Kshema's 7 Quick Takes Friday (Volume 16)

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It has been a very good week. Don't they say, "all is well that ends well"? So true. As the night ends with the break of a new dawn, a new hope rises. Sometimes a new beginning, a fresh start is what required. The feeling is to completely erase the dark phase from our memories, make a new beginning and build a fresh story. At such times we are reminded to "forgive and forget". I am also reminded to beg God for forgiveness for if I have done something wrong during the dark phase, intentionally or unintentionally; pray for strength from Him to tread the path of righteousness.

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Michchhāmi Dukkaḍaṃ

For the first time I got to know about Kshamavani Diwas, the Universal Forgiveness Day. The Jains beg for forgiveness from one and all on Samvatsari, the concluding day of their Paryushana festival. Micchāmi Dukkaḍaṃ is a ancient Prakrit phrase literally meaning — may all the evil that has been done be fruitless. Michchhami means to be fruitless (forgiven) and Dukkaḍaṃ (Dushkrut) means bad deeds. On this day they recite the following Michchhāmi Dukkaḍaṃ prayer, a Prakrit verse and beg pardon:

Khāmemi savva-jīve savvë jive khamantu me |
metti me savva-bhūesu, veraṃ mejjha na keṇavi ||

खम्मामि सव्व जीवेषु सव्वे जीवा खमन्तु में |
मित्ति में सव्व भूएसू वैरम् मज्झणम् केणवि ||
(I ask pardon of all creatures, may all creatures pardon me.

May I have friendship with all beings and enmity with none.)

This year it was celebrated on 10th of September. Very few people in my closest circles know how coincidental the day was! Anyhow, I like the concept. I take this opportunity to openly beg for forgiveness from the bottom of my heart, from one and all, if I have, at any time, caused any displeasure, discomfort or hurt your feelings, intentionally or unintentionally, manasa, vacha, karmana, i.e., by my thoughts, words or actions. Pray God for strength, forbearance and patience to deal with my weaknesses in future.

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Home crafts

Our white washed house is inspiring me to take a peek into various home crafts to beautify the empty walls. Thought of some spray painting projects. I find Good Housekeeping, Better Homes and Gardens to be hosting interesting stuff. Most projects are easy to take up. Another interesting site is Curbly blog that hosts DIY stuff. I've checked almost all of their posts and videos. Some of them do need serious carpentering and painting jobs. Not everyone may be able to manage themselves. One project of my particular interest is "How to turn an old window into illuminated wall art". This video can be found on YouTube also.

Window illuminated wall art
Courtesy: curbly.com

At present I do not have a window frame for this project. But I can think of alternatives like making a frame out of some left over materials. One can think of several different ideas like snowflakes, blue light etc.

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Take a "chill pill"!

As a child I used to fall ill too frequently; an annual bout of malaria and flu were regular features until I reached high school days. Making me to gulp down medicine was an uphill task for my family, forget about any injections to be given. The medicine administering saga would start with my mom crisply asking me to swallow the meds; followed by my aunt’s quirky remarks. Then my paternal grandmothers (one was my dad’s mother and the other was his aunt) would plead with me until they lost it. Each of them would sit on my bedside with a bribe like honey, sugar or something that they thought would interest me. Then my youngest uncle would make his futile attempts with some cock-n-bull stories. The noon would have turned into evening by now. As my elder uncle returned home from work, my grandmothers would approach him for the task. Most times he was gentle, but sometimes harsh; yet I was not the one to budge. The medicine would finally be gulped down along with silent sobs only upon hearing my dad’s spine-chilling roar! That has to be the sure shot climax for all of my medical episodes. I must thank my stars for my good fortune that my child, poor thing, never troubled me, not even in the smallest way. On the contrary I have been a very strict mother, perhaps!!

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This week's recipe

It has been whole wheat bread for breakfast for almost two weeks now. Due to busy morning times, mostly it is roasted slices either buttered or plane. This week I could get some time to grind green chutney and some seasame powder for smearing on the bread slices. Just in time Dassana posted cabbage coleslaw recipe on her blog when I was thinking "what next" with bread, next week.

Cabbage is another humble vegetable that cooks in very less time. I usually couple cabbage with carrots and peas seasoned with curry leaf, mustard, green chillies and a pinch of asafoetida.

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This week's book

My daughter has finished reading Nicholas Sparks's "A Walk to Remember" at 3.00 am this morning. According to her it is the most beautifully written book she has ever read and made her cry. She has already started to re-read it and says she would love to read it over and over again for any number of times. She would like to watch the movie version now. For some reason I am unable to find the DVD on any of the online stores in India. Will continue to look for it during my visits to other places.

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This week's media clip 

The week before last Sony Pix aired "Rise of the Planet of Apes". As always I missed the beginning. However I got glued to the TV set the moment I saw a chimp on screen. I was awed at the cognitive skills of the ape developed as a result of a biochemical experiment. The best part was at last when Caesar, the fully grown, cognitively developed chimp whispers in his human buddy's ear, "Caesar is home". The battle Caesar manages to wage, against humans with the help of other apes to free themselves from the clinical trials and atrocities that followed after that is worth appreciating.

Somehow I always loved watching animal movies. Especially apes and tuskers have fascinated me. This is one definite movie to watch.

Cheerio and stay tuned!!

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