Lessons learnt from 'The Last Lecture'

It was two years back when my daughter gifted me a book ‘The Last Lecture’ by Randy Pausch, Professor at Carnegie Mellon. It was in fact the last lecture delivered by him as he was earlier diagnosed with terminal cancer and had few months to live. The lecture transformed into a story by one of his friends, was, published to become a best seller.

I read the book a number of times. Every reading enhanced my understanding of the valuable legacy which he left for his children and his readers. Being the last lecture and the simple truths it exemplifies, makes it poignant and sentimental. Let’s share a few of the professor’s proud moments.

He attributed his success to his firm belief in: “If you want something bad enough, never give up.”

One of his dreams was to experience the floating feeling of weightlessness in zero gravity. There was a plane designed by NASA to acclimatize the astronauts to Zero gravity. An opportunity came his way when his students at Carnegie Mellon were invited by NASA to do certain experiments. He hoped to accompany them but the authorities refused to accommodate any teacher. The opportunity was lost. However he did not lose hope. After extensive efforts he found a way out. He offered to become a journalist and send his virtual reality experiences to mainstream journals, publication of which would enhance NASA’s reputation. He kept persuading till they agreed and finally his dream was realized and he did experience that magical floating experience of zero gravity.

According to him: “Hard work is like compounded interest in the bank. The rewards build faster.”

When he was young, his parents always encouraged inquisitiveness ‘about current events, history’ and life. For him there was no better way to learn this than consulting ‘World Book Encyclopedia’ which his parents subscribed for, regardless of the ‘princely’ cost. The tradition in his house was: ‘Open the encyclopedia. Open the dictionary. Open your mind.’ He cherished the World Book and one of his childhood dreams was to be a contributor. It took him many many years of dedicated hard work in the field, before he could fulfill his dream of writing a new entry under “V” (Virtual Reality).

He believed in action and not brooding in the face of challenges. “This is not fair” was never a part of his vocabulary. Rather he’d say: “Let us saddle up and ride.”

His seven months pregnant wife, had her water bag ruptured at home and was rushed to the hospital. The doctors asked him to keep her calm as she was half way into clinical shock. With his presence of mind, he kept her conscious and reassured during the crucial C-section and saved both mother and child.

While concluding his lecture he says if we possess self belief, honesty and integrity, ‘no matter what cards we are dealt with, we will play them well.’

Moving to the hills in summer

Moving to the hills in summer

The popular adage ‘Nothing comes out of nothing’ comes full circle for me around this time of the year. Running away from the sweltering heat of the plains becomes a necessity especially if you have a small place you can call your own, some where in the hills. Fortunately I have one in the lap of hills at Kumarhatti in Himachal Pradesh. The transition from your permanent home to the temporary one in the mountains is a herculean task, and the exercise is worth mentioning to validate the wisdom which lies at the core of the above quip.

I had to work round the clock for a few days before embarking on the intended journey. You can well imagine the toil and travails of winding up a fully operational household. Every conceivable issue has to be dealt with. Starting from the payment of utility bills to lawn care, security, mail delivery and much more has to be taken care of. After that the momentous date for moving up is fixed. It is here that the toughest task starts. Arranging provisions and other stuff in the car, including water bottles and some food stuff… require the skill of a master craftsman. Finally you reach your destination after overcoming traffic jams, traffic snarls, raging tempers and racing hearts. Great relief it is to be in one piece after the twists and turns of the eventful journey.

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. In the process of settling down you have to pass through unavoidable drudgery and experience muscle pulls and pains in the body because of over exertion and stair climbing. In the real world one has to bake the cake to eat it too. Likewise to enjoy the sweet coolness one has to set the things right in the summer home before one reaps the fruits of one’s labour. It is an exercise involving many days before there is a semblance of a feeling of home sweet home.

But you can’t help noticing the sweat less activity and the cool breeze fanning you. Even the overstrained back tries to straighten up, already nourished by the whiff of clean and fresh mountain air.

The teething troubles, major and minor hic-cups are all forgotten after a few days. Long walks in balmy air and the sight of lanky pines swinging in the breeze; transport you to a dreamlike world. Sharpened appetite makes you feel stronger and fitter. Lethargic feelings of the plains produced by whirling fans, deafening coolers and ACs are bidden farewell to. You feel energized and take on life with a positive orientation.

It is however at night that the surreal aspect of hills is revealed. You step into the balcony and behold the oasis of twinkling lights stretching up to the horizon and brightly blinking stars in the cloudless sky over head. The fantastic spectacle gets etched in your mind. It is such exotic sights which leave indelible images in the reservoir of your memory.

