Perennial as the grass....

Growing up in the crowded neighborhood of Rajajinagar, especially with cousins living right next door (without even a fence separating our houses) was not so great (or so I thought) given how much they used to tease me about my curly braids and how I pored over school work. Little did they know that while I sat outside "reading", I was actually watching the neighborhood boys play cricket. Looking back though, I think we kids lucked out big time given how aware of the world they all were, especially Vasuanna.

This was back in the day before all the addictive technology of internet/email/im that makes it so tempting to connect with people, sitting with a laptop on the comfy couch, more often than meeting them face to face. Both families made ends meet but there was not much room for indulgences, yet there was lots of free time on hand (of course when I got done with school work). Well - there was one indulgence come to think of it. Books and reading! Piles of hard bound and paperback books waiting to be read, lying scattered everywhere in their house. Vasuanna is a voracious reader and I cant quite remember how or where he would buy all these books but there was always an interesting read - I just had to walk next door. The icing on the cake? Manni would give us snacks to munch on and coffee too!! Needless to say, a kid's haven till I would hear mom yell out that it was time to do homework - yuck!

There were all kinds of Kannada, Tamil and English books, spewing out knowledge if only I opened them up. I would go straight to the big colorful books with lots of pictures in them, slowly graduating to fiction and more serious reading. Ranganna was studying to become a doctor and would borrow books from the med school library. Naturally, most of his books had colorful pictures, some not so pleasant I must say but always entertaining to a curious kid especially when he made up stories about them.

I am truly grateful to this day my cousins lived next door since they were responsible for shaping our thoughts, making us dream, motivating us to always think about the more significant aspects of life. For a kid like me back in the day, some of it didnt make total sense - case in point, this poem called Desiderata. Vasuanna handed it to me one day and though the deeper significance didnt register back then, the poem stuck with me. I have had a hand-written copy of it in my diary and put it up on my cube wall everywhere I worked. Every time I read through it, I wish I were back in Rajajinagar, standing under the coconut tree, talking with Vasuanna and hearing his poignant thoughts about random topics he always seemed to know so much about! That used to be the highlight of my day since I got a break from reading my boring school books and learnt a little bit more about the bigger world out there... Here's to you Vasuanna!

Go placidly amid the noise and haste,
and remember what peace there may be in silence.
As far as possible without surrender
be on good terms with all persons.
Speak your truth quietly and clearly;
and listen to others,
even the dull and the ignorant;
they too have their story.

Avoid loud and aggressive persons,
they are vexations to the spirit.
If you compare yourself with others,
you may become vain and bitter;
for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.
Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.

Keep interested in your own career, however humble;
it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.
Exercise caution in your business affairs;for the world is full of trickery.
But let this not blind you to what virtue there is;
many persons strive for high ideals;
and everywhere life is full of heroism.

Be yourself.
Especially, do not feign affection.
Neither be cynical about love;
for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment
it is as perennial as the grass.

Take kindly the counsel of the years,
gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.
But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.
Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.
Beyond a wholesome discipline,
be gentle with yourself.

You are a child of the universe,
no less than the trees and the stars;
you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you,
no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

Therefore be at peace with God,
whatever you conceive Him to be,
and whatever your labors and aspirations,
in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul.

With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams,
it is still a beautiful world.
Be cheerful.
Strive to be happy.

Max Ehrmann, Desiderata, Copyright 1952.