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Perfectly done.

One often feels what it would be like to walk the talk to perfection. On most days its convenience over passion. Its feasibility over ideals. It's what would delight others but keep you satisfied.  Not on the day you are getting married though. There you want to be elated & not just happy. You want to be delighted & not just satiated. So when one decided to tie the knot, kiss the bride & ride into the sunset it was pretty clear that there would be no ropes to be tied down with or veils to hide under nor any dust to cloud the sun that simmers the horizon. No if's & maybes. Just what you want & how you want it to be and that we did. So our wedding * defied norms and also broke away from tradition & the as expected way of doing things was put aside. I wish I could spare use of the word norm and use culture instead-but dogma & faith are so closely wrapped with respect and honour given to people and things that culture takes a back seat so far away that
Recent posts

Moving past & forward.

A year ago if someone said that I would be married in a proper sit-down ceremony, I would have baulked.  A sit-down wedding has several memories & moods to it. Much of it is a mess  or is at an ungodly hour with numerous loud people, kids high on sugar & the list is endless. If none of these tick any of your boxes then there is the arduous task of keeping someone in the bloodline happy by sitting in a cross-legged position for a ceremony that is not only commercialized but also incomprehensible & at times regressive. Not to forget the numbness in the legs that makes you feel like you are floating while you actually were completely grounded for almost 3 hours prior. Cut to the chase, when we decided to marry we wanted to skip this entirely in exchange for a court marriage. There was no way we could have simplified or modified the wedding. Also, what about the ceremony being understood & enjoyed? There were strict rules & stereotypes that are to be followed & ther

2020. Gratitude.

While the year had so much riding on it and it failed to deliver in many ways, one can think of few successes & a lot to be indebted for.  Life and health was retained, lived through and also scraped by for some people in the family.  So, looking over the shoulder one has the following to be thankful for health and stable ground beneath the feet. The following are my reasons: Survived 9 tropical storms and typhoons in the Philippines (wait there is more) in all of 2020. Survived a massive volcanic eruption that blanketed Manila in Ash for over 3 days and 2 days of WFH in Feb (the absolute anxiety of the volcano staying on grade 3/5 and its past notorious history being unimaginable). Survived 3 major quakes that are close to anything that can imagine as near certain death. Survived COVID (so far) home quarantine, social distancing and the lack of high fives and hugs . Survived a 7 hour sweeper flight of Air India taking me (after numerous calls and form filling with the Indian embas

Jashn

Nothing beats the joy of shared experiences such as living a rare moment together with those you love the most. That I guess is the biggest gift that one can receive from life or give to oneself. (Landing home for the holidays and taking all by surprise; Dec 2019)

Kahaani ka saar

It's over a year since I wrote something here and maybe because there wasn't much time to ponder over things or things to ponder over. Either ways, there are always learnings and lessons and these are the ones that I have. Focus on people and things that add positive energy. Discard those who sap it out and contribute only the negatives. It's good to say no, I disagree or I cannot comply. Work life balance is not an individual goal or possibility. It is a shared task and not a goal. Focus on some or fail on all. Always move forward.   Family comes first, friends come next. All else is the world or acquaintances as we call it and it - does not matter. Focus on what you want . All else follows. Happiness has a recipe . Spare time is gold. Financial planning is a great  routine . Gifting is therapeutic.  Airport arrivals are the happiest places on earth (almost as much as school gates at 3pm on a Friday). Emails are warm blankets when written to or received

36 questions

My attempt to do a self-conversation using the Arthur Aron set of 36 questions. Aren't we the most important person to ourselves? 1. Given the choice of anyone in the world, whom would you want as a dinner guest? My granddads. They left too soon. Outside family, it would be Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Prithviraj Chauhan, Sam Maneckshaw. 2. Would you like to be famous? In what way? My humour would be stretching it. Anonymity is a gift I am told so, No. 3. Before making a phone call, do you ever rehearse what you're going to say? Why? Not for the ones I love. 4. What would constitute a perfect day for you? Brunch by the sea, evening by a fire and a dinner under the stars. 5. When did you last sing to yourself? To someone else? Last week maybe. High on a new song. 6. If you were able to live to the age of 90 and retain either the mind or body of a 30-year old for the last 60 years of your life, which would you choose? The mind of a 30-year-old. The mind is a dangerou

Changes

The things that have changed in life ever since I moved far east. I am no longer Akshay but AK. At restaurant reservation desks, client meetings, emails and receipts as well. Chopsticks are a part of kitchen cutlery and so is soy sauce a staple part of the diet. Officially an NRI now and that warrants an NRI account to be opened soon. Hate the tag. I have 700 unspent India rupees lying on the kitchen counter. Need to get rid of them before De-Moditisation takes toll on the 100s The laptop and phone now  keeps track of 5 times zones. DC, Melbourne, Qatar  & home of course. Mango pickle is a highly traded commodity. Local Indian store is on uber and saved places on maps. Shaving cream is on the endangered species list. Foam is challenger. I only cross (well mostly) at zebra crossings.  Tagalog is getting added to a list of languages I know a smattering of.