Like Riding A Fish Blue Dino & Red Dino

Have you ever questioned your own worth? Here's Blue Dino doing just that...
 
Transcription:
What's my worth? And who decides it? 
Does it depend on how pretty I am? Or how quickly my grey cells operate? 
Does it spring from my confidence? Or the sense of style I project when I head out?
Or does it come from all of it? and more? And even less. 
Maybe it does come from all of it, the more and the less. 
From me being intelligent in one space, and naive in another.
From me being beautiful in some eyes, but forgettable in others. 
From being capable, nurturing, and dependable when I step into a certain room, yet totally unreliable outside of it. 
Maybe it does come from everything about me, in measures unique only to me. 
But then, how can this one-off concoction, this novel blend, be accounted for? 
How can any of us be tagged a worth?
Maybe, just maybe, I decide my worth. and you choose yours. So no one else can do it for us. 
 
Our Website: https://likeridingafish.wixsite.com/my-site
Follow us on Instagram: @likeridingafish
 
Music Credits:
https://freemusicarchive.org
"Woke up this Morning (TP 53)” by Till Paradiso 
License: CC BY (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/legalcode) 

This is all about Malayalam. The language of our ancestors, the language of our family, the language that's always been almost within reach. This is Red Dino's tale about her ever evolving relationship with her mother tongue. 
 
Transcription:
Enikku malayalam manssilavum, pakshe paryaam patilla. I can understand Malayalam but I can't speak it.
That's one phrase out of a limited few that me and my sister know how to say in our mother tongue. Otherwise, broken sentences and a few staple words help us survive our Kerala trips. But of course, with a high literacy rate, English often comes in handy in God's Own Country.
Having grown up in northern and western India and with parents, grandparents, and close relatives fluent in both Hindi and English, Malayalam wasn't a mandate in our household. Spoken by the adults and the elders for the most part, only understood by the offspring.
Nevertheless, the language was almost a part of our daily, especially with grandparents around. Local news, yes, but more so regional TV shows and movies would often play in the background. Unknowingly improving our comprehension skills.
And so over the years, Malayalam cinema became our gateway to the language. Although that relationship has had its ups and downs, often disrupted for years on end, we always find a way back to our roots. Mostly thanks to how magnetic we find its tonality.
You see as riveting and profound as Malayalam can be, it also holds the power to be equally funny and witty. We keep getting sucked into its magic. And so, 2024 has been a homecoming of sorts.
With Poacher, The Great Indian Kitchen, and now Aavesham, we are back to revelling in the language through its content. It's both a source of flashbacks and a step forward. Let's see where this journey takes us...
 
Our Website: https://likeridingafish.wixsite.com/my-site
Follow us on Instagram: @likeridingafish
 
Music Credits:
https://freemusicarchive.org
"Woke up this Morning (TP 53)” by Till Paradiso 
License: CC BY (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/legalcode) 
 
Background sound from Pixabay 

What do you do when you can't shake off the weight of all the history surrounding you? Do you give in or tether yourself stronger to the present? Listen to know what Blue Dino did when she found herself walking along a similar path of polarity...
 
Transcription:
As I strolled on the cobblestones made in the past, taking in the sea breeze, arm lovingly entangled in my baby cousin's, the place drew me into itself.
The sense of freedom was strong; even as open, clear skies, and pillars of stones, and metal bars enveloped us all, I felt as though I could take off and fly. And be happy forever.
But that's the thing with bars of time; as much as you try to forget, you can't help but get trapped within the history that paints the place.
And so even as I giggled with my aunt, uncle, and sisters, and discovered the architecture of what was now called a 'museum', the truth rang loud in the echo of our every step:
This museum, until very recently, used to be a jail.
But how can one grapple with the notion of feeling free in a place that only recently served the very opposite purpose?
I didn't have an answer. So I shrugged off this reality to face another day.
Just like all of us do when we walk the many paths of polarity.
Tell me, which one did you walk today?
 
Our Website: https://likeridingafish.wixsite.com/my-site
Follow us on Instagram: @likeridingafish
 
Music Credits:
https://freemusicarchive.org
"Woke up this Morning (TP 53)” by Till Paradiso 
License: CC BY (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/legalcode) 
 
Background sound from Pixabay 

Did we leave behind the game of peekaboo along with our childhood? Or is there a way to reclaim them both? Here's Red Dino finding a way...
 
