My Grandparents

Talking about storytelling, the other day, I was reminded of my grandparents. Both were good storytellers- my maternal grandparents. My grandmom told us many stories, among which were classics like The Count of Monte Cristo- years later, I visited Chateau D' If, near Marseilles, where the story is set. My grandfather we heard less often but he had a favourite animal story about a rabbit who poses as a fierce animal from inside a cave, and scares a lion away!

 My grandmother (Radha Oak), above.

 My grandfather (Madhav Ramchandra Oak), above and left top, in the photo below. He was a professor of Philosophy, and worked at Jaipur and Amalner (where Mr. Premji's family had started).

My grandmother was also highly creative, and came up with a poem/verse to celebrate many family events- such as the birth of a child (she had many kids, and grandkids), or a marriage. She also published a collection of these, in small, multiple volumes titled The Inner Voice (Antariche Bol, in Marathi).

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.

Khushwant Singh - A Tribute

This is a re-posting of one I had written about him, around 2 years ago, after reading his book on happiness. He passed away at age 99 yesterday.

Khushwant Singh, one of India's most entertaining writers, has written about almost everything in his long years as a journalist, editor, column writer (with Malice Towards All) etc. His light bulb logo was designed by Mario Miranda, the famous cartoonist. The Illustrated Weekly was very lively in his days as the editor. I respect him because he made a living from writing- a tough thing to do.

His take on happiness (or what I remember of it) is somewhat like this-

Earn enough to help yourself. Mendicants may or may not be happy.

Learn to live in solitude. Not in the Himalayas necessarily, but have significant time for yourself.

Make use of the time you have. Mostly, we spend a lot of time cribbing about (the time and much else) we don't have.

Don't waste time on parties and celebrities (and IPL- which might be fixed anyway).

Reduce the irritants in life-we may have lots of them, like unwanted phone calls, credit cards, visits from people who have nothing positive to share or teach us, ...ad infinitum.

Following from the above, indulge in things you like to do, so that you get better at them. And naturally enjoy life.

I would add- play a sport (preferably golf, but anything is Ok), play with children. Listen to music.