Movie- Hit Man

Watching the posters at Salzburg, I was intrigued by a few movie titles. I walked into the theatre and asked about the film festival and a few movies. Wearing a black flat cap, a person began to share his thoughts on the movie I asked about. Quickly, we began to talk and he was explaining how he's keen to watch a few movies and showed the poster of Hit Man by Richard Linklater. I admire the way Richard narrates his stories and his collaborating with the actors to evolve the story. I was sold on the poster and Richard's name. A very few in the cinema hall. Had a great time enjoying the cinema. 

Glen Powell acted as Gary johnson, a fake hitman who works as undercover operative with the cops get into an entangled relationship with the women who approaches him to kill her abusive husband. Adria is at her best. Loved watching her through the lens of Richard Linklater. A lovely movie. 

Movie- Masters of the Air

After watching Band of Brothers, I was keen to check out Masters of the Air. It's based on the book by the same name- Masters of the Air. It's a story of 100th Bomb group who fly boeings, the heavy big birds in the war. Starring, John Buck Egan and Bucky Cleven, the 9 episode series narrates the tales of several heroes of the war. Striking visual effects and oblivious background score, the series is well made with a lot of suspense and drama. I loved watching the friendship bond between buck and bucky and how they survived as Prisoner of War. Also, a few stories-Crosby, Rosie, Sandra, Bubbles stayed with me. I'm amused by the way they name their flights, friends developing a sense of belonging. Having visited a bit of germany in the past month, I was not keen to visit the concentration camps in this journey as I knew, it'd take a toll on you. Watching the series and witnessing the suffering of many, I'm perplexed by the rules and the game of war. Who decides the rules of the war and how the conflicts are resolved through war field at times? Loved watching it. Would be watching again as I did with Band of Brothers. 

What's on my plate? - Morning Colours

The meal with Asparagus- German's favourite.

I was told that it's a special treat. On being asked, I was shared the history of kaiserschmarrn. It's made of squashed apples and pancakes. 

Sometimes, I resorted to the bread. I love German bread!

Pizza for the night

 

What's on my plate?

I never took food for granted and I always had abundance of food around me everytime. In the past, I hardly paid attention at home on how food is cooked. When I moved out of home, food always came on my plate in return of money. I was conscious to eat healthy food and listed a few options as a go-to options. When I moved to Rajasthan, diversity of food got expanded and I began to enjoy different kinds of food. Also, accompanied by amazing friends who are into cooking, I had delicious food but, never dared to be creative in the kitchen. When I have to cook by myself, I struggled to be creative in the kitchen and spent very less time in the preparation of food. I learnt that I always projected all my anger, fear of committing mistakes in kitchen on my food and ended up sticking to the basics. After traveling around in Europe gave me a chance to see how others cook and how it's okay to be creative in the kitchen. Food and identity and how identities evolve through food seemed to be an interesting thought to ponder upon.

I began to click the pictures of food which I have never done in the past. The first act to be aware and study a bit more on what's on my plate. Here are some snippets on what's on my plate. 

Food with Harold- Pretzel, Mozarella, Potato Salad, Cinnamon Roll, Butter milk

Harold and I were on a drive and both of us felt we should eat something. Both of us headed to LidL and Harold picked these and encourage me to try it out. We picked croissants, cinammon roll, potato salad which has a little vinegar in it and Mozarella cheese. As we reached home, we distributed croissants to Bibi, Luder, Thomas and had the rest to both of us. Margaret gave us the pretzel which is daily baked in the morning. 

The Daily routines

Margaret loves preparing pretzels and I used to be greeted with pretzel every morning. Black coffee and pretzel was the usual routine before the heavy breakfast. 

Apfel Strudel is Martin's favourite. Hence it's always prepared by Margaret. Love is always about action! I was served in a royal blue plate. 'You need to finish it' commands Martin, leaving with coffee to spend time with his love. This is another dish I get to eat very regularly as they're abundant with apple orchards in their place. 

This time, Apfel strudel with home made berry sauce. 

On one of my hikes, I visited this small cafe where I was ready to try out  a lot of stuff to celebrate the hike. I had an apple, apricot cake and buttermilk. 

I was also served Mount Cheese, butter, bread along with cucumber and radish. 

Blueberry cake with icing on the top. 

