Birthday Indulgence

It is not my birthday. It was a friend's daughter's birthday yesterday and we were invited along with Sunshine. The little girl's mom had cooked a very elaborate Indian dinner for the guests. There was a papdi chaat that tickled the senses, kachori with green chutney, palak poori and mattar paneer, malai kofta, biryani, nariyal ladoo and gulab jamun. She had cooked everything by herself, from scratch with a little help from her husband. I forgot all about medicines and weight gain and indulged myself. I had to work full day yesterday and instead of some quick fix dinner, we had a feast.

Sunshine had a ball of a time with the kids and I met some new Indian people. I find it very refreshing to meet people and I love to talk. I guess I talk so much, even to people who I meet for the first time, that sometimes they find it strange. Even my not so good German skills do not deter me from talking. Eventhough it was an all-Indian gathering, there were people from different states with different languages and we had to speak in English most of the time. But I suspect that most Indians like to talk so much that if they had no common language, they would probably still communicate with each other using sign language.

House Hunt

I am involved in a massive house hunt in two different countries at the moment and it has left me dazed and confused. We are looking to rent in Germany and something to buy in India. In Germany, things are slow. Not many new houses come on the market very often. But those that are there apparently do not get tenants that easily either. I see the same houses over and over again in the on line ads. On the other hand, in India, the market seems to be exploding and the options seem to be endless. Every single dream and wish you have ever had can be met and money is the only constraint.

When I say that money is the only constraint, it is a bit of an understatement. You have to see the prices there to believe how expensive real estate has become in India. I cannot fathom how people who work there and earn in rupees all their lives manage to buy houses or apartments. We have lived in Germany for so many years and a euro is more than 80 rupees at the moment. Still, I have to always remind the agents in India that my budget is limited, but my wish list is not.

Although it is time consuming, I am enjoying the hunt. As usual, it left me wondering if I should choose this field as my career. No wonders there. Every time I start a new project, I end up feeling that that would be my new career. I guess it just shows that I am immensely bored with my job or my field. Maybe it is time to start a career hut.

Soul Food

2013 has not been particularly good for me. I had to face some health issues which were bad enough to mar the quality of my life in general. So, this year, my resolution is to get my health back on track and get the other aspects to life right as well.

I have started practising yoga regularly. I have put on a lot of weight because of some of the medicines which I have been taking. I tried every possible exercise to lose it or at least control it and failed. That is when I started watching videos from Baba Ramdev, the great yoga guru. I am at a loss how it works, because for a given time, one burns a lot fewer calories with yoga than other exercises. Yet, where all else failed, it worked. It is not like those miracle pills or diets or exercises where you get a supermodel body overnight. But I have managed to finally halt the weight gain. And it has started coming down albeit at a very slow rate.

I also started practising Pranayam or breathing exercises along with yoga. I actually look forward to getting up in the morning and doing yoga and pranayam. Also, the unhappiness and helplessness that I felt at times last year seems to be slowly lifting. I feel more hopeful and happy. It is the perfect recipe for physical and mental well being and probably will atleast help start the spiritual journey as well.