The Rich Vegetarian

Simply Being | Simple Being

Category: This-That (page 42 of 234)

November 30, 2012 / 0 Comments

My feet are cold…

As determined as I am to not transform my journal (doesn't that sound a lot fancier than 'blog?') into a 'this-is-what-I-had-for-breakfast' and 'here-is-how-my-weekend-turned-out' kind of a place, the subject line has the exact same feeling to it. But yes, my feet are cold. I am wearing socks, yes. I think I should wear knee-length socks.

Inane, inane, inane!

You know that feeling of near-feverishness that plagues the mind and fingers, so they race in tandem through webpages, over the keyboard, typing out comments, dashing off emails, sending messages on Google Talk… and then I wonder – why was I in such a tearing hurry? There was no fire burning, no emergency. Yet, this hurry to get done with "stuff" was so tangible that I hardly sipped water this morning. Or paused for a break. It almost seems like I held my breath for the last three hours. Yes, I possibly did that. No wonder I feel so suffocated and cold, gasping.

Friday holds the promise of a fun-filled weekend, days of freedom and frolicking with friends and their little ones. Baah, I feel so drained this morning that only a warm cup of tea can revive me. That, and 'La's Orchestra Saves the World' by Alexander McCall Smith. I am turning into a grandmother at the ripe old age of 33. Warm socks, cups of tea, gentle books penned by gentle authors…

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November 29, 2012 / 2 Comments

On the Discipline of Writing

As a kid, I knew no one personally who was a writer (now that sentence sounds so convoluted, did you think so as well? Hmmm.).

So I always thought that being a writer was some kind of a divine calling. Like you are a person who shuts himself in your room for hours on end, and then emerges out with a book or a chapter, or something.

Writing takes discipline. On some lucky days, the entire piece of writing emerges (I don’t like using the same word in two successive sentences but my writing is rusty, and I am thinking as I am writing… obviously!) complete, perfect. On other days, it is chasing inspiration, and that takes discipline. I don’t think “chasing” is the correct term — it is more like “dancing” with inspiration, following its lead, going where it takes you. Even when the steps are difficult, even you begin panting, out of energy and all exhausted. And then comes a point where you decide that a break would be a good thing. And so on, the cycle repeats, day after day.

Tomorrow is P’s birthday, a good day as any other to get back into the discipline of writing. I am doing no one a favor except myself.

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November 2, 2012 / 0 Comments

“I don’t cook.”

Paraaanthas

Paraaanthas

Shirley from Basically Vegan posted a quote on Twitter by Mark Bittman. It goes, “Anyone can cook, and most everyone should.” I couldn’t agree more, really.

It is easy to go back to the days of childhood for comparison although the truth is that that was a different period. And I grew up in a different country. But some things remain unchanged. Food, for instance. And nutrition. And health. And family, sharing, joy… all that good stuff. It may be an Indian middle-class habit (meaning, solely driven by practical reasons) to cook at home, each day and every day. Going out for dinner was reserved for special occasions like birthdays or treats (for topping the class or winning a competition… good times, huh!). There was a sense of luxury associated with eating out even though we didn’t ever go to fancy/expensive restaurants. Oh, the colloquial term for restaurants in India is ‘hotel.’ So our constant refrain, “Achcha, can we please go to hotel tonight?” simply meant, “Dad, can we please go out for dinner?” Some days, the answer would be ‘yes.’ And then Mom would begin mentioning that we had leftovers from lunch, and then there was the vegetable curry she had made yesterday that would suffice for one person, and so on. Her last card used to be, “You guys go. I will eat at home.” And that would essentially bring an end to the discussion. And G and I would accuse Mom of being the perennial spoil-sport, hmmph!

The point made is simple. Home cooking is the best kind that ever exists. No matter what you cook at home, it will taste infinitely better than the fanciest food you get from a restaurant. I never bought into this philosophy as a kid/teenager but now, as a homemaker and a regular cook, I can only say – Yes, oh yes, absolutely, without a doubt. There is simply no comparison between the dishes that come out of a restaurant kitchen and those that emerge from my humble 4-burner gas range. The simplest lentil dal from my home kitchen outshines the Penang Curry from the best Thai restaurant. There is something to be said for the hand and mind and heart that cook out of love, for the pure joy of feeding and sharing, for the simple purpose of nourishment and sustenance, for the ones we love.

As Bittman says, everyone can cook. You may not be able to whip up a flawless souffle or a complicated Biryani but you can cook. You will not starve. And you will be able to feed yourself and others the best, simple food that is inexpensive, delicious and healthy. It is wholly possible. It is a life skill, really. And I think it is time folks realized this. Like you learn to drive, like you learn to clean a home, like you learn to do all the tasks that a regular adult does… you can learn to cook.

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October 26, 2012 / 0 Comments

Thoughts that Meander

As I was finishing up my evening meditation, a whole series of thoughts entered my mind. They were familiar meanderings but this time around, they were clearer, more compact and cogent. I have often tried to evince an interest in Indian politics but each time I venture closer to the subject, I am reminded why it makes me want to run away and hide. Because it leaves me feeling disempowered, helpless, powerless, hopeless. (A minute ago, I had decided that I wouldn't write this post. Why write something that is inherently dismal and depressing? But it looks like the post is writing itself.)

I think that the collective Indian ego must be feeling so bashed up, so completely cheated. Its faith has been robbed, its innocence destroyed. By who? By decades of leaders, many (or most?) of who have been small-minded, petty, corrupt and absolutely unworthy of being even called 'leaders.' And what happens when one's faith is violated? She becomes angry, cynical, pessimistic. She loses faith in herself and in the world. Most Indians today will probably naturally assume that their governance is corrupt. We have not an iota of trust in any of the people who are in power. This makes life challenging for everyone including the few rare leaders who are probably trying their level best to actually do their job.

Lack of faith in oneself causes diffidence and loss of self-confidence. And as the ego diminishes, it vainly tries to assert itself in the most petty of ways. This leads to silly quarrels, weak shows of aggression, belittling others and so on. Haven't we seen that playing out in India as well? Then there are so many villains lurking in the sidelines who are simply waiting for this kind of a situation to take advantage of.

Sigh… a long and heavy sigh.

What is the way out, if there is one? There is one, yes, there is. I guess it involves Indians to remind themselves that the past is gone and that we need to support the folks today who are honestly giving their best to making things work. We need to have cautious faith in public servants, politicians and leaders. We need to regard ourselves fairly, as citizens of a democracy. We have to dump the cynicism and pettiness.

A weak ego always needs the other to feel superior, to sustain itself. A strong ego needs no one; it is strong enough to stand by itself. We need to convert the weak, diffident collective Indian ego to a strong, self-confident one.

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