Refractive Thoughts

What is it that motivates you to get out of bed in the wee hours for your morning walk?   Does our physician’s suggestion implore a strong-enough rationale to go through this rigmarole?   No doubt though that a like-minded group nudges us out of our bed. College days when the intent was to impress the neighborhood girls I would be up before the alarm went off to hit the tar.   Later when my parents were bride-hunting for me, I pushed myself out of the bed to stay fit, all lithe and radiant to impress the bride-to-be.   After marriage, together as life-partners we both committed to being walking partners too.   A beautiful neighborhood park is our favorite destination.   We both derive our inspiration via a careful observation of people’s mannerisms, and where possible passively eavesdrop.   Nicknamed ‘Cuticura’ is a fellow walker with a flowing mane who brings a whiff of fresh air with a distinct aroma of the talcum powder that he wears.   ...

Tryst with Destiny was a landmark speech delivered by Pandit Nehru on the eve of India’s Independence from Britain.  Tryst with Dates is my eternal struggle with the posit that Men are from Mars and Women are from Venus.  The fairer sex is pre-disposed to remember a surplus of dates of their own and the people around them, its second nature to them.  Men forget even the year; once my male colleague asked me puzzled “are we now in the 21 st or 20 th century?!” My mother with her date-friendly memory rescued me during my bachelor days.   Now many years after marriage, I am challenged to remember four birthdays and one anniversary date in the family; and I know the path ahead is uphill when our two daughters get married, then their spouse’s birthdays and their anniversaries, oh…the growing list unsettles me! My beloved wife and I completed our silver wedding anniversary.   I thank my stars that we did not date too much before our wedding for she would ...

Weep and you weep alone…. Laughter clubs have mushroomed around us and has brought us all together, both men and women of all ages, for lighter moments.   Laughter enhances the release of endorphins to augment the feel-good factor and decreases the stress levels.   We all agree that laughter is the best medicine and are familiar with the smirks and smiles, giggles and the gaggles, cackles and the chuckles, and in today’s ubiquitous social media environment, the ROFL – Rolling on Floor Laughing! When I approached the lady, only then I could tell she had burst out laughing, literally.   Tears rolled down her eyes, she tried her best to wipe them off, a few friends around her checked to see if she had choked, others even offered her water to drink – exact state-of-affairs at the scene as I witnessed at close proximity.   This was at a party where there were a few new friends-of-friends invited to expand the like-minded group.   The lady was new to this g...

Word Delivery conjures up some wonderful thoughts and images.  The birth of a baby in the family is the culmination of many an anxious moment and in the arrival of a new bundle of joy family members rejoice.  This wonderful moment erases from our memories any preceding sad events, like a death in the family.  A strong notion put forth is that with a newborn even deceased members of the family take a new life within the family circles. Delivery brings a lot of joy to the recipient when (s)he receives wonderful gift(s) from a sender.  The joy quotient heightens when there is a surprise element.  The courier is profusely thanked as signs of elation and gratitude arise.  The arrival of good news is perpetually welcome; happiness is viral and infectious irrespective of who the recipient. Delivery in the modern world and to the younger generation is akin to favorite food delivered home at the doorstep.  A favorite pizza, or the spicy Andhra food, or ve...

A long story trimmed will help reduce the ignominy!  On a business trip 7-8 years ago, a safe land call from a European city to my family back home in India probably brought a smile on their faces. My daughters narrated the fun with back-to-back home delivery dinners. I cleared my throat as my wife came on-line. The next few minutes it was a monologue for I was relentless in my gyan-session that food cooked at home sprinkled with love makes it divine; and the philosophy of daddy love as an essential ingredient for wholesome progress! At my tantalizing best if you will, I pretended it fell on deaf ears when she lamented her sufferings - an upset stomach and the challenge that she single-handedly managed everything.  Landed home the following week with not a hint of what was in store. My wife had planned a short trip to her parents in Mysore – me home alone to manage the kids! My better-half’s instructions were heard but not registered, as she directed me to post-its s...

Creative thoughts come to play for me at odd places and odd times and assume various shapes as new stories formulate in my mind. It was a quick resolve to pen them down on (a) piece(s) of paper for subsequent retrieval. Murphy is my middle-name, the very purpose of scribbling down was defeated as I lost track of the paper pieces. Strangely when I found some of the odd scribbling stashed in cozy corners and pant pockets, they made no sense to me; stitching a story together was next to impossible, an illusion of sorts!  My first creative thoughts crossed my mind in the mornings as I opened my sleepy eyes; only to last until I rolled off my bed. Going through my morning ablutions, I experience a deluge of thoughts as my toothbrush touches my teeth, a divine connection?! Only a notion though that the shining mirror acts as a catalyst to ignite my thought engine, but my evil twin staring at me from inside the mirror smirks as my thoughts fade away just as my frame moves out of i...