Whenever I had to choose for the food, I never chose. Instead, I'd seek suggestions and go on with their suggestions. I always made sure to not own any choices whenever it's food. This time, I was conscious of it and with the help of the cafe owner, I selected a lemon pastry on a rainy morning. 

I do not remember the names of these. There's a lot of fruits and cakes 

Another cake! By now, one can realise that I love cakes and icecreams. 

These are a few glimpses of the food I captured. The idea of clicking picture before eating food is a practice I condescend upon. Grateful for all the love that's served on the plate. 

Travel Diaries- The Vipassana Retreat

Being close to nature and traveling around, I got a chance to meet amazing individuals. On a fine day when I was on my evening walk across the river, tech. I stood for a while, picked up the stones and kept dropping one after the other observing the flowing water and ripples I was creating. I looked sidewards and saw Karen with a smiling face. 'I didn't want to disturb your moment' she mentioned and began the conversation. Over a conversation, we continued walking together and she showed me a place where she goes for a swim. A secluded stream with a lot of rocks and trees around. Talking of her experiences in India, she mentioned of her vipassana experience in Hyderabad. In 2016, I've attended my vipassana in Hyderabad as well. Over conversations, she mentioned if I'm interested to do it again. I contemplated on the thought of meditating again for 10 days. When would I be able to have 10 days of free time again, I thought and decided to apply. Long story short, I applied and headed to Germany to attend the retreat. The twist in the story is that they needed help with volunteering and I agreed to volunteer rather than be an old student. I'm glad I've volunteered. 

I got a chance to meet a lot of amazing individuals. Peer, Philip, Ramez, Mirko, Luder, Maria, Klaus, Cornell, Chayan, Bibi, Brtille, Viktor, Nicolay, Eva and a few more people. Luder and Mirko headed the kitchen and I got a chance to work everywhere, having great fun in cooking for 100+ people. A lot of the processes were broke down into tiny processes and assigned to different people. In that way, three teams were formed. Cooking, cleaning and serving. I was floating around in all of these teams, preparing salads, cutting carrots, cleaning 100+ dishes in one go. I was amazed by the team work from the beginning. 

Three hours of meditation was compulsory through out the day and meditating from day-1, I struggled to focus and concentrate for the first 3 days. After 3 days, I was comfortable to focus and meditate for long time. As we meditate, there's a lot of past memories keep floating by and staying equanimous to them is the key. On day 5 I met Nicholay and conversations with him helped me a lot to appreciate the life in a better way. More than worrying, I became curious about the future and instiled curiosity towards life being equanimous. 

Sharing the cabin with Chayan, our usual day began with a sight of sheep under the vast blue skies. After freshening up, we head to kitchen, prepare for the breakfast, serve it for students and eat our breakfast. the first group session began at 8 till 9 am. After 9 am, we take a break and get back to kitche to prepare lunch. By 11 am, we are ready with lunch. Serve it for students, have our lunch and take a break till 2.30. We meditate for an hour and head back to prepare dinner. By 5.30, the dinner is prepared. We have our dinner and head to the meditation. After 7 pm,  I always headed to watch the sunset while Chayan headed to discourse at times. Sunset at Berghof was simply one of the best moments of the day. After the sunset, we head to meet the teachers for a while and rest for the day. This routine continued for 10 days and I loved the journey I got through these 10 days. 

Living in the cabin and watching the sky, sunset and being close to nature are few moments that will stay with me for a long time. Also, I was learning to stay equanimous while being aware of each and every moment rather than craving for me. A memorable and transformational experience indeed.

Travel Diaries- The Neighbour Yoseph

Living at Berghof, I was wandering around the vicinities and became familiar to the neighbourhood as well. I got well versed with few neighbours. Even though, I don't know much german, I managed to build rapport with a few. Over a walk, I came across an elderly man in his typical bavarian shorts and hat looked at me. Guten Morgan, we exchanged our greetings. When we tried talking to each other, we realised that he doesn't speak English and I don't speak german. Thanks to few words that we know in German and English, we managed to know a bit about each other. 'Nationality' he asked. Indian, I mentioned. Immediately, he said, Gandhi, Nehru and associated India to these names. I was amused by their perception of India. Have you been to India? I asked moving my hand to symbolise the flight. No. Istanbul, he murmurred and added another country- Turkey. Have you been to Switzerland? I repeated the question. Suisse, wonderful country, he said in german. Atleast, that's what I could understand. After that day, whenever I walked, both of us exchanged greetings Guten Morgan. AllesGut. We couldn't improve much beyond these two words but, the smile with which both of us greeted mattered a lot. Also, ahaa, is the expression he says before saying, Guten Morgan. 

