We are 2/3rds of the way into this year! We are also well into Festival Season here in India. And the anticipation of New Year is building! This week has an eclectic mix of thought-provoking articles:

Why You Never See Your Friends Anymore – This article is from last year and talks to American culture. But the world has changed so much in the intervening months that I would consider it relevant to many of us. I am sure most of us would relate to these lines, ‘Even if you aren’t asked to pull a weekend shift, work intrudes upon those once-sacred hours. The previous week’s unfinished business beckons when you open your laptop; urgent emails from a colleague await you in your inbox. A low-level sense of guilt attaches to those stretches of time not spent working.‘

How to Take the Perfect Breath – I have been practising some Yoga regularly for the past couple of years. And I believe it’s helping me. This article talks about the potential benefits to our sleep, digestion, immune and respiratory functions of breathing well.

The Last of the Monsters with Iron Teeth – Many of us in India from my generation (growing up in the 80’s) would easily relate to this article that speaks of the importance of unsupervised play in the learning and development of children. ‘The failure of adult culture, both its physical architecture and its social institutions, has impoverished children’s culture. And in return, children no longer avidly train, in their play, to take over the burden of preserving and remaking adult culture.‘

Why Finger Lickin’ Will Never Go Out Of Fashion For Indians – Today is Onam, the highlight of which for Keralites is the Onam Sadya. So it seems like a particularly apt moment to celebrate the tradition of eating with our fingers!