Vidya Shankar's Blog, page 6
February 8, 2019
No vouching for this
“Oh no!” I exclaimed. “But this is unfair. I shouldn’t be tested like this,” I cried.
Last year, I had bought far too many books but had hardly read much. A shameful five books that included three children’s books. So, on the first day of 2019, I took a resolution to not buy any book this year but instead work at reducing my TBR books pile to at least half — a resolution I took as my husband and I exited a bookstore.
“So, how do you account for that?” he asked, pointing to the new book I was clutching to my chest.
“For consolation. I have to go through an entire year without any new books!”
A week later, I participated in a quiz and won a gift voucher for books. “This is something I won. It’s not actually buying.”
The following week, I visited a book fair with a friend, (“But I’m not buying any books.”) only to return with six books.
“I’d always wanted to add these to my collection, and they were going at throwaway price. It may be an opportunity missed.”
My husband knew better than to point out the obvious. Could this be why our marriage has lasted for almost three decades?
After coming into possession of yet another half a dozen books before January moved on into February, I realised that all these situations were a test to my endurance and decided that I would, henceforth, garner every bit of strength to say no.
That’s when my husband came home with a gift voucher for books that he got for volunteering at a photography event. This was unfair. I shouldn’t be tested like this, I cried. Then, in the same breath, I told my husband, “Come, let’s go.”
“Where?”
“To the bookstore, of course!”
Vidya Shankar
Published in The Gulf Today / Short Take, dt Feb 09, 2019
http://gulftoday.ae/portal/72add1b3-7ab1-4177-b7a5-15de3051cb3d.aspx
#TheQuintessentialWord #TheFlautistofBrindaranyam
Here's my first book! An ensemble of poetry and photographs.
Click the link below to watch a 30-second promo video.
https://youtu.be/5BhbjMaIwpk
You can buy it at this link:
https://notionpress.com/read/the-flautist-of-brindaranyam
www.facebook.com
Last year, I had bought far too many books but had hardly read much. A shameful five books that included three children’s books. So, on the first day of 2019, I took a resolution to not buy any book this year but instead work at reducing my TBR books pile to at least half — a resolution I took as my husband and I exited a bookstore.
“So, how do you account for that?” he asked, pointing to the new book I was clutching to my chest.
“For consolation. I have to go through an entire year without any new books!”
A week later, I participated in a quiz and won a gift voucher for books. “This is something I won. It’s not actually buying.”
The following week, I visited a book fair with a friend, (“But I’m not buying any books.”) only to return with six books.
“I’d always wanted to add these to my collection, and they were going at throwaway price. It may be an opportunity missed.”
My husband knew better than to point out the obvious. Could this be why our marriage has lasted for almost three decades?
After coming into possession of yet another half a dozen books before January moved on into February, I realised that all these situations were a test to my endurance and decided that I would, henceforth, garner every bit of strength to say no.
That’s when my husband came home with a gift voucher for books that he got for volunteering at a photography event. This was unfair. I shouldn’t be tested like this, I cried. Then, in the same breath, I told my husband, “Come, let’s go.”
“Where?”
“To the bookstore, of course!”
Vidya Shankar
Published in The Gulf Today / Short Take, dt Feb 09, 2019
http://gulftoday.ae/portal/72add1b3-7ab1-4177-b7a5-15de3051cb3d.aspx
#TheQuintessentialWord #TheFlautistofBrindaranyam
Here's my first book! An ensemble of poetry and photographs.
Click the link below to watch a 30-second promo video.
https://youtu.be/5BhbjMaIwpk
You can buy it at this link:
https://notionpress.com/read/the-flautist-of-brindaranyam
www.facebook.com
February 1, 2019
Art matters
“Art Matters,” a quaint blue book with the sub-title, “Because imagination can change the world,” is a collection of four of Neil Gaiman’s extraordinary writings aptly illustrated by Chris Riddell. Of course, I set about to read it because, as a writer, imagination is of great essence in my line of work.