After a few days, I noticed music from far away. I stood for long time, listening to the music. I tried to spot the musician and there, he sat, Mr. Yoseph, playing the horn witnessing the sunset. I didn't wanted to disturb his solitude and maintained the distance. After a while, he looked around, spotted me and welcomed me by waving his hand towards. We can speak a lot without words, I thought. 

I joined him and enjoyed listening to him amidst the sunset. We exchanged a few words and I got lost whenever he continued speaking more than 2 german words. I love the fact that they value being close to nature and do what they love. An abundant life. I'm glad I could catch up with Yoseph for a while. Thanks Yoseph for catching and up performing a few pieces for me. 

Soliloquies- Does medium matter- Intimacy, Connection and Conundrum

Does medium matter? My answer is yes. Medium matters. Medium is the message along with the message in it. Observing the recent communication style and the way people around, responding through different mediums, I realised that a lot of us became comfortable with new digital mediums and are now trying to find intimacy through the medium. 

Over the past 5 years, the average time spent on social media has definitely increased by everyone. So is the consumption of the content. I realised that people have become comfortable sharing their stories, experiences and journeys through social media extensively. As there's an increase in sharing of the stories, thanks to the loops created by our social media giants, we are spending more time on the mediums, consuming them as well. As we spend more time on the mediums, we're perceiving our friends, connections through those mediums. We may perceive information as knowledge. We may perceive communication as conversation. On an average, we spend less time with our people in-person and more time through screens. This gives us the feeling of being connected and proximal. Does social media affect couples? How much romance through social media affect people who are in relation? As more and more people are showing up on those mediums, how does the communication affect at larger scale? In a society, is communication becoming a norm rather than conversation? How vulnerable are children to these mediums? We had TVs, video games in the past and I'm assuming there'd be the same narrative around them in those ages.

If we begin to find intimacy through social media, are we gonna fall in love with ourselves or others? Instagram has become a memory photo album for many and people who perceive one of their account as memory box, they feel loyal and obliged to be linear, chronological and acceptable to the narratives. It's interesting how we are going to navigate through this medium. 

Travel Diaries- Holiday with Hofer- Day 7

Never have I woke up after 7 am in the month of August. I was always keen to look at the sunrise and enjoy the morning mist. This time, my body demanded sleep more than any other experience. I slept until I felt I rested completely. After the usual encounter with Martin, I continued my day. I got to know that they're planning to reduce the number of sheep. I could see the nervousness in Martin's face. When the clouds cleared from the sky,  I had my morning walk and walked till I found different meadows and different skyline. I chanced upon a cute bench, different group of cows and a forest where the roots are above the ground showing how trees are intertwined underneath. I spent 2 hours in the woods and returned by the lunch time. After spending a few minutes, I was on my stroll again, this time trying to be as present as possible. I managed to write a bit and got a chance to witness the orchestra practice. I got to know that I was witnessing the famous composer and cellist- Graham waterhouse conducting the orchestra. I've been introduced to him as professor in Music at Munich by Martin. I didn't knew that he's not just an academic but a musician with a lot of prolific work. Enjoyed the way he conducted the session. Asking about the pieces he's been conducting for this week concert, he shared the details. The last piece was by Aaron Copland  titled- Hoedown

After the dinner, we eagerly waited at the hall to get inside. This time, there was a small theatrical play starring a kid. After a cute performance, there was some instructions and then began the dance performance. This time, I joined them in group performance for a while. As they began to pick partners, I walked out as I didn't wanted to fail my partner. I enjoyed the performances though. Soon after the performance, again the group gathered with their violins, violas and cellos. This time, the teachers were also part of the group. They played Mendelsohn octet for more than an hour. Witnessing them live is a pure enthralling experience. I was awestruck by the harmony and co-ordination the musicians got. Grateful to witness it live. 

Travel Diaries- Holiday with H-Day8

It's a sunny day. Staying in Rajasthan, I respected the Sun for it's extreme power. Staying in northern hemisphere, I'm learning to appreciate the sun for the warmness it brings. The Sun hasn't changed, it's my place and perception. 

