Crossword Companions

It has been exactly hundred and three days since my friend M and I started doing the Mini New York Times Crossword together. That is literally the first thing I do everyday after waking up. I go to the NYT app, open the mini puzzle, solve it and send my time to M. M lives in Amsterdam and wakes up a little while later and sends me his time back as soon as he can and that is how we greet each other Good Morning every day. Once we compare our timings, we discuss the words that we found most difficult and also the clues that were great. M even notes some special words and clues down in his diary which I think is really adorable.

M’s Notes

I decided to also look into the history of Crosswords and The Smithsonian Magazine has published an amazing piece where it talks about Arthur Wynne, who managed a puzzle supplement for New York World. He wanted to do something new and fun. Inspired by rudimentary word puzzle games he gave birth to the ‘Word-Cross’. An illustrator then accidentally changed ‘Word-Cross’ to ‘Crossword’ and the name stuck. Surprisingly enough, the NYT was one of the last metropolitan newspapers to offer the puzzle to readers and in an editorial piece they called it “a primitive sort of mental exercise”. And look at where they are now, with the NYT puzzle probably being the most popular crossword puzzle in the world.

The New Yorker also did a beautiful piece on ‘The Art and Politics of Crosswords’ where the author has beautifully described her addiction to the crossword puzzle and what she likes and dislikes about them:

In my ravenous puzzle consumption, I’ve inevitably developed tastes and preferences. I prefer vocabulary to trivia, I love visual jokes, and I live and die for twisty, punning clues that require their own decoding.

The video in the post above also talks about the term ‘Breakfast Puzzle’ which is essentially a sort of quality check for croosswords and in simple terms it means that a the crossword should not offend anyone solving it while eating breakfast. But the Crossword Constructor also mentions a valid point that as time passes, people have started becoming more comfortable with concepts and theories as compared to the time gone by, so what is good enough to think about during Breakfast also changes.

As an ending note, I decided to write this blogpost when today in the morning I saw a video on The New Yorker about Partner Crosswords, I realized that there might be many people who share this love of solving Crosswords together and I just wanted to thank M to initiate this tradition. It has truly been an amazing experience and I hope I have more wins on my hands than losses. Thank you for being my Crossword Companion. 🙂

What happens to all the Un-Hugged hugs?

The Daily Shouts segment on The New Yorker recently did a cute little comic called ‘What happens to all the Un-Hugged Hugs’ and it got me thinking about ‘Hugs’

I have had a weird history with hugs. My family is not very keen on showing affection, be it verbally or physically. For the longest time in my life, I was uncomfortable with hugging people no matter how close I was to them.

I once watched this Japanese movie called ‘Ohayo’ which revolved around the nicety of saying ‘Good Morning’ and how not saying it could lead to a myriad of misunderstandings. I was amazed after watching it. I didn’t really realize that such a small thing could make such a big difference to our social lives. Long ago, I had a flatmate who used to say Good Morning to all of us everyday. I found it really weird and used to be super awkward when I said Good Morning back to him. It was never something that we did in my parents’ house so I wasn’t used to it. After watching the movie, the realization finally sort of dawned on me and I gradually made a conscious effort to say Good Morning to all my flatmates everyday. The day started off on a better note automatically. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that it brought about a drastic change in my social life. 🙂

Coming back to hugs, this whole story was to stress on the fact that hugs remove the awkwardness between people. You can say so many unsaid things through a hug. You could tell someone who you met after a long time that you really missed them.  You could tell someone you will not see in a long time that you will really miss them. You could tell people you love them without even saying anything. The intensity of the hugs can differ depending on the person – if its an aquaintance it might be a light half hug and if its your best friend its a bone crushing squeeze.

I am happy to say that now I am super comfortable with hugs. My mother is still apprehensive of it. I remember the first time I hugged her was when I was leaving home to start my first job. I cannot believe it took so long but that’s just how things were. Now, of course, I hug her every time I leave my hometown after meeting her. I hug all my friends when I meet them after a long time and my favourite hugs are the ones right before leaving people, not knowing when we will meet next.

