Let space into your life

Reflections on spring cleaning during the pandemic

Last Monday we cleaned the house. After three months of juggling between the bed, the sofa and the one table in the house to work from home, my partner and I got my little IKEA desk from the office to set up a workspace for me.

The only issue was that the desk, brought in to accommodate the expected months of work from home, no longer felt that small in our little 1BHK. Gone was the space to roll out a yoga mat and the prime real estate that in the husband’s words was ‘where the TV is supposed to go’.

And while I did enjoy having the most prominent area in the house to myself, there was no getting around the fact that the current arrangement left very little space to do anything else.

And so: we cleaned.

We dusted and decluttered and threw things out like our lives depended on it.

We banished the previously solitary desk to the far end of the room, and nested all our pieces of luggage in the closet to leave enough space to fit a small shelf, the laundry bag and our little Henry. (Props to the husband for both the idea and implementation.)

In went all the knick-knacks that had been lounging homeless in the living room, and out went dozens of plastic bags and cardboard boxes kept ‘just in case’. Out went all the unused batteries, the fluff behind the sofa, and the keepsake champagne bottle from our honeymoon.

And suddenly, there was so much of space.

It was a warm sunny afternoon when we began, and by the time we were done, the sunlight had paled and the birdsong had disappeared. The air felt quiet inside, like there was space to think new thoughts, to bring to life new dreams.

A few days later I came across a quote that resonated with me: “You cannot bring something new into your lives if you don’t make space for it.”

By clearing the mental space clutter takes up, it felt like we had expanded our horizon of possibilities. 

I finally had a desk of my own to write.

I could look around the drawing room and enjoy the newfound light and space, I could sit by the window side and enjoy the bird song. I was finally starting to feel at home.

A lot of home improvement articles, and indeed the entire #homeinspiration trend on social media, tends to be written for people with already near-perfect homes.

But what if you are a mum with kids struggling in a small flat, saving up for something better, or one among the thousands sharing workspace with family or housemates due to COVID-19? Do you just accept that ‘that perfect home’ is years away, or do you make your oasis with what you’ve got?

I’m happy to report that a bit of creativity and some hard work, we were able to turn our cosy flat into a haven of our own. And with two workspaces to boot!

We’ve got to let space in to our lives, or else we keep replying, responding, reacting — never feeling. And we’ve got to do it now, instead of waiting for an imaginary time in the future when everything will fall into place. As someone wisely said, if you wait for everything to be perfect until you are happy, you’ll wait forever.

And so, my friends, my advice to you as we move out of lockdown and back to a ‘new normal’ is to take the time to engage in some good old spring cleaning. Clear out the cobwebs, wipe clean the table tops. Throw out the streamers and shove anything that doesn’t fit behind closed doors. You’ll get there eventually, and the feeling of satisfaction at the end will make everything worth the effort. You deserve a home that lets you breathe – even if it’s not perfect yet.

Of course, the magic died a bit when the very next day we had to tackle a mountain of dishes, and knowing me, it is quite possible the spotless table tops will soon be taken over by invisible minions. But I think I will be better knowing it’s just one good spring clean away.  

Under Bengaluru’s trees

Did you know the tamarind tree came from Ethiopia two thousand years ago? Or that the vast majority of Bengaluru’s avenue trees are native to South America? In fact, so many commonly-used plants have come from that continent, the famous botanist and Kannada writer B.G.L. Swamy wrote a book called Namme Hotteyalli South America (South America in our stomach).

If you’ve ever stopped in the middle of the road to admire a gorgeous Pink Shower tree in bloom, a tree walk is right up your alley. The tree walk I dropped in for took place at Rest
House Park on Museum Road. We were led by our guide Arun, who, while not tree hugging or bird watching, runs a restaurant near Brigade Road. As for the tree walkers, they were an eclectic bunch, ranging from an editor of an e-magazine on sustainable living, an architect with a keen interest in permaculture farming, and a Ph.D. researcher from Los Angeles.

The walk nearly did not happen, because just as our guide began with a brief history on Bengaluru’s gardens, a security guard took umbrage to our “meeting”. After we convinced him of our harmless intentions, he reluctantly agreed. And then we set off.

