I’m back after a three-week sabbatical, refreshed and raring to go. I find myself at a crossroads in my career and life, as all the things that previously excited me in my twenties and thirties, about being a driven lawyer and having a great work-life balance, started to bore me in my late thirties. After my kids were born, I wanted more! The courtrooms were dusty and dank, filled with sleazeballs and corruption, while the firm I was working at used me only to peddle papers and the like. No standing on the pulpit of justice and shouting out ‘me-lord’ and changing the world. It was all about money and a waiting game and I found it preposterous that the ‘doyens’ of justice were willing to compromise their ethics so readily. My brain raced with tumultuous thoughts and ideas, and as my fave teacher at school had told me, I had a ‘turbulent soul’. My outlet was of course the performing arts and I was ‘the first’ in many spheres of my career. Be it a stand-up comedy films, theatre or using humour to address serious issues in the corporate training space. Now I am filled with a sense of ennui once again. It is time for re-invention or ‘quietus’.
Since I’m not ready for ‘quietus’ quite yet, I did the next best thing. I took off for a quick break to Thailand, where I spent my days lounging, drinking, eating and being massaged by very sweet Thai ladies who would often ask me questions in their sing-song voices which promptly put me to sleep! We were in a beautiful resort by the beach, so I had no wish to be with other beach-combers on crowded ‘touristy’ beaches, throng crowded by-lanes, hop into seedy massage parlours or buy more cheap Chinese goods! Instead, I spent my days at the glorious resort, eating excellent food, drinking fabulous mai-tais, swimming, listening to Thai music (or English songs sung with Thai accents) and rejuvenating my soul. The trip didn’t involve a long flight, but the long immigration lines and tacky airport at Phuket were disappointing. Coming back home to my ‘ooru’ with exceptional service, a five-minute procedure to enter my own country felt like heaven. India has come into her own and now more than ever, I am proud to be an Indian.
I came back to an invitation awaiting me from Chef Kevin who was showcasing his culinary skills at a very exclusive pop-up at the DoubleTree by Hilton Bengaluru Whitefield. Though the trek was long and arduous, the thought of trying out this young and experimental chef’s cuisine was too tempting not to follow up. His credentials were impressive as he worked in three Michelin-starred restaurants on his culinary journey. We weren’t disappointed as his signature dish ‘Banh-Xeo’ a beloved Vietnamese rice pancake hit all the sweet spots.
Let no one doubt my allegiance to ‘namma-ooru’. I was ecstatic when we ultimately claimed the IPL crown after 18 humiliating years of failing to do so. I was ready to adopt the young Virat Kohli (nothing much else I could do), but the aftermath that followed really cut me to the quick. A clarion call from the ‘white shoe brigade’ to celebrate resulted in the death of innocents and the injury of many. I was horrified to see the large number of dead and injured at the hospital nearby.
Accept people as they are, but place them where they belong.
(The writer’s views are personal)