New Year Greetings

Take or Give....?

Most of us feel that we are doing our duty by taking care of our old parents/parents-in-law. Yes, I agree and accept that we are helping them by providing them the shelter, food and immediate help in case of medical urgency. We feel mighty proud, if we are able to do this so called duty. But have we ever sat back and realized, by providing them with these simple basic necessities, we are binding them to the family duties and not relieving them of it. Most of you would say that we tell them to rest, but is it possible in true sense?

They monitor the battalion of servants that we have . They take care of the bills and last but not the least our children are well cared. We, in order to raise in the corporate ladder have numerous office parties to attend to, tours and stay late night in offices , as our parents take care of our house.

But when our parents need to go out on any occasion, they would probably think about our office tour plans and our children’s exam schedule. But come to think of it, this is what they did in their young age also. Very few people of our generation had their grand parents stay with them . So, the onus of bringing us up was solely on them . Creche , probably was very few and unheard off. They sacrificed their trips for our exams and saved their money so that we can go out for picnics/excursions.

Why do we not give them an opportunity to live their life , visit us when they want and not when we want them. Most of you would probably argue that they need to live with us so that they feel belonged to, but have we ever given them a choice?

I use this opportunity to thank my parents and numerous other parents who take care of their grand children with the same love that they showered on us.

P.S. : My mother does not agree to the above view. She feels that these are not mundane chores and besides having children and grand children make them feel young and the need to live.

Profound Thought

My beautician once commented that we accept unconditionally our parents , siblings and children, despite their defects and handicaps but when it comes to spouse, we do have difficulties .

Yes, no matter what, we don’t discard our parents/siblings /children and remain loving to them, but in case of spouse, we find it hard to accept and it takes time and often we compromise which is not actually accepting.

Just another day....

Everyday, I decide that I should contribute for my blog. I read the post of all the regular blogs that I frequent. (Have not yet learnt blogrolling…..) . It has been more than a month since I have posted any thing on my blog as rightly pointed by Prithika. Somehow, it looks like the thoughts and other activities in my brain have taken a winter break. Well, let them enjoy the break and get rejuvenated. May be I might stumble on something interesting on their return. Till then,

Aiming High : My son

My son was just about two years old , when I realized his sense of perfection and interest in cooking. One evening , when I had cut the brinjals and put them in the frying pan and was coming out to sit in front of TV waiting for the brinjals to fry. This kid, could not speak then, pulled my kurta and dragged me back to kitchen and instructed me to stir the vegetable till it gets done. Well, it was his practice to taste the vegetable from the raw stage, to the semi cooked and fully cooked vegetable . I used to enjoy seeing his expression and was proud of the fact that, unlike other parents I never had to worry about his eating habits. As long as the food was cooked in front of him, he would eat anything. Even now, he is the taster in our house.

When he started going out to play, he wielded the willows and I saw a budding cricketer in him. And a friendly neighbour who was a journalist captured his photo and had it published in Hindustan Times. Yes, now he is 10 years and still cooking and cricket fascinate him. But yes his ambitions do vary.

In the last couple of years till the last world cup (cricket) , when Australia was emerging victorious, my son wanted to join the Australian cricket team and was figuring out ways to go to Australia. But now, he feels he can only save the Indian cricket team from losing , provided he has Yuvraj Singh playing the game along with him.

Last year, one day as I was getting ready for my office, he wakes up and tells me that he has finally decided what he ants to be when he grows up. I was overjoyed, and glad that at such an early age my son has got a direction till I heard him say :”Mama, I want to be a girl when I grow up”. Well, I was speechless and probably thought I have a junior Michael Jackson in front of me.

His recent aim is to fly planes and he had a tough choice between Indian Airforce and the private airlines. He has finally settled for Indian Airforce, when he got to know that they have big canteens which is just like anther super market where he could get things at a discounted price. Probably he wants a game CD at a cheaper price or a beyblade. But I am glad for this decision, because now he watches TV from a distance, lest he might have to wear spectacles and be disqualified from flying and tries to eat nutritious food as a part of body building.

I can just end with this words “ whatever will be will be, the future is not ours to see’ and wish him all the best.

Rainbow : ME

I have taken this tag from Shankari . Eight Qualities about myself . I would like to think that I am as colourful as rainbow .

