Sami the Mindful Scribbler

Tension? When you are angry, people say you are senseless. Words mean nothing, become meaningless. The toughest task is to control your mouth. I’ve seen how randomly words flow— not like fountains, but like garbage from a truck. Few exist in the dictionary, and most are words which society has created. In places where women need light, recognition, they are starved— but in such useless situations, they are given a place which they never wished for, even in their dreams. They are being associated, labelled as words, asked to carry this as one of the burdens. Ahh, as per those labellers, negative terms offer women a place, a feeling that they aren’t left out. Rarely do they realise where women are actually left behind. At times  Women themselves use those words. Few don’t realise what’s wrong. Some participate in it, not recognising the power and control language has over them. Which puts her in a small box, reducing her into a single trait. The others do realise and still use them. ...

I would like to continue talking about the film 29. The previous post was a review of the film. Even there, towards the ending, I had spoken about a few small details and ideas through which Ratna Kumar continues to show his uniqueness. Personally, more than how the film is made, I liked how Ratna Kumar brought in important ideas that deserve to be seen , realized and discussed by many of us. A few more ideas that drew my attention are: 1) The breakup scene When Viji says she wants to end the relationship, Satya is shocked. But instead of reacting impulsively, he responds. He acknowledges it, takes accountability for his past actions, and decides to let it go.  I once read an Instagram post which said, "The art of letting go with one last touch." After a breakup, some men would never shout or make it loud. Instead, they carry it with dignity, respecting both the individuals who were in love. Just because the status of a relationship changes in a minute doesn't mean the re...

29 An age which is 9 years from 20 and 1 year away from turning 30, which again marks a new phase of life. There are so many stereotypes associated with people turning thirty. If it's a man, he is mostly expected to settle himself and his family financially. He should be in a well-paying job so that a girl will accept him and marry him. Whereas for a woman, the first expectation is marriage. If she is 29, society would see her as an Avvaiyar. I'm glad it's changing now, but that thinking hasn't died yet. So, this film, 29, directed by Ratna Kumar, starring Retro fame Vidhu, Preethi Asrani, Master Mahendran, Aadhira Pandilakshmi, and others. This film is about a 29-year-old guy who is clueless about who he is. Even after studying agriculture, he finds no scope for it. In the small city he lives in, he carries multiple identities. Currently, being 29 is his identity. But how can that be his identity? Everyone offers him a mask: as a student, a boy belonging to a particula...

At times You wonder You question Your existence Your nature And come up with A critical question, A crisis: Am I a good human being? Though Strangers share their stories Without fear, But with trust. Though animals Come to you. Though kids run to you With a healing smile, And you too heal them With your radiance, With your warmth, With your love. But at one point, When someone puts you in A critical situation, You question your own self, Which you, Which others, Believed to be Pure, To be good. Such people, Such situations, In fact help you Introspect, Retrospect, Make you KNOW yourself, To bring you out from the belief That you are always good, Bringing out the negative traits, Though not inherent, But they are there, They do show up, They could have been developed Unconsciously. But to identify, But to recognise, To realise, And to have awareness is important. It hurts. It's painful To realise That the same heart, Which comforted Kids, People, Can cause Wounds. But People who Hav...

 A few days back, we planned a small trip to a few southern districts. That too after so long, we four as a family planned a trip. So it kind of took us back to our childhood days. Just wake up, dress up, blindly follow the places wherever parents take you to, having packed homemade lemon rice for the train, visiting temples, playing Raja-Rani game, and having random conversations, ending the day with fulfillment and a long sleep. Those beautiful days! That's the reason I said this trip was special. The very planning itself felt exciting. Our parents wanted this to be a devotional trip, and I personally saw it as a spiritual trip. However, only going to temples disappointed us a little, as we wanted to explore other places as well. But later, we realised that through these temple visits, we could explore other special places as well around the locality. And I'm glad we did. I would like to share the four major places we travelled to in my blogs. So this blog is going to be abou...

