The 10 Minute Job

In our recent lockdown, or the one before this- we are loosing count and clarity whether we are under lockdown or not with so many iterations of rules , relaxing and getting tighter over weekends – my nephew, Sajit, showed me a way to view small jobs or chores with a less prejudiced eye.

Whenever I said, something needs to be done; he would say ‘It sounds like a 10 minute job or a 5-minute job.’ And that would really give me some clarity.

This job is do -able. I don’t have to sigh over it and postpone it. The task will be get done in 10 minutes and I can get on with the rest of my life which looks pleasurable from here.

This perspective was applied liberally to many household chores from dishwashing to cooking to cleaning and even phone calls! And for going out and doing things that I would like to postpone. Just an hour.

Once I saw that the job would take away only 10 minutes, deciding to do it and starting wasn’t so hard. And I would have the satisfaction of having ‘done it’.

And so the thought process has stayed with me and grown. I don’t procrastinate so much. After all, its only 15 minutes. Even if its cleaning the floor.

Whew! Thaana serntha kootam!

In mid April , I went to visit my father who wasn’t too well. My sister, daughter and family, nephews; all, came to see him in the hope of cheering him up.

The government suddenly announced a lockdown and all 9 of us, got locked in together for a couple of months. Luckily, its a largish house, with space enough outside to play and a terrace to relax in. With different ages, 5 – 96, we all needed breathing space to both be together and to be alone.

The Group

Only, Rakesh, my son in law, was technically working. For the rest of us, time got divided between cooking, washing up ( there was always lots of it), trying to keep Mia entertained, and of course, Entertainment from the net.

It was a glorious time although like most good times- you don’t realize how good a place you are in, until you leave and then look back in nostalgia.

Meal times were the meeting times. With lots of discussion going on. A large part of it about other meals to be cooked. Who who would cook and when. We tried taking turns, having schedules. The young people though, don’t like a lot of structure. We ate well, as there was nothing much else going on and there were a large number of young people including 2 youngish boys, who ate .. a lot!

Rakesh when asked later about the lessons he learnt during this time, quipped.. ‘ to turn up quickly when a cake is being made. otherwise, you don’t get any’.

So we did learn a few things.. the main being tolerance and non judgement as far as possible. To live in a teenaged kind of mess, happily ignore it, and get on with being happy with each other.

Wisdom comes from Life

“Can’t you give me brains? asked the Scarecrow.

You don’t need them. You are learning something everyday. A baby has brains, but it doesn’t know much. Experience is the only thing that brings knowledge, and the longer you are on earth the more experience you are sure to get.”

L. Frank Baum, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

As I get older, is hard to be open to new experiences. But I hope to , and record my journey here.

Life lessons- No 3

When you want something to get done  but other people have all the skills, and you seem to have none ;start anyway.
People will usually step in to help once they see you’ve made some moves.

K kept asking all the people in the house to find her a washing machine to buy.  But no one did anything.

She went to-a couple of shops to look. She riffled through Amazon. Then told us about it.

Then we got interested. S went through a couple more sites. I went to a couple more shops with K. There was some discussion.

Things started moving.

Expecting others to do 100% doesn’t start anything unless you’re paying them.

 

LIFE’S LESSONS – NO 2

5 Lessons learnt from Mia in 2020

1 ) You can enjoy any  activity and have fun doing it.
Don’t be too serious about it.

2) Favorites can keep changing. You can go back to them
sometime.

3) You don’t have to be perfect.  There are times when you are imperfect in the way you look or dress or create or Do. And It’s all okay.

4) When you think you can’t do something; then use your Smart Brain to tell yourself You Can. Think of ways to do it.

5) Ask for what you want. Keep asking till you get it.

# 3 was probably imbibed from parents and # 4 from School.

Life’s Lessons -No 1

Go with the flow without resisting too much.

Life patterns change and you find yourself, suddenly living in a new place or with more family members. Schedules which have been built up over many years fall apart quickly. The spaces earmarked to exercise or read or write may not be available when you want them.   Meals are different. Friends become distant people. You may not be able to indulge in your favorite pastimes or have time for yourself.  

 Things keep changing. So find your peace today with what is. Adjustment is the governing principle.  Being cheerful is paramount. And that can only come from some inner area that says ‘ This is fine. Another learning curve life is throwing at me. Wake up and handle it well’.

There may be times when you think Oh God, I just want to read a book, or lie down and do nothing. or watch a movie, undisturbed. You had that in the past and it will come again.

