The two shows !

Yesterday two things happened which excites me. I attended a India-Pakistan friendship meeting where a group of people had come from Pakistan to our city. I felt happy to be there. If it were not the welcome garlands around their necks no body would have told who is who :). Not that I came to know this fact yesterday but still seeing was very different. In theory they are foreigners for us. But are they really? I could understand the language they spoke, I could not make out the difference between any of them and any of us. I felt like some of my relatives visiting us. I am sure I am not the only one who felt it.  With this feeling in my heart I would not even talk about the so called estranged relationships we share as two nations.  I just pray to my GU(Grand Unified, again a concept I borrow from physics, shall elaborate in some other post) God to let this feeling of love and harmony perpetuate the whole space. Amen !

I shall elaborate the second incident about the great show we had by our political class yesterday in a separate post. 

Mera Bharat Mahaan !(My India is great !!!)

disclaimer: nothing unusual has happened. The things are going on the way they generally go.

• A village head slaps a female teacher in broad day light amid hundred of people, is caught on camera,denies the charges, was arrested after public pressure and released on bail with in two hours.
• The great tamasha going on in the parliament.
• The upcoming UP elections,even in this day and time , is being fought mainly on caste, which caste is on which party's side.

• The big tragedy in AMRI hospital, Calcutta. Something which could have been avoided. But was not because of our great "chalta hai" attitude.

Many more incidents would have happened in various parts of the country.

What is new in all this? nothing. such accidents/incidents have happened, will happen. Government is in deep slumber, our state machinery is jammed, and we the people have short memory. We forget in few days time. This is what I feel is most dangerous. I wish I could do more than feeling the pain, helplessness and writing this piece !!!!!!

Ability to change !

Looks like as far as the ways to reform the world are concerned, we the humans are on the wrong track ! The simple fact dawns upon me like a flash light every time I realise how difficult is to change myself. My failing attempts to get rid of my short temper(the concern at the moment, of course there are few others :)) makes it amply clear to me the idea of bringing positive change in the outer world by telling others to change and how the systems can be reformed if so and so starts working properly. It is far far more easier to pass the judgement to others and comment on their efficiencies rather than bringing a change in yourself.  The only way to contribute as far as I see,  am sure am neither the first one nor shall be the last one on this earth , is reform yourself which is not easy to say the least :(.

Theory of relativity in human life.

The concept of Einstein's theory of relativity is very much applicable to our life also. Am putting the postulates

• Nothing is absolute. Everything is relative.

• There is always a frame of reference to look at anything and everything, which makes things/events look different to different observers. 

Unlike in physics  the relations/equations relating these different frames are neither so simple nor they have only four (three space and one time) coordinates to relate. This is where the situation becomes complex. On top of that the inertia to change, the inflexibility of mind and narrow approach to the problem makes it almost impossible to look at the issue from some other frame of reference/point of view. But still there are certain parameters which impact all the situations/events and  which can ease any situation/event. I list a few of them.

• The attitude with which we look at a problem, should be given only positive values. Higher it is better will be the outcome.
• Emotions and Fears, two parameters which generally take high values, should be kept in check.

my experiment in the Kitchen-1

This one is one of my successful(success rate is measured by how readily my son eats it :)-) trials in the kitchen- Pasta in spinach-tomato sauce.

Nothing new in the process of boiling the pasta :)

To make the sauce boil spinach and tomatoes(quantity -I prefer spinach more than tomatoes) along with few pods of garlic with little salt and black pepper. Taste it if you find it more sour, can add little sugar. After boiling, grind it in the mixer(let it cool).  Mix it with the boiled pasta and sprinkle oregano, add salt according to the taste(the consistency of the sauce should be thick/thin enough to soak the pasta). You may or may not add  the cheese.

I miss those fights

My son is sometimes very keen on listening to my childhood stories. Of course he can not appreciate the difference, how things have changed so much but certainly he likes to hear what we used to do in the days when T.V meant only Doordarshan.

