Never did I think that one day I would have to make a strict timetable of sorts to ‘watch and consume news updates’.
Apparently my grandpa feels like watching COVID-19 related news so much each day that we barely get to watch anything else on our television!
How does your family take in the news updates?
— Suri
What are Quarantine Musings? Just some random, trivial, light-hearted (or maybe even deep?) thoughts that pass through my mind during these lockdown days.
It’s funny but I’m amazed at how I can still recognise people well, in spite of half their faces being covered by masks.
But what’s peculiar is that I’ve realized it only now, how much I have relied on the lip movements of others, to understand when I miss a word or two while listening.
Now that those lips are hidden under the masks, the only other thing we can expect is to speak louder and clearer.
— Suri
What are Quarantine Musings? Just some random, trivial, light-hearted (or maybe even deep?) thoughts that pass through my mind during these lockdown days.
” गजब का है दिन, सोचो जरा
ये दीवानापन, देखो जरा
तुम हो अकेले, हम भी अकेले
मजा आ रहा है, कसम से, कसम से “
Someone in our neighbourhood is trying to make our Sunday afternoon pleasant by singing such old Hindi melodies on the karaoke. I cannot see the person who’s singing, but the selection of his songs are enough to let the Bollywood buffs come spilling out from inside all of us. We’ve heard him sing earlier in the last week, a couple or more times, during our dinner. But today his volume was a teeny bit higher so we could hear him even more clearly.
Do you have any such stories of lockdown in your neighbourhood- wherein you notice people around you are doing something that’s out of the ordinary?
— Suri
What are Quarantine Musings? Just some random, trivial, light-hearted (or maybe even deep?) thoughts that pass through my mind during these lockdown days.
Oh look who visited me after a long, long time the other day! I wonder if he read my recent post: Quarantine Musings #1. He even stayed on my window a good 20 minutes or so, as if to ask my whereabouts during these times. I forgave him for not visiting me earlier (hahaha!) and also fed him a morsel of rice and a piece of chapati.
— Suri
What are Quarantine Musings? Just some random, trivial, light-hearted (or maybe even deep?) thoughts that pass through my mind during these lockdown days.
Some state, “You’re lucky”,
But I feel that sometimes, we’re just in the right place at the right time;
When we trust the process, nature gives its fruits.
Yes, there are risks and obstacles,
But in the end – You. Live. Your. Life. Completely!
With the pains, struggles, hardwork
And with love, confidence, persistence;
We grow, and grow and grow-
Till we become invincible.
— Suri
What are Quarantine Musings? Just some random, trivial, light-hearted (or maybe even deep?) thoughts that pass through my mind during these lockdown days.
Birds still sing the same song – everyday – at the same time.
I wonder if they even miss us?
– Suri
What are Quarantine Musings? Just some random, trivial, light-hearted (or maybe even deep?) thoughts that pass through my mind during these lockdown days.
I hope you are happy, wherever you are.
If not, I hope you take the efforts,
To make yourself happy;
To enable your mind to stay calm;
And help it take sound decisions.
– Suri
How are you all? I’m back here after more than half a year! Ahhh, it feels so long! I’ve missed you lovely folks so so much. Take care.
I’ve always enjoyed looking up and gazing at the sky, be it the day or the night sky. During my childhood days, I lived in the suburbs of Mumbai, where there was less light pollution than in the cities. And that meant clearer skies.
We lived in a bungalow, so I had the entire terrace to myself. I used to lie down and gaze into the night sky with my pet dog for company (Remember Sweety? I’ll link up the posts related to her here, if you want to know more about her: https://twinklespark.wordpress.com/category/dog-days/ ). I remember one day my mom told me about a meteor shower that was about to occur the next night. She read about it in a newspaper. I was so excited and couldn’t wait! When the time had come, I went up to the terrace, spread the mattress in its usual spot, lied down and waited. Nothing. My mom joined me after a while. After sometime she pointed at a shooting star, I missed it. She pointed at another one in a few minutes, this time I saw something pass by from the corner of my eye, but only a glimpse. There was nothing for a long time after that. Just as we were about to get up, I spotted a shooting star! Ah, I was so happy! That was the first time I had clearly noticed a shooting star. I was about 7 or 8. I remember how I was glad to have seen a shooting star, but dejected to (apparently) not having seen a meteor shower after waiting for so long! Maybe we were looking in the wrong direction? Or maybe I had imagined so much more- I used to think meteor showers were more like a visible, horrific attack of meteors and asteroids on the Earth!
