Tag: Ramesha

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Part of my heart is still in San Francisco

Photo by Amogh Manjunath on Unsplash

It was Ramesha who read this morning that Tony Bennett had passed away at the ripe old age of 96. He told me the news and then asked who Tony Bennett was.

Of course, I immediately started singing “I Left My Heart in San Francisco,” which meant exactly nothing to Ramesha, who was born and raised in Switzerland.

But as I sang the song — the entire thing, remembering pretty much all the lyrics — I remembered just how much I loved “the City by the Bay” for the twenty-odd years I lived there.

And even though I was never a huge Tony Bennett fan, I feel a lot of sadness on his passing. As well as a whole lot of gratitude for gifting us with this wonderfully iconic song.

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Patiently waiting their turn…

…are the many photos from our trip to Europe that I haven’t yet found the time to organize and share!

I was reminded of the fact when I stumbled on this photo of the house where Ramesha was living when I first moved to Switzerland.

We hadn’t been in that neighborhood in maybe ten years, but it sure brought back lots of memories.

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Intention of life = LOVE

I was really struck by this photo and quote that Ramesha posted to Facebook today:

LOVE NEUTRALIZES FEAR…
“All doubt, despair, and fear become insignificant once the intention of life becomes love.” –Rumi

It got me reflecting on what is the intention of my life? And I realized that there truly can be only one correct answer: LOVE.

I wonder what would change, what would feel different if each morning I were to affirm that “the intention of my life is love.”

The intention of my life is love. ❤

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Making pizzoccheri

For today’s adventure we joined Fulvio in making pizzoccheri for lunch. It was great fun and turned out delicious.

The pasta is made from 80% buckwheat flour and 20% wheat flour
In America we’re used to measuring cups; in Europe they weigh ingredients instead
Fulvio adding water to the flour
First the pasta gets a good stir
Then it gets worked by hand
Ramesha begins the process of rolling out the dough
Fulvio rolls it out even thinner and also flips it over
Dividing the rolled out dough into sections, then cutting it into strips
This is what you end up with
Next step was cutting up potatoes…
…and coste (or bietola)…
…which we know as Swiss chard
Meanwhile Ramesha was grating cheese
Lots and lots of cheese!
First the potatoes are added to boiling water, then the Swiss chard
Next comes the pasta
Time to melt some butter, to which is added garlic
The view from the kitchen while all this was going on
Akuna hung out in the kitchen with us, hoping someone would drop some food on the floor
The cheese and butter are mixed in with the (drained) potatoes, chard, and pasta (definitely NOT a low-calorie dish)
Ramesha dishes it up; boy oh boy was it good!
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Back to the beginning

Ramesha and Bhagavati with Adelia

The other day we visited one of Ramesha’s oldest and most important friends.

When he was seven years old, he started attending yoga classes with his mother, and Adelia was the yoga teacher. She eventually became a close family friend and it was from her that he borrowed Autobiography of a Yogi (in Italian, of course) when he was thirteen years old.

An key moment in finding his spiritual path in this lifetime.

This is the actual copy of the AY that Ramesha borrowed!
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A walk by the lake

Manu and Ramesha

Today felt like our first real visit to Lugano itself.

We parked at our usual autosilo (parking garage); made a stop at the bank; and walked to a pizzeria near the lake. There we had our first real pizzas (le prime pizze!) of this trip and they were delicious.

Le prime pizze

Then we walked down Via Nassa and along the lake to Parco Ciani, where we met up with Ramesha’s sister, Manu. We got gelato, then went for a walk along the lake. An altogether lovely afternoon in centro Lugano.

Lake Lugano
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Happy brothers

Today’s photo is of Ramesha and his brother, Fulvio, whose birthday was today.

For the first time in seventeen years we’re actually in Switzerland and able to celebrate Fulvio’s birthday in person. We all went out to dinner as a family, eating great food and having a whole lot of fun.

In fact, I haven’t laughed so much in a long time.

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Happy birthday to my love

I leave for my weeklong ayurvedic retreat tomorrow and will miss Ramesha’s actual birthday next week.

So, tonight we had a simple celebration at home — just the two of us. No candles (the photo is just for fun), but a deliciously healthy pasta dinner followed by a super chocolatey cupcake for dessert.

It’s bittersweet, because this is the first time in nineteen years that I won’t be celebrating with him on his special day. But it’s for a good cause!

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The perfect Valentine cookies

It didn’t occur to me while I was in the store, but these cookies really are perfect for Ramesha and me–not because we’re sweethearts, but because we’re also vanilla and chocolate! 😊

In fact, the cookies brought to mind how we described ourselves when we first toured as the Harmony Duo back in 2006:

Bhagavati (Sharon) and Ramesha (Fabio) Nani are professional musicians who formed The Harmony Duo soon after their marriage. At that time they realized that—being of different races, from different countries and cultures, speaking different languages, but sharing spirituality and a deep love for music—harmony was, and is, the foundation of their life together.

Their programs affirm and celebrate the underlying harmony of all races, nations and cultures. Although written by a single composer, the pieces reflect a diversity of countries, centuries, and moods. Throughout them all, however, one feels the universal thread of joy and inspiration.

So, yeah–we pretty much embody the principle of “harmony in diversity” and that’s why I got such a kick out of my unconscious cookie selection.