A quaint little watch shop in Indiranagar is the go to place for getting my watch repaired from over a decade . There is Some comfort , I like them . No jazz , no unwanted talk and empty most times . I walk in with my quota of watches , oh yes! I accumulate watches and then fix them 😉
I went and handed over all my watches and said “cell” please . He picked them up and got busy fixing them behind the counter and I had nothing to do so rummaging through my thoughts , wondering how boring his life is , wondering how he must be whiling away time that too from over a decade.. Etc etc
Just then a family walks in a father , mother , 3 daughters and 2 son- in-laws and this was my assumption looking at them interact .. Then I realised I was right just that one was son- in- law to be . Basically uncle brought him into the shop and said buy the watch you want and the guy was embarrassed . He kept trying to bail himself out but aunty and uncle coaxing him to select . I see him scan the watches for a moment and another moment ask his fiancée to select . It was a mammoth task for her , she was so coy and kept looking around . The guy finally was cornered by the MIL and FIL and forced to select while the elder son in law who was on a call outside barges in and selects watches in a jiffy . Every watch the guy selects the uncle makes sarcastic comments . Oh! That dial is big , oh that’s like a liquor bottle ad et al . Meanwhile the bride to be spots a watch and shows her brother in law who brushes her aside and says no gold! Che! She quips and hangs her head down . Finally the elder son – in – law takes the call , selects the watch and they tie it to his wrist and they walk out while the uncle is at the counter to pay . He grins and Tells the shop owner my future son- in- law , before marriage gift smile emoticon .. He bargains gets discount and walks out . One happy family smiling , chattering away faded into the streets .
My entertainment stopped I whined , again 2 young boys walk in may be in their teens . This one boy wants to buy a “chain watch” for his girl friend . He is busy scanning the women’s counter , while his friend commenting . He has a budget but doesn’t want to reveal .. They are smiling , giggling meanwhile calls his GF and says what did you say you want and she says chain watch . He scratches his head and again scans at the price tags . Chooses one and realises that is way beyond his budget and decides to leave along with his friend . Not before saying we will explore other shops . I say mental bye and wish them luck .
Then another man who is talking endlessly , breathlessly and convincing the shop keeper that the watch is genuine and so is his ID card . He gives his duplicate ID card and mentions Rado and says call me tomorrow and escapes ..
I then realised he actually has an interesting soap life . People walking in from different walks of life , talking , arguing , laughing , complaining and he chooses to be blank as a choice as he has acclimatised to the environment .
Just then he walks up to me , hands over my watches , I pay up and walk out smiling .
Pic Courtesy- Google
Author: bindugopinath
Hello There , I started writing on Facebook out of sheer passion , a passion that was harboured within me from the time I learnt to write . I started with poems which rhymes :) , i made a journal and hid it with me over years until I reached my teens to only destroy them for I felt they were silly .. I still penned down all my dark secrets, my pain , my happiness from the terrace of my home . I loved to scribble despite the fact that I had the worst handwriting on this planet(in my opinion).. I will always say thank you for technology else how will I have communicated to the world what I wanted to?
I finally created a hashtag #randomthoughts and started writing , later changed it to #mystory and realised people started liking them and began requesting me to write more .. So here I am only because of your love ,creating a blog to pen my thoughts .. I have been told by the super power that it is my purpose to keep others happy and that I have to do my bit to bring change and good. It is my personal responsibility and I hope I help one soul if not all and that will be happiness for me.
Here on this blog you will find stories that pop up in my little brain , some reviews of food as I believe food is us as we are made of food and few random thoughts :) , that word doesn't go away from me however I try .
While I am not writing or procrastinating to write I love to meditate, Enjoy learning about our body, cooking ,fitness and reading. I am a hopeless dreamer , love to eat and travel , believe music is life and love to laugh(giggle is appropriate) ..
#TheWait
The wait ..
