Happy Valentine's Day!

It's Valentine's Day and although it's not a typical Indian festival, the cards on display have done their bit to usher in the mood in a pretty big way.

To celebrate V day, my husband bought tickets for 'The American Gangster'. Typical male choice? I think so too. I guess I'll have to hide behind my extra large popcorn packet all through.

To celebrate V day, the office decided to have a book exhibition. Nice, huh? If you love books, that is.

Yep, love is in the air. And folks seem to be enjoying it for different reasons.

There is of course the typical boy-meets-girl and the love that ensues. Celebrated with much pomp and splendor every V day. Chocolates and roses or simply riding a rickshaw. It's love that makes the wheels go round and round.

Love in a rickshaw- Hyderabad Blues

I took the WFH (work from home) option for the week and am loving every minute of it.

Love to work from home!

Guruji Sri Sri Ravishankar puts love in perspective by saying:

"To love someone whom you like is insignificant
To love someone because they love you is of no consequence
To love someone whom you do not like means you have learned a lesson in life
To love someone who blames you for no reason shows that you have learned the art of living..."

Happy Valentine's day!

The Guru strikes a love-able pose

Maharishi Mahesh Yogi passes away

"Expansion of happiness is the purpose of creation and we are all here to enjoy and radiate happiness everywhere."

-Maharishi

Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, the renowned Guru of TM (transcendental meditation), passed away on Tuesday, in his Netherlands home.

I never met the Maharishi, but for some odd reason, the news of his death brought a lump in my throat. I almost felt that a graceful Age had passed on. The age of Transcendental Meditation. The age of inner silence.

I browsed the newspapers, hungry for more news about the Maharishi. But the media seemed only allude to his association with the Beatles. One UK newspaper even went to the extent of writing that the Maharishi got 'lucky' because of the interest the Beatles took in his teachings.

It seems so easy for people to speculate, and they spend so much time just doing this! So that is how, any contribution of a great person, however simple, humble, great or significant, is put to the back-burner, while this odd sensationalism takes over.

Maharishi brought alive the technique of transcendental meditation, through which millions of people got some peace in their turbulent lives. A few moments of meditation brought a stillness into their mind, allowing them to function in this gross world with more focus and clarity.

Along the ages, every great guru had something so precious and unique to offer to those who are ready to accept it.

Many people are attracted to the Guru and Guru-concept because they want to rise above this mortal world and make some sense to their own existence. Yet, many Gurus are labeled with scandals and motives. Truth be told, the fact of the matter is that the mortal man tends to cling to nonsense, and forget the Truth.

A Sadguru (true Guru) is never really bothered by such talk. Through spiritual practice and devotion, the Sadguru becomes very centered. It is said that a Sadguru is connected directly to God and the Self.

In Guruji Sri Sri Ravishankar's own words: 'Maharishi laid the foundation for a new world based on the knowledge of Vedas and spirituality. There was none like him and none shall ever be again. He remains unparalleled.'

Work of such great gurus must never be reduced to mere sensational newspaper headlines. Nor can they ever be understood or fathomed through one's mind and intellect. It takes something much, much deeper to understand them...

Bhindi fry-ight!

'Bheja Fry' got better reviews at the cinema than the Bhindi fry served up recently at a Bangalorean hotel.

If software experts 'KISS' their designs to keep them short and simple, then why can't chefs 'MISS' their fries? Ever tried to tell a newbie chef to 'Make It Simple, Stupid'!

These days, desi chefs tend to overcook, under-fry, reboil, re-hash, remake, remix vegetables like never before. And why not? If movies like 'Bheja Fry' take inspiration from cooking, then why can't cooks get inspired by all the endless movie remakes and music remixes? (One hears that they tried to remake 'The Exorcist' in Latin, but the ghost apparently ran away).

Wassat?

The bhindi fry on my plate reminded me of all the principles of Darwin. I never could remember them at school, but I guess tough times like this call for tough thinking.

I tried to retrieve the Bhindi pieces from the gravy but soon realized that the Darwinian principles were attacking the situation with fierce determination.

Bhindi was swiftly losing out to Natural selection. After such an undigni-fried situation, Bhindi might just give up all hope of improving its own genes and decide to go extinct.

I noticed a Struggle for existence thingummy going on here. Bhindi was constantly swimming against the tide of choking, simmering, reeking gravy.

Survival of the fittest was a sure eventuality. Only the fattest bhindi pieces would emerge victorious while the others would get charred beyond recognition.

