Sorting out my grandparents' things, we come across all kinds of things. Expenses incurred during my father's wedding. Details of my father's birth - time, place, date. Hundreds of bank things. Greeting cards. Invitation cards. Newspaper articles.Here's one of many. Somehow, I don't seem to have it preserved. … [Read more...]
Rainbow!
For so long, for so many years, I've been looking at the sunshine and the rain and thinking, "The sky owes me a rainbow. It is too hot to wear a raincoat, but if I don't wear one, I'll get wet. The sky owes me a rainbow." But I didn't see one. For years.And then, suddenly yesterday, arching its way across the eastern sky, I saw one! As I watched, a small double rainbow emerged. My skin tingled. I watched it until it faded away, wondering how the people in the building far away felt - the ones who were in the rainbow.My heart was full. Somehow, I kept singing, "Will we have rainbows day after day? ... Here's what she said to me: Que sera, sera Whatever will be, will be ..."Happily, I hummed and sang. My day was made.And then, today, I saw one that was even more beautiful! A true, complete rainbow, with all seven identifiable colours, curving its way across the sky! Almost close … [Read more...]
Monsoon!
I love the rain. It's magical.My mother got three stems of lavender hibiscus from my grandmother and we dumped them in a mug of water. Days passed. Finally, when the leaves were wilted and the twig was mouldy, we felt guilty enough to stick them into a pot of mud. The next day, there were two bright green new leaves.And we have something else coming up, apart from our pink lilies and our spider lilies and our bamboo that thinks it's Jack's beanstalk.Brahmakamal buds! Monsoon makes everything rejoice in being alive! … [Read more...]
Website updated!
My website has been updated!Here's what's new -- My story Sacrifice is now on the home page as well as in 'Published Work'. It's now easy to access through my site!- For those who tried to read The Caravan of the Cultures of the World, the link to the story has been fixed.- On the 'Media' page, there are two new additions + 'Awards and Recognition' now includes the TFA longlist 2014 + 'Print and Web' has the article from "Business India", Writing in their GenesIt's time to revisit varshaseshan.com … [Read more...]
Theory of Knowledge – Mathematics
Planning my Theory of Knowledge class on Mathematics as an Area of Knowledge, I realise again what a strange mixture of art and maths I am! How I enjoy mathematics! Yet, I realise how much can be challenged. Is mathematics associated with beauty? What is the focus of mathematics – reliability, validity, certainty or truth? What is the point of mathematics? Is mathematics, as a system, a simplistic reduction of the world into categories that do not really exist? Is the study of integration/derivatives/imaginary numbers/irrational numbers a meaningful contribution to human knowledge?Thinking along these lines, I realised that in mathematics, context is often irrelevant. We discussed three examples that the class enjoyed thoroughly.Mathematics is the only subject in which you can buy 32 watermelons and no one will ask 'why'.“If you have three oranges and four apples in one hand and … [Read more...]
A Dream
Last night, I had a dream.My sister and I were walking through old streets towards a tall block of flats. Beyond the building was a meadow. The grass was tall, gleaming in the sunshine.The two of us sat down on a bench nearby. "How wonderful it would be to live in a flat there, overlooking the meadow with grass that is waist-high!"Suddenly, a creature glistening with sweat ran through the grass. It was scurrying on all fours, almost hidden in the tall grass. As it turned, we saw the gleaming dark grey tail, flat like a beaver's, but huge, much taller than a man.Moments later, a large blue bulldog appeared in the grass and flew onto the beaver's back. Enraged, the beaver reared up on its hind legs. Undaunted, the bulldog too stood on its hind legs and the two were of the same height. They fought like bears, hugging, circling, growling.My sister and I watched, amazed. The blue … [Read more...]
Musée des Beaux Arts
I've been thinking of this all morning. Loss and suffering exist in astonishingly closed cabins, shut off from the world. Here is Musée des Beaux Arts by Auden. A classic.About suffering they were never wrong, The old Masters: how well they understood Its human position: how it takes place While someone else is eating or opening a window or just walking dully along; How, when the aged are reverently, passionately waiting For the miraculous birth, there always must be Children who did not specially want it to happen, skating On a pond at the edge of the wood: They never forgot That even the dreadful martyrdom must run its course Anyhow in a corner, some untidy spot Where the dogs go on with their doggy life and the torturer's horse Scratches its innocent behind on a tree.In Breughel's Icarus, for instance: how everything turns away Quite leisurely from the disaster; the ploughman … [Read more...]
Another Foggy Day
It was not a cold morning, so when I reached school, I was more than a little surprised to see that it resembled a hill-station once more. Once again, there was no school.I stepped out of the warm bus and was astounded to see that when I breathed, there was steam coming out of my nostrils! Perhaps it's necessary to mention here that sometimes, when everyone else can create steam by breathing out, I often can't. My breath, I've concluded before, simply is not warm enough."Good morning," two colleagues greeted me.I was still so caught up with the smoke coming out from my nostrils that I did not even think about my unconventional response to their greeting. "Good morning, I feel like a dragon!" … [Read more...]
Con Person
I felt like a con-person the other day at the airport. Every con-artist finds a way to function; I could have stumbled upon one too.I was in the car, dropping my grandparents to the airport. As soon as we reached, I jumped out of the car, ready to go to the airline counter to get wheelchair assistance for my grandfather. I know how irritating it is to have a car standing in the same place, blocking the entrance to the airport. I wanted to avoid that.Standing at the airline counter, I watched the driver unload my grandparents' luggage and arrange it on a trolley. A niggling thought rose to my head; I pushed it away.My grandparents got out of the car; I watched them. A part of me knew I should go to them, but I was waiting for the wheelchair.Finally, the gentleman with the wheelchair appeared. He helped my grandfather into the chair. I pushed the luggage trolley, while my … [Read more...]
Expectations
Theory of Knowledge challenges the way we know, and I wanted to show how we see what we expect to see. Of course, these are old, old ideas, but they were fun anyway!I showed my class this picture: "What does it say?" I asked. "Paris in the spring!" "Are you sure?" I asked several students. In a class of over twenty, only one - and eventually one more - disagreed. Then, I asked a student to identify the picture: "Six of hearts!" came a reply. It took just a few seconds for another student to object, but my point of seeing what you expect to see was established! … [Read more...]