Wait for that someone ,
Wait for a companion,
Wait to be a part of the nature ,
Wait .. Continues …. #randomthoughts
Venue : Valparai
#Granted
I am an allergy rhinitis victim , i suffer almost every day .. I feel suffocated on most days .. I struggle to breathe on so many day and nights . It used to irritate me immensely as a teenager and it still does. I still hate this feeling as much as I hated it ages ago. I still suffer the same way I used to. I have seen so many people come and go out of my life and I have seen how their perception of my health changed . I used to dread going to the doctor alone, I used to pity myself al the times but things changed this allergy has taught me a BIG Lesson and I will remain eternally thankful to it for teaching me that :
Nothing is constant , not love , not care not even sympathy 🙂 . It also taught me everyday is a new day , just because i was nice yesterday it doesn’t mean I don’t have to be nice today.
There was a time when people would rush and buy me medicines, would call and offer help,offer to make food, advise me to take care , make me feel good and gradually I realised the same people started looking through me , I was labelled a patient , sealed my fate and moved on with their chores . I was hurt, I wanted the same attention , I am unwell I said but it fell on deaf ears. I realised my battle is mine ..
It took a while for me to realise that it was never a deliberate attempt but its only human to take things for granted , how many times can anyone do the same thing? they did it the last time and then again . I realised that no one or nothing is constant . My suffering will remain with me, my health is my priority not anyone else’s .Intensity of my suffering has not changed but yes intensity of how others treat me changed..
Something struck me today and I wanted to pen this down. Its only us who has to be responsible for ourselves and we should never take ourselves for granted . I also learnt that over a period of time we learn to live with what we have , its just a matter of time .. Everything and everyone has a lesson to part with, we have to just listen ..
Achoooo! sorry that was a sneeze 🙂
#ASK
Asking for help : while I was walking one morning I saw these creepers and felt they were asking for help, extending their hand so that someone could hold it and give them direction .. It made me think .. In life all we need to do most times is “ask for help” but our egos are so BIG that we do not want to call out ..we have all the reasons why we shouldn’t ask for help ..
In my opinion asking for help only helps us learn and grow in the right direction .. Asking for anything whole heartedly only ensures that the universe brings it to us .. I believe asking is learning , winning , fulfilment. Asking is ensuring there is no regret in the future that we didn’t ASK 🙂
It’s ok to be weak at times .. It’s ok not to know the answer to some questions despite asking and it’s only Normal to be stuck at times ..
Let’s extend hands and Seek for help for the answer is waiting for us
Kadai Crust
A small restaurant tucked inside a building this was the old Mandarin if I am not mistaken and just before Nagarjuna on Indiranagar double road. Initially a colleague recommended to me stating that the south India meals is awesome there and I was like Kadai crust doesn’t mean south Indian hence didn’t visit for months and once again another colleague mentioned and I thought let me go and see . For someone like me who loves food and loves to try ,what will happen and why judge by a name I thought ? We(friends) visited and from then we visit several times in a week. Its a place which serves comfort food for us . Simplicity and there is no “soda” in the rice like my friends say 😉 . We feast on Sambhar , Rice and fish fry on most days and Prawn pepper , Dosa or Biriyani on others . I wanted to start my food blog with a really simple place with tasty food and lovely staff.
When you enter the place you will get to see a lot of post-its which are compliments , feedbacks , reviews by the regulars . Without much ado let me talk about the food 🙂
Images : The Sambhar is typical Tamil Nadu style and is very homely , the one in the image was raddish sambhar . The fish fry is done perfectly and it doesn’t smell. Ok here is the explanation while I am a sea food lover I cant stand the smell, I really hope some of you understand what I mean . . My smelling and tasting capabilities are very strong :), while all on the table might say no smell, I can find it and I am unsure this is a blessing or bane .The prawn pepper fry was ok as I am not a fan of batter fried food as feel meat has to be relished in its simplest form and batter is reserved for chinese . Lastly the egg biriyani which is very simple , not a shoo shah food .
The Dosa picture is missing and I would say its a must try as it reminds me of my amma’s kitchen.
I say this is an AYE place for me!
Their Address: No 197/A, Double Road, 2nd Stage, Indra Nagar, Bengaluru, Karnataka 560038
Phone:080 4207 4371
Happy Eating!