GOOD MORNING! Most parents would've taught us how to "wish" once we start to talk, or at least prattle. And it continues till the end of our lives. It begins with our parents, being practised daily during our childhood, making us greet everyone. In a few houses, the habit of saying "good morning" stops in that phase itself. Whereas in a few households, greeting each other continues as a practice. No matter what, their day would begin with a calm "good morning" wish. My father greets me daily. I don't know how many times I've wished him back, as most of the time I'll be half asleep. But I'm sure I've always acknowledged his greetings. My very close friend begins conversations with a "good morning" almost every day, often accompanied by a few sunrise and smiley emojis. I just love that. When I went to the school as an intern, I slowly kind of went back to my own school days. Especially when each kid greeted me with a "g...

Bhoothakaalam is a Malayalam film directed by Rahul Sadasivan, starring Shane Nigam and Revathy. It was released in the year 2022. I got to watch this psychological horror film today. To be honest, it's been so long since I watched a horror film. I'm someone who keeps shifting genres instead of leaning towards one particular comfort genre. But I don't know how I missed watching horror films for so long. Horror films had their wave a few years back across all industries. We got to see filmmakers coming up with sequels, and that kind of went like a season. After that, a genre shift happened, and now it's more action-oriented films. That's why when family dramas and love stories come, they stand out, because we have been lacking such films. Maybe I should've gone beyond Indian cinema to explore the horror genre. Sure, I'll do that soon. Just like how our youngerselves would watch such scary films even though we were scared. Unconsciously, I've kept this gen...

 I don't know how many people will relate to what I'm about to share in my today's blog.But yes, I have seen people having that habit, so those people can completely get me while reading this piece of writing. Why do we wear slippers? To protect our feet from dirt, hazards, and sharp objects. We can't really walk barefoot on roads or rough ground all the time. Historically, there have been many reasons why people started wearing footwear. One of the aspects that I am aware of is how footwear was tied to the caste system in India. The history of footwear in India is deeply tied to the violence, humiliation, and control exerted through the caste system. For so long, wearing slippers wasn't seen as a personal choice but as a strict symbol of authority reserved for the upper class. I also read about how people who were at the bottom of the social hierarchy were forced to do hazardous work, including making and stitching leather slippers. Yet, the irony is that they were...

  In my last few blogs, I shared my experiences of being with kids and teaching them. As a part of that series, today I would like to share my experience of working with seniors. As an intern, or when it is your first job, one of the hesitations would be how the seniors are going to be. How do you really mingle with them, learn from them, work with them, and still be on good terms with them? I'm not an exception. On my first day, when I went there, most of the people were in their late 20s and early 30s. More than their age, their experience spoke louder. I was really able to sense that through their teaching and the way they handled both professional and personal spaces.  On the first day, I did feel a little isolated. I wasn't really offered much work. But later, I realised that it was actually time for me to observe and learn. Really, I learnt a lot from them. To list a few: 1) Be kind and be patient As we know, being kind and being human is important. I saw that in a very ...

I saw a mother, And her son. In everyone's eyes, He is different. He is special. But she wants this world, These humans, To see him, To treat him, To love him, To include him Like everyone else. She wishes Her child could be Ordinary, Just like every other child. Those longing eyes Said all this With a single look. As a woman, She compared her child With other children. She wished her son would Walk, Talk, Learn, As quickly as the others. But as a mother, Having seen him Through thick and thin, Having witnessed his struggles, Having grown alongside him, She knows Her son is extraordinary. This difference wasn't chosen. It was given. A boon or a bane? She wonders When the weight feels heavy. Sometimes she may think His condition is a burden. But the very next moment, She realizes, She is not herself without him. When she realizes Her love, His love, Their love for each other, When she realizes A child should never be compared, When she realizes How sick society can be— Those sel...

Today I'm going to talk about something that's quite sensitive. At the same time, it needs attention and deserves awareness. A day back, I was standing near the gate of my house. A man came to deliver grocery items to a nearby house. Two small girl children were playing near the gate. I was about to leave as I had some work outside. Now, coming to the point. Both the kids were very small, probably around 4 and 5 years old. At that age, to narrate or share with their parents whatever happened during their playtime itself takes time — to recollect everything and put it into words. After completing the delivery, the man came down and closed the gate. One girl child looked at him and gave a small smile. The next moment, he touched her cheeks, smiled back at her, and left. I was witnessing this, and at the same time, in the urge of leaving. When they smiled at each other, nothing seemed wrong to me. But when he touched her and went down, Suddenly a thought boomed in my mind: Di...