SOULspace

Have you read a tasteless book? Have you seen one? No, I don’t mean the books that are meant to be trashy and have only one running theme through them. I don’t mean those… My blood boils when I see a book which is meant for the discerning audience, but is fit for the kabadiwallah . They are disguised as books for children and come in many tasteless shapes, colors, fonts and themes. This new trend of bringing mythological characters in their primitive childhood form and cavorting them around our gullible and impressionable children is most irritating. As they devour characters like Chota Bheem and Chota Birbal on screen, this is further supplemented by books which come with names like “Chota B and the Smelly Mountain Rakshas!!” Have you read such books…?? I may seem like a snob, but excuse me, isn’t the minimum requirement for a story, especially children’s story; a Story Line??!! Then there are some books, which hide behind titles that have been around for a thousand years. Like the Ar...

I am an Auto Mom. That means I do my bit and leave it at that.I am not the type to record every little footstep, word, profundities that my kids expound. Not that I have anything against those who do that, no offense please. I am actually too lazy and I guess any type of routine bores me quite soon, leaving me to drop it and look for some thing else, more entertaining.( And they say kids have attention deficit!!) So I started recording what my first born was doing. That lasted about 5 months, then intermittently till she was about 1 year and 3 months. The last I recorded was that she had taken her first few steps....and then it's a blank;...I mean my record book! She went on to walk, albeit with great many falls and bruises, and also went on to talk, still continues to talk. So much so that she has started complaining to Dad that I don't show any interest in what she has to say any longer. (But sweetheart, you must understand my attention span is very short..poor girl I know I...

  As I sit inside my guilded cage, I cannot but admire what I see outside. I have yet to move my posterior, to venture out, and search for the work that I know exists out there. I sit inside my self made enclosure and look at the world... And hey, its beautiful!! It rains occasionally, to give us reprieve from the sweltering heat. I sit with my book on the 1887 mutiny and read about Cawnpore and Meerut, of Ladies and Sahib- loges and I can feel that atmosphere here in these quarters (!) that we call our home now. I decide to capture some of it. The Hibiscus is overrun by enormous honey bees. It was a sight to behold. Every flower had a bee thirstily drinking away at its nectar. The rain through the mesh doors, cascading water, verdant colours. Breathtaking!! If this not inspiration, then what else??!! (Click on collage for full view)

I feel I have been tossed from an ocean into a fish tank. Trying to constrain big dreams, and attempting to transfer these dreams into the confines of a smaller playground. (It’s like asking me to play football inside the house!.) Wherever I turn, I see a wall. You may say these are walls inside my mind. How true! And so I force myself to find inspiration, in people, in objects, and in minute things. Hoping that in the process of discovery, I will be inspired once again to challenge the world. What is an inspiration? A person, a book, an object, a thought, an event, or an experience? Most commonly we find inspiration in a person. They are the ones we want to emulate. It may not be the entirety that we admire but a facet, some aspect that we aspire for. I have a few in my life. Sudha Murthy for one; simply practical, effective and immensely altruistic. As I read about her and her proactive work, I realize any inability is only in our minds. My father is another. Psychology has a word fo...