Tag: blog

Read Across America: Honoring Dr. Seuss

“Oh no! I missed Dr Seuss’s birthday!” I wailed.

The husband said “Who?” In that befuddled manner he gets when it comes to reading. The son said, “Oh no! How did that happen?” He understood.

One of the many brilliant things about raising children in a country and culture other than the one you were raised in is this. You get to read new books, be baffled about why something was iconic, and discover the joys of it all anew (like Star Wars for us).

Dr Seuss, Thomas the Train, Curious George, Dora the Explorer, and so many fantastic characters enabled me to become a wide-eyed child reading along with them over the past two decades, and I am immensely grateful to that.

Somewhere along the way, the children told me that Read Across America week was the week it was Dr Seuss’s birthday. Oh! How I loved that? What a legacy to leave? To have a Read-Across-America week dedicated to the week of your birthday.

So, in my somewhat scatter-brained fashion, I had planned to read and write about several of his books in the lead up to the week. But I had forgotten in the chariots of time, and let’s face it, in the gloriousness of spring. I can see Theodore Geisel (Dr Seuss is his nickname) shaking his head in amusement at this, and probably pencilling it down a for a future hilarious Dr Seuss book somewhere.

The books I did read were just as charming and insightful as usual.

Yertle The Turtle & Other Stories – By Dr Seuss

The story is about Yertle the Turtle who is the king of turtles in his pond. He is liked enough to be left alone, and do turtlish things and go about the days of his life with peace and contentment. But does he do that?

No!

One day, he gets it into this head that what he wants is to extend his rule. So, he calls on the turtles nearby, and has them scramble on each other, and he scrambles right on top of them all. From that vantage point, he claims he is the king of all he can see.

In typical Dr Seuss form, Yertle is never happy, and goes on piling turtles on top of each other…till. Well – you’ll just have to read and find out, wouldn’t you?

This story is such an apt one to read in the current geopolitical climate. All our great leaders busy scrambling on turtle’s backs, and launching missiles. Sigh.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yertle_the_Turtle_and_Other_Stories

Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=17391831

Did I Ever Tell You How Lucky You Are – By Dr Seuss

This book is priceless. I read it every now and then especially when I am really feeling low, and somewhat antsy about the state of the world. It is good to remind yourself that you didn’t get stuck in the traffic jam of Zayt Highway 8 in Ga-Zayt, or that you weren’t one of the builders of Bunglebung bridge.

By It is believed that the cover art can or could be obtained from Random House., Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=44085819

But mostly, it is a simple tale that will have you wondering just a little bit about all the little ways in which you are lucky, even if it doesn’t seem like it. The next morning, the sound of bird-song as you make your way to your car sounds sweeter.

Horse Museum – By Dr Seuss

This book has been on my list of books to write about for a long time. I think I shall attempt a separate piece for this book for it is fascinating in a way that is different from all his other books in a specific way.

The book shows you all the different ways in which horses can be drawn in the Horse Museum. Of course, the horses are hilarious and his narrative sparkles.

This cover image released by Random House Children’s Books shows “Dr. Seuss’s Horse Museum,” a new book by the late children’s author, coming Sept. 3. (Random House Children’s Books via AP)

By dr-seuss-horse-museum.jpg at Time CDN, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=60107701

But more than any of this, he lists all the famous paintings of horses that inspired his tale. A journey through cubism, realism etc. From Picasso to Jackson Pollock.

So, even if I didn’t quite to get to write about Dr Seuss’s books in time for Read-Across-America week, I still got to read and relish them.

I don’t think he’d mind if we read them now, next week, or next month, do you? So, please feel free to pick them up, and share your own books you’d like to read for Read-Across-America month.

How COVID-19 Shaped My Blogging Routine

Syzygy

The blog is a familiar topic with the nourish-n-cherish household.

“How many posts have you written this month, amma?”

“This is going on the blog isn’t it?!”

“You should write about this in the blog, amma!”

