A Christmas Dream

Of a decked up Xmas tree

Mistletoes,and bobtails

Red Satin ribbons tied into bows

Golden bells and snowflakes 

Little socks and candy sticks

With a star right on top

Little bulbs wired around the tree

Glowing in different colors;

Alternating, one at a time.

Lots of pixie dust adding shimmer 

To the December jolly season

That’s gleeful for a reason

Waiting for Santa to come

And leave a secret gift by the bedside when I wake up.

Oh how I want to be a child again.

Care-free singing of Xmas carols

And devouring plum cakes to my heart’s content.

Seeing the brightness of Rudolph the Red-nosed reindeer too!

If only I could freeze the month of December and make it last forever...

A Christmas dream; Santa won’t you fulfil?

Curtain raiser : 2020. Pre-new year musings.

“2019 will be yours”; read the very first IM I received this year. Indeed it has been; granted there were ups and downs as is the case with all mortals. But life is all about taking the time out to appreciate the small things; that can otherwise go unnoticed. Every month has been remarkably educating, in terms of the love and learning received, in oodles. With family being closest to me, much needed support in a very long time; perhaps something that I have been yearning for, rather, 2019 couldn’t have been any better. Of the freedom and space that I experienced from people around, the weight loss, bicycling, music and photography. There have been super low weeks and those crashing moments where you haven’t got a clue of what you’ll do next, that too. 

The last year of the teens, the very usual happy 2020 wishes will begin flowing in about a month and parties will begin. The grind begins after the first couple of weeks into the new year. 

Point to ponder over:

For change to happen, you don’t really require a new time stamp in chronicles. A new year or a new month is just an excuse to postpone the change that you must be making at this very moment. It has to commence from within, you have to either be all in or all out, for there is no midway-concept. It takes discipline, discernment and a determined approach to face the onslaughts and the good times. You  may not always experience the vibes being positive. If everything is positive then where is the room for all the lessons that you get to learn? There’s a flip side to this though: it is the approach or your response to the situation that decides whether the outcome is going to be positive or negative. Trust the journey, the joy of becoming: a Metamorphosis of sorts.

So what is your excuse or change statement? If this article made you think and plan something ahead, do let me know by way of your comments. 

Happy 2020, from My Brewroom btw 🥰

Communication – from a global team handling perspective

Communication –

Communication is the lifeline of any business and when it comes to managing teams globally, it plays a vital role in the day to day functioning of projects. When you are sitting miles apart from the recipient, not just the physical distance needs to be factored, but also the cultural, geographic and demographic distance that needs to be borne in mind. It isn’t all hunky dory as it may seem where we may possibly think that Emails can be used as our single-best go-to option for all our transactions in communication. That’s a misnomer! Simply because, there are several separate conversations that need to be juggled — from the actual conference call to all the other micro-conversations happening in the instant message chat windows.

A few tips:

·         It’s important to take cognizance of the different media of communication available in an organizational setup. Here are a few often-used media:

o   Phone/VoIP Internet telephony

o   Email

o   Chat

o   Video calls

o   Join.Me

·         Now, whether or not it’s a combination of all of the above types or if it’s going to be any one at a time is dependent on the actual situation. In most cases, a chat conversation is commonly used; however the mistake made is that, it’s left down the drain and the breadcrumbs are hard to be tracked. The best practice is to always follow it up with an email that summarizes the chat discussion. Too many emails can be stressful and annoying. Again, not to underestimate the power of brevity that’s rich in chat conversations — the key is to differentiate and alternate appropriately with the available channels.

·         Phone calls/ VoIP are great and add a personal touch especially when working remotely/managing global teams. While emails and chats help, sometimes, it is nice to just pick up the phone and call. Many a time, the benefit of a phone call is ignored under the presumption that it could be time consuming. It actually works wonders instead, adding a personal tone of warmth! This is why 1:1s and catch-ups are proven techniques.

·         Video Calls are a cool way to connect and build rapport with your global counterpart. Remote managers can still have close relationships with team members, as video’s real-time face-to-face interactions are richer than any alternative to in-person phone calls, when done in the right measure.

