Category Archives: Life Story

Sonríe sì crees

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Sonríe sì crees – ‘Smile if you believe’ in Spanish

I doubt if the idiom is widely used or if it was used in movies or books. I had this idiom in mind – Smile if you believe. I connected strongly with it and made it my last rope to hang on, should all the ropes snap.

I wanted to remind myself to smile if I believe. So, I went to Google translator and tried the translations of the idiom into the languages I’ve been in touch with. In French, it was not appealing. But in Spanish, ‘Sonríe sì crees’ had a depth that I could fathom.

So I had it inked on my arm. I inked it so I could remind myself to smile.

Everyone has one of those days, where all hope seems lost. And those days come far too often nowadays for everyone, there’s quite a bit toxin in the air. So, smile if you believe. It wouldn’t matter what you believe in. It is important to believe, and smile if you do believe.

Because, all of this that you see is temporary indeed. And, to find a fleeting image or an afterthought to believe in makes life worthwhile.

You’re on the road, you see a roadkill. Your senses are disturbed, and your mind goes berserk. You try to make sense of it by directing the anger or grief elsewhere. On that very same road, you see a kitten receiving warmth from the breasts of a chicken. You smile. You smile because you believe. And, this keeps you going.

Sonríe sì crees

Bucket List

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Google defines a bucket list as ‘a number of experiences or achievements that a person hopes to have or accomplish during their lifetime’. Of course, I have my bucket list. It is only fair to make a bucket list for myself, so that I can gauge how far I’ve come and how much I’ve become the man I wanted to be.

Here they are.

This list is in no particular order (with the completed activities featuring first).

Jump off a bridge – did this on my birthday. Location – Adyar broken bridge

Solo trip to another state – went to Burhanpur on my own, to meet my mother’s brother’s family

Grow man boobs – done it, still have it (as on 2020); now they’ve hid themselves significantly (as on May 2021)

Get a tattoo – done it, it says ‘Sonrie si crees’ which is ‘Smile if you believe’ in Spanish

Make friends with a stranger woman – done it, in a Chennai local train. We still talk, she’s happily married

Get my work published in a newspaper – done it. The Hindu published my articles on motherhood, Diwali, and Sachin

Attend a live concert – done it, attended the in-house concert of Sakthishree Gopalan

Get my first purchased novel signed by the author – done it, Ashwin Sanghi signed my battered copy of ‘Chanakya’s Chant’

Get rejected by a woman I know – done it, we were having lunch together when i proposed her (fully aware that she’s engaged)

Scuba diving

Get my novel published (not self-published)

Take a HD photo of the moon with a camera

Play Wonderwall and Woman to me (or) Young and beautiful on my guitar

Compose and sing my own song – composed it, not sung yet

Smoke a cigar – did it, quite an experience

Launch my own podcast channel – done it, it’s hosted by Anchor.fm – Thoughts on a run

Get properly high

Travel to a country which none of my known people have visited. I want this to be the first country (apart from my own country) to step foot on

Volunteer to teach in a school

Earn a salary of ₹1 lac a month

Grow a beard, a half-foot long beard

See northern or southern lights

Befriend a wild animal

Adopt a non-human being

Read and review 200 books (#OBAAT) – halfway done, have read and reviewed 100 books as on 31-Dec-2020

Take a group selfie with 50+ strangers after announcing my intent of the same

Complete a 10km marathon

Visit Gangotri, preferably by hiking

Buy an open world stand-alone video game i haven’t played before, and complete it