The other day I was telling him the story of our(three siblings) fights. We used to have physical fights(how I miss them now !) over various issues :) but what I like  is the way sometimes it would get over(one particular way of ending the serious wars :)). I must say it used to be my sister and brother(both younger) who would fight most of the time and my attempts to stop them would end up first being the referee and finally  being an active participant in the ongoing event . After fighting with pillows, pulling bed covers and some other stuff also, we would go back to sullah safai mode. All things used as weapons would be put back to their respective places. After exchanging the sorry word few times it would be time to have tea and samosa(from the red cross canteen near our house). I, being the eldest will make tea, my brother, though youngest, being a boy will go and buy three samosas(one each !). We shall sit on the floor and enjoy the treat. My sister and brother both would not eat the potatoes inside and would exchange them with me for the outer cover :). Everything  would be fine and the fight becomes a history. Not a word would be uttered to the mother or father (who used to be out for their respective jobs).  The samosa luxary was available on certain days of our vacation time only.

Now three of us married and settled in our own lives hardly ever get to have those carefree moments. Ah how I miss those days and specially the fights !!!

On a low tide !

Am trying to get over a slow start of the day. Some days are like this. Without any consciously known reason you feel low.  The only plus I see here is that rather than taking it out on others(which I end up doing several times on such occasions) I am trying to tackle it on my own. (Good effort, must give a pat on my back ) I think I am my worst critic. And this is causing more harm than good.  I worry a lot about what others think about me. Am too kind to others and harsh to my own self.  I do not have to make much effort to forgive others but do not even think of forgiving myself !  It is slowly dawning upon me what is overwhelming me at the moment. The work demands shift in gears !! And inertia of rest/slow speed is coming in the way.  The only way out is to get going.  So here I go to make another effort.

Hum chale !

Now why on earth do I believe so ? After 26/11(I was fortunate not to watch the bloody mayhem on the TV, I just read the news paper)I was very much disturbed and scared for days. And of course the discussions with the friends were of only this and how the state system  failed us. There were so many to blame -the police, the intelligence agency and our favourite target -netas and so on. 
The discussion,the debates made me more restless rather than relieving even a bit of stress I had. I kept on thinking how it could have not happened ! Why was I so scared ? After all(touchwood)nobody I knew was there and terrorist attacks in India were no novelty. Moreover I grew up along with the turmoil in Punjab in the 80's.

After much self debates and reasoning I concluded that I was scared because of the way it happened. It increased the probability of this happening to me or someone close. The usual desire to change the system was surging very high and of course reason for the added anxiety. In no way I could have changed the system. Forget the system it is so difficult to change my six year old one !!! That led to another revelation-the only way to change the system is to change yourself. The only way to contribute and make everything more efficient is through your very own self. So I decided I shall work on improving my efficiency. My efficiency as a student(am still studying),as a mother, as a spouse and last but not the least as a member of the society we live in. How to contribute to the society is a very subjective issue and I shall not get into that. And I decided to stop myself telling others what to do and what not to do(but then exceptions are always there-leaves the family:)-). The crux is do whatever you can in your capacity. Do not preach.

It's high time India and Pakistan !

After a long time I watched the cricket match between men in green and men in blue. It was an enjoyable match. For a change the jingoism was absent, at least on the field. The pressure on the two teams was enormous. But both sides played well and of course made mistakes. And the one who made lesser won the match. The guest team accepted the defeat graciously. I am very happy that I did not feel the same as I did during earlier matches between India and Pakistan(which to say the least, was nothing less than jingoism !). Yesterday I wanted India to win to enter the finals not because the opponent was our estranged neighbour. I feel this is a positive change and soon it will reflect as a change in the attitude of the nation. I strongly believe in-hum chale to hindustan chale(a superb advertisement by TOI group ) !  Last thing we should be doing is wasting our energy and resources fighting our neighbours(I agree the fault lies much more on their part). shall continue it in the next blog-hum chale !

Am back again :)

So here I am, after two years ! Life is running so fast. My questions are not very different from what they were when I started. Certain things have changed but nothing much. feel restless and grumpy for no reasons but wait ! I always see reasons to be in such a state but those around me do not !! Where is the difference? Ah yes, if I put my mind to it , I know the answer to this at least. It lies in the FRAME OF REFERENCE. Here is some concept from physics which I find very much in agreement in our lives also. I am trying to understand this completely in physics and my life as well. Shall write more about it once I myself see the light clearly in this direction :)