1-09-2020
September has started and the days since March seem so unreal. It is as if all that is happening is happening in another world. That is not so, more and more people are getting infected. Number of people who are infected in our country has crossed 30 lakhs. When we read in the newspaper, they are numbers but so many must be suffering all over the world, in different ways.
We lived in the campus before moving to our house in 2005. Last week we were shocked to hear about the death of our neighbour’s son-in-law. We were neighbours in the campus. The young man fell to his death from the balcony. It is terrible. A belief which most people here believe in is that when our time comes, we do things which normally we wouldn’t have done. It sounds very fatalistic but it answers questions which have no answers.
We are having sunny days and it is raining at night, so the weather is not very hot. Last week I made lime pickles. When I use lime, I put the peel in a bottle with salt and when the bottle gets filled, I make spicy pickles 😊. It is very tasty with rice and curds.
On the 29th was our wedding anniversary, we were married in 1982. It has been a good journey together. Except for two years, we have been in this small town since then. It is a coincidence but our son-in-law was born on 29th August 1982. It is a pleasure to wish each other on the same day. Aravinda ordered a cake, an eggless one and we enjoyed it. I make cake but I don’t know how to put icing and in a way it is good because maybe we would keep thinking of the calories 😊. Since last week I have been wearing the sari twice a week. We don’t go anywhere, only for our evening walks and I wear my salvar kameez. I got to thinking my saris are not seeing daylight at all 😊. It is a nice change. My Doddamma is enjoying my mails and I write mainly about our grandchildren and send photos too. Slices of life.
The main road near our house has been designated as state high way and recently barriers have been erected in the middle. About a week ago people living in the nearby places were shocked to see no place for people to cross the road even near the bus stands. But there was an opening near a bar a little away from our place. According to some rule there can be no openings in the middle. It is a very stupid rule. People gathered and local minister came and also the engineer. The engineer said according to rules they could not keep an opening, he was then asked why there was opening near the bar, he said it was due to pressure from above !!! We suspected as much. So everyone asked him if common people had to live under pressure at all times. He had no answer to that. Fortunately, an opening has been provided near the bus stands. Common people are taken for granted, their problems are not problems. It is really sad when people have to fight for their rights. That is life.
The essay writing course was good. Now I am reading ‘What is Philosophy? in Coursera. We can do the courses for free but we do not get a certificate. I am enjoying this learning experience. I am reading a fascinating book, The Difficulty of being Good by Gurcharan Das. He has taken the main characters in the Mahabharata and has shown how we can come to terms with the uncertain ethics of today’s world. I have just completed the second chapter. It is a compelling book and what is fascinating is that our Epics and Puranas are as interesting now as they have been through the ages.
The Difficulty of Being Good | Gurcharan Das
gurcharandas.org/the-difficulty-being-good
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“What is the greatest wonder in the world?
That, every single day, people die,
Yet the living think they are immortal.”
― Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa, Mahabharata
