Place isn't physical

I used to crib about the futiity of living in the current and express a strong desire to go somewhere deserted, where I will not know anybody. 

Until I recently realized that I can just clear up my mental space for newness to flow in. Place isn't physical. Place and Space are mental. renew in a new place everyday

Whimsical 24: Armed Sapiens Vs Undettered Jurassic

 

Whimsical 23: Math lovers

 We are building a strong connection with Math. We encounter this problem:

The difference in area of squares A and B is 95. What is the perimeter of this shape?

I ask you to solve this. In an instant, you start: The possible area of A and B could be 1, 4, 9, 16, 25, 36, 49, 64, 81, 100. Then you go, what is 11x11? I help here - its 121. Then you keep asking the square of 12, 13, 14, 15. I keep answering 144, 169, 196, 225. You have written them down in vertical

1

4

9

16

25

36

49

64

81

100

121

132

144

169

196

225

Then you lookout for the pair of numbers in the list with a difference of 95. Its 49 and 144. So we decide that the length of sides in square A is 12 and those of square B is 7. Well, finding the perimeter after this is quite easy.

As we have computed the difference, I draw your attention to the pattern between the subsequent pairs of the squares. 

3

5

7

9

11

13

15

17

19

21

23

25

27

29

I beam in pride, as if I have discovered this relationship. There's an euphoric mood between us. And you declare:

Yes, ma. It makes sense and immediately draw this:

And tell me, "See! Everytime the sides increase by 1 unit, there's an additional unit to the side. See see". Yes, it does!

Math is beautiful. The world is beautiful.

Gratitude

 In 2002, I was a still young girl, rebellious on the inside and verbally claimed that I would join some outfits if nothing works out. I was still trying to find my way in the mad world, without realising it was a mad world. I was still romanticising my life, without knowing that the world is too busy to throw a red carpet welcome to a timid girl from a rural south with little exposure. After all, my only touch points with an urban life was a brief period in Chennai during my masters and my very occasional homebound visits to my relatives in Coimbatore. 

I dreamed big. Of becoming a faculty at IISc Bangalore (thanks to my one week workshop there), of building livelihoods for the nomadic community (thanks to my daily observations on the way to school), of building the broken lives of those kids through education, of finding a means to bring their products to mainstream market. My biggest dream was to build a school for these kids. I visited a few schools, including THE SCHOOL to learn methods of infusing inspiration.

I had an elaborate dream written ver vividly out in my 2002 diary. Reading that diary still gets me grinning from ear to ear. One part of it is a house that can be reached by walking down the steps. A house with a hall and kitchen only - no TV, only newspapers and books. There's a tiny Maruti 800 (the smallest car in those times), 2 neem trees, a few mango trees, beside the house. Behind the house is a massive housing block that holds my people with their children. The children visit the house facing the road to read books, to have a chat with me etc. We all spend a lot of time together. By that time, I was a very rural person with little exposure and I had no idea of minimalist living. I am very very far from reaching the dream. Sometimes, when I ruminate over this, I feel like a failure, because I haven't taken any step towards this.

However, even without my planned efforts, some tiny parts of this has been satisfied. Somewhere in 2008-09, I lived in an apartment, the landing deck of which can be only reached by walking down the steps from the road. Living in that house was a consistent reminder of my dream. Around 2020-21, we have gotten rid of our television set and we had watched it only through casting via a Chromecast. After that TV succumbed to technical issues, we have completely gotten rid of a TV and replaced that space occupied by the console with a book shelf. We don't own a car - a conscious decision, just like we don't use the aircon at home- another conscious decision. 

Life is good. I live with the hope that my dream will manifest all together. Thanking the Universe/God for the challenges that nurture me.

War of Equals

The ant was scourging on the pavement

And randomly walked into my test-tube

It struggled, wiggled,

Holed through a gap 

Gasping for survival.

Persistent in my attempt,

I chased and tubed it.

She scurried up and down 

And down and up within the tube

Regardless, 

she was dropped into a jar:

Home to a praying mantis

And her performing prop.

The Mantis,

Hanging firmly from the ceiling of the jar

Watched her scurrying neighbour 

With a wicked smile and a mouthwatering delight!

As the ant climbed up the prop,

In a single snatch

The mantis hugged her neighbour close.

The neighbour felt strangled

And gasped for rescue-

She kicked and thrashed

With no avail.

It was an intense battlefield.

She waited patiently,

Holding on to her potential prey;

She waited patiently,

For the moment to free from the clasp.

I waited patiently

Bated breath to witness victory.

1minute grew to 2,

2 minutes grew to 5,

5 minutes grew to 10,

We were all still waiting.

As 10 minutes grew to 12,

In a millionth of a second,

The prey was thrown ‘ptung’

Onto the floor

And in a jiffy, the prey began limping:

Limped and limped she did,

All around the floor of the jar

Circling, squaring and pentagoning around.

The predator was in anguish

Rubbing her jaws with her frontal legs-

Was she tasting blood or cleaning up her hurt jaw?

Now, they set boundaries 

The ant on the floor 

And the mantis clinging onto the ceiling

Never bothering each other-

Both fit, both strong.

Do the fittest survive?

Or do the most patient?