“I love the way words and pictures work together on a page,” says Chris Riddell in the preface. When you begin your perusal of the book, you understand that Chris is true to his word. His cartoons blend not only with the candid content of Gaiman’s writings but also with the font used to present the text.
Now, I am not one to identify font styles, so I cannot say exactly what it is called but all I can tell you is the entire text of the book is made to look as if it is written by hand, in all caps. This feature doesn’t make the reading difficult; in fact, it only adds to the quirkiness of the book because it portrays the ‘bold’, ‘rebellious’ theme of the book while maintaining the fluidity of the writing.
Gaiman says that “ideas do not have to be correct to exist,” but “if you are making mistakes, it means you are out there doing something.”
“Whatever discipline you are in...whatever you do...you have the ability to make art.”
He suggests that it is especially when things go wrong in life that we must make art.
“The rules, the assumptions... are breaking down. ...You can be as creative as you need to be to get your work seen.”
He finishes by saying, “Make interesting, amazing...mistakes. ...Leave the world more interesting for your being here.”
Oh, and by the way, the pages of the book are not numbered. But does it matter?
Vidya Shankar
Published in The Gulf Today / Short Take, dt Feb 02, 2019
gulftoday.ae/portal/f3cf0061-439e-4169-b8e9-c4852f792f4f.aspx
#TheQuintessentialWord #TheFlautistofBrindaranyam #DauntlessInTheDark
Here's my first book! An ensemble of poetry and photographs.
Click the link below to watch a 30-second promo video.
https://youtu.be/5BhbjMaIwpk
You can buy it at this link:
https://notionpress.com/read/the-flautist-of-brindaranyam
www.facebook.com
“I love the way words and pictures work together on a page,” says Chris Riddell in the preface. When you begin your perusal of the book, you understand that Chris is true to his word. His cartoons blend not only with the candid content of Gaiman’s writings but also with the font used to present the text.
Now, I am not one to identify font styles, so I cannot say exactly what it is called but all I can tell you is the entire text of the book is made to look as if it is written by hand, in all caps. This feature doesn’t make the reading difficult; in fact, it only adds to the quirkiness of the book because it portrays the ‘bold’, ‘rebellious’ theme of the book while maintaining the fluidity of the writing.
Gaiman says that “ideas do not have to be correct to exist,” but “if you are making mistakes, it means you are out there doing something.”
“Whatever discipline you are in...whatever you do...you have the ability to make art.”
He suggests that it is especially when things go wrong in life that we must make art.
“The rules, the assumptions... are breaking down. ...You can be as creative as you need to be to get your work seen.”
He finishes by saying, “Make interesting, amazing...mistakes. ...Leave the world more interesting for your being here.”
Oh, and by the way, the pages of the book are not numbered. But does it matter?
Vidya Shankar
Published in The Gulf Today / Short Take, dt Feb 02, 2019
gulftoday.ae/portal/f3cf0061-439e-4169-b8e9-c4852f792f4f.aspx
#TheQuintessentialWord #TheFlautistofBrindaranyam #DauntlessInTheDark
Here's my first book! An ensemble of poetry and photographs.
Click the link below to watch a 30-second promo video.
https://youtu.be/5BhbjMaIwpk
You can buy it at this link:
https://notionpress.com/read/the-flautist-of-brindaranyam
www.facebook.com
January 25, 2019
True inspiration
Actress Manisha Koirala has been in the news lately, not for a movie but for her newly released book ‘Healed: How Cancer Gave Me a New Life’ in which she recounts her personal battle against ovarian cancer and how “cancer became a metaphor for all that was wrong in (her) life”.
Recently, I was in the audience of a literary forum in which the actress was being interviewed. Manisha, exuding the same sublime charm as she did on the silver screen, spoke of how she has been working on ‘thriving’ and not just ‘surviving’ after cancer.
