Quite Something

It was quite something to go to India after 20 years.

Experience after experience told me I had done the right thing.

India was wonderful and meaningful and fulfilling.

I met Arun's pal (and walking companion) Huggy for the first time.

I had the most wonderful breakfast and dinner conversations with my sister Christine every day.

I visited the magical creation built by Arun that is Sundance.

I went to Bangalore Club for an AK Ramanujan event.

I rediscovered how scary it was to ride in autorickshaws, but kept braving the experience again and again.

I visited old Bangalore haunts like Brigade Road and MG Road and Commercial Street.

I attended Sunday services at Bethel AG Church.

My friend Jacky performed her haircut wizardry on me and gave me a brand new look.

I tasted a variety of incredible  foods, including the very same biryani Jacky brought to the hospital when I delivered Tanita.

I spent a wonderful day visiting with Pauline and ate a delectable meal cooked by her.

I spent a wonderful day with Anita in which we bargained with street vendors, ate a Nepalese meal and listened to a talk by a Rinpoche.

I enjoyed a lovely lunch with Angela Brown and her family - which included delectable home-made Christmas plum cake and wine.

I visited  Nithya, Uday and Arpi in their beautiful home, and had a convivial time with Nina, Meera and Ananda there.

I met a bunch of Chris's old school friends, and was regaled by their stories.

I met the No. 1 supporter of this blog - Ajay - and celebrated his birthday with him at Woodys.

I went to Chennai, and had an enjoyable stay with Prema, catching up with Neema and Asha during my visit. I relished the long chats Prema and I had.

I met Malvika, and we gabbed about her trekking expeditions, and the books she was designing.

I caught up with Chetan over a glass of wine.

I spent an evening with Shreekant and Simmi at Shreekant's tricked out party home.

I met Kalyani, Padmini, Indu and Sangeeta at Wild Garden at Amethyst - and we relived our old HTA days. I found out the books Indu had written, the bespoke tailoring business Sangeeta had become known for, Kalyani's successful Wildertrails Outdoor Adventures company, and Padmini's latest owl and gardening adventures.

I stopped at Sang and Bijol's place.

India.

Incredible.

Memorable.

Thanks to all who made it possible.

With gratitude and love,

Minoo

P.S. While I was in India, Sangeeta sent me some lines she had penned, which I would like to share with you before I end this post:

It was spring

Nature claiming her own

Gently, seductively

Now it's autumn

The curtains falling hurriedly

To brave the winter

And this was what she penned for a friend who was slowly slipping away…

How do you thank the sun for warming your soul?

How do you thank the moon for the beauty it bestows?

How do you thank the wind for the spontaneity it brings?

How do you thank the stars for the magic they arouse>

How do you thank the Creator for the person who shared it all?

Thanks Sangeeta....enjoyed these creative pieces from your pen.

Can You Match These 20 People With Their Habits

As a second follow up to my post The 15 Laws of Habits...here’s another fun quiz on habits to test your knowledge and intuition.

Listed below are 20 habits and 20 people.  See if you can match up the habits with one of the 20 people listed. After you finish doing so, think about the habits. Which habits are productivity habits, which habits are health habits, which habits are dress habits, which habits are really experiments, which habits are comfort habits, which habits are style habits, which habits are superstitious habits, which habits are stress-release habits, which habits are fussy habits, which habits are leisure time habits, which habits are neurotic habits, which habits are just eccentricities.  Try and list your own habits in these different categories, as well as in any other categories you can think of. I used to have a habit of easily getting into a rage, which does not fall into any of the categories above, and which, I am happy to report I was able to conquer. My mother's death motivated me to change - as I report in this post. Also, you may want to think about the difference between addictions and habits.  Is the difference simply that addictions are bad for you and hard to quit, whereas habits are good or harmless for you?  Okay...on to the 20 people and their habits quiz.  Ready? Here you go...

These Are the Habits:

1.     Habit of drinking 40-50 cups a day

2.     Habit of taking cold air baths every morning (by stripping down and opening the windows)

3.     Habit of wearing  sweaters in Chennai

4.     Habit of rocking in a chair to relax

5.     Habit of eating homemade food even when he went to a restaurant

6.     Habit of carrying hand-sanitizer everywhere to avoid germs

7.     Habit of spending long airless stints underwater to come up with inventions

8.     Habit of beginning work at 3:00 a.m. and ending at 11 p.m.

9.     Habit of avoiding adverbs

10. Habit of making his interviewees drink soup.  If they added salt before trying the soup they were out, because it indicated they had too many assumptions

11. Habit of running a comb through his hair 100 times a day

12. Habit of carrying mustaches in a jewel studded case and offering them to his friends

13. Habit of not eating food that does not have an ancient Greek or Hebrew name

14. Habit of cracking safes

15. Habit of working on a personal scrapbook for 66 years

16. Habit of painting with a hangover

17. Habit of always crossing the threshold of a plane with the right foot

18. Habit of eating purple foods such as beets, eggplants and grapes 3 times a week

19. Habit of wearing earplugs, earmuffs and a blindfold when he writes

20. Habit of collecting taxidermied animal heads

These Are The People You Have To Match With One Of The Habits Listed Above:

1.     Francis Bacon

2.     Voltaire

3.     Richard Feynman

4.     Amanda Seyfried

5.     Donald Trump

6.     Stephen King

7.     Salvador Dali

8.     Charles Dickens

9.     Nikola Tesla

10. Minoo

11. Bill Gates

12. Hugh Hefner

13. Thomas Alva Edison

14. Richard Buckminister Fuller

15. Benjamin Franklin

16. Jennifer Aniston

17. Sir Dr. NakaMats

18. Jonathan Franzen

19. Nassim Talib

20. Mariah Carey

How Many Did You Get Right? Here Are The Answers:

1.     Habit of drinking 40-50 cups a day - Voltaire

2.     Habit of taking cold air baths every morning (stripping down and opening the windows - Benjamin Franklin

3.     Habit of wearing sweaters in Chennai - Minoo

4.     Habit of rocking in a chair to relax - Bill Gates

5.     Habit of eating homemade food even when he went to a restaurant - Hugh Hefner

6.     Habit of carrying hand sanitizer everywhere to avoid germs - Donald Trump

7.     Habit of spending long airless stints underwater to come up with inventions - Sir Dr. NakaMats

8.     Habit of beginning work at 3:00 a.m. and ending at 11 p.m. - Nikola Tesla

9.     Habit of avoiding adverbs - Stephen King

10. Habit of making interview candidates drink soup.  If they added salt before trying the soup, they were out, because it indicated they had too many assumptions - Thomas Alva Edison

11. Habit of running a comb through his hair 100 times a day - Charles Dickens

12. Habit of carrying mustaches in a jewel studded case and offering them to his friends - Salvador Dali

13. Habit of not eating food that does not have an ancient Greek or Hebrew name - Nassim Talib

14. Habit of cracking safes - Richard Feynman

15. Habit of scrapbooking for 66 years - Richard Buckminister Fuller

16. Habit of painting with a hangover - Francis Bacon

17. Habit of always crossing the threshold of a plane with the right foot - Jennifer Aniston

18. Habit of eating purple foods such as beets, eggplant s and grapes 3 times a week - Mariah Carey

19. Habit of wearing earplugs, earmuffs and a blindfold when writing - Jonathan Franzen

20. Habit of collecting taxidermied animal heads - Amanda Seyfried

Before You Go:

Hope you enjoyed this 3rd and last post on habits. I'll be interested to know what are some of the interesting habits of people you know. Meanwhile, thanks for the feedback, (comments, likes, shares) on my recent posts. I appreciate the kudos from old friends, new friends, and relatives who have become friends. You keep me going.

ALSO, thanks for sharing my journey to wisdom, meaning and a better life.  Like you, I am trying to find my way through this complex maze we call life, and I am honored to have you share my journey, as I continue to seek the wisdom hidden in plain sight.

FINALLY, A Happy Birthday shout-out:  to those with January birthdays. I hope you will use your birthday month to examine your habits -  and to decide which ones to keep and which ones to discard. Ideally, you should also select some brand new habits to introduce in your life - ones which you will be proud of when December 31, 2019 rolls around. You can use the inspiration from my post The 15 Laws of Habits to drum up some motivation.

To all my readers, have a blessed “doing good for yourself while doing good for others week”, and see you next week