Underwent a 4 month check up after the bypass. Docs gave me a thumbs up and most parameters are better. Kidneys and heart are improving. Liver is stable. Most numbers seem ok. Haemoglobin is a low and needs some meds. Eyes and skin are still dry and need attention. This is because of chronic graft versus host interactions. There are long term implications that can be ameliorated with some tablets now.
I now trudge 5-6 kms a day. It is so cherished. The freedom of walking is exhilarating. I come back tired as hell, but after experiencing many a Mandela moment. Naresh eating noodles with Nelson.
Couple of dances at a wedding suggested that a muscle grew somewhere. A couple more moves at Amitas 50th birthday told me the sighting was not phantom. And I let it rip at the new years . Rocked the retro dance floor. Good enuf to get a few compliments. The mightiness of the universe in all its glory. This cripple danced.
Have (re) started enjoying beer and wine. Beer explodes in my mouth; every bubble kissing my pallet. A sip of red wine makes me to close my eyes, almost like I do not want anyone to share this moment with me, and allow my throat to be pampered. Who said deprivation is no good.
My energy levels are good. Often I find myself just doing something (walking briskly to open the door, rising with conviction to answer a phone call, talking on the phone and walking etc…) and looking back and acknowledging the milestone.
My gramma died at the age of 99. It was not that difficult to accept her death – after all she had outlived most of her contemporaries. She was a frail opinionated feisty character. Extremely knowledgeable and very unemotional. She suffered in the oppressive times of the 1900’s for them types of women. Am sure she will be back in modern times and kick some fanny. It was touching to hear that her eyes were donated .. remarkable lady who played by her rules.
Amita had her 50th birthday. Was terrific with the kids around. It is tough to get used to having a 50 year old wife! With my pants fitting, a upscaled wardrobe and dance moves, I get a lot of compliments now from lovely girls. I reassured Amita that I will stick with her. Her response was disappointing to say the least – she was not exactly bubbling with gratefulness!!!
Here is a good joke that I received on whatsapp;
If you don’t like your husband, Why don’t you just leave him and Go!!!!!
Answer from the wife “I don’t like doing anything that will make him happy…!!!
Musings
I was processing the plane crash that took away the lives of so many young footballers in South America. I cried when I read that one of the survivors, the goalkeeper, who died in the hospital today , had this to say – ‘ Jesus, Look after my family. Take my breath away. My friends in heaven need a goalkeeper’. I have had many an interesting conversation with Ashwin and how he managed my illness. He has gone from rejecting God, then being angry with God to being open to the possibility that a super natural power exists. I used an interesting experience I had after the above incident to further this conversation with him. I told Ashwin that soon after becoming emotional about the plane crash; I found myself swatting a fly and nailing it. Looking at the dead mosquito, I realized that I never asked whether the mosquito had a family or was she a goal keeper. The world was great from my standpoint, but a devastating moment for the mosquito and her family. Maybe, sometimes, the mosquito is the question and the answer.
Someone asked me again how I spend my time and the right words finally came out. I spend lots of time in wonder. In awe of the magnificence of the universal power. Observing the tricks, the magic, the rationality and the irrationality, the conundrums and the benevolence , the grace and the curses.
Maybe this is what the great Indian poet Kabir meant when he wrote
Brother I have seen some astonishing sights;
A lion keeping watch over pasturing cows;
A guru prostrated before his disciple;
Fish Spawning on rooftops;
A cat carrying away a dog;
A gunny sack driving a bullock cart;
A buffalo going out to graze sitting on a horse;
A tree with its branches in the earth, its roots in the sky;
A tree with flowering roots.
This verse says Kabir,
Is your key to the universe.
He goes on …
How do you?, asks the chief of police.
Patrol a city where the butcher shops are guarded by vultures
Where bulls are pregnant, cows are barren and the calves give milk thrice a day
Where frogs keep snakes as watchdogs
And Jackals go after lions
Does anyone know
What I am talking about
Says Kabir
Sharing
“How to sit” is a beautiful book by Thich Nhat Hanh. The book had me with the title. I did not even have to read the book. The title – in its colossal simplicity – had me hooked completely.
Here is an excerpt;
When we sit, we bring joy and nourishment to ourselves and to others. Everytime we sit, we can sit in a way that the world can profit from our sitting. We are solid. We are relaxed. We are calm. We are happy while sitting. We sit as if we are sitting on a lotus flower, not on a heap of burning charcoal.
Another book worth a read is “My Gita” by Devdutt Patnaik. A scholarly attempt at making Gita relevant to the modern day world. Great piece of work.
Noodles with Naresh 