Her conversation, punctuated with her familiar sweet smile, was an articulation of genuineness and confidence with no trace of pomposity or pride. Even when she had to relive her cancer days, it was sans remorse or overt emotions. She was the epitome of the word ‘healed’, not just in the physical sense but also the mental and emotional.
During audience time, I posed her a question. Quoting Louise Hay, who too was a cancer survivor, and who had said that “resentment that is long held can eat away at the body and become the dis-ease we call cancer”, I asked her how was one to tackle the sentiment in a practical manner.
Manisha replied that while it is human nature to be hurt, she had realised the value of not having negative feelings. Disappointments did come but she didn’t let that suck her any more. Resentment, hurt, anger are normal to us as human beings, but what is also normal is the capacity to love and forgive.
This was not the first time I have heard or read similar words but this was the first time someone had admitted to holding resentment. When Manisha spoke, she was not philosophising. Or being judgemental. And that is where the difference lay.
Vidya Shankar
Watch the interaction between Manisha Koirala and me in this YouTube video.
https://youtu.be/2yxC79PxHVw
Published in The Gulf Today / Short Take, dt Jan 26, 2019
http://gulftoday.ae/portal/d073c9ee-3ee0-4d71-b210-5418db38c6aa.aspx
#TheQuintessentialWord #TheFlautistofBrindaranyam #TheHinduLitForLife #ManishaKoirala #HealedHowCancerGaveMeANewLife www.facebook.com
Recently, I was in the audience of a literary forum in which the actress was being interviewed. Manisha, exuding the same sublime charm as she did on the silver screen, spoke of how she has been working on ‘thriving’ and not just ‘surviving’ after cancer.
Her conversation, punctuated with her familiar sweet smile, was an articulation of genuineness and confidence with no trace of pomposity or pride. Even when she had to relive her cancer days, it was sans remorse or overt emotions. She was the epitome of the word ‘healed’, not just in the physical sense but also the mental and emotional.
During audience time, I posed her a question. Quoting Louise Hay, who too was a cancer survivor, and who had said that “resentment that is long held can eat away at the body and become the dis-ease we call cancer”, I asked her how was one to tackle the sentiment in a practical manner.
Manisha replied that while it is human nature to be hurt, she had realised the value of not having negative feelings. Disappointments did come but she didn’t let that suck her any more. Resentment, hurt, anger are normal to us as human beings, but what is also normal is the capacity to love and forgive.
This was not the first time I have heard or read similar words but this was the first time someone had admitted to holding resentment. When Manisha spoke, she was not philosophising. Or being judgemental. And that is where the difference lay.
Vidya Shankar
Watch the interaction between Manisha Koirala and me in this YouTube video.
https://youtu.be/2yxC79PxHVw
Published in The Gulf Today / Short Take, dt Jan 26, 2019
http://gulftoday.ae/portal/d073c9ee-3ee0-4d71-b210-5418db38c6aa.aspx
#TheQuintessentialWord #TheFlautistofBrindaranyam #TheHinduLitForLife #ManishaKoirala #HealedHowCancerGaveMeANewLife www.facebook.com
January 19, 2019
Succession of knowledge
A literary fest of great magnitude was going on in the city and it seemed as if the venue was “the” hub to be in for intellectuals.
A lot was going on besides the various author conversations and panel discussions. Workshops for children and adults were being conducted, literary and other societies had their counters, and members of an environmental campaign were taking surveys and creating awareness about garbage disposal.
The book stalls were teeming with book lovers browsing through the latest bestselling titles and trying to combat the internal war of having to decide on the best buys. And of course, there was the food court where tired souls headed to fill themselves with food that was not thought.
My husband and I too were attending the fest, he as a volunteer for photography and I to soak in the brilliance of ideas, opinions and criticism that all the interactions would generate, and also to promote the book of poems I had written and published.
