On Navratri...

Over these nine days, we observe 9 goddesses. Do you notice something about them?

It took me almost 40 years to notice – Ma Amba, Durga, Vaishno – they are warrior goddesses. Do we think of finery, jewellery, or bindi when we think of warriors? No. We think of armour, rigid faces and hostility. Yet, look at her – there is kindness in her eyes, benevolence and grace in her form, jewellery and finery on her person – yet, her hands wield a steady sword. She is able to hold a flower in one hand, and weapons in another. There is no armour, no military uniform, nothing. She sits cross legged, erect and yet non-chalant, atop a lion.

Maybe that should teach us something about how we view ourselves.

Anne Frank, a 15 year old girl, defined herself as “A bundle of contradictions” in her diary. I am sure we all feel a little bit like that. And if you look at her, the goddess is a bundle of contradictions too. But see how calm and at peace she is with all these apparent “contradictions” – she is comfortable with every ounce of her being. The warrior is not uncomfortable with the homely saree. The sword does not shy away from the spiritual rosary, or a fine piece of jewellery. Somehow, when you look at the image of the goddess, it is perfect. All those parts – all those seeming contradictions, they are not contradictions at all. They are pieces of a whole that form a beautiful image WITH and not IN SPITE OF each other.

Maybe we should think of ourselves like that too. All the parts of our personality – all those seeming “contradictions” – they all BELONG together. We are perfect – in parts and as a whole. We may think that some parts of us don’t go so well with some other parts of us. But tell me, when you really think about it, is there even one reason why a warrior cannot wear bright red lipstick?

Some contradictions may be real, and some, a figment of our thoughts. But they are all  perfect - they all belong.

The next time you feel like doubting anything about yourself – remember that the Goddess slayed the demon wearing bright red lipstick.

Kijaana on India's top blogs :)

Yeah, I am not one to gloat normally, but this is my personal favorite list and I LOVE being on it!


The top 100 blogs are curated by a real person. The selection is NOT based on an algorithm, and we have no idea when the process begins or ends. But what I love the most about this list is this - all the blogs that are here, are here for one reason only - content. NOT the number of followers, not the technical jazz, and definitely NOT the amount of traffic and followers and google page rank and other stuff that has overwhelmed and choked the simple pleasure of blogging.


The blogs I find on this list are uniformly AWESOME.  So to be on the list IS something to gloat about!


This is the list of top blogs of 2018 and each one is a gem.

Vikas Khanna and the Single Story - 2 favorite TED Talks

One usually shares TED talks on facebook. But these ones are here because they will be relevant for a long, long time.


This one:
https://www.ted.com/talks/vikas_khanna_how_my_challenges_made_me_who_i_am#t-534564


And This one, which has defined my thinking since the day I saw it.
https://www.ted.com/talks/chimamanda_adichie_the_danger_of_a_single_story

Gratitude

So, the last few months have been a spate of health issues. So weird and sudden that i told my mother to get a pooja done. First, there was the ankle that led to bed rest. Then, the dry eyes and eye inflammation that made it impossible to see the screen and do computer based work for more than 2 hours a day. Then, the right shoulder just lost mobility one night, leaving it possible to do only small things.

But here's what that did.. it eliminated all distractions. It taught the importance of walking, cooking, raising a hand to paint or work on the keyboard.

And here is how I changed as a person:

• I smile more.
• I used to be grateful for my legs every morning, but never more than in the last 5 months. I REALLY know what a blessing it is to be able to see, walk and use your hands. There is nothing more precious than this.
• I smile at children and strangers a lot more.
• I used to wave at children from a bus or train. Now I really see the beauty of that action.
• I've started to see my life from that moment of death, and from there, there is only this thing that we need to do more of - love, hug and laugh. Meet friends. Spend more time with the family and accept them as lovely, special human beings that we have chosen to spend our lives with.