letting time follow me
Looking Inwards #16: writing deadlines, jackfruits, fighting for dreams, forgotten paintings and illustrations, theory of relativity, Tamil festival, and thankfulness.
Hi there!
Thank you for joining me.
I hope you are doing well. Apologies for not sending the newsletter last week. I was buried in a writing deadline and when that finished all I wanted to do was cook, walk, and be outside. But here we are now and I hope your weeks have been going peacefully.
To meet the 15th April deadline, I went on writing day and night. In between I read, did some yoga, cycled, cooked, attended a celebration of the Tamil New Year festival, walked, and watched movies. I woke up whenever and I slept whenever. My heart wanted to do what it wanted to do after hours of dumping words onto paper. So I wasn’t following time, but let time follow me.
I made simple and stuffed parathas with curry or ate them with ghee or butter. I took short walks around the gardens of the guesthouse. And I watched movies (listed below) which focus on deeper issues and are made beautifully.
When I have been writing for many hours, or done anything on the screen for a long time, I need to turn my gaze somewhere else. Looking at the green around me and making some food with my hands helped. I didn’t force myself to read as soon as I got a break. Only when my eyes felt fresh, I read (highlighted what I liked, and noted down the important in my notebook).
I did whatever felt best. If I felt like seeing a movie at 12 am, I did so. The next day I woke up refreshed and continued writing. That’s why I said, I let time follow me rather than always following time.
The week went by. That bright Sunday was a mix of the same things along with walking and cooking chickpeas with a friend.
Monday began before I knew it. But the past few weeks had been so disciplined I decided to let this week flow freely and didn’t give myself deadlines.
Throughout the week, I did similar things along with eating out, editing old pieces, closing freelance articles, looking into investments, playing with the library cat, listening to piano and Tamil folk music, and so on. I devoted more time to meditation than usual because I know I have a lot to feel calm about. I have also been enjoying writing with a fountain ink pen on white unruled sheets.
Oh, I also spent hours cutting half a jackfruit and cooking it (I plucked it myself from a tree), made a traditional Indian snack known as mathri, and prepared my favorite red kidney beans and rice meal. Gulping down these delicious meals, I devoured Einstein’s theory of relativity too.
And that’s it.
I don’t have a big closure, lesson, or conclusion to share today. Except that this life enriched in the arts, in writing, in books, in emotions, in science, in nature, in seeing the world, in love, in the body, in food, this life, I wouldn’t exchange this life for anything.
What part of your life you wouldn’t exchange for anything?
For this week’s letter,
Some of my writing,
quotes I love,
things to read,
things to watch,
and
travel tips.
Past Articles I’ve Just Renewed
Kalga Village – You Won’t Believe Until You See (Updated 2022)
(From my four-month solo trip to the Himalayas in the summer of 2019.)
Almost deaf from the loud music blasting from the speakers of travelers who visit Kasol to escape the Delhi heat, I ran out of Kasol after a night. A steep uphill walk took me to the village of Shilha, a tiny apple village pasted onto the slopes of a beautiful green hill. But I didn’t know the speaker lovers from Delhi had discovered Shilha and were smoking away in its few guesthouses. On one starry night, I also gave up and joined a group of Indian boys around a bonfire.
Stubborn about staying away from people who couldn’t appreciate the silence of Parvati valley, I strapped on my bag and walked towards Kalga in the morning.
And I couldn’t believe what I saw. I wasn’t in a village. I was in an apple orchard tucked onto the slopes of a high mountain.
Click to read the complete travel narrative. Or Pocket for later.
Hold on Even After Your Hands Bleed – For That is The Only Way to Succeed
You would encounter sharp rocks jutting out of every mountain you wish to climb. Let me show through my perseverant journey as a budding writer, why do we have to keep going on even if our hands bleed. Never give up. Fight for your dreams. That is the only way to succeed.
When you look down, you only see the vast open pasture. You cannot see how steep you climbed up, how far you have come.
When you look up, you see the open sky, but you have no idea when you would reach the summit. When you would get something to hold onto.
