Tea or coffee?

Today afternoon its unusually quiet. I am sitting in the balcony, sipping hot and sweet ginger tea. It’s a holiday for school but strangely I cannot see even a single kid running around in play area. I am enjoying this quiet. Vary rarely I get to enjoy it.  Small joys of life.

Usually, on a weekday morning, the only thing I drink at home is a sip of water. My day starts early. Usually I am already out of home and on my way to office at 7 am. 10.30 am is the time reserved in office to have first cup of beverage. I don’t have a preference in office – It can be anything of the available choices – tea, coffee, badam milk or green tea. It is part of my routine now. I do it out of habit. I tend to skip it if I do not have company. Actually this hot cup serves as a tiny break in the early busy hours of the day.

But on weekend the story is different. There are only two morning in the week where me and husband can spend some morning time together. Every Saturday and Sunday morning a question is hung in air – Tea or coffee? 

I love ginger teas throughout the year, irrespective of the weather. The aroma of tea, spicy taste of ginger and the sweetness of concoction just brighten up my mornings. But it does not mean I do not enjoy coffee. But I enjoy coffee the typical Marathi way – 3.4^th milk, 1/4^th water, mild coffee with cardamom and nutmeg. Husband is on the other side of the bridge. He supremely enjoys experimenting with different brews, loves the bitterness in his cup of coffee and milk just for touch. I think he is a psudo Indian in some way – ( I know this is very unfair statement but how can he not enjoy tea? Surely this is a strong question mark on his Indian-ness).  We have around 5-6 different kind of coffee powders at home. Thankfully till now he is satisfied with the functioning of the basic coffee maker we have at home. But I strongly suspect arrival of a French press anytime soon in coming months. Cutting it short, coffee it is on most weekend mornings.

But now, husband is off to USA. I am back to my lovely and  hot steaming gingery sweet cup of ambrosia. Not that I don’t like coffee, but it has its own time and situation – after sumptuous south Indian breakfast, on a rainy afternoon, during late night “gappa” ( chit chat – discussions) at home.  Today is bonus day for my tea life. It’s a weekday but a holiday – so here I am with my cup of tea, enjoying the rarely quiet afternoon.

The question – “Tea or coffee?” can rest till husband is back.

Leia Mais…

You've got a mail

Today I was really bored after coming back home. Had a long and hectic day in office. The thought of long day full of  meeting makes me depressed, bored and irritated. I had to do something. I wanted to watch a movie. But not sure of which one. I sat in front of my laptop aimlessly staring at the screen. I remebered one movie I watched on one late winter night at MDI with hot steaming soup  and I downloaded that movie - You've got mail.

The movie is quite charming - typical romantic story where a girl falls in love with a stranger who turns out to be the bad guy in her life. But as the time progresses they realize, its their destiny to be together.

But that is not the reason why I liked this movie. There were many things which touched different part of me.

Writing emails and letters - the first and foremost factor which draws me to this movie. An email or a letter makes the relation come alive. Its a thing you can read and re read again - whenever you remember that person, whenever you are feeling low, whenever you need support - love- comfort.
To quote Kathleen Kelly ( the female protagonist) - "The odd thing about this form of communication ( email / letter) is that you're more likely to talk about nothing than something. But I just want to say that all this nothing has meant more to me than so many somethings."
It echoes my feelings. Call me old fashioned, but  I get super excited to find a personal email in my inbox. My hands troumble with excitement while receiving a letter via courier. It makes me feel special, cared and loved.

Kathleen, a small book store owner, is not able to cope up with loss of customers due to opening of a discount book superstore in her neighborhood. She had to close her store with a heavy heart and a sense of losing a big chunk of her life.
She write to the stranger in an email - "Sometimes I wonder about my life. I lead a small life - well, valuable, but small - and sometimes I wonder, do I do it because I like it, or because I haven't been brave? So much of what I see reminds me of something I read in a book, when shouldn't it be the other way around? I don't really want an answer. I just want to send this cosmic question out into the void. So good night, dear void."
I paused the movie, re-winded it to listen to the thought once again.  Isn't it the question all of us ask to ourselves at some or the other point of time but not able to come up with a convincing answer?

