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I’m Shakthi. I create and curate thoughts on the things that matter to me. Visit here to know about me and my interests. If you keep a blog or a website, please let me know. I’d love to look through your work.

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At dawn break today, I found myself in the courtyard of Chennai's Kapaleswarar temple. As I took in the fresh air of the crisp winter morning, I was greeted by the human hiccup like sounds made by a guinea fowl (?). The courtyard was tranquil with few devotees while the priests prepared for the morning rituals. ⁣ ⁣ I stepped inside the warmer amber lit inner sanctum which resides the main diety. A tall spectacled devotee sang in praise of the lord, probably a composition of a Saivite saint. His deep sonourous voice reverberating off the walls was a great sensory experience in the morning. ⁣ ⁣ Back in the courtyard, the morning devotees included old couples, silk saree clad women and dhoti clad men, a young couple dressed in matching attire, and mothers with their kids. At regular intervals one heard group chants and coonch shell sounds. ⁣ ⁣ Temples, I found, are great places for animal lovers. A mother coached her little son on feeding bananas to the temple calves while some other devotees patted the little bovines as they passed by. The cats in the corner struck beautiful poses that rivaled the sculpted goddesses on the temple pillars. ⁣ ⁣ I was spellbound by the spirit magnifying socio-spiritual-ecological space of the temple. It was suddenly clear to me why some people were ardent temple-goers. I was greatful that this place would always exist and be accessible to me whenever I needed those spirit-magnifying benefits. I made a pact with myself to access this life-affirming space more often. . . . #pongal #pongal2019 #temples #morninggoals #lifeaffirming #templesofindia #spirituality #greatmorning #spiritualgrowth #chennaimornings #mylaporemornings

2019 was another lean reading year for me. But I did have some very memorable reads:⁣ ⁣ 1. When Breathe Becomes Air - An autobiographical book by a neurosurgeon battling terminal cancer. A deep reflection on the meaningful life that is only possible by one experiencing hieghtened death awareness as one battling cancer. The author's neurosurgeon background adds to the insights. Thank you for the great read @subhashnikandaswami⁣ ⁣ 2. The Ministry of Utmost Happiness - A fiction that could be non-fiction - about the most dispossessed and deprived Indian people set against political events in the last decade and a half. Whatever the desolate environment, the human spirit does manage to find happiness. Thank you @the_book_thief____ for the great read⁣ ⁣ 3. The Smile of Murugan - A British travel writer undertakes a pilgrimage to the major temples in Tamil Nadu with a traditional middle aged Tamil woman as his guide. We discovered it on the library shelves of Anna Library @runningmakesmealive⁣ ⁣ 4. The Fuzzy and the Techie - Amidst the clamour for Data science / AI / ML, this book is a sane but a familiar voice championing the importance of liberal arts in problem-solving especially those that add value to society. ⁣ ⁣ 5. Jasmine Days - Translated from Malayalam, the narrative is set amidst the Indian expatriate community in an unnamed city in the Arabian Peninsula. Discovered this @jlflitfest this year and will continue to follow @benny.benyamin's work. ⁣ ⁣ 6. Of Opinions - A collection of enjoyable and amusing personal essays by a twenty-something India girl @ofopinions trying to live a meaningful literary and a writerly life. ⁣ ⁣ 7. Paper Towns - A bunch of high-schoolers, Walt Whitman, a minivan, long drives, and existential angst. The concept of "paper towns" is probably most fascinating thing I came across this year! ⁣ ⁣ 8. The No.1 Ladies Detective Agency - A traditionally built African woman, her assistant, an old little van and the clients from her detective agency. Set in good old Botswana. What's not to like about this! . . . #2019reads #2019books #goodreads #readinglife #bookreview #readingisfundamental #readinggoals #bookrecommendations #booksbooksbooks

Sunday newspaper mornings (courtesy @the_hindu Sunday Magazine) are the best. . . . #sundaymorning #sundaymagazine #thehindu #literaryreview #morningnews #politicalcartoons #bookstagramer #bookrecommendations #greatmorning #indiabookstagram #greatstart

