Sleep: Recovery Mode

Sleep it overwhelms you even as you plan
How to do the myriad things that in the planner you scan.
The eyes close, the mind shuts down,
A pill for pain that you have ignored for long.
The noise around you, the overbright light, the food you need eat,
All ignored, forgotten, in this quest your body and mind journey.
Phone bells buzz, notifications run amok, but nothing registers
You might for all purposes be to the world dead.
Unplugged, you steadily recharge,
Though the pain stays, you can now with renewed vigor your own path chart.
Sleep, the ultimate pill for recovery.
Sleep, the best comfort in this journey.
May we never part ways for long
No matter how old I grow, may our bond stay strong.

- Written on 21 October 2023.

- I crashed after a series of long days with a rib injury and a particular long day today due to invigilation. 

Dress Codes and Functions

Dress codes for temples I care not about
Do Gods decide on blessings on what I wear or not?
Saree is good, not the salwar
Sure, and home is good, not blaring shlokas.
Yes the rhythms are good, the intentions too,
But focusing on the outside is the opposite of what is preached as right and good.
Rituals are wonderful for those who want to follow them or merely observe,
But for those forced they are just more rules that their inner desires cruelly govern.
Yet, again there are kindly ladies,willing to stand in for you
Dressed in elegant sarees, the perform rituals you were meant to.
This is divine, this is pure, a feeling to cherish, a reason to religion endure
The concern, the care, the camaraderie the social gathering brings does one lure.
The words spoken in English since they think I know no Tamil,
The concern that I feel involved and the bearing of so much good will.
It was with mixed feelings that I walked home yesterday
It is with mixed emotions that I reflect on temples and religion, even today.

- Witten on 18 October 2023.

- Appa had given for Chandi Homam in the temple during this Navratri season with the idea of women being workshipped (I was to do the worshipping).