The subjects who appear most often are by turns eager, resigned and accept their lot with good humour and grace. 

When I published my 1000th blog post, I was encouraged to write a special blog to celebrate the syzygy (aligning of the stars) that enabled me to continue writing.

1000 posts : A Special Post to Celebrate Syzygy

Now there is a different milestone – a smaller one, a different one. But something.

Atomic Habits

Half a decade ago, when Covid-19 hit the shores of America, something phenomenal happened. Travel stopped, non-essential services providers could not sustain, and I found myself faced with time that had been hitherto dedicated to shuttling to train stations, and standing up in crowded compartments being squashed with my fellow commuters, now available for something else. So, I landed up doing the things I liked most – hanging out with the family, walking, biking (we actually bought bikes just before the shutdown), reading (the library was a savior to so many families during this time) and of course, writing. My writing increased from a 4-5 posts a month to a 7-9 posts a month.

Well, it is half a decade since this happened. 5 years in which I kept the pace of the increased frequency. Even when the world around us opened up, economies fluctuated, inflation rose, elections came, and post-election yelps are still being heard, I kept the pace.

Covid and how it changed the world around us

Atomic Habits

“You don’t have to build the habits everyone tells you to build. Choose the habit that best suits you, not the one that is most popular.”
― James Clear, Atomic Habits

Doing something as a labor of love regardless of what it leads to seems to be my strength and my weakness. This month marks 7-9 posts a month for the past 5 years. 

Chance Encounters For a Magical Journey

🐕‍🦺🪷🦌🍀🐺❄️🐀🍁 The Deer Families 🐕‍🦺🪷🦌🍀🐺❄️🐀🍁

“Think we’ll see James and Lily today?”

“I don’t know! Hopefully. It has been raining, so the poor things may have moved away, ” I said. We’ve christened the deer family near our homes. The mother and father are called Lily & James (I know!). Sometimes, there are several families – we call them all James & Lily. 

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We caught sight of them – much closer than they usually are, that evening, and exchanged a look so close up, it was … revealing, deep? (hard to pin down in one word). It isn’t often one gets the chance to exchange a deep searching look with a deer. It is a marvelous experience – and one we wouldn’t forget soon. Those brown eyes seem endless, and so full, it somehow fills up your being too. When poets write of moments feeling like eternity etc, I suppose this is what they meant. It could not have been more than a few seconds, and yet, the eyes spoke a language of eyes. 

Whenever writers talk about pools of emotion showing in the eyes, and the shapes of their ghosts flitting through their characters’ eyes and all of that, I am never sure what to think of it. Sure, it sounds brilliant and poetic, but can we really show all of that in one glance? Looking into the deer’s eyes was oddly satiating, and it was definitely more than words can try. 

Clearly the son was moved too, for he said, as soon as it left, “Do you want to talk to animals sometimes?”

I nodded. “That would be nice.”, I said

“What do you think they’d talk about?”

🐕‍🦺🪷🦌🍀🐺❄️🐀🍁 Understanding Animals 🐕‍🦺🪷🦌🍀🐺❄️🐀🍁

“I suppose it depends on the animals. Elephants have different concerns than pangolins. Bees, squirrels and ants – being more community animals may have similar concerns. But I think I’d like to know the range of emotions they have. Do squirrels have greed? Do ants have jealousy? Pelicans have been known to sacrifice themselves for their pod. “

Are there some emotions or behaviors that are completely unknown to man that our creatures possess? We know many animals feel love, despair etc. 

If a wolf is kicked out of its pack, it never howls again. 

– From the book, Sad Animal Facts – by Brooke Barker

“For instance, and we all know whales have complex legends in song format that they pass down. With all the skills of navigation, survival, and protecting required, I am sure they all have different topics.”

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“I think I’d also like to see what kinds of things they keep in long term memory. I mean we know elephants have long-term memories, but what does that constitute? Just routes to water during times of drought or also towards betrayals etc. They must have some extraordinary lives and stories to tell then, isn’t it?”

