Read the second part at The Gift of Language- II In the hands of a master, the words can be made to convey a lot more than they mean. They can create a mood of poignancy or nostalgia. They can create the exquisite anticipation of the moment before the sun breaks over the horizon and […]
Non- Fiction
The Gift of Language- II
Read the first part at The Gift of Language- I To demonstrate the impact of your vocabulary on the intensity of your life- experience, I’d like to share a passage from Anthony Robbin’s Awaken The Giant Within. The passage is very illuminating on how you may lighten up the negative quotient of an event merely […]
The Gift of Language- I
Imagine your life without the gift of language. Your life experience would be reduced to the most rudimentary, single dimension. A few inarticulate sounds would limit your expressions. You would have to rely entirely on your ability to express through non-verbal means. Believe you me, your style would be severely cramped. After all, there is […]
Yuwa Supergoats
I have had a very happy day today, getting inspired. On 13th July 2013 as India slept, a few tribal girls from the state of Jharkhand proudly held aloft a trophy they had won in their maiden entry in a football tournament in far-flung Spain. If that doesn’t sound like the first line of a […]
Keeping It Simple
How do you handle awkward questions from your growing children? My first rule has been never to avoid the questions. No matter what I have been asked, I have always replied. There have been times when I have desperately wanted to duck behind a you’ll know when you are older excuse. But my conscientiousness wouldn’t […]
Children Take Notes
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vdC-cehHN6k&w=450&h=330] This video is banned apparently; don’t ask me why. Perhaps it was banned because we abhor ugliness. As all sensible people know, nothing brings ugliness home- up close and personal- than a peek in the mirror. We’d rather think ugliness is out there, away from us; external to us. We try hard to deny […]
Time Traveler
You log on to Facebook in the morning. You read notifications. Desultorily, almost flippantly, you reply to comments. You throw down your obligatory two cents at the feet of the wisdom others have spouted during the night when you were catching your eight hours like a good girl. Your day has begun. You kick imaginary […]
Mind Job
The mind is a rationalizer. Once the heart/ soul takes a decision based on an emotional instinct, impulse or desire, the mind rationalizes the decision you’ve taken, justifying it on rational principles. Sometimes when a decision cannot be so rationalized, the mind manufactures rational arguments and evidence in order to sugar- coat it for the […]
Monkey See Monkey Do
Human beings learn vital skills by aping their immediate social group. A large part of our reactions and responses falls under the category of learned behavior. We’ve learned to ape facial expressions, tone of voice, the way we do things like holding our spoon, clipping our nails or tying our shoelaces. We’ve also aped some […]
Your Best-Case Scenario
I’d like you to visualize this: It is an incredibly beautiful day. The air is clear, the sky is brilliantly, impossibly blue. Somewhere you hear the tinkling music of wind- chimes; it creates an answering resonance within you. The silence around you is deep, rippling with the shadows of contentment over a vista lit with […]