Doing My own thing is what I missed a lot of in 2020. But, like NOW, when I do have the time, there seem to be large gaps between wanting to do and actually doing. There is the frazzle of what to focus on. What’s most important to me?  Having the time doesn’t mean I’m setting about creating a lovely garden or writing a book or painting masterpieces.

The ability to accept what is happening right now and to go with it cheerfully, is a key skill to contentment.

Getting Ready – EARLY!!

Before everything else, getting ready is the secret to success. – Henry Ford

The time to repair the roof is when the sun is shining. – John F Kennedy

“Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.” Abe Lincoln

…and so on..

Lots of people and it seems , very successful people have given their slant on being prepared.

Well, here is mine:

Being prepared days before an event –  IT FEELS GREAT!!!

I  could add bells and ribbons and balloons. It feels so good.

The event that found me prepared days before was the Annual Mission Sale at Ooty. A small local event , attended by locals only ..since they don’t advertise. We had a lot of books from our library to sell .

I had sorted out the books over a week, Left to my basic ‘things-will-happen’ instincts, I would have packed them the night before. But, my maid was going on leave. And then, who would lug the boxes up the stairs?

So, I was driven to pack the boxes a week before the date! This for a person who packs the night before travel.

Preparation really feels great. And may the feeling last long enough to to get the worm to turn and turn and keep moving !

P.S: Yes, we sold a lot of books!

Fourth for this Week

It had to be the Pudumund Marlimund Road today.  We lived on this road long ago but never ventured too far down the road. Of course it had grown and changed. Lots of small houses around Forest Gate , each with its set of drums and basins and tubs kept ready to catch the water tanker . The road stretched and curved  beyond the fork to Anikorai into more pastoral reaches.

Houses became more  scattered. While the presence of large bungalows with glimpses of colourful gardens added grace. Suddenly at one corner  opposite Adyar House was the brightly painted  police station of Pudumund. At the side were a dozen bashed and broken up cars , swept up from Ooty’s roads.

Somewhere there had to be the Marlimund lake, for which the road was named. Probably dry and swampy. Still I had to see it. And discover it I did. A beautiful sweep of water near the small dam. At the back, where waters must have collected from springs and rain, cows grazed peacefully on the green cover. Even the pipe drawing water from the reservoir stood 2 feet above the water level.

Lets hope and pray and believe in the good monsoon,  predicted.

Third Day

‘Go around the lake ma’, suggested my daughter. Right around being rather ambitious for me I thought I would walk on the less crowded , far side of the lake.

Starting a little further down from the Arboretum which the tourist vans seem to have discovered, I walked down the road, which ran parallel to the railway tracks for a short while.  Quiet prevailed as I passed West Mere, where we’d stayed as children; host to a hundred memories, looking rather forgotten now.

Further on was the Deer Park, barred and barbed , allowing no one to get past the bramble and undergrowth. Disturbing a young couple looking for quiet, I had to hurry on with glimpses of the lake through trees and wire. Finally there was the second Boat house with colour and sound .

Time to turn back.

Second Day

Zoning in on a quiet,  level road to walk on Day 2, wasn’t too difficult. The road from Fernhill to Avalanche via Kundah has always been a  favorite. Smooth to drive on, tracts of cultivated land lining one side, passing through numerous small villages; this road leads to many interesting spots.

But since I was going to walk, it was doubtful whether I would reach even one.

Passing the bend at Cairn Hill, I met some monkeys  sipping water from a small muddy pool near the road left behind from the rains. They eyed me warily while they pushed each other aside for their turn.

Later, I met some cows grazing happily at the side of the road. Besides us, there were no other pedestrians on the road, it being more of a highway. On one side were verdant green tea fields and on the other, fields being freshly sown for the next crop.

Further on was a carrot washing shed. Always delightful to watch the carrots go in muddy and come out a fresh orange. Why dont’ they do it for radish or potatoes ??

30 minutes later, I was gazing on the slopes of Mullikorai., a prosperous looking hamlet. A stream flowed through the valley below cutting through fields of cabbage and carrot. The school was freshly painted and gleamed in the evening sunshine.

The charm of small houses always attracts the eye. Brightly painted, the areas outside swept clean and tamped down,  the bare sparseness speaks of simple living and one imagines, contentment.

On my way back as I crossed the Bhavanieaswari temple;  I watched a mother sitting outside the house attached to the temple, in sweet ease with her children . How many mothers Ive heard , wishing to live again  those  simple, busy days  when their children were young and life less complicated , although life’s material riches are now more in abundance.