We ran into quite a lot of friends with whom we exchanged pleasantries and clicked selfies. We also made a lot of new friends with whom we exchanged contact details.
But what I did not expect was meeting this lady who used to be my English teacher when I was in Grade 5 and 6, which is about 30 years ago. That I could still recall her from back then itself shows what a fine testimony of the teaching fraternity she is.
Of course, I ran up to her, introduced myself and briefed her on what I had become and what I had achieved – my years as an English teacher and my book. I had done her proud and she had found completeness through my achievement.
What a beautiful tradition succession of knowledge is!
Vidya Shankar
Published in The Gulf Today / Short Take, dt Jan 19, 2019
http://gulftoday.ae/portal/2ef1d3bb-f0b8-4316-9b2e-17c590c0dcea.aspx
#TheQuintessentialWord #FlautistofBrindaranyam #HinduLitForLife
My teacher and I with my book 'The Flautist of Brindaranyam' at The Hindu Lit For Life.
Here's my first book! An ensemble of poetry and photographs.
Click the link below to watch a 30-second promo video.
https://youtu.be/5BhbjMaIwpk
You can buy it at this link:
https://notionpress.com/read/the-flautist-of-brindaranyamwww.facebook.com
A lot was going on besides the various author conversations and panel discussions. Workshops for children and adults were being conducted, literary and other societies had their counters, and members of an environmental campaign were taking surveys and creating awareness about garbage disposal.
The book stalls were teeming with book lovers browsing through the latest bestselling titles and trying to combat the internal war of having to decide on the best buys. And of course, there was the food court where tired souls headed to fill themselves with food that was not thought.
My husband and I too were attending the fest, he as a volunteer for photography and I to soak in the brilliance of ideas, opinions and criticism that all the interactions would generate, and also to promote the book of poems I had written and published.
We ran into quite a lot of friends with whom we exchanged pleasantries and clicked selfies. We also made a lot of new friends with whom we exchanged contact details.
But what I did not expect was meeting this lady who used to be my English teacher when I was in Grade 5 and 6, which is about 30 years ago. That I could still recall her from back then itself shows what a fine testimony of the teaching fraternity she is.
Of course, I ran up to her, introduced myself and briefed her on what I had become and what I had achieved – my years as an English teacher and my book. I had done her proud and she had found completeness through my achievement.
What a beautiful tradition succession of knowledge is!
Vidya Shankar
Published in The Gulf Today / Short Take, dt Jan 19, 2019
http://gulftoday.ae/portal/2ef1d3bb-f0b8-4316-9b2e-17c590c0dcea.aspx
#TheQuintessentialWord #FlautistofBrindaranyam #HinduLitForLife
My teacher and I with my book 'The Flautist of Brindaranyam' at The Hindu Lit For Life.
Here's my first book! An ensemble of poetry and photographs.
Click the link below to watch a 30-second promo video.
https://youtu.be/5BhbjMaIwpk
You can buy it at this link:
https://notionpress.com/read/the-flautist-of-brindaranyamwww.facebook.com
January 12, 2019
Early rising
It was one of those days when you are so tired to the bones that all you want to do is get into bed. I felt so sleep deprived and desperately longed for my pillow and the comfort of my blanket that all awareness fled me. I think I must have had my dinner, otherwise my husband wouldn’t have let me go to bed.
It was no surprise that I was lost to the world the second my head touched the pillow. Oh, what a sound sleep it was! Just what I needed. When I woke up, I was feeling so rejuvenated.
But why was everything so quiet? It was a working day today. Maybe, I must have woken up a tad earlier than my neighbours. And much before my morning alarm was set to go off.
I looked at my husband, deep in slumber beside me. I didn’t want to disturb him, so I decided I wasn’t going to put on the light in the room yet. I got up and, guiding myself by the night lamp, I walked noiselessly out of the bedroom and into the washroom.
Half an hour later, having brushed my teeth and all that, I stepped out of the washroom, still mystified about the silence prevailing around.
