Relaxation & Realization!

This is officially my first post for the year 2014!

And am writing it on 24th January....after 3 whole week in to the new year!  Clearly, that "relaxation" resolution is coming out really well.

Actually I had been incredibly busy, mainly with work and business travel up until last weekend. Still, "relaxation" is on, especially over the weekends when am doing nothing but generally chilling out (which is different from my otherwise busy recent weekends of filming, writing, travelling etc.).

Much has happened over the last few weeks, but before we get into that, you may have noticed that I am not doing any "counting" of days in the title of this post. Given that the frequency of my posts are gonna be pretty low this year, there is not much point keeping track of that anymore. So that's that.

Alright, so what's happened over the last few weeks.
1) I had a super hectic time at work with 6 major presentations over 5 days and while that broke my back, I have emerged unscathed and victorious, even. In simpler terms, it all went well and was well worth the pain.

2) I had a good trip to Guangzhou, one of the few work trips there that I have actually enjoyed (simply because it is one hell of a boring place). It's all thanks to the fantastic cold winter there and my routine walks to the hotel from the office every night in the chilling cold.

3) I am picking up Surya Namaskar (a yoga routine) and Ashtanga yoga these days and thoroughly enjoying it.

4) I even tried Kundalini yoga and I must say it was not something I was expecting. Surprising and fun!

5) I read yet another Vish Puri mystery by Tarquin Hall - "The case of the Love Commandos" and completely enjoyed it!

6) The hubby and I completed 12 years of togetherness. That's 1 whole dozen and we are still going strong & steady!

7) The little one has started to walk and it is so fascinating to see her trying out her new skill set! So when I get back home after these days, she doesn't crawl up to me, she "runs" up to me and hugs my legs. Total heart melting stuff, that!

And on top of all of this, I made a major realization.

I realized what are the things that I really want to do in life.

It all started with yet another hypothetical, imaginative Q&A game, one of those that I love to play with the hubby. Over a long dinner or coffee, I like to throw a random question at him (and then answer it myself after his turn). "Where do you think you will be 10 years from now"?, "What are the three things about yourself that you love? And three things that you want to change about yourself", "What are you 3 biggest achievements this year?", "What are the 3 things that you think you should have done this year but didn't" etc. etc.

I find these pretty fun to do (even though the hubby doesn't share this feeling always), because I think it helps to discover a few things about yourself that you were probably unaware of until then.

Which is pretty much what happened over last weekend.

As we had our 12-years-of-love celebratory dinner, I threw a random question at him.

Me: What do you think would be a few things that you would regret on your deathbed?
He: Hmmm.... uhmmm.... erm..... *clears the throat*.... oh yeah... .I don't know.
Me: Arre... think of something.... like, what is it that if you don't do, you know for sure you will regret.
He: But I might do it by the time I die any way.
Me: Yes, but assuming you didn't.
He: Even if I didn't, I don't know whether I will regret. You know... whether there will be any regret.
Me: Ugh. Can you just humour me and play the game?
He: Hmmm... OK maybe after Teamie (the start up he has founded and is currently the CEO of), I might regret not starting up another one.
Me: Hmm! Interes.....
He: Or....I might regret starting one.
Me: Uh?
He: You know..you get it.
Me: No, I don't.

This went on for a while until he came up with his list. And then it was my turn and I, very sincerely, thought about it.

And interestingly, I didn't have any of the things I thought I would have in my list. For e.g....

I didn't say that if I don't try out my hand at mainstream film direction (vs. the zero-budget, independent stuff I do now), I will regret it. So clearly, that is not my ambition.

I didn't say that if I don't spend more time with my family, I would regret it. So clearly, I think I am at the right balance of work time and family time now.

I didn't say that if I don't reach a top position in my company, I would regret it. So clearly, that is not my ambition either.

If I were to step back and give an opinion on this as a third party, maybe the above could have been some of the items on my list, but they weren't.

Instead I made a few interesting discoveries. Apparently, some of the things I would regret not doing would be...
1) Being a good yoga practitioner - one who can hold the asanas with grace and one who practices even in old age.
2) Scuba diving
3) Playing the guitar or the violin (two of the instruments I used to play while in school but gave up completely once I moved to Singapore)
4) Making a real, tangible, sustainable difference to even a small part of the society
5) Meditating regularly

Wow. I had no idea these things had so much importance to me until this exercise was completed. I think it was a useful exercise because unlike making resolutions where you limit yourself to what you can realistically do within a certain amount of time, here you are basically going beyond those limitations and saying, by the time I reach the point where this life no longer exists, there are these things that are either giving me a lot of meaning or are something I would love to experience. How fascinating!

It was also fascinating to note that there was nothing about films or writing or travel or family or career in there. I shared this a friend and she pointed out that maybe that's because I am pretty content with where I am on these aspects - something which I should feel really GREAT about! Wow.

