Remembering Anthony Bourdain

He was a chef, a traveller, and a writer- a rare combination of talent. I don't recall how I first got to know him, but I think it was while browsing TV channels on an idle evening. Some cookery shows in the past few years have caught the fancy of a lot of us, and his might have been one of those. But his good looks and personality made his show different, and also the way he introduced local culture, street food etc. to you. It seemed like the next best thing to travelling there.

I remember reading a regular who-dun-it penned by him, though I forget its title (Maybe it was Gone Bamboo). It was not bad at all, for someone who was not a regular in that genre. But he seemed to enjoy trying different things. Apparently he did write columns and articles, starting with The New Yorker, no less.

It is surprising though, that (it seems) he killed himself by hanging. Why, one wonders.

Japan- Memories

 Jay in Hell (seriously, the spring above is called a Hell/Jigoku) with a pretty student guide from the university that hosted us, and both of us on a guided tour of Kitsuki. It was my kimono day! This was in 2015, when we went for a conference at Beppu, a small town known for its hot springs- the onsen for bathing, and the likes of the above for sight-seeing.

 Above- A view of the Beppu harbour, and (below) a multicultural group of participants from Nepal, UK, China and Japan.

We went out sight-seeing, and spotted this guy performing live.

Fifty Six and More

How long you live is not known. But you do have aspirations for yourself in the years that you do. Here are some of mine.

That I have lots of small joys every day. An unexpected mail, or meeting. A smile, or a guffaw, a shared joke..

A well-made cup of tea, with the right amount (for me) of milk, sugar and the tea. With music.

A nice book.

An intelligent, witty comment, or turn of phrase from someone on a facebook post. Or a funny forward.

A beautiful photograph, of a person, place, thing.

A pleasant memory coming back to haunt me.

A great biryani at regular intervals. Hyderabadi, preferably.

7th Pay Commission being implemented ( a sour note? I just want the govt. to be more efficient).

Opportunities to travel, as long as the limbs can move.

To see the sea, every once in a while. Hoping to make it to Sri Lanka in 2017.

Peace (no news channels, hopefully they'll disppear from the face of the earth one day).

Leadership, God and Selective Memory

Just thought of a great way to explain how God behaves. If you believe in God, at times you would be puzzled by the fact that he is not just, not equitable, not fair, not listening to your prayers etc.. He is not unlike the leader of a large corporation or organisation with multiple responsibilities, or a mom with thousands of children. Assume that even God has a limit to his energy, or concentration, and needs rest from time to time, to get back to his job of running the world with renewed vigour.

Imagine a leader with 10,000 employees each with his or her agenda at the office. How would you deal with it, as their CEO? Or a mom with 10,000 kids running around with a leaking nose, wanting a feed, or in a brawl with each other. If you were the mom, how would you behave? The only solution to preserve your sanity, would be selective memory. That is, focus on the most important issue facing you. And more importantly, FORGET THE REST. And that is exactly what God must be doing. So he does not hear the stock market crashing, whether due to the foolishness of the Greeks, or the Iraqis, or the Americans. He has better things to do at that moment.

For all the problems that engage the attention of a corporate honcho, there are many more that are unavoidably relegated to the back burner.Eventually, some day, they may come under the scanner and get fixed. Until then, Godspeed!