1. I hate dressing up. In my house, my husband and son spend more time in front of the mirror than I do.
2. Gold : I hate that metal. I find it gaudy. Would prefer silver, stones and artificial jewellery any time.
3. Am lazy to walk and cant stand at one place even for five minutes.
4. I trust everyone, despite my friends and well wishers who warn me against.
5. I find it most difficult to choose the menu in a restaurant or a dress from a shop. Either I end up liking all or none.
6. Just cant vanish my smile . It irritates many and unfortunately my son has inherited that trait from me . All his teachers complaint that he is the only boy smiling when he receives scolding. Hw do I explain the teacher that it was unintentional. :(
7. Can never say ‘No’ to sweets and am a caffeine addit.
8. There are many more colours to myself , but I shall restrict to seven just like rainbow.

Just realised that this can also be taken as few weird characters about me, I recollect that tag was on some time back in few blogs. But now I guess i am just a weirdo :)

Dilemma (Theoretical versus Practical)

It is said that men learn from their failures while the wiser ones learn from others failures.

Considering that all are not born wiser, is it all right for the children to learn the hard way? Would they really understand the extent of fire burns till they really get burnt?

How can we decide what is to be taught theoretical and where to go practical and which lessons should not be taught???

The song that I came to sing........ by Tagore

The song that I came to sing remains
unsung to this day.
I have spent my days in stringing and in
unstringing my instrument.
The time has not come true, the words
have not been rightly set; only there is the
agony of wishing in my heart.
The blossom has not opened; only the
wind is sighing by.
I have not seen his face, nor have I
listened to his voice; only I have heard his
gentle footsteps from the road before my
house.
The livelong day has passed in spreading
his seat on the floor; but the lamp has not
been lit and I cannot ask him into my
house.
I live in the hope of meeting with him;
but the meeting is not yet.
--from Gitanjali



P.S. this poem phrases my mental condition. Had I been Tagore, I would have written the above lines, but Chitra that i am ,you had to read the post below. : ).

Is there a way ?

I am a mere spectator to life passing by and notice the harm being done. I know what is happening is not right and can only forsee gloom and darkness. I know that by being observer , I am equally responsible for tomorrow. Is that what is fate, which curtails my hand from holding out.

I know that I would be told that I can change the destiny by my strong will and determination. Yes , I know I have the will and the desire but cannot see the way? All I can do is say a little prayer to God for a little miracle and guidance.

To forgive and forget

"To err is human , to forgive is divine."

We all accept apologies from our spouse, children, friends and let the bygones be and continue the relation as it existed. But , later on, at a different time and on different occasion, these issues crop up again.

Does it mean that we have not forgiven the person in true sense. I feel to forgive means to forget that instance. Is it really possible or do we have to be 'divine'" to forgive and forget.

Cute Prayer

Time to think ?

I am thinking about : what next
I said : Keep smiling for one never knows what happens tomorrow.
I want to : really practice what I say
I wish : the list is endless.
I regret : that at times, I am not able to control my temper and say nasty things which hurts others
I hear : My son crooning like Himesh Reshamiyya
I am : different from what I wish I was.
I dance : to my husband’s tunes!!!
I sing : horribly
I cry : when I am stressed; when I am hurt ; on watching the emotional scenes in movies ; almost all occasions but khushi ke aasoo nahin aaye !!!
I am not : diplomatic, or hypocrite
I am with my hands: hugging my son, and cooking
I write: my blogs and emails
I confuse : am confused
I need : depends on my mood (it can range from a private chopper to a chocolate)
I tag : Krithika, Inder

Thank you !

I understand it is the norm of blog ethics to reply to every comment which implies that we are acknowledging the visitor and are welcoming him/her. But I am not able to keep up with replying to the comments and also take time to read at your sites.

Hence, I just thought I would mention it at one go that I appreciate all your comments and I look forward to them. Please continue to drop by….

Thanks

Bhagat Singh

Shruti had mentioned that this is the 75th anniversary of the martyrdom of Bhagat Singh and his comrades. I have always felt that our Indian history has been unkind to him . As a school girl, I got to know more about Bhagat Singh through the film Shaheed with Manoj Kumar as the hero than though my history books.

Since the present government is also ignoring the event, she had requested that we must take a pledge to celebrate the anniversery of those people. I am just giving a link to her site "Celebration"(not only this post,her entire blog makes an intresting read).