So what am I going to do about these 5 things on the list? Well, I haven't exactly figured it out, but I will do something for sure. More on that in the coming posts!

For now, am happy and am inspired!

Days 239 - 246: A Great Post-Holiday Phase!

27 Aug - 4 Sep 2013

The holiday seems to have given a new lease of energy and determination. Ever since I got back I have been extremely busy but productive.

Things went pretty much like this:

Got back to Singapore (after a good flight in which the little one co-operated really well).

Unpacked.

Wrote all the detailed blogs from the trip (and there were a lot of those!)

Uploaded the holiday pictures.

Caught up with everything at work and made some good progress too.

Exercised 6 out of the 8 days since I got back.

Managed to get a "that's a very lovely post" for camel pose at yoga class.

Caught up with friends at work and outside.

Started meditating every night before going off to bed.

Got to watch the little one learn new tricks like picking up toys and placing them on my palm when I tell her "Give", imitating me when I cough, playing her new favourite game of collapsing on the bed at the count of three, trying to say "this" and "that" even though that's not what she means when she says it... etc. etc.

Caught two good films - a lovely Malayalam film called "English" and an interesting independent film called "Good Morning, Good Night".

Got excited about the new found muscles on my arms! The workouts are working!

Did some more planning on the next big holiday, this time with both the set of parents!

Had a discussion with a friend who got inspired by the script of Aravindum Aaarumughamum and has thought through a way to use the film to raise funds for a particular social cause. How awesome is that! More details on this coming over the next few months.

Discovered a whole new hangout area in Singapore. It all happened when the hubby and I were out of ideas for a new place to take the little one out to for our routine Sunday outing. I resorted to Google and we got several recommendations on kids friendly cafes in Singapore, all around this area called Robertson Quay. We had been there before but what we didnt realize that beyond the restaurant we have been to, there is an extremely long strip of cafes and restaurants and bars lining the river, connecting Great World City mall to Clarke Quay and beyond! That was such an awesome discovery because there were dozens of cafes to choose from. We had a good brunch at one and walked more than 5kms up and down the strip. It was an evening spent extremely well!

So there. That's all that's been happening. It's a lot. But it's all good. I am glad that instead of lazing out after the holiday, I have been able to bounce right back!

Days 64 - 69: Kerala Continues to Excite!

5 - 10 March, 2013

It is continuing to be crazy busy and hence time for another power packed summarized list-based entry! So here we go, what's been keeping me super busy, excited and happy the last few days in good old Kerala!

a) Welcoming the hubby who has finally made his way down to Kerala - His midnight flight was a couple of hours late but it turned out to well for my dad and me. We could have our overdue, peaceful conversation over a cup of awesome tea from a roadside stall. Loved the late night drive, the cool weather, the conversation, the tea and of course, finally having the hubby together with us!

b) Recovery of the little one - She fell sick with abdominal colic and a flu once she got here. Inevitable, given the changes in the weather as well as routine. But it was heartbreaking to see her miserable for a few days. And I was over the moon when she finally recovered, back to her very happy self. The first few times she started to "talk" and laugh again, I felt what was probably one of the strongest feelings of relief and joy till date! Parenthood is indeed interesting.

c) Visit to my dad's place in Tripunithura - But first stop was to try out the famed Kaayikka Biriyani. The rice and the sauces and soda lime that went along were quite yummy! This was followed by visits to my uncles' and aunt's places. It was lovely to meet all of them as well as my cousins. It was also wonderful to meet my cousin's 7 month old baby, who took a fascination for our little one. It was amusing to see the two babies bonding and having their own conversation. I was also absolutely WOWed by my little cousin brother's singing talent! I had no idea that he could sing and when asked to put up a live show for us, he did with no hesitation and ended up blowing us away. So proud! I wish we had more time to spend together with everyone, but I guess this will have to be it for this time!

d) More & More temple visits - I think I have covered more temples on this visit than ever before. More because the little one needs a madatory drive every evening. She absolutely refuses to sit at home past 5pm. And since we don't have too many different places to go to, we ended up covering plenty of temples! One highlight was definitely the Iringalakkuda temple. It was my first time there and I loved the temple with its expansive grounds, a beautiful pond and old world charm. On the way back we also hit a famous eating joint, the Friend's Kitchen in Iringalakkuda which served authentic Kerala cuisine. Yum! I was also taken aback by the breathtaking landscapes enroute to some of these temples. In less that 10 kms from the city, there were so many lovely temples set in pristine locations - surrounded by palmgroves, paddy fields and little streams. It is so wonderful to discover these gems!

