DreamingAway

    “It was a game. It was fun. What else did I achieve, as a school boy, by chasing few dogs with my friends and hit them accurately with stones while they ran at their best speed?”. Sipping his hot coffee, my friend looked at me as if asking “you did that?”. “Sure, I did. In fact, I used to carry lots of small stones with me when I take my dog for a walk. No dog should bark at my dog or come closer.” “Oh,” he smiled, smelling some egoism in my act. “Have you seen the joggers hit the dogs when they bark at them?”. “Yes!”. I guess he was not in a mood to talk. “I think people who walk in the streets at late evening hours hate to hear the barking sound. It creates some fear. You know what, few of them target these dogs during the daytime. The light gives them some courage to take revenge.” He was trying to take more sips, to finish it fast. The coffee must be getting cold faster than the usual ;) “Did you read about the Delhi’s dog serial killer and the Chennai medical student who tosse

Does my WFH make any difference in Hansie’s daily life? I think the following is what Hansie would say about it. He wakes up very early. Yes, very early, even before the sunrise. I don’t like it. I don’t think I can do any meaningful work at that time. I just watch him for a few minutes and I go to sleep again. Thank God, unlike many naughty guys around, he doesn’t come and disturb me. When I am not that sleepy, I go with him to the terrace. He walks toward the crows and squirrels, rather slowly and casually. I was really afraid initially as he might harm them. No, they just hop here and there, and he returns without doing anything. I think those crows and squirrels come there for their breakfast. He takes the breakfast along with me and then when the laptop is opened, it is time for work. We don’t even see each other till lunch though he sits very near to me. I wonder how he maintains time, he looks at me as if he is very hungry almost at the same time every day. No matter how much di

  I buy toys for Hansie from online stores. I usually avoid outdoor toys. He doesn’t prefer ball type toys. He is small, and most of them are too big for his mouth. He loves squeaky toys and never seems to feel afraid of those toys, which is not the case with many dogs. He likes rope toys too, but I mostly avoid them as they are not easy to clean. I run through a checklist before I buy a toy for him. 1. Indoor/Outdoor 2. Size 3. Materials used 4. Non-toxic 5. Washable. Hansie gets another set of things to play. The soft drink plastic bottle is one of his favourites. The small neck part of the bottle makes it easy for him to grab and run. The next one is the empty sweet boxes. He will tear them into pieces. The sounds he makes and his expressions are sure to make me laugh, every time! He gets very excited when he finds a bubble wrap. I wonder how he learnt to do that. He presses the bubbles with his teeth and brings the popping sound. Grab, drag, bark, run, jump and be joyful is what Ha

Hey, Hansie! What is that? “Pen. I am going to start a diary.” What, diary? ... Why now? History may record everything but only a few are remembered. Should we call it unfair because there is only a minuscule difference between those who are remembered and those who are not remembered? That was what I felt when I completed The Bolivian Diary . The Bolivian Diary is Che Guevara’s last diary entries that he wrote before he was captured and executed by the Bolivian army. His diary shows the pathetic situation of rural guerrilla life and misery filled end days of Che. The Bolivian army hit them constantly. He had his asthma killing him slowly. He was moving in a tough terrain. Hunger and wounds were travelling with them. Despite all, he was focused on his next moves and his goal. In the end, he failed to spark a revolution in Bolivia and his life ended. History tells about hundreds of revolutionaries and rebellions. I still wonder how people like Subhash Chandra Bose and Mao Zedong managed

  How do you react when your friend asks you to join in a cup of coffee and you are working on something important? Before your Yes or No, your mind will be flooded with hundreds of instinctual thoughts. All are in a few milliseconds. Your friend might not see what you feel inside. Perhaps this had happened to you too in your school-days: At least once in a week I got into a situation where my mom would ask me to buy something in the nearby shop when I was about to rush to the ground to play. I can’t describe that split-second emotions. Maybe, my mother knew the meaning of my expressions. We encounter similar moments every day in our life. They come in both positive and negative ways. There are a few initial reactions, called micro-expressions that truly say what we feel. Darwin was the first to say that these expressions are same everywhere and with every species. Hansie was waking up, and I pushed his toys to him. He went blank and stared at me for a few seconds. Sad! I know what we

