Quotidian Tales

Cherishing the simple stuff of life, staying close to nature, using a positive vocabulary, hanging out with the right kind of friends, rejecting retirement, inculcating new hobbies to boost the brain and the brawn can add to the inventory that holds the secret to a-century-and-still-batting league. A s I had mentioned in my previous article , a steady purpose and a somewhat slow pace seemed to be the secret makings of the successful life-stories of centenarians. But research reveals that there are many other cogs in the wheel that engage to make the motion that is likeable and long-lasting. Vigorous veterans mostly rely on a plant-based diet. The emphasis is on fresh fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts and low consumption of salt and sugar. Two other aspects related to food are also watch-worthy. They stop eating when they are almost 80% full. To facilitate such discretion they use bowls and plates of smaller sizes that can hold smaller portions. But that should not steer you in...

Why would you wake up tomorrow? Why should you take it a little easy? B eing a teenager who was fascinated by the ‘carpe diem’ concept (seizing the now), popularised by poems like Robert Browning’s ‘ The Last Ride Together ’ and as a woman who still binge-watches on shows like ‘ Little Things ’, the present and the little are all that matters and makes sense. It’s a different thing that tall talk mostly remains idealistic when it comes to implementing them for real! Anyways, I saw a video this weekend, which once again activated my brain cells and tugged at my heartstrings. It is about people. They are frugal in number when compared to the vast population of the world. They have been leading happy and healthy lives for as long as a hundred years or even more. I was intrigued. Sounds nice but like an oxymoron, right? As we all know, various researches are being conducted to study the conditions conducive for physical and mental health favouring life and longevity. Out of the ...

His characters might have leaned towards the grey but they sure had the innocence, the goodness and the confidence to obtain love. C ircus ! The boy-next-door! Messy brown hair, the dimple and the eyes! A boy I fell for. A TV actor who was a tad different. Then Deewana happened. I was surprised. He had come to the big screen. Then Raju came and stole my heart. Malaria or loveria whatever you want to name it...the silly acts of romance to woo the girl is all, I, a kid needed. Those were the days when we just had the National Television. Durga Puja was the only time of the year, Baba used to allow us to watch Bollywood movies by renting video cassettes from the local parlour. So my romance grew slowly and drove a steady path through the next few movies. Bam! Baazigar ! Who can think that you can fall for the con guy? A hero, a villain, the protagonist? Who was he? The ambiguity was more alluring than the acute need to put him into a defined box. Then rolled out one movie ...

Register online and be a part of this exclusive event! T he event features Ms.ZSUZSA GAJDAN, whose artwork is inspired from her adventure of life. Covering more than 50 solo exhibitions, she has grown from artistic realism and gradually moved towards abstract expressionism. Click here to learn her bio and know more about her work. This event is organized by IMA'S and promoted by Quotidian Tales . A gorgeous morning illuminates the entire universe and makes every being happy. Without this seeping daylight, the complete ecosystem is dysfunctional. Similarly, in our society, if we can’t distribute our love, affection and well-being, the entire human community is jeopardized. This lack willingly encourages depreciation of human values. IMA'S (International Multispecialty Arts’ School) having felt the need, has emerged with a dream of bringing art into the community. Community development has always been a serious concern of IMA'S, and this initiative is a ...

A photograph is just a moment captured. It is alive in its stillness. Be it a place, a person, an emotion or an event, a photograph is the only way to cling on to it, physically or otherwise. O ur friend who furnishes photographs for our articles is, by profession, a wedding photographer. But as any creative space cannot be constricted within the confines of common understanding, so is hers too. Her shared album of photographs is an alluring array of instants that exhibits existence in its entirety. It was on a leisurely evening as I was going through her album, I perceived, almost impetuously, the potency and the promise of a photograph. What is a photograph? Just a moment captured. A tick thought beautiful and worthy by the photographer and turned into truth. The little while, as a matter of fact, exists only through the photograph. The link to the past and the license to the future. A medium that enables you to travel through time. Take a look at the above photograph...

I just stop by... not questioning why... An esthesis in this air I breathe... Teasing my senses deep... Or screaming whispers from the past... A plead to keep... Echoes from a place ... I know not where... I don't recognize them... and yet something we share... They make me smile... They make me quiver... Like tunes of an unknown song... But a melody I knew forever... Embracing me... Only to drift away again... Like a bounty souvenir... too immense for me to contain... I watch these thoughts until they trail into the dusk... And there was something pulling me back... I hear these chirps... Of emotions and words waiting for me to pick them up... I smile to myself... A thought crosses my mind... The divine is kind... Coz being cognizant of words ... Was probably God's way... And as I chain them together... I realize thatz the only way I make some thoughts and people stay...!! By: Shreya Basu © Quotidian Tales

A new journey begins for a new Durga designated to vanquish the new Asura, more appropriately, Asuras. A fter a precious interim of ten months, my little Durga was coming home. The joy was immense as was my anticipated relief. Through all my years, I never missed the opportunity of being in the proximity of the unique festival, the Durga Puja. Its exuberance overwhelms me every year and I respond to it ecstatically. But that year, it didn't even seem that the celebrations were going on. It didn't depress me though, for once, as I lay in bed away from the festivities that fostered the Feminine Energy of existence. Such was her captivity. No lesser than the one Maa Durga exercises on her devotees, I pondered. I could feel her twisting and jabbing in my belly. Little could we wait to see each other. According to Hindu mythology, Durga is created by the Gods to slay the evil demon, Mahishasura. She was born with astounding beauty and power, empowered by the colle...

A conscious endeavour to foster happiness can help you make a habit out of it. I had seen a photograph of my friend’s daughter. She was right in the midst of greenery, kneeling down and lively in the lap of nature. Her wonder-filled eyes and infectious smile seized my second. Unknowingly, I experienced the happiness that the instant eternalised in itself. I felt it. I wished if only I could hold on to that happiness or engage with it as effortlessly as the child did. The absurdist author, Albert Camus, wrote, "You will never be happy if you...search for what happiness consists of. You will never live if you are looking for the meaning of life." But we are incorrigible. Each of us is in pursuit of happiness. Few realise, it is but a function of our will. Some claim to have found it in their own bitter-sweet ways. The other day, I heard my daughter singing full-throated, the insanely-popular Pharrell Williams song, 'Happy'. She was rehearsing her Zumb...