e) Celebrating Shivarathri - The last time I celebrated Shivarathri in Kerala was about four years ago. Then I had primarily visited the Vadakkumnathan temple and spent the evening there lighting the lamps and praying. This year it was a bit different. We visited five different Shiva temples and we got a Pulluvan song done for the little one at the Punkunnam temple. Pulluvanpaattu is a dying art done in honour of the Sarpa/Snake Gods as a way of invoking their blessings for infants and I was absolutely thrilled to have it done unexpectedly for the little one! We watched a dance performance near Vadakkumnathan and more interestingly, we saw dancers in full fledged Bharatantyam costumes on the roadside waiting for an autorickshaw after a performance at a nearby temple. What a sight that was! I also saw the elephant procession from Parmekkavu temple towards Vadakkumnathan. I learnt the fascinating fact that there are about 15 such processions from nearby Devi temples and these signify the journey of the Goddesses from their abodes in these temples towards the Shiva residing at Vadakkumnathan to greet him on Shivarathri. How cute is that!

f) Visit by a good friend from Singapore who is currently based in Kerala. He came over with his girlfriend, a lovely girl whom I am meeting for the first time. It was wonderful to have them over!

g) Visit by my filmie fanatic friend who is based in Kochi - He came over with a memento and the final official DVD of his film. Our history is all there in the old blog, so am not repeating it here. But it was lovely to meet him again and receive the tokens of completion of his first film project, which all apparently started from our conversation in Singapore in 2011!

h) Visit to My House - There is an apartment we are constructing on the plot of my mom's ancestral house. This is the first time I had an opportunity to visit the site. It was thrilling and overwhelming to look up at that complex and realize that that house is going to be my house. There is still some construction left together with most of the interiors but I couldn't help but feel that it is my very own house, the place where my parents would be staying in from the next time on. A bigger, brighter, newer place for them after all these years. It was truly a beautiful feeling.

h) And last but not the least, I have been gorging on all the food. From jackfruit dessert to toddy, from beef fry to duck curry, from biriyani to chocolate pastries, from banana chips to squid curry, I have had it all. Of course, it's all starting to show on the body but we shall worry about fitness and such boring issues once back in Singapore. For now, the taste buds get the priority!

Jam packed. Heavy duty fun. More to come! 

Day 33: Market, Bargains, Breeze, Silver Linings Playbook, Da Luca!

What a fantastic Saturday it was! Thoroughly enjoyed it!

It all started with a trip to the neighbourhood wet market with the hubby. Interestingly, I have been living in this house for about 4 years now and it's my first visit there in all these years! And I felt like a royal fool for having missed out on this fabulous little place right next to where I live! I fell in love with the place because...

1) The low cost, variety and quality of the vegetables, fruits, fish and meat were just awesome! OK, I bought only grated coconut on the request of my helper, but still it was fascinating to just walk around and observe all the shoppers, everyone in shorts, singlets and slippers or even pajamas, evidently just walking out of the house to the market, early in the morning. It was a very vibrant atmosphere indeed, with everyone from uncles, aunties, young couples, maids and kids of all ages walking around, shopping, having their morning breakfast in the numerous hawker stalls that seem to occupy every little space available in between the shops. Loved the atmosphere!

2) Not only did the wet market have the groceries and vegetables that you would expect it to have, it also had several shops selling clothes, mattresses, hardware materials, stationery etc. at unbelievable bargains. I was thrilled at the super low prices... seriously, they might as well give them away for free... and I bought myself quite a few cotton tops and bottoms to wear for my yoga class. And the best part? There were obviously no fitting rooms in the market and I was just taking a gamble given that the prices were so low, but the fitting was perfect! Awesomeness!

3) We were aware of an Indian store in the wet market - one that ensured we are never out of atta, the million varieties of daal, the highly acclaimed ponni rice and other such groceries required for Indian cooking. But I was pleased to discover a cute little shop called Sharada Indian Flower Shop that sold well... flowers, but also small Indian necessities like incense sticks, puja items etc., which in turn contributed to a lovely fragrance all around the shop. I felt so happy seeing it and in the spirit of supporting the local Indian flower shop, we bought a pack of incense sticks.

4) As mentioned earlier, the visit to the wet market was together with the hubby. The "Us" time, early in the morning on a Saturday was very welcome of course.

5) The whole experience was enhanced by the strong, cool breeze that was blowing on our walk to and fro the market. Thoroughly enjoyable weather for a morning walk!

As you can see the day started off really well.

In the evening we caught Silver Linings Playbook, an absolutely wonderful film! I love it when they take a simple family theme and make something so freaking fantastic out of it! I loved every bit of this film and will go as one of my all time favourites for its screenplay and performances!

This was followed by a super yummy dinner at the Italian restaurant Da Luca. Over green peas soup, grilled chicken and molten lava chocolate cake with pistachio icecream, the hubby and I had a great time! This place is gonna see a lot more of us in the future!

In short, a really fund day!