Goat Biryani & Philosophy

After I skipped out of the office at 13.30, I headed straight for Little India. Threading took less than three minutes and then I was walking around looking for that famous biryani place I've read about, called Bismillah.

Well, you know, with that name, I should've known I could expect a side dish of wisdom and philosophy with my delicious goat biryani and mango lassi because that was exactly what I got. As I was settling my bill, I fell into conversation with one of the proprietors who was at the cash register.

We talked mostly about food — his philosophy on food (although he didn't call it 'philosophy') — then veered into the general topic of living. It was a truly interesting conversation; there were many points I hope to remember and put into practice.

For instance, he said (something like): if you focus only on one thing in life, then you're like a horse with blinders. If you're obsessed with one thing, your life is just a dot. Life goes every which way — horizontally, vertically, diagonally, etc. — so why spend your time on earth remaining static in that dot?

Towards the end of our conversation (I mainly contributed by listening), he suddenly reminded me of Sergio. Sergio always emphasized logic; he said everything we do follows (or should follow) logic. The proprietor said everything we do has meaning. When he said that, I remembered Sergio's dimly lit office, my sitting in front of his desk, Sergio with his beloved Diet Coke, a glass, and a coaster, Sergio's illustration of logic using the glass and the coaster ...

The proprietor also said, avoid collisions with other people — it's better to walk away and avoid clashing with someone than get drive headlong into a crash because bad thoughts and words will only sour your day. Why choose to make life bad for yourself? This made me think of work, how I always get angry because I don't agree with the way things are and how things are done. I know, it's really not worth it; I should never get mad at work.

Then the proprietor asked, what is happiness? What is hell? Happiness the period between bad things happening in your life; hell, the period between good things happening. (I might've also read this somewhere else.) What is life but a cycle, no?

This lovely little interlude in the afternoon makes me think that I should do more things on my own. Serendipity finds me only when I'm on my own and I meet such lovely people. This was like that time when I stumbled upon a beautiful shop of statues and other artworks somewhere in Left Bank/Cuba Mall while I was waiting on my takeaway. The owner, who had been smoking outside his antique/art shop, started chatting with me and it ended with an invitation to dine with his wife on "authentic" Indian food.

I must really be out there on my own more often. Friends proffer buffer and safe spaces, but, as the proprietor had said, why remain in one spot when you can go anywhere, in every different direction?