Wondering what could have gone wrong, I went back to the bedroom, switched on the light and looked at the clock. It showed a little past two-thirty. My day had begun very early indeed!
Restricting the urge to laugh out loud, I picked up my book and read in peace.
Vidya Shankar
Published in The Gulf Today / Short Take, dt Jan 12, 2019
http://gulftoday.ae/portal/6422247d-f201-45fa-9f1a-52175508866a.aspx
#TheQuintessentialWord #FlautistofBrindaranyam #NotAshamed
Here's my first book! An ensemble of poetry and photographs.
Click the link below to watch a 30-second promo video.
https://youtu.be/5BhbjMaIwpk
You can buy it at this link:
https://notionpress.com/read/the-flautist-of-brindaranyamwww.facebook.com
It was no surprise that I was lost to the world the second my head touched the pillow. Oh, what a sound sleep it was! Just what I needed. When I woke up, I was feeling so rejuvenated.
But why was everything so quiet? It was a working day today. Maybe, I must have woken up a tad earlier than my neighbours. And much before my morning alarm was set to go off.
I looked at my husband, deep in slumber beside me. I didn’t want to disturb him, so I decided I wasn’t going to put on the light in the room yet. I got up and, guiding myself by the night lamp, I walked noiselessly out of the bedroom and into the washroom.
Half an hour later, having brushed my teeth and all that, I stepped out of the washroom, still mystified about the silence prevailing around.
Wondering what could have gone wrong, I went back to the bedroom, switched on the light and looked at the clock. It showed a little past two-thirty. My day had begun very early indeed!
Restricting the urge to laugh out loud, I picked up my book and read in peace.
Vidya Shankar
Published in The Gulf Today / Short Take, dt Jan 12, 2019
http://gulftoday.ae/portal/6422247d-f201-45fa-9f1a-52175508866a.aspx
#TheQuintessentialWord #FlautistofBrindaranyam #NotAshamed
Here's my first book! An ensemble of poetry and photographs.
Click the link below to watch a 30-second promo video.
https://youtu.be/5BhbjMaIwpk
You can buy it at this link:
https://notionpress.com/read/the-flautist-of-brindaranyamwww.facebook.com
January 5, 2019
As easy as falling
What does it take to fall, I wondered. The answer I got was “trust”.
The pondering took me to an incident from my childhood. I was in Grade 3 and we were having running race practices for the approaching sports day. I used to be a very good runner back then and was running confidently. But a freak slip over an errant stone in the track changed everything.
I hopped away from the field not only with a fairly large bruise on my knee but also with my name struck out as being unfit for the races. My pleading with my physical education teacher that I would be alright soon fell on unresponsive ears. She couldn’t trust me to win the race for her. I haven’t been able to run after that. Ever.
As the years progressed, I discovered that one of the unwritten rules of society was one didn’t fall. Or, if you fell, you had to get up ASAP, that too, all by yourself. If you didn’t then you were looked down upon. Also, no one was going to empathise with you and tell you that it was OK to have fallen down. Worse, it was sacrilege to accept that you had fallen and ask for help.
The reason for this prejudiced attitude is because people don’t trust themselves. To offer help. So, we are either rushing in to help where none is needed (and which eventually backfires) or we give excuses where help is genuinely required, thereby setting off a vicious cycle of mistrust all around.
All it takes is one little act of trust, one little word of compassion, one person with courage to set off a series of such little acts and words.
And that one person is me.
Vidya Shankar
Published in The Gulf Today / Short Take, dt Jan 05, 2019)
http://gulftoday.ae/portal/55b0f1a6-82b0-484d-85bf-86d8f2b29a84.aspx
#TheQuintessentialWord #FlautistofBrindaranyam #NotAshamed
Here's my first book! An ensemble of poetry and photographs.
