Week 46 & 47/2025: Monday 10th Nov to Sunday 23rdNov

Sad days, which I am afraid of, are back. My lumbar back pain has returned after two years. I can’t stand straight, can’t put a firm step forward. The pain shoots down from hip to left leg. It hurts badly. I somehow knew the pain would return. It has already happened—the very thing I carefully tried to avoid. It feels like it is now tied to my life, returning whenever my fate is not good.

I was expecting something like this to happen by mid-November. My horoscope shows bad days. It’s called 'Kuja–Rahu Sandhi'. Until now I was being ruled by the planet Kuja, and from now on it will be Rahu. It is said that Kuja and Rahu are opponents who dislike each other. Kuja is not willing to leave his power over me and not letting Rahu take over, whereas Rahu is all set to take charge. So the clash is affecting my health. Not just mine, but also of my dear ones, Sujay and Dhruva.

Sujay had a wisdom tooth extraction from the lower jaw, and it hasn’t healed yet. His pain is shooting up to his head. Dhruva has a skin infection here and there on body, which has reduced after consulting the doctor. These hurdles are going to continue through 2026. I have already become a ಮುದುಕಿ at ಮೂವತ್ತು. I keep wondering, if this is the case now, what will happen to me by next year’s end?

I was lying down the whole week. The pain has improved, but not enough to fully resume work. Somehow I am managing Dhruva with the support of my family. I spent more time around Dhruva and Skanda, quietly sitting in a corner, observing them, doing nothing else.

Skanda had gone on a picnic on Children’s Day from his school to 'Bheemana Gudda', a small hillside near Sirsi. He was very excited about the trek—more so because he could eat junk food that is otherwise not allowed at school. He came back happily saying he ate Lay’s, Kurkure, and drank 7Up the whole day. I told him to write down his experience, and here he has noted it.

Skanda's travel diary

Thankfully, I had completed writing my column for Shramejeevi before the pain hit. And we had also been to the 'Kartika deepotsava' (lightning diyas in mass during the Kartika maasa) at our Kuladevata. I had also been to Kabbe once. I spent a good amount of time at the farm, so I could pass time even while doing nothing (which is very, very difficult for an enthu, active person like me)

Picture from the gallery of our paddy field that I took before the pain hit

Actually, I couldn’t simply lie down. I read. I read four books back-to-back — ಮಾಲತಿ ಮಾತಾಡಿದಳು (a set of stories), ಗಿಡಗಂಟೆಯ ಕೊರಳು (a collection of articles on local flowers and their interesting botany), ದೇವರು ಹೊರಟನು (a short novel), and ದೇವರು ಅರೆಸ್ಟ್ ಆದ (a set of short stories). I also started watching an anime series — Demon Slayer. I like this genre of demons, vampires, bad guys vs good guys. I’m enjoying the anime format.

The pain is okay now. I even attended a family function, Sujay’s cousin’s engagement. It was refreshing; I forgot the pain for some time. I think I’ll be okay to restart. Let’s see.

Congratulations on getting engaged Manu bhava and Lakshmi akka.