With Covid, I don’t really know what the future of hugs will be. The NewYorker cartoon talked about how these hugs are lingering around the city in despair and waiting to be rejoined with our bodies again, literally and figuratively. A friend recently texted me that she coudln’t wait to hug me when she meets me. This is the longest we have gone without meeting each other, because of the lockdown. I suddenly remembered Shilpa Gupta’s installation ‘For, in your tongue I cannot fit’ that I had seen at the Kochi Biennale. As a small part of the installation she had whispered the poetry of several jailed poets from across the world and then she seals and closes the jar. Only if my friend could also seal these hugs in a jar until I met her and I could feel all the warmth and love pouring forth when I opened it. Or even better, if she could just somehow wrap it up and send it to me. And that’s where all the un-hugged hugs could go. 🙂

A Cup of Tea

Sometimes the simplest things give place to some really strong emotions. One of those things for me is definitely Tea. Here is a timeline of tea in my life:

Childhood
I would see my mother and father indulging in tea about 3 to 4 times a day. Those would be the moments where they would chat to each other and not engage in watching TV or doing anything else. It seemed like a good time to catch up.
When we went to visit other families and friends, they would serve tea to everyone except the kids because tea was STRICTLY NOT for kids, only the adults could have it. We would be served coke or juice, as if that was any healthier!?

Teenage
I was allowed the liberty to have tea but I didn’t find any pleasure in it. Maybe I had not yet developed the taste buds for it? I was assigned the job of making the evening tea for both my parents. I had learnt the exact recipe and we used the same teaspoon for the tea leaves which was used for years. The day it that spoon dissappeared, I was at a loss. I wasn’t sure if my tea would taste the same.

Love
I met someone who loved tea and I fell in love with him and with tea at around the same time. We used to go to the hills and the mountains and while the views and the company changed – one thing remained the same – Tea.

Friendship
Tea became a constant. I would go meet friends and we would always start our day with it even if our day actually started in the Afternoon. I had a friend who would give her all and make tea for me. It would simmer for a long time, finely crushed ginger was added in the end. She would bring out the best cups and pour them out neatly. We would then sit at our table with coasters and all, light a scented candle along with a hand rolled cigaratte and those were some of the best evenings with Tea.

Most recently, my father made us all a cup of tea. I had my doubts about how it would taste. I don’t even know the last time he went to a kitchen. To my surprise, it was absolutely delicious. I guess there are some things that you can’t forget how to do once you have learnt it – much like riding a bicycle.

Phases
There have been gaps of months and years when I have not had tea and there have been phases where I have had tea on a daily basis. For me it is just one of those things – the excess of which gets to me and I have to eventually take a break. But whenever I go back, my love gets stronger and I go all in – simmering, sipping and smoking all worries away.

Lockdown and Leisure

Leisure

noun

Time when one is not working or occupied; free time.

The fact that I am writing this post after more than a year of writing anything else on this Blog is testament of the fact that I have too much time on my hands. I was lucky enough to have come back home before all of India went into a lockdown. I am now with my family and we divide our chores – my mother does most of the cooking and I do the dishes and cleaning. Thankfully, my office is making us work from home so that keeps me occupied on most days of the week. I never thought I would be glad about having office work but I really am. I am the kind of person who doesn’t like sitting free for even a second. I am constantly reading, watching something, surfing through the internet, or doing something or the other.

In the first few days of the Lockdown, I thought it would only last a month. I was reading and wathcing shows like a maniac. Trying to finish as much as possible. I thought this is the best time I could ever get to read and watch as much as I can. Then the Lockdown kept getting extended. It’s been more than 2 months now and I am falling into a rut again. Though I am still more productive then when I was before the Lockdown.

I had always wondered what would I do if ever I went on a sabbatical. I always thought it would be the best version of my life. I got to experience a mini version of it with this Lockdown and I guess it isn’t so bad.

