Ruchita Mahimkar​'s Blog

Hither & Tither in my Mumbai

A new movie poster goes up,

A roadside beggar smiles as it’s his favorite Ali Zafar,

Oblivious, does a step of the movie’s item number

In the background, the car driver observes

Rummages, hands him a 10 rupee note.

Despite the signal turning green, 

She sees the car ahead - still,

being busy with the beggar,

she slams her steering in anger, 

as she has an emergency to answer,

When the vehicles finally catch speed, she is relieved,

Although - while entering her clinic, 

She overtakes a fruit vendor rashly, 

making him turn sharp-left, 

He yells at her - asking if can’t she see?

A passerby asks him to ignore it, 

The vendor agrees reluctantly.

Looking at the apples, a buyer stops, 

asks for double the quantity, for half its cost,

laughing at his request, the vendor refuses politely, 

settling eventually, helplessly.

Carrying the apples, as he goes

a raindrop settles, on his nose

and he quickly runs to a nearby tea store,

giving in to the aroma,

of the boiling ginger tea, 

and a good smoke.

The signal turns green

Ignoring it, 2 girls giggle and cross,

causing the vehicles to cease,

like any Mumbaikar, 

there’s mirth in their smiles

as they make it to the chat corner’s side,

as soon as the orders are told,

the chutneys are being tossed in a big bowl,

it’s been served hastily in a paper plate with holes,

but they don’t care as long as they aren’t torn.

The grey clouds looming,

The downpour looks gloomy,

The hustle of the crowd,

Resembles fleet of birds at dawn.

The crowd rushes to the station,

to catch a train,

they run, hop, and jump,

but not in vain.

A passenger smiles as the wind gushes through his hair,

But by a mere fraction of second,

another frowns,

as he misses the train.

Looking at the platform opposite, 

there are people ready to scurry in,

as the train comes to a screeching halt,

people spill out, people squeeze in,

the empty flight of stairs now disappear, 

as it’s filled from rear to rear,

the crowds disperse,

moving out in every single way.

A lady rushes to the mall,

in search of a top blue,

chats with the shopkeeper,

about the types of handloom,

gauging her intention to buy and not to browse, 

He orders her a cutting chai - full,

a tiny boy brings 2 cups with such ease,

dramatically putting it on the counter,

hands over the tea,

and in return, 

receives a crisp note of 20 rupee.

Leaving the mall, he sways the cup-holder,

reaching the tea store, hands his earnings to the owner.

leaving for the day,

underneath the subway,

meets his beggar friend,

His mom serves them dinner,

and they burp, sharing laughter.

Be your own child

I recently met a highly effing cute kid at a family function. The kind of cuteness where you just feel like eating up the munchkin. I admired him, giggled at the way he spoke, the way he mischievously laughed - despite his mom scolding and the way he hugged, also not to forget his tininess.

After playing and getting pampered by each relative, it was his bed time. However, the little boy wished to play with his favorite car and resisted sleep. Mothers being mothers gave in to his demand but on one condition - “Only for 10 minutes!”

Lately, after noticing him & other such kids, It’s given that when a kid demands something, you get it for him without a thought, without any hesitation - then why don’t we love and pamper ourselves as much. Why don’t we demand things from ourselves as much and give into them?

Earlier, when in dilemma, I used to think from the perspective of - “If I were my granny, what would I do?”

 The reason why I’d think of ‘Granny’ is to make myself realize if 50 years from now - would I still make the decision I’m about to make? How much would it even matter in the long run? Could there be some different perspective I’m missing out on? Would I still prefer to be in my current angry mood?, etc.

I believe it’s time to add one more perspective - “Be your own child.” To be spontaneous. To honor yourself. More importantly, just fulfill your own wishes. I know we can go crazy, but write down all those thoughts, ponder over them if you may and give it a shot. Don’t give in to procrastination or whatever is stopping you, there’s always a workaround. Ask yourself - “Would you do this for your child?” Most of the times, your answer will be Yes, and if it’s a No, well, then just hop on to the next wish. :)

Halt for a moment!

Mondays can be dreaded for many reasons. Weekend ends. Work begins. Deadlines appear. Hustle begins. On one such Monday morning, where I was routinely running late, I got the red light for 180 seconds. After shooing off the beggar, my mind started to wander. Looking outside I noticed a flock of crows. They were speeding right above my head, and all I could do was just envy them. Envy them for surpassing the traffic, without any hassle, without waiting for fucking 180 seconds. In my mind, I wished I had wings, wings which would let me fly so that I needn’t crawl.

