thebengali.com

At the best of moments, I am assailed only by structured, organized thoughts. Most of the time, my mind is a minefield of random thoughts hurtling away or towards me with no apparent purpose.

I have never been able to figure out why people run on treadmills.  They don’t have roads or paths where they live, maybe? Running on real roads doesn’t build muscle or increase stamina? They don’t want the environment? I don’t know.

I love running. And when I think of running, I can close my eyes and see the landscape rushing past and I can feel my feet hitting the ground and I can see the faces of people and I can feel the heat sear through my lungs and the cool breeze kiss my skin, driving my insane brain to run on.

Why would I run if I didn’t want to get some place?  And that’s what beats me about treadmills. You run and you stay where you are. Seems like an awful waste of good energy to me.  And I’d say that would make people mad. Which explains why I have never seen a happy face on a treadmill – and I have observed quite a few.

But that was before. Now I know why people run on treadmills. It’s like being trapped in something you have to do for a particular purpose and not because you really want to do it. Like being in a job you don’t like, but you do anyway because you must earn a living? Something like that. Earlier when I saw  someone on the treadmill (people mostly grimacing their way through a chore for the sake of health) , I could never identify with them. But it’s pretty much like getting up in the morning on a weekday, dreading what lies ahead.  You gotta get ready and go to office and keep plugging away at some mountain of work for a paycheck at the end of the month … and you keep doing this every day, every week, every month…  and your life stays exactly where it was.

When I meet someone who’s working with a smile on their face, I know they’re not on a treadmill. That’s a  runner on the beach, feeling the wind on their skin and the sand in their feet  as the surf rushes gleefully forward to meet them.

I used to be on the beach.

By the way, what do you do with adults who can’t seem to mind their language around children?

I’m sure you noticed that I didn’t specify ‘more’ of what.

The Mint is a smooth red from Thelema. One may rave about the Bourdeaux and debate the relative merits of a Californian, but after tasting 9 red, 1 sparking Rose, and 6 whites, I can assure you that The Mint from Thelema definitely deserves some attention.

Watch this space for more. 

I had always imagined that when  came to Africa I would be riding a horse or trudging along the vast wide expanse on foot, or more likely yet, running the world record 100 meter dash to ensure I wasn’t dinner to some big cat.

Till I set foot in Cape Town, I didn’t realize that I had ever consiously imagined coming to Africa at all. But apparently I have been and I am quite at home. Which is not very difficult in these days of being a global village idiot. I am sitting in an air-conditioned hotel room, looking out at the misty sunrise and the nearby Devil’s Peak from the window of my hotel room. And typing away on my laptop, working on the next big presentation.

As I said, I amn quite at home, except that I am missing Annonyma and Bhrgu.

The southernmost region of Africa … Cape Town. I say region because the southernmost tip is Cape Argulhas, which is a few miles from Cape Town, and i’m unlikey to be going there in the next few days. 

This is my first trip to Africa and like most of my other first trips around the world, I could swear I have been here before. 

It’s not the open, wild, free image of Africa that I have seen in photos, movies, poems, and dreams, but it gives me a lcear idea about the stunning expanse of this continent.

Impressions on the social fabric and culture will come later. 

The southernmost region of Africa … Cape Town. I say region because the southernmost tip is Cape Argulhas, which is a few miles from Cape Town, and i’m unlikey to be going there in the next few days. 

This is my first trip to Africa and like most of my other first trips around the world, I could swear I have been here before. 

It’s not the open, wild, free image of Africa that I have seen in photos, movies, poems, and dreams, but it gives me a lcear idea about the stunning expanse of this continent.

Impressions on the social fabric and culture will come later. 

The southernmost region of Africa … Cape Town. I say region because the southernmost tip is Cape Argulhas, which is a few miles from Cape Town, and i’m unlikey to be going there in the next few days. 

This is my first trip to Africa and like most of my other first trips around the world, I could swear I have been here before. 

It’s not the open, wild, free image of Africa that I have seen in photos, movies, poems, and dreams, but it gives me a lcear idea about the stunning expanse of this continent.

Impressions on the social fabric and culture will come later. 

The southernmost region of Africa … Cape Town. I say region because the southernmost tip is Cape Argulhas, which is a few miles from Cape Town, and i’m unlikey to be going there in the next few days. 

This is my first trip to Africa and like most of my other first trips around the world, I could swear I have been here before. 

It’s not the open, wild, free image of Africa that I have seen in photos, movies, poems, and dreams, but it gives me a lcear idea about the stunning expanse of this continent.

Impressions on the social fabric and culture will come later.