"Lampenfieber" - a word meaning stage fright. The lamp in my room is on, I have no fever but there is one problem ..... or two. The first problem is that the lamp inside my head has given up. (Dimaag ki batti jalne se rahee!) That has led to my second problem 'Lampenfieber' as I stand here on this imaginary stage under the imaginary lights and my mouth opens and shuts giving a fair imitation of a goldfish. I don't have any fancy introduction to make to my speech. No grandiose openings. What do I do? Jump in without thinking. Maybe that's the best way I can swim! Well, that is the way I often approach all the toughest situations of my life. Like the exam I gave yesterday. Like every bad student, I had missed classes this semester, not studied regularly. Anxiety was at an all time high. So much so that I could not concentrate when I opened my book and tried to study. All that floated in front of my eyes were visions of my various comfort foods. These days street side chaat is what comforts me most. It takes me back to my childhood days spent in Pune and Mumbai. Juhu beach, bhelpuri, pav bhaji, ice cream (not bhaji) on the beach ...... I had tasted everything but had never heard of Bombay chutney. So when shravs3 wrote about Bombay chutney and gave us the recipe with questions like "do they make this chutney in Bombay?" or "why is an idli called an idli and not chappati?" the voltage inside my 'dimaag' started slowly increasing. I don't know whether they make this chutney in Bombay and if they do, why. The second question reminded me of a story by Peter Bichsel (a Swiss author and journalist who wrote 'Ein Tisch Ist Ein Tisch - A table is a table - in which an old asks why a table is called a table and then decides that he needs a change, changing the entire vocabulary upside down). Hand on my heart, if I have not done well in my exams, I can't even ask 'Is there a God'. The question, kevinde says, does not quite matter. It is upto us to be good and strong. And so is it upto us to do our bit instead of always waiting for a God to come running to save us when we have failed to do so. Talking of anxiety and self help, Joyoflife (she justifies her userid) has come up with a sterling response to a question by a member about handling anger and anxiety. The response based on personal experience drips with wisdom. It is easy to give advice, but when it comes from someone who has put into practice what they are suggesting (no, not preaching) it carries that much more value. We have had a number of nominations of threads by some stalwarts of IL. Periamma with her poignant memories of her beloved Father, Gouri03 with her thread humming an ode to bees, GeetaKashyap with her photo feature on cattle egrets, Agatha with her memory trip into the past (Story about my Saree), GeetaKashyap again with a serious look at matters of life and death, nandinimithun with a similar message when she talks of how 'fragile' life is, Gauri03 again with her thread on meditation, blackbeauty84 with her thought provoking story "AY in ok" ..... whew!!! We have had a real treat this month with some choice stuff to read. Naturally, when it comes to narrowing the choice to 2 prizes, I have to follow Cheeniya sir's oft quoted ‘All are equal but some or more equal than others’ and take the plunge. Well the Finest Narration Award goes to shrav3 for her thread "Bombay Chutney" and the Finest Contribution Award goes to Joyoflife for her sterling contribution to the thread "Anger and Anxiety". Heartiest Congratulations to both the winners and special thanks to iyerviji and MonikaSG for nominating them. Our sincerest thanks to all of you who have nominated some really wonderful posts this month and hoping you will continue with the good job in the coming month too.
Omg thanks a lot @satchitananda mam !! So happy for it ! And @iyerviji aunty thanks a ton for nominating , feeling so happyyy !!!!
My dear Satchi I think you should get an award for the awesome announcement. Glad for selecting my nominated post. My grandmother used to make Bombay Chutney.
Congrats @shravs3 . Now the Bombay chutney will taste even better Congrats @Joyoflife . Well deserved !
Congratulations to @shravs3 and @Joyoflife. Thanks to @iyerviji (Viji Akka) and @MonikaSG for nominating their snippets. Viswa