Click the link below to watch a 30-second promo video.
https://youtu.be/5BhbjMaIwpk
You can buy it at this link:
https://notionpress.com/read/the-flautist-of-brindaranyam
www.facebook.com
The pondering took me to an incident from my childhood. I was in Grade 3 and we were having running race practices for the approaching sports day. I used to be a very good runner back then and was running confidently. But a freak slip over an errant stone in the track changed everything.
I hopped away from the field not only with a fairly large bruise on my knee but also with my name struck out as being unfit for the races. My pleading with my physical education teacher that I would be alright soon fell on unresponsive ears. She couldn’t trust me to win the race for her. I haven’t been able to run after that. Ever.
As the years progressed, I discovered that one of the unwritten rules of society was one didn’t fall. Or, if you fell, you had to get up ASAP, that too, all by yourself. If you didn’t then you were looked down upon. Also, no one was going to empathise with you and tell you that it was OK to have fallen down. Worse, it was sacrilege to accept that you had fallen and ask for help.
The reason for this prejudiced attitude is because people don’t trust themselves. To offer help. So, we are either rushing in to help where none is needed (and which eventually backfires) or we give excuses where help is genuinely required, thereby setting off a vicious cycle of mistrust all around.
All it takes is one little act of trust, one little word of compassion, one person with courage to set off a series of such little acts and words.
And that one person is me.
Vidya Shankar
Published in The Gulf Today / Short Take, dt Jan 05, 2019)
http://gulftoday.ae/portal/55b0f1a6-82b0-484d-85bf-86d8f2b29a84.aspx
#TheQuintessentialWord #FlautistofBrindaranyam #NotAshamed
Here's my first book! An ensemble of poetry and photographs.
Click the link below to watch a 30-second promo video.
https://youtu.be/5BhbjMaIwpk
You can buy it at this link:
https://notionpress.com/read/the-flautist-of-brindaranyam
www.facebook.com
December 31, 2018
A Toast to the New Year
Bling bashes, jamboree glows
Night-long indulgences, countdown craziness
The extravagant welcoming of a new year —
What are we celebrating?
A sham!
One year —
The growth, the experience, the journey of a year lived.
Yay yay celebration!
Twelve months —
The one of the twelfth,
Not the same entity that entered this year.
Oh! Doesn’t that call for merrymaking!
Weeks, all fifty two of them —The hits and misses, highs and lows,
Gains and losses, births and deaths,
To all this… a toast!
Three hundreds, five and sixty days —
Each a unique one as each night fell,
Survived the vibrant, the placid,
The agonising, the bad-haired one,
The ones we faced with strength,
The ones that strengthen’d us,
Rounds of celebratory cheers to all that!
But most importantly, close as this year is to an end,
Is there brought to a closure
The pain, the grief, the dismal, the defeats,
The partings, the bitings, the silences, the sharpness,
The unforgivable stories narrated thro’ this year?
If yes be the answer that the heart says, then —
Jive into a celebration like none other, for,
The fairy dust of forgiveness will emit sparklers of joy,
Peace will flow like abundant wine,
Love will satiate your hungry belly,
And heartfelt good tidings will light up cheery smiles.
This, my dear, is the party you should be in,
This, my dear, is how you must toast the new year in! — Vidya Shankar (Dec 31, 2018)
www.facebook.com
Night-long indulgences, countdown craziness
The extravagant welcoming of a new year —
What are we celebrating?
A sham!
One year —
The growth, the experience, the journey of a year lived.
Yay yay celebration!
Twelve months —
The one of the twelfth,
Not the same entity that entered this year.
Oh! Doesn’t that call for merrymaking!
Weeks, all fifty two of them —The hits and misses, highs and lows,
Gains and losses, births and deaths,
To all this… a toast!
Three hundreds, five and sixty days —
Each a unique one as each night fell,
Survived the vibrant, the placid,
The agonising, the bad-haired one,
The ones we faced with strength,
The ones that strengthen’d us,
Rounds of celebratory cheers to all that!
