AFTER 21 YEARS

Sunrise at Kanyakumari, Tamil Nadu

Today is Greeja's last day at work, She has put in a good 21 years of her life to this organization, first 10 years as an academic and the remaining 11 years as the head of the programme.

This was indeed a long overdue disengagement from the rat race, one that the entire human race has embarked upon  since the dawn of civilization. Perhaps the critters were different, and the circuits would have been different, but the state of mind of the bearer would have been the same. Today we call it "stress", but man has labelled it differently in different times, pressure, tension, worry, anxiety, troubled and so on, but it all means the same, that is biting off more than we can chew.  

Palanquins in Waiting,

Elephanta Caves, Mumbai. 

But hey, that is what has made man to progress thus far and will become the impetus to progress further as well. Curiosity is critical to human progression but then again curiosity also kills the cat. The bystanders are stressed for not taking the risk and the risk takers are stressed of failure, and the consumerist world are stressed owing to uncertainties. 

Cafe Leopold, Mumbai

(Estd 1871, was bombed during Mumbai Terrorist Attack) 

In the midst of the COVID19 pandemic, a retirement of sorts seem ironic, because, together with Greeja, millions of people are also taking a break, many were forced to and some may have actually hoped for. Realization that we are not living in an equal world dawned to me when I went to buy dog food for Aryan and Athena last Friday, two privileged dogs who are part of my family. When on the same day I read there are thousands of Malaysians who are going hungry because they can't afford to buy basic staples, because they have lost their jobs. These are daily wage earners who have been affected by the movement control order (MCO) instituted by the Malaysian government. But this scenario is not just peculiar to Malaysia but is a global phenomenon. According to the Human Rights Watch, 40.6 million Americans who live in poverty have absolutely no savings to tide them over the crisis nor have the ability to stock up food.

A homeless Musician with his faithful dog

Melbourne, Australia 

Greeja's disengagement with world of employment could not have taken place at a worse time than this. We had plans to spend sometime in Ladakh with a good friend of ours and then she was supposed to be off to New Zealand to chill out with our daughter for a bit before embarking on her actualizing pursuits. But alas that was not meant to be, at least for now. I suppose this what is meant by the proverb  "Man proposes, God disposes." 

Arunachaleshwar Temple Tower, with Arunachala Hill at the back

Thiruvannamalai, Tamil Nadu.

The MCO has given many families the opportunity to bond, but looking at the comments and memes in the social media, it seems that many families are struggling to keep their sanity intact. The external social distancing seems to be creating new problems via internal social proximity within the household. On top of that we have ministers in Malaysia coming up with bizarre ideas for families to conduct themselves during the MCO. The Ministry of Women and Family Development suggested that wife's should behave like Doraemon in handling their husbands at home. Her exact words were, "If your spouse does something that you do not like, don't nag him. Use humour and tell him 'this is the way you hang the clothes, my darling' (using Doraemon's tone and giggling)." 

Juhu Beach, Mumbai.

Crisis as such brings out the best and the worst in people. In India policemen have been crooning away on the streets asking people to obey the lock down order and on the other hand cases were also reported where the police used rattan to spank deviants. Then today in Malaysia a bread van was hijacked and it was found about 300km away from its original destination. A woman in Australia who was suspected to be infected with Covid19 was found spitting on fruits that was displayed in the supermarket. 

Khaidi, a Prison themed Restaurant,

Chennai, Tamil Nadu

The rat race has made man to be so mechanistic and self consumed that many have failed to stop appreciating and enjoy the beauty of life. Greeja and I firmly believe that Life should be appreciated for itself and should not be taken for granted .  It should not be seen as a means to another materialistic end. 

Arthurs Seat, Victoria, Australia

The Gita says, "Whatever has happened has happened well, whatever is happening, is also happening well, and whatever is going to happen, will also happen well," so who are we but mere players in the passage of time.

Both Greeja and I have had our struggles, losses and triumphs but never at any moment gave in to fate, but persevered in utmost humility facing what life has to offer.

This photo was taken minutes after this cow gave birth to the calf

Nainativu, Jaffna, Sri Lanka

To Greeja, I say CHEERS for successfully reaching this point in your life, and GODSPEED for the journey ahead.    

Ravi Varmman

1235

Subang Jaya

01042020