The whole month was spent in in-law's place due to lock-down and that is the first. What I've realized during this period is in small towns the time does not move at all. I kept myself busy from morning to evening with office work, reading, and writing. I had uploaded vibrant flower photos to insta feed from the well tended garden. There were no household chores either to attend as the maid was coming twice a day. From 5 o'clock in the evening, I used to get the feeling as if the time stood still. Hubby would finish his work around 6:30. Mil is happy watching News and movies on television. Hubby and I have stopped seeing News a long time ago. We were horrified beyond our wits to see how the News channels are communalizing the significant pandemic. And as far as movies are concerned, I would have watched most of them and seeing it again on television with breaks was next to impossible. We would take much needed walk for an hour or so. As I've not packed any paperbacks, most of my readings were limited to phone. And continuous reading on phone put a lot of strain on my eyes.
Despite that I was able to read four books this month. Those were "The Death of Ms. Westaway-Ruth Ware, Where Forest Meets The Stars-Glendy Vanderah, Jugari Cross-Poornachandra Tejaswi, and Ask Again, Yes-Mary Beath Keane.
The movies were limited to just four, all of them were re-runs; Sri Krishnadevarya, Babruvahana, Guru Shishyaru, Prachanda Kulla. These were the movies which I enjoyed tremendously as a kid. They still are relevant to this date, only I was not in good state of mind to appreciate them.
We followed the lock down trend of Dalgona coffee. Tried to grow microgreens in the backyard, but lost them for heavy monsoon showers. I could have taken another attempt at it, however, the gloom was seeping in. When the whole country was burning candles to chase away the Corona, my heart wept for the ignorance of my countrymen. A silver lining of hope came the next morning when I talked to my mother. She flatly refused to do this charade and stood her ground. I couldn't be more proud of her and I'm glad I raised her well (pun intended). At the same time I am ashamed to acknowledge few of extended family members and friends succumbed to this national farce.
We celebrated our eight wedding anniversary in this lock-down quietly. Mil baked cake for this occasion and I'm obliged for this gesture. It is not quite the anniversary I was hoping for. If everything was normal we would be chasing sunset in the tropical paradise Mauritius sipping Cane Rum. This Force majeure was unexpected and spoiler. Nonetheless, there is no one else I would want to be isolated with other than Hubby.
These chaos and devastation too shall pass, until then we should hold our horses.
How was your April?
On normal days I don't watch news at all. I think it must be more than 3 or 4 years now. To be informed with current affairs I read news online for few minutes and be on twitter. Screeching anchors, breaking news readers, prime time debaters have made me to turn down the television forever.
Currently I'm at in-laws' place. Here I am reintroduced to news again and nothing changed much. I'm shocked beyond my wit about how they communalize an issue at the time of a pandemic. No surprise here. India is a country that runs most on religious sentiments. At least the current situation made me to believe so.
Let's go back to my growing up years. Nothing to brag about, but neither my parents nor my grandmother were bigots.
On Christmas eve we used to walk over to friends' house to check the Christmas crib and tree. The first ever piece of cake I had was at their home. Still I vaguely remember the Carols sung by them during the moral period. Yes, those days were simple. Visiting church was an extravagant affair back then. And mind you I was not even studying in Christian convent. Bible, Jesus, Mary, Joseph stories were narrated by them in great detail. We used to giggle and whisper whether bride and groom would kiss on their wedding day. Diana, Dorita Winnie, Pinto, Fernadez, D'Souza, Chaco were very common in the class and neighbors.
Same goes for Afrin, Naseeba, Musrat, Rajiya, Nishreen, Nawaaz, Asif, Sadiq, Nehreen, and many others. At the time of Hindi Antakshari competition everybody wanted them on their team because their knowledge of songs from 50s to retro to 90s was impeccable. Since I'm a vegetarian I was always kept away from kebabs and biriyani. Only dish I was given was Sheer Khurma on Eid. I was part of their beach picnic most weekends as I was not allowed to go near water body without adult supervision because of a freak accident many moons ago.
In the same way all of them were part of our festivals be it Ganesha Chaturti or Deepavali. We all participated in large number of cultural activities as one. We were not taught to differentiate one another based on the religion, at home, at school, or in society. Partaking in town fairs with friends was the fanciful event each year.