You deserve it all, after going through the stresses and strains of a sort of domestic upheaval.
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Why I Love a Morning Walk

My most loved activity is going for a walk in the morning .Ever since I retired I got into it and I enjoy it immensely .I miss it sourly the day I am bogged down. This is my staple diet I cannot do without.

Stepping out of the gate every morning, the first one to greet me is the balmy cool breeze. Instantly it embraces me in its fold and accompanies me all the way. It lathers my body with its scented gentleness and bathes it with unseen strokes. Its fragrant freshness continues caressing me with its sweet presence. While I sleep at night it is at work. It gathers all the sweet smells emanating from the verdure around to present to me, its dear friend and admirer, at dawn.

It stays totally in sync with me. It writes my thoughts in my head long before I ink them on paper. It loosens the knots in my grey cells, calms me and prepares me for the day .It buckles me up to face the challenges. It goads me to introspect and contemplate. It wants me to learn each day and be wise.

I prefer to walk alone. I have so many conversations to do. The leaves, buds, flowers, hanging seed pods and swaying branches talk to me when I pass by them. Sometimes they pour their angst out against the humans for being indifferent and callous. I keep listening like a soul mate and that satisfies them. They understand and don’t press for an answer.

When I am out early I observe a birds’ meet. Before embarking on their respective hunt for grub they hold an assembly. Perched on the twigs of a richly leafed tree they say hello to each other in the form of no holds barred crescendo of chirping, twittering, squeaking and many unnamed sounds. It is their way of welcoming the day together and displaying solidarity. Suddenly they come out in a flourish and fly away hither and thither but not without acknowledging my presence by tweeting over my head.

My morning walk is on a straight road with no turns and bumps which surprisingly is least trodden. On one side it is lined with trees. Their luxuriant branches cover one third of the road like a canopy. While I stroll under this umbrella, I instinctively finger the leaves above. .At times the touch is smooth and soft and at other times rough and abrasive like life itself. The wind fans my hair, I yawn and feel drowsy, strength leaving my legs and I lose myself to the intoxication.

Cuckoo Comes Calling

Since early March when spring ushers in all that is beautiful in nature, there comes cuckoo. Perhaps from the labyrinth of shadows to enhance the loveliness of the season with its melodious coo cooing. Spring and cuckoo are best of friends. They remain in sync with each other and come and go together. Strange but true that the musical strains of cuckoo’s song transform into a special waking call for me each morning. I take my cuppa of tea and sit in the lawn to listen to the sweetness of her voice undisturbed. It is like keeping a date with her each daybreak.

Throughout the day I remain alert not to miss her song because of the joy it provides. From where it comes, I fathom not. I can merely guess from the pitch of the sound ,whether it is huddled somewhere in the thick foliage of a mango tree, which is growing in our vicinity or perched on a rich leafy branch of the Neem at a distance. For me the voice symbolizes a mysterious poignancy. Many questions crop up inside me. What and who inspire her to sing with such depth of tone and vibrancy? Is she pining for her elusive mate who is unrelenting? Does the song express the pain and longing of her heart and soul? Or is she besotted by the soothing balmy ambience of the season itself?

Her musical notes start on a medium pitch and become full throated after a few seconds. Her sonority lasts for half a minute and then she takes a breather and begins all over again. She keeps this schedule till mid day and then rests for a couple of hours. When the day cools down, her second shift of refreshing our environs begins all over again. May be she knows that there is an admirer of hers missing her melody and pricking her ears in wait. So she comes and obliges. Telepathy as they say it. How strange the ‘kali koel’ with its mellifluous voice has ordinary looks. So be it. Rightly said, isn’t it? that ‘beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder.’ In this case it lies in the ears of a devotee.

I only saw her one day when I was coming back from my morning walk. I stood there watching her chasing the predator crow with ferocity and anger which was evident from the fluttering wings and a threatening sound. The scavenging crow is a nightmare for small birds like the cuckoo as it destroys their eggs and nests.

As the heat intensifies she may become elusive again. But not for long. I am sure when the rainy season comes along , once more we will be inundated by the flow of her melodic voice through the rustling and glistening wet leaves of her beloved mango tree, laden as it would be with the luscious ripe fruit.(Our folklore associates this bird with the tree which gifts us the king of fruits.)

Putting up a Pasta Dinner

Hi friends, what say you to da li'l effort!!!