To my right was a small 3 storeyed vintage building with cracks filled by fungii. It’s colour must have been yellow, which now looks like a pale cream after decades. Yet, on the second floor, what I found peculiarly beautiful was a small birdhouse vividly painted with a coat of bright yellow and blue. The walls of the birdhouse had small square windows to it, the front wall had a typical hole and a small stick attached to it’s front.

While noticing it, I wondered how long till sparrows become extinct too? Would there be any sparrow residing inside? And at that very moment, a sparrow flies with sticks of hay in her beak. A sparrow so tiny that she’d fit in my hand if she came flying to me. The sparrow keeps the twigs inside and comes out of the house,  chirping. Chirping incessantly as if celebrating what all she got.  After observing her for a while, I start enjoying her twitter-y chirping, her song. The petite little sparrow seemed so much at ease on this very hustling Monday. Her carefree singing gave a happy-go-lucky and a feel good vibe. Just staring at her, made me forget everything else for that moment. I’m sure, she must be having her own set of problems yet she was there enjoying like she doesn’t care who’s looking - treating the morning as a blessing.

I swiftly moved ahead as the signal turned green, with a smile on my face and unknowingly started humming. That’s when I realized how caught up we get in our day to day chaos. I quickly made a mental note to myself - to observe things around, and to not rush. Afterall these moments are the ones, which make us smile, which make up life. 

I don't know what to ask. Just want to say this is really a great work. I am just starting to read thnd yours is the first thing i am reading. Thank you Ruchita.

You’re welcome, Sire :)

About Time

“I wish I would have acted differently… ” - Everyone I know. A thought, which has struck almost everyone till now at least once.

Talking about a movie I watched tonight, ‘About Time’, portrays a beautiful picture of a guy who had the luck to travel back in time.

The movie pops the bubble of how things somehow work as they are destined to, and only sometimes how you actually want it to (after a lot of hassle) despite of your superpower!

And when there’s a lot of time travelling happening, back and forth and again back to rectify things on the other end and then again forth, Tim (lead) eventually cherishes the present day and offers us this one wise quote,

 “I just try to live everyday as if I’ve deliberately come back to this one, to enjoy it, as if it was the final full day of my extraordinary, ordinary life.”

As much as I do not want to let out any spoilers from this post, I must tell you’ll how the movie slowly grasps you, teaches you and eventually, leaves nothing but tears in your eyes.

A Must Read Book: A Man’s Search for Meaning

After being recommended by one of my colleague, and being equally intrigued by the name, I decided to read A Man’s Search for Meaning. And was it worth it? Sau Pratishat. The book is narrated by Viktor E. Frankl, the survivor of Nazi concentration camp who lived to tell the tale. The book is divided in two parts. First part elaborates the suffering he goes through during the concentration camp. Whereas second part, speaks of the his learning & his theory, Logotherapy.

Talking about the writing style, it is as good as someone holding your hand and taking you through. The story of our author begins from being a laborer in a camp despite of his previous identity, a psychiatrist. Because, in a concentration camp, you’re just a number. The author being in one of the dangerous camps, narrates the different facets of an individual which he witnessed during his stay. Especially, when one confronts death, or when the realization sinks in of loss of their identity, or the vulnerabilities one goes through when bare necessities like food, piece of a clothing and medicines seem like luxury.

Witnessing all this, lead to a ton of learnings for our psychiatrist which lead him to form his own theory, (Logotherapy). One of my favorite quote in which he uses his suffering as a metaphor is:

“Yet it is possible to practice the art of living even in a concentration camp, although suffering is omnipresent. To draw an analogy: a man’s suffering is similar to the behavior of gas. If a certain quantity of gas is pumped into an empty chamber, it will fill the chamber completely and evenly, no matter how big the chamber. Thus suffering completely fills the human soul and conscious mind, no matter whether the suffering is great or little. Therefore the “size” of human suffering is absolutely relative.”

As much as I enjoyed the first part, the second part hit me with quotes which still amaze me when I read. 

“Live as if you were living already for the second time and as if you had acted the first time as wrongly as you are about to act now!” It seems to me that there is nothing which would stimulate a man’s sense of responsibleness more than this maxim, which invites him to imagine first that the present is past and, second, that the past may yet be changed and amended. Such a precept confronts him with life’s finiteness as well as the finality of what he makes out of both his life and himself.“

Apart from the struggle of keeping your mind distracted in the camp when giving up on life is just a mere thought away, the author mentions how strongly, ’Love’ played a part in his survival, despite being alone throughout. 

