Would love to get some recommendations on new LJ-friends I can add… Feel free to send me lots of names!
Category: This-That (page 48 of 234)
Vijayan is a school teacher but his heart isn’t in teaching. He longs for the carefree days of his youth, roaming around town without a care in the world, basking in the company of friends and classmates, spending his father’s money on movies, alcohol and jaunts. Those days are long gone since he now has a wife Shyamala and two daughters to support. But every once in a while, he sneaks away from his day job to play hooky with his buddies, indulging in drinking/gossiping sessions, causing his family much consternation.
“Is this how a grown man behaves? Utterly irresponsible! He steps out to buy a can of coconut oil and is gone for seven days! No one knows where the man is!” and so on.
The father and father-in-law rack their collective brains and hit on a great plan. Let’s send the guy on a pilgrimage to Sabarimala. Now Sabarimala is not an easy trip. It requires dedication, focus, discipline, abstinence. After much resistance, Vijayan gives in and begins the 40-day routine. He gets through it without much fuss and proceeds to Sabarimala. Thousands of devotees making their way to the temple, subsisting on meagre food and rations, braving sleepless nights of discomfort and overcrowding, getting a momentary glimpse of the deity… Vijayan is touched to the core. He returns home a changed man. His beard grows longer and thicker, he dresses in black/white/saffron, makes 2-hour trips to the temple each morning, dispenses flowers and fruits to the devout few thronging his house. And delivers religious sermons to the students at school.
Family is baffled. The plan wasn’t all that genius, after all. It backfired, and so bad.
When the elders confront Vijayan, he retorts – Isn’t this what you guys wanted? Now I am a devotee, I don’t drink alcohol or eat meat, I am engrossed in thoughts of the Divine. What is your problem?
No answers. Family finances are dwindling, everyone is worried.
One day, Vijayan runs away, leaving behind a note – I cannot take this any more. I am leaving. Don’t expect me to return. Shyamala is distraught, the elders are distressed. Well, you gotta do what you got to do. Shyamala gets an old sewing machine, rounds up a small clientele, begins her life anew. And she gets busy, managing her little enterprise, and two darling daughters.
Vijayan is on a trip of his own. Wanders around from city to city, meets another seeker, and reaches an Ashram. Months pass by but he is unable to shake off the memories of the past. He does not want to teach, he does not want to work in the Ashram farm, he does not want to assist in the Ashram activities. The head monk asks him what he wishes to do. Vijayan’s response? “I wish to contemplate on God, that’s all I wish to do.” The head monk responds, “If you contemplate on God 24/7, even He will be annoyed.”
Forsaking your loved ones and causing them pain is not Sanyaasa, Vijayan learns. Neither is shirking one’s responsibility. Vijayan is restless, plagued by guilt. He gets into a fight with another Ashram inmate, finally decides to leave. He returns home only to find that Shyamala is a busy woman, running a successful enterprise. She gives him the cold shoulder, acts as if he doesn’t exist. He meets his father and father-in-law who make no bones about their anger and disappointment. His friends are happy to see him back but they cannot help him break the ice with his family. Finally Vijayan gives up, breaks down.
Shyamala’s heart melts, she accepts the prodigal son into her life… all is well.
Chinthavishtayaaya Shyaamala is one of my favorite movies. Tight script, excellent performances, great dialogues and a superb message. A spiritual seeker is not one who runs away from responsibility or forsakes his/her duties. Sanyaasa has NOT a thing to do with an individual’s external circumstance; it is an internal attitude. Cultivating a Sanyaasin’s attitude is something even a householder can do. It is simply the practice of Vairaagya, dispassion. Like King Janaka or Lord Rama or Krishna.
What I adore about this movie is that this immensely profound message is delivered with much fun, humor and lightness. No heavy “hit-me-over-the-head” seriousness or preaching. Now that’s what I call a fantastic movie.
When I began cooking, I used canola as the cooking medium. Then I got myself a bottle of olive oil. And then a can of coconut oil, maybe.
