My Petrichor Pages

 It is a Saturday night and I have used this entire week for recovering from a bad reaction to inhaling bleach fumes while I was cleaning black mould away from my bathroom. I am still not a hundred percent okay but I am hoping that I will be soon. I am chilling, listening to Punjabi folk music on TV and occasionally just dancing a little bit. I decided to see what's up on Instagram. Everyone is obsessed with Ghibli. I am not. I like my face just as it is. But I saw a story of a batchmate from my college days. She is now a lecturer in a University. She looked so gorgeous in a saree while she was honouring the next batch of graduates with a degree. I paused for a second. A part of me wanted to tell her that she looked nice, but then I stopped myself. I could not relate to her. We hadn't spoken to each other in 10 years and I didn't want to do any small talk. So I held back and decided to write this blog instead.  I am still doing my PhD and I don't want to be a lecturer. ...

Dolce far niente is an Italian phrase that means "the sweetness of doing nothing". I heard this for the first time in the movie "Eat, Pray, Love" in 2010. It is after 15 years though that I am finally able to practise it. I am not in a rush anymore. I am happy with where I am in life. Peaceful. Content. I can afford to spend an entire day looking out of the window at the sky, observing how the sunlight casts a different shadow at different hours of the day. I can draw mandala and colour my heart out. I can choose my favourite coloured sketch pen without the fear of the ink running out. I can read a book, only to re-read a few pages that bring me the most happiness. I can pause a movie and rewind it if the scene makes me smile. I can look at my Christmas decorations without guilt of them being safely stored inside. I can clean my house on the days I want to and not on the days when I don't feel like it. I am at peace with the fact that I hate to cook for one and ...