A cold parting

The new year rolled in and frankly I didn't really feel it. It crept in through the back door, sneaked in sort of. There i was, making grandiose plans, rolling out the red carpet, preparing long resolutions...well i didnt actually get to doing any of those. The mist, fog and the nasty chill kept me busy. It's so so cold. How can your mind function in such numbness? I dont know which i hate more- the searing heat of Delhi summers or this brain numbing, pot seat freezing teeth rattling chill.
But when the sun does come out from behind the layers of grey clouds and fog, it feels like bliss. Just put your back to it and sun yourself to a toast and all is forgiven till darkness rolls in again. I was at Nigambodh Ghat the day before- my first visit to the famous cremation ground. A close friend's parent had passed away. Consciously or subconsciously i have kept myself at arm's length from such sensitive places. They scare the hell out of me. There's something very unsettling about them. This particular ground was decorated with colourful statues of Gods in chariots which looked rather terrifying. I mean, isnt there a better way to make a place cheerful? There was also a bit of a queue and a traffic jam of sorts. Dead people were actually waiting for their last rites to be performed and then taken into their numbered pyres. I think it can be quite overwhelming for someone who is already reeling under intense emotional strain and battling grief. The cold didn't help and the fumes from the burning pyres made it difficult to see or breathe. To top it all everyone was so serious and glumfaced. I think we need to address the way we say goodbye to folks. What's wrong with having peppy music and some warm comfortable places to sit? An option to have flowers and incense? A nice setting to evoke treasured moments spent with the lost one. With beauty comes good memories and that's what people want, dont they? To be remembered with love. 

Try Doing nothing for a change

Winter is finally here. I love the metro rides in the cold early mornings as most of the world still sleeps under their blankets. I find summer very baring and exhibitionist. Compared to that, winter is more snuggly, warm and rather demure. The sun too is soft and tentative as if it's trying to test its warmth. There's nothing like toasting your back on a sunny winter afternoon. I usually stand with a book in hand in the balcony and within minutes I doze off. It's the ultimate pleasure in an off day. No work, no tension, just lazing around in the sun.
Talking of tension, there's too much of it going around these days. Everyone I meet is in a hurry, in a huff, rushing to or from a meeting or just pissed trying to meet a deadline. The worst thing is that there is no end to these things. We carry all the tension from work to home and make our evenings and weekends miserable. So there is really no break as such, no time to unwind. When was the last time you lay in bed swinging your foot and listened to some peppy music on youtube? When was the last time you just sat in the couch and did nothing for an hour? I bet you cant even remember! Well, that's what I mean by relaxing. We got to stop running, meeting deadlines, worrying and making ourselves sick. We are only hurrying our race to the grave.
Just try it. Laze around the house doing nothing for a day. It's the ultimate answer to all our troubles. You think i'm kidding? 

You need science not woolies...

Our schools are good for nothing. I guess we knew it all along but now it’s been proven. Indian students flunked an international ability test. They ranked fifth from the bottom. Apparently, we are especially bad in maths and science. Well now you know why most of us can’t hold on to money. We never learnt how to count the change!
But more than maths it’s the poor understanding of science that is worrying. I see it all around me. Folks leading miserable lives because they were more worried about scoring 99 per cent in science rather than figuring out what it meant. Science teaches you life skills. It connects you to nature and to life itself.

It’s peak winter in Delhi. It’s bone chilling, nerve freezing and brain thumping cold. If you live here, you’ve got to find a way to beat it and survive. Perhaps even enjoy it. For me, that’s experience and a sure test of your life skills. Look around you and see the way folks cope with winter. If you learnt your science right you’ll know that all you need to keep warm is to wear a jacket of air around you.
The birds fluff up their feathers to trap the air and cocoon themselves. Many animals retreat into a hole, down their shutters and go into hibernation. They shut off their systems to tide off the season. Dogs curl up into their tails and wind up into a ball. But people? (Read people poor-in-science) You’ll find lots of them with skin like dried peas and faces blue as ink. Girls in skimpy tops and boys in inadequate tees with chattering teeth. Everybody complaining how cold it is and shivering and quaking. Well, if you’d paid attention to science you’d have coped better. Listen to grandma when she says ‘dress in layers’! Wear inners and a pajama below your jeans when you go out. You can trap the air around you and prevent heat from escaping. Eat foods that have high energy content such as dry fruits. Burn calories to increase circulation. Run, climb or play a sport. And if nothing else works find a spot and ogle at the opposite sex. The theory is- ogling raises circulation which energises the heart which in turn burns more calories…