Passion…unbridled

If people think all that Indians can cook is “curry”

This is a myth I would like to bury..

*

Curry is the by-product of colonization

It reduces the complex cuisine of a diverse nation

To one single term, that the British devised

Those unfamiliar with Indian food would be surprised 

To know that there are thousands of recipes with ingredients myriad

The culinary breadth of India reduced to a single word makes me sad..

*

In a land full of spices of every kind

Diversity of ingredients in food you can find

There are many ways to cook every vegetable and meat

You could make “curry” every day, and ingredients not repeat

For days because each dish has a combination unique

Of textures, and flavors, to satisfy whatever an Epicurean palate might seek..

*

I think it is a disservice to Indian cuisine when we try to explain

Our dishes as curries of some kind, why do we remain

So tied to colonial terminology even to this day

Let us describe our authentic food the right way

Our cuisine is diverse, and cannot be defined

By one signature dish, our food to one word cannot be confined

Does every health condition, every symptom we face

Need treatment, do rest and hydration really have no place

In managing a variety of ailments, it seems hard to believe

That our ancestors lived without hundreds of medications to relieve

Every fever, every cough, every ache and pain, and depression

Why do we have with medications this obsession?

*

As a society we are increasingly intolerant

Of suffering, if we are sick our intent

Is to feel better right away, we do not want to give

Ourselves the tincture of time, we don’t want to live

With temporary discomfort while we wait

To get better, let our symptoms abate

*

We are always busy with many responsibilities

Work does not adequately accommodate disease

We need to get back on our feet fast

We cannot afford our illnesses to last

More than a few days- we have to return

Back to work, a living we have to earn

Sometimes we use medications as a crutch

To get back to work, since we cannot rest much..

*

As I recuperate from a viral illness, I remind myself to rest

And drink more water, this remedy is the best

From taking a pill for bodyaches, I refrain

After all, it is not dangerous to experience some pain.

I once thought my limit was the sky

I had set the bar for myself high

In terms of achievement in every sphere

As time went by, I realized I lived in fear

Of not being able to reach the heights

I had set my eyes on, life was a constant fight

To soar higher and higher, there was no ceiling

The constant climb left me reeling..

*

I had thought by reaching for the stars I would declare

Myself extraordinary, more than anything I cared

About distinguishing myself from the crowd

I wanted to be unique, and proud..

*

I have learnt enough lessons by now to know that I

Am not someone who can fly high

Let me keep my feet closer to the ground

Instead of being lonely in the sky, find community around

To be extraordinary or distinctive I would not strive

I would rather be a harmonious part of the hive

“Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?”

This quote is often repeated to motivate, but each time I read it, it cuts like a knife

It makes me feel I’m wasting my one and only wild and precious life away

I have made no elaborate plans, I’m just living from day to day

I feel overwhelmed because there is a sense of urgency in these lines

Telling me to act now, a concrete path for myself define

But the more I ponder over what I want to achieve

The more uncertain I feel, I sincerely want to believe

That there is a path for me, waiting to be found

And that I would find it if I paid attention and looked around..

*

As the years go by, I hear time knocking on my door

My days on this planet feel more finite than they did before

I try to pay attention to the world around me

I try to embrace each moment fully

But a plan for the future I have not been able to lay out

When I contemplate my legacy, I am filled with self-doubt

*

As I pen down these lines expressing my frustration

All of a sudden, I have this revelation

Perhaps this wild and precious life is meant to be lived in the moment

And making audacious plans for the future is not the intent?

*

So let me rephrase, my one wild and precious life would be spent

In being mindful, being fully present in each moment

Physicians are experiencing burnout at an alarming rate

In doldrums is the entire health system’s state

Workloads climb higher, compensation sinks low

Corporate systems dictate physicians’ workflow

You go to work every day but it is harder to find

Anything to place you in an optimistic state of mind

*

You start seeing patients, you hear them lament

About high drug prices, you listen to them vent

You explain to the patient what you think they should do

All within a limited span of time too

*

While leaving, a patient thanks you sincerely for his care

And that one sentence makes you forget all the negativity out there..

