Starting 50 with a memorable day

Started the 50th year this week! My family and friends made it special with their wishes and blessings!

Got to do yoga in the morning with my teachers pushing me as usual. When you are in a Bikrram yoga class, you actually expect that your teachers to be tougher on your birthday and my teacher didn't disappoint! It was also awesome to have my guru in the front row with me! Always makes me give it everything I got.

My wife made me some potato roast with paruppu sadam (that is all I wanted) and it was yummmmy!

We had already gone to the temple earlier and celebrated Karthigai deepam.

My Tamil birthstar is Rohini and this year there was a lunar eclipse which was specifically related to Rohini. So I was advised to stay put at home and eat light.. which I did.. in anticipation of all the good eats that were coming!

Now that I am part of a music family, which is a large family, they made my day extra special. Got some special wishes from the music group and got to show some progress in the singing. Still writing what seems to be a never ending post on my recent singing experience. Hope I get to post it during the thanksgiving break!

The best part of this birthday was my baby showed up for thanksgiving break. Having her at home after 4 months made me so happy!

We went to LED lights this year for Kaarthigai.. simply because it is rainy and windy out here. We respect the folks who can still pull off lighting oil lamps in Cupetino!

My not so little girl baked an amazing cake. She has a gift. Hope she keeps up her baking.  I asked Jr. to blow a candle with me given she spent her birthday last week without us!

A rare photograph of the four of us. It is going to get more and more difficult to get these photos as years go by..

A day that was made very special by all my family and friends! I am lucky to have all this love! Lucky to be healthy and happy! Thank you for all the wishes!

Happy Ganesha Chathurthi

Today is a celebration for the elephant headed god Ganesha, the remover of obstacles. Was able to take a few hours this morning to finish the pooja. San was busy in meetings as well, but still managed to make some yummy kozhukkattais, Vadai and Payasam. 

She even recorded me this time doing the archanai for Pullaiyaar!

One kid is eating a qdoba sandwitch for lunch after attending college and standing in a long lunch line while the other kid is in school, still fighting a stomach issue after a month.

Celebrating between the two of us is still okay and we are getting used to making do with what we can, when we can.

My pulliyaar for this poojai has not changed in decades. 

Looking at this one always makes me smile and be positive. Maybe it is just a habit I have developed over the decades! Think of this as one of my Horcruxes.. 

San clicked this while she was talking to me about how I had a deadline to finish the neivedhiyam(food offering to Ganesha prior to it being distribution worthy) before her next meeting and I look up annoyed and she clicks.... apparently this is what passes for candid photography by wifes standards.

I am not this grumpy by default. Just didn't like to be rushed for the pooja!

Then there was a kozhukkattai (dumpling) exchange with our neighbor. I got called out to the front to take a picture. My legs were numb from sitting in same place for an hour. So got up and literally wobbled out of the house as the blood returned to my feet.  In my rush didn't realize that my dhoti had come undone slightly on one side! My neighbor points this out  just before clicking and I make a joke on top of her joke and voila..

As long as we have great friends and San keeps laughing at my jokes, think we will be okay! 

that is more like the normal me!

and a video that San took during the poojai...

Was thinking of my grandpa a lot today and my dad. They are both big on getting saamandhi poo for the poojai. Usually we have yellow crysanthemums at this time which I use. This year they are late to bloom and the plant is full of buds that have yet to open! A thousand memories ran past my eyes as I finished the poojai. Some of my happiest memories of celebrating in India are from the Pulliayaar chathurthis. Compared to that, this is a very simple celebration.

My grandpa is a memory and my dad is not in a position to do pooja anymore. All I can do is show him these photos and videos to cheer him up.

We make to with what we can, but celebrate we still do!

A 2020 birthday

This year's birthday celebrations across the board have been muted. Given all four of us are November born, November is a very very special month for the family.. every weekend is a birthday. 

The little one had a cupcake candle blowing with just the three of us and her sister joining by Facetime from college.

Jr. was alone in her dorm room the entire day on her birthday and we called her and wished her on video. We will make up for it with a celebration along with her mom's birthday.

My birthday today was a bit more active. Originally I had signed up for a 8AM yoga class in the hot room 9 days in advance.. but last Monday we got news that all indoor classes are cancelled. There was a parking lot yoga class this morning at 10 AM that was taught by Michelle.. she was so inspiring that the 10 of us who did yoga in 50F weather outside gave it all we had. we were sweating.. the jackets came off! They did sing happy birthday to me in class which made my day! 

Came home to wear a new T-shirt (courtesy of mom from last Decembers India trip) and had lunch with my two walking buddies. They made it special today. We got some to go food and ate in our backyard. The family also joined in from inside the house. The Bhavikas trip has to wait... 

Jr. is back from college this weekend and is in self quarantine. The very fact that she is back under the same roof makes me so happy! 

They asked me what I wanted for my birthday and I said "a family portrait". It was promised to me but the little one backed out last minute as she is busy with homework. So we do it next weekend on San's birthday!

We also walked 5 miles in the evening to round up the days activities.. I have been walking 8-12 miles a day this month to get some regular exercise. My walking buddies have made it fun. 

There is an african proverb "if you want to walk fast, walk alone. If you want to walk far, walk together!".  Even though I walk during the day sometimes while on phone meetings, the same box around the block feels a long longer when walking alone. 

One more trip around the sun. I am still in decent shape, thanks to Yoga! The last 10 years of my life have been what they have thanks to a regular yoga practice. Even the walking everyday, the discipline is thanks to yoga. 

50F ouside, my mind is telling me to just pull that comforter up a little more and I know deep down that the right thing to do, is to go do the yoga.. and at that split second I make the right call. That is what the yoga has helped me with. When push comes to shove, when there is an internal fight in the head between taking the easy way out vs. rolling up your sleeves and getting things done.. making the right call... that is precious!

I did spend an hour in the afternoon reading Obamas latest book but dozed off. The lunch was too good! 

San and kids got me a cake and a candle to celebrate just between the four of us.. Trader Joe's cake is pretty good! 

Now, it is time to pull up that comforter and cozy up and read books or get back to work.. because tomorrow is back to work day!

Next weekend we celebrate Sans birthday, my star (Tamil) birthday, my moms birthday (thanks to time difference) and Karthigai deepam.. it is good that we have a long weekend coming to do all that celebrating.. even if it is going to be on zoom! 

Hope next year same time, we can go out and meet people and get hugs instead of elbow bumps!

A big thanks to all of you who called or wished me on social media and a heartfelt gratitude to my yoga family!