DreamingAway

 One of the good things about friends is that you don’t have to do any preparation to spend time with them. One of the good things about the news is that it gives you something to talk about. You know, for example, my friends talk about young people dying in the gym because of the heart attack. It would be like, “young officer trainee dies of….”, “young woman college graduate dies …”, “young doctor dies while doing gym…” on random days. Of course, we end up in agreeing that we should be careful on our health and follow good health practices. You see, we take some lesson from others. Don’t we? When we see the news about massive earth quack, we feel sorry for the thousands of people who lost their lives. When the video of flood running a riot somewhere in the world, sure we watch and talk about it. When the news flashes about a horrific accident that kills several people, we do talk. We talk about climate change, infrastructure, global landscapes or whatever we could pick based on the ne

  She is an elderly person, possibly in her eighties. It is a very busy road and adherence to traffic rules seems to be non-existent and is possibly not a mandatory thing. Of course, it works in congested areas like these. People navigate smartly, finding the best ways to move themselves around. There is a sequence of bus stops for different directions, and for the long distance travel. There are autos and private vehicles. The traffic police can’t help much as the issue demands more infrastructural solutions than mere discipline. One good thing about this is, there is less likely a chance for any major accident. She is weak. Despite her age and a bent back, she can walk. Of course, with the aid of a walking stick. There's a sidewalk designated for pedestrians, but I tend to avoid it. It's often overcrowded, serving as a terminus for numerous buses and crowded by passengers boarding and alighting. And there are slow to very slow walkers. And plus the scattered litter. Even walk

The last leg of my daily commute involves a short bus ride on a route with infrequent service. While I have options like taking a share-auto or even walking, I always end up waiting for the bus. I often tell myself, "I'll wait five minutes, and then I'll leave." I add 2 more minutes while browsing my phone. And then three more, to make it a round ten. By the time ten minutes have passed, I'm bored with whatever I'm doing on my phone. Even though I am bored and frustrated, I start to expect the bus to arrive, cursing my decision to wait so long instead of choosing another mode of transportation. Despite disliking this habit, I find myself caught in this situation every now and then. If you've ever lent money to someone facing financial difficulties, you've likely encountered this situation. The person suddenly asks for a small sum of money to round off the total amount, with the assurance of repaying the entire sum very shortly. In the hope of getting t

Child Dog Playing It was a perfectly sized dog for that child. If it had been too young, it might not have matched the child’s energy, and if it had been a bit older, it might have knocked him down. Adding a few more brown patches to this dog would make it resemble the pet I had during my schooldays. Would you call it stealing if someone spiritedly took a puppy without the owner’s consent? At that time, it didn’t matter to me. In fact, such ethical concerns were far from my thinking. The black puppy was beautiful, but the white-brown puppy was so attractive and his mother graciously (!) allowed me to take it with me. As a customary act, I gave it some sugar (mixed with Idly) to prevent it from running away. I still do this when I get a new pet dog, even after growing old enough to dismiss many superstitions. It was obvious to me that the child and the dog were familiar with each other, as I could see an instant connection and an intuitive understanding of what they wanted to do - play.

  அகராதிகள் பதித்துக் கொள்ளாத 'அழகான' வார்த்தைகளையெல்லாம் நண்பர்கள் இல்லாமல் வேறு எப்படி கற்றுக் கொண்டிருக்க முடியும்? இல்ல, இது மாதிரியான நண்பர்களெல்லாம் தவிர்க்க வேண்டியவர்களா? எதுவும் இங்க சரியுமில்ல தவறுமில்ல போடா என்ற வரிகள் பழகிப்போனதாலயோ என்னவோ "தவறான நட்பென்று ஒன்று இருக்க முடியுமா?" என்று யோசிக்கும் போதே யோசிக்கிறதை நிறுத்திக்கனும்னு தோன்றியதையும் மீறிச் சிந்தித்ததாலேயே இந்தப் பதிவு. எந்த ஒரு தேடலுக்கும் திருக்குறளையும் தோண்டிப் பார்க்கிறது வழக்கம். அட, இருக்கிறதே! நட்பியல் என்ற பிரிவில் பல அதிகாரங்கள், குறிப்பாக, "தீ நட்பு", "கூடா நட்பு" என்ற தலைப்புகளில். கூடா நட்பு என்றெல்லாம் ஒன்று இருக்கமுடியாதென்ற வாக்கில் நம்பும் போது இப்படி வள்ளுவரே சொல்லியிருக்காரேன்னு பார்த்ததும் கொஞ்சம் ஏமாற்றம்தான். என்னுடைய நண்பர்களெல்லாம் எனக்குத் தானாகவே அமைந்தது போலத்தான் இருக்கிறது. பெரும்பாலும் இடம் சார்ந்ததுதான் - வீட்டுப்பக்கம், பள்ளி, கல்லூரி, வேலை. மேலோட்டமாய் பார்த்தால் எந்த விதிகளுமே வைத்துத் தேர்ந்தெடுத்ததாய் தோன்றவில்லைதான். ஆனால் எல

  Can a statement, “you kill at least ten thousand insects in your lifetime.” evoke any emotion? Is it the same emotion, or no emotion that you experience when you hear it while you are actually killing an insect? While searching for a definition of emotion, I found the one below, which closely aligns with what I assumed it to be, although it is still a vague one. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emotion Emotions are mental states brought on by neurophysiological changes, variously associated with thoughts, feelings, behavioral responses, and a degree of pleasure or displeasure. There is currently no scientific consensus on a definition. Emotions are often intertwined with mood, temperament, personality, disposition, or creativity. I was looking for the definition because I went through the below sequence about Aisha Chaudhary and felt none of them in the sequence, taken individually, would have raised any emotion. My friend told me about Aisha, who tragically passed away due

