Inclement weather in NJ

When I watch the Weather Channel, I see the Arctic cold spells in Michigan and Illinois and feel lucky! On Wednesday morning, when I woke up and peeped out I saw the gentle drift of snow flakes. Later, I stepped out, leather gloves, snow cap, snow shoes and two layers of clothing including a long coat and scrapper in hand. It feels like dusting the car off some “Atta” so the effort is not much- except when you have to clear hardened ice or snow... If you are covered up you can take it- no pain at all. You only need to be open to this new experience. I then get into the car, start the engine, turn on the heaters and step back into my home. The car gets nicely warm and cozy in 10 minutes and I drive off to work listening to Farida Khanum and Mehdi Hassan. The flakes keep coming at your windscreen and fly off the edges of the car. It is a wonderful sight. Today the temperatures are expected to be at -4 degrees Fahrenheit.

I remind myself that Change is the only constant in life and there is little use in pining for a past existence. The mind, of course, does its tricks and harks back to the wonderful times I have had with all of you, other friends and kin. I must confess that existential questions do come to my mind…. Also, life here has a different quality- we are pretty much alone and the world here seems to be built on a substratum of deep silence- as compared to the cacophony and bustle of Mumbai. That takes getting used to and now I find that I get irritated when someone speaks loudly or incessantly! So the mindless chatter on TV does not interest me and while the family is watching their favorite soap in the evening, I retire early with a book – usually I read one of the Advaita or Zen Masters and drift off to sleep, mulling over a Koan

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Lessons of life- from a squirrel!

As I type this I hear a knocking sound at my window and, lo and behold , there is this beautiful squirrel standing up with it’s two front legs resting on the glass. He had a brief look at me and ran away. Talking of squirrels, last week , I was driving to a store with the significant half beside me when suddenly she says in Tamil, ” Turn back fellow !”. I looked at her incredulously and she says, “Not you, there was this squirrel coming our of the garden patch and had crawled up into the road ahead and as if he could hear me, turned back into the grass safely!”. Not all have a safe trip across the roads though. You find them plastered on the road – a squash of flesh and blood. A couple of days ago, when driving to work on the highway- a six lane road with a center wall of around 3 feet height in the median, I noticed a squirrel dart across the road and climb up the center wall. I do not know if he made it across to the other side but it got me thinking. What was it on the other side th...

At Home

I walked into my home that night and felt totally at ease- everything was exactly as I had left it a year ago. It seemed like a dream scene- my father and my in-laws were sitting there and I eagerly held their hands and felt their presence with every cell in my being. I was glad to feel the firm mattress and the old familiar pillow under my head as I drifted off to sleep. The jet lag caused me to wake up at 3:00 am and I waited for the first light of dawn to see the world that was removed from my vision a year ago. We hit the jogger’s park and someone mentioned that they are seeing us after a long time- we just smiled and continued walking. Later we went off to the vegetable market to soak in the steaming sunshine. We argued with the vendors and shaved of a few rupees- we tested to check if our negotiating skills were still intact. The Auto rickshaws passed inches away from our chappals and we did not cringe. The deaf and dumb vegetable vendor opposite the Oswal Grain store was at his ...

On Golden Pond

This is a movie that will stay with me till my last breath. It touched me as no other motion picture has. Henry Fonda and Katharine Hepburn have made this a movie to remember for a life time! I will say no more. Just get the DVD and view it. You will never ever forget it.

Duet of One

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