Lazy Sunday

 

It is said that God made this world and its beings in six days and on the seventh day He took a rest. He looked at his creations and was happy about them all. The same rule applies to us humans also. Just as we work relentlessly throughout the week i.e. from Monday to Saturday we also need to recharge our batteries for the coming week. Or at least if not a particular Sunday any one day of the week should be taken for rest. 

It should be a rest day, not doing - the other - pending -work - day. One should get up late. Enjoy some late morning tea. Having brunch. Watch a movie. Going out. Have takeaway meals.  In other words, doing whatever refreshes you and you get ready to take the coming week head-on. Some of us do this but most of us have kept Sunday to do the leftover or pending household work. Cleaning. Washing. Buying groceries. Getting a haircut. Being engrossed in all this, we forget the real purpose of the weekly off day: to recharge our over-exhausted batteries. 

If we see all these in a broader perspective we may notice that all these activities are preparing us for the coming workdays. They are in a way preparing us but what I mean is about mental recreation. Where is the time for family, for your own self? If it is not possible to take out the whole day for yourself make it a point to keep a few hours or at least one hour for your own self. Do what you want to do. Groom yourself. Pamper yourself. Laze around. Sleep. Watch something online. There should be time at least once a week where you allow yourself to do the thing that you won't do otherwise. Plan a holiday with friends if possible. If not feasible, then plan to go on a solo trip. Do whatever it is possible for maintaining good mental health. Have a good "Me time".

Staying healthy mentally as well as physically should be our major goal because a healthy body and a sound peaceful mind can help you gain your other aims in life. Think and work out a plan to have a lazy day whenever possible.

 

Indian words in English language

It is said that every language should be adaptive of new words. It should be continuously developing, coining new words, adding more vocabulary to it. Otherwise it would be called a dead language. It is a fact that language keep on evolving over the time. The meanings of the words may change. Many words go out of use and many new words come into being. One of the major reasons behind such alterations is migration. People migrate from from one place to another and interact with people speaking other language. In order to get accepted knowingly or unknowingly new words and expressions become part of  to the language. And English is not an exception. This type of diversification is part of journey of any language. 

The British were here in India for more than three centuries . So it was but natural for the British to adopt words from Indian languages and anglicize them. Most of them are now part of English language dictionaries too. Basically the British were different from Indians as chalk and cheese and so were their languages. Language was a barrier to connecting with Indians . On the other hand Indians were obliged to  learn english as it was official language of British India . Thus it was a middle path for the British to incorporate some Indian words in their spoken language , at least, for better communication. Let's view some of them.

bunglow                  Bengali       bangla used for a big house with garden. 
cot                           Hindi           khat or khatiya
tomtom                    Hindi           horse driven coach
palanquin                Hindi           palki or a single person conveyance, carried by several men
avatar                      Hindi           the descent of a deity from heaven
bandana                  Hindi           bandhana or tying or to tie something
bangle                     Hindi           bangri  or a type of bracelet
blighty                    Hindi            vilayti  used for a foreigner especially from England
cheetah                   Hindi            cheetah
cummerband          Persian          kamarband means waist band
dacoit                      Hindi           daku means bandits or a group of outlaws who commit planned robberies
dungaree                Marathi         trouser worn by labors from dongri area of Mumbai
masala                    Urdu             mixture of herbs and spices
guru                        Hindi            teacher
jodhpurs                                       trousers loose at thighs and tight below knees. It was worn mainly for                                                       horse riding. It is named after the city of jodhpur.
jungle                     Sanskrit          uncultivated land or forest where wild animals live.
khaki                      Urdu               of dusty color   derived from word khak i,e. dust
karma                     Sanskrit          result of one's actions
loot                         Hindi              robbery
maharaja                Hindi             a great king
mantra                   Sanskrit          chant or meditation
pundit                    Hindi              scholar or the learned one
pyjamas                 Urdu              garment to be worn on leg
sepoy                     Persian           sipahi or soldier
shampoo                Hindi              champo i.e.  rubbing oil in hair and then washing them
roti                         Hindi               Indian flat bread made from wheat

Nothing Is Either Good Or Bad, But Thinking Makes it so

This is a Shakespearean quote in the play Hamlet, when Hamlet tells his friends, who have come to spy on him, that Nothing is either good or bad but thinking makes it so. Well it holds true, you know.as  people differ their thinking also differ, just as one action or idea can work for someone but foe  others it can prove to be futile.  it is because there can be things which are right from one person’s point of view and the same can hold wrong from someone else’s perspective. For example staying up late can be wrong for some but some can be on duty at late hours. So how can it be said that staying up late is right it is or wrong.

Right from the beginning we are in a habit of labelling things as good or bad, as right or wrong. Just like that. We have been taught from our young age that certain tasks or notions are good and some  aren’t. This is because of our age-old philosophy of the majority rule which says what is good for the majority of people is good and what isn’t, is considered bad for all. This is why there are many concepts which are considered to be good and bad. this impression can change with the passage of time as thinking of people may change. Just as in earlier days it was not considered good to send girls to school. Can we say that now? No. Why? Because the perceptions have changed. Now it is said that teach a girl and get the whole family educated. So what is good and what is bad  is only a perception and a point of view only.

Let’s take the example of gambling. One may enjoy it and like to spend most of his earnings on it. It may give pleasure to him and to him his gambling is good. But what about his family. They might be suffering. So, the same thing i.e. gambling is bad for that person’s family. Again that question stands, whether gambling is good or bad. We can say so far that unless a person’s habit does not harm his family it may be tolerated but as soon as it starts affecting his family in adverse manner it becomes bad.

There are so many things like these which need our second thoughts before categorizing them into good or bad. they are highly dependent on situation, environment and even person to person. it depends on the individuals how you perceive certain matters and how you react. 