If you have not watched this movie, do watch it.
The charming old style courtships and nostalgia mixed with some really impeccable moments where you will be compelled to think about your own life-  is what makes this movie special.
This may not be my favourite movie, but this is the movie i will come back to when I need comfort.
And now time to get back to work - start working on a typical  powerpoint presentation with charts figures and numbers. Back to the real life from reel life.
:-)

Leia Mais…

Peaceful existence.

I was going through the photos on my cellphone so that I could delete unwanted stuff and create space.
I stumbled upon one  photograph, it was clicked around a year back, in Auroville during a short two day visit to Puducherry. The whole concept of Auroville is fascinating. - a universal town with foundation values peace and harmony.

After doing all the typical tourist sightseeing, we sat down to have a cup of coffee.
After a while,  a very old and frail lady walked in the coffee shop. She had a walking stick in one hand and a small jute sling bag over other shoulder. She looked around, chose a seat at one corner, looking out of coffee shop. She walked to the counter, put her order and sat down at chosen place. She was looking out into the horizon as if some very fascinating thing is unfurling in front of her. Soon , she was served with a small cup of tea. She took tea in her hand, inhaled deeply, smiled and took her first sip. With overflowing satisfaction on her face, she put down the cup and again looked far away. Her face was peaceful. There is no other word to describe the content feeling on her face.

She might be staying alone there, far away from her home, with strangers with different nationalities. But she had made peace with the world around her. As if, she did not have any regrets, any sorrows, any unfulfilled wishes in her life.

At this moment more than anything from that trip, I vividly remember lingering smile on her  face and her calm peaceful eyes.

There are many things a person hopes to achieve in his or her life. Whatever I achieve in my life, I wish for the same content feeling at later stage. Inspiring things may not be very grand or totally outstanding, such small-easy to miss things leave a greater impact. You just have to be receptive to small joys of life.

Leia Mais…

My blackberry is not working!

I am feeling restless, handicap, unconnected and isolated from world – when I have one perfectly working cell phone, a desktop phone in office, 24*7 internet at service.

Now its official. I am addicted to my blackberry.

And I feel my life crumpled around me. I sadly look at my Nokia phone and sigh. Huh.
This is insanely stupid I know but cannot help feeling depressed.

No BBM, no WhatsApp, no Gtalk. Now I will have to periodically check my emails on laptop and no internet on go.And I think, how did I manage without my beloved BB before last June?

But this is a wake-up call for me. I am shocked to find how dependant I am on my blackberry – as if my whole life revolves around it.  Time to think. Time for firm resolution. I will not get so much attached to my phone or any gadget in future ( after I get my blackberry repaired I will add this to TO DO list ).

But I am not alone in this category. The more I look around I find similar species around me. I have never seen anybody sit still in bus or train in last some months I recollect. Either headphones plugged in or smsing. If not these then playing games or talking on phone. This tiny gadget has started to rule over the younger generation. What is happening to us?

Leia Mais…

Let go....

How difficult is it to let go? Things, people, memories, expectations  and what not. Its not easy to let go.
My mavshi always used to say that I have too many things in my cupboard. I have this ridiculous habit. Memories are not enough for me. I keep things to remind me of those memories. I have a ribbon to remind me of my grandma's bday, a pen to remember my last day of school, an envelop of the greeting card given to my best friend. These things are silly, unimportant in one glance, but they are very valuable for me. When I was coming to MDI, I knew I had to clear up my closet. My heart still pains for all the things I threw away. It was not easy.
Similarly its the case with clothes. How many of us find it difficult to discard a favourite shirt, a favourite pair of shoes, or an old but loved scarf? Even though its very clear that it will not be used in future, its difficult to let it go.
Our life has some relations which turn sour due to some reasons. But still, as holding on is innate human nature, its difficult to let relations go, let people go. But if not learnt this important skill, such kept relations can actually result in more pains.

Space is a constraint everywhere. If something new has to come, something old has to go. Then why not throw away all such sorry stuff and create space for something happy, something nice?
Its easy to say. Difficult to do.
But what I learnt is - Let it go, because something better is on the way. 

Leia Mais…