In context of strength which came through imagining conversations with his beloved:- "Love goes very far beyond the physical person of the beloved. It finds its deepest meaning in his spiritual being, his inner self. Whether or not he is actually present, whether or not he is still alive at all, ceases somehow to be of importance.”

I wouldn’t say this book changed my life, but it definitely redefined few things for me. And lastly, a quote which reverberates in hills & in my tiny heart, too.

“Love is the only way to grasp another human being in the innermost core of his personality.”

I shall end by saying, if you’re going to read only one book a year, make sure it is this one!

Like Kindle? No, I love it.

Who says money can’t buy happiness? There are several moments when it struck me, “This is the best one-time investment”.  And it frequently happens, when I read on my Kindle. I definitely love Paperbacks, the smell of the pages and the beautiful crimson tinge which reveals the age of the book. But, I have to admit I love Kindle. Maybe, more.

To begin with, I read a fair share of paperbacks, but do you sometimes just worry about the thickness of the book and it feels like you have an Everest to climb. Well, let me introduce you to one of the best parts of Kindle, which I realised recently. I completed Life of Pi and I took less than 6 days to devour the 450+ pages book. For me, this is comparatively a good reading speed. How I could complete it swiftly, sums up to 2 reasons:

The thickness isn’t visible! Mentally, you’re just looking forward for the next page and you aren’t constantly reminded of the 450 pages because you cannot feel it, physically. You can read it in the night till 1 and obey your parents by turning lights off at 12. If you keep the brightness of your Kindle, to 4–5 it actually feels like a paper! Thanks to the e-ink. Now, if you think of it that’s a considerable addition to your reading time.

Leaving apart those two beautiful aspects of it, what I also love about Kindle is, tapping a word for its meaning. It’s helpful, and it also saves all those words you searched for.

Next would be highlighting text. Until Kindle, I use to manually jot down some of the well-written lines or quotes in a book. No, I’m not lying. I still have that book. But now, its not that frequently updated because Kindle, let’s you highlight your favourite dialogue or quotes.

And along with being an ‘Avid reader’ if you’re also an ‘Avid Buyer’ then books for Kindle are always a little cheaper :D

These are the highlights which will make your Kindle worth your penny. After owning it for more than a year, I finally admit, I love Kindle, too.

I Am Malala: The Story of the Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban by Malala...

I Am Malala: The Story of the Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban by Malala Yousafzai
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

​I’ve read autobiographies before but they did not intrigue me as much as this one, the best part about this book is that it’s not self boasting.
Malala has presented the situation of Pakistan in a most straight forward manner and still have highlighted how the smallest things had gotten affected because of Taliban or the terrorism prevailing in the country. There is a particular excerpt which really gives you a glimpse of it, which goes as below:
“One day I saw my little brother Atal digging furiously in the garden. ‘What are you doing?’ I asked him. 'Making a grave’ he said. Our news bulletins were full of killing and death so it was natural for Atal to think of coffins and graves. Instead of hide and seek & cops and robbers, children were now playing Army vs. Taliban.”

After reading this book, I have a different picture of Pakistan which is accompanied with sympathy. It has made me realise that there are so many unnoticed things which we take for granted. Things like freedom to roam in your hometown without worrying about someone shooting you, freedom to dress as per one’s will, and lastly getting education regardless of gender.

About the book, it manages to deliver the ambience of SWAT, but it also scares you with the stories of Taliban and their ruling terror. The best part about the book for me would be the thoroughly provided information about the small and big events. I never thought it would make me interested in History but it did. :) Overall, the book is an interesting read, as many a times, I halted while reading just to regain myself from the cruelty mentioned in it. Lastly, I’d recommend this book, not because I’m a fan of hers, but because this book engages you end-to-end.

View all my reviews

The Final Exam

I recently gave my final exams of Spanish (Level 1). The written exams were on Saturday and the orals along with presentations were on Sunday. Me and my friends had done group studies in the library and yes, we did sincerely study. The written exams, did not go as good as expected considering the tests we’d given online and the preparations we’d done. While I was wondering that how despite of the preparations the paper did not go in accordance with what I’d thought, a sudden philosophical thought struck me:-

“What if in the exam of life, you feel you’ve underperformed when you die?”

A Thing For Yourself?

I recently stumbled upon an article titled 100 Pieces of Advices by 100 Year Olds and after reading all the tips, some of them particularly stayed with me. One of them being: “Do one thing each day that is just for you.”

After contemplating, I could not really think of any answer which wasn’t involved in my work. But it later struck me that I read, daily. I love to read. Isn’t that a thing which I love to do for myself.

What is your one thing that you do daily for yourself?