Celebrations

 What is a celebration? A moment in time that we think is special in some way- a birthday, an anniversary, a new job, start of a new year, and so on.

Pic- On our way to see Orchha sights, from our Riverside Resort. (Betwa river)

But isn't there something good happening every day? For instance, you ate something nice, a kid smiled at you for no reason, or you did something right. Or, your Boss praised you (OK, that's rare, forget that!).

So why don't we cut a cake or eat a poha or a dhokla- what you eat/cut is immaterial here) every day?

Because we feel that we are living a mundane life. The truth is, it's anything but mundane. At least in my experience, there are 5 or 10 things that are unique, happening to us every day. If I try listing some of them, it'll turn into an essay that's too long to read at one sitting. But just an example-

Take an academic setting, from a student's point of view. Meeting your classmates, learning something new from a class (I was going to say Teacher), or a book you found in a library (what's that?) or a conversation with anyone, planning for an event, a case study discussion that surprised you, are just a few things that can happen in a single day. 

So it is with life elsewhere. It throws up surprises, many of them good. So each day might be worth celebrating, barring very few.

October-Birthdays and Celebrations

 Well, at least a few birthdays to remember.. my own, of course, and my brother's are both in October. Also my Father-in-law's, though he is no more. And my niece Anjali shares hers with Mahatma Gandhi. That's a lot of birthdays to handle in a month!

My birthday gift, an artist friend drew it.

Below, my Mom with my favourite niece Maya, a few years ago.

Mom's birthday, last year (2020)/My favourite food, below.

More favourite food- poha in North Karnataka style.

Below..birthdays make me thoughtful.

Below..more favourites..food for thought, and drink for thought.

October is also associated with festivities in India. Usually, we have either Dasara or Diwali or both around this time. Therefore, the Amazons and Flipkarts and many other retailers are in an overdrive, and try to sell as much as possible- the equivalent of the Christmas season in the West, for retailers.

Generally, there is an overdose of food and we feel its after-effects. Many traditional snacks were once made at home, including sweets like Karanji (similar to Gujiya in the North), Chakli or Murukku, and laddoos of some kind. Now, maybe retailers offer these too, on demand.

The pandemic in India seems to be on the wane right now, and maybe vaccination and natural immunity caused by the Second Wave played a role. Hopefully, a Third Wave will be mild or non-existent. The schools and colleges may get back to their normal mode of functioning, and maybe corporates too. 

Here's wishing all you readers the best of the festive season.