At least the globally acclaimed 'Gumbo' sets your expectations properly right at the beginning. You expect (look forward, actually) to see a watery, gooey mass on your plate.

But a good, wholesome bhindi fry sets one's imagination on the roll.

Green, moist, no -nonsense bhindis fried crisply to a nice brown color in fragrance-free oil. Add the salt and pepper generously and the bhindi fry has a fine place on a dining table. A hint of tamarind juice stirred into the fry will have the BBC at your doorstep, demanding the recipe for its global viewers. Mix in some Cumin powder and the bhindi fry deserves a place in Madame Tussaud's.

So you see, it's all a matter of taste. And a bit o' evolution.

Into a 'spirit'ual cave

On Friday last, the VMware Bangalore Tech pubs team decided to go 'cave-hunting'. We didn't have to go too far, coz' there was Gufa, which turned out to be an interesting restaurant-turned-cave (or is it the other way round?) on Jayanagar 4th block.

Inside Gufa

Gufa also served up some eerie statues and the call of wild animals along with the regular North Indian cuisine.

Our VMWare Bangalore TechPubs team awaiting some wild food:

L>Me, Arun, John. R>Niranjan, Fatema and Venkat

An eerie statue

Two of us were veggies and since our menu list didn't read too long, so we ordered in a jiffy. The others took time to make a choice from the vast four-legged species that the cave offered. I thought I caught a few folks look longingly at the bats which were hanging around, but they were not on the menu. But I guess apart from that, they could have had anything else a-la-carte.

The waiters seem to pop straight out of an old Kathleen Turner movie- if I recall, it was 'Romancing the Stone'. Or an 'Out of Africa' which starred my favorite heroes Meryl Streep and Robert Redford. Wish I knew about the Gufa dress code earlier on. Surely I would have worn a smart Safari suit and blended better into the wild background.

The dimly lit background troubled me a bit but there no cause for worry, really. No wild things fell from Punkahs above, as author Gerald Durrell described in his books.

Let there be light!

Well, our lunch turned out to be a delightful affair. We went as far as a sweet lime soda to make it a 'spirit'ual experience as well.

Spiritual, or Spirits?

When we left the cave and walked out on the familiar street, we almost heaved a collective sigh of relief. Birdsong was nice, and so was the cave, but there's something comforting about returning into the roaring human jungle.

Photo credit: Niranjan Jahagirdar

A journey beyond

The Art of Living Teachers' Training Program (TTC Phase I) turned out to be a fortnight long mind-blowing experience. Aspiring teachers for the Art of Living programs had come from all over India and the world. We shared the classroom with Pakistanis, Russians, Americans, Ethiopians and fellow Indians from other states. There were young and enthusiastic 20 somethings and mellow yet lively 70- year olds who attended the course.

In class with our teacher Prasannaji (seated on a chair)

The experience of living in a dorm with 200 other women trainees, waiting outside bathrooms at 3.30 am in the morning to have a bath, enhanced our endurance capacity. The arduous yet exhilerating yoga 'bootcamp' which lasted for 3 hours in the morning and 2 more hours in the evening pulled us out of the urban comfort zone into which we had all been trapped. The fantastic training on interpersonal dynamics gave us rare insights into the finer aspects of communication. The mystic spiritual process had us often walk around in a trance-like state.

There was community service too and I was part of a team that had to clear out the putrefying garbage dump, sorting out plastics and glass. Even a makeshift mask with my dupatta couldn't blot out the stench which emanated from the rubbish heap. But as time went on, we were competing with one another to find the most number of plastic bottles. And giggling all through.

Clean the garbage outside while you sort out what's inside you.

The Satsangs (singing devotional songs and chanting) which took place in the evenings were phenomenal, transferring us to a different plane altogether.

Guruji Sri Sri Ravishankar designed this course keeping the human psyche in mind, and he did it with such grace and perfection, as he does in all his projects and ventures. I met him along with others and talked to him for a brief bit.

"You are a publications manager? Then you must get into publications here." he said in his gentle voice. I was so happy.

I was glad I had introduced myself and this brief conversation had taken place between me and my Guru. But then I got to wondering, what didn't he know about me? He must have had such fun when he put on a surprised expression on hearing about my profession. And I fell for it!

I went home after bidding my goodbyes to all my classmates. I hoped that this enthusiasm and zeal which had welled up in me will last forever. But as I remembered those compassionate eyes and the benevolent smile of my spiritual Master, all my doubts suddenly vanished.