Banat banat ban jaaye..
There is far too much that has been said about the year that 2020 was and what it means for us and the world. I will skip that part, bar to say one thing. It has simplified my life as it has that of others around me, to the point that I spend my hours fiddling with some quite basic matters.
Here are the top 3 on my mind this first weekend of the new year –
(1) Where do the red ants go in the winter? This was my first summer in this flat and I spent a considerable part of it managing the steady appearance of red and black ants. I also had to deal with an ant infestation of my laptop whilst India was in the tightest of lockdowns. The ants have magically disappeared the last month odd and I often find myself googling this subject. Where do they go? How do they hibernate? How far deep in the earth do they go? What kind of red ants do I have in my flat? What can I do to make the warmer months ant-free? Do I need more airtight containers? So on and so forth… its quite hard to believe, but true, that this is somehow one of the more pressing matters of my life at this point. And I am extremely grateful for my good fortune.
(2) Earlier this week, I interviewed a bright young chap for my new work initiative, The Sarvodya Collective. We are looking to pilot a bunch of ideas serving Persons with Intellectual Disability. The opening received over a 150 applications, interesting mix of qualifications and experience, but I ended up spending the most amount of time with the said individual despite at best a loose fit to the JD, largely because of this one question he asked in the first introductory chat — is IQ a good way to define intellectual (dis)ability? The answer to that is that it probably is the most well accepted way to do so, but I loved that he brought that kind of curiosity, openness of mind and confidence to this problem. It made me realise that I value that kind of healthy scepticism/ questioning mindset and something I believe is worth maintaining as we start to get more involved with this issue area.
(3) A few weeks ago, a friend mentioned how he had challenged himself to doing something small for 365 days and was pleased to see the compounded results of his daily effort. I am most effective in short bursts of intense activity, but it made me reflect on the times that I have consistently stuck with something and the results it has yielded. So, in an inspired moment, I have committed to walking daily (something that doesn’t happen organically in India), and remembering the one message that resonates the strongest from my 2020 book club read of ‘An Autobiography of a Yogi’.
‘Banat, banat, ban jaaye’
Walking has always been such a positive influence on my days, and I am looking forward to seeing what magic unfolds in 2021, on this front and otherwise!
Wish you all a very happy, healthy and fulfilling year ahead too!
