May 2014: You may succeed, or you may not

You can continue leading your predictable life, where almost everything is planned, and within your control. It is a safe life; a comfortable existence. You don’t have to change it, because there is nothing really wrong with it.
But is that really enough? Sometimes, you need to take a leap of faith. Do something which goes outside your comfort zone. Something that shakes up your controlled life.
You may succeed or you may not. If you do, the new life you lead is your reward. If you don’t, you are richer for the experience, and you can always start afresh.
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Against a picturesque sunset, my son took off from the board, during our Summer Break, in May 2014

2014: The Year That Was

April 2014: Relationships are what you make of them

Know that there will always be people who hurt you. People who betray your trust. People who abuse your confidences. People who take advantage of you. There have always been such people, and there always will be. You cannot change that.

But you can decide how to react. Do you want to hold onto the betrayal, and let it fester forever? Do you want to challenge them, and feel worse when they deny they ever did wrong? Or, do you want to let go, and resolve never to let them do so again?

Relationships are what you make of them.

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This picture was taken at a cousin's wedding in April.
2014: The Year That Was

March 2014: Not considered a risk

The traffic light turns amber, you step on the accelerator in the hope of being able to get through before the light turns red. You narrowly avoid colliding with the person who has taken off seconds before the light turned green. You swerve, you swear, and you go on. After all, haven’t you been in the same situation almost every time you have taken the car out?

Accidents are averted most of the time. When they happen, the victims become just another statistic. Yet, we continue to set our own rules. Breaking traffic laws is not even considered a risk. 

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Out on a run, I saw this line painted on a door and had to pause to click a photograph in March
2014: The Year That Was

February 2014 : What we are taught to see

“Draw a scenery’, the Art Teacher would say, and we would all whip out our drawing books and spend the rest of the period finishing near identical pictures. A mountain range with three triangular peaks. A  river snaking down to drain at the bottom of the page; trees lining it banks. The Sun peeking out from behind the hills; its rays arranged in perfect formation.

That was the ‘scenery’ we saw. That is the scenery we have taught our children to see. If we do it long enough, will the Sun grow straight line rays, and mountains develop triangular peaks?

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I saw the rays of the sun leaving behind streaks of light in February
2014: The Year That Was

January 2014: They fall through the cracks

Multi-storied residential towers coming up. Intelligent homes, infinity pools, marble lobbies. Residences as luxurious as five-star hotels.

Building sites teeming with migrant workers. Labour camps built out of corrugated metal tiles and tarpaulin sheets, held up with coir ropes, and a prayer. Half naked men straining their muscles, emaciated women carrying loads heavier than their weight.

Glitzy hoardings branding tomorrow’s project. Next to it, caution messages, reflecting the reality of today.

In that nowhere land between fantasy and reality, a generation grows up. Ignorant, illiterate, un-informed. Their parents  sweat to give shape to our dreams. They fall through the cracks.

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This picture was taken at the construction site of an upmarket high-rise coming up near our place in January
2014: The Year That Was

Mr. Responsible

He is Mr. Responsible.

Though only two years older than his brother, he is expected to keep an eye on him, and steer him away from trouble. He is the one who gives the dog his lunch, and runs errands for me. Kids instinctively turn to him when they are in trouble, and though he doesn’t enjoy it, he ends up taking care of them.

Sometimes, I feel guilty about forcing him to grow up so soon. And then he does something really cheeky, and I realize he’s still a kid at heart. A responsible one, but still a kid.

Happy Birthday, Mr. Responsible

Day 43 of #100happydays

The light from an overhead fixture falls on a soap dish and casts a shadow on the wall. Normally, you would not give it a second look- after all, who even notices the absence of light?

But when the wall in question happens to be a corner, you find something that cannot be overlooked. A near perfect heart!

Suddenly, the shadow gets pulled out of the status of mundane, and gets pushed into the category of masterpiece. You never tire of looking at it, admiring it.

How much beauty there is in unexpected places. If only you look for it.

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