Musings from Antique Origins

T he year 2021 is coming to an end. It might have been one of the gloomiest years in the history of the world. There indeed have been more tragic years in the past. But 2021 was unique. The spread of Covid 19 affected almost all parts of the world. The people were affected irrespective of their nationality, age, gender, race, caste, creed, financial or social status and health conditions. Our modern civilization supported by advanced medical and technological progress, invented and manufactured and distributed vaccines with great speed. Our descendants will never have to put 2021 on their map of human history's worst years like the 1350s (Black Death), 1918-19 (Great War and Spanish Flu) and 1943 (WW II and Holocaust). I am sure that 2021 adversely affected each one of my dear readers in various ways. While many had lost their dear ones, many others went through anxieties and inconveniences, the least of which could be their restriction on mobility. With close relatives away, par...

I have since restarted my morning walk for the last two months. I had added a few kilograms to my torso that could be attributed to my son’s visit from the Netherlands. My wife’s insistence of giving him some good food that he had been deprived of long in Enschede and my sharing these foods with gay abandon indeed came at a price. As you may know, the Dutch cuisine is so bland that Unni says that bread is their best food. CHOPS, my running mates, ( Cholesterol, Blood Pressure and Blood Sugar ), found the season very conducive to their growth. A visit to Dr Rama Swamy, the octogenarian and gentle Physician at Kalpathy followed that confirmed my worst fears.    I walk towards the Kalpathy heritage village for a good 40 minutes’ stroll in the morning. Again in the evening, I go for another walk with Sindhu, my wife. The great Vietnamese Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh, has taught the approach to mindfulness as we go for a walk in his famous book “The Miracle of Mindfulness “. Whil...