are making the right use of this freedom and think on how we can contribute our bit.
Instead of always complaining about anything and everything being bad, we can think on what we can do to improve it. We have to ponder on how each one of us can make the country better, by doing the small things right – keep our surroundings clean, uphold right behaviour in our dealings with people, be honest and true to ourselves and our work – this could just be the beginning.
Some of us might go a step further – contribute to the society, help the needy, participate in voluntary activities to make life better for others who are in need of help… definitely noble and deserves kudos. Any which way, I believe we can make a difference, though the magnitude of our contribution might be small.

So people, no matter how you choose to spend this day, do spare a thought and pay a tribute to the people who are in some ways responsible for the kind of life you’re leading! Happy Independence Day to all of you! Jai Hind!

Food – leftovers for one… meal for another?

I dislike wasting/ throwing away food in any form, more so when prepared at home. I feel we are wasting the money spent for the ingredients used, time used to buy them/ make the dish, the efforts involved in preparing it and most importantly I feel we’re depriving someone else a meal by throwing it away. I don’t know how extreme this behaviour might be considered, but I strongly feel that way.

Though this feeling – that wasting food is wrong, was always there within me somewhere, it had not come to the fore as it has now, when I am staying here on my own. My mom always used to insist that I and my sister should not waste anything. Even if there were some leftovers we would re-heat and eat it, as long as it was not stale, or it would be given to the maid or somebody else in need of it. At that time, though we did follow it, we would complain sometimes. But now I realize exactly how she felt and why she said so.

In the past months, I have had to encounter people who have no such qualms. They have no second thoughts when they have to throw away food – whether home-made or from the hotel doesn’t seem to matter to them. I have a terrible time bearing such behaviour and it upsets me badly 😦
My thoughts are simple – if you don’t like eating some vegetables or dish, don’t buy them/ just prepare as much as you want. I know that it is always not possible to prepare the exact quantity and there are unforeseen circumstances which might come up due to which the food can’t be finished, in that case see if it can be eaten for the next meal, by keeping in the fridge or can be given to a needy person. Please, do make an effort and don’t just take the convenient escape route of dumping it in the bin!

I guess it has to do with the manner in which one is brought up and the values one is taught, as one grows, realizes and gains understanding of the ways of the world. I am thankful that my parents taught me this important lesson that one should be grateful for every morsel one gets to eat, there are thousands who’re deprived of even that. I just hope that others too realize this, even if nobody ever told them so… ‘coz its never too late to learn.