நெடுந்தொலைவு பயணிக்கின்ற நட்புகளெல்லாம் வரம் என்றால், பயணித்த சிறு காலற்றே பெருந்தாக்கம் கொடுக்கும் நட்பெல்லாமும் வரமேயாகும். அப்படி ஒரு நட்புதான் ஹன்சிக்கு போலா தந்து சென்றது. போலா வந்த பிறகுதான் "டால்மேஷன்" வகை நாய்களைப் பற்றியே எனக்குத் தெரியும். நல்ல வெள்ளை நிறத்தில் அங்கங்கே கருப்பு திட்டுக்கள் பார்க்கவே புதுமையாக இருக்கும். போலா சில மாதக் குழந்தைதான், ஆனால் ஹன்சியைவிட இரு மடங்கு உயரம். பயங்கர துருதுரு. நாய்கள் அடிக்கடி சண்டை போட்டுக் கொண்டாலும், நட்பை வெளிக்காட்டிக் கொள்வதிலும் குறையிருக்காது. அந்த நம்பிக்கையில் தான் போலாவை வீட்டிற்குக் கூட்டி வந்தோம். ஹன்சி, ஏறக்குறைய ஒன்றரை வயதில், எங்கள் வீட்டுக்கு வந்த போது அதனால் பின்னங்கால்களால் நிற்க முடியாது. கொஞ்சம் நகர வேண்டுமென்றால் கூட, உடம்பை தரையில் தேய்த்து இழுத்துத்தான் நகரும். அதைப் பார்க்கவே வேதனையாக இருக்கும். பல மருத்துவர்களைப் பார்த்தும் எந்த பயனுமில்லை. பெரும்பாலான நேரங்களில் அதன் கண்களின் இயக்கம்தான் அதன் மொத்த இயக்கமுமே. எந்த சத்தமும் கூடச் செய்யாது. ஏதாவது காப்பகத்தில் விட்டுவிடலாம் என்று கூட அடிக்கடி நினைத்தோம்

She would have glanced at him and ran towards the staircase and barked at a random thing. Hansie would have followed her and barked too. And then, the next second, they both would be playing as if nothing had happened. I am sure it would be annoying and heartbreaking for a few if you put a question, “Why do we need a mom?”. “We don’t need.” is not an easy answer to accept or even to hear. Ok. You come up with a case like this. You say it will give me a different perspective. Take a kid of age above 3 years. The kid got loads of wealth. He got people to teach whatever things required to become a great human. He could be provided with foods of his liking. He got people to do whatever service he would require, regardless of time. You add many more things to the list and ask me, “Do you still think, we need a mom?”.  I wanted to say something but you continue. You ask me to think of the things a mom could do. You ask: “Have you learnt anything from your mom that others can’t teach and you

Can Hansie have a holiday? It is impossible for me to make him understand the meaning of holiday. But I know his holiday moments as I know his routines very well. Is there anyone in the world who doesn’t follow a routine? We all have a routine, whether we like it or not. There is no way to have a routine-less life. It can only move from one routine to another. Fortunately, we can add dynamism here and there to make life interesting. A routine is a collection of actions that we do regularly. Most (all) of our routines are driven by the external factors. We need to eat and we need to sleep. By Design, it has to follow a pattern, a minimal routine. Based on our roles in our current phase of life, we are given (we have designed, if that helps!) a routine to be followed. We can measure it hourly, daily, or whatever that fits. That is, we have a micro to macro level routine. Are routines bad? Absolutely not. Researchers (research everything!) found that routine can result in a multitude of p

Here cometh April again, and as far as I can see the world hath more fools in it than ever. - Charles Lamb I am not sure whether you can be fooled or not, but I am sure I can be fooled easily. That is what my Hansie enjoys doing it every day. That is what part of gods, world leaders, politicians, scientists, priests, et cetera are enjoy doing. When do you realise that you are fooled by someone? I get two possible scenarios - First: I realise it later. Second: I can never realise it. The second one is very simple to handle. Because, there is nothing to do. I can’t think of an example for this at this moment. Please try if you wish. The first one is a little serious one. I am not giving you an example as there are so many that you yourself can list. Since I know it now, I have two options - First: I can react and do something. Second: I can ignore it. The second one is easy once I decide to ignore it. That is, I do nothing. The first one is tough to handle. I can’t quote an example as