·         Join.Me is great for conducting training sessions or sharing any subject that involves screensharing. The idea is to understand the benefits of using this tool and applying it. It’s so much easier when we talk over the phone and screenshare to explain processes. With the ability of sharing screens of both parties, and allowing mouse control, join.me is a simple solution to an otherwise complex-looking project.  

I hope this article was useful. If you have any additional comments or suggestions, please leave a comment!

Morii

That much needed break, breaking off the shackles of time, inhibition, bizarre apprehensions, and of old rusted methods… Something that I had to do for myself, for the sake of myself and my own love for solitude ― Here’s to a 20 year hiatus from bicycling. It has been a revival of sorts after the purchase of my all new Hero Miss India.

And then there had been this inner calling to sit on the beach and throw every single thought back to the ocean. The fact that I live in a city that has the second longest coastline in the world gives me chills that I haven’t really spent time on the beach the way I’ve always wanted to.

The bicycle returned to my life as a medium of independence and destroyer of fear. So I was told that the beach is close to where I stay, and that I should try riding up to the beach. Inner calling ― answered. The day was Sunday ― a bright summer morning already. No expectations, other than riding humbly to the beach.

My longest ride in all my life ― google maps say it’s 10.2kms from where I live. All sweaty and exhausted, with a thaw in my stomach, I realized I hadn’t carried water and was just surviving with the fresh taste of coffee lingering in my tongue. With curated music of Selena Gomez on Spotify, the ride seemed like a breeze. The result was nothing less than serendipity ― it was worth the effort. The sight I beheld was something that I had seen in Pinterest and Instagram pictures of places like Greece and France; not to mention the neighboring Pondicherry though, which still remains a distant dream waiting to be fulfilled.

A street full of bougainvillea, with a lovely canopy formation, leading to the ocean. This was still Chennai, and I was only a few kilometers away from home and I had rode my bicycle. I had to confirm for sure, so I ended up asking a passerby, does this street lead to the beach? It’s like pinching yourself to ensure it’s for real. Lo and behold, it was real!

Luckily, the beach wasn’t too populated unlike its other city counterparts. A couple of photographers, trying to get the best frame of the gleaming waves and the shining sun. Some fisherwomen selling their bounty for a Sunday lunch to their seafood loving customers. Some boys swimming in the beach, a couple of lovers here and there. A lone crow, jumping around as if it were learning to fly. Crabs and seashells. This isn’t my maiden visit to the beach, but for some reason it felt all new and energizing. I was feeling the morii effect — the desire to capture a fleeting moment. It's a time in which you least expected. A time in which that moment spontaneously confronts you, but there is nothing that you can do to preserve it. This is a word that appears in the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows compiled by John Koenig.

A mix of morii and déjà vu – a kind of oxymoronic feeling. That moment when you really wished if you could pause time and moments. Waves kissing the sands of time, glistening like never before. The only way I could capture all this was through pictures. A temporary satisfaction that I was able to click everything I wanted to, always.

The internet is loaded with images of the beach, Instagram selfies of people visiting the beach, of a variety of poses – their wet feet, their flip-flops kissed by the waves, of sand homes built by children, of seashells and of course the frothy waves. The borrowed wallpapers are never original and there’s always a plagiarized feeling although it’s completely legal to download beach themes and put them up on your phone or laptop.

There’s something never enough, you can never have enough of it ― that of the waves that never take rest. What if they paused for a minute to breathe? A gush of exciting emotions and questions all at once. The only thing I could do was throw them back into the ocean to see what was coming back, it didn’t have to be right then though.

 The beauty of the bougainvillea had to be stopped by and enjoyed. If you are too busy getting back to where you came from, you probably then are a machine. So I had to stop and be carefree. Carefree about my hunger and thirst, about my way back home, about having rode alone to the beach. Thanks to my phone, I needed pictures to preserve the moments. Fuchsia pink laden sides on the left and right – a certain treat to the senses, starting from the eye. Tall bougainvillea that towered all the way up to the sky.

Beauty that existed so close, convinced that this isn’t something as distant as it seemed all this while. It is very much doable. I rode back home, with salt on my lips and hair.

A glass of sugarcane juice helped cool down from the scorching 11am sun. In no time, the juice was downed through my throat. The juice seller wasn’t worried about me paying him back ― he wanted me to wipe the juice off my mouth. I smiled and thanked him.

Leaving you with some pictures. Thank you for reading.

