'Cause Pigs can Fly

Pic by Mstyslav Chernov (Wikipedia)   Yesterday, while joking around in office, I said I was religious for only a minute or two each day. This was when I offered flowers, gilan pasa and the Buddha pooja to the white statue on a shelf at home. I would light the oil lamp, often cursing the matches for not lighting at the first strike, then take two joss sticks out of the packet. One I would light and offer the Buddha. Then I say four or five lines that cover pin awashya ayata pin deema, keeping everyone safe, mentioning a few specific people like Jayawathi and then wishing for the strength to attain nirvana. Once that's done, I light the other joss stick, keep it near the picture of Athamma and go about my day. During the rest of the day, I rarely, if ever, think about my Buddhistness. I don't wear a pirith noola, I don't wish people the blessings of the triple gem, I just go about my business. I do go to temple twice or thrice a year but I’m not a huge fan of te...

One of the van ladies told me today that she has noticed I've made only one or two calls during my 2 1/2 years in the van. She thought I was being considerate of others and didn't want to have personal conversations in the van. I didn't have the heart to tell her that it was all that but also because I've managed to distance myself so much from people that most of my conversations happen on Twitter. I did tell her that I avoid phone calls like the plague and she said it was surprising that although a young girl (this sure sounded like an insult), I wasn't glued to my phone all the time. The fact that I'm not like everyone else (in the van) made me happy, but sometimes I actually wonder if being like them, being someone who has (phone) conversations and doesn't avoid relationships, might do me some good.

Published in The Nation (Free) Home is an animation about Boovs who have come to the Earth and the friendship between a Boov named Oh (voiced by Jim Parsons) and a human girl named Tip (voiced by Rihanna). There will be mild spoilers, you have been warned. I watched the movie with my mother. The cinema, thankfully small, had an audience of kids and also adults. So as someone who is clearly not a kid, I didn’t have to feel uncomfortable about being an adult watching a children’s movie. Before your raise your objections, let me explain. I am incredibly afraid of children and so feel conscious of myself when in their company. Animations tend to attract hoards of children, and yet, if the film is worth it and the audience keeps quiet, I don’t mind it. While I accept that all animations aren’t meant for kids only, most attract people of that age and it is for this reason that Home was called a children’s movie in the previous paragraph. However, Home was definitely not a ch...