I am happy I found an interesting word today. I am indebted to my friend Shweta for pressing me to read Harry Potter. And today while reading the part 3- Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban I stumbled upon the word 'Dementor' it was interesting because we also recently discussed about individuals who made us unhappy. There is a secret chamber in our department where we recently felt our memories and soul being sucked out like a vaccum cleaner does. And the fun part is these individuals have no hoods and a mouth above their hoods to kiss us to death.
I belittled fantasy all the while but I guess a little connect to our realistic world through fantasy was all that I missed. I bet many don't connect it that way and just revel in the mystery of magic but down there somewhere I find in these magical stories revelation of the mundane 'muggle' ( human) world.
And now that I know these souls sucking creatures are called dementors and I can use a Patronus charm every time I feel my emotions being devoured it makes me feel safe. All I need to do is imagine the best moment I ever had or dream to have in future and I am sure the dementors will vanish with the help of my patronus. And then when I feel drained off all these efforts I could hit the cafe coffee day and order a 'devil's own' ( mind it no other potion) and feel myself regaining strength.
No wonder we had patron saints to pray to as children, mine as of now seem to be St. Sunoj, St. Shweta and St. Momma.
My sis asked me to suggest a movie which dealt on independence so that they could screen it at college. She asked me to spare anything historical as their peers could not patiently sit through anything patriotic. I tried suggesting her movies and she kept dismissing them saying this wont click. I sat pondering what Independence meant to her peers. I would have harped on Indian national movements 12 years ago, I would watch all patriotic movies, especially on soldiers at border and sings patriotic songs today. I did listen to some songs today ( old habits seldom die). But with the improvised academic readings I do get caught in the dilemma of the politics of nation state. So today I dont marvel on ' independence of India'
I am grateful my country is free and I have rights many perhaps don't.
But today I wonder what Independence means to me?
I realise a lot of things I do unhindered, unhampered means independence to me.
The fact that I married the man I love and did not end up dead in the name of honour makes me feel independent. I know many who struggle to make that decision
The fact that I can study as much as I want and don't worry about being chained within the walls of my house makes me feel independent. Had I been born in a family or culture where my parents forced me to marry at 15 or even 18 I don't know what my life would have been.
I realise the fact I can read, think and write all that I want and not end up in jail or be questioned by my hubby or family means I am independent I am free to express my thoughts. I know women who live in constant fear of being misinterpreted lest the express their mind.
I realise a lot of mistakes I made in life and still would , don't let me down like man other because I have the freedom to decide my decisions which many don't.
I realise I could cook what I wanted when half the world wonders where their next meal would be from.
I realise I wont hang under a fan or burn in my kitchen for speaking out loud or correcting m hubby or expressing myself to my in laws and that's independence. I realize many women are not alive to read this for thinking aloud like me in the wrong places.
Have you ever thought what being independent meant to you? Could be different from its for me, its could be your purchasing power or career choices or choice to choose your partner. We often criticize our country for a lot of things from corruption to reservations and casteism to poverty. But I am so happy I wont be shot the next moment for writing this and that's true independence to me. There are a hundred reasons to feel ostracised but you just need that one point to feel you 'belong' to feel 'independent'.
Friendship is fluid a term to me. I have had many friends who have saved my life when I sunk. I have had many who let me sink . I have forgotten many , cut off from the rest, saved a few of them and I dont interact with the remaining. I have not warmed to the idea of subscribing to friends forever and when there are clashes I flee. I have never understood why I do it and never had any remorse over the fact either. But I savour the nostalgic moments of those lost friendships and I love them that way. The memories faded over a time feels sweeter than reviving those friendships again. As WHO says I live in the past and so all my friendships are memorial stones I pay homage to.
I dedicate this day to all those souls who blessed my life, understood me, left me when I wanted to be freed, miss me and whom I miss at times. I hope to be a better friend who would not flee .
I aspire for a friendship like Calvin and Hobbes so I would end this message on a quote from them. Hilarious and thought provoking
“Why isn’t my life like a situation comedy? Why don’t I have a bunch of friends with nothing better to do but drop by and instigate wacky adventures? Why aren’t my conversations peppered with spontaneous witticisms? Why don’t my friends demonstrate heartfelt concern for my well being when I have problems? …I gotta get my life some writers.”
The other day I shared some pineapple pieces with folks in office and said that they were from home. I was surprised to know that a few of them had not seen how pineapples grow or how its plant looks like. Not that I was really alarmed because yours truly didn't knew the same about Avocados an year back.
So we decided, similar to our Incredible India! label, today we will start a new label - God's Own Country. No marks to guess which place that is. Now that Don's shifted to Kerala, there will be ample opportunities to travel to the land of rubber (I wanted to say coconut) and backwaters, we will try to bring as many mundane and surprising elements, so as to enlighten and entertain the masses about little things in Kerala, as seen by our own eyes and captured by our own devices.
How To - Get to your Bananas
It would be silly of me to guess that there are people out there who don't know where Bananas grow. I am sure all of us would have seen those big bunches at tea shops or plantain shops but there are still others who would have only seen them by a dozen. But not clouding our judgement with prior experiences, we bring you how these bunch of yellow (the one in the clip is red) plantains are gathered from the tree (if we can call it that).
1. So first, the owner of the bunch, who had been eyeing it from many days, decides that it has ripened enough to be brought down from its hanging place. He is also conscious of the fact that other people in the village are also eyeing it from many days and there are suggestions galore about getting it down. So before all the eyeing spoils the fruit and to get rid of too many suggestions which have become a pain in his ears, he decides to cash in on the spoil. This one was brought down on a Sunday, for you can listen to the mass in the background. So much to keep the Sabbath holy!
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2. You definitely need a man or two to get this thing down. So you can call in your neighbours, some of the people who just came by to your house that morning can be asked to lend a hand and one of the guys you had been eyeing the fruit, so that the news can be spread that the plantain has been brought down and there is no need to talk about it anymore or visit the said persons house. But what joy is it if you don't have at least five people, even to pick a pin, in Kerala. The only downside to getting so many helping hands is that they come with as many mouths and so as many suggestions or 'how to do' steps. Even if this is not rocket science, we need to be mindful of the fact that there's not many opportunities to send something up into the sky in Kerala but many ways to bring something down. So if the owner is tactful he'll take a decision on it else the villagers will have a go at it, whether you like it or not.
3. I am sure one would have understood by now that one banana plant only yields one bunch of fruit. Lets remember that! First the dried and withered leaves are cleared off from the plant. Then the tilt of the tree is observed and it is pulled down to let the person with the chopping job to get a good view of the stem of the fruit bunch. Usually its the owner who gets to chop and others will do the secondary job, similar to how to let a celebrity cut the ribbon. Oh what joy it is to chop! A good portion of the stem of the fruit bunch is retained, one to give it a good hold to carry around and second to give it a grand appearance. The other people will gather around and give support and hold on to the fruit bunch so that it doesn't fall off when chopped. Then with a few smooth cuts the chopper will do the job and wola! what was so high a few minutes earlier is just about your mouth now. Peel it and enjoy.
The remains of the plant will be dug out and a new sampling will be planted. And then in eight to ten months time it will again be time for some eyeing, talking and chopping and the cycle continues.
We saw this funny notice at the middle on M.G. Road, at the junction of Brigade Road. Not that we would be considerate enough to think that this is one of the bussiest intersections in Bangalore, to open the fly and let loose, we see such notices all across the city, or to say, the country, for we the people can't really control our bladder.
What caught our eye with this one was that, and we found it funny too, the writing on the right side, to be a counter argument to the left one.