Intresting !

Priya, had to link this cartoon for that is what most of the bloggers undergo.

Amaaaaaaaaaaaaaaazing

The word "listen" contains the same letters as the word "silent".

Self Centred : me ?

The other day, when I was alighting from the bus, I saw TV cameras in front of my apartment and few men busy making placards. I was excited thinking atlast they have decided to voice against the power cuts (more than 14 hours in a day) we are facing. I had prepared mentally to speak the right words in front of the camera. I approached one of my neighbours and asked him as to what was happening? He excitedly replied, that they were fighting for justice for Priyadarshini Mattoo. One lady in our apartment happens to be a journalist and very strongly fighting her case.

With the influence she had , she could motivate all the ladies, children and men out of their house to raise slogans with placards in their hands. Why then she does not fight for some minor improvements in our living conditions?

Even I don’t want the accused to go scot free , but I truly believe charity begins at home. With so many pressing agendas , this was certainly not something I would like to fight for, now.

Reading this post, most of you might feel I am self centred .

Well…………….

Road Rage(a)

Driving in Delhi Roads is nightmarish , especially the bluelines, two wheelers. They don’t even leave the footpath for you and every driver is hurling a volley of abuses. I avoid traveling with my husband in his scooter as he also steers his way in between the buses and tries to beat the traffic. I always sit in the fear that while waiting in red light, some passenger from the adjacent bus is going to vomit out .

But, yesterday , when I was pillion riding, I was amused at the sea change. Driving still atrocious but the mood has changed. Thanks to the FM and mp3 player in their mobiles. Every driver has got earplugs on and glued to music. So, while everyone is of the opinion they are humming the song, they are actually singing loud. In a red light, I could hear to my husband singing some song while the man behind me in another bike was singing a different song. Hilarious, it was.

Atleast, the moods have changed, and the tunes. Instead of the monotonous horns, One get to hear the songs, though not everyone is Kishore Kumar , Rafi, or Himesh Reshamiya.

Glad to be back..........

Two days without able to browse blogs was indeed very difficult. Though I had mentioned that I am infected wih blogaria, ., I got to know the severity of it only in the last two days!

Thankfully, the sanity has prevailed! Hey all, now I should be able to read all your posts and ofcourse give my wise cracks!

World Population Day

Yesterday was World Population Day and on February 25, 2006, it touched 6.5 billion!

In College, when I was more idealistic, I had proclaimed that I would rather adopt a child than to give birth and add on to the existing population. But, I got married and an opportunity to experience mother hood.

It is not that I am against adoption, but I wanted to experience the essence of motherhood! i wanted to feel a life within me and so, all my idealism and talk on ever growing population were thrown off the air. And yes, i enjoyed every minute of it!

So, at this stage, I can pledge that I shall try to make the world a better place to live in for the generations to come, by using the natural resources in a conservative manner.

Woh Din kitne Yaad Aate Hain!

When gulli-danda and kanche (marbles) were more popular than cricket ...
When we always had friends to play aais-paais (I Spy),
chhepan-chhepai and pitthoo anytime ...
When we desperately waited for 'yeh jo hai jindagi'
When chitrahaar, vikram-baitaal,
dada daadi ki kahaniyaan were so fulfilling ....
When there was just one tv in every five houses and
When bisleris were not sold in the trains and we were
worrying if papas will get back into the train
in time or not
when they were getting down at stations
to fill up the water bottle ...
When we were going to bed by 9.00pm sharp
except for the 'yeh jo hai jindagi' day ...
When Holis & Diwalis meant mostly
hand-made pakwaans and sweets
and moms seeking our help while preparing them
When Maths teachers were not worried of
our mummys and papas while slapping/beating us ...
When we were exchanging comics and stamps and
chacha-chaudaris and billus were our heroes ...
When we were in nanihaals every summer and loved
flying kites and plucking and eating
unripe mangoes and leechis ...
When one movie every Sunday evening on television
was more than asked for
and 'ek do teen chaar' and 'Rajni' inspired us ...
When 50 paisa meant at least 10 toffees ...
When left over pages of the last years notebooks
were used for rough work or even fair work ...
When 'chelpark' and 'natraaj' were encouraged
against 'reynolds and family' ...
When the first rain meant getting drenched and playing
in water and mud and making 'kaagaj ki kishtis' ...
When there were no phones to tell friends that
we will be at their homes at six in the evening ...
When our parents always had 15 paise blue
colored 'antardesis' and 5 paise machli wale stamps at home
When we remembered tens of jokes and were not finding
'ice-cream and papa' type jokes foolish enough
to stop us from laughing ...
When we were not seeing patakhes on Diwalis and
gulaals on Holis as air and noise polluting
or allergic agents ...