The Evening Snack

The Music Sheets from the Camp

The Flower Kunst

With M

Flower Kunst in the making

The Flower Table

Waking up with this realisation, I had my morning walk and enjoyed the breakfast under the sunny weather. Walking around the estate, I caught up with Monica who was preparing Kunst with a lot of dried flowers. I joined her and engaged in a conversation while learning to prepare it. M is a nurse who always dreamt of treating leprosy affected people in India along with her friend. She couldn't make it to India but, she worked in Africa for couple of years. Currently she works as a teacher, passionate about teaching and learning. She loves to teach children by rhythm. Eurethemy is the pedagogy, she uses to teach children. 'Pedagogy should not be used as a recipe where it can't be standard. It has to come from within and inculcate the curiosity rather than forcing it from outside.' she mentioned. Thanks M for sharing the words. 

The Elaborated Lunch

After a while, I got on with my reading, writing and strolling around. Time at this place flows in it's own way and in it's own time. I continued my evening walks and met the next door nieghbour, Yosep who loves to play horn. Walked until it was dark and enjoyed the dark skies. A good day. 

Book- Mutant Message Down Under by Marlo Morgan

 I met a reader who was hoarding books in her bag as she was traveling. Interesting title, it seemed. I'd like to read this book I mentioned in one of our conversations. As we were parting, this book is for you, she mentioned and wrote a full page letter wishing me a good reading. I love readers who value the act of reading and sharing books. Touched by the gesture, I began to read and this book is all about the teachings I had so far about understanding our positions in the realm of this earth. An american woman walks distances with aboriginal tribe in australia, a journey that changes her perspective and life. I love few aspects which author talks about- the act of seeing time There are few words I'd love to quote and read it time and again. 

Books on the rails

"It is okay. It only appear seperate but we are all one. That is why it is the gameof the creation."

"They believe how you feel emotionally about things is what really registers. It is recorded in every cell of the body, in the core of your personality, in your mind, and in your eternal self."

"Do you understand how long forever is?"

"Humans cannot exist if everything that is unpleasant is eliminated instead of understood.When the flies come, we surrender. Perhaps you are ready to do the same."

"Oneness is not a thing. Mutants seem addicted to form. They can't accept anything invisible and without a shape."

"I began being water. As I walked, I used all my senses. I could smell water, taste it, feel it, hear it, see it. I was cold, blue, clear, muddy, still, rippling, ice, melting, vapor, steam, rain, snow, wet, nourishing, splashing, expanding, unlimited. I was every possible image of water that came to mind."

A few more interesting aspects I found in this story is naming people and celebrating time when they feel they're better than who they were in the past.

Book- Why Germans do it better by John Kampfner

I picked this book at Martin's place. Looking at the front cover, I was curious about germany's precise technology and assumed the book is more about that. As I finished the book, I realised that it's indeed a love letter to Germany by John Kampfner. From the beginning, John tries to set the narrative of Germany's resilience and the reasons why germans behave the way they behave. 

Talking of world war and the situation germany was grappling with, author refers to various movies, books to illustrate the depth of the situation. A few titles I'm curious about are Marta Hilters' A woman in Berlin, W.G Sebald's Natural History of Destruction, Good Bye Lenin, Red Love by Maxim Leo. Through Berlin Wall episode author shared how reunification has set the Germany on a much needed yet tough path. Reading this book, I could realise how geo politics during 1960s was all about the cold war and tensions it placed between the major powers. USA took the role of saving the world while Germany was cautious about its past and trying its foothold in the Europe. I'm also surprised by China's ties with Germany and its strategy to rebuilt the belt road. I realised that Germany is well expanded withouth clogging much of its major cities. Germany indeed has many more hidden champions who specialise in one aspect and provide their solutions to the world. There's a stark difference between America, UK's work culture to German culture. Can we call the Germany as a part of the west as it has a distinct culture and history.

Why the Germans Do it Better by John Kampfner

Talking of the world war and reunification, a little is shared on how german's technology is the way it is. A lot of political reforms by Angela Merkel and the way Germany was welcoming the migrants is praised through out the book. I got a glimpse of german political coalitions and the east, west tussle. I'm amused by the way author stuck onto praise Germany through out 281 page book and keeping the criticism or other perspectives to less than 5 pages. I'm glad I could get a glimpse of Germany's story post world war. I'm thoroughly impressed with what Germany got in it's land. I'm curious to read more about it.