Transcription:
Peekaboo. A game that's almost a rite of passage for every growing child. A game that has quite unwittingly scared and scarred a few, while arousing the best kind of curiosity and laughs in others. A game that's all about disappearing within sight. A game of man-made magic.
But as we grow older, we miss spotting daily peekaboo offerings made by our surroundings:
The moon behind a cloud. There and then not.
A dusty book on the back row of a semi-clean shelf. Hoping to grab your attention.
A building stretching itself tall to make its presence felt from behind a cluster of residential bungalows. All vying for the lake view.
And even the sun, peeking from behind a dense tree canopy, trying to light up your face.
As we forget to pay attention to the mischief, the playful, the marvellous wonders that the mundane has to offer, we forget to find respite in our own daily lives.
But of course, not all peekaboos are friendly. There's often the dark and the damned waiting around the corner. Always peeking, ready to jump out with a boo. But f**k that. Not for this postcard, not for today.
So for this moment, I'll go back to that sunny, glorious day when I saw a peekaboo event of my own.
When behind stone walls, a green tree winked at me, half-hidden. Showing a glimpse, it's best, but not everything.
 
Our Website: https://likeridingafish.wixsite.com/my-site
Follow us on Instagram: @likeridingafish
 
Music Credits:
https://freemusicarchive.org
"Woke up this Morning (TP 53)” by Till Paradiso 
License: CC BY (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/legalcode) 
 
Background sound from Pixabay 

Have you ever found yourself turning around, for what, you don't even know? It's like you are answering a silent call of what was left behind. Blue Dino recalls that day in Kyoto when she experienced something similar...
 
Transcription:
Some sights make you look back. 
Of course, the obvious ones that you just can't look away from. Like the sunset gone by, or a loved one saying goodbye. 
But also a few mundane ones. You know, like when you are walking along a path you have left footprints on many a time, and suddenly something pulls at your subconscious; making you turn without even knowing what you are turning around for. 
And then you see it. A trace of magic captured in the nothingness. You are glad to have looked back. It doesn't matter that the moment you resume your journey ahead, it will all be lost to you once again. Because at least for that second you saw it.
And sometimes, just sometimes, you think to capture that mundane. You turn around and before even realising, you take the shot.
And you find a way to hold on to that magic. 
So the red taxi stopping at the red light no more passes from your memory as uneventful. It stays as a reminder of an era in your life.
Some sights make you look back. And then you never have to wonder why.
 
Our Website: https://likeridingafish.wixsite.com/my-site
Follow us on Instagram: @likeridingafish
 
Music Credits:
https://freemusicarchive.org
"Woke up this Morning (TP 53)” by Till Paradiso 
License: CC BY (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/legalcode) 
 
Background sound from Pixabay 

When you catch the travel bug, where do your feet, your wallet, and your dreams take you? This is Red Dino documenting her own wanderlust aspirations. Along with certain realisations that will guide her jaunts and escapades!
 
Transcription:
"Beach or mountain?"
How many times have you been asked this question? Either by a friend, a potential love match, or even a BuzzFeed quiz?
I thought my answer was always true and certain. That is until very very recently.
A string of trips planned and paid for by adult Red Dino brought with them an epiphany. The answer is neither. I'm a city girl through and through.
Don't get me wrong, a visit to a hill station is always welcome, with the condition that the temperature is comfortable enough for this Tropic of Cancer baby. And the occasional beach holiday is grand too provided there are certain amenities and medicines handy for my rash-prone skin. But nothing makes my heart soar as much as walking down busy streets, discovering cafes and restaurants full of people and good music, shops and quirky stores with a side of thrift, and even galleries and museums filled with creations old and new. And yes, even the brazen, boisterous, and bothersome city crowd and city noise are something I welcome with wide arms, an open heart, and an all too willing wallet.
You see I'm a woman of convenience and materials.
I know it sounds sad and unadventurous and even mediocre to some. But when it comes to the actual act of travelling, I prefer to stay within my lane instead of going out of my way.
So until affordable public transport, varied and pocket-friendly eating options, and non-activity-centric days among other things become a staple of the mountains and the beaches, I'm staying a city girl. Through and through.
 
Our Website: https://likeridingafish.wixsite.com/my-site
Follow us on Instagram: @likeridingafish
 
Music Credits:
https://freemusicarchive.org
"Woke up this Morning (TP 53)” by Till Paradiso 
License: CC BY (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/legalcode) 
 
Background sound from Pixabay