#TheSunGod
There he was amongst the clouds , playing peek a boo .. I was waiting for him to look at me and shine , wake me up and prepare me for the day. While I kept waiting my mind(monkey) drifted far far away may be beyond him and it said “ I think we should be like Sun” , he keeps us warm and is a reason for our existence. More of him can be dangerous and life threatening and that left me thinking. That is so true , Sun is a reason for our survival , his awakening in the morning is a feast to the eyes but during the day we cant make an eye contact with him.. He doesnt allow us to, he is very powerful but again in the evening he is a treat again .. Throwing hues of colours to the skies and making it delicious ..
I realised why they termed Sun ,God. He knows when to remain calm and no! we are not allowed to make eye contact with the powerful as he is beyond a human . Look at this image he is exhibiting his power through the rays .. Ray of hope.. Ray of life .. Calming yet loud .. Assuring me that he is there even while he is not seen . With this thought I snapped back to reality
Step out and soak in .. Always have a Sunny day 🙂
Pic courtesy : http://www.rohitvarma.com
#Now
In this busy world “now” is just another word , a word which is perhaps used without understanding the depth it carries. I have been making efforts to live in the “now” from a long time now, while I have not mastered the art yet , I still wanted to share what I know with few to whom it may matter . Oh by the way, that is my hand and the tattoo symbolises “Now” 🙂
The word “now” is powerful because that is all we have , we dont have yesterday or then …All we have is “now” .. We dont have tomorrow or later , its again just the now. What we want to do has to be done now, our life is now , its basically now or never . There is a reason why “now” is referred to as “present”, it is a gift that the Universe has bestowed upon us but wait! who has the time to understand that ? We have so much to do, errands to run , projects to finish , for some reason we humans believe that we have a guaranteed life span of 75 years and we will live life then . I get amused when people say 5 years later I plan to start travelling , my mind quickly plays a monkey and guffaws and tells me, ask your dear friend how does he know future? I hush him up and smile.
We postpone the good to the end , is it because we have grown up reading stories which says and “they lived happily ever after ? ” , are we living a life of a fairytale ? I really hope that comes true though..
There are simple ways of being in the present .
1.) concentrate on our breathing . Notice . Be there . It helps us realise how fragile our life is , it is working an a breath 🙂
2.) Take regular intervals in a day and say for 2 minutes just concentrate on the breath ,take nice long breath and just be
3.) when thoughts occur on our mind (monkey) about what happened in the past and what may happen in the future, just listen to the thoughts , understand what it has to say .. Don’t associate with it , but watch it and let it go …
4.) If a negative thought arises , listen to the thought and say this thought is trying to say something and understand the good part of it , the part for which the thought arrived and divert the attention towards it . Negative becomes positive in no time ..
5.) Make it a habit to listen to the mind chatter and recollect what it said and be aware of what it said and move on . This sharpens the awareness in us
I wanted to share what I know as this has helped me immensely and I am a believer that the more I share , the more I learn. If there is anything I can do or if there is anything you want to ask me about the “Now” , please feel free to email me on bindugopinath20@gmail.com
Stay in the Now!
Stay Happy!
#Thefisherwoman
She was busy fishing in her coracle ..
She was engrossed in her work .. Nothing around her seems to deter her , she was in her own world .. Concentrating , Giving her 100% and collecting the fishes as they bite the bait .. The look on her face told me that nothing will deter her from doing what she wants to do .. She had decided to make the most of her day! My mind said : A new day .. A new opportunity to do all that I couldn’t do yesterday .. I want to be like her , giving my 100% .. Busy reaping the benefits of all that I sow .. Who has time to waste on the unwanted, how does it matter what people around say .. It’s my life and I live it to the fullest .. Well! She was still busy fishing in her coracle 
#Buddha
This Buddha statue reached my desk from Bodhgaya , a gift . I have an affinity towards him .. Wherever I travel , whichever country it is , I get to visit him. He is a part of my life then , now and forever. My mornings at work start with a look at him , instant smile and the message that everything is impermanent appears on my mind.. A few words showing my gratitude to him, they came gushing ..
You are Peace, You are Love
You are Energy , You are Positivity,
You are an Inspiration , You are Motivation,
You are Tranquility , You are Happiness,
One glimpse at your serene expression, I become calm
One minute around you , i feel the pain vanish ..
Buddha! you have taught me to live ,
To give up greed ,jealousy and welcome peace ,
I cant thank you enough for transforming me
I live the “now” only because of you..
Bindu Gopinath 