I'm the person who has changed many schools, had different sets of friends belonging to different communities, stayed in different towns and neighborhoods, yet my experience remained same. And suddenly from the past few years all I see is hateful messages towards particular community in all forums. Even in social gatherings people spew venom as if it is the most natural thing to do. Hubby cuts down such malicious arguments then and there with logic, for that I'm proud of him.
I've completely stopped interacting with fanatic friends and acquaintances. I've disowned bigot cousins and family members. I've tried my best to educate them on religious harmony in vain. It must be easy for them to hate somebody based on religion, caste, class, creed, or gender, but that is not me. The alarming issue is they all have children and I dread to think whom they are going to raise with so much hatred in their heart. If this hostility is passed on to next generation there is no hope for this country and we are all doomed.
History has never been kind to people who often tend to forget it.
There is something magical about reading books. Most people think it is about knowing stories. I don't deny that. Along with the story the reader will be transported to another world, the world where he will get involved with the characters. Here, the imagination is his own. Though he is a mute spectator, the emotions he feel for the people in the book are raw and real. It is my genuine believe that people who read books are generally more mature and liberal. That is mainly because their exposure is aplenty. They would have lived different lives in different time periods. They are familiar with goodness and badness. They can differentiate from right to wrong. They can take stand in a conflict. They can be compassionate and kind. I know there are several exceptions to this generalization of mine. At least I can say reading books made me a better person and it continues to do so.
This World Book Day I want to name few of my favourite books that tops my memory right now. It is an extremely difficult task to begin with. The mere mention of a book name brings back memories associated with it. I may not remember the plot well enough, but mere mention of a book name brings back memories associated with it. The below-mentioned list will not be the same next year. So, here is the list without any particular order.
1. Jugari Cross-Poornachandra Tejaswi
2. Rage of Angels-Sidney Sheldon
3. Parva-S. L. Bhyrappa
4. Kane and Abel-Jeffrey Archer
5. Harry Potter Series-J. K. Rowling
6. To Kill A Mockingbird-Harper Lee
7. The Kite Runner-Khaled Hosseini
8. Wonder-R. J. Palacio
9. The Good Daughter-Karin Slaughter
10. Tulasidala-Yandamuri Veerendranath
Happy World Book Day from one bookish to another.
This is the month the Novel coronavirus loomed over us largely. We were hearing about Wuhan, Corona, Diamond princess fiasco since December. We were updated about the first positive case in Kerala and the subsequent recovery. We were quick enough to cancel all upcoming travel plans local as well as overseas. We were equipped for the anticipated curfew.
Despite all these we were not serious. If we were, we would not be attending the massive nine-hour over-nightly play "Malegalalli Madumagalu". I'm alive and healthy to write this overnight experiment in drama form is one of its kind in the country. The play is based on Kuvempu's book of same name, set in Malnad, the central mountainous region of Karnataka of the late 19th century. The experience was powerful and magical. Imagine running around the Jnanabharathi campus every 2.30 hours in the night until early morning for seats as the show was performed at four different stages in an open-air setting. There were almost 1500 people for the show as they declared it to be the last run. Cousin M1 accompanied us and here we created a beautiful memory, the story we will tell to anyone who cares enough to listen. It's a powerful nostalgic moment for hubby as he belongs to the Malnad belt of the state. The art lovers in us were happy and content. Social distancing was not the norm at that point in time. If it was we would not have ventured out.
By next weekend curfew was ordered in 7 districts of the state that included Bangalore urban. Then started the isolation followed by the nationwide lock down for 21 days.
I managed to read four books this month. The list is "The Last Time I Lied-Riley Sager; The Lying Game-Ruth Ware; The woman in cabin 10-Ruth Ware; The Devotion of Suspect X-Keigo Higashino. I first read Ruth Ware's "In a Dark, Dark Wood " last year and liked her story-telling style, which falls in my favoured genre. Her another book "The Turn of the Key" was nominated in the best mystery and thriller category of Goodreads 2019. So, I picked that in January and went on reading all other published works of her. This fixation was on Riley Sager the last two months.
