LIFE IS LIKE A WASHING MACHINE…

Our lives are much like a washing machine…. We are all at different junctures of the cycle and yet we have enough common ground to keep our life cycle going without pressing STOP or CANCEL, unless we want to or have to…

When we are thick into the spin cycle and it seems the circle of pain and misery will keep us tossing around endlessly, we look at others who are in the final whirl- ready to go to the dryer and be hung out but still clinging on to hope and faith. Those are the aged, the infirm and yes, our old parents…tossed around in life with every drop of moisture being squeezed out of them but never giving up till it is time for the eternal STOP.

 As for our kids? Rinse and repeat, rinse and repeat- the water of life keeps pouring on their heads- jobs, marriage, their kids, society, peer pressure and yes, old parents and they too get tossed around the same cycle with no STOP in sight…

 If we could just embrace where we are at the cycle, go through each stage and know that in the end like the laundry load we will be clean when we come to rest and when we are hung out to dry we may still be able to cherish the last glimpse of the beautiful world outside.

 Even if we find that we are tossed into the dryer with a sheet of lint- we still have one more cycle, one more journey, one more revolution to go through before the final STOP.

 Perspective folks – look for that silver lining, that spoonful of detergent, the fragrant fabric softener, that hardy sheet of lint and know this- for every beginning there is an end…just enjoy the ride!

 

Nimmou Nilakantan

August 22^nd 2022

MOTHER’S DAY MUSINGS….

 

Being a Mother is the toughest job on earth they say…

 

Firstly, it is NOT a job – a calling, a blessing, a gift, a spiritual journey, a pain in the ass but definitely NOT a job! There is no 9-5 and it is all work from home. Long before Covid struck and sent the world and its workforce into a collective moan about having to work from home – our Moms were doing just that! They were on call 24/7 and none of them were on Zoom.

 

There was no pay or big fat bonus for their work nor any days off to jet into the Maldives and post on Instagram that letting down of hair and hanging out with buddies…full time Moms got no pay, no vacay and an endless run of bad hair days. Forget letting it down – it remained a crow’s nest till baby took its first steps and after that it lay in forlorn bunches in the bathroom drain as Mom ran after her toddler. And, just when it regained its former luster and bounce the first pimple appeared and the cycle was on START once again…

 

‘Old Age’ and ‘full time’  Moms had it tough compared to the ‘New Age’ Mom also known by her many monikers – Super woman, master juggler, career girl, time management guru, multi-tasker par excellence, media savvy and sourcing the best help during working hours, genius. Old age Mom also multi-tasked but alas without a title, pay or media support she had to find comfort where she could.

 

 She cooked (no Swiggy, Zomato, Door dash or cook/nanny reporting for daily duty) cleaned, cribbed, comforted, counselled, co-ordinated – the list of ‘C’s’ were endless but she would never get the title of CEO – title poor but work rich!

 

And yet, when this generation of kids brought up by these ‘jobless’ mothers became super successful in their chosen field and multi-billionaires they first invariably thanked their Moms and expressed their heartfelt gratitude and love for this one person whose love and nurturing made it possible.

 

Today I am proud that my sons became kind and loving humans and successful working professionals (if I had a daughter, ditto!) I did not work when they were growing up – to me being a Mom was hard work and yes there were days when I would fall apart at the enormity and pressure and isolation of motherhood. I would wish I had a paying job, or hang out with adults or got lots of pats on my back for what I did but on my low days it was always a smile that put me back on the rails, a hug, a ‘I love you Ma’ whispered in my ear or an innocent kiss planted on my face.

 

I am grateful and blessed that I did not have to be the bread winner of the family or have to supplement the income by getting a job as so many Moms of today. A big salute to all those Moms who raised fine kids and worked full time jobs. But, I say this again – Motherhood is NOT a job.

 

You cannot put a price on a feeling and you cannot calculate the cost of the most valuable emotion of the heart – love. And, that is what being a Mom is –pure love without the bells and whistles – my mother taught me that.  And, I wouldn’t trade that lesson or that feeling for the world….

 

HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY

Nimmou Nilakantan

May 8^th2022

 

 

WHERE IS THE HUMAN?

I do not ‘get’ these terms- ‘Guided Meditation’, ‘Detox Diet’, ‘Art of Living’, ‘Silent Retreat’ Blah, Blah, Bah! You get my drift? Have you ever seen a cow sit cross legged in a corner and go Ohm mm  to calm its mind and meditate? With a bull guiding it? Has a bird ever gone silent, retreating from the woods to take a break from its world? And when did living become an Art- it is pure science people- art is for the galleries, art is for nature, art is for artists but living, breathing – all science! People would be less inclined to seek solace from their daily lives if they chose to live scientifically in some parts at least – eat right, speak right and live right…

Use things the way they were meant to be used – a phone was invented as a connection device – with the first hello you listened to and connected with a HUMAN!  Now the phone is a camera because we are too busy to see but can only store and impress our friends later, it is a book of messages on Whatsapp – yes people, you read that right! Compile all those daily messages and you could have published a book if you didn’t waste time writing and responding to crap. It is a recording device to leave messages rather than just dial and talk- curse that microphone icon that tempts us into laziness…

The machines have taken over- and their shape is HUMAN!!!

Nimmou Nilakantan

19^th Jan 2022

 

LOVE IN THE TIME OF COVID...

 

He slipped into her bed unasked and unmasked having just returned from a work trip to Mumbai.

She shrieked and reached for the hand sanitizer kept in her bedside drawer.

In the dark, she took the pepper spray instead and blasted him in the face with it.

He yelped and then unleashed a ginormous sneeze right on her face.

She ran to the bathroom and frantically gargled with salt water, mouthwash and Betadine for good measure.

Then she scrambled to the steam inhaler and inhaled for 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, her unmasked boyfriend kept sneezing.

 The viral load reached maximum.

Last heard – both tested positive for Covid 19.

Covidi, Covici, Covini….

Nimmou Nilakantan

 

THE WHATSAPE WORLD

THE 'WHATSAPE' WORLD

Whatsapp is a counterfeit note – it has no purchasing power. Mere words on a screen and a range of emoticons that make us more Android than human. It has become the equivalent of the remote control in a couch potatoes hand- you can surf all those messages and leave a quick word or press a thumbs up emoticon and you feel you have connected. But, just like the stars in the sitcoms you watch, unless you are reinforcing the connection with phone calls, mailing or meeting your loved one, you become an audience but with a digital footprint.

 Yes, yes, during the Pandemic Whatsapp was a lifeline to connect to those we loved but could not meet – in that context it was an affirmation at best for an existing and solid relationship. Not to forget the free phone calls that enabled us to hear a loved one’s voice. But, if you are part of a Whatsapp  group just to feel connected then you are a Wildebeest. Part of a herd for safety but when the lion targets and kills the weakest member the herd does move on after a backward glance…

Whatsapp is what the keyboard is to the grand piano in terms of sound. You are never fully heard because each one has something to say – including you. You are held captive to a screen full of words and those can never fill your heart. Like Splenda after a decadent dessert with real sugar,

 Whatsapp never really fills those empty spaces within. A heart emoji never gets my pulse racing the way a living, talking human can…

Sending a forward is not communication or ‘keeping in touch’ – it is just plain lazy! Reacting with an emoticon is not showing emotion – you have just confirmed you are a frigging robot. Whatsapp is the cave dwellers means of expression without the artistry. It has hijacked the human and replaced it with a caricature – half ape (with sincere apologies to the magnificent beast) and all moron…

Nimmou Nilakantan