(Essay)

When I exercise on my recumbent bike, I watch Spanish television to improve my proficiency in the language. A show I have recently started to like is called Como dice el dicho (As the saying goes). The show is based in Mexico City and covers topics related to many real-life situations. For example, a recent episode dealt with family dynamics and challenges where a husband, wife, and daughter have conflicts, making their lives miserable. They finally reconcile their difference and make peace. As it happens, at the end of each episode, they gather at the “Café El Dicho” where the patriarch and owner Don Tomás, with his staff standing behind him, makes the final declaration.

“Como dice el dicho.” (As the saying goes)

This is followed by a proverb, which is the theme of the episode. In the episode I described above, it was;

“Para Tango se necesitan dos.” (For Tango you need two)

You may ask why I am talking about this show. The reason is simple. Quite often, real-life situations mimic fiction. I will relate three events that happened to me and Bharati. Let’s see what Senόr Tomás, in an imaginary episode about us, will tell us.

In February of this year, 2025, Sally Quinn wrote an op ed for the Washington Post about her disappointment with the results of the United States Presidential elections. She discussed how she coped with her feelings by practicing yoga. Since I am a yoga practitioner, I thought of adding my two cents on the benefits of yoga. I dashed off my comments to the editor, hoping they would be accepted for publication. I was wrong. My letter, for whatever reason, was not accepted. I was not happy.

Every writer has to get used to rejection. But this was different. I thought I had made valid points. The non-acceptance of my letter amounted to a dismissal of all I wanted to say.

I discussed this with my journalist son. He recommended that I take a different approach. As per his recommendations, I wrote an essay about the reasons I became a fan of chair yoga and how it is helping me stay healthy at this stage in my life. I submitted my essay to a couple of magazines dealing with issues related to yoga. My essay was accepted by the UK-based Om Magazine. My yoga teacher was excited. She forwarded my essay to her superiors. Within a couple of weeks, I was informed that our county’s monthly newspaper was interested in interviewing me. In the July 2025 issue of the Howard County Beacon, there was a feature article about me, with my photo. I was excited about how it turned out.

Soon after we moved to Ellicott City, Maryland, from Fairfax, Virginia, four years ago, Bharati joined two classes. One was to learn watercolor painting. It was offered by a resident artist at the Howard County Center of Arts. The other was water aerobics offered by a Howard County 50+ community center. Bharati relished them both.

In the Arts center, Bharati received personalized instruction in how to keep on improving a drawing, what type of paper and brushes to use. Bharati set up an “artist’s” area in our house and produced several paintings that she is proud of. A couple of her paintings were displayed in the county library. Early this year, Bharati learned that her teacher had lost her lease on her studio. She could not offer the class anymore.

In spite of the quirky and sometimes unfriendly behavior, Bharati thought the art teacher was good. This teacher was exactly what Bharati had wanted. She did not dictate what the student should draw but advised on how to improve the art piece, one layer at a time. Now Bharati was in a quandary. Where to find another teacher who would be equally good? What to do with her unfinished art? Will she be able to continue learning and improving what she had started? But how? Without a good teacher?

Bharati started to search for options available. She did not want to waste the time and energy she had spent on starting something she liked. She wanted to continue improving a skill she had acquired. It was difficult to find a good teacher. Most of the time, one learned by word of mouth. There were very few recommendations forthcoming. After some research, Bharati found a class in the Chinese Brush Strokes offered by the Howard Community College, not that far from our house. This was a good alternative. The quality of teaching would be reliable.

Bharati has been going to the class for the last few weeks. It is a different style of drawing, but she likes the teacher who pays attention to the work being produced by the student and gives constructive advice. This is one facet of teaching that Bharati admired. At least for now, Bharati is learning something new and recovering her passion for drawing.

Bharati enjoyed group water aerobics for a number of years. She had participated in one class in a gym we used to go to in Fairfax. She enrolled for two classes per week. She liked the exercise and made many new friends.

Everything was great until a couple of months ago. The students were informed that the classes were postponed indefinitely. The talk was that the instructor had health-related issues, and the class will resume if and when a replacement is found.

Bharati considered the option of using the pool for some exercise by herself. It was not the same thing. Gone was the camaraderie of group participation, the variety of exercise, the small talk with other participants afterwards, and the opportunity for new friendships. Staying home doing nothing was not an acceptable option.

Bharati started looking for other facilities that offered water-based classes close to our neighborhood. She found one at the Columbia Athletic Club. On a personal visit to the club, she learned of other things that the club offered, such as a sauna and gentle yoga.

Since joining, Bharati has not limited her visits to the club to twice a week. She is participating in more activities. She has learned something new, like using a bicycle in the pool, something that she did not know before. She joined the yoga class and is taking advantage of the hot sauna. She comes home all worked up, but happy.

“This club is just wonderful,” she said to me recently.

So, in my imaginary episode, Bharati and I are sitting in Café El Dicho facing Don Tomás. Senόr Tomás, a short, distinguished-looking man wearing an orange vest, a scarf around his neck, and a beret, addresses us in his smooth, consoling way.

“Como dice el dicho.” (As the saying goes)

 “Lo que pase, pase para bien.”  (Whatever happens, happens for the good.)

Bharati’s art work