He moved closer. He moved a little closer without changing his gaze at it. That was a moment of realisation for me. It was a heartbreaking few seconds. I can’t express that feeling. May be, it was like this: Young mom working while the child was lying on the play mat. The child cries suddenly. She gives the child few things to play. The child cries again in a minute. She mumbles about her important work and asks the child to play with the toys, though the child can’t understand it. This repeats and her work get interrupted. She takes the child angrily and notices an ant biting her child. It takes no time for the tears to flow. The heart-quake at the magnitude of 10.0. I was arranging my books and Hansie came from the other room. He saw what I was doing and moved closer to it. He moved a little closer without changing his gaze at the books. “Hey, Hansie!”, I tried to get his attention. His eyes unmoved. Suddenly, I felt I realised something. It was a heartbreak

“I always forget that Rome Emperor’s name,” I told Hansie, who just entered the room. You know, Julia was the first (possibly inaccurate) person to receive “From your Valentine” message. Of course, the real Saint Valentine sent it, from the jail, before he got killed. He was jailed because he was performing weddings, which was banned by the Rome Emperor Claudius II. Oh, I didn’t tell you about Asterious. He was… Hansie was looking at me like a student listening to the post lunch history class. Hansie needs no training. He can sleep while his eyes are open. Hansie! Hansie! Okay, I agree, Valentine’s Day history/story is not so entertaining. Let me tell you about love. Hansie once again was ready to listen. Perhaps, he already knew about love. He just wanted to listen to me. I knew Hansie wouldn’t prefer to listen Romeo — Juliet or Laila — Majnu or Heer — Ranjha stories. I thought I would give him a direct definition of true love. No, maybe the practic

It is not the full list. It is only for fun. Don’t take it very seriously. I’ll take care of that :) Prepare 2021 list before Dec 31, 2020 Health: Weight not more than 77 kgs 900 pull ups Sleep not more than 2400 hours (100 full days) Tidying Up: Digital cleanup as I did in 2019 I should consider trashing my 5–10 years old dresses Learning: Learn 50 new words and keep track of them; use 5 of them Listen something for at least 60 minutes twice a week Movies: Watch at least three movies of Andrei Tarkovsky . Books: Read at least 30 books listed here . Make a single list of all the books I read and make a post Expenses: I should buy books only if it is going to be monetarily beneficial. Otherwise, no book buying. (Check Accounts 2019 section) Keep an eye on PET category expenses.(Check Accounts 2019 section) New 2020: Read and close all opened browser tabs (Got 100+). Watch few TV series. Current list is Chernobyl Marmadesam Merlí Queen 2019 LIKED books: Sapiens

Here is the fourth set of books I want to read. I'll read them in the order listed here :) Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman The Law of Success in Sixteen Lessons by Napoleon Hill Becoming by Michelle Obama When the Shoe Fits by Osho Shoe Dog by Phil Knight The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald Life's Amazing Secrets by Gaur Gopal Das The Puffin Book of Holiday Stories: An Anthology by Various contributors Awakenings by Oliver Sacks The Practicing Mind by Thomas M. Sterner How Will You Measure your Life? by Clayton Christensen Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen Start With Why by Simon Sinek What Got You Here Won't Get You There by Marshall Goldsmith The Happy Fruit Adventures by Hari Ram Narayanan Lean In by Sheryl Sandberg King Solomon's Mines by H. Rider Haggard Don't Sweat the Small Stuff by Richard Carlson Treasure Island by R.L. Stevenson Fluffy and Me by Anita Krishan Chronicles - Vol. 1 by Bob Dylan Tippu Sultan (Tamil) by

The size, weight, colour and quality are all few challenges when you buy a toy from the online stores. I was particularly apprehensive about the size of the green turtle toy which I had ordered for my pet dog. If it is too small, Hansie won’t like it. I liked the colour and the big eyes and thought I would take a chance on it. I received the order. It was fine. I gave it to my Hansie. He loved it immediately - love at first bite. That means I loved it too, and a click on all star top rating for the product. This fancy design really attracts Hansie. The short and strong leg design protects the edges from Hansie’s teeth. The soft shell design invites Hansie to bite, but the squeaky design helps to keep the bite for very short. This green turtle toy can withstand thousands of squeezing and biting. It is not a showpiece. It is not a toy for kids. It is not even for adult dogs. It is well designed, designed with a purpose - to keep the puppy amused and engaged. It will wear out one day and