Thru my heart

Clara a middle aged Mum of two juggles working in a stressful corporate job plus managing her two young kids. Things were still manageable with just one kid but after the birth of her daughter, she finds it very stressful to give her best and is often left with a feeling of utter deject unable to do justice to her kids or job. She wakes up early cooks breakfast lunch and snacks for her kids and then leaves home by 9 after entrusting her kids to the nanny. At work with a well-paying and highly demanding job, there is hardly a moment of rest. Coffee time breaks and browsing the net or mindless gossip is something she steers clear of. Her main goal is to finish her work most efficiently within time, do the best at her job for she is not someone who is working just for the sake of it or to make some money- NO. She loves working and wants to give her best shot at what she does.  She is also perceived as someone who is good at her stuff and this credibility is something she has ear...

Now let me confess- I am really NOT someone who loves watching daily soaps. I know reading the tile you thought- what the heck, if it’s a daily soap on TV it is bound to be stereotypical, full of nonsense and drama and if you watch such stuff why complain, and if complain why watch?  There was a time when I was in college, all naive, and this was when internet was all about going to the cyber cafe and getting all excited about entering the chat room and typing asl (age ,sex ,location) and talking to strangers. At that time, the only source of entertainment for young people like me was the idiot box so I won’t lie- I used to watch the Ekta Kapoor soaps and probably even like that at that point, that’s why I use the word Naive. As I grew up, met diverse set of people, read and experienced new cultures, my thought process changed. With a hectic job, I hardly found time for any TV watching. My Mom who is also a working woman used to watch a few Marathi soaps. She always told m...

LOVE- something that has intrigued me since I was a little girl and watched Bollywood movies of the hero romancing the heroine and running around tress and thought- Is this love? And when I had my first crush at the age of 10- he is the one I thought, though I hardly knew him and I can't even recall his name now- and I then thought - This is love. Then I grew up and had innumerable crushes and butterflies in my stomach- this was in the 90's and we were far behind the generation today. It just meant looking into each other's eyes and then quickly shifting gaze, laughing shyly and sending Archies and Hallmark Greeting cards. Was this love? And then I met someone who was a good friend but I thought we could be much more, we hit it off so well, belonged to the same profession, we had different interests but don't they say opposites attract? This was surely love. But, alas it wasn't. It was a heartbreak that took too long to recuperate, but today looki...

Dearest Angel,                                         The love of my life, the one who gave me a new identity, who made me realize that I can love so much and just when I thought I had given all the love I had in my heart to you, you showed me that I can give much more. You are a tiny bud now, a day will soon come when you would bloom into a lovely flower all ready to bask in the sun. As eagerly as I wait for this day, there is a tiny voice in my head which is asking me "have I equipped you well enough to face the world, to be a strong girl at the same time be humble? To have the courage and conviction to chase your dreams at the same time be firmly rooted and not lose sight of your principles.  All the qualities which I consider vital in leading a h life- have I passed them on to you?" So here goes my tidbits Angel on things I want to teach my daughter     ...

Please note -This is a piece of fiction.  I looked out of the window and repeated to myself “everything is under control, everything is fine, life is perfect". I looked at the picture perfect photo frame lying on the mantel piece. Our wedding photo- we looked just perfect, made for each other as we looked into each other's eyes and held hands. Yes everything is fine this is just some silly notion stuck in my head. My husband can never do such things. He is such a gentleman. We have a perfect life together. Let me not ruin it by doing something silly. Repeating these words to myself I dozed off in the chair. The dream came again. I could see a little boy running in the meadows, he threw up his head in the air and laughed. He looked so happy, full of life. All of sudden dark clouds loomed over. He looked up and frowned. Someone called his name - a man in a sweet singsong voice. And I could see a shadow emerge. The little boy cowered with fear - no please don't ...

Scene one- Rahul Sharma works in a very senior position in a chemical manufacturing company in Middle East. He is aged 40, a father of 2 school going kids. His wife and kids live in Mumbai. He visits them once a year when he accumulates his yearly leave and comes down to India for 2 weeks. He was working in Mumbai but got a very good opportunity to move abroad. As the kids were aged 12 and 14 and it was a crucial time for them in terms of their academics, Rahul and his wