1. I had a visit to nearby market. I had couple of samosas and a tea. There was a long waiting time, so I kept observing people. The distributor was working like a machine. His T-shirt has this statement:
Blackout Crew
If we don’t remember it, it didn’t happen.
A guy accidentally dropped his carry bag with potatoes. He succeeds in collecting only a few.
2. The tea stall guy refused to give change for two hundred rupees note. By the size of serving it’s ensured that my tannin intake remains limited. It’s a blessing in disguise like Corona.
3. I tell the second tea stall guy that he’s the only guy who appreciates his own creation as he sat with the second cup of tea. He gave me the change for two hundred. The ladies were negotiating for potatoes on the stall besides the tea stall whose owner alarmed the kid with a penny about its being a bubblegum and not a regular candy. The kid nods in affirmative.
4. Life does seem beautiful despite merely two hundred rupees in my purse. Yet I would prefer an escape to some kind of ideal world where money isn’t needed and compulsions don’t exist either. It’s been so since my childhood. I am happy but my happiness increases day by day merely by the fact of recognising the day of the exit from this world of death and compulsions.
5. As the market looks alive : the question arises: was this lockdown here merely for the creation of the temple? Only time will tell. The immediate counter is: why it was exercised globally. The answer is simple: for the same reason it was done here. To keep a reign on all opposition.
6. The story written by one of my students showed her strong imagination, clear narrative and sequential dialogue along with appropriate choice of words. It is after many days of pursuation and motivation, hence it makes me happy to see the positive change.
7. The polythene bags were banned a long ago. Many times. But they’re still in the circulation. Where do they come from if the government banned them.
8. When nothing extraordinary is happening, the most mundane things consume your attention. The weather has made them pleasant. I see a bike with the last digit of the number plate deleted. The day I changed my tally counter to a pink one, a car with ‘the pink village’ written on its backside was parked just at the place of the bike. I reflected on the meaning of the word “youth”. In Hindi, it means “group.”
7. The old man had advised me to not pluck mangoes from the garden. I never plucked any. I never plucked any guavas either. I was given some by people who take care of the garden. I bought only half a kilogram of guavas once from the bus stand thela and it was guilt free purchase. I couldn’t finish the fruits in two days and cows ate the remaining. I realised that day: I was marred by the caution and guilt by the gardens. Markets do have value in that. Everything has a prize tag on it but it has a great amount of intelligence invested in it. It frees you from guilt. It gives you temporary bliss and knowledge.
Dancing light of grace 