Lock-down days

First things first, I pruned (online dictionary says: trim by cutting away dead or overgrown leaves or stems) a lot of text in 2020 dauntlesssathya posts. Now I make it a point that I will do without explanatory idioms and colorful references on blog writing. From now, I will simply chop off any redundant sentence.

            In the 10 days of LOCK-DOWN I sleep and sleep. Then I try to get in two 30 min sessions of Vipassana in a day. But the best part to the days is revising word lists, an activity I used to pander myself in the distant past. Now I indulge myself – for me the fun part is to generate synonyms before referring a dictionary. For a writer a “word” is flesh and blood, you need to have a feel for them.

            I have been negligent on exercises – those SPARRC regimes were good for the knees. Sheer laziness, no better excuse here. I get a bit of guitaring in the day, I love myself in each session though I have no stamina after 10 min. Guitaring is a “finger strength” exercise, it hurts a lot. Of late, I see myself getting exhausted and bored easily. Maybe my clock is ticking faster. Except for Vipassana where I keep my back straight and eyes closed for 30 min at a stretch, no other activity grips the mind. Similarly after the Philip Freeman’s “Alexander the Great” in January, my appetite for reading is filled up to the brim.

            This month I watched a lot of Chinmayananda’s YOUTUBES and he is sensational. Absolutely master in tone and content, his oratorical skills resonate in my ears. There are lot of wisdom embedded here. He is a classic, you can hear him repeatedly and any time and you will still learn something.

            On OTA XLT sessions, again my mind is on curfew. I know the gaps in my skills but I have little energies to learn. With the bank loan still on the pipeline (the week I was supposed to get the money the Government announced a lock-down just to spite me as it were), the learning can wait. 
           I am fortunate with regard to cooks. Nalini has learnt cooking the brahamanical cuisine.  She also sweeps and mops the floors. In the last 14 years of engaging a cook, Meera was the friendliest for a chat, Thangam mami gave solid reliability for a decade in the kitchen. Nalini is not in that class but a quick learner and superb work attitude. 

            One of the best things of 2020 is I have reduced my talking by 90% though they were negligent even to begin with. I only speak to TH Iyer mama who calls twice a day. He wants to write an autobiography where I do a bit of mentoring. One of the first skills of creative writing is “using words as strokes on a canvass for a visual feel”. A reader must be caught by the scruff of the neck much like a movie sucks you in. A good writer will make you feel the emotions, you get an experience and not a story (which even an illiterate grandmother can narrate).

            I was also caught in the Ramayan fever. It is 1980s production but with a lot of heart and honesty (to the extent possible); certainly a watchable fare. I also watch Youtubes of “Yeh jo hai Zindagi” where I love the antics of Rakesh Bedi, Satish Shah, Inmandar and the feisty Swaroop Sampath. I find Ms. Sampath’s vocals unique in appeal, it has a ringing streak to it. Then a bit of Gita chanting, I also listen to Danish Sait's prank calls (you will find on a YouTube search, some are hilarious to the full).

            Last month both my Mumbai visit for a OTA course and a week’s Vipassana in Blore got cancelled from the virus. Now as I wait for the loan, I have an avowed thanksgiving pilgrimage to Sri Sailam. Last visited the holy place when I was 6-7 years. I have fetid for visiting familiar places of the past. I have a mind that does a quick contrast of “now” and “how it was 40 years before” kinds. With a lock-down, life is on a standstill which puts a creative writer out of harness. I also got the Aadhar address update on the website, changed the address in the ration card too - finally savvy on filling forms on government websites which takes some pluck and trials. 

         I did four video podcasts, anyone can check them on Youtube if you search “thinksathya”. These are beginner level quality, once I get a hang of it I will do on topics like "Mindfulness" and "Alexander". I am content these days, if I were to die today my mind would carry images of listening to Swami Paramarthananda at Vidyamandir on Upanishads (those 1998 -2002 years were a goldmine), walks in the Theosophical Society lawns and the banter those fetched. I would also think of Balakanth and Vinod and maybe that Sindhi woman too. It’s been a good life, I am ready as a passenger on a platform for the train. I have filled my life with so much, it yearns for a little rest of a different kind.