But most importantly, close as this year is to an end,
Is there brought to a closure
The pain, the grief, the dismal, the defeats,
The partings, the bitings, the silences, the sharpness,
The unforgivable stories narrated thro’ this year?
If yes be the answer that the heart says, then —
Jive into a celebration like none other, for,
The fairy dust of forgiveness will emit sparklers of joy,
Peace will flow like abundant wine,
Love will satiate your hungry belly,
And heartfelt good tidings will light up cheery smiles.
This, my dear, is the party you should be in,
This, my dear, is how you must toast the new year in! — Vidya Shankar (Dec 31, 2018)
www.facebook.com
December 29, 2018
New year indeed!
It was two or three years ago, as another year was approaching the end, I had written in these very same pages, that New Year celebrations are all a sham.
While I still do think that welcoming a new year need not involve extravaganza, I now differ in my attitude over the celebrations.
A year is 12 months long, there is so much change contained in these 12 months. We are not the same person we were when we entered 2018. We have seen a year’s growth, we have had a year’s experience, and that calls for celebration.
A year is 52 weeks. How many hits, how many misses, how many highs, how many lows, how many gains, how many losses! We may have survived some, we may not have some others, yet, on the whole, it is a year lived, doesn’t matter how. And that calls for celebration.
A year is 365 days, and each day has been special in some way whether we like to accept it or not. For every vibrant day, we have also had a bad hair day or a placid one. And we have moved on from one day to another to be here today, and that calls for celebration.
As we turn the calendar for the last time this year, let us take a vow to take each day of the new year for its own uniqueness and make every day lived to its fullest, whatever it may offer us. While we take our highs and gains with us into 2019, let us, as 2018 comes to a close, work towards bringing a closure to our lows and losses of this year, in whatever way we can, be it physically, mentally or emotionally.
On that note, let’s toast 2019 in!
Vidya Shankar
Published in The Gulf Today / Short Take, dt Dec 29, 2018)
http://gulftoday.ae/portal/8b58c9d2-ab34-4666-8ff1-ff24ccc43416.aspx
#TheQuintessentialWord #FlautistofBrindaranyam #
Here's my first book! An ensemble of poetry and photographs.
Click the link below to watch a 30-second promo video.
https://youtu.be/5BhbjMaIwpk
You can buy it at this link:
https://notionpress.com/read/the-flautist-of-brindaranyamwww.facebook.com
While I still do think that welcoming a new year need not involve extravaganza, I now differ in my attitude over the celebrations.
A year is 12 months long, there is so much change contained in these 12 months. We are not the same person we were when we entered 2018. We have seen a year’s growth, we have had a year’s experience, and that calls for celebration.
A year is 52 weeks. How many hits, how many misses, how many highs, how many lows, how many gains, how many losses! We may have survived some, we may not have some others, yet, on the whole, it is a year lived, doesn’t matter how. And that calls for celebration.
A year is 365 days, and each day has been special in some way whether we like to accept it or not. For every vibrant day, we have also had a bad hair day or a placid one. And we have moved on from one day to another to be here today, and that calls for celebration.
As we turn the calendar for the last time this year, let us take a vow to take each day of the new year for its own uniqueness and make every day lived to its fullest, whatever it may offer us. While we take our highs and gains with us into 2019, let us, as 2018 comes to a close, work towards bringing a closure to our lows and losses of this year, in whatever way we can, be it physically, mentally or emotionally.
On that note, let’s toast 2019 in!
Vidya Shankar
Published in The Gulf Today / Short Take, dt Dec 29, 2018)
http://gulftoday.ae/portal/8b58c9d2-ab34-4666-8ff1-ff24ccc43416.aspx
#TheQuintessentialWord #FlautistofBrindaranyam #
Here's my first book! An ensemble of poetry and photographs.
