If we were having wine, I would tell you I’m contemplating writing another book. However, I have been considering this since I published my first full-fledged novel, Letters In Ice, in 2021, so I’m not getting my hopes up yet.
“One day I will find the right words, and they will be simple.”
― Jack Kerouac, The Dharma Bums
Would I like to write another book? Most certainly, yes, but do I have another book in me? The honest answer is I do not know. I do have a list of book ideas. Deciding to write a book requires a commitment, which I’m not sure I have. I do not know if I can do justice to it with being pulled in so many different directions. Also, where is the time? Isn’t that the million-dollar question?
If we were having wine, I would tell you how I wish adults had summer vacations too! Why don’t we though? Aren’t summers for adults as well? Or is suffering to be our lot in life? Why does adulthood seem like a sentence, everyone trying to find a few blissful moments amidst the chaos? While in Shillong, we never had summer breaks, but we did have 2 to 2.5-month-long winter vacations. I wonder what it would feel like to be on holiday for that long now. But this is not possible for working Indians. Is it?
Why does adulthood seem like a sentence, everyone trying to find a few blissful moments amidst the chaos? Click To Tweet
I have worked with people from Sweden, and they have month-long vacations during mid-summer and Christmas. They never hesitate to say no or that they are unavailable. In India, respecting your own time is frowned upon. Somewhere, the Indian upper management, bosses and lawmakers do not value the Indian workforce. They are like dementors. Well, I’m not talking about the exceptions here, mind you. Exceptions cannot be the norm, unfortunately, in this case. Even if by fluke someone proposed summer break for Indian companies, all the bosses would lobby against it. Beasts of burden are who we are. Work, pay taxes, who cares about anything else? Hardly anyone understands that work is not life, just a part of it. Not everyone wants to hustle. Not everyone thrives in a toxic culture. We have to find a balance for ourselves and our moments of peace. We need to find joy in this chaos of life as adults, summer vacations or not.
“O, to be sure, we laugh less and play less and wear uncomfortable disguises like adults, but beneath the costume is the child we always are, whose needs are simple, whose daily life is still best described by fairy tales.”
― Leo Rosten
If we were having wine, I would tell you how gynaecologists in India, most of them at least, need to do better. A few weeks back, I met the typical Indian gynaecologist during a routine checkup who I would not want my daughter to go to when she grows up. She was so dismissive when I inquired about the Cervical Cancer vaccine that I wondered why I even bothered to ask. She was more concerned about why I was wearing a padded bra rather than concentrating on doing my pap test. I felt small in front of her, uncomfortable too. She almost managed to get to me, but I was old enough to know better. But there was another girl, probably in her 20s, who had come for consultation on PCOS, and the doctor never took the time to explain to her, let alone look into her eyes while talking. If most gynaecologists are like this, how can we normalise visits to them for our girls? She made a terrible impression. All the procedures and the tests are so discomfiting in themselves that there is no need for judgemental doctors as well, on top of that.
If we were having wine, I would tell you how a new academic year has begun for M. It feels like we were looking to put M in school yesterday. She’s growing up too soon, and we are getting old. Older! Wasn’t it just yesterday that I had her? Seeing her grow into her likes and dislikes has been quite a journey. I’m growing up too with her. I’m certainly not the same person I was when she was a baby. Let’s hope I do not end up scarring her. I’m far from perfect. Anything but!
If we were having wine, I would tell you one of my pet peeves at work is people taking calls on speaker. Imagine everyone doing this. How would any work be done? You would think that common sense was common in corporate India, but who am I kidding?
If we were having wine, I would tell you that Bangalore summer is summering a bit too much this year. In almost two decades in Bangalore, I have never experienced such a hot summer. Everyone is waiting for rain with bated breath. I will not even say I dislike rain anymore. Just get me the OG Bangalore weather back, please!
If we were having wine, I would tell you how much I hate deciding what to have for breakfast, lunch and dinner every day. It is an endless pit. If I could outsource this decision, I would happily do so. I feel my life will pass me by, and even on my last day here, I’ll have to decide what to cook.
If we were having wine, I would tell you that this is all I have to say today.
Ciao