Vadacurry Vedanta !

 I recently moved to Bangalore an year ago. One of the many things I miss about Chennai is Vada Curry. Vada curry is a gravy made from masala dal Vada. With all its exotic ingredients, and tongue-tingling flavors, Vada curry can be both exciting and intimidating. Vada Curry uses the whole palette of flavors making it something that wants to jump off the plate. It’s such a complete world of taste. I really missed my Balaji Bhawan and Raja Bhawan’s Vada curry. These two places are no perfect stop for all the traditional Indian food; the ambience is also no different; no good-looking furniture; no classical music in the backdrop. The only thing that gives a quite soothing and welcoming vibes to the patrons that adds to a good dining experience is a good aroma of Vada curry that they make.

With no one at home and bell ringing in my belly asking it to load it with snacks, I thought of making some exotic Vada curry all by myself. With a new air fryer added to my kitchen, I wasn’t afraid to start playing around with making Vadas at home with less oil. But do you know that ours is a monkey mind? Instead of making Vada curry, I started contemplating on Vadacurry and hence the Vada Curry Vedanta was born.

Do you wish to know my Vadacurry Vedanta ? If yes, read on.

My dad complaints that Vadacurry is made from previous day's leftover unsold Vadas / Vadas that get broken when frying. But these few pieces of Vadas that would actually end up in dustbin get transformed into the most sought, most loved dish of Tamil Nadu. And this transformation of Vada to Vadacurry gave me few principles that changed my whole perspective to life. 

I call these 12 principles as Vadacurry Vedanta ! :)  

Principle 1: You can’t change what has happened

Are we broken like Vadas used in Vadacurry? Are we old like yesterday’s Vada?

What is, is.

Try to eat broken old Vada. Or try to make delicious Vada curry.

Buddha’s famous saying tells us: “It is your resistance to ‘what is’ that causes your suffering.” Think about that for a minute. It means that our suffering only occurs when we resist how things are. If you can change something, then act! Change it! But if you can’t change it, then you have two choices: (1) either accept it and let go of the negativity, or (2) make yourself miserable by obsessing over it.

 

Principle 2: Problem is in our mind.

I always think that Vada curry was an invention by accident. An invention that someone did to reuse his old Vadas instead of throwing it away in dustbin that gave him gains multi folds. Vadacurry is an opportunity that someone found in the middle of difficulty.

Many times, we are our own worst enemy. Happiness is dependent on perspective. If we think something is a problem, then our thoughts and emotions will be negative. But if we think it’s something we can learn from, then suddenly, it’s not a problem anymore.

Principle 3: Change should start from self

If old broken Vada must get converted into tasty Vada curry, it must be crumbled and crushed first, then fired in hot oil with spices. A Vada without being crushed and crumbled can never make a tasty Vada curry no matter how rich the spices are.

Our outer world is a reflection of our world. Don’t we know people whose lives are chaotic and stressful? And isn’t that largely because they feel chaotic inside? Yes, it is. We like to think that changing our circumstances will change us. But we have it backwards—we need to change ourselves first before our circumstances will change.

Principle 4: Every failure is a learning opportunity

I don’t think Vada curry recipe was perfected in one shot 😊 We should just wipe the word “failure” right out of our vocabulary. All great people who have ever achieved anything have “failed” over and over. In fact, I think it was Thomas Edison who said something like, “I did not fail at inventing the light bulb, I just first found 99 ways that it didn’t work.” We must take our so-called “failures” and learn something from them - Learn how to do it better next time.

 

Principle 5: If I don’t get something I want, I know something better is on the way

No cook would want to make a broken Vada that can’t be sold. But did it not pave way to a better Vada curry ? That’s hard to believe sometimes, I know. But it’s true. Usually, when we look back at our life, we will be able to see why it was actually a good thing that something didn’t work out. Maybe the job we didn’t get would have made us spend more time away from our family, but the job we did get was more flexible. We must just have faith that everything happens exactly the way it’s supposed to.

 

Principle 6: Fears are good

The cook who made broken Vadas must have been scared that he and his owner would incur losses. But that fear made him innovate and become successful. 

Fear can be a great teacher. And overcoming fears can also make us feel victorious. For example, when I was at Bosch, I feared public speaking (one of the top 3 fears of all humans). Thanks to my Leadership club Expresseteria. I find it humorous now that I do speak in front of a group every day by being a project manager. Fear makes us work hard. It drives us closer to success.

Principle 7: Don’t compare yourself to others

Can a broken Vada compare itself with a good Vada?  Good Vada is sold at Rs.10/piece and the broken Vada is sold at Rs.50.

Let us not compare. But if we do compare ourselves, let us compare ourselves with people who have it worse than us. Have a problem in life? Well, there are lot many people who have worse problems than you. We shall count our blessings, not problems. Let us focus on that.

Broken Vada is at least not over burnt to be thrown into dustbin.

 

Principle 8: We are not victims.

Is broken Vada really a victim ? Did anyone break the Vada deliberately?

We need to get out of our own way. We are only a “victim” of our own thoughts, words and actions. No one “does” something to us. We are the creators of our own experience. We must take personal responsibility and realize that we can get out of our hard times. We just need to start with changing our thoughts and actions.

 

Principle 9: Change is the only thing that never changes

 “And this too shall pass” is one of my favorite sayings. When we are stuck in a bad situation like broken Vada, we think that there is no way out. We think nothing will ever change. But guess what? It will! Nothing is permanent. So, we must get out of the habit of thinking that things will always be this way. They won’t. But we do need to take action to fry our broken Vada with spices to make a delicious vadacurry. Things do change for better when we act.

 

Principle 10: Anything is possible.

Miracle happen every day. Really—they do. I wish I had enough space to write about all the miraculous things that have happened to people I know. Trust me: it happens all the time. We just need to believe it does. Once we do, we have won the battle. Did a Vada that was fit only to be thrown to dustbin not end up as the most sought-after dish?

 

Principle 11: Appreciate the present moment.

This moment will never come again. And there is always something precious about every moment. So let us not let it pass us by! Soon it will just be a memory. Even moments that don’t seem happy can be looked upon as something that we might miss someday. As the country song by Trace Adkins says, “You’re gonna miss this…you’re gonna want this back. You’re gonna wish these days hadn’t gone by so fast….you may not know this now, but you’re gonna miss this…”

Broken Vadas are delicious too. Let’s eat them for now and wait for Vada curry to come.

 

Principle 12: Allow yourself to experience joy.

So, when vadacurry is on the table, enjoy it without thinking on what to do once the eating is done and when will be the next time you get to eat it again.

Believe it or not, I know way too many people who don’t allow themselves to have fun. And they don’t even know how to be happy. Some people are addicted to their problems and the chaos in them so much that they wouldn’t even know who they are without them. So, let us try to allow ourselves to be happy! Even if it’s just for a small moment, it’s important to focus on joy, not our hardships.

 

So, what is Vadacurry Vedanta in a nut shell ? 

There is a quote that says “When life throws stones at you, build castles”

I would say “ When you get only the old broken Vadas, make Vada curry and enjoy “