the list can be endless ...

on the serious note I would like to summarise with ...
When we were using our hearts more than our brains,
even for scientifically brainy activities
like 'thinking' and 'deciding' ...
When we were crying and laughing more often,
more openly and more sincerily ...
When we were enjoying our present more
than worrying about our future ...
When being emotional was not synonymous to being weak
When sharing worries and happiness didnt mean
getting vulnerable to the listener ...
When blacks and whites were the favourite
colors instead of greys ...
When journeys also were important and not
just the destinations ....
When life was a passenger's sleeper giving enough time
and opportunity to enjoy the sceneries from its open
and transparent glass windows instead of some
superfast's second ac with its curtained,
closed and dark windows ...

This was sent by my friend a couple of years back!

Silly question that passed through the Generations!

Like some diseases we aquire because of our genetics, there are also some traditions that we follow .

I could never fathom as to why my mother had to keep one leg over the other while filling water. The other day I saw my son was also doing the same!

One question that my mother used to ask just before making rotis is how many rotis would each of us have and used to irrtate all of us and we used to tease her. But, now I do the same , much to the chargin of my husband and my son!

Some habits die hard! I tag all you readers to share similar incidents!

Religious doubt

Shankari’s post created a lot of questions and I am still trying to get the answers.

Of course, the Mohini avtaar of Lord Vishnu and the birth of Ayyappa evoked a lot of curiosity.This site explains why this is exactly not an avatar and there is only one temple dedicated to Mohini at Ryali, a small township 30 kms near the city of Rajahmundry, in Andhra Pradesh.

This site tried to reason out as to why Sabrimala does not entertain female devotees.
One cant conclude that because of his celebate status, he doesnt like to be visited by women (in Sabarimala, it could be because he has made one female devotee (Ganga) wait and so the rest of us female mortals have to wait ), while one finds female devotees thronging all the Ayappa temples and participate with equal fervour in the Mandala poojas!

Figure

They play a very important role in our life. Both monetary reference and physical appearance. The figure, with reference to physical appearance amuses me more.

As a kid is born, we want to know how healthy is the kid. More the weight, more the healthy the baby is. As a child grows, being plump is associated with cuteness. And suddenly all these which were once appreciated becomes a negative point, especially if the concerned person belongs to the female sex. All relatives, parents try to get a quick remedy for slimming the girl, so that their daughter fits into the criteria for the grooms asking for slim beautiful girl. But the same girl, once the baby delivered puts on weight and becomes obese.

In times, of recent past, being fat meant they belong to “ khate peete ghar ke”. I remember my husband used to get offended if some one referred me as “so slim “. I never understood for some days, till I got an explanation from my husband that it meant his family is not taking care of me properly and feeding me! I thought my husband must be crazy to have such ideas, till I realized most of my friend’s husbands also fell in the same league.

Now, being slim is the style statement, the very housewife, who had put on weight, is trying to loose weight by going to the gym, or having a treadmill at home and other dieting courses And I, who was slim, at that time, am putting on weight, and look as if I belong to ghar who lives in "ghee" day in and night out!

Probably because I never could emulate fashion, when slim is the fashion, I am putting on weight and when being fat was considered good I was slim!

A typical Aquarian who makes her own style!

Face Value and Place Value

"Just as our face never changes, similarly the face value of the number remains same. wherever the number is " says my son. But the place value of the number changes depending upon their position. (Eg : For the number, 6780, the place value of 7 is 700, while the face value is 7 but for the no. 67800, the place value becomes 7000).

Isn’t that the real case in all our lives? Wherever, we go, we are known by our name, but depending on the place, our value varies!