Three Films that embody the life-affirming spirit of Christmas⁣ ⁣ 1. Little Women - The film opens on a cold Christmas Eve as the sisters Meg, Jo, Amy, and Beth sing 'Ding Dong Merrily High' while Beth also plays the Piano. Each of them holding a candle wish merry Christmas and wish Mrs. March, their mother, good night. On Christmas morning, the next day, as the hungry March sisters sat at the table in front the sumptuous Christmas spread, Mrs. March tells that there is a poor starving family in the nieghbourhood and suggests that they give away the breakfast as a Christmas present. Despite the hunger, the sisters enthusiastically take their breakfasts to the starving family. ⁣ ⁣ 2. Of Gods and Men - Eight Monks at a Cisterian Monastery of Our Lady of Atlas in Algeria live in service of God and community, which is majorly Muslim. Rising Islamic fundamentalism forces the government to ask these monks to leave the town and country for their own safety. The monks, however, decide to stay put in the monastery and continue serving the community even if that may pose risk to their lives. The Muslim community of the town urges the monks to stay, which doubles their resolve. ⁣ ⁣ 3. Babette's Feast - Set in a quaint Danish fishing village, two sisters hold together a community of believers through simple food of bread soup and songs in praise of God. Yet, the simple, sober and spiritual practices were not enough to foster love and kindness amongst them. Babette, a French cook who recently took refuge in the sisters' cottage, requests the honor of preparing a special meal for the community at her cost. On the special day, Babette gives her whole self to deliver a meal that was beyond food. The community relished the banquet, and through it once again feels the love of God and humanity that'd they'd been missing for a long time. ⁣ ⁣. . Merry Christmas!! . . #filmrecommendation #filmstagram #filmbuff #christmasfilms #holidayfilms #christmasspirit #spiritofchristmas #goodfilms #christmastime #christmassy #films #filmtime #christmasmovies

Morning at the Hairdresser's: Businesses can be life-affirming too⁣ ⁣ This little hairdresser in my neighborhood of which I've been a patron over the last year has a uniquely curated ambience that refreshes me. As soon as I enter the air chilled cabin, I hear the sonorous Hindu chants of "Om" played on the sound system. The business owner prefers to play spiritual sounds for the first few minutes of the work day, and then switches to a old movie track from his carefully curated collection. ⁣ ⁣ I hear the buzz of the electric clipper and stainless steel clatter of the scissors. Three young men, one if whom owns the business, work on the heads and faces of their patrons in focussed silence while keeping track of the order of arrival of the customers. It reminded of a scene from Tampopo (a Japanese food centered film), where the cooks in a Ramen restaurant slice the pork, strain the ramen, and transfer the boiling pots with a similar focus. ⁣ ⁣ On one corner of the waiting area is a stack of a dozen books on motivation and spirituality. Behind it is a little sacred nook with photos of Hindu gods and goddesses adorned with marigold. On the opposite end is a fish tank that is often the curiosity of little kids accompanied by their dads. ⁣ ⁣ There is an unmistakable mindful positive vibe in the cabin. It always leaves me refreshed and I'm sure it's the same for a lot of the other patrons. The deliberate method of going about business and the crafted ambience made me realize that businesses can also be life-affirming. If only more owners build it that way. . . . #weekendscenes #entrepreneurgoals #entrepreneurlife #lifeaffirming #zenmoment #morningvibes #goodbusiness #focussed #mindfulness #bookseverywhere #greatmorning #goodbrand

Foremost among the things that make travel worthwhile are the stories we collect on our journey. We were fortunate to discover a life-affirming story on my last day at Lucknow.⁣ ⁣ This morning, my friend and I had arrived at a cafe @cafe_wtf we had picked for our last brunch together before I leave for home. It was closed. Just then, two young women appeared at the property's gates.⁣ ⁣ The young woman, dressed in a indigo colored top, informed us that we could wait inside and vowed that we'd be served in fifteen minutes. We watched the two young women springing the desolate looking closed cafe into life. ⁣ ⁣ Ms. I, the young woman who owned the cafe, invited us in. The place had a tasteful interior with a lot of character and a woody feel to it. We found a shelve of books and took a table beside it.⁣ ⁣ We soon found that Ms. I was also the chef. We requested her for a couple of pastas, an Irish coffee, and a Hazelnut cappuccino. She rather enthusiastically latched on to my friend's suggestion of adding chopped green chillis to the pasta. ⁣ ⁣ On the wall to my left was a large steel framed poster with a handwritten poem. It was a beautiful poem addressed to the author's beloved. I asked Ms. I about it. She said she had written the poem for her fiancee. The book collection at the cafe were his favorites. Asked about the story behind the cafe, she said it was her fiance's dream and he owned the cafe. Now, they were co-promoters of the dream. ⁣ ⁣ Ms. L, a sweet young woman who was still getting the hang of the her role at the cafe, brought the food to our table. Meanwhile, Ms. I transitioned from a chef to an entrepreneur. She sat at the table behind us, as she worked on her laptop and attended her phone. ⁣ ⁣ Over the meal, my friend and I watched an episode of the TV show Friends. She came over to share that she was a great fan of the show and has watched it several times over. We shared a moment of togetherness.⁣ ⁣ Soon, we nodded silent goodbyes even as Ms. I was engaged on another call. ⁣ ⁣ The morning brought a closure to my search for meaning on the trip. I left the cafe completely satisfied and nourished. . . . #traveljournal #travelstories #followingdreams

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Some Interesting Reads

Three reads I cherished this week on the web:

8 Things John Green Taught Me
William Dalrymple in Damascus: The Final Refuge of Christians in the Middle East Under Threat
The Need for Eloquence: The School of Life

Some of my work

Becoming Michelle Obama: Lessons for Life
An Hour at the Mosque: A Ramzan Diary
Thirteen Days: The Cuban Missile Crisis

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