How does a sheep roll his eyes?

Our weighing machine has a mind of its own. It is cranky to say the least. When you go to it with lot of hope, it will make it a point to disappoint you, like it is wholly aware of its powers to create dismay. On some days when I return from my workout and come to it with lot of pleas, it appears to indulge me. Last few weeks I have been working out (either in classes or running) quite regularly having been inspired by Haruki Murakami's book on running, fitness and its general benefits. I came back and stood on the scales without giving it much of a thought. And like good news that comes when you least expect it, it showed a beautiful number, which is what I weighed back in college. Now I am ahem... lets just say few kgs heavier. My head was reeling though some part of my brain reminded me of the ice creams I had unapologetically consumed on a regular basis (it is summer after all). I moved the machine to a different location before I decided to get myself tested for diabetes. And ...

Once I was arguing with a lady who said a human being born with a physical disadvantage so difficult to repair that that person would require lifelong support in order to conduct basic business necessary to carry out life should be allowed to die with dignity soon after such imparity is identified. She argued this is particularly relevant for families who have an economic disadvantage, in a way suggesting that if a human was born with sufficient resources, this harsh step might not be necessary. At that point I was shocked to hear this, particularly from a person for whom I had high regard. Just because one has the comfort of finances, they should be allowed to survive while the other is best put to sleep. How cruel can the society get. Months after I had this discussion, this point of hers popped in my mind whenever I saw or heard of a baby born with a physical or mental disability. Will the Doctors decide based on the parents financial status is what I used to wonder. Now with people...

I just realised, the cheerier the person the more he/she annoys. Do you agree?

You know what surprises me- people who you have not texted for months or sometimes years text you out of the blue and tell you they like your profile picture. While I am touched by their gesture, does this mean they scroll up and down every contact in their list and check out their DPs?

Today I feel nothing can break my happiness. Finally the kitten arrives. La La La

I provide P random facts about cats every day until the day he submits and agrees to get a cat home. So today our conversation goes this way: Me: Today's fact about cats for you. Owning a cat can reduce the risk of stroke and heart attack by a third. P: yea sure, for the cat right? cos it got a home On that note, any tips on getting a cat-hater to agree to adopting a cat is welcome.

I have house rules, few actually. Some of it P gets, some he doesn't. Recently a very close friend came to stay with us. He was baffled when he heard of my rules and more shocked when I gently reprimanded him for skipping some. In fact some requests came from by Z. Z asked _ Uncle to please wipe his shoes on both the mats (I have one outside the door and one inside). To clarify, I am never rude about these rules. But I will not shy away from telling guests about it. And I am also not going to go behind them with a broom. You may be curious about my rules, so few of them below for your reading: * No outside footwear to be worn inside the house * No stepping out into the garden barefoot. I have sufficient spare slippers kept outside for people to use. In the rare circumstance that there are more than 5 person wishing to step out into the garden, I suggest they carry their own footwear outside to the garden. *No eating in the bedroom, unless of course the person is unwell *No s...

I was a naïve first year student at Law school when I received a pamphlet about a human rights group started by young Lawyers and asking anyone interested to apply. I was 17, not yet disillusioned by the realities of the world and jumped at the opportunity. After all, a human rights group seems to be the right place for a principled teenager whose ambition was to bring about a change in the society. And so I became a part of the group slowly to realise it was a forum popularizing communism. Frankly I had no clue about any of these political system and my idea of communism was images of workers on strike or men wearing Jhola bags protesting outside corporates, thanks to my association with the Indian states, Kerala and Bengal. By the time I realised what I had got myself into, I had already made a close network of friends in this group and for us it was more of an excuse to hang around and drink milky sweet tea at 6:30 in the evening, attending meetings feeling important but understandi...

