Mental Excursions

Low effort, feels almost healthy! I decided to make a chunky vegetable soup for lunch, the kind that fills you up, but does not swish like waves in your stomach, forcing you to lie in a horizontal position with your mind lost in vague dreams the whole afternoon . The only occupants of the fridge - corn, carrots and tomatoes, stared back at me. Fortunately, an easy soup, it did not require several varied steps or processes. What it however, involved, was peeling, washing, chopping, sauteing the vegetables and aromatics. It was a long time before I could add the spices, water and let it cook. My hands went in autopilot mode, but the mind wandered. What if one does not feel like going on a culinary adventure, has no sous-chef to prep or wants a quick-fix solution? Naturally, my mind turned to instant soups. Yes, I have tried a few different brands and have my favourites. But no, I am not naming them unless they pay me. And my greater joy is in sharing my new-found gyan about thes...

Age-Old Colours of Devotion Sharad Purnima (the Autumn full moon),  Nathdwara painting,  National Museum of Asian Art,  Smithsonian Institution I hope life has been treating you all kindly since I last wrote. It is Janmashtami today, the birthday of Lord Krishna. Long ago, when Mani was posted in Varanasi, my three and a half-year old woke up on Janmashtami morning, delighted to know there was no school. “Why?” he asked. “Because it’s Bhagwan Krishna’s birthday,” I said. Only very recently had he discovered that birthday meant cake, junk food, colas, and his best friend Siddharth. The idea that God’s birthday could exist without a ‘budday paaty’ baffled him. I tried explaining that we humans celebrate it for Him, but he wasn’t having it. By noon, I was tired and out of arguments, and then God Himself came to my rescue. Mani called to say we were invited to the evening Janmashtami celebrations at the RPF (Railway Protection Force) barracks. That was a big weigh...