Travel brodens the mind- Malampuzha Life Learnings

Malampuzha Life Learnings -By Sashi Prabhu

Sometimes learnings come when you least expect them to unfold before you.

Day 8

I set out this morning armed with my camera and lens to spend time amongst prestine wilderness at the malampuzha Reservoir catchment area @ palakad district of Kerala in South India, some what deeper in the nature where few trod the beaten path.

As I clicked my photographs I got talking to the locals, tribals, tourists like my wife &me.

Chatting with the tribals much older than me,experienced in life's lessons and who took pride in going about their life with the motive being one with nature got me thinking.

The way they stopped by and enquired about our language, our reason to be here, if we wanted any help Or can they guide us...made me feel so full of gratitude that I got this opportunity to meet & interact with these humble beings.

Learning 1:simplicity in their approach with a smile on their face as if nothing really matters except the present moment was a huge learning

Learning 2:So many important things in life are not material in nature like smile, happiness, trust, respect, helping nature. You cannot buy them you can earn them. by being yourself.

Learning 3:Never stop learning if there needs to be improvement because life never stops teaching.

The biggest learning was when I sat down to look at my pics at a small tea stall by the side of the mangrooves and I stuck a conversation with the man who ran it.

We spoke on topics like covid, wild animals coming to drink water, intensity of rains, the bridge that will reduce distance by 20kms.Amidst all this he made a retort to. my query on why he settled here. He responded saying he makes enough just to keep going . He said I know how much money I have and could possibly make from this Thattu kada(small temporary cabins) but I really don't know how much time I have. I never knew that before nor do I know it now so I choose to live here and enjoy the present moment without thinking too much what lies ahead. I have by God's grace made it so far and I have the belief that he will take care if I believe and do my karma in my janma bhoomi(the place of birth). He went on to say we need to do justice to time and spend it with family, friends, loved ones and serve the society, people and so I choose to be here.

Life he said is a game. Every one he went on to say plays it differently. I have found the way I want to play my game he concluded that he thought he was successful as he spent many hours every day with his wife, children and grand children. He chose what to do & when to do anything but it is his discipline to keep his shop open from 8am to 10pm be it summer, winter or rains.. of course his family helps out...

what more in life can one desire... I had no answer to offer.

I thought.. Is that not something I sought as a twenty something just out of my professional institution ?.. or is it not something that I presently seek?

#mystory

#whatsyourstory

#sashtalks

zeauoxis.blogspot.com

 

Personal Growth & Freedom amidst chaos

 

Excerpts: Grapples & Triumphs

By : Sashi Prabhu

 The covid pandemic gave rise to the largest remote working experiment accelerating the trend towards  remote or hybrid working.
In march 21 we relocated to solar dos Prabhus,Goa  &lived till mid of may 21.  A personal exigency got us living to Cherthala,Alleppy, Kerala  upto the  week 3 of Sept21.
My wife daughter, me lived along with her father her elder sister & daughter in a bungalow which nested between trees . Despite being in the town it had its aloofness & rusticness
The home  CHENEMCHERIL was self-contained & roofed terraced . The floors red oxide, ventilated with big  windows & air movement openings.
Trees: The greenery around the home, plants, shrubs & 17 trees. There were mango, chiku, Ashoka, coconut, jack fruit, papaya, parijath flowers, star fruit, pomelo . Outside the kitchen were banana herbs.
The star fruit & pomelo trees were in a straight line 4 mtr apart in the backyard providing an area of 35 sqmtr of shade between them. Every morn, afternoon & evening I walked the figure 8 around them with bare feet. I would place my palms, chest, body against the tress & could feel the vibrations of the trees. The feeling of serenity that engulfed was soothing under the  trees.
 Work: Apart from the teams meetings  from the out house which was a 4 to 6 hour affair,was off grid. The life amidst greenery had got me grounded. My life was slowing down & effective. 12 hours off grid, whilst the week ends were fully off grid. Life kept reminding me every day that there is a time & place for everything & now is the right time to be here.
Space: I had no room of my own &my belongings fitted in a haversack & my laptop bag. My day was in the outhouse,grilled steop , backyard or terrace &  night used a mat and a blanket to lie on the big drawing room floor on the red oxide floor every night. I experimented diff positions of sleeping which were followed by morning stretches . After the first month my spine was much straighter & my posture improved.
Soil: The sandy soil, barefoot walking, by the end of week 3 could sense the presence of freshness. Iwalked bare foot in the back yard . By the end of week 4 was calmer, happier & felt a renewed vigour of being energised. I remember from week 2 was sleeping well. Every night as I lay on the floor with a thin pillow,drifted into slumber in a jiffy only to wake up early morn at 5.40 am.
Self: By week 3 was meditating,& practicing tai chi. My urges in prose & poetry was rekindled.
I had begun to understand the dark clouds entering my life no longer carried the rain or ushered a storm. There was a new colour & meaning to my life.  I learnt Time will pass anyway it is a choice to spend it creating the life you want or spend it living the life you don’t care. The choice is mine.
My experience "Between stimuli & response is a small space. In the small space is the power to choose our reponse.In our response lies our personal growth & freedom"
#sashtalks
#mystory
#whatsyourstory

Anthology of a Zeauoxian

Anthology of a Zeauoxian

Sashi Prabhu 
ISBN: 978-93-83175-01-7 

Having been constantly misconstrued in life, my poetry has opened an avenue to release my bottled emotions. Moving around Goa's beaches and forests incognito, meeting up with a series of strangers and drawing inspiration from nature and people has fuelled this anthology.

Anthology of a Zeauoxian inspires you
-Not to worry about the past or be scared about the future
-Not to isolate your self
-Not to be afraid to try out new avenues that life offers
-Not to while away time trying to please others

Sashi Prabhu has been a blogger, columnist, poet and writer for some time now, having published several of his works on the Internet and in newspapers. He loves music - mostly rock, jazz, blues, metal and Hindi pop, enjoys travelling, spending time on the beach and trekking and particularly enjoys his black coffee and poetry. The poet lives in the lovely state of Goa in India, with his wife and two daughters. The dichotomous life as a career professional and a poet, writer and creator does not disturb him at all, but in fact spurs the passion in him to balance both spheres gracefully. He works for Crompton Greaves Ltd. He can be reached on facebook athttp://facebook.com/sashi.prabhu and by email at sashi.prabhu@gmail.com.

He believes that "things happen for you and not to you and they happen when they are destined to..."

this book of poem is avaliable at www.dogearsetc.com

nothingness

EARTH HOUR 2012

EARTH HOUR 2012

I am color blind

I am color blind

Ode to My neighbour The Woodpeckers by sashi prabhu

Ode to My neighbour The Woodpeckers by sashi prabhu