The Secret Fives

My first tag! I was excited and wanted to respond immediately but I had to actually look though my freezer, purse, and closet before I could write. So, I asked for time. Of course, I didn’t just browse through the albums but also looked at all the photographs and reminisced my school, college days. Thanks, Krithika, I had a wonderful time.

Here it goes :-

Five items in my freezer:
Ice tray (used for first aid purposes only)

(Did find some empty chocolate wrappers, reminded me of our childhood , when we used to eat the sweets prepared by our mother and keep back the utensil as if it was untouched. Poor her, she used to be thinking that she would give our guests the sweets and she would find it empty…………... )

Five things in my car
Prefer public transport. No car

Five items in my closet
(Thank God, There were no skeletons!)
My dresses,
Photo Albums,
Certificates (both mine and my son’s)
Some old letters and greeting cards (letters received for my son since he was born)
Duplicate keys

Five items in my purse
Wallet
Lipstick (because my friend wants me to use it, though I forget it happily when I come to office)
House keys
Hairbrush
Emergency medicines

But please, let me tell you, my handbag is not clean as it sounds. Despite the wallet, my money would be scattered all over in my bag, bus tickets, pens which I never get when I need, my bank statements which comes out every time I use ATM, bits of papers (notes like the books I need to buy, things to do, etc etc.), and the best part of it is I forget. I shall know when I change my handbag, once in 6 months). It is mostly done by my son as he gets to keep all the change scattered in my bag.

Five people I tag :

Shankari
Geeta
Priya
Saroj
Aarathi

Slippery Sreesanth!

Not that I know of any incident where he has slipped while bowling! I was told he wears two different colours of shoes! He sports two different brands on each of them and the reason he gives is his leg sizes are different. But soon this is catching up with young boys as a style statement!

So, now I might have to go to shoe shop to buy two different pairs of two different colours so that my son can wear his one pair of shoes! Probably sooner the time might come when the manufacturers would catch up with it and have two different colours for a single pair to ease our job!

Holy holiday

Summer vacation is coming to an end. I have lots of holiday homework to complete………..

When my son started schooling I took a resolution, I shall not procrastinate the holiday homework and keep it till the last minute. But old habits die-hard!

With no choice left, this week, we both have to finish the PowerPoint presentations, charts, writing “muhavres” (proverbs) in flash cards etc. etc. I am off to my mother’s place today as he is there and all of us plan to sit the night out and help him finish it off. Another girl (just fresh out of college and in her first year of job) has also decided to give us a helping hand……………

Interesting project among the lot, which I would like to share with all of you

Building a sandwich and exploring how natural forces create rock layers.

Take a White Bread :-Igneous Bedrock,
Layer it with butter and raisins: - conglomerate.
Another layer of Brown Bread: -shale
Spread it with Mayonnaise: -Limestone,
Spread the Tomato sauce on top: -red sandstone!

Bend this sandwich to form mountains and valleys. And then munch the geological creation!!!!

Yes, we have to observe mosquitoes, cockroaches under the microscope. As far as cockroaches are concerned, I would rather watch them through a telescope!

Here’s wishing myself all the best.

CBM

During normal days, my son never shares his day-to-day happenings in school with me, or for that matter with anyone in the family. We get tit bit of information as and when he likes. None of us in the family put pressure on him.
But, on the day of PTM(Parent Teacher Meeting), my son narrates all the incidents, both good and bad that happened in the school on the 15-minute walk that we have together. He also tells me as to the exact nature of complaint that I would receive. He rather forewarns me as to what I should expect.
Of course, the return journey has me advising him and telling all those stuff that all good mothers are supposed to say! One such time, he interrupted and asked me if he would have any such opportunity to talk to my boss and find out about my behavior and my capability.
This led me to thinking what if we have CBM (Children Boss Meet). I am sure all the HR guys would have a tough time handling the children’s queries. Our children would have have a field day.

As one grows……..

Most of the people refuse to grow up while growing old. They insist that the children in the neighborhood call them by their names and not aunts/uncles much to the children's discomfort.They tend to act in the most immature way while interacting with the friends of their children. After all, our children need privacy too..
I agree , there are more options in the sense of dresses, outings etc. I once read somewhere Helen, the famous vamp of the then cinema lamenting that the choice of dresseses were then not there for her, and so, she loves to have her daughter in law Malaika Arora Khan wear them. All of us would agree that Helen would have looked gorgeous in all those outfits compared to any of the present day actressess. But , now she still gets applauded whe she come on to the stage because she wears a dress that suits her figure and image.

