Two Left Thumbs

Fifa madness began just a couple of weeks ago for most; but, in my world footballs were being kicked and penalties being handed out for over a month and a half now. K’s focus and sincerity at playing the PS4 baffles me. I mean, I call myself a voracious reader, but can’t read more than a few pages at a time (that’s right now. There were times earlier in my life when gripped between the pages of a Forsyth, a Follet, a Sheldon, a Puzo or a Collins, I’ve gone for a whole day without food - ok, two meals….ok fine, one meal). He doesn’t call himself any grandiose names but is able to reach alarmingly high levels and ranks in short spans of time! 

Anyways, the gentleman that he is, he always invites me to play all his PS4 games with him; and though I really, really, really, really do want to, my two left thumbs leave me way behind the start line. Seriously. Behind the ‘start’ line. That’s how bad I am. But this time, when his new FIFA game arrived, I sincerely believed that things will be different.  I’m a fast learner - most of the time - but, this time, much to my feminist dismay, my very muscly footballers ended up doing a strange version of Ringa Ringa Roses on the streets of Brazil. And while they were ‘a-tishoo, a-tishoo’ all falling down, my thumbs, forefingers, index fingers and usually also the rest of my body did a weird mating/rain dance sequence to somehow get them to play football. 

Fine, so I made my peace with my non-sportiness and rejoiced when we bought a new game - a strategy game. Now, this had to be right up my alley, being the thinker/ponderer/mystery girl who also did some vague strategy courses in business school. Right? Right. 

Let me humbly and honestly lay my game controller down (for its own safety) as I admit, that apart from my two left thumbs all my other fingers go comatose during game play. Seriously. My characters just don’t move - no matter the button punching and lever pulling. They just stand there and talk and talk and talk and talk and talk. I mean, at least my footballers did a sort of dance; but my strategising criminals/vigilantes stay put and indulge in small talk - usually in the dining area. Hmmm….!!! 

I am at that point in my gaming life where I’ve accepted who I am - the girl who can’t handle more than two buttons at a time. The thing is, that's okay; because, to shoot a very irritated bird at a gluttonous pig my two left thumbs are almost all I need. 

The Inconvenience of Peace

Arms crossed, lips pursed and an adamance in his eyes that I found amusing and disturbing at the same time, I watched my barely three year old cousin refuse to apologise to someone he had just been rude to. Sheesh! Egos develop early. 

As we grow, some of us learn our lessons and are able to keep our egos a small size - most of the time; while the rest of us let it balloon and usually have it pricked and deflated very quickly by the world. Thats why, seeking peace becomes a very important thing. 

I know that now. But, a couple of decades ago, after going for four days without speaking to my brother (post some silly squabble) I was feeling quite the victor - as a kid, being the sweetheart that he was, he would buckle and give in within a day, but the years added a lot of sense to him and, worse, diminished the efficacy of my vampish strategy. Four days of empty victory later, along came Sunday! 

So, we go to church - maintaining status quo - and though we would have loved to sit on opposite ends of the church, we had to sit together as a family ("get, set, go inconvenience!") Half way through the mass the priest said, “Let’s now offer each other a sign of peace”. Now, sitting beside each other made things extremely inconvenient for me; however, surrounded by the hawk like eyes of our parents, we had no choice but to look at each other with folded hands and say, “Peace be with you.” It sucked the air out of both our ego-balloons; but deflated as they were now, the inconvenience of peace suddenly became a bridge to truce. 

One thing I’ve noticed is that the inconvenience of peace is a global phenomenon. In Edinburgh, I’ve seen at least a couple of people, every Sunday, who suddenly just HAD TO find something in their purses or cough vigorously when it was time to say peace! In India, I’ve seen fellow church goers stand immobile, their necks straining as they stared straight ahead while those on their left and right looked expectantly - almost longingly - at them! I’ve even seen some family members prod their loved ones who were refusing said peace and offer it to them persuasively! 

But, my best ‘peace’ experience was in Shanghai. Despite the mass being entirely in Mandarin, by sheer habit I knew what prayer was going on when; so when it was time for peace, I was all set to say peace to my Chinese brothers and sisters. The Chinese offer peace pretty much like us Indians - folded palms - and I did the same. It was a few moments before I realised that a very, very old Chinese lady (did I mention how ancient she was?!) who had been sitting a couple of benches ahead of me was completely enthralled with the only Indian face in that entire, huge church. She did a complete 180 degrees turn and continued to offer me peace with folded palms for a very long time! 

Inconvenient? Not really. Amusing and a just a tiny bit embarrassing - to me and everyone else in between me and cute old lady? Very much! 

Home is where my camera's heart is

A trip - any trip - is a rejuvenator.  Seeing something new or even revisiting something that you have already seen and enjoyed earlier can help remove cobwebs and infuse freshness into our drab routines. That’s why when K told me that we were going on a trip to Tokyo, I was over the moon and whatever is beyond! And the first thing that I got ready was my camera. 

My camera was my husband’s ‘thala Diwali’ (first Diwali after the wedding) gift to me. It’s an Olympus XZ-1 and is one of my favourite things in the world! And the pictures it takes are pretty awesome too. 

And being a passionate photographer’s spouse it’s only natural that I picked up a little bit of that interest too! Sayonara Chennai, Konnichiwa Japan it was! After some initial literally 'picture perfect' shots, my camera got moody and after a while simply retreated into a shell. 

Our second trip - to China - was met with even more over-the-moonness than the first! I love…LOVE…LOVE Chinese cuisine and after watching A Bite of China both hubby and I were looking forward to our food…err…business trip! (If you haven’t watched A Bite of China yet, please do! It’s an amazing documentary and an addictive watch - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FRHNa9qdtlw. ) I had vowed to take photos of every single thing we eat - B, L, D and any snacks in between! So, we reach Shanghai and, as promised, I take pictures of the ‘original’ shrimp fried rice, the mind boggling Xialongbao and the tarts and biscuits that were complimentary at the cafe in our hotel. A day later, my camera starts sulking and a few hours later goes to sleep. 

The thing with traveling is that though you might be blown away by the newness, awesomeness and yumminess of it all, at some point in time it makes you realise that the chaotic, messy and familiar place you left behind - and only that place - is the legendary ‘sweet home’ people talk about. 

So, when we returned to sultry, hot and traffic-jammed Chennai and my camera suddenly sprung back to life, I realised that despite its Japanese roots,  my sweet camera is actually a Chennaite at heart. 

P.S: My husband says that the sensor in my camera starts acting up because of lower temperatures (both Tokyo and Shanghai were chilly when we went) and that’s why what happened, happened. I think this argument is best settled over full meals and filter coffee.