Mirror Miiror On The Wall...

Of late she has turned reticent this best buddy sister of mine. Gone are her anecdotes which overflowed with humor in real life. Devoid of her joie de vivre and bereft of her best mimicry i am often tearing my hair in despair in trying to fathom if it was something i have said or done to trigger this loneliness and sadness that seems to emanate from both ends now. My loneliness getting deeper we both seem to be wallowing in a common disposition which sees us in a quiet and serene surrounding far far away from humanity.

i am at the moment on a pepping myself spree. Instilling hope in me that maybe it's yet another phase which like other phases should pass and so i am holding on to her last one. Her last anecdote i mean. And although i laughed at what she said i did not hear even a dry ha from her. She just narrated what she was seeing and as if my laughter would elicit some from her i laughed the cheating laugh like those we often hear in the background of the many sorry comedy sit coms.

i am holding on to her last one for other reasons too. The most important being the thought that how easy it is to laugh at others. Obviously this only happened after i had had my fill of laughing at her neighbor's expense. i looked around me and saw that my attempt to do certain things of my own looked silly and funny too. Not that i am prone to doing silly things but this endeavor is a testimony of the bubbling creative Indian in me who just like many of her kind is trying a cost effective way to solve issues.
We also have a very Indian word to it which is called JUGAAD.

While many jugaad concepts get applauded as innovations or have the potentials of pioneering well designed and neatly executed easy to use equipments some elicit humor and laughter and can also provide food for light hearted tea-time conversations. One can go on discussing the feasibility and purpose and also analyze the IQ of the innovator.

i start my week by trying to put myself at ease. i want to laugh at myself first.
Although i was pretty serious at what i was doing i realize now as  i look at it that my own jugaad looks not only crude but quite funny.

And all my attempts of reinforcements to make it look less precarious makes the entire look not only rudimentary but even funnier.

But the one that can be awarded the first prize among the worst is...The Cage

There are no avian or rodents in this cage but...

Plants!!

Caged , packed  and partially fenced too...

Now as the corner of my lips twitch at all my jugaad i feel some ease in presenting that which my taciturn nowadays sis had provided me with. At this juncture it is inconsequential to discuss the why's of all this frugal engineering. What i want to test is whether it is easier to laugh at others. Deeply influenced by what i have just read http://godhungry.org/2012/04/10/put-others-at-ease-by-laughing-at-yourself/

Presenting...through pictures... the story of The Caged Amrapali...

i will be dishonest if i say i have not laughed at this. And i am not surprised either that i did because it is so easy to laugh at what others do. Ignoring the fact that improvisation was the key issue it was so easy to fall prey to appearance. The essence however being the same in this and mine which is to protect. So is it the appearance versus essence that seems to be the culprit here or is it what has been my central thought?

i am unable to point out any single incident that has driven me to ponder about this at the start of the week but am certain about my own feelings on being ridiculed. i am affected most when anyone ridicules me on my efforts. i feel bitter and seek isolation. But i am blessed with a lot of resilience too.

This resilience also comes to me from borrowed sources. The words of wisdom from seers and saints, poets and writers, friends and relatives and now with the help of technology from various other known and lesser known in the world wide web. These words that heal the wounded self esteem, remind the self of the do unto others as you would have others do unto you and last but not the least prevent the boils from turning into tumors. Call these boils as disgust, frustration, irritation, bitterness... 

Another day with a new beginning i should be raring to go undeterred with what anyone has to say about my looking forward to projects.

And as i go about my endeavors to make my babies (plants) April-May storm resistant i will remember the efforts of my sister's neighbor with more kindness.

Sure i'm humming " Tell me mirror mirror on the wall..."

Notes

Jugaad: "... grassroots innovation to overcome any constraint".

http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2010-08-15/news/27567823_1_jugaad-frugal-engineering-innovation

Amrapali: Sharing the nomenclature with the royal courtesan of ancient India this variety of mango is as charming. The tree looks graceful and the fruit when ripe has an amazing aroma, is rich in it's color and tastes heavenly.

                                 Amrapali Mango

This hybrid is from a cross of Dashehari and Neelum. It is dwarf, regular bearing and late maturing variety. The variety is suitable for high density planting as about 1600 plants may be planted in a hectare. It yields on an average of 16 tonnes/ hectare.

Dashehari and Neelum are names of popular varieties of mango both having their own unique tastes.

Image courtesy: http://kuweight64.blogspot.in/2011/11/laughing-at-others-expense.html