Given the consequence of non-obedience to global agreements will not affect the 70+ age group, should they be allowed to decide on behalf of a country? Picture Source- BBC News

. As you may (or may not) have noticed, I changed the theme of this blog few times now. Not exactly thrilled with this one, but it will do for now. I am reading Julian Barnes's 'The Sense of an Ending' currently. To say I am enjoying it would be an understatement. It is beautifully written and touches you in a way that a conversation with an old friend would on a rainy day. The fact that the story is based in the places I have lived/ live makes it all the more special. Had a long weekend break at the seaside in Skegness. Just the sea, greenery and sun. I still find it slightly ironic that a person from Chennai should enjoy the sun. But that is how life changes. Checking the Royal Purple for new leaves, seeing how far the honeysuckle has climbed up the trellis and the marigold for buds- all this brings me joy. Watching Z's trousers reach his ankle though breaks my heart, he is growing up too fast.

In the end, I learnt that I evolve because of suppressing my natural instincts.

In general I find Indians can be extremely courteous and not, in equal measures. The not-so-courteous can be sub-divided into different types while there are 'deceptive' courteous kinds as well. It requires some skills and courage to steer past/ into this type of population. Thankfully these skills do not disappear with lack of interaction, much like cycling. Thus my story begins when I decided to buy some souvenirs for my colleagues and noted an advert for a tribal art exhibition in Koramangala. Being new to Bangalore, Koramangala sounded a place far away and man it sure was. So I travelled all the way and got into a seedy BDA building. This is how most Government buildings (that I have seen) are, but with lot of people around I felt safe. I walked past broken staircases into a room hidden away on the first floor. This was where the art exhibition was and I went crazy choosing beautiful artefacts. While there I was chatting with the nice sales people about the weather, the...

I was on the tube this morning, feeling very tired and sleepy. My watch said I was running terribly late for my first meeting of the day. But I couldn't care less (heard this before? :p). The line to get on the train at the platform was long and I eventually got close to the yellow line meaning I was first to board the next train. There was a lady behind me who kept saying something loudly. I couldn't understand a word and then realised she was speaking in a foreign language. She kept trying to push me on to the train which arrived with a full compartment. With a lot of shoving I was forced to get in with this lady muttering angrily behind me. There was another lady beside me who looked harassed as well. Suddenly the second lady started to shout at the first one saying, who are you to ask me to leave this country. Apparently the first lady was abusing me and the second lady all this time.I was shocked.Ignorance is certainly bliss, but this realisation shocked me. I looked up to...

Re-posting this

First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out-- Because I was not a Socialist. Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out-- Because I was not a Trade Unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out-- Because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me-- and there was no one left to speak for me. -Martin Niemoller, pastor, initial supporter of Hitler, concentration camp survivor (1892 - 6 Mar 1984)

Occasionally I visit the Tamilian side of London (read East Ham) for things like Vazhathandu or Keerai. Ok I am kidding, I have no interest in either but P whips out some delicious dishes out of these and so I play along. Anyway there are few things that we do when we visit East Ham. Like having a meal at Saravana Bhavan. I would stuff myself with a chilli parota even if I had just polished off my lunch. Why waste an opportunity? The other is checking out the CD collection. Since we do not watch any Tamil channels here I have no idea about the latest songs and I buy random CDs titled- Latest 2016 collection. Every time, literally, I find that there is only a song or sometimes two which are good in the whole collection. Since it costs a pound and so I don't mind this otherwise Pagal Kollai . However some songs start to grow on you. Like this one- Mutham kudutha Maayakari from the movie Trisha Illana.. I had no clue which movie this song belonged to nor who the actors were. The lyri...

There is so much going on at Marina at the moment and for the last 10 days. I hear R J Balaji's spirited talk and it makes me happy that there is someone genuinely concerned about the welfare of the state and has a large fan following. A revolution begins, I sense thousands of miles away. But a revolution without proper focus can lead to untoward incidents which in turn makes people blame the folks with the right intentions. Such a shame when people suffer to talk part in such protests and then some miscreants drop in at the last minute and it all goes down the drain. For some reason Ambai's 'Vasayu' (Age) comes to mind when I think of my Chennai and this drive for revolution. I pray hard nothing changes of my beloved city and it retains all of its original flavour. Where ever I am, I still belong to you.

Z speaks to me when I am at work and tells me he misses me. Anytime now, my heart is going to burst.