Settling In

It’s been about 3 months now in a new place. I feel much more ‘settled in’ but also realize that there’s more to come.

How does one approach this next phase in a new place?

1)      Maintain curiosity: surprises will still keep coming your way. Maintain curiosity - or a student’s mindset.

2)      Prioritize: not everything can be done. Rather the complete number of things to be done can feel overwhelming.  Prioritize heavily – focusing only those few critical things that you really need to focus on.

3)      Live life/Have fun: while focusing on ‘settling down’ don’t forget to have fun. Go out for a walk, explore new dinner places, party a bit, go to social gatherings, watch movies, dance, listen to music – and list goes on. J

4)      Know objectives and boundary conditions: There are a number of decisions and choices you need to make.  You need to know what objectives you are choosing and what you aren’t; and what are boundary conditions. That will keep you on track.

 
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Sourav

New Eyes

You wake up one day. You walk out of your house. You suddenly realize that the sounds are new, weather feels a bit different, and things don’t look same. It slowly sinks in that this is new place that you will call home in near future.

How should one approach this phase of life?

I think you should keep it simple:

1)      What’s new is new – it’s not necessarily good or bad. Look at things with new eyes. Suspend your judgment at start and experience new things.

2)      Find a balance between continuity (things which give you a link with past) and experiencing new things (source of learning).

3)      Be intentional but be prepared to be surprised every day for a certain period of time. I have given myself 3 months for big surprises – that will spring up day by day. But frankly you need to have seen through a cycle of atleast one complete year before you start feeling settled in.

4)      Give yourself a few targets and have a few boundary conditions you will work within, e.g. –health and fitness is a constant I will keep on focusing on through this period.

5)      Ensure that you keep on focusing on family and relationships, and build your social circle at new place. They are a constant through anything.

And yes –I must also share what I feel about Seattle till now. I think there’s a lot of stuff to do and learn here. It also seems to be a very good place to live in.  J

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Sourav

Laughter Drops!

I left Mumbai the other day.

I feel joyous about it. Not because of what I am leaving behind. Rather because of what I am taking with me.

 

 I have had my highs.

The feeling of liberation all around the place. The sheer diversity of people you meet. Associated diversity of experiences and perspectives you gain. The 'can do' and 'will do' attitude you come across everyday and that inspires you. Everyone seems to have a dream; and are passionately pursuing it. You tend to realize that if you are always successful then maybe you are not taking enough risks. Successes and failures make you humble; teach you to balance between living in present and planning for future. It also opens up your eyes to the fact that there are so many definitions of success and so you start focusing on what's your dream or goal and stop worrying about running rat race. It makes you take charge of your life. You take decisions and you own consequences. You feel enriched, empowered, responsible, and alive

 

I have had my lows too.

City's super fast paced and till time you can fund a work life balance that works , you can feel really burnt out. You need to consciously focus on your health. With so many opportunities around, you need to make your decisions on affordability. House spaces are small and it takes some time to get used to them. Local trains seemed like a necessary irritant till time I found a solution that worked for me. 3-4 months of monsoons can really get to your nerves & you need to find your own solution to it

 

But whether it be highs or lows, city's basically teaches you invaluable life lesson.

 

The other day I left the city I called home for last 9 years. But I leave a very different person compared to the one of 2005- shaped by a large extent by experiences I have had and people I have met here.

 

During one of my last classes at my dance studio in Mumbai, I became reflective and my eyes filled with emotions. But soon I was feeling joyous and could not stop smiling and performing. For me that was a perfect tribute to my adopted home. Love and celebrate life! My eyes were filled with 'laughter drop'.

 

As I saw sun set for one last time in Mumbai, my heart filled up with gratitude and I heard myself say 'Thank You Mumbai!
 

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Sourav

Purpose

You have achieved a goal you have worked towards long for. What next?

 

Should you set a further goal or should you just left life happen?

 

Well! I think it’s a personal choice. Different individuals may choose differently. Same individual may choose differently at different times of his/her life.

 

What’s becoming increasingly clear to me is that in case you were to decide you want to pursue a further goal/purpose – you will go through a period of uncertainty and working through different hypothesis and scenarios.  

 

Life always travels full ‘ellipse’. Your starting point next time around may be further down the road. But then you will need to start ‘afresh’ on another journey.

 

Where should next journey be to?  There are no straight answers. You need to keep on at forming and shaping your own answer.

 

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Sourav

Flamenco

Gólpe! Gólpe! Gólpe!

Jaleo! Jaleo! Jaleo!

What will come next? Who will lead next part of performance?

Will it be soulful singer whose voice and claps (e.g. of Jaleos), more than her words, keeps me spellbound? Will it be enchanting dancer whose ‘tapping’ feet draws me in and doesn’t let me out?  But hey! Wait!

Why don’t I hear strumming of Spanish guitar anymore?

………Trang! …There! There it goes again – and there starts again medley of soulful singing, rhythmic guitar strumming, and ‘tapping’ dance – each one unique but together producing a heady and unforgettable spectacle!

That’s what I found unique and amazing about ‘flamenco’ during my trip to Sevilla. Flamenco is not only a dance form, a song form, or a music form – but a form and experience created by unison of all 3.

