ORIGINALITY

“It better be something original” my teen aged daughter said, when I disclosed, ( not for the first time) that I wanted to start my own blog. “What about a small uncomplicated love story”?? I countered. She sighed “ are love stories ever uncomplicated”? and rolled her expressive eyes . My son who heard this said “ Oh No! Not a love story “and made a suitably disgusting face. He is 15 and refuses to discuss anything other than sports. He suggested” Why don’t you write some thing about god?? God? I wondered aloud. You know, the god who bats at no.4 for India?? he said.

That was not an option, I decided. It had to be something original, I decided, something no body had written about ever. I lamented to my husband there was nothing original left. Take the movies for instance, Everything these days was a remake of this bollywood or Hollywood original And songs, a remix or a straight lift from the original. And many authors copied too. Few had the time or the creativity to create something original. So do I stand a chance??

Unwilling to give up so easily, I listed out the virtues of originals. “ They lasted forever, They were valued and cherished for ever, They had so many followers. One only had to read about the prices an original Picasso or MF Husain fetched in those pricey auctions. Now, our own Gandhi, aptly named by none other than Tagore for being a “ Great soul” was an original. He is remembered for his original idea of “Satyagraha” a most harmless but effective way of protesting.

Unknowingly, my fingers were flying in the keyboard. I poured out my anguish at the lack of originality, at the multitude of versions of every other original. Before I realized, it was 9pm and time for dinner. My son barged in” Mom, what’s for dinner?? My husband added helpfully ”some original recipe, I suppose”, and not the ones you try to copy from those women’s magazines”? Neither, I said tongue in cheek.” I have a very original idea” , We are all going out for dinner today.


Sujatha Natraj

Dealing with disappointment

I am sure every one of us has been disappointed, terribly disappointed, or frustratingly disappointed at some point of our life. And when we don’t know how to deal with it, it just seems to happen more often. Haven’t we often cried out ”Oh, why it had to happen to me?. From a child, who burns midnight oil before the exams and ends up getting just average marks, a teen age boy who goes all out to woo the new girl in his class, like having a new hair cut, wearing the right brand of jeans, shoes and tees, only to see the girl walking hand in hand with a very attractive guy and a newly married girl who tries to cook up the best food for her husband only to see her husband gobbling it up without uttering a word of appreciation. Some of us give vent to our frustration and give a piece of our mind then and there, more often than not, to regret it later. Some of us wallow in self pity, “ It always happens to me, I put in my best, but just doesn’t seem to work for me”!

So, how does one deal with these “disappointments”? Especially when we think we have tried our best?? May be the ”best “ was not enough! But should we stop trying? Never! An introspection with a calm mind would tell us where we could have done a little better. Like the child would realize, I should have started studying from the beginning of the term, rather than cram just before the exams. The teen aged boy is sure to find another girl, who will love him for what he is and the new daughter in law would understand that not that her husband did not like her cooking, he just did not know how to express his feelings!

There are always lessons learnt from each situation in our life. Acceptance and Perseverance will surely help us deal with most of the disappointments in our life. Acceptance of the situation, of the people around us as well as perseverance with a focused mind would definitely help us get over difficult situations. Of course, a few generous doses of gratitude towards the Almighty for all that we have will only speedup up the process!! It worked for me! And I am sure it would for you too, So, Cheers, Get, Set, Go!!!