Destination or Journey... What is more important

Destination is the goal we want to reach whereas journey towards it is the process that we follow to attain the required result. To be true.. both are important. Both are interwoven. Destination can be taken as an inspiration to put an effort and set out on the path of completion of the task.  

Destination can also be regarded as the the perception of WHAT is to be achieved and the journey is touted as the procedure of HOW the target is to be gained.

The achievement of the aim can be a moment or we can say the feeling of achievement can last for some time. But the whole mission itself is a process which takes physical and mental strength. That will take all the planning and execution of those plans.

Reaching a destination is the end of the task. While the journey towards it is the whole project. We take into consideration all the pros and cons of the undertaken task and it's process. It is where all our mental and physical boundaries are put to test. Also our personal relations also get tested.  

The process may lead to learning new things. Also we may unlearn some old beliefs. Beyond doubt, the feeling of pulling off target is awesome. For example reaching to the top of Mount Everest is something beyond words. It is once in a lifetime experience. But the journey to the top always is more fascinating as it enriches our lives.

The roads towards the finale is not very smooth. It would be bumpy and full of road blocks and hardships and benefits and accomplishments. Then the destination is reached. At that time there is a sense of fulfillment that overpowers you. That sense of achievement overthrows each and every pain that came along the journey. 

Our life itself is a journey where we have all types of experiences, till we reach our final destination

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The new 'normal'....

First it was 'Lockdown'. Now comes 'Unlock'. I assumed that lockdown was a new term coined especially for ongoing situations created by covid19. But no.., it's not new . It has been used several times earlier too. What actually New is the present state of affairs which arose due to this virus. It has been now almost  three months that we are facing such set-up. We have become quite used to all the restrictions and precautions. 

In the beginning there was confusion and chaos. But   now our routines have changes accordingly and so have we. This lockdown situation has changed our perspective about life  and everything else related to it. I think we have become very cautious about it. These days we have come closer to our family members as cooking sessions took place collectively. TV programmes are being watched together. Food is eaten with all the family members sitting along and sharing the account of the day's happening.

Our eating habits have changed. Less of junk food and more of hone cooked ones. That does not at all mean that our cravings has stopped for gol gappas and pizzas and burgers and momos and chat and all the fast food.... But still ...

With all the commotion and chaos of the virus and all the constraints and limitations.. nature has shown it's way. Somewhere Himalayas is being seen as air has cleared.. it is also known that ozone layer has repaired itself. Today I read somewhere that marine life is returning to Yamuna river which was being considered dead because of chemicals and toxins. 

Not only that people are getting married with the least number of attendees. Children are born. New ray of life is on the verge... 

They say that night is darkest before dawn. Let's all hope and pray that worst is over and the is going to be new start. Let's all pray to God that the new morning sun brings hope and new light in our lives. Hope all goes well in coming days and we get out of this situation as soon as possible..., 

Why Be Happy??????

A few days back I read a story about a musician John Lennon. When he was a kid, he was given an assignment by the teacher 'What You Want To Be When You Grow Up'. He wrote,"I want to be HAPPY". His teacher remarked that he didn't understand the assignment. Actually the teacher didn't understand life. When I read it I had goosebumps that how a little kid got it whereas most of us don't get it at all.

Without a doubt this is "it". It is the only thing that we strive for throughout our lives, that is HAPPINESS. We struggle a lot. do all sorts of things to be happy. Buy new clothes. Travel. Make new friends. Shift jobs. Sleep. Work. Even eat to be happy. May be which is why certain foods are called ' Pleasure Foods'.

Now the question is 'Why Do We Want To Be Happy'. It is because being happy makes us feel good. We get satisfaction when we get the desired results. Being elated may also mean that we are leading an easy life despite all the difficulties. All of us want amazing relationships with our partners, spouses, kids, colleagues, boss ... basically everyone in our lives. If we have affinity with most of them, we feel content. and this contentment leads to happiness. It concludes that whatever effort we put in keeping everything smooth..It paid well. All the pain was worth it. This 'worthy' feeling keeps us going.

It is our basic nature that we want fruits of actions and if the fruit is sweet it dispenses pleasure. We want only positive results. It is because desired results or positive outcome is easy to handle . Also it furnishes joy and adds to our happiness.

There are many things that we face in our lives. Some are catch , easy to tackle, we are elated. the unasked things give us displeasure, makes us unhappy. Such things are difficult to perform. They make our lives miserable. So why not be happy. Be merry.Get blissful.  Be elated. Become joyous.

Let's never be shy to be happy as it is the only life given to us. Live to the fullest.....

Forgive yourself.....

In life, you carry a lot of burden in your heads and hearts. You keep on piling on all sorts of hurts and pains in them. These could have been caused by others or could be self-inflicted. You keep on getting hurt time and again. Actually you don’t know what letting go is. What acceptance is? You simply are nailed into all these agonies. You are actually then hanging to the past. In a way you never know how to live in present.

What happens is, when someone hurts you, you keep on ruminating the incident again and again. Then you either blame others or you keep on blaming yourself for all the miseries. You keep on replaying them in your minds and thinking about all the answers you might have given. The things you might have done to stop them from hurting you. Even blame yourself for not leaving them. There are so many questions that remain unanswered and that’s what causes discomfort.

What you forget is that you cannot reverse the happening. You cannot go back into the past and change what had happened. So need to accept what has happened and realize the fact that what has happened has happened. No amount of lamenting and self-cursing can change it. So make peace with it. Let’s accept the fact.

Next step is to forgive yourself. Unless and until you make peace with your past you become miserable in the present. Make peace with your own self. And move forward in life. It will lead to the beautiful road to a beautiful life.  `