If you are in Sevilla, you can’t afford to miss traditional ‘Flamenco show’!

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Sourav

LFD

 

There’s a term in dancing called LFD – Listen, Feel, and Dance. All of these happen in order – you first listen to the music, let it seep in and start feeling it, and then you dance it out. When you are in LFD zone, dancing becomes almost effortless. You can dance at any speed and hardly be out of breath.

Another concept is ‘choosing your subject’. You pick up a subject to perform to, zone in on it, and maintain the connection through performance.

‘Sense your co-dancers and partners’ and perform along with them’ is a third powerful concept. You look around, sense others, stay in your space, and perform along with others.

I have experienced that all of these to have powerful applications in our daily lives and at workplace too. 

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Sourav

 

Durga Puja and Home

When you have a mobile lifestyle, adaptability is what keeps you going. But then there are ‘sounds, sights, and smells’ that you distinctly associate with certain places. When you come back to these places, your senses start noticing these ‘sounds, sights, and smells’.

I am currently back at my hometown Asansol.

While driving down from Kolkata Airport to Asansol, we were on NH2 (or what was previously called G.T. Road – supposedly more than 500 years old).  

Slowly I started getting re-adjusted to seeing swarm of trucks/lorries on the road. NH2 always has been a trade/industrial route. It runs from Kolkata and provides connectivity upto Delhi.  You see more trucks than cars or bikes on this road. There are stretches in between where you will see scores of trucks lining the road on either side – taking a mid-journey break.  Sometimes you see these clearly overloaded trucks and you wonder how long they will manage to chug along before breaking down. Thanks to NH2 being a long distance transport heavy route, there are a string of roadside dhabas – you can’t give a miss to ‘bharer chai’ (tea in earthen cup) chai and roti –rajma at these dhabas.

Back at home, I started noticing familiar sounds and feelings. 

Right outside window of my room there stands a huge tree. In afternoons, you can hear birds chirping while sun streams in through the window. It’s difficult to do anything then but lie down and gaze outside the window during afternoons.

Concept of late afternoon and evening undergoes a bit of shift too. During summers, sun sets around 6:15/6:20 p.m. During winters it sets around 5:10/5:15 p.m. These times are very different from corresponding times in western part of country – a little post 7/6 p.m. in summers/winters. This time around I realized why I am more of an early morning person. During my growing up years I have been used to waking up and sleeping early. Those days, my day ended by 5/6 p.m. – and that’s what I am carrying forward even now.

In Bengal, ending of day is officially ‘sounded’ by sound of Sankha (which usually women of house sounds at dusk). This time around when I heard sounds of Shankha, I started thinking -  ‘what is equivalent of Sankha in our city lives – something which tells us every day that day has ended?’. I find none. Maybe that’s why we find it so difficult to switch off.

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Yesterday I saw these old music records lying at home. In midst of technological advances (cassettes, CDs, and now I pods) we hardly use music record players anymore. But are these record players really outdated? I hear in parts of Europe music record players are back in vogue – it seems music connoisseurs find music quality much better in these record players compared to new age technology music players.

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No trip back home is complete without talk about food back home J.

From kitchen, smells of fish on frying pan waft all over house. Sometimes you heard sounds of ‘jeera’ crackling on hot oil.  While Bengal might be known for fish, it also has a plethora of green vegetables available. During normal days, a 3 course lunch awaits me. It starts with shaag (saag in Hindi)/posto bata (paste of poppy seeds), etc. It then moves on to dal and at least 2-3 vegetable preparations. It usually ends with a fish/chicken dish. And yes – rice accompanies each course.

Given that I am very particular about fitness, my friends/colleagues sometimes are surprised when they see amount of rice I eat. My usual retort is ‘If I don’t eat rice/rice based preparation every day, I don’t feel psychologically that my day has ended’.

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Asansol and Durgapur are 2 adjacent cities – hardly 50 kilometers away. But when you visit them you might feel that you have visited two cities poles apart.

Asansol feels like a commercial and industrial city. It’s a bit cramped for space and is buzzing with activity.

While Durgapur is also a city with industrial roots, it feels more planned and open.

The only difference I can fathom is that while Asansol started in 1800s (when coal was first found in this belt), Durgapur was converted into a planned industrial city in mid 1900s – by the then Bengal Chief Minister Bidhan Chandra Ray.

I find Surat and Baroda (in western state of Gujarat) similar to Asansol and Durgapur. Surat and Baroda are  hardly 100 kilometers away but they give you a completely different feeling. Surat (textile industry, diamond industry) feels akin to Asansol. Baroda (wide roads, well planned, gardens, etc) feels more akin to Durgapur.

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But be it Asansol, Durgapur, or Kolkata – the sights, sounds, and smells of a Durga Pujo pandal usually stay away with me long after festivities have ended.

Peace you find during pushpanjali (prayers to goddess Durga), sounds of Dhak, adrenaline pumping ‘Dhunuchi Naach’, the junk food you can feast on, and the artistic creativity you come across - are experiences/feelings not to be missed!

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Sourav