An evening in Baixa

The previous post in this series is here..

After our guide dropped us off in Baixa, our first stop was the Elevator. San told me that standing in line to go up that elevator was not worth it. So we walked up the steps to the streets above and got pictures.. when we walked back down it was early evening and there was an intense craving for chai and desi food. We did not get a good read of the map. So we ate at the first indian food we could find. It was decent food but we simply could not sit inside the restaurant as it had a weird smell. Later we learned that there are places with nicer seating and less smoke.

Then we decided to walk all the way to the other end of the main road to the water front. I had a tough time catching up to my wife as she was running everywhere and my ability to follow was limited by the number of butter naans that had been consumed. It was an amazing evening with the sky putting on a show for us at the waterfront.

After spending an hour or so taking pictures and watching the street performers, we walked back to our hotel.

A video highlight reel ..

We were going on an all day packaged tour the following day. So we went to sleep early. My local tourguide had already visited two of the three places we were going to see and had already started describing it to me!

Our first day in Portugal was a hit !

You will be fine!

It has been 6 weeks since I stopped drinking water during Yoga class. When I started to give up water during class, thought that it was going to be incredibly difficult.

Over the last few weeks (did miss two weeks during travel) always thought that there will be that "one class" which would get me to run back to that water fountain outside the class. So far, so good.

Think my mind knows now that as long as there was a glass of water 30 minutes before class, everything will be fine a good 30 minutes after class is over. Like Mary Jarvis had predicted on the 18th of March..... "you will not die if you stop drinking water during class. you will be fine!"

This is like starting to drive a battery car for the first time. Initially you have range anxiety. You are not sure if you can go to a place and get back. There is always some variability on the mileage depending on how fast or slow you go locally, which in the Yoga room is equivalent to not giving every pose a 100% in a stupid attempt to "conserve sweating" which is actually counter productive. You know there is no "nearest gas tank" where you can fill up and continue on a battery car.. Eventually when you get the hang of the routes you travel and know your speed, you stop having range anxiety. You know you will be fine. 

What is the worse that can happen? you stop on the side of the road and have to call AAA? You are exhausted on the yoga mat and the teacher has to drag you out by your feet? (well, that has not happened to me yet... but a teacher did joke to a first timer that they should always have their feet towards the door during class and when asked why, replied "that is in case you die here and we have to drag your body out. it is easier feet first towards the door"... the teacher said it with a straight face and everyone burst out laughing)

It has been an interesting month. Two weeks in Asia. First week on business trip, followed by a quick Chennai visit for my nephews "upananayanam" or "Janeu" ceremony. It was a great experience. I was the only one representing the four of us. My sister came as well and after four years my parents got to be in the same roof with all three kids even if it was only for three days. 

My sister and me with parents, while my brother is performing the ceremony on stage in the background. The photo of the five of us was not taken on my camera! So I have to wait for it...

Did manage to take a shot of my mom with all her siblings. The last time I managed that shot was in 2005 when my Grandfather got married to my grandma all over again at the age of 80!

13 years later my uncle has lost a lot of weight and looks like a concentration camp survivor and my mom and aunts have all put on weight and have some kind of health issue or another. They are all smiling and going about their lives and while that makes me happy, wish they would all take up some form of regular exercise. Was giving them the "never too late, never too old, never too sick..." spiel but it did not go very well. 

My grandma is still around and tack sharp!

As soon as I got back home, San and the little one went to India to represent the family at her cousins wedding. There was  no time to catch up on social media or do anything other than manage to go through the routine while getting over jet lag. Made it to Yoga almost every night after coming back, even if it meant going very late in the night. Hats off to all those single parents who come to Yoga class. Now I know why they pick the late night class. 

We had a lot of discussion during the India trip on the impact of my deciding to settle in the US, how time and space can be hard barriers, but how family still holds together thanks to culture and tradition etc. The thread ceremony marks a boy's commitment to learning the scriptures. My brother and myself had our ceremony at the same time and it was a big experience for me. Somehow the meaning of the word "responsibility" came into consciousness after that ceremony. Till then I was happy playing cricket with the boys and I-spy with the boys and girls in Sambandham street without any awareness of the fact that I was not going to be a kid forever. Glad there was a ceremony like that to slap you into life!

There is no such thing for girls and my mother was telling me that the next big function for me was Jr's wedding...

It was great to watch my nephew go through this experience and suddenly tansform into a big boy and start to learn.. with the Gayathri mantra! He has excellent pronunciation and hopefully he gets to improve his memory by reciting things by heart over time. If he keeps up the breathing exercise that is half the yoga done already!

Clicked this one right at the end of the function. The Narayanan family has successfully passed on a male tradition to the next generation! Looks like the boy has the weight of the world on his shoulders and he might as well have. Passing on a quest for learning and questioning and understandign go a long way to the betterment of the world. The most important thing one needs to learn is "how to learn". Everything follows.

Next will be time to pass on female traditions a few years from now..

I had an amazing time paticipating in a function after so many years in India, taking pictures, chatting with relatives, catching up, and most importantly playing with my nephew and niece. 

Instagram filters were a big hit with my niece.. every 10 minutes she would come to me and go "Periappa, doggie ears photo pannalamaa?"  Think we exhausted every filter..

During the INdia trip, I avoided a lot of things that are usual. Said no to "ghee" for the most part, restricted myself to "small portions" of food (as small as my mom would allow) and avoiding a lot of fried stuff. That actually made life easier after coming back. 

All said and done "I am fine!" as is the family.

Barking dogs and curry plants

A joke my dad would tell us (which I did not understand for a long time as a kid)...

Two men are standing at the gate outside a house, where there is a dog in plain sight.
Man 1: Look the dog is barking loudly. Don't you know the saying "Barking dogs Seldom Bite!". Open the gate and go in!
Man 2: You know that, I know that. Does the dog know that?

Something similar happened in our house recently. We have been taking care of a "curry leaf" plant for the last six months. Prior to this plant, we had three curry plants (all about 3-4 inches tall) which were brought all the way from Houston, Texas. After taking care of those plants for a full three years (shuttling it indoors in the nights and in winter to avoid killing them when temperatures go below 60F!), we managed to grow them to a full 4-5 inches! Not kidding you here. Do not know the magic formula for growing a curry plant.

The latest plant has grown a full 2 inches in six months and that is refreshing. We water the plant sparingly, don't put anymore tea leaves into the pot, give it a dash of Miracle grow, etc. etc. The plant gets better treatment than the people, fishes in the house. Even Jr. and the little one remind the adults to keep the plant in the sun during the day and bring it inside the house during the night.

San came to the kitchen this morning beaming. She was also humming some tunes. On questioning her, it came to light that she had been singing to the most pampered person in the house, the curry plant!

She had heard that singing to plants makes them grow better. My response was "You know that and I know that, but does the plant know that?"

Then I thought "Oh my god, she is singing in aba-swaram! (off key). What if the plant does hear her song and wilt or die?" and went on to find out that I had been thinking aloud!

Let us just say that the comment was not received very well and lot of amends had to be made!

Did I tell you that I am married to a nightingale?

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