Precious Pearls

“Finally, I am hitting the landmark with my 100 th post”, I told myself while writing this. And at the same time, I had to remind myself this was post number 99. Yes, numbers don’t count yet it’s a measure that denotes how closer one is to the finishing line. And you know it! The about-to-finish-off stage ligers more than expected. Maybe, when we are just a step away from touching the finish line, we have already exhausted our energy and enthusiasm we had invested to be there. Of course, to me, none of these sorts have happened reaching 100. It wasn’t a target so writing knows no destination (!).  I don’t get along with figures yet 100 is a kind of figure someone would barley miss. So I planned to make it a special one and here was I talking about it just on post number 99. The about-to-finish-off stage appeared more intriguing than touching the finish line itself. There are many things that go while reaching the target. About-to-finish-off greets us with an eclectic fee...

Education helps one learn new things, I always believed. At the same time, I just couldn’t deny the independent existence of learning irrespective of formal and informal education avenues. That’s why we should really appreciate the idea of ‘distance education’ that enables many to learn. Maybe, it is intended for those who have finished education but still want to learn. Nevertheless the idea of ‘distance education student’ may not always be a welcome one in a formal university setup. I had been taking a similar experience for over a year ever since I opted for a yoga course at a varsity near Bengaluru. Yes, there was no discrimination or distinction between regular and distance students per se yet eyebrows were certainly raised the moment one revealed one’s identity as a ‘distance education student’! And what these two separate watertight compartments, regular and distance students, thought of each other was equally interesting. The divisions were clear cut yet the views were s...

The best things in life come free! Expensive, cheaper or free, as long as things are there, we wouldn’t ask for more. Humans are called social animals. Moreover, most of us go a step ahead and get attached to things. Things may come to such a pass that we become a clinging vine, not only to people but also to objects. Why point fingers at others when my own example perfectly puts across the point? The other day, I misplaced my keys. In spite of knowing that producing duplicate keys isn’t impossible, I longed for the original keyset just because I was used to it… And it got me thinking. Maybe, I was one among those living with things. Though looks small, according to me, it was an alarming enough to take a message from. Thankfully, I am taking corrective measures not to reduce myself to a clinging vine and it’s going to be a lifelong effort. Everyone has a favourite chair at a dining table, or a favourite pen, something we cannot do without. A housewife typically has a piece of jewe...

There was a lady who considered herself to be the most unfortunate person. Like most of us, she thought all around her, family members, colleagues, bosses, and maids, all together made her life a living hell.   She happened to meet an Enlightened Man whom she prayed for some happiness and peace. He promised it to her on a condition. She should give him the sugar from the home which she thought would be the happiest one. She easily agreed. How does she find out the happiest home? To make her job easy, the Enlightened Man endowed her with a power to be present in anybody’s home invisibly. Oh, so she was going to be a remote witness to day-to-day happenings of people’s affairs without them being aware of her presence. She was thrilled with the new power. She decided to visit relatives’ and friends’ houses whose families appeared picture perfect on Facebook. She found nothing but arguments with happiness albeit missing everywhere. It was surprising for her as she had visited them...

As fitness bug did bite me all of a sudden, of late I was happy following some self-imposed restrictions on my food intake. With a detailed diet plan from a nutritionist, my resolve received a shot in an arm. If I said food was out of my purview and I was saving a lot of time, I would be eating my own words. I was spending more time on the thing I had refrained from, not just cooking, but reading and maybe, thinking about it … There can be a lot more positivity about the thing you are trying to stay away from. Scientific and clinical information makes you more rational and intuitional. It may happen that giving up will not remain mere a resolve but it may come from within. To me, it was much more than food restriction. It was more about what to eat, when to eat and yes, how to it. There were so many essential aspects of food that I would not have paid heed to otherwise. I started reading extensively on right foods and so many things, which were associated with diet, were unfolded...

I would like to speak something about myself today. A lot is often written on this platform about global trends, politics, economy and stuff. Why not use the platform to talk about me? My routine, my thinking, my viewpoints and opinions, my ambitions, my future plans and yes, some ‘me’ moments. Are you interested? Oh, most of you must be thinking I must not be having an Instagram account or a high quality mobile phone camera with a selfie application, so I need to ‘talk’ about it. I have neither of them. And there is no denying the fact that a selfie can speak thousand words than this long description. Selfies uploaded on several social networking sites keep our circle perfectly posted on what we are up to.  Selfie syndrome has taken the world by storm and at the same time, it’s also perceived as a dangerous trend, according to psychologists and socialists. To me, what looks dangerous isn’t a natural selfie but a deliberate attempt to display ‘all is well’. I would be lyi...

Exam days could have been testing times during academic life for many. Now that most of us have graduated, not necessarily always with flying colors, it shows we have managed to withstand the test of time. Nevertheless, an exam as an adult assesses how much we have grown beyond exams as grown-ups. I had one such opportunity and so was it for every batch mate of mine who had opted for a yoga course at a Bengaluru varsity. I don’t think anybody was concerned with an impressive scorecard or wanted to secure the first rank. Passing or reasonable marks could have topped the priority chart for a majority of candidates. It was distance education and people came from far off to appear for examination spending a lot of time, energy and yes, money as well. So, everybody kept no stone unturned to ensure things fell in place and everything moved swiftly. Given the ‘magnanimity’ of subjects and efforts everyone took to reach there, the exam-oriented approach was perfectly justified to an ext...