Monday, December 29, 2008

Been nice knowing you, 2008

Well, it wouldnt have come a moment sooner- the end of this year. I wont be too unhappy to see it go, and I'm sure that sentiment will be shared by many.
I think the economic slowdown and the terror strikes have created an overall uncertainty about things. So today's small joy is to say an official goodbye to 2008 and heave a sigh of relief.

But wait. Who says 2009 will be any better? I do think its totally upto us to make ourselves happier. I feel that identifying small joys over the past few months has helped me tremendously, and for those of you who have been reading my posts, I hope I have shared some of the joy with you.

I know I havent been very active blog wise in the past few weeks, work was too hectic.. but I promise to share more small joys with everyone in the coming year.

See you around soon!

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Simply Sachin

What a game we had - three cheers to England for coming back, playing out of their skins and actually dominating us for three whole days. Three cheers to Chennai's public, supporting the Indian team in a time of terror.
And a loud whoop of joy for Sachin. For being who he is, and winning the game for us. And then for saying that this was for Mumbai, and cricket is just a game.

But what a game, especially when your hero makes a century, wins the match from an improbable situation. Faith and Joy have been restored somewhat. Now for some peace.

Sunday, December 7, 2008

Monkey Business

I'd gone for a long walk on the weekend on my favourite route- the "upgraded" canal between Prabhat and Bhandarkar road. To the uninitiated, this is the very heart of the city.

Imagine my surprise when I saw a really huge monkey bounding about and scaring the poor watchman out of his wits! And no, it wasn't the usual escaped pet-type coming from a "madari". It was a genuine wild beast. God knows where it came from, but seeing a wild animal in the heart of Pune does make your heart skip a beat or two.

But then I stopped and saw the monkey again, and the way it leaped across. The sheer speed and grace with which the animal moved was totally amazing. Something primal about this surprise packet!

Tuesday, December 2, 2008

An Ordinary Moment

I'd forgotten the joy of an ordinary moment for quite some time. After terror struck Mumbai, it seemed to me that all of my desires and wants were suddenly quite irrelevant.

Sometimes, it takes a tragedy to realise where we are going in life. It may not be a tragedy that impacts you, but something like what happened does make you freeze. I have just been frozen like this for the past few days, contemplating the meaninglessness of it all. I didn't write too much because small joys are also rare to notice when something like this happens. We have a curious fascination for reading bad news in the papers.

But today, when I was driving to work, I saw the city around me, and realised that I was appreciating the sheer ordinariness of it all- the buses, shops opening up, the rain washed trees, kids going to school, the usual scenes that we take for granted.

And I thanked the one above for giving me an ordinary moment, something that many do not have the luxury of. If you are anyone like me, I'd say that you are very lucky.