“This here is the rain tree,” our guide began airily. The rain tree is a native of South America, its name possibly a shortened form of rainforest tree. It was once a popular avenue tree due to its leafy canopy, but of late municipal authorities have stopped planting it as its branches fall during heavy rains. It is a fast growing tree, says Arun, its soft timber a perfect choice for nesting barbets.

All the way from Madagascar

Next in line is the Gulmohar, a native of Madagascar; the mast tree (also called the False Ashoka!) with its tall, skinny frame and drooping leaves, and the Cassia Javanica or the Pink Shower Tree.

There are old favourites, the east India almond tree, the soap nut tree, the cannon ball tree. Fruit trees: mango, jackfruit, avocado and fig. Thin reed-like golden bamboo and stately silver oaks and mahogany trees. There are gorgeous flowering specimens like the flaming-red African tulip and the purple Jacaranda, waiting for spring to burst out in colour. It is astonishing that a space so concise can host more than 22 different species of trees.

Arun also identified a staggering variety of birds in the area, sometimes by just their call. Green enclaves are like magnets that draw the birds in, he stresses. The talk veers to current conservation methods, and how for various reasons, trees the city was known for are no longer being planted. Fast-growing trees are often adopted in sapling drives as they make for “good figures.”

We come to the end of our walk, each lingering in their own thoughts. There is a deep satisfaction in learning the names of trees and birds, it’s almost a feeling of groundedness. We talk about the altercation with the guard, about how ‘public’ our public spaces truly are. Someone fondly recalls the trees from their childhood, and reminisce how their beloved city is fast losing something that defined it for decades.

“It’s easy to learn about trees,” says our guide, before parting. “They aren’t going anywhere soon.”

Now that’s definitely a thought to take home.

(This piece first appeared in The Hindu Metroplus)

Of starry nights and summer skies

And this too is precious. Friends dozing off at your place, after a day of eating too much and walking way too much. There’s a quiet humdrumness in the air, the sort that comes when you’re comfortable enough to sleep in someone’s presence.

We have met so many times since parting; in different cities, over different seasons. We are different people each time, and yet in fifteen minutes we find our common ground.

Just Me, the Stars, and Hope

An early bird describes her why…

Just Me, the Stars, and Hope

Some lovely thoughts on rising early.

Tiny bits of stardust

You and me, we are all just tiny bits of stardust. A thousand million years ago, a bunch of stars exploded across the Milky Way into a gazillion little specks. You and me are one of them.

It is easy to forget that sometimes. It is easy to forget how insignificant yet priceless we are as we go through the daily grind of making a living and eking out the bills. And yet sometimes when you stop to listen to the birds chirping in the morning, or to stare at the stars at night, you feel like you’re part of a grand orchestra playing out in the middle of the galaxy.

Sometimes you remember that they put you on earth for a reason: to create something of value that will outlast your tiny insignificant lifespan. It could be anything – maybe you successfully defended a PhD and added a tiny speck to the world’s repository of knowledge. Maybe you taught a raggle taggle bunch of kids to reach for the stars, or you built or drew or envisioned something that people could use and admire. Maybe you raised honest and strong-willed boys and girls who will someday do their own great things. Maybe you wrote a song or drew a painting, and through your art, changed someone’s life forever.

And what if you didn’t do any of that? What if you passed through the performance sitting tightly on stage, never lifting your trombone to your lips, never playing a note? No one would notice, of course, the orchestra is too loud and magnificent and everyone is doing pretty much what they damn please. No one would notice but you.

Tiny bits of stardust exploding across the Milky Way, you came from great places. It took a million little iterations in time and a thousand million chance occurrences for you to exist in this moment as a sentient being. Make it count.

(In picture: Infrared view of star formation region Messier 8, often called the Lagoon Nebula, captured by the VISTA telescope at ESO’s Paranal Observatory in Chile. Source: ESO/VVV)

To imperfection

In the ideal world there are no 2 a.m. dinners.

In the ideal world you eat three meals a day which magically appear at the table, before you set off to your awesome six-figure paying job.  Of course, life being what it is, you probably had to cook them yourself, but by now you’re an expert at this game and can dish out a biriyani or a fish moilee at the drop of a hat.

In the ideal world you fall in love at 21, get married by 27, have your first kid before 30. You probably own a car and your in-laws think you are the epitome of perfection.