The movie list goes like this; Driving Licence, Houseful 4, Dabangg 3, One Who Flew Over Cuckoo's Nest, Mardani 2, Maari 2, Bombshell, Maheshinte Prathikaram, and Kurukshetra.
The television show continued with 'The Last Kingdom' season second and third. Uhtred of Bebbanburg was the driving force in sustaining this harsh lock down. And Netflix announced April 26 as the official release date of season 4. However, I'm afraid nothing will be as per the plan during this pandemic.
I hear family members and friends alike not getting paid during the lock down. It is totally unfair and unkind. These are real people with lot of responsibilities and commitments. Their stress and anxiety is endless. I tried to console them by saying sailing through this global catastrophe unhurt is the most important thing right now. My cheering may sound hollow, still I messaged and called near and dear ones to check on them even though some of them had been irritating and annoying in the past. At least it is far better than banging vessels or burning candles.
Hoping for a corona-free world soon
This title was inspired by the novel "Love in the Time of Cholera". For an introvert like me home isolation is a blessing in disguise. Working from home is not the same as working from office. In office you have a disciplined routine to finish the workload within the stipulated time. I never in my entire work career extended a single minute than what was necessary. Its my firm belief that those who cannot complete their task within the time are incompetent. I digress.
Hubby and I get a lot of couple time during this period. Both of us are very professional when it comes to work. We set up work station in two different rooms from getting distracted. We take a lot of breaks in between to cook, organize things, water the plants, listen to music, read, write, paint, talk, and snuggle. This is the time we get to have three meals together, otherwise, its only dinner on weekdays.
In the evenings we workout, whip some new dish, binge watch TV shows or movies. Well-stocked minibar helps us to take the edge off now and then. We're well equipped to sail through this confinement without glitch. However, it is difficult for hubby to contain his exuberance as he is a total outdoorsy and extrovert.
I'm heartbroken because of the cancelled holidays. We've earmarked and booked our calendar for Holi, Good Friday and Labour day weekends. All three were planned for three days each. The biggest blow is our rescinded anniversary vacation to Mauritius. If going by the statistics it is impossible to travel overseas for another whole year. As a traveler our situation is down in dumps.
As people with various interests and hobbies, these quashed holidays; scraped theater, movies, concerts; nipped adventures is taking a toll on us. The situation is grim and scary. Now it has become a part of my routine to check COVID-19 casualties as soon as I get up and once again before going to bed. It is totally a callous behavior on my part, but I'm not the only one here. This is the privileged me ranting about the inconveniences caused by the quarantine plonking on my ass while millions of fellow countrymen are struggling to make ends meet.
Earlier like all the entitled I used to urge everyone to stay-at-home and be safe. But having seen the visuals of millions of people on road without food and shelter being exposed to the pandemic because of the unplanned lock down, I stopped being that moron. And I will never be the person to cheer on for police brutality. We don't believe in donating to charity or Government organizations because of lack of transparency. So, already in the process of how to give a helping hand to the known less privileged.
The present condition is hopeless and frightful. I'm sad and depressed, but willing to give up my personal freedom for the welfare of fellow homo sapiens in the hope one day 'this too shall pass. My rose-tinted self is eager to write a post on "Life after Corona" soon, very soon.
February is Happy Birthday month. It was good to see Hubby all happy and chirpy around the D day. As luck would have it this year too the celebration went on from Friday evening until the wee hours of Monday. It was a close knit affair just as he wished for with lots of bling, booze, and blast. And I wish this old soul all the happiness in the world.
Valentine's Day is overrated. I totally agree love should be celebrated everyday and we love a little more everyday. Still I love this overrated drama. My folks say we just need a reason for merrymaking. I say our merry goes round and round day in and day out. We proposed and accepted to be each other's valentines for another year. Cliched, soppy and banal right?
Again this month I kept my promise of reading four books without fail. All four books are of thriller genre and I need to curtail my obsession with these style. The list goes like this; The Whisper Man-Alex North, Run Away-Harlen Coben, Lock Every Door-Riley Sager, and Final Girls-Riley Sager. I am introduced to the author Riley Sager this month and I am hooked. Hooked so much that I had to pick all three of his published books.
