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Showing posts from October, 2017

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...
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Storytelling time

The long day was winding down towards the usual predictable close.  It was 9PM.  My wife and I sat back to watch the first of many episodes of a chosen series for the evening.  Soon, it was midnight.  We were contemplating whether to watch one more or hit the bed.  We eventually ended up watching two more and went to bed.  It was 2 AM.  We got up late the next morning, went to work at a relaxed pace and got back from work late.  Nothing felt out of sorts. Fast forward life by a couple of years.  The long day was winding down towards the usual predictable close.  My wife and I were scrambling to put the kids to sleep.  It was already 8PM.  The whole bed time routine is pretty mind-boggling.  Akhil would brush his teeth, which means I'd have to brush my teeth as well.  Even before he gets to the sink, he would say, "Appa, Brusss".  I would do the mandatory correction.  "Akhil, it's not brusss, it's brushhhh...
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