:: OP-ED

A zest for life

Padmapriya

Oct 27 : When I listen to Ashtapadis — poetic literature from Gita Govindam by Jayadeva of 12th century, my mind becomes one with the eternal truth. When I read Herman Hesse’s novel Siddhartha, my thoughts focus on the reality of life.

I don’t pray regularly. And I love to identify myself as a human being, rather than as a person belonging to a particular religion. 

I consider some places as having divine tranquility, especially places of pilgrimage, where people come with positive energy.

I am not attached to any particular religion. I feel good if I am to treat all religions equally. And I can find the common spiritual undercurrents in all religions.

Whenever I get a chance, I visit places of worship, whether it is a church, gurdwara, dargah or a temple.

We need to survive amidst nature, whether we are praying or not, believing or not. So, I believe that nature always expects humans to survive through thick and thin. It is in love for life of ordinary humans that I find the highest seeking.

I feel indebted to nature and would like to fulfil the expectations that it has from me as a human being. I want to contribute to the society and fellow humans in whatever little way I can.

(As told to Arun Janardhanan)

— Padmapriya is a leading actress in Tamil and Malayalam movies. She is also a renowned classical dancer.