Reflections

Over a period of time, I guess it has become a habit for me to resist anything new. I could not have been any less enthused about this trip. The apprehension of encountering everything new, of travelling across oceans leaving behind all things familar along with encountering my little one's put-on brave countenance, made me feel as if I was deserting home and hearth."The next time it will be you and I together exploring this huge continent", is what I kept telling myself whenever the thought came upon me. The day finally dawned and it felt like the last day on the face of earth. I rushed through packing, some last minute shopping. Thanks to my mom and dad, a bright new shiny red suitcase was waiting to be loaded. By eleven in the night, I shut the suitcase after throwing in that last bit of randomly chosen piece of clothing. The cab was arranged for. I had some three hours to 'sleep' and sleep I did... broken, yet sleep it was! It was on my way to the airport t...

It has to be my penchant for everything 'Keralese' which got me to Kannur to watch Theyyam.If you ask me what I knew about Theyyam before I watched it live... nothing at all. I have heard of it mentioned in Malayalam movies,.. remember seeing the fantastically dressed up artists dancing to persistent drum beats. To me it looked all out of a page of a tale from yore... Much later during a series of interesting conversations with a Theyyam enthusiast I got to know more about the art form; the fact that it originated from religious traditions and grew in form and character with the changing times, was something which intrigued me. I wanted to know more. The Nine Lives by William Dalrymple has an entry on the Dancer of Kannur. That story spoke a lot about the artists who masked their faces from real life and adorned the visage of a God or a Goddess offering counsel and showering blessings to devotees who come to visit them.The ordinary man from next door attains th...

To be honest, I went in to Jagriti Theatre with a lot of reservations about the play. True that it has won awards and was performed across the globe... True that it was written by the eminent Girish Karnad and directed by the talented Mrs. Arundhati Raja. It is still a period play and a period play could be very tedious to watch. There were a bunch of us theatre enthusiasts who got together at the venue from different parts of the city beating the traffic and the impending rains to witness this slice from history, thanks to the persistent coaxing of our dear Rihan. After a short delay of around 10 minutes the lights went out and there was an expectant silence all around and we waited... From that moment on I have not taken my eyes off the stage except to stretch my aching limbs or my tired back. The stage was set with the minimal of props but the lights created an ambience of splendour and royalty which took us all back to the hey days of the Tiger of Mysore. Just as the title sp...

It's been ages since I travelled in a second class sleeper compartment of a train.When the tickets were booked I almost thought of cancelling my trip. The so- called luxury of closed doors and artificially cooled cabins were hard to let go. The lack of natural light and air was something that you paid for. I boarded the train to Pune on a cool July evening after a wait of two hours. The delay gave me just enough time to catch my breath after rushing against time for months on end.There was no school bus to run after, no cooking to cater to, no PPTs to be sent across and no schedules to be prepared for 8 1/2 trainers. I was left alone and that felt divine. Waiting for the train I finished a 100 odd page novel by Padmarajan, one that I had wanted to read for so long.The train arrived and after I settled down, it struck me that I could breathe freely. The windows were left open and the feel of fresh air on my skin was exhilarating.There was a cool yet wet breeze all along and as I bad...

Let me remain your Muse and you my beloved Artist Fly high on my wings; my wings brushed with the choicest of treasures- abundance of love, plenty of inspiration and imagination galore You and I are not to be bound by shackles of permanency We would lose our magic, if it were to be so Spirits moulded, souls in unison we yet remain free; free to explore and grow richer together At the tap of your thought on the pane of my window I'd come rushing to your side And fill your palate with the best of my colours The world would gush and stand in awe at your creation Bursting with pride and filled with love, I'd quietly slip out of your gentle embrace and wait at my abode, till our thoughts meet again

It was during the phase of a major personal crisis that I was led to experience the magic of Kalaripayattu . I was ready to experiment with anything to take me out of the state of numbness and purposelessness that I was struggling with, on a daily basis. I started off with a vengeance, ignoring the aches and groans; wanting to excel in the art and thus conquer the feeling of emptiness within. {For the uninitiated, Kalaripayattu is a martial art form with its roots in the mystic land of the brave Othenans*. The popular ballads on the heroic deeds of these experts in the art form spread the fame of Kalaripayattu all across Kerala and even beyond.Though used as an effective method of combat during the olden days,today Kalaripayattu is used as tool to train the mind and strengthen the body} I was used to a more fun based work - out, like dancing, where you stick to the rhythm and let the music transport you to another land altogether. Kalari with its huffs and puffs and otherwise dead sile...

It was a day like any other; I was rushing off to meet the hands of my clock. I had to fit in a doctor’s appointment too that Thursday and was wondering for the umpteenth time why we could not have at least 25 hours. A lingering back ache has finally led me to the doctor and I would say here that it was more on the insistence of my sis doc that I found myself at his OPD at St. John’s that day. After a long wait we were given an audience by the Orthopaedician. He tapped, poked and stroked and came out with the verdict: An irritated disc in the lumbar region. (Thanks to the media I was not left gaping at the terminology). A healthy diet, some gentle exercises and the will to make it happen was his prescription for the same. My extended sitting hours, both at work and in the car, contributed to it and I had to take care. We went ahead for the routine checks – the Xray was done but the blood samples could only be given the following day as I was not on an ‘empty stomach’. So the next da...