The Sweet Spot

While walking my dog around the neighborhood, an unusual looking object caught my eye. It could have been an Easter egg considering it was around that time. Though the shape wasn’t exactly right for an egg. Curiosity got the better of me, and I knew the neighbor well, so I stepped closer into their yard to examine the intriguing object. It was a smooth flat rock covered with some fun art and an uplifting message. “Paint your worries with Happiness”. It instantly brought a smile to my face. I remembered a conversation on our community chat group about how a group of girls, let me call them the Rocking Fairies, were painting these rocks and leaving them in yards for people to find them. They call the rocks the kindness rocks. In a world full of gloom and doom and worry, what a beautiful way to make someone’s day! A small rock brought a big smile on my face, wiped my worries for a little while, and changed my mood. It relaxed the muscles on my face and brought warmth to my heart....

Every time I returned from visiting my family in Toronto, Canada or Indore, India, I was all pumped up about doing more for the environment. In both these places I am reminded of the importance of separating wet and dry, recyclable waste. Rotting of food or organic wet waste in landfills is the third largest source of methane emissions in the United States. Half of the landfill gas is methane. Methane is a potent greenhouse gas that causes way more harm to the environment than carbon dioxide. And there is a simple way each of us can contribute - by composting our food waste, so it doesn’t end up in landfills, generating tons of methane. I had experienced the Canadian system tens of years ago. Though Indore is a recent star. Only five-six years ago one could see heaps of trash at road sides all over the city. There was no trash collection system from homes, let alone recycling or composting plants. In the past few years there has been consistent, exponential growth in building ...

The crabapple trees in my yard are awake after being dormant all winter; now covered with bursting buds and fresh young green leaves, where only recently their bare branches were adorned by white powdery snow. I bought this pair of saplings in a sale, some ten years ago, after the associate at the store narrated how the berries on these kind of trees attract birds, among many more of its virtues. The trees haven’t disappointed, starting to flower in spring with pink buds, blossoming into fragrant white flowers. The flowers are a magnet for bees. The leaves fill up into a lush, darker green into summer, as the flowers peep through, slowly turning into clusters of pink mini apples. Towards the end of summer the berries turn red and become glossier and shinier through early fall. True to the associate’s story, it attracted all sorts of local birds. The first few years of having the fruit, I assumed the berries were ornamental, and at best food for the birds. With every passing year, t...

With each of our visits to India, we bring a little piece of the culture back - favorite sweets and savory delights, an ethnic outfit or two, a saree in a classical weave, a stylish piece of jewelry , terracotta toys or bell metal figurines, tribal art and paintings, hard to find CDs or records. Indians living in the US, more traditional in some ways than Indians in India, holding on to the India from decades ago, can find almost anything Indian they need, right here in the US. There are enough businesses and stores catering to every Indian need. Moreover, these days all airlines have weight and size restrictions on luggage, so traveling light has become more of a requirement. But nostalgia sweeps in while walking your favorite streets, pulling you towards your favorite shop, towards that one thing you can’t resist. Before you know it that special thing ends up in your luggage back to the US.  A few years ago, wandering the markets in Lucknow, my daughter spotted the ideal ...

Anyone who has ever wanted to make a good time on a long distance road trip must have encountered the “Pacesetter Companion”. This is that one car which speeds up behind you when you are in the fastest lane, possibly tail-gates you, and if you maintain speed, accompanies you until your next rest stop. You make way for them, but you keep pace behind them. And as you both maneuver the highway traffic, sometimes you stay ahead, sometimes they catch-up and overtake. Both have the same goal, possibly the same destination. Total strangers, they keep you company and help you set pace until you part ways. This past February, I was faced with a challenge. In the middle of winter, I was to drive my daughter’s car 1200 miles, from Iowa to Boston. There would be two of us driving, but I was looking at myself as the primary driver, as my daughter was a reasonably new driver. For many people it is like “meh”. For me it was a challenge! We had done many road trips before, but I had never b...

I recently read a post by a doctor which said the best help from all us non-essential workers would be to stay home and follow precautions as best as we can, and try our best to stay healthy for as long as we can. Our goal is to not overwhelm the healthcare infrastructure, and inundate the frontline heroes, who are already working on a war-footing. The idea is to flatten the curve, by self-isolation, quarantine and social distancing. We all have read or heard this message hundreds, if not thousands, of time in the past several weeks. I am writing about it again.  I am a proud Indori (for those who don’t know, Indori refers to a person of Indore origin; Indore is a city in central India). When I see the work done progressively by Indorians to retain the title of “The Cleanest City in India”, not once, but four years in a row, it makes me proud! Today it was disappointing to see Indore in the news again - a footage of some miscreants, or maybe some misled people, pelting s...