       I don’t see everything that my eyes can see. I mean, even though my eye sees it, there is no brain processing of it. When I use my peripheral vision, all I see are only the same roads, same shops, same crowds. That is monotonous and boring. In fact, that is useless, as the more I see, the more my mind dwells on the problems and solutions related to that. And still worse, I am complaining about the same thing every single day. That is why I decided not to look outside while I’m on the office cab ride. Hey, I promise, it is not because I wish to doze off during my morning commute. Unfortunately, this has become a habit now, and worse, I am, rather unintentionally, following a form of this behaviour in the office campus. I realised it when people say that they’ve seen me and I failed to notice them. I understand that I should be aware of this and be watchful. Another promise - it was happening even before my eyesight was far better than the current state. The heart-wrenching moment

 Although I can remember a few people, at least vaguely, I am unable to recall anything that had happened before age 7. According to the internet, some may have access to memories formed as early as two years. That is impressive. It is okay, we all know that there are kids and others more talented than us in someway. Anyway, it’s not uncommon to have gaps in memory from our infancy days. By observing infants and their moms now, I’ve come to realise that my mom would have handled me rudely as she would have considered my innocent acts as rude ones at that time. I have vivid (!) memories of my early schooldays, where my mom had complete control over my days. She dictated everything from my playtime to study hours to my sleep schedules. No, she wasn’t a strict mom. It felt so natural to let her take control of my things. She knew every detail about my activities, interactions with my friends, and teachers. She truly knew everything! As I grew, she refined her ways and allowed me to do thi

Who would choose to miss an opportunity to meet an old friend? When one of my friends invited me to his family function, I immediately decided to attend. My plan was to attend the function and then head straight to work. There is a special feeling in meeting friends after a long time. Even though our time together was brief, it was enough to bring back old memories and it made the present a pleasant one. It was morning 8 O’clock and as I walked towards the bus stop, I noticed a bus that I could catch if I sprinted a few meters. My flip-flop thought differently, smiled through the thong that had come off, and ordered me to walk slowly. No worries. I knew what to do - find a shoe repair shop and get it fixed temporarily. I walked for 100 meters on either side but to no avail. A thought about my schooldays’ “Hawai” chappals flashed, those that I could put the thongs back in a few seconds. Maybe I could use a safety-pin, but where could I find one? I spotted an open shop ahead, and althoug

 Take a survey. Take data from any survey. We can easily find that the vast majority of people express thumbs down for whether they really get appreciated for what they have done. We may also find that the expectations are not costly rewards or high demands but the simplest form of deeds that shows appreciation. If it is that easy, then why is it not done as often as possible? Our smile and clap can help a toddler stand and walk a few more steps. It can encourage a kid to do more and feel happy when we appreciate him for solving a simple mathematical problem. Such is the very fundamental nature and the tendency of us, to receive an appreciation and feel good about it. Any genuine appreciation lifts us up. Do we still hesitate to appreciate, even after knowing the power of appreciation? When do we actually feel like appreciating? Some of the things I can think of: (1) When someone’s act gives a direct benefit, like a task completed. (2) When something makes us feel good, like a good mov

 COME and GO are the two words that any dog can understand without any hassle. I thought my pet Hansie too had learnt them in a few days. But I was wrong. He stopped responding to it after a few weeks, especially for COME - he would come only when he felt like coming. And that would annoy me very much the same way I get annoyed when the “ Hey, Siri ” fails to understand the word I say. WATER was one of the words I taught him with a bit of difficulty. He couldn’t express his thirstiness. He would come running when I went towards the water bowl. I didn’t notice it for a long and I realised it only when I accidentally filled the bowl, and he drank a stomach full of water. That was a heartbreaking moment. Now if I ask WATER and he needs it, he will just walk towards the bowl and I will follow him. It is so natural that I pay less attention to other things when I use the mobile or watch TV. I mean, not like I wouldn’t feel the earthquake or even the doorbell, just a little less focus. This

Overall, 2022 is yet another fantastic year that I have enjoyed a lot. Q1 : I was WFH for the first three months and things were going as they were in 2021 - work, pets, movie watching. I was trying to start reading books and it was very hard for me to concentrate or find the appropriate time to read the book. Q2 & Q3 : After a long time, I started going to the office. I liked the WFH and I also liked the WFO. I was unusually busy with office work during that period. There were EXITs and new joiners in my team that kept things a bit tight. WFO includes commute time to the office. That was important as that would be my book reading time. I slowly started reading books regularly. Q4 : I kept myself extremely busy during this period. Busy was not necessarily on the right things, but was doing something every minute. Work at office, reading books while commuting and watching movies or playing with pets at home. — It wasn’t so great with the movie selection this year. I didn’t like most

  We can have an infinite number of views on what life is and what our purpose is. None can be complete, as nothing in this world seems everlasting and the mystical delusions are merciless in taking us away from the truth. Here is my recent perception: Life is something… mmm, it is just something and we all need to participate. We are all participants by design. There is an Entry/Exit Manager who decides when to induct and when to terminate the participation. It is random because we haven’t cracked the code behind it. Because of its randomness, it is usually unfair. You start your participation with a set of tools and capabilities which are unique to you. Let us not talk about the unfairness here and henceforth. The participation means your movement. You move by achieving targets. The targets can be anything that you wish and set. The tools and capabilities you possess at any point of time and the way you see the world around you determines your target. The target you achieve becomes a