I wanted to
write this on 1st of 2nd of Jan but could only manage
this now… In fact I am writing this as I recover from the only lowlight of
2015! I came down with Dengue on 16th Dec. Also spent couple of days
in a hospital – still recovering from it as I finally write this! :-)
Recently,
at a reunion, where many of us were meeting after 25 years, late at night after
a few drinks, somehow we got talking about the highlights of each of our
lives….What have been the highlights of my life? So many things have happened;
some really big and some that didn’t seem very important at the time they
occurred but have gained serious significance over time.
But this manmade
juncture, where we end one year and start the new one, is probably a good point
to reflect on the past twelve months for highlights… I really needed to reflect
on 2015 since it has been a year without gainful employment – a year very
different from the last many in that sense.
1.
In Feb
2015, I visited Tapasi in Singapore – I had visited the city twice before, but
both the times it was on work and I had not had a chance to be a tourist. I
roamed around the city on my own for a while and then Tapu took me around to
show what appealed to her. While I
enjoyed the sights, sounds and smells of the splendid city, the highlight of the
trip was the long conversations with Tapu.
We talked
at home, over cups of coffee, over wonderful meals, over wine… Early in the
morning and late in the night… We talked while driving around and on long walks
by the bay; at fancy restaurants and small coffee shops…. We talked about
places; about people; about cultures and rituals; what we liked and what we
hated; frivolous matters and important subjects. And yet somehow, it seemed
like we didn’t have enough time – to talk!
2.
In July,
Reading Hour published my short story ‘Lost Friend’. My first published work! I
was asked if I was thrilled, and I couldn’t really say no to that but what I
felt most strongly was contentment! And then my novel (The Ripple Effect) got
accepted by Vishwakarma Publications! It is in works to be published and it is
definitely one of the things that makes me look at 2016 very positively! :-)
3.
Every year,
I look for opportunities to go away around Diwali time – someplace away from
all the razzle-dazzle and more importantly away from all the fire crackers! I
have been managing that more often than not. Yet, Diwali of 2015 was unique –
went to a small village in Konkan with family. Stayed right by the sea, watched
the waves, first thing in the morning and the last thing at night! Watched the
sunset every evening and walked the beach collecting shells! During the day, we
went to nearby villages and out of the way temples – temples that one could go
only on foot by climbing down and then climbing up a hill – place so quiet that
there was no one else other than us!
4.
I have been
interested in spirituality for a while now; have even ventured into a few spiritual
adventures. I had heard about Isha Foundation some time back and then I read
and listened to Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev (Isha blog, youtube). So finally I
signed up for their Inner Engineering program and went to their Ashram near
Coimbatore. The place is just amazing! Saying that it is designed beautifully,
architected well and is a wonderful experience, somehow does not seem enough!
It is a lot more than what I can describe in words.
The course
itself was very good. But it is not just the course – but what I want to do
beyond that – how I want to practice what I was taught and the change I feel in
myself. I can’t really describe it; one needs to experience it…