Yesterday evening I was absorbed in surfing the net and my hubby in surfing the TV channels in the other room. All of a sudden I heard him calling me. I was so immersed in reading something of interest, that I completely forgot that it was already 9 o’ clock and late for dinner. Not that I have not faced such situations before. But today I was in no mood to make any special effort to cook something from scratch. I was inclined towards some quick fix formula. It was at this juncture I remembered that there are four or five boxes of different varieties of pasta –whole wheat – brought from the US by our daughter and this is the right occasion to put up a pasta dinner.

Now it is a fact that lately we have developed a lot of liking for this Italian dish. It so happened that when we were visiting our children in the US we were taken on a sight seeing tour of New York. After we had meandered through Manhattan and Broadway-my dream destinations- we entered an Italian restaurant for lunch. We placed an order for veggie pasta with Italian sauce. The dish proved to be very delicious as well as filling. After that we tried all variations in pasta cooking at home and enjoyed immensely. It is every thing rolled into one and becomes a full meal. In Indian cooking we have to do so much for a proper meal which has to be planned in advance.

Compared to an Indian meal, preparing pasta is simple and any novice can fix it up fast. It is healthy too, as any number of veggies available can be added. Determined to improvise a meal in a jiffy, I asked my husband to help in cutting the vegetables which I had got from the market a day before. Subsequently the cabbage was shredded ,carrots cut lengthwise into medium pieces, a large onion chopped, a couple of garlic cloves crushed, tomatoes cut into squares and a few threads of green coriander washed and put in place. Here I stood waiting to do my part. On one burner I heated two tbsp.of oil in a pan and sautéed the veggies according to the instructions on the box and added condiments to our taste. On the second burner I boiled about 200 gms.of spiral pasta my favorite shape “al dente”…… (I read somewhere that in socialite circles, it is not enough to mention that one had had the yummy pasta in this or that restaurant. To be considered chic one is expected to know the particular variety e.g. whether it was spaghetti, vermicelli, fusilli, rotini, penne, farfalle, macaroni et al. The list is long)……. In the meantime veggies were done. I added the boiled pasta into the pan and asked my better half to do the blending part, while I laid the table (simple, two plates with forks and a bottle of sauce.) The cooked pasta looked vivid, fresh and inviting. It was for the first time that both of us participated in the cooking process together. Both of us enjoyed ourselves and had a very satisfying and nutritious meal into the bargain.

We have started liking pasta so much that we prefer to eat it every other day. I keep on trying various permutations and combinations of vegetarian and non- vegetarian recipes based on pasta. And I have noticed that we are able to consume more vegetables with it and that too in a semi cooked stage where vitamins are not lost as in our currying of everything. It is heartening that our dietary habits are overcoming the rigidity of taste and we are slowly incorporating dishes of other cultures in our cuisine. The internet is a miracle medium which has opened wide the corridors of information about every thing imaginable in this universe including food. According to Bernard Shaw, “There is no love sincerer than the love of food.” Pasta like Pizza is increasingly becoming very popular with the old and the young e all over the world. In good Indian stores pasta is available in various sizes and shapes. It is making inroads into the Indian kitchen, tickling the taste buds of Indian middle and upper middle class youth who is precursor of new trends in every thing: food habits, entertainment mediums as well as haute couture.

The Indispensable Maids

I had had a tough time on my hands all these days. There is a daily face off with two shrewish maids in the home arena where nobody wins or loses but the match is played daily.

 

It all began in October last when I engaged two part-time domestic helpers. In the process of hiring itself, I had an eye-opening experience, as I went through a newer version of an inquisition at their hands. No kidding, it was just that. More demand and less supply have upped the scales in their favor. A volley of questions was thrown at me with a straight confident look. The questions ranged from the number of rooms and bathrooms to the identity of the maid/maids who worked before and how much I paid them and many more. I answered nonchalantly, ostensibly showing a ‘don’t care less attitude’ (though inside I was boiling). As if that was not enough they stepped inside and went from room to room assessing and surveying and talking in low tones between themselves. I was waiting for them in the lounge. After scrutinizing the pros and cons of their decision they inched towards me and said, “We will do your work.”

But I had not bargained for what came next. Without mincing words they declared, “We will have three days off in a month and on some other days if need be, will do half the job to leave early.” I murmured a weak opposition but hired them there and then. To tell you the truth, underneath my so-called stiff exterior I nurse a phobia of negotiating terms with the likes of them. Their lives are rough and their language is no less so and I avoid facing their mindless arguments. I made a plan mentally and acquiesced to their inflated demands.

