kitty under my window
rain, routine, health, happy energy, grand life, parrots, three men in a boat, and two countries that look so similar
Dear Reader,
Thank you for joining me. I hope you have had a great week.
I am still here in Sikkim in East India. The sky has been clear and cloudy both, some blue is visible in between black, white, and grey, otherwise it has been raining non-stop. Even at nights.
The locals say the weather has changed so much. It was supposed to be warm at this time of the year. How is it where you are? Is the weather incongruous with the month?
I have six things today,
when the routine gets broken, everything feels shaken, time gushes fast, but nothing gets done.
when the body goes down, that is when we remember how important it is to keep it happy and healthy, for us to keep moving toward these things we need for flourishing
giving space means that we approach someone with the openness that she might not be ready to receive us at that moment — either physically or emotionally. And their aloofness would have nothing to do with us. It is never personal.
Today the grocery market was so much fun. I forgot about who was watching me and got so happy and jumped around and ate and sang. I had gol gappa (a spicy Indian snack) and sushi — what a combination — and finished my partner S’s rice bowl when he couldn’t. I didn’t even get upset at S for over-ordering. It was as if I wanted to be happy.
This fresh energy I have I want it to become so intoxicating that this becomes my new normal. There is more charm in being a happy person who doesn’t get offended or isn’t so sensitive, and she laughs at it all and says her point, requests what she wants, does her thing, and moves on. People will do all kinds of things. But you forget it all, shrug away everything, and be happy.
To you, your life should be grand. You should think and act assuming it is big and be careful and respectful of its time. Do with all your energy. Leave little aside. Focus on big. On things that matter. Thus it will itself grow into something magnificent. Something remarkable. Something great. Then you won’t have to sit and think about all these nice things you want to do for others or poetry you want to write. Then you would just do it all. It will all come. But you would have to let go of small there and then.
the diary journal from March 27
In the Airbnb. Sitting on the table.
Yesterday two kitties drove us crazy in this house. They were from the neighbour and to reach us walked on such a narrow ledge that they couldn’t take u-turn in between. So they went reverse. Like Elvis Presley or Michael Jackson. Some moon walk dance was that. And they got so comfortable and friendly with us that they came to our bedroom window and were meowing under it. When my partner S reached out, she let herself be scooped into his palms and came to us. But we had to leave them outside again because the host didn’t like cats in the house. When they wandered into the garden, he threatened them by throwing bats and stones at them. They hid under our table as we drank tea because they knew he would get to them.
That was quite heartbreaking, S and I whispered to each other. But the kittens returned soon, they were so adamant.
One completely white. Another one white and brown. The white-brown one settled on my knee while I was squatting outside feeding them bread. She was the one who had climbed onto S’s hand and had rubbed herself on us marking us. Then she came under the kitchen window and once I had fed her, she would run to it as soon as she heard us inside the kitchen. How did they know it was us? They meowed outside our cottage door and under our bedroom window so incessantly I literally shut my ears once. Then they jumped onto the kitchen window and we just hoped the host wouldn’t see. Oops.
I even paid a tribute of a poem to them.
There is a kitty under my window, She meows and meows and insists on coming indoors, But when I pick her up and take her in, She sits on my chest for half a minute, then turns around, and jumps out the open doors, She meows and meows and insists on coming indoors, I have already fed her bread, semolina halwa, and paneer What more do you suggest I give her For I worry about upsetting her little white tummy it purrs when she let herself be held against my chest like a little angel then runs down and under the wooden stools compresses into a ball because she is too fearful but she let me take her into my arms then she scares away the other one from the piece of bread And looks into my eyes and meows and meows and meows until I give in again.
When I left the Airbnb to return to a previous guesthouse, the most I missed was those kittens. Not the lawn or the comfortable bed or the kitchen where I cooked for three days. I was relieved to leave that house because the host kept reminding us of the “sharp check out time” but the kittens made every trouble worth it.
(I haven’t got even one picture of those little fur balls, so lost was I in playing with them.)
For this week’s letter,
Some of my writing,
quotes I love,
things to read,
things to watch,
and
travel tips.
Past Articles Relevant for the Week
How to Make a Daily Schedule For Yourself [That Works]
Insights on a trigger routine to start the day, healthy habits to be followed daily, and an efficient work schedule.
Read the guide now. Or Pocket it for later.
the kittens reminded me to share this,
Celebrating My Parrot Mithu With Photos of Indian Parrots
Story of my wingless Indian ringneck parrot Mithu who couldn't stop eating butter and yelled for tea. And about a hundred photos of wild Indian parrots with narratives.
See the parrots now. Or Pocket for later.
Quotes I Love
“The greatest hazard of all, losing one’s self, can occur very quietly in the world, as if it were nothing at all. No other loss can occur so quietly; any other loss - an arm, a leg, five dollars, a wife, etc. - is sure to be noticed.”
Søren Kierkegaard
“We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars.”
Oscar Wilde
“I don't know if I'm extremely sensitive or life is unbearable.”
Vincent Van Gogh
“The shared memory of a day lived joyfully together is a rare pleasure that connect two people forever, is a bond as unique as any in the universe.”
Yours Truly
What I’ve Been Reading
I’ve been reading short stories, books, articles, and so much more. I can’t possibly list all what I have read in the past week so I’m putting down the things I found most relevant and worthwhile.
Beautiful reads from the week,
Books
Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K. Jerome — One of the most hilarious books I have ever read. Rattled by the overwrought books of this time, I was happy to get my hands on these simple adventures full of mishaps, and digressions. The tales are suffused with nature, too, and so I would say get your hands on this one as soon as you can. A riot of laughter I tell you!
Relevant Information from the Worldwide
14 books for young readers as they get ready for classes — I want to read them all
Good or bad? — Nepal Bans Solo Trekking For Foreigners, Mandates Guides From April 1 — If I was an experienced hiker familiar with the Himalayas in Nepal, I would have resented this decision. But what about group hikers? Can they go by themselves?
a thread of travel kindness — On Twitter
Climate change is pushing tigers and leopards into snow leopard’s mountainous territory in Nepal
Whatever the interaction between the cats may look like in the future, it’s likely to be influenced by another actor – humans. “The other interesting bit is that human settlements are also moving north,” Shrestha said. “Due to climate change, lower altitudes are getting hotter and higher altitudes are becoming suitable for human settlement.”
And history has shown that, in confrontations between big cats and humans, the latter always prevail.
A famous astrophysicist explains why it’s possible we live in a multiverse by Martin Rees
The pity is that we may never have the ‘aha’ insight moment that satisfies all scientists.
What I’ve Been Watching/Listening
that’s worth mentioning
I have only read this week and not watched much.
And for all my Wanderlusters
Pictures from Burma and Vietnam.
Two men watch the sunset on Inle Lake.
December 2019. Burma.
Burmese paddy field workers taking a moment of rest.
December 2019.
Clicked from the window of a train that took me into the suburbs of Rangoon and gave me a chance to see the pastoral life.
Yangon, December 2019
When i got out of the train and walked into one of the suburbs, my French travel friend and I soon became objects of interest. Local children giggled from far and then from near.
I worry about the country.
Yangon, December 2019
I can’t tell if this was Burma or Vietnam.
a fisherman on Inle Lake.
December 2019, Burma
And that’s it for now.
Thank you for reading.
I hope you have a great week ahead. Hope you get a lot of sunshine :)
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Yours,
Priyanka
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