When I was a little older, say 10 or so, there was news about how a crescent moon, Jupiter and one other planet I don’t remember which now (possibly Mars?), would be so close to each other and in such a pattern that these three together would be resembling a ‘smiling face’. I did observe it and grew so fascinated by this marvel of universe that I asked my mom to call up my cousin so that he could watch it too, from some other part of the city.
When I was 12, my parents got me an Encyclopaedia and I remember jumping directly to the Astronomy section first, reading and gulping down everything I could and then moving onto the other sections.
These were some of the earlier days about how I got interested in the study of astronomy. I’m planning to post my experiences related to this field in a form of a series. Would you like that, or do you prefer some other way? Do let me know.
Do you like gazing into the sky? Does the workings of the universe fascinate you as well?
-Suri
P.S.: I crossed 1k followers on this blog last month, yayy!! Thank you so much for the love, you guys! I know I had been really inactive past couple of months, but I’ll try and make up for it!
Hello fellow bloggers!
Have you ever participated in any Readathon? I’ve never done it before. But well, I’m participating in one right now, the 24in48 readathon which is an international readathon. Check their site for more details: https://24in48.com/social-landing-page/ you can still sign up now. Prizes will be awarded only for those who sign-up.
The goal of this readathon is to complete 24 hours of reading over the weekend i.e. in these two days- Saturday and Sunday which is 48 hours, we have to read upto 24 hours. The number of books we read, the genre and the type of books that we want to read can be selected by us. Even if we don’t complete the full 24 hours, we still devote our time to reading, right? So that’s a win-win.
I’m currently reading Circe by Madeline Miller. I’ve read numerous reviews about the book but not one negative feedback. So I’ve decided to read it during the readathon.
It’s been so long since I’ve had a casual post like this on my blog. Just to talk with you guys! How is everyone?
Do you read poetry? Do you write poetry ?
I had read the first half of this book, Gitanjali, many years ago; but never finished the book. To those who don’t know, Rabindranath Tagore is greatly revered in India for his writings.
This book, which is basically a collection of his poems, was originally written in Bengali. While reading the first half, I came to a stage where I just couldn’t move forward, not because his writings aren’t good; but because they are so good that I wanted to read them in the original Bengali language. I am of the opinion that some part of the content always gets lost in translation and I didn’t want to miss out on anything. But alas, I’m neither a Bengali nor do I know how to speak/ write Bengali. Conclusion? I’ve never read the second half of it in hopes of learning Bengali first which I never did. But I’m planning to read this book all over again, as part of the 24in48 readathon if I complete Circe first (which I genuinely doubt).
Have you ever came across the translation of a book and felt the need to learn a completely new language because you wanted to read the original copy?
Another poetry book which I’ve wanted to read since a long, long time is Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman.
On other note, I’m so close to 1k followers on my blog! The feeling is surreal. I’m really happy and glad to know that people read and like my writings. Thank you so much for your love. 💕
P.S.: As I publish this post, I’ve officially completed 6 chapters of Circe and clocked in 4.5 hours of the readathon. There’s still time to join in the readathon. It’s super fun! 😋🎉
Link of 24in48 readathon: https://24in48.com/social-landing-page/
– Suri
Sitting quietly by the windowsill, I was watching the colony of tiny ants, patiently carrying cubes of sugar, lining up in a queue and walking slow but steady. My eyes follow their path down from the windowsill through the curvy pipes and then straight into the grass. The grass is fresh but in need of water. I went inside to grab a jug of water. As I was pouring water into the potted plants, I broke a sweat. I had hardly done any work! Yet the heat of summers along with the humidity in Mumbai is enough to be soaked in sweat within minutes.
I was longing for the rain. We all do it, right? Towards the end of summers, when the degrees soar up insanely, we all know who to wait for. Especially in Mumbai, where winters are dull and summers are hot, our only saviour is the rain. That’s the one thing which we have in abundance!
It’s quiet tonight. Rains have already arrived in the southern parts of India, slowing traversing it’s way upwards. The thought of rain excites me. Of course, I’m not fond of the thunder which follows the rain.
Our relatives from countryside have already notified us about the arrival of rain at their place. It’s so close now. I can totally feel it. It was breezy some time ago but now it’s even more windy. And it’s considerably cooler now. Signs of rain. It’s night time, so I cannot actually see the clouds clearly, but I’m sure it’s cloudy as no star is visible.
I hope it rains tonight. I hope it lowers the temperature.
Dear Rainy Day,
I’m Waiting In Anticipation. Come Soon.
Yours Truly,
Suri
– Suri
TwinkleSpark 