But that is exactly when you have to trust the most and go on.
Read the full inspiration now. Or Pocket for later.
Quotes I Love
“Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one’s courage.” — Anais Nin
“We cannot become what we want by remaining what we are.” — Max De Pree
“Youth is intentionally being deceived by the state through lies.” — Albert Einstein (so applicable today)
“The best poem is the one which conceals the effort of creation.” — Unknown
“I know it is love because I cannot see him cry.” — 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.
Starting with the most beautiful,
A Twitter account that curates original Ladybird illustrations @LBFlyawayhome — these delicious drawings show what is so beautiful in this world. I cannot thank Helen enough for sharing this treasure.
Another Twitter account @emjanerothwell to follow — Emily Jane Rothwell shares old and new paintings and artwork that catch me at the right mood always.
Another Painter’s account to follow on Twitter: @alaiganuza — mostly oil and digital paintings of the world we live in.
Beautiful books from the week,
Bird by Bird from Anne Lamott — This is not a book from the week but more from my life. I recommend this book over and over to not just writers but to creators, thinkers, and human beings of all kinds. If nothing else, we can draw a few lessons on laughter from it and why is it so important today.
Diamond Comics by Pran — I grew up reading Chacha Chaudhary, Pinky, and Chandamama. These are all Indian comics of an era gone by. Colorful strips with simple jokes could keep me hooked for fours. And now I have got a 1985 copy to keep from the local library. The comics was being given away and I can’t believe my luck. You can still find these exquisite comic books on Amazon India and Amazon US. Read to know how Indian has always laughed hard on simple jokes.
Alice in Wonderland rare facsimile edition by Lewis Carroll — Lewis had sent the original manuscript to Alice (a little girl with whom a day in the summer had inspired Lewis to write the book). The manuscript contained Lewis Carroll’s original illustrations. I have found a facsimile of the first manuscript in the local library and no wonder I devoured it immediately. The original book was called Alice’s Adventures Under Ground and is quite different from what later became Alice in Wonderland. I am looking for the facsimile edition on Amazon and other online stores and libraries. But I can’t find a copy, yet. To find rare editions, I suggest visit your nearest old book stores, hawkers on the road, and local libraries.
Jonathan Livingston Seagull by Richard Bach : Available to read for free in the linked page. In the book, a seagull takes a flight not known to the tribe. She is outcasted, but reaches heights meant for her while inspiring many others to follow their own trajectories at their speed.
I also discovered GetEpic, a collection of comic-like, visual books meant to educate children in a fun manner. You will find everything from science, history, geography, world news, to stories here.
I have also been reading Carl Jung’s “Memories, Dreams, and Reflections”, Carl Sagan’s “The Demon-Haunted World”, and Einstein: “A Life in Science” along with Einstein’s papers on theory of relativity (this talks about slowing down of time and I am serendipitously reading it in a week when time did perhaps slow down for me). But more on those in the next week’s letter.
What I’ve Been Watching/Listening
I saw two Indian movies: Cobalt Blue and Once Again. I recommend both for being rooted in the societies of today, both for talking about things people are scared to discuss, both for showing art in a form close to human beings, and for entertainment. One is based in a village of Kerala and the other one in Mumbai. (available on Netflix).
I have also been listening to a lot of classical music and I will share some of it next week.
And for all my Wanderlusters!
I’m sharing a couple of photos as I have shared much of the travel narrative from this week above. Hope you enjoy.
a golden cottage cheese paratha I made one evening
free snacks in the Tamil New Year festival.
Tamil friends and other readers on Twitter told me the peacock dance is called Mayilattam and the cow dance is kaalai attam. These dancers frightened kids by coming close to them and I found myself shrieking too.
Another traditional Tamil dance. With pots on heads. The drums beat.
guesthouse-plucked papaya and lemon
blooms from the season. Look around and you will find every flower plant blooming now. The summer is upon us.
Huckleberry Finn with original illustrations
Thank you for reading.
I hope your Sunday is refreshing and restful. Take good care of yourselves :)
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Yours,
Priyanka
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