Back in the real world, your bed still looks like it was hit by a tornado. Food is coffee and a sandwich and uppittu at the office canteen. But you have people who love you, and some days you do manage to get most of the things on your checklist done. And even if you fall asleep on the couch and wake up at midnight craving hot food, you can roll up your sleeves and make yourself a mean dinner.

And some days you get to do work that you feel proud of, or to make someone happy through a simple word or action, and it seems like all this is temporary: one day, all the loose ends will tie up to form a gorgeous ball of sunshine.

Meanwhile, the mother of two whose settledness you envy stays up till 2 until everybody sleeps, to savour the only moment of solitude she can get in a long day.

She hears in the morning azaan the same calming voice you do – memories of a simpler time.

No one would sleep that night, of course

No one would sleep that night.

Live & Learn

“Ralph Waldo Emerson once asked what we would do if the stars only came out once every thousand years. No one would sleep that night, of course. The world would create new religions overnight. We would be ecstatic, delirious, made rapturous by the glory of God. Instead, the stars come out every night and we watch television.”

– Paul Hawken

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Credits: Photograph – NatGeo first place Best Travel Picture Winner in 2011. Ben Canales sprawls in the snow under the starry sky above Crater Lake National Park in Oregon. Quote: Thepoetoaster.com

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Parasports: going beyond limitations

Photo: Prashanth Muniraju

Until Roger Bannister ran a mile under a minute in 1954, it was thought impossible for humans to run that fast. Today most international runners can meet the target. If sport is about overcoming limitations, para athletes are some of the greatest mindbenders: for instance, how does a knee amputee play badminton, or a visually impaired person remember all the game positions in chess?

 

ASTHA, an NGO working for persons with disabilities, organised a sports meet for persons with and without physical disabilities st Devanahalli in the outskirts of Bengaluru on Tuesday. Close to 70 people participated in blind chess, wheelchair tennis, para badminton and para table tennis.

Sunil Jain, a wheelchair athlete and the brains behind the event, feels sport can empower the differently abled. “Think of how a person without hands would do archery,” he says.

As I rack my brain for an answer, he explains, “In the last two minutes, you’ve thought outside your body and its limitations. This is what a person with disability does every time they pick up a sport.” His goal is to offer differently abled athletes opportunities to train and hone their skills.

Sheryl, an M.Sc. Biology student, played badminton for the first time at the event after losing her leg in an accident in January. “I used to play for fun earlier, but now I’m thinking of playing professionally,” she says. As she and other players pick up the racquet, the game is slower than usual, they pause to bend and pick the cork when it hits the floor, or stop when the shot is too far to attempt. But a few minutes into the game, the prosthetics seem to  disappear: there are only a bunch of players giving their best on court.

In the chess room, a group of visually impaired persons from Samarthanam Trust for the Disabled in HSR Layout blitz through the chess board as they feel and move their pieces. Playing against sighted players makes no difference to their game. It’s not just chess, Basavaraj, Prashant and Thimmaiah also play blind cricket, and being differently-abled has done little to quell their sense of humour. “He’s the Dhoni of our group,” says Prashant, pointing to a friend, “maybe you can join his fan club!”

Although the winners were announced in the evening, every participant wears a look of accomplishment, from the wheelchair athletes playing lawn tennis to the visually impaired swimmers, many of whom were trained to swim for the first time on Tuesday by international para swimmer Sharath M. Gaikwad.

And to answer the question posed in the beginning: one archer Sunil knows grips the bow between his legs and pulls the arrow with his lips. Because few things are unattainable if you put your mind to it, and every para athlete can testify to that.

(An edited version of this article appeared here in The Hindu)

 

Bengaluru’s cafes: a space to read and reflect

Bengaluru’s cafés, with their quiet spaces and collection of books, offer people the perfect enclosed space to read their favourite author or witness a poetry slam

via The Hindu.

Goodbye, dear Twitterati

Courtesy of Creative Commons at flickr.com

So a few days ago, I quit Twitter. It’s quite possible that I give in to the temptation and drop in again, but for now, I’m off the grid.

I’m not a very social media-savvy kid. I’m not a kid either, but that’s beside the point. What I am is annoyingly particular when it comes to making the most mundane decisions. Woe betide the guy who stands behind me in the Starbucks line! So true to my nature, before quitting, I made a checklist of what I had expected before joining the site.