Despite being a shortest month we were able to watch 10 movies. The list is; Sand Ki Aankh, Prasthanam, Avane Srimannarayana, Motichoor Chaknachoor, Tadam, Fakir of Venice, Parasite, Pati Patni Aur Wo, Irishman, and Kaithi. I still could not understand the hype around the Academy win 'Parasite'. Its an average dark comedy even for South Korean standard.
The television shows we watched are Jamtaara and The Last Kingdom-Season 1. Jamtaara, 10 epiosodes' season was promised as a cyber crime, but focused more on village politics, corrupt politician, and petty clashes among friends turned foes. On the other hand "The Last Kingdom" is just brilliant. We walk around the house now imitating the sexy dialect of Alexander Dreymon as Uhtred of Bebbanburg.
"Poulasthyana Pranaya Kathe" is the Kannada mythological play, recreated through the eyes of Ravana, who is traditionally the villain of the epic. A three-hour long drama was absolutely brilliant and acting of the protagonist Krishna Sharma was top-notch, without doubt one of the best performances so far.
We were invited to Cousin M's friend's Rangapravesha. As patrons of arts and culture we couldn't refuse the offer. As it was mentioned well in advance we made ourselves free for an evening. The performance was bad to worse though we were not insensitive to tell it on her face. And what is this praising "Gurus" repeatedly and annoyingly. I know they play a major role in your dance journey and "Rangapravesha. Apart from the dancing, the whole show was a painful saga of quid pro quo. It goes without saying in this era of social media each and everything is a futile PR exercise, but without content nothing holds good.
Since Hubby's ophthalmology visit continues every weekend we could not make any day trips or short trips. Hope this will change in the coming months.
February was kind...
New Year celebration this year was different from usual way. If we are in the city we will attend those hyped parties until the wee hours to have hangover the next day. If not in the city we will be in some far out place exploring away from the hustle bustle. This new year fell on Wednesday, which meant taking two days leaves to travel. Hubby had important work assignment and taking leave was out of question. We were zeroing down on few places when a friend's family invited us for house party. I was hesitant as I was not sure whether we will be able to keep the tradition of midnight kiss at the stroke of 12 in a friend's home. Hubby was not comfortable with the idea of not sleeping in his own bed. He was more skeptical about my convenience. And both of us are reluctant as both friends's have small kids and we weren't keen to listen to proud parents's endless talk about their precious little ones, though we knew for sure they were more sensible from our previous experiences. After considering all pros and cons we decided to go with the plan and I'm glad that we did it because it was a wonderful experience.
Work was usual, busy; the familiarity breeds certain level of comfort.
I was able to keep my promise of reading four books a month. The list is "The Turn of the Key-Ruth Ware, The Collector-Nora Roberts, One Perfect Lie-Lisa Scottoline, American Marriage-Tayari Jones".
The movie list goes like this "The Armor of God, Maleficent 2, Sye Raa Narasimha Reddy, Black and Blue, Hamid, Soni, Downton Abbey, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Viswasam, Bala, and Junga.
The television show continued with Killing Eve Season 2 and The Forgotten Army. I'm hooked to both Eve Polastri and Villanelle and couldn't wait for season 3, which is going to be aired in April second week. I've mixed feelings about The Forgotten Army. Without doubt I could say Sunny Kaushal (the lead) is a better actor than his brother Vicky Kaushal (I know it is awful to compare siblings, but couldn't help it). Kabir Khan's making was alright, but the love story between the lead felt like a forced intrusion which curbed the intensity of the content.
Third week of the month was spent in native as MIL was diagnosed with Dengue fever and was hospitalized. The first three to four days were stressful as her white count was not ascending. With constant care and treatment she improved quite well. Caring for elderly parents is not easy as they behave silly and you need a monumental amount of patience to deal with them.
Watched Naama Namaha-a Kannada play about the life of four young priests who work for the temple, get themslves embroiled in a heist and investigation ensues. Another show is "Chelanga Puja", the annual dance offerings by selected students of a family friend's dance School. In this eight individuals perform a solo composition. Thier journey begins from learning the dance to studying nuances of performance and responsiblities of an artist. Mohiniyattam is a little listless and slow, but these students of the friend changed my opion for good. The cholerography and execution was of first-rate. I'm glad we could make time for this.
Little ups and down was the month of January.