Why do we refuse to grow with dignity and earn respect?

Word verification

I write about this as I am not able to comprehend as to why it is done………………

The first time, I saw it , it reminded me of optical store . Now almost all us bloggers have it.

For me, it checks on our vision, and whether we are able to recognize the alphabets in the keyboard and type it and just another tedious boring step to post a comment….

Probably the absence of it might make me realise.

It is bothering me a bit too much as I seem to be posting comments on my site much too often. And so, here it goes………….

Couldnt think of a suitabe title..

When I received this mail : just another forward mails threatening us to send it across otherwise tragedy would befall us, I sometimes succumb to it and sometimes courageously delete it. Well, this poem when i received it, I liked the words so much, that I decided to share it with you all.

In this great city that has no end,
Yet the days go by and weeks rush on,
And before I know it, a year is gone.
And I never see my old friends face,
For life is a swift and terrible race,
He knows I like him just as well,
As in the days when I rang his bell.
And he rang mine but we were younger then,
And now we are busy, tired men.
Tired of playing a foolish game,
Tired of trying to make a name.
"Tomorrow" I say! "I will call on Jim
Just to show that I'm thinking of him."
But tomorrow comes and tomorrow goes,
And distance between us grows and grows.
Around the corner, yet miles away,
"Here's a telegram sir," "Jim died today."
And that's what we get and deserve in the end.
Around the corner, a vanished friend.
Remember to always say what you mean.
If you love someone, tell them.
Don't be afraid to express yourself.
Reach out and tell someone what they mean to you.
Because when you decide that it is the right time
it might be too late.
Seize the day. Never have regrets.
And most importantly, stay close to your friends
and family, for they have helped
make you the person that you are today.

Friend in need?

Am I ?

As we leave the college we resolve to be friends forever no matter whatever are the circumstances. All of us seem to be singing the same song “ Yeh Dosti Hum Nahin thodenge”.
But as time passes by, one gets married and has to choose a career. The distance grows, both in geographical aspects as well as mental aspects. Hence, so many things remain unsaid between friends. The friendship remains but we are not able to dedicate the time to them, how much so ever we wish to.
When one is troubled or in distress, as a friend we can hear them out and help to empower them so that they can solve the problems and face the world. And yes, we can pray for them. A friend who understands this and accepts on the other end remains friends for life.

P. S.: This post is dedicated to my parents, sisters and my friends.

Obituaries!!!!

Why is it that we have to talk good of the dead , even if they have not been kind to us or have got lots of misdeeds to their credit? Are we afraid, that they are watching us from the Space above !

When we can look at the good qualities of a person after his death, why not do the same when he is alive ?

Relatively I

My friend says I am obsessed with relationships. I am. Who wouldnt be?

Because I was born as a daughter, became a sister , friend, wife, mother , aunty, bhabhi, chachi employee, subordinate, etc. Everyone perceives me differently. I am not one of the superwoman who match up to everyone’s expectation.

Everywhere we go, as a part of the society we form bonds. I cant live as an individual. Yes, I should try not to lose my individuality.

Right (or wrong) to Equality

Is respect given only if we call others by their relation to us or ‘sir’ in an organization? I can still disrespect them or malign them even if I refer them as didi or bhaiya? Are we not promoting hypocrisy? Would I tend not to respect someone if I call him/her by his or her first name?

Though I agree wisdom grows with age, but not necessarily true for everyone. So, there are chances that we can refuse to agree with our elders. Do we have to listen to them even if we don’t agree to them? Is arguing with them, a sign of disrespect?

Little Doubt

Was just thinking if God had created Eve first, would she have asked for Adam or another Eve for company?

Autobiography

Fear not. I am not writng mine. I was just wondering about them……….Do we have the right to write one. For would we not be infringing on the private life of our near and dear ones!

For I know, if I write it would involve my best and worst moments with my family, in-laws, extended family , friends. If I edit it , would it be a complete and true autobiography? Can they take me to court for exposing their private life?

One thing everyone can be sure it would not find many readers!!

Hai Ram! Mujhko Blogaria Hua!