Click the link below to watch a 30-second promo video.
https://youtu.be/5BhbjMaIwpk
You can buy it at this link:
https://notionpress.com/read/the-flautist-of-brindaranyamwww.facebook.com
December 22, 2018
Say cheese
It was through some error in communication that my husband and I found ourselves attending a workshop on making cheese the natural way. Cheese not being one of my favourite foods, my eyes began to droop the minute the talk started.
I did, however, gather some vital information. Natural cheese and processed cheese are not the same, and unlike processed cheese, natural cheese does not have a set formula. There is a recipe and a procedure but not a formula.
Which is why, processed cheese of a particular brand would taste the same today as it did ‘n’ many years ago and would retain its taste maybe ‘n’ years from now.
Luckily, the talk wound up in about 40 minutes, and the participants were invited to partake of samples of various cheese made the natural way. I, of course, was a passive participant, tasting not the cheese but the reactions of the tasters. I observed that except for two or three of the two dozen or so people gathered, no one else seemed to be enjoying the cheeses.
So, why was it that natural cheese, in spite of its goodness over its processed counterpart, failed to make an impact?
Be it cheese or life, we are so used to the artificial, to specific formulas, that we are unable to accept anything different even though it may be a better option.
Could it be that the formulas we have for a happy life are just that? Formulas and not the real thing? And we accept them because they are so widely available that all we have to do is to just add them to our shopping cart?
Processed cheese is definitely easy life but happiness lies in taking that extra effort to go to a cheese shop just to buy cheese.
Vidya Shankar
Published in The Gulf Today / Short Take, dt Dec 22, 2018)
http://gulftoday.ae/portal/18559659-096d-4555-b9f6-a542e1103046.aspx
#TheQuintessentialWord #FlautistofBrindaranyam #
Here's my first book! An ensemble of poetry and photographs.
Click the link below to watch a 30-second promo video.
https://youtu.be/5BhbjMaIwpk
You can buy it at this link:
https://notionpress.com/read/the-flautist-of-brindaranyamwww.facebook.com
I did, however, gather some vital information. Natural cheese and processed cheese are not the same, and unlike processed cheese, natural cheese does not have a set formula. There is a recipe and a procedure but not a formula.
Which is why, processed cheese of a particular brand would taste the same today as it did ‘n’ many years ago and would retain its taste maybe ‘n’ years from now.
Luckily, the talk wound up in about 40 minutes, and the participants were invited to partake of samples of various cheese made the natural way. I, of course, was a passive participant, tasting not the cheese but the reactions of the tasters. I observed that except for two or three of the two dozen or so people gathered, no one else seemed to be enjoying the cheeses.
So, why was it that natural cheese, in spite of its goodness over its processed counterpart, failed to make an impact?
Be it cheese or life, we are so used to the artificial, to specific formulas, that we are unable to accept anything different even though it may be a better option.
Could it be that the formulas we have for a happy life are just that? Formulas and not the real thing? And we accept them because they are so widely available that all we have to do is to just add them to our shopping cart?
Processed cheese is definitely easy life but happiness lies in taking that extra effort to go to a cheese shop just to buy cheese.
Vidya Shankar
Published in The Gulf Today / Short Take, dt Dec 22, 2018)
http://gulftoday.ae/portal/18559659-096d-4555-b9f6-a542e1103046.aspx
#TheQuintessentialWord #FlautistofBrindaranyam #
Here's my first book! An ensemble of poetry and photographs.
Click the link below to watch a 30-second promo video.
https://youtu.be/5BhbjMaIwpk
You can buy it at this link:
https://notionpress.com/read/the-flautist-of-brindaranyamwww.facebook.com
December 18, 2018
Lie poetry
“Liar,” I was once called.Swore I upon my poetry —Lines that emanatedFrom the depths of my being,The manifested words, my very breath —Swore I that I had utteredNo untruths.Disbelief and scorn greeted me.After all, what was poetryBut a figment of imagination? — Vidya Shankar
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