Life is easy kya karein

I go for the Yog class in the morning. One man who is not a teacher takes the prayers or Pranayam in the absence of the teacher. He was teaching some women students. He makes a lot of mistakes in conducting the class or taking the Pranayam. I told him a couple of times that his instructions were wrong and we could not follow his Marathi. On checking with a fellow student, she said it was not clear and his language was inappropriate. We did not like his body language and the way he went little closer to the students than required. The students whom he was teaching were okay with it. We both talked about how he was constantly looking at those women and how they had no issues with it. I told the main teacher about this. The main teacher said everyone makes mistakes when they start teaching. The man was instructed not to come to the women's side and teach them. This man did not want to teach the male students. We could see him pursuing his own Aasan after that.  In our class, eve...

Sounds have memories. The train whistle has very distinct memory for me.  Going to the Jharia railway station which was more like a 'Phatak' or a railway crossing. I think it was a goods train with two compartments added for the coal miners. This was after Satyanarayan mandir in Jharia. From our house, we had to cross 'Nal wali galli' which means a lane with a tap. It had some public taps for people to fill water and carry to their house. A narrow drain in the centre with clean water flowing. The lane was the cleaner of the lot in Jharia. I remember the sound of the water from the taps. As a child, the train whistle filled me with excitement. It meant a journey to a fun place. The train seemed like the only mode of transport to get out of the coalfield town. We went to drop people and receive people at the railway station. The whistle got more endorsed in the mind with the Hindi film song ' Gaadi bula rah hai, seeti baja rahi hai" . We sang this song for al...

My new pink Adidas sneakers got stolen from outside my house. I had kept them in the covered shoe rack outside the house. They were my most precious shoes. I loved them. The most comfortable pair I  ever possessed. I bought these shoes after hunting a lot in Hong Kong and trying a whole lot of brands. For me sports shoes have to be comfortable and look good. Most footwear follow one of the two criteria. Why is it always comfort versus good looks? I do not do any sports activity. My Yog class is very simple and we do not wear shoes for the class. I just use the sneakers when I have long walks to take. With children going to school in two different timings, walking as a form of exercise, is a luxury I cannot afford. Shoes are worn to go and buy vegetables from the market, walk back from the Dry Cleaners with a whole lot of laundry and newly washed curtains, carrying bag full of groceries. In these times, the sneakers protect my feet and give them a grip even on the semi wet pavemen...

I went to Shivaji Park after a long time. The bamboos are in place to make the Pujo Pandal. The Bengal Club is undergoing major repair work. Ma Kaali was taking her siesta amidst all the construction. I love the smell of cement and water. I can be in the space of construction. Simply love the knocking by the workers on the walls, the breaking, the repairing, the new coat of cement and the fresh coat of paint. In Paint, I like the smell of 'Chuna' which is lime. Earlier most shops and houses put 'Chuna' with a dash of 'neel' to give the walls a white sparkly feel. Neel is a blue powder which we used to keep our white clothes, really white. Every year, some more of the Shivaji Park green is taken away. A new room has come up behind the Police Chowky. The Ganesh Mandir has done another round of massive encroachment and tiled the park further six feet. This is to give more space to the flower hawkers. The Balasaheb memorial has this flame burning for no rhyme or r...