It was a few years later, after P’s parents visited us, that I moved to sesame oil as the most oft-used cooking medium. Mom took one look at the bottle of canola oil and said, “You guys are young, you don’t need canola or safflower or anything of that sort. You can use sesame oil.” I assume that the other oils are suitable for people who want to watch their cholesterol levels? Whatever the reason, I got myself a large container of sesame oil that day. And that’s what I have been using ever since. Apart from ghee, of course.
Since then, I have been adding to the oil collection, as you can see here.
Oils in my Kitchen
Trader Joe’s has a decently sized selection of olive oils to pick from. Whole Food’s shelves are a lot bigger. I can’t dispense much by way of advice when it comes to selecting a specific brand but I can say this much – Pick one that is cold-pressed and extra virgin. Use it for light sauteing, drizzling over soups and salads, dressings.
What can I say about Idhayam Sesame Oil? I use it all the time. Unfortunately, I have no idea if it’s processed, cold-pressed, whatever. I buy it from the Indian store nearby and use it for most vegetable preparations. Some people think that it tastes too strong to be a cooking medium but I haven’t had that experience.
Old Favorites
Trader Joe’s has a delightful bottle of organic coconut oil that is fragrant and divine and reasonably priced. I came across a recipe for a Thai-style curry soup where you cook the curry paste in coconut oil, add vegetables, then coconut milk, simmer a little… and done! It turned out delicious and I used the coconut oil I got from Trader Joe’s. That bottle costs $6, if I remember right, and a little goes a long way.
I bought a small bottle of mustard oil but I haven’t used it yet. I know that it’s commonly used in Bengali dishes, hope to experiment one of these days!
Seasoning? Braggs liquid aminos, rice vinegar… I got the ginger oil from Dekalb Farmers Market and I use it primarily for seasoning noodles, millet/quinoa salads, etc. It is not intense at all but adds a nice tang of ginger to any dish. The medium is soybean and canola oil.
I also have a small bottle of chili oil that I use to drizzle over noodles, salads, etc. Now that one packs a mighty punch and you need to be extra-careful while using it. A few extra drops, and you’ll have a burnt mouth and an unhappy digestive system.
Oil and Seasoning Cabinet
The large blue container that says ‘Parachute?’ That’s coconut oil for the hair/scalp and believe it or not, that ones gets used a whole lot in this household too!
Considering that I work in new media (I like that term although it's a tad dated), I am a lover of old media.
One time, we had gone on a trip with a bunch of friends. I grabbed my copy of the Sherlock Holmes omnibus to read on the flight. As we got out of the flight, my friend M took one look at the big book and laughed. She said, "You know that you can get that in e-book form, don't you?" I do know that but I'd take a book over an e-Reader any day. This may be a good place to admit that I have never used an e-reader. Never even held one of the gadgets in my hands. And in no particular rush to do so either. I am not averse to the idea of using an e-reader; it simply doesn't appeal to me as much as getting my hands around a real book, paper and print et al does.
I have an iPhone but honestly, I think I could make do with any other phone. It isn't that the the joy of design is lost on me. I love and appreciate simplicity and elegance in design and the tech gadget world is a great place to see examples of that style ethic. Yet I find myself aching for the more tactile pleasures. A real book, a handwritten letter, using a pen to take notes in a notepad…
At a recent meeting, I took out my tiny notepad to take notes while my companion whipped out his shiny iPad. I could almost picture him thinking, "She takes notes with a pen???"
I am tired of characters glowing on an electronic screen. I see P (and countless others), eyes glued to the stupid phone screen, clearly eschewing the vibrant human being before him (me, that is). I see attention wavering, eyes shifting, deteriorating listening skills, poor attentiveness.
I don't want to be clued into the world all the time. Sometimes we are better off without each other's company. And I like tactile sensations far more than electronic impulses.
Maybe all this makes me seem like a Luddite? Not really. I am just another person who's tired of gadgetry.