As someone ridden with privilege, I have secretly taken pride in my ability to see a wrong. On occasions even point it out. A couple of years ago, my cook had proudly announced that her daughter was getting married. At an age which was seemingly unfair. Out of severe disappointment, I had not said much then, except grumbling about her education and dreams. Cook then went on to educate me about how this was a norm where she came from….
Older siblings are kind, gentle and giving. By default. Younger might be many other things. But today is not about them. P gives, gives and gives. Even today when (in my head, I knew that we will not be able to see and check on each other for the longest time. And it was beginning to show) we went shopping for her, she made me get things for myself. She knows how to make others feel ok through her generosity….
If you are a pop culture consumer with first world privileges which include decent bandwidth internet access like me and have not watched Brooklyn Nine-Nine then why even read this? I mean go and watch it on Netflix/another streaming service NOW. We shall bond over it later. GO! As Gina Linetti would say, ‘its the human form of the 💯 emoji’. But there are numerous other reasons why it’s soooo great! It’s so inclusive! It’s a show based on a Police precinct…
Pre-script – The parents were living with me for the past few months. And now they have returned to their home. And I am missing them terribly. And because I am a grown-up adult who talks with them almost every day, I decided to write about it and not tell them directly. Very mature. For the longest time, I have seen my parents in different roles. Someone’s sibling, someone’s caregiver, someone else’s advisor, someone else’s son/daughter, someone’s friend and as our parents….
was laden with laziness, procrastination and breaking the illusory comfort zone. (Is it really breaking it if you do something you like?)Â At times I need triggers. It had been 1.5 years since I had taken any break (read real vacation) at work. For that matter break of any kind. So I decided to go to a 10-day trek in the Eastern Himalayas in May! I registered for the Goechala trek in early March. After much deliberation and calculating travel time…
Please believe me when I say that until this year I did not know how to meditate or why I should meditate. I mean if I made a list of things I learned in 2017, then ‘meditation’ would go to the top. Also, please! You don’t ‘learn’ how to meditate. You just do it every day and still feel like a noob after days/years of practice. I was testing you all, and you passed. Yippity yay! So I have never…
This past week has flown by. Travel, work, Diwali, meeting aunts and uncles, helping parents fix things at home (fixed a Chinese lighting set using good old soldering techniques learned in Junior College, with Fathership watching over as lead technician and Brothership helping out with getting the soldering paste and cord from local electrician 😎), Diwali cooking,-decorations-rangoli-shopping, talking to younger cousins about all things exciting, career counseling, cheat-week when it came to eating and the shebang. Whew! I have been meaning…