Back home again.

Which are the actions that you realise—in retrospect—are muscle memory, really?

It was such a relief to be back home at last amidst the three felines, one tiny canine, and the three humans (obviously).

However, as always, there were a few snags. Some of us met with some physiological and physical pain, discomfort, inflammation, and even injury. I suppose I should say the tides are starting to turn, but I do hope they don’t cause any further harm and only leave us swimming and floating with waves of relief, healing, and recovery. So here’s to that; fingers crossed and touchwood.

I have been thinking a lot about the carousel in The Circle Game—alongside the carousel’s eternal manager, who goes by the name Time.

We attended this farewell party the other day celebrating Pa’s career, and it was so wholesome and wonderful. So proud and just really warmed by the whole evening!

It did leave me pondering how arbitrary it is to measure one’s work. And since this is me, this question is definitely not in any way superficial and has always reached base camp of Mount Existentialism. No, but seriously, how can one ever be sure that our work here on earth is done? Is there ever a period or an end to that sentence—let alone for one’s life? I guess it all hinges on how one defines “work” in the first place. For those of us who find definitions beyond extremely narrow parameters— like those found in GDP output and “time spent on one’s laptop”—I think work and value added to others’ lives, souls, and journeys, alongside that of our planet and its inhabitants can be an entirely baffling phenomena in itself.

Plus, one would be remiss to not mention the intangible and unnameable ways work exists. For instance, it could be care work and responsibilities, and/or emotional or cognitive labour that we are doing alongside the day’s deliverables at different points and intensities. And even here, more often than not, there is the work of listening, empathy, and compassion—unduly often rested on the shoulders of women and people belonging to marginalised genders and communities.

Just two days back, I was telling Ma that one really well-done reel of my close friend went viral on Instagram. Having uploaded with no intention for it to proliferate, she was quite conscious, mistrustful, and chary about the fact that it was garnering attention from many corners of the internet’s eyeballs. Sadly, their caution was on point, since the post’s comments section featured some men who were unimaginably rude, and it angered me that such unreasonable comments filled with such bigotry and loathing garnered many likes of their own. On the other hand, I was partially fuming and then quickly cooled down thanks to the nth-time-listen of Backlash Blues—one of my major favourites—from Nina Simone that gloriously embody her spirit.

In other news, being back home has filled me with such warmth. Sansa has been so full of her spirit while showing me in moments so all-consuming that she cares, loves, and has surely missed me loads. As for Nila, she has GROWN! She is not doing as well this week, but that hasn’t stopped her in spirits and playing with me. Demonstrating that her teething stage is at its total peak, she grabs about any chance to bite me and is so enthusiastic and constantly wagging her tail.

I recommended the sitcom Ted Lasso to a dear friend, and I am glad they took it up and are now giving me live commentary on how they find it.

Also, I might be playing with the format of this newsletter, so do bear with me and the different subheadings each time (would also love your feedback, if you can spare the time!)

A read that is definitely worth your while:

A meme page for solidarity:

For many who know me, I often speak about people, lives, and rights of people with chronic conditions and disabilities; this is something that is very close to my heart for more reasons than just being basic decency. A page that I have found to be particularly witty, cathartic, and really cool in capturing the many dimensions of lives with chronic illnesses is this one.

And lastly, this is something really wholesome I came across and definitely recommend reading since it is on two women from India who help edit Wikipedia.

What about books?

I had read The Practice, The Horizon, and The Chain a while back mid-travel. If you haven’t read it yet and/or could use a quick peek into the novel, this here is a great review in Locus Magazine. And as always, I will be going back again to read more of Samatar’s work, only to repeat this cycle incessantly and be stunned every time; I just hope she keeps publishing more in the near future!

Meanwhile, I just downloaded The Imposition of Unnecessary Obstacles—the sequel to The Mimicking of Known Successes. Now, this was so gezelling. For folks who haven’t experienced the TV show Ted Lasso, my apologies in advance, since the Dutch word reference probably makes no sense to you.

With that, I bid you a very lovely week ahead alongside the most revitalising sleep for every night prior. See you next Sunday!