He was nodding along. We talked about the size of their brains in proportion to their sizes. Brain ratio requires a separate post in itself, but there are so many fascinating things once you start looking into it.

For instance:

“An alligator’s brain weighs less than an oreo. “

– Quote from the book, Sad Animal Facts – By Brooke Barker

The alligator literally has the smallest brain to body ratio. Only 0.2 % of its body mass is the brain.

🐘 🐊 ⌘ Gajendra Moksha & Vishnu Sahasranamam 🐘 🐊 ⌘

This led to research on a few things about body to brain ratios, and curiously, the myth of the crocodile vs the elephant in Hindu mythology, Gajendra Moksha. It is curious how the myth pitted the lowest brain ratio animal against one of the wild animals with the highest ratios (the elephant). It is supposed to be a reminder to keep our egos in check. Gajendra finally relinquished his ego, and required the great god, Vishnu, to come in avatar form and save the elephant. 

Gajendra’s plea to Lord Vishnu is called the Gajendra Stuti and is the first stanza of the Vishnu Sahasranamam (the 1000 names of Vishnu) 

Please read: Post by Krishna2 on the Vishnu Sahasranamam  – this post helps us comprehend us the depths of Vishnu Sahasranamam

शुक्लांबरधरं विष्णुं शशि वर्णं चतुर्भुजं ।
प्रसन्न वदनं ध्यायेत् सर्व विघ्नोपशान्तये॥

śuklāṃbaradharaṃ viṣṇuṃ śaśi varṇaṃ caturbhujaṃ |
prasanna vadanaṃ dhyāyēt sarva vighnōpaśāntayē ||

We came home fascinated by all the different things we usually do not pay attention to – filled with wonder, and awe. Many of us have forgotten what it is like to have encounters with our fellow beings – sometimes, exchanging a glance with a deer is all it takes to take on this incredible journey. 

The multiplicity of forms! The hummingbird, the fox, the raven, the sparrow hawk, the otter, the dragonfly, the water lily! And on and on. It must be a great disappointment to God if we are not dazzled at least ten times a day.

–Good Morning – By Mary Oliver, Book: Blue Horses

References: 

⚡️💨⛈Cloud Kitchens ⚡️💨⛈

We were walking at a time when everything around us was glowing in a golden hue. The sun was setting, highlighting  the clouds in the horizon from within or behind, giving them a glorious gloriole. The recent storm had news channels talking of our favorite term in recent times – atmospheric rivers. 

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The actual river was flowing with muddy waters from the recent rains, the trail was still strewn with branches and twigs after the recent battering of the storms, the deer that usually had more space to graze were standing glumly off to the side for their favorite haunts were water-logged. Or at least I thought they stood glumly: they looked contented and happy with the fresh grass, and each other for company.

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“Look at those clouds and the lighting from behind them!” I squealed.

“Oh please amma! You talk of nothing but countertops and cabinets these days!” said the son.

“I do not!” I said, mock-offended and a trifle sheepish. Well – the fellow was not entirely wrong.  It was true, I was becoming one of those bores who go on and on about cabinets.  I am trying to switch out the cabinets in our kitchen, and it has proved to be a task that had hidden depths to its complexity. Regardless – just then, I was talking about clouds and the sunset, and said so with a haughty sniff.

“Don’t tell me you didn’t think of how the hidden lighting would look under the cabinets.!” he said, and I laughed. I had not actually thought of it, but if the poor fellow thought his usually cloud-and-sunset-loving mother saw cabinets in clouds, I had scarred him indeed. Feeling suitably chastened, I promised to shelve all talk of cabinets for the walk. “Get it? Get it? Shelve talk of cabinets! Huh?”

He rolled his eyes, and though the clouds reminded me of the subtle grays and whites in certain countertops I had seen, I kept the opinion to myself, and we walked on chatting amiably of this-and-that.

Kitchens could wait, sunsets could not.