Flying Mind Hidden Thoughts

Masks for medical purposes were a novelty for me till I came to Hong Kong. I had only seen medical professionals wear it previously. When influenza season strikes in Hong Kong masks are seen everywhere.. offices, MTRs, schools. In fact sneezing or coughing without mask on is kind of frowned especially during the flu season. It felt like an overkill initially, but later I came to know that the SARS outbreak is what instilled this culture here. But people from other parts of the world would still view it as a funny thing. The COVID-19 outbreak ensured that masks became part and parcel of life even for the rest of the world and it was no longer a joke. The mask like all other essentials served it’s primary purpose well but also developed a few secondary functions.  Introverts can avoid small talk One of my personal favorites was avoiding people or conversations.  Eyes focused on the floor or earphones with loud blaring music are the classic techniques used to refrain from ha...

When I hear the term "donkey", I always associate it with a 4 legged animal carrying a whole lot of weight being steered by a washerman or stupid, silly person. The former is a natural association because donkeys have been used for carrying heavy load and many folk tales talk about the donkey exploitation by the washer community. The latter also seemed like a fact until a few months back. I was on a road trip and saw a herd of donkeys standing on the side of the road. One of them moved pretty close to the vehicle I was in and it was almost as though he/she had made eye contact with me. That's when I observed how pretty those eyes were. Looking at the herd, I could make out that all donkeys had similar beautiful eyes. The whole herd suddenly transformed in my mind from ugly creatures who make awful sounds to good looking creatures who still make awful sounds.  This change in perception made me wonder about the other known trait associated with a donkey, silline...

Beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder, and a considerable percentage of beholders believe that curvy bodies are one important aspect of female beauty. Breasts and butt are key aspects which enhance the curviness of the female body and as the buzz is 36 seems to be the right number propagated by media, art, cinema etc. As a teenager I had breasts which were decently sized for my age and looked good. But I could never appreciate them or at the least even relate to them. Since childhood I have been an unacclaimed tomboy. Most of  the activities I was involved in, were the ones, boys of my age would enjoy. So I was deemed the so called son of the family. This made me relate myself more towards the ways guys dress and look. So when breasts came along, it didn't seem to go along with the attitude and persona I had in mind. They also kind of got in the way of my activities. I used to be quite active at sports which were predominantly running and long jump. When I was out of the tra...

Snakes are scary creatures, even the non poisonous ones. More than the fear of poison, death or their fangs, it is their unpredictability and the feel of their skin against mine that scares me. I have had a fair share of encounters with them,  none of them have been lethal or even harmful. Though fear was the underlying theme always, it was coupled with various other emotions and thoughts.. Sympathy was one of them. I remember seeing a big yellow python hanging from a tree inside a glass cage in a snake park. It looked so majestic and was putting up quite a show by sliding its body up the tree ranches, occasionally giving the mesmerizing stare like the iconic Ka (From Jungle Book). But once you broadened the frame, it was a sad sight. People were poking or tapping on the glass to get it's attention and some were even jeering at it because it didn't have the capability to harm them. The emotion went a few notches higher when I saw, in certain other snake parks, the pyt...

The idea of mixing banana with flour or any dairy products was beyond me. So for most of my lifetime I dodged savouries which had banana as a key ingredient. Banana milkshake, banana based bakery items, banana ice cream, banana and milk, banana pan fried in butter were permanently added to the list of food items to be never consumed. The banana based offering to God which are later given to the devotees was also off charts. Then came along a hungry day which changed my outlook and started the battle between me and the banana cake.  I was at the airport making a run for the flight with a super hungry tummy. The only possibility of food for next 4 hours was to pick the quickest available option and sprint towards the boarding gate. There were expensive options like fresh salads, nut bars, low sugar fruity yogurts and the not so expensive  packed banana cake. It was a no brainer. When it came down to money, the square shaped banana cake won.  Inside the flight...

Raising my arms up into a namaste, extending my spine, I took in a breath of fresh air and felt the calm surround me. It was a perfect start for the yoga session. Birds chirping, distant sounds of a bus passing by, the old washing machine trying hard to accomplish its task of spinning complaining about its overload.. I was one with myself and my breath. As I bent down exhaling into the second step of the Surya namaskar, the extended spine cooperated a bit permitting my fingers to touch the floor with ease. The joy of being able to touch the floor with ease made me hold the pose for sometime. After experiencing the sthira and starting to embark on the sukha, my mother in law popped into my head and a hypothetical situation was built out where she was complaining about how I was squandering money and not earning any. (as I quit work recently). I continued on to the next pose without realizing. Mind you she was sitting probably in her living room 5000km away sipping on her tea in p...