The 'Dawn' Effect

I have been a 'morning person' from times I can remember...I used to be waking up much earlier than any member of my clan including my parents...even during holidays or weekends I can't sleep more than 7'o clock! That has always been the case...and the thing I like about this ingrained habit of mine is that it comes with a a bundle of advantages, few of which are -

1. You feel real fresh and rejuvenated when you wake up early and take in a whiff of unpolluted air first thing in the morning. This is to be felt...so go ahead and try, in order to believe.
   
2. Secondly you get to orient your mind in a peaceful environ with the help of meditation or just by communing with nature, before entering into chaotic day to day life. The effect can be felt as the day goes by...you still get to be active when people start showing signs of fatigue.
   
3. Next you get to be real productive in the truest sense of the word as you start earlier than others. I always say to myself "Miles to go before I sleep" whenever I wake up or hit the bed...so much to do in so less time, so waking up gives you that edge over others definitely.
4. There is one major plus to waking up early is also that your brain is sharper and ready to receive the best you can send to it...the brahma muhurt period is supposedly very auspicious and conducive to study your favourite subjects...this can be a boon to the student community!
   
5. Last but not least it lets you chase your passions like singing or dancing or painting as in my case thereby providing a finer aspect of living a fulfilled life.

So go ahead, catch your z's early and see the benefits for yourself...!

Sleepless in South...

Moving to South is an eventuality that awaits me given the nature of my aspirations and the environment that I long to have for myself and my family apart from the fact that I hail from TamilNadu...but I have come to realize that it comes with a price attached to it as well...

One such recent trip has confirmed that part of the bargain would be to get up early, like it or not...what came in as a blessing during my school days is not so much welcome to me suddenly! My mom promptly used to keep an alarm at 3 and wake us (myself and my brother) up during the pre-exam and exam days, give us a cuppa of steaming chai and let us study...even though I am a morning person, that was way too much and I used to doze off nicely but for the sudden checks that my sadist brother used to have on me opening my study stealthily to see if I am awake and studying...later by 4 am, I used to get the steady company of the loudspeakers with all top singers crooning to their favorite Gods and Goddesses based on the time of the year...

But now, when you are a working professional, you are so used to sleeping late and waking late, and I for one, want to sleep atleast till 6 so that I can function normally without any irritation the next day. But come to reality and you find that there are so many people ready to blare the loudspeaker first thing at 5 am in the morning and assure you are sleep deprived...I was in the hotel room and sat up right hearing the sudden increase of decibel :). First came MS with her divine recitation of Suprabhatam followed by Mahishasuramardini stotram by Sulamangalam sisters, then Unnikrishnan's Bharathiyar renditions...While this was happening, there were several other noises in the backdrop that finally got submerged in the hum of city life, and by then it was 6.20 and I knew I cannot go back and sleep like a baby :(

In spite of the Supreme Court giving strict orders on noise pollution, banning usage of loudspeakers between 10-6, no one seem to take this seriously here! After all, rules are meant to be broken!

This is a hard truth that set in me but assuming I want to do something worthy in my life, making use of that additional hour can be a boon...so here I am welcoming the sounds and shlokas in my life to make me 'what I am meant to be...!'