Love thy life.

So on a random webpage today, I saw an ad that had a video and it said 'Hover for audio'. And I did. And this may sound juvenile but I was struck by it's awesome-ness. Now I'm hardly what you'd call a tech-freak. And to be honest I have neither ability nor interest in all of that. But the idea of moving your mouse pointer to a specific place to activate audio is so, SO cool. And I'm not sure how hard that is to do, but it still seems quite fantastic. 

That got me to think about how our lifestyle is full of these amazing things that we don't necessarily appreciate.Now I don't want to start on the whole be-thankful-for-all-that-you-have and the world-is-such-a-beautiful-place sermon, but it's kinda sad that we humans get accustomed to things so very easily. At one point of time motion sensor games had me awe-struck: now I'm just like, haan, khud se move hoti hai, what so great types. And well, as much as I don't want to use this phrase, we take it for granted. I'd love to be able to feel the initial excitement that I did when such stuff just started. I mean even  the fact that I didn't have to use inkpots and fill my fountain pen everyday because ink cartridges became available used to make me happy. 

So I think we should - when we're bored, at least - look at the everyday things we use and observe how it's made our lives so much more convenient. Like typing here instead of writing a journal, which is such a pain. And ctrl+F, which I hope can somehow be incorporated in every place I go to, like my room, my drawers, a tiny store in a maze of shops, and even real books. 

So let me go think about the many uses of plastic now.

Who am I speaking to?

I've recently started going to the temple with my mom on weekends. It's fun. Really. We walk about a mile, the walk being the main purpose, the temple the incentive. I'm not religious, and not too much of a believer either, so all I do there is listen as she recites prayers for one god after another, beginning with Vishnu and ending at Hanuman. She knows a lot of mantras, and says them in reverent whispers, so as to not disturb others. The sequence is the same; always. Another reminder of how I love routine.

There are other kannadigas there too; and I love listening to people other than my family speak kannada. It makes me feel different, feel good. Probably because I've never lived anywhere in a place where the local language is kannada. Strangely enough, when I come back to Delhi after a holiday down south, I feel like I'm home. This duality in the lives of people living in a place not ethnically their own will always remain. I used to find it quite peculiar initially when I used to support South Indians when people criticised them here, but I supported North Indians when people down south would criticise them. Delhiites call me a fake Delhiite, kannadigas call me a fake kannadiga. It was confusing earlier, now I'm just used to it. I don't quite mind contradictions, like a very wise friend said, we don't have to label everything, it's simpler, but in other ways, life is harder if you categorise and sort every single thing, every person, every trait, every habit.

I also think duality keeps us self-sufficient. It might sound like a very narcissistic idea, but it's pretty logical: don't we always say that you need opposing elements for balance? Same way, more traits and more opposing traits keep us balanced, we can be what we like, without really changing. It's like yin and yang all inside you; so you have the flowing energy of the female and the rigid tensility of the male and can switch between them. If you have either, you need the other externally, so you're dependant. Right? I think I need to develop on this idea. :P

Also, it's Holi today, and the streets are flowing pink. Pretty awesome when you're looking down from the third floor. Happy Holi!

Tick tock

I love the mornings. Specially when I can spend them in bed. But my mom doesn't. Her best mornings are probably those when I'm up early. Hence the undying, unhindered, unbeatable demands of getting up early 'at least now!' So what do I do - not get up till one pm daily. Amazing fun.

But today was a different day; I woke up at ten, three hours before usual: I had my dance rehearsal today, and needed to practice. When I wake up early I love standing in the balcony and watching the humdrum of the people who do get up on time. The office goers in their suits, the vegetable sellers with their thelas, people buying them, people washing cars, with large slops of water that probably leave the road cleaner, and random people on cycles. I see a lot of beauty in routine; there's such unbelievable security is knowing what is going to happen, in knowing exactly what you're going to do when and when you're going to finish that and do something else. Initially I used to feel surprised when people said they had difficulty in following their timetables, for me life is so clear and easy when I have a plan, once you have a plan you just follow it, pretty much unquestioningly, you don't have to think about what to do with your time, whether you should play or sleep or listen to music or study. And I'm not talking about automaton, machine-like obedience, you can always change the plan, there's full flexibility, what I'm questioning is the need; if something out of the ordinary happens or if you don't feel like doing what your plan says, change it, but just do it before the day is over.

So yes, The Pendulum of grade ten was one chapter that I totally understood. Lol.

I danced properly after a very long time today. And I cannot explain how totally awesome I'm feeling right now; like our friend would say, my heart is all warm and fuzzy. I've always wondered why I love dancing, what exactly I love about it, but there's a new answer every time. But more on that later.