Snail mail challenge- new connections from slowing down

When Shailaja of The Moving Quill blog http://shailajav.wordpress.com/- the erudite and wordily theatrical hostess of B-A-R (Blog-A-Rhythm, a bloggers group) announced a Snail mail challenge my heart leapt with joy and I signed up for it in breath.
         Nostalgia kicked in and took me down the remembered joy of holding onto pretty letter pads, envelopes and stickers to embellish my letters with. Numerous known and unknown (pen pals) people have been written to and received letters from about a decade and a half back with unparalleled excitement and relish.
        Writing was a joy and then posting the letter and waiting for the reply was an even greater one. Anticipation is such a positive feeling in this experience and the post man was a sight for sore eyes then :)
       
The mystery element in the challenge made it even more enticing. One didn't know who one was receiving the letter from.

I had to write to Inderpreet who blogs at Eloquent Articulation http://www.inderpreetkaur.blogspot.in/
The first thing to do was of course dig around and find an old old letter pad ( I knew I had one somewhere). I found it finally and began to write covering some things about me some things about Inder, which is what I have been calling her virtually and generally trying to forge a connection. Writing with pen and paper was interesting and my handwriting did not come out v nicely and there were scratched out letters and words here and there. However I prettified the end with a couple of stickers borrowed from my daughter who was very pleased to see me use stickers as blithely as her :)

I posted the letter and sat tight wondering and waiting.

Inder could not hold herself from posting a picture of the letter I sent, on the group as soon as she received it and her obvious excitement made me v happy :)
The sweet girl wrote me a reply which I loved reading through.

For the other part I saw an email from Shilpa Halwe/Gupte who blogs at http://shilpaview-ideas2.blogspot.com.au/ who had no other option but to reveal to me that she had written me a letter. Her husband had couriered it for her and the letter had reached Australia. The courier people however needed my phone number....After the initial email there was a flurry of mails and fb messages between us till ten days later the courier guy finally managed to make the delivery.

I read and re-read her letter savoring the tastes of the new connection. Shilpa and I did not know each other at all earlier and it was good getting to know a little about her life. We chatted on fb and exchanged some more information soon after :) I began to write a reply and am still sitting halfway with that. I will post it soon Shilpa :)

I am sure we will stay connected one way or the other and if not letters it will be nice even to write personal emails or fb messages in the future.

Slowing down is the essence of a happy life to me and the snail mail challenge was one more reminder of how much beauty there is when there is no instant gratification :) This brought me back memories and will help in making more memories. Both Inder and Shilpa came across as warm hearted, loving, lively ladies with a penchant for the written word. Looking forward to knowing you better and many other bloggers who are all a heartwarming bunch of thinking people <3 br="">

Branding-gimmicks and Yoga

Let's plunge to the heart of the matter- Yoga is yoga. Period.

This has been a-brewing a long while in my being. 

It is a return to our essential simplicity.

Of what use is it to take one element out of it, blow it out of proportion and add a new prefix making it, Cold-yoga, Still-yoga, Hanging off something-yoga, Balancing on a surfboard-yoga, Sweaty-yoga, Less clothed-yoga, Cotton baggy pants wearing-yoga, Dance-yoga, Arty-yoga, Twist your limbs into a knot-yoga and so on....I'm sure you get the drift by now dear reader :) 

The only thing served by this gimmicky-ness to my simplistic mind is the ego of the person who started off the new name and of course material greed.

Advertising and promoting each new name as having been 'Discovered' by so and so, the new-age wellness businesses take advantage of the human mind's propensity for seemingly 'New' twists on anything.

Perfected thousands of years ago by sages such as one cannot even imagine existed, yoga is Unity. Unity of the body with the mind, the energies housed in the mind-body complex, the spirit, in such a way that just Be-ing becomes possible. That is all it is. That is all it needs to be. This one thing achieved everything else naturally falls in place.

In the meantime the world sitting atop the giant-wheel of materialism will swing round and round and round until who knows when.

Moving on to sweeter things, this is a pic clicked on my tab while biking from Bengaluru to Hessargatta. The route is pastoral, rustic and an absolute heart-healer. The cow was a bit surprised when she was given undivided attention for a few minutes :)

Namo Matrubhoomi

What is it that ties me to you
In an inextricable heart-knot
The umbilical chord that never
Ever severed

What makes me yearn to be with you
Despite the madness and the clamouring
Yearning constantly for the land
Fast covering up with concrete

The soul always intact
Your soul always shining forth
Through pollution and scams
Good people trying their best

The wicked hovering over every realm
The good building up their strength
 My every blessing to you and your's
Motherland- I love you.