Of course I realize all the privileges I have, to have a nice home, to be with family, to have access to all essentials and to have a steady job (for the time being *fingers crossed*). I count my blessings for that every day.

With all the free time I have had, I have started reading more than I have read in years. I have watched at least a 100 of hours of content – TV shows and movies both. I have started meditating – which is new for me and I manage to workout once in every two days. There was a week when I worked out for a week straight (alternating yoga with cardio). These were some of the pros of the Lockdown.

The cons have been few but have a drastic effect on my life. I have retreated into a shell and do not have the urge to talk to people or to socialize. I had read something about Introverts which talked about how when they have stayed away from people  for too long, they want to stay away even more. It is a paradox but it is true in my case. But I have an incredible set of friends who help me come out of the shell with their constant calls and efforts to have a conversation. I truly feel blessed to have them.

Going forward, all I want to do is to keep up or better the productivity levels and to maintain them post the Lockdown as well if possible. I would also want to maintain a better equilibrium of my social life and productivity – which is going to a difficult exercise.

Unwanted Reviews – 2

Another day at work, I decided to randomly click on whatever music related link that appeared on my YouTube page and decided to review that music. This time around I will also have a verdict as to whether I would want to hear it again or not. I kept on choosing mildly interesting titles from the suggested list and here is what we have:

The video looks great and the music is great for when you’re walking because of the beats. I can’t imagine how many people it must have taken to bring this edit into place and all singing the same song again and again. My verdict is YES I would like to hear it again. He sings it in such a high pitch and his voice is so powerful, its amazing.

OMG how cute is this! And I didn’t expect her voice to be like that, reminds me of Passenger, a teenage version though. This gives me just another reason to love Youtube and its algorithm which I do have my complaints with often. A BIG YES for this one, I will actually add it to my playlist for sure! Do not miss the well written lyrics:

Wishing I could see the machinations
Understand the toil of expectations in your mind
Hold me like you never lost your patience
Tell me that you love me more than hate me all the time
And you’re still mine

I had to try another one, after loving the last one and yes this band is here to stay! YAY! I found a new favourite. 🙂

I used to listen to Rudimental back in College and maybe I was looking for the same kind of magic but the song didn’t give me the same feels and I would rather NOT listen to it again. The video is worth watching once though, its all kinds of travel goals! 😀

Idk how to describe this one. I went in expecting a better song considering the video and the beautiful beautiful colors but alas! Very average song. NOT adding it to my list. The video again is very refreshing. A good reference to store for when you want to deck up something with a hundred colors. 😛

 

Why do writers write?

Writers write to keep memories from dying.

Writers write because it’s their high.

They write because it’s easier than talking.

They write because they want someone to read them like they read others.

Writers write because sometimes punctuation is really important.

Writers write to convert words into a painting in your mind.

They write to take you everywhere they have been.

They write so that you can hear every echo in the story they wrote.

Writers write so that their words can pierce your heart.

But they also write to mend broken ones.

Monsoon Playlist

A roundup of the monsoon beauties before I these songs disappear into the vortex of my brain.

I love all the shades of a relationship they managed to capture in this one song with the one common motif of travelling in the underground. I am a fan of public transport and I have so many stories related to it. It is a modern cultural experience in itself. To see it being used like this was nothing short of magic to me. 🙂

I have loved Angus and Julia Stone since ‘Big Jet Plane’. Their dreamy music is always so soothing and this video is Vacation goals AF! 😉

I stumbled upon Roo Panes accidentally and the only question I have is why didn’t I not know him earlier? It’s like I have found Damien Rice from the parallel universe!

This one is just to add the much needed color and peppiness to the sobriety that might have been induced by all the indie songs above. XD

“I’d rather dance than talk with you”. Enough said. 🙂

 

A few good things – Part 1

 

Desperate times need desperate measures. Here is an attempt to add some good vibes in my day by counting my blessings. 😛

• A beautiful yellow colored butterfly that flew by my windshield while I was listening to Ek Chaand.