I was introduced to blog by my dear friend Shankari when she took on to blogging. I was amazed at the writing skill of hers and the comments that her site generated. I thought of starting one, but I was forewarned that it would consume too much of my time. Hence, I told my other friend Sundar who already had his personal blog to start a team blog. Yes, he did start SACC as was told and I was still wary of posting articles except for some comments. Of course, now I contribute on a regular basis but the other members are still not comfortable. In the meanwhile, I started a blog for my cousins which didn’t take off. It was then that I was told by my sisters to start my own.

I was not very confident,though I had ideas, to start on as I am not prolific writer and my vocab is not too good. Somehow, I started it one day.I got encouraging responses from Shankari and my sisters which led me onto continue writing on my blog. When Lakshmi of Random Thoughts posted a comment(the first comment from an outsider!), I was overjoyed. Her site took me to the other sites of Chitra and Shruthi, whose writings I enjoy reading. But yesterday only, I realized the infection that has been caused by the blog bug that bit me. It was chitra’s question on her site that had me hooked the whole day yesterday and it was like we were chatting the whole day. And the doctor has promised to give me the remedy only on Monday. Till then, I guess, I am infected...

Gift

Receiving gifts is always pleasure and that too the suspense in unwrapping the gifts thrills me even at this age. As kids we have been taught that whatever be the gift should be accepted wholeheartedly and thanked profusely. And so, when my niece got married couple of months back, we were gifted salwar kameezes .Since, we couldn’t go then, it was received by me yesterday. Till yesterday I was getting ready for the wonderful dress that I would get, but when I unwrapped…….the colour combination was not to my liking and would not suit my complexion.
Then came the awakening. She gifted me because she had to and not because she wanted to. I used to be sentimental and not wanting to hurt others, would keep all the gifts and even occasionally wear them. My husband’s complaint about the gifted blouse pieces being stacked in my cupboard always fell on deaf ears as I was not going to dispose them off lest I hurt them.

Now, I have taken a resolution to return the gifts to the donors on the next occasion at my place. So, those gifts neatly tagged along with their names wait for an occasion at my place………..

Hot Seat

Never got to experience the heat of the hot seat in KBC, but come summer, I am experiencing the hot seat in rickshaws and buses everyday!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Humans Being…

We human beings call ourselves domesticated wild animals. But are we, in real senses, tame. One look at the corporate jungle and we can find that everyone is trying to outsmart their peers, no matter what and how, just to be ahead in the race and earn some quick brownie points from their bosses. “Survival of the fittest” still seems to be the mantra. Yet, we pretend to be the best buddies in the eyes of society.
If by chance, for a day, rule of the jungle governs us, and we have no society to fear, we would be worse than the man-eaters.

Ram versus Ravan

My son was taught that Ram and Ravan reside in our minds. And that there is a constant tussle between them.

Every time, after any of his misbehavior, for which he is scorned, he apologizes saying at that juncture, Ravan had won over but now Ram has emerged victorious.

How long does this war go? By the time, we are adults, isn’t that one should have emerged victorious. Is it possible, that at this age also, there are times that Ravan out powers for a few minutes and brings out the devil in us? Is it normal behavior? Can this go as an excuse for my outbursts?

I invite you all for a debate on this.

Marital vs Martial

Initially, as a young girl, I somehow got the spelling wrong for marital and used to spell it the other way. Used to wonder as to how two different facets can have the same spelling. Interchanging of one letter could make a great difference.

But after 12 years of married life, I feel marital life is a never ending tournament of martial matches . (Pun intended)

Careworn

I started blogging as a meeting ground for my cousins. So. my earlier page was only dedicated to them. But, it looks they are too busy to respond or probably non-committal. So, here I am , creating another one to write what I feel.

I was also told blogging can work as a de stressing medium without any side effects unlike coffee or tea which I am addicted to.

I started with lot of ideas but when I started writing, my ideas went hazy. Hence,I decided to take the help of mamasaysom to chose my first write up. And the topic “careworn” rightly depicts my frame of mind today.

I wonder why? It is the beginning of the new session for my son. So, no exam blues too! It can’t be due to my workplace because I got an increment within 6 months of my joining. So, no financial blues or too. If the beginning of summer (Max temp: 32 C) can do this to me, I dread May and June. So, I conclude these are just the weather blues and the power cuts that go along with it which make me haggard at the beginning of the day.