Inspirations

It took me a year to go and visit her, but finally I did. Suraiyaji, an octogenarian, still runs her shop "Suraiya's traditional weaves and crafts", a school "Safrani memorial" and supervises the weaving daily in her workshop. She has trained widows from the neighbourhood who have no way to earn their livelihood, and taken in their children in her school free of cost - all to try and give them a sense of the the world. The school is co-education and the children learn of the possibilities and of a world beyond their own. She can't afford to give them a mid-day meal but she does make sure that they know how to eat with a spoon and use a napkin.

A gentle lady with a strong sense of purpose Suraiyaji showed us around her workshop where she is trying to revive the art of Persian brocade. Each loom produces only about 4 inches per day and it takes two ladies an entire day to weave that much.A graf is made first to ensure utmost precision and the price of course reflects all that.She is particular that not a single thread is woven wrong. She would rather cut the piece away than sell it. When I said, "Oh, but most people won't be able to make out if there is a minor mistake" she replied "But I will".

The fabrics are beautiful. The persian brocade with the silk embroidery was special and I was like a child in wonderland - so many different and beautiful fabrics and such rich colors and shine. The hand-painted scarfs from machlipatanam, the mangalgiri block prints, the kalamkari prints that are made to fade, narayanpeta fabrics with wonderful peacock hues, and pochampally. So many rich colours and traditions of India woven into fabrics.

I ended up shopping - with advise from her - don't waste the fabric. you are slim, so you won't need a meter- 80 cms should be fine. What a wonderful anachronism and an inspiration. And on my way out from the shop - I could not resist asking her - "What are the plants that she has at the entrance? There are pieces of charcoal in the pots". She said, "Oh, those are Orchids- they need the charcoal". I thanked her again and left feeling completely inspired. She grows Orchids in Hyderabad - that alone is hugely admirable and to add to all of what she had already told me, whew - I was impressed.

RaMbLinG

I wanted to ramble about nothing in particular but about something at least. There are days when I don't want to ramble but today I do. I had some exciting converstaion with non-biologists and it felt like such a happy ending for me ...that I have had the fortune to study biology and learned to appreciate the almost science-fiction like quality about research. The fact that biology affects us all, we want to know what is happening when we fall sick and everyone I am sure has been curious about one thing or the other, at some time at least.

It's like going to the Louvre with some knowledge of the history of our world and one can see what the artists are trying to do... appreciate the art there. I really feel fortunate to be actively involved in Biology while it is still happening. Dreams of a Nobel Prize one day does not have to happen , but I am still happy reading and being able to understand what the fuss is all about.

I could be happy just writing about one idea a day and I think as a free-writing exercise I will begin to do just that and make it a happy habit. It is vital, just like a marathon runner trains for the big race, I've got to start training for my big work.

Compulsive conversation with the coffee machine

I stand by, not meaning to eavesdrop but I am in the queue for my morning shot of caffeine. It's about nine in the morning, really wonderful weather with the prospects of a cloudy day after a night of heavy rains...just the perfect weather to enjoy your tea/coffee outside and take a moment to cherish life....

But not to digress ...so as I stand there, in no particular hurry three ladies in front of me in the queue are talking to the coffee machine! One says, "Good boy" and then presses the button remarking that [the machine] does not like being called a girl and needs encouragement otherwise it wouldn't foam well....

I almost laugh out aloud but they are my colleagues who I don't know too well... and I can't be laughing. But of course the smile on my face is really big because the way she's talking to the machine makes me feel that this is an everyday occurrence and not just for today.

At that point, I just smiled but later I wondered if solitary existence has made my colleague a compulsive conversation seeker. Who does she talk to when she gets home? I've always believed that all of us need to talk , to express ourselves, to make others laugh and this is one of the most important aspects that we seek ....so well I guess all of us at certain points are compulsive conversation seekers.

:-)

Almost the last day of the first month of the new year

Complex, long and windy for what could have been simple.
It's all a complete chaos in my head

What we do we do for what we are
but why to try and make us out to be what we can't be

It's a long night
no one can fight

The time that ticks away slowly, but loudly
the alarm clock that I have banished so soundly

What awaits me tomorrow , thank you god is a surprise
Hope I have positivity with sunrise.

Anomie
(AN-uh-mee)
noun: Social instability and alienation caused by the erosion of norms and values

That is the word that I was looking for!!
It just perfectly captures what's happening in our country.
The headlines are scary
Suicide bombers
Demands for new states
High Alert
Trifurcation
Total chaos
When will we learn,
When?
I fear for the future generation
Plunged in anarchy
Universities have closed
There are no classes
Only fast onto death
How will they compete
In this anomie....?

Truly a crazy way to be.
And to top it , I read this
To think we are causing ourselves more pain
and creating confusion
http://www.mindtree.com/subrotobagchi/my-mother-is-an-ugly-woman/

to read : my mother is ugly
That is indeed anomie

Plugging the leak in the thought pipeline

This is to honour my promise to the guy who had the inspired thought, 'the leak in the thought pipeline'! thanks amit!

why do we often have fleeting ideas?...things that have the potential of being great just pass of as mediocre thoughts, nothing is retained , we often don't even recollect how we spent our time last week.

I say to that, "plug it". now! Be proactive like the boy who stuck his finger in the tiny hole in the dyke and saved a flood, like all the amazing people of this world who did something with their time.

It's so easy to waste time,
and that's so surprising considering the fact that time is the one thing that you just can't get back. Once gone,it's gone forever.
If you spend money foolishly you can always earn it again, but time once gone will ever come back. But still people bemoan having spent money...but what about the time wasted!

It's like realising that no one but you has to take responsibility for your time and how you spend it. If I want to do something with my life , it's me who has to actively seek out opportunities and do something with all the positive brilliant thoughts that come to my mind. :-) Well I exaggerate but how will I know if I don't try!

To have traveled

On NY times I read ,
"Travel is the art form available to Everyman. You sit in the coffee shop in a strange city and nobody knows who you are, or cares, and so you shed your checkered past and your motley credentials and you face the day unarmed. Bravery! Adventure! Defeat! Survival! And onward we go and some day in the distant future, we will stop and turn around in astonishment to see all the places we’ve been and the heroes we were."

Wow! this spoke to me, this reminded me of why I love traveling though I detest packing...why even when money is scarce , I want to travel; why even when time is fleeting, I want to capture that moment when I grew; when a single night by myself in an alien country turned out to be an adventure that I survived unscathed; when it felt so wonderful to tell Mom stories of my escapades, and of course when I sit and turn the pages of my painstakingly made scrapbook ,there are so many moments that I have in the humdrum routine of life forgotten but then they come back with a flash, and I exclaim, "Oh my God that gondola ride was stunning ! " and I thank God that I have traveled.