• A man bumped into a woman. They apologized and moved on. The woman blushed.
• A child ran excitedly after the auto in which his friend was sitting. The friend had his hand stretched out. He got in. They drove away laughing.
• This video I found on Reddit that gave me goosebumps!

Unwanted Reviews

So this one day at work, I decided to randomly click on whatever music related link that appeared on my YouTube page and decided to review that music. I kept on choosing mildly interested titles from the suggested list and here is what we have:

H.E.R. – Lights On

The music reminds me a lot of Honne (I wrote a post about them earlier), but the touch of their vocals is missing. I shouldn’t be comparing and this is good in itself to listen on a breezy evening when you are all alone. This is what you would add in your “Chill” playlist for easy listening.

SZA – Broken Clocks

The music is very similar to the last one but slightly more upbeat and reminds me of Alessia Cara’s Stay. The lyrics though are great! Another good one for the “Chill” Playlist, but I doubt I would add it to mine. Recently, it feels like all of these songs sound almost the same.

Jain – Makeba

So, I cheated a little bit here. All the suggested music was by SZA so I chose this one instead. I have been obsessed with this one ever since a colleague played this during one of the office parties. The music and the lyrics are brilliant and the music as well. Jain is only 21 and has been all around the world. She spent quiet a bit of her life in Africa and her music has been influenced by African Music clearly. This song specially, has been written for ‘Makeba’ who was a UN goodwill ambassador, an actor and a singer, also known as Mama Africa. Do watch the video and experience the brilliance of editing!

Madcon – Don’t Worry ft. Ray Dalton

What do I even say? Yes it’s happy, yes it’s uplifting but what is this? Also, it’s been published by Warner Music Germany. What’s better than the song is the lobster at 2:34. xD

Robin Schulz – Sugar

OMG I thought that was Justin Beiber for a moment. I think this is a happier video than the last one! Just look at that cop go! It is embarrassing to say it but I do that sometimes when I am alone – dancing like a crazy person that is. 😀

 

 

Oh Wonder

So yeah, there is this new musician duo that I am totally obsessed with at the moment and as you can read in the title it’s “Oh Wonder”! I have been listening to their remixes for a long time now but never bothered to check out their original videos and music until YouTube threw them at me and voila!

Linking and listing below, two of my favorite songs – Ultralife (for the lyrics) and Heavy (for the music and the adorable video).

“Ultralife”

Lovesick the beat inside my head
Waves struck a sea of bitterness
Lights out solo in the blue
Before I found you

Days passed slowly, lost and low
You gave me hope and now there’s only

Blood running in my veins
I’ve never been here before
And I got love falling like the rain
I never could’ve asked for more

I got so much soul inside my bones
Take a look at me now
I’m young forever in the sun
Ever since you came I’m living ultralife
I’m living ultralife

Turn down the voice inside my head
Cause heaven only knows why we feel this emptiness
But I will climb out, find another view
Now I’ve found you

Found me on a basement floor
Back when I had lost it all
Told me what the fight was for
And I’m not giving up no more
You elevate the life in me
Illuminate the in-between
Forever gonna feel this free
And I’m not giving up now

It is really hard to put love into words, but they somehow make the impossible possible. And no matter where I am, who I am with, I can always relate to a part or all of the song.

 The above song is “Heavy”. Even though the name is heavy, the song makes me feel light even at the most stressful moments. The way Josephine dances and looks at Anthony is beautiful beyond words. That kind of chemistry is really hard to find and I love the fact that they began bonding over loving the same kind of music. I feel that the kind of music you like says a lot about your personality and your playlist is one of those things that can reveal so much about you. I, for one, am very possessive about my playlist. I often force people into listening my music at social gatherings but what they never know is I very carefully play the kind of music that suits the moment. Those songs are only 10% of my total playlist and keeps changing with the mood. That was quiet the digression. Haha. Signing off to go back and watch Heavy. 🙂