*

It is easy to get caught in the doom and gloom

Of impending healthcare collapse, but even if you assume

The worst is in store for you as a physician

There would remain relatively untouched the relation

Between your patient and you- the essence of your practice would remain

Unaffected, resistant to the strong winds of change

*

So when you feel disillusioned by the direction of healthcare

Remember the patient who thanked you for his care

The patient-physician relationship is at the core of what you do

No matter what happens with healthcare, this would remain true

The ancient science of Ayurveda emphasized

That we are what we eat, only recently have we realized

Through scientific experiments that the concept holds true

Imbalance in gut health has been found to lead to

A multitude of diseases, affecting the immune system, skin, heart and brain

Centuries-old Ayurvedic principles we are learning again

*

As a society we tend to eat food ultra-processed

With fad diets many of us are obsessed

We eat with little regard to the time of the day

Sitting at our desks or couches, we snack away

We have developed unhealthy relationships with food

It is time to transform towards eating our attitude

*

To eat less often, and eat less

To eat local and seasonal food, unprocessed

To cook with fresh ingredients, as much as possible, from scratch

More importance to eating mindfully should be attached

*

We carry, in the form of microbiomes, multitudes inside

The keys to health and wellness within our guts reside

Buy __ for your children and witness

The joy on their faces priceless

This advice was given to me recently

As I tried to navigate rather unsuccessfully

Giving in to my son’s wants versus giving a lesson

About the value of money and delayed gratification

I have not decided which way to go

My child would be pleased, I know

If he got what he wanted, but that is not the way

I want him to experience happiness anyway

*

Let your child work hard at a skill, be competitive

Encourage him to excel and give

Your unconditional support, and when success he achieves

Let him bask in the glory of the accolades he receives

The joy of success in his eyes you would like to see

As his proud mother obviously-

I cannot but agree with this sentiment

But letting him be happy only when he succeeds is also not my intent

*

In the ideal world I would like my child to be happy

When he puts in his best effort, regardless of what the result happens to be

When he does something that benefits someone

Without expecting anything in return

When he earns enough to satisfy his needs desires

But does not tie his happiness to what he acquires

I want him to be the best person that he can be

And then the happiness in his eyes I want to see

When into turmoil my emotions are thrown

When I am feeling completely alone

When nothing seems to make sense anymore

I seek refuge in writing, into words I pour

My angst, even when my emotions are not well-articulated

Writing provides me comfort, lets my angst get abated

*

Writing provides a mechanism to cope

With life’s challenges, words distill hope

Into my heart when I am drowning in despair

Pouring my woes on paper makes me more self-aware

Gives me a path forward when there appears to be none

Weaving my problems into words is half the battle

My writing has its seasons, there are months when I write prolifically

Everything I experience provides ideas and imagery

For me to weave into words that effortlessly flow

I start believing that this season of creativity would never go..

*

Sooner or later, the well of inspiration starts running dry

It seems all possible themes I’ve explored, even though I try

To come up with novel ideas, my writing tends to be

Repetitive, insipid, lacking in originality

The season of my writing comes to a natural end

There is nothing I can do to let the season extend

*

One day the seed of an idea plants itself in my brain

And my dormant creative cells are activated again

I am inspired to write, sometimes in a fever pitch

My thoughts assemble themselves into words for me to stitch

Together into verses that are a window into my mind

In writing, an almost spiritual contentment I find

*

I hope this is my season to write

When ideas flow freely and there is no writer’s block to fight

I read about an interesting concept to reduce

The symptoms of burnout we increasingly feel, to infuse

A sense of calm into a busy, chaotic day

To drive excessive anxiety away

“Prescribe yourself a minute” was the advice

Despite my initial skepticism, I tried it, and to my surprise

Taking a minute when I was feeling stressed out

To sit down and center myself worked like a charm, without

Consuming any time, in fact I was more productive

When a minute at a time between tasks I could give

To focus on my breathing and practicing mindfulness

The power of a full minute I was this able to harness..

*

Sometimes a minute is all we need

To slow down and shift our focus indeed

Away from the stressors that we face

To give our mind rest and solace

We physicians prescribe a variety of treatments for patients we see

It is time to prescribe something for ourselves exclusively

I just came across a concept previously unfamiliar to me

That is an emerging concept in design-ecomimicry

*

Greenery in urban spaces we have been incorporating

In a cookie-cutter fashion- or “blandscaping”

Where a green space devoid of local flora is artificially created

The idea being that chosen varieties of plants can be located

In the midst of skyscrapers in any sprawling megacity

To give it much needed greenery while maintaining uniformity

Just like buildings are architecturally similar everywhere

The green islands similarity in design share

*

This anthropocentric approach threatens the natural flora and fauna of the land

Local biodiversity should be included, we are coming to understand

Enter the “ecomimicry” approach to design that draws heavily

On nature, is based on local patterns of biodiversity

*

We learnt from nature but somehow we started believing

That we could outsmart nature, now that conviction is receding

Let us find wisdom in the natural world and align

With nature, our elements of building and design

Sometimes with people of my own generation I feel

That I have a generation gap- when they reveal

All the things they are doing and aspire in the future to do

I am taken by surprise, I had no clue

That people my age lived lives so different from me

I thought I was living “age-appropriately”

*

Late nights out are relics of the past for me

While people in their forties still seem to party

With the vigor of younger people, late into the night

I wonder how their circadian rhythms stay right

They seek new adventures and thrills

I no longer do that and never in the future will

They keep pace with their children, I wonder how

That is something my aching joints would not allow..

*

Am I older in my mind than my biological age would indicate

Or just a timid person, who tends to hesitate

To get out of her comfort zone- which seems to get larger every year

Let me learn from my peers and try to overcome my fears