There was lots of cricket and cricket related travel. An unexpected extension of my term as selector brought new experiences - some good and some interesting ones. The teams did well overall.
I got so much into history and heritage stuff that every day, every tour became an exploration. Sunnie and I did many great walks in Hyderabad in January and February which set off a whole lot of walking and exploring for me through the year.
My visits to Trivandrum with Mony, Cochin with Tharian, Pune, Mumbai with family, during the off season continued my explorations. Museums, temples, sights, art galleries, forts, palaces, festivals and what not. New places included Alleppey, Jammu, Amtar. Ended the year with a visit to the Road to Heaven near Dholavira in Gujarat which was a perfect ending.
Then Anjali moved to Delhi to study which was a big shift. It took away a piece of my heart. But she wanted to go and she did and coped well so my cracked heart swells in pride. Brave girl. Other big shifts in people moving away, or with some others I moved away from them, weighing heavy on me, caused a deep shift in center about me and my approach to people. They won't always be there for you in the same way. It's better off to invest in yourself. Became aware of my priorities.
Visited hometowns of Mom and Dad.
Books (71) - Some good and some iffy. The Hyderabad books - Legendotes, Deodis of Hyderabad and Untold Hyderabad, cricket books such as Cricket Biryani, Red Cherries on the Canara Coast, Hitting Against the Spin, novels like The Heart Divided, The Heart Lamp, Covenant of Water, Non fiction like Difficult Conversations, 14 Years with Boss, Tumhari Auquaat Kya Hai, graphic novels 'Kashmir ki Kahani', Drawing the line, The Harappan Files, bios like Susvarala Lakshmi MS Subbulakshmi, And a Voice to Sing With, The Revenue Stamp and others brought great joy.
Movies (91) - Mostly loved revisiting old films especially with A -Zanjeer, Angoor, Manzil, Namak Halal, Andaz Apna Apna, Buddha Mil Gaya and others. But then some new ones like Homebound, Jugnuma, Little Hearts, Sitaare Zameen Par, Kaathal, Court were brilliant. the
Travel (12) - Ahmedabad, Jammu, Rajkot, Jawalamukhi, Bhimavaram, Nagpur, Trivandrum, Cochin, Pondicherry, Mumbai, Pune, Mahbubnagar (Pillalamarri)
Heritage walks (18) - Paid ones these - at Ahmedabad (night and day), Deccan Archives, Tanya Srivastava, Younus
Hyderabad walks (70 plus) - In Hyderabad, Pune, Mumbai, Nagpur, Ahmedabad, Rajkot, Mahbubnagar with Sunnie, Pooja, Jyothi Shetty, NP Singh, S Mahendra.
Museums (!0)/Forts (11)/Palaces (12)/Temples/Mosques/Dargahs/Churches - (40)
People - Anita Nair, George Mathen, Mony, Eashwar, Tharian
Interviews - Nil
Talks - National Public School, Chennai, Orientation Class, Department of Dance, UoH
Workshops - Leadership Workshop, HCA, Champion Mindset, MLJ Academy
Teaching - Arts Management, DoD, UoH
Events Attended - Hyderabad Literary Festival
Publications - Blogs (329) - Not very happy with the quality of thought I normally put into my blogs but glad I could document my travels and walks through pics etc. Happy with my news series 'Acts of Love' something I catch in a moment of tenderness and vulnerability in people.
Book Launches - Anita Nair's 'Hot Stage'
Gifts I received - Books, Socks (A), Cologne (A), Warms (Sunnie), Warms (Satish), Love (all), Hospitality (Bhasker, Pratty, Mony, Tharian)
Gifts I gave - Books, Time, Space, Love
Spiritual Experiences - Tarot reading by Pooja (brilliant stuff) - she predicted well and actually nudged us when both me and A were in a dilemma. The leaning from others towards myself
Learnings - Invest in self, focus on priorities, listen to spirit
Work - mostly cricket related. Writing happened but not with the focus add concentration I would have liked. Teaching was fun as always.
Cultural - Kahakali performance,Theyyam performance, Kalaripayattu performance, Yagnasena a dance performance. Not enough of dance, music, book events. Can definitely improve on those.
An overwhelming sense of loss, of detachment, of disengagement, of floating mindlessly, of being on a journey with no purpose. Somewhere within that I need to find myself and my purpose - this coming year. I felt that all of my walking was an escape. All travel was an escape.
2026 brings a new spirit. A deepening. Looking forward to it already.
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