Ramadan...

What is it about Ramadan, that it fills your being with such warmth and goodness. It’s as if you are a transformed person with just day 1 of the fast.
I admit frankly that I was never a regular rozedaar till 2015. So how did this turnaround happen? I happened to be in US in 2015 for a two year stint and I got a roomie from Afghanistan who became my BFF and more of a sister now. Atefa sharifi. At her behest and encouragement, I fasted the entire month of Ramadan for two years. And it was such an amazing feeling! The whole camaraderie and doing sehri, iftari, offering namaz together and making preparations for Eid... going to Al-Markaz (Most famous biryani restaurant in Plano, Texas) for Eid feast... going for Eid-Milan party and what not! It turned out to be a memorable experience. After returning to India, I just couldn’t discontinue the Ramadan fasting. I feel purified and rejuvenated after Ramadan. I feel mentally and spiritually so strong as if I can handle anything that the world throws at me.
I am not an overtly religious person. But this is one thing which I try to follow every year.

Ramadan Mubarak!

The New Normal versus the Old Normal

Hmmm...So its day 10 of the lockdown in India and slowly this way of life is creating a feeling in all of us that this is the new normal. Unfortunately, of course. Especially for people like me. Who crave being around other humans, ones who look forward to the humdrum of India Markets...office foodcourts...what earlier seemed like a cacophony of noise has become my most looked forward to things now. The whole reason why I craved to be in India after my 2 year stint in US, was the hustle and bustle of Indian bazaars...the street noise of roadside hawkers...the liveliness of the Indian spirit, easy availability of things we love and cherish. Where I won't have to drive 10 miles to eat Samosa, where I won't have to go to a nearby town to buy Haleem during Ramadan ...where we share the Dish of the day with neighbours etc. Sadly with the onset of this terrible virus, all of the above has become only a dream now. 

Counting days to when this madness will end...waiting for a new dawn...Wherein I will wake up early morning and reach office by 7:30 AM, to have my favorite breakfast of Idli with Coconut-coriander chutney at my fav "By two" vendor in office FC. After breakfast, I will make a big glass of black coffee and sit at my desk to deal with the work for the day. When my friends will ping me for coffee break at Chai point and I would rush to meet them and exchange interesting data points/news of the day. Come evening, I will eagerly merge into Bangalore traffic and play my fav songs or call up my fav ppl on the way home. Will reach home and then me and my spouse will brainstorm on what to have for dinner. Sigh....All this and much more...Waiting for the day, when the above will be the new normal and not the present sequence of gloomy and endless WFH where I can't meet my friends...where a sense of melancholy threatens to overtake all my emotions.

Waiting for the Old Normal. Truly, deeply and madly.

#Weshallovercome