The popular adage goes like this: ‘Old Habits Die Hard’.

Yes. I believe this statement to a great extent, because whether I look at others and analyse them or not, I could speak for myself. 

My craze for books, my interest in writing, my eye for art and music, my patience in reading books… all these started at the age of seven or eight, I just don’t worry whether one believes it or not. I was such a mad boy when in my early days, I would prefer to go without a new dress or crackers for Deepavali, but I was keen on buying the colourful Deepavali special editions of the magazines of those glorious periods. Listening to music, both classical from my favourite artists and film music from yesteryear, in both Tamil and Hindi, was another habit of mine.

Watching movies in the theatre was my great passion for a long time. But, today, the hardship of commuting and the movies too moved on to a different style, which doesn’t suit my taste. OTT helps me to revisit many movies of yesteryears and enjoy them even now, within the comfort of my home. 

I like to visit places even alone and enjoy them with my friends as well, who understand me better. My professional visits to several places in India and some of the professional-to-personal visits abroad are still green in my memory. But now I feel it is just a dream that could hardly be done. 

Some may find it amusing to find the walls of my flat with my artworks interesting as well as stupid. That is fine; tastes differ. My craze for pens and wrist watches has come to an end. 

I am an epicurean; I like to taste good food. (only vegetarian) I read the write-ups on new food joints in newspapers, and my recent sojourn was to ‘Tamarind Tales’ at Cenotaph Road for its Karnataka delicacies. The ambiance is good, but the item was not exceptional. Oh, my favourite Kapila Dasa in Express Mall has reopened after refurbishing, and I enjoyed my favourite Mysore Masala Dosa recently. 

These are some of my ‘Habits’, ‘old’ or ‘new’, not ready to ‘die’; perhaps they only keep me mentally ‘young’ and physically ‘alive’.