What I Missed While Walking Past the Kanchi Mutt

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A place I passed every day without really understanding it. As a kid growing up in Malleswaram, devotion wasn’t something we discussed — it was just in the air. The smell of agarbathi in the evenings. The noise of vendors lining up on 8th cross before a festival. The quiet expectation that you showed up, bowed your head, and moved on. Ganesh Chaturthi. Varalakshmi Vratam. Deepavali. Janmashtami. Ugadi. The calendar moved, but the pattern stayed. The Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham in Malleswaram was part of my daily route to school. Not something I questioned. Not something I deeply understood. Just… there. Every morning, on my way to school, I would slow down for a second in front of the Mutt. Just enough to bow my head toward Kanchi Kamakshi from outside the gate — and then hurry along before the school bell. It was a ritual for as long as I can remember. I don’t know if it came from devotion. I did it because my parents did it. The street...

What not?

A lot of things I did this week(of course nothing to do with academics)! I went to Ohio for skiing, watched Munich at St Louis, read One night @ Call Center and saw a Telugu movie (Varsham) for the first time here in Rolla. After all, one can live in Rolla without English but Telugu is a must considering the wonderful Hyderabadi population here. Skiing was a lot of fun and if you love to fall, it is all the more fun. What else can I say after having fallen every other second! New Year's eve was pretty normal. According to me there is not much gloss attached to the event. After all, the next day is just another day, except for the year which changes. I still don't understand the excitement associated with the event. Does it in anyway change your lifestyle? We just live to see another day with hope! The wheels roll to reveal the same old scars in the uneven journey of life(Too poetic, eh?). Just reminds me. Long time since I penned a poem. Wait for one!

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