Daily Elements Mini-Series Part III: Siestas

“Sitting and doing nothing doesn’t seem to be very easy for most of us. We’re used to always doing something.” –Thich Nhat Hanh.

Due to Delhi’s elevated temperatures I have taken to spending a good amount of time indoors, plopped in front of my air conditioning unit. And it’s great! Most of my friends and family are probably familiar with how over-scheduled I tend to be. I spent most of my time as an undergrad committed to being a full-time student while working about thirty hours per week. I often find myself working a ton at the cost of having very little free time.

But now I have graduated (woohoo!). I am working full time at an office where the work is very fulfilling. I’m in a big city that is pretty well sprawled out, and it’s REALLY hot. So usually by the time I’ve walked home from work I’m ready for a shower, a snack, and a siesta.

Siestas may consist of a variety of leisure activities, including but not limited to reading books, watching movies, learning Hindi, writing in my journal, doing yoga, listening to music, and of course, surfing the internet. I have taken up Pinterest. Yeah, didn’t really see that one coming. I used to enjoy cooking in my spare time back home, but here we have a housekeeper who cooks for us. So sometimes I go and keep her company in the kitchen while she cooks and try to observe her mad skills for preparing amazing, spicy, Indian food.

I just finished reading East of Eden, by John Steinbeck. It’s a GREAT book; I highly recommend it. Now I’ve moved on to Midnight’s Children by Salman Rushdie, who happens to be an English Indian. So far (I'm still at the beginning) the book takes place in India during the Freedom Struggle, but it’s a mix of magical realism and historical fiction. He throws in lots of Indian words and esoteric references, so it’s a challenging read, but so far I’m enjoying it!

I’ve discovered a new movie to add to my favorite’s list, which is Forgetting Sarah Marshall. So far I’ve watched one Bollywood movie with English subtitles called Rockstar. It was good, but a little long for my taste. Hindi is tough. But I’ve discovered an interesting website that is helping me (kinda sorta) be able to read Devanagari Script. I’m posting a link here, for those of you who are itching to learn to read a language that has an entirely different alphabet from what you’re used to: http://www.avashy.com/hindiscripttutor.htm 

As for music, I’ve been reconnected with my enjoyment of the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Their music has a very west-coast feel that reminds me of home. As of today I now have some Bollywood music on my computer, but I’m not very familiar with any of it yet, so I’ll have to report back to you later on what I find there. But I’ve been building some nice playlists with more of the same music I would have listened too back home. Here are a few of the songs I’ve found and liked:

Sunlight, by Harlem Shakes

Pa Pa Power, by Dead Man’s Bones

Boyfriend, by Best Coast

Naked As We Came, by Iron and Wine

Girl from the North Country, by Bob Dylan

Scientist Studies, by Death Cab for Cutie

So I guess one could say that Thich Nhat Hanh is right in my case. I haven’t really been using this free time to sit and do nothing. I must be like “most people” because I AM used to always doing something. But I guess it’s worked out so that the heat and the city sprawl have forced me to take more time for myself to relax and enjoy simple pleasures.