Bengali Market

A km from Connaught Place is the Bengali market. It was built in the 1930 by Bengali Mal Lohia. I simply adore shopping here. The place reminds me of Bangalore. Some 30 shops gaze into a spacious quaint circle that lies at the meeting place of 4 roads. The market is neat and welcoming. The shopkeepers are courteous and shoppers who frequent the place are soft spoken and well mannered. One peculiarity I notice. There is two of everything here!


Flower corners, vegetable and fruit shops, bakeries, snack corners, stationery and booksellers, drycleaners, gift shops and high quality photo studios…… two shops of each kind!

We frequent the Bengali sweet house. You get non-Bengali stuff here too! We relish their rosogullas and sometimes indulge in a yummy chocolate pastry called rum ball in the air-conditioned comfort of their bakery section. The larger seating area is more popular where families huddle under fans and lipsmack pao-bhajis and golgappas and fruit shake …. Place for Delhi street food.

The narrow vegetable shop has super fresh veggies and fruits, common and exotic, all stacked efficiently in wall mounted shelves. The owner occupies most of the entrance and I squeeze past him into the store. I find stylish-packed dry berries (that my mom never allowed me to eat) and strange looking fruits that I mistake for small potatoes! Chotu helps me load veggies and fruits into a plastic tray and then he weighs them. With neither calculator nor computing machines the owner efficiently calculates for amounts I have chosen to load…..250g, 300g or even 850g. Chotu parcels them into suitable bags and carries them to the car for me……oooh! What luxury.

He waits patiently as the car crawls into a space in front of us. He plonks the bags into the empty front seat. Namaste he says as he withdraws his head and hand. Have a good day he says. He shuts the door and walks away.
Thank you I say and smile at him nicely. What a good boy.
The car revs into the main road.
I hit my head in dismay……..I should have tipped him. Aaah! How could I be so gross??

Being on top

They had told us that we need to make a beginning. The only way to reach the top is to start. So we took the first step and joined the line. The line of other dreamers who wanted to reach the top.
With determination we stayed at it, we plodded on. Let me tell you the truth, we were just that much away from quitting when we found ourselves taking one more step forward.
Aaaah! nothing like a push to take you to the top. It feels lovely when an unseen hand shoves you sometimes gently and sometimes harshly jerking you towards that view from the top.
Wise men tell us that it is difficult to reach the top and more so is staying at the top.
How right they are. I feel shaky here and queasy too. Little men with little feet stand on the firm ground. They stand there and look up and wish they were in my place. Do I wish I was in theirs?
Wooo the plunge downward is mighty. A mighty rise has a mighty fall. So true. But the wheel goes on. Every rise has a fall and every fall has a rise. We are strapped firmly to our bearings and that gives us confidence.
Whew, we are soon out of the Giant Wheel making our wobbly way towards the next ride at the amusement park.
eh
what did you think?

Heart or Head?

There is a large tree right in front of my house shedding copious amount of leaves. I need to sweep my yard twice a day! I have decided to have the tree chopped. But the tree is green and healthy. So now there is a conflict between the heart and the head. Who do you listen to? Given that either action will bring both joy and pain, which way do you go?


An article in the TOI today differentiates between cleverness and wisdom. Marguerite Theophil tells us that cleverness is satisfied with short term gains; wisdom acts from a wider perspective.

When decision is based on cleverness we are essentially thinking of that context as distinct from other aspects of our life. We need to be clever to fix a tyre, to open the can and to draft an agreement. Cleverness deals with result oriented daily activity. It brings us material and technological progress. Cleverness works for the good of the individual. It is selfish.

Wisdom deals with life itself. Wisdom is in knowing what the correct thing to do is. It is the basic core to our existence. It forms our values and priorities. Wisdom is born of past experiences, inherited knowledge and imbibed culture. But at the same time it respects new information and assimilates new perspectives into what is already within. Since all life on earth is inter dependent. Wisdom means good for all.
Wisdom tells us whether we must fix that tyre, open that can, or draft that agreement.

Let us look at some popular instances for the use of the term.
• The Supreme Court would not like to interfere with the policy decision taken by the Legislature in its wisdom.
• Parents in their wisdom decided to send the child to Play School.
• The coach in his wisdom decided to rest his best player.

What is the implied meaning?
Here the intentions of the counsel, the parent and the coach are above reproach and are believed to be most honourable and for the good of all. The language or action used to convey the decision requires skill and cleverness. But even the court of law looks at the wisdom and intention and not at the cleverness of wording or action. So it is best that decision is left to wisdom and not intellect.
That answers the question - Who do you listen to – posed at the start of this blog.