Now their job was done and mine started. I knew that I will have to apply all my management and persuasive skills, to tame this duo of shrews to some sort of reasonable behavior. I resolved to use my varied experiences of handling hundreds of college students, in the course of my teaching career. In the span of a couple of months with patience and a little tact I thought I would be able to make some positive dent in their approach but I was sadly mistaken. Within a few days, I learnt that they are very flighty and take and leave work at will. I really wished to help them as well as myself (the teacher in me always comes to the fore). I tried to impress upon them to stick to the work they have taken up in the first place, but their notoriety continues.

The battle lines are drawn as soon as they enter my house in the morning. I insist on a well-done job while they execute a substandard one. One of them moves like a machine as if she is to catch a nonstop express train. Every few minutes while mopping the floor she looks up at the clock on the wall and becomes more energized. If I am not supervising she will skip a room and lie to me that she has done it. She does not seem to have any interest in the work per se and her only motivation is money. The other who cleans the utensils is a compulsive whiner.

While I persevere to make them more human and responsive, I relent that habits die hard. Ask me not why I don’t have another? Any guesses?

SPRING AT THE DOOR STEP

Finally, I have selected a topic to write upon. But the truth is that it got selected by itself. It all happened when I was taking a walk in the park near my house. My observant eye was scanning the surroundings. Lo, I was immediately struck by the magic wrought by spring in the most spectacular form. 

The plants, shrubs, and trees appear to have woken up from a deep refreshing sleep. There are the new shoots, fresh and glistening like the washed face of a healthy child and surfeit of riotous blooming flowers. It reminds us of the umbilical bond which has always existed between man and nature and which we have almost forgotten, embroiled as we are in ‘the world is too much with us’ syndrome!

Nature displays its charms unobtrusively, suddenly and soothingly without crying hoarse for attention from the rooftops. Can we get even a penny without toiling for it? Here nature casts its jewels in our path without a murmur. The priceless trinkets of nature’s bounties go a-begging. The generosity of spring is unbounded. We receive its visual pleasure for the moment and forever and gratuitously also. Wordsworth’s wonderful poem ‘The Daffodils’ celebrates the joy and fragrant beauty of spring. The poet is enamored by the sight of blossoming yellow daffodils and the spectacle becomes embedded in his imagination and he poeticizes, “They flash upon the inward eye, which is the bliss of solitude.”

The spirit of peaceful co-existence, hope and self-renewal are constant in nature and amazingly visible in spring. Two contrasting states overlap on the Neem and other deciduous trees. Each gives space to the other. There are tiny baby leaves on top of the branches, and near the stem, weather-beaten brown leaves are still hanging calmly. The pruned branches of evergreens and perennials are having a blast of glossy, eye-catching, green-hued new sprouts, heralding the rebirth of nature.

On a micro level at the home front and in the neighborhood, spring has unraveled its charms no less generously. My rose bushes are aflame with flowers and today(28th March) when I stepped out of the door I was greeted by newly blossomed red lily, growing on the inside of the boundary wall. The lawns are much greener now. “Can you imagine my oval-shaped thorny potted cactus is budded now and I expect blooms any day? Isn’t it nature’s marvel that a prickly cactus bears the most delicate pink petalled flowers?” The Marigold in my back yard came to flowering early, at the beginning of March. My cherished herbs curry Patta; mint, aloe vera, and Tulsi are out of hibernation and regaining their lost glory fast.

In my neighbor's side yard (a corner house) there are a couple of Bottle Brush trees. They are laden with flowers and their boughs hang downwards with the weight of the flowers and thick leafing. The mango tree is loaded with tiny white flowers signaling a bumper crop of mangoes. Together with other plants these weave kaleidoscopes of resplendent colors all around.

If the flora is in abundance in the spring fauna is also making waves. Cuckoo has surfaced and coo coos perched somewhere on the mango foliage. Larks, long-tailed sparrows, and woodpeckers are seen pecking at worms and insects in the lawns and parks. I even saw a lone dove balancing itself on an electric wire. Squirrels are having fun, hopping and racing from one tree to the other. Butterflies and buzzing bees are savoring myriad choicest dishes. Glowworms glow at night switching on and off their night light. Undoubtedly spring has infected all with joy and pleasure.

A peep at the weather front surely is in order. The mornings and evenings are luxuriously breezy and invite one for a relaxing walk. The wind envelops the body and massages it tenderly while passing by. There was even a light shower last week bringing in an invigorating coolness and bright clear sky.

Early summer vegetables have started arriving in the market. The advertisements for cool drinks and other beverages are already filling the T.V. screen and shop counters. Let's enjoy April’s moderate climate before the May heat cows us down.