When life gives you lemons

Too hot for a cup of milk tea, not in the mood for something very cold either? 

Nothing seems like an alluring option for a hot summer drink?

Try this!

Light brown in color, a dash of lemon and mint with occasional seedy interruptions from the lemon. Brewed neither too strong, nor too light either. Not too tangy, not too sugary, lemony enough though – tea is at one of its best forms when savored in this fashion.

The thumb rule though lies in the serving instruction - strictly in a glass, those see-through types that let you watch the chemistry of tea and lemon, as the mint leaves begin sulking and settling down right at the bottom or somewhere in the middle. Be sure to bite the mint leaves as you are busy sipping the bliss from the glass.

A certain thirst quencher, a go to option at any given time in the day, lemon tea is more than just tea. It hits the soul right up and provides you a yogic, gratifying experience.

SARVAM THAALA MAYAM

Hey look behind, what can you hear, he asks. I can see a man chopping carrot, she replies. And he is quick to respond – but I can listen to the Adi Thalam. Every bit of the chopping, sounds like thalam to me. The whole world is beating to a certain rhythm and it feels like I am in search of that rhythm. The girl adds on that everything you see and hear is Thalam – the pitter patter of the raindrops, the movement of leaves in breeze, and so on. This one statement is all encompassing. Reason enough to name the movie Sarvam Thala Mayam, by all means, a meaningful reentry of filmmaker Rajiv Menon, after a 19 year hiatus.

Just the right mix of Malayalam, Tamil and Carnatic music – this movie is an exotic blend, just like a strong cup of coffee, first thing in the morning in an empty stomach. This movie serves Carnatic music on a platter through Peter. Carnatic fusion bands like Agam do their bit in reaching out to the masses through their fusion mixes. Yet, it’s still like acquired taste, not many have an ear for music. There is so much hesitation, and I am not even sure how many are even aware of the music season. It’s deemed as a different realm, appearing as an unexplored island by the common man.

Our man Peter in Sarvam Thala Mayam is shown as a Thalapathy Vijay fanatic which is so relatable. In fact, that’s the vessel carrying the essence of the movie for what it’s meant to do to a layman viewing a pure Carnatic classical movie. Stark references of the plight of the current reality show stricken TV channels, that too portrayed by the very face we see on TV daily – Divya Darshini is just spot on nailing! Packaging plays a pivotal role, and in that sense STM wraps up the gift of Carnatic music really well. To me, as a person who is an avid listener of Carnatic music, the movie felt nothing less than walking out of a kutcheri. Maakelara vicharamu by Bombay Jayashri with Peter playing the mridangam to her tune is a gratifying conclusion.

 ‘Varalama un arugil’ prior to watching the movie, made me think that the song is to woo the girl. Turned out that it was actually to get the blessing of Peter’s guru and begin learning the mridangam. Such a fascinating number brimming with meaning! The sub layer of caste still dominating the music form is portrayed strongly without hurting the sentiments. The fact that prominent singers like Sikkil Gurucharan, Unnikrishnan, Karthik and Sreenivas are cast in the movie itself, came as a surprising shocker. Reality of the present day Carnatic scene was blatantly exposed on the screen with the help of these characters. Nedumudi Venu stood rock solid and with Vineeth doing just the right thing of the bad guy, the movie spoke volumes of the sad state of affairs. Special mention to the NRI guy requesting for Skype classes, looking for quick fame. Rajiv Menon’s star cast was indeed well researched, job well done.

Sara, Peter’s love interest – the Malayali girl’s nuances were captured just right. Everything from the broken Tamil, typical nursing profession, banana chips that her friend brings back home from Kerala, to the Vanitha magazine that she holds in her hand in the Maya Maya song. This attention to detail was so spot on! Nothing more and nothing less was shown about their romance. The primary message wasn’t about love – it was love of a different kind – for the music.

The theme song is a beautiful composition by AR Rahman, timed just right in the movie, when Peter takes off on a musical journey to different parts of India. The 'chenda' piece in the end is a thumping finish to this song. It shows a musical confluence of all instrumental art forms. In that sense, the theme song does total justice and serves as an anthem for music. STM is a thorough musical in every sense, touching even the behind scenes – that of the making of the mridangam and the lives of people who put in their life into this instrument for it to render music to the upper strata. From a low to a high – quite like the Arahonam and the Avarohanam in a ragam – beginning and the ending.

We’ve probably had one like this before – the movie Sindhubhairavi, which makes an attempt to reach out to the common man through the protagonist who transforms from singing Carnatic songs to singing Barathiyar songs in the latter half of the movie. However, Sarvam Thala Mayam is definitely served as an appealing cup of cappuccino to the millennial generation. A big thanks to ARR’s music and Rajiv Menon’s film making.

Mylapore

Strictly for #Madraslovers, #loveformadras #straighouttamadras #madaboutmadras

It’s never enough writing about Madras and its heritage. This post is one of the firsts in my blog to actually talk about a particular destination, where you end up being a tourist in your own city.

The heady smell of jasmine, the invigorating smell of coffee, the woody smell of rudrakshas coupled with the metal and bronze, the divine fragrance of incense sticks, the fresh smell of roots and vegetables — all rolled into one at North Mada Street, Mylapore. The street’s entrance on the Kapaleeshwar Temple tank’s end from the main road welcomes you with hawkers selling trinkets and flowers. As you walk down, you are spoilt for choice for a variety of different things. Mylapore is one of the locations in Chennai which still unapologetically wears the Old Madras look, thereby rendering richness to the city’s heritage.

North Mada Street is one place which never tires. It’s ever ready to seamlessly adapt to the festivity of the hour. The entire street of people gear up for the occasions without whining. During Navarathri, every inch of the street is filled with dolls for golu. As the season changes and progresses into Margazhi, the street lays out a thorough treat to the senses – both visual and olfactory. There’s the Kolam Festival where the whole stretch turns into a canvas – both residents and tourists begin drawing intricate Rangoli designs. And then there are these hawkers selling Manga Ingi (Ginger Mango), Mahani (Sarasparilla root), beads of stinging green pepper and gooseberry; all well arranged in a single hawker’s vehicle. The mixed fragrances of all the roots and spices put together makes you feel the taste of pickle in your tongue already.

Amidst all the din, the Kapaleeshwar Temple stands tall in the center, with all its grandeur – Siva Siva glowing bright and noticeable from all angles. An unintentional panoramic view of Lord Siva’s name, makes sure your mind is left with the chant – Siva Siva.

Pictures speak a thousand words – so here you go for some visual imagery of our very own Mylapore of Madras. 

Parcel

Story# 1 of the year: After a writing sabbatical ~ 3 years later~

Returning from Phoenix Market City on a busy Sunday evening. It’s business as usual for the pavement peddlers – 1 week into the plastic ban. Curious to see how the city is embracing the ban, I stopped by at a sweet corn vendor’s shop and asked for a packet to be parceled. Bang came the response – no parcel here. Well, I wasn’t too bothered either about taking home the sweet corn due to the disinterest in the peddler’s response. There could have been other ways employed, if not plastic, for him to pack the sweet corn up.

Walking a few steps forward, I found a “masala kadalai vendor”, this time I was determined to take home the “masala kadalai”, simply because it’s more appetizing than the timid sweet corn option. So the very first question I asked him was – “Anna, do you have parcel?” He was quick to respond with a smile – “Yes mam, but only paper”. Perfect. That’s all I was expecting. While waiting for the 2 parcels that I had ordered, the journalist brain in me was itching to ask how business has been, post the plastic ban. Even before I could ask him the question, he asked me in turn – “Mam, how do you perceive the plastic ban, do you welcome it?” I responded in the affirmative saying it is going to bring about a good change to the environment. The vendor appreciated the response and added on saying, “very nice to know that you youngsters are ‘for’ this plastic ban. This ban will surely make our environment cleaner. Plastic takes time to decompose, so this is good for all of us, including the animals!”

Happy with his response, the one thing I asked him was – “does this ban affect your business in any way?” He quipped quickly saying – “there’s no connection between that and this.” I thanked him for the parcels and said bye. 

The only regret though is, I forgot to ask for his name!

How amazing it is to see someone at the grass root level, being so aware of the environment and talks about eco-friendliness. I am not sure if this man is one of a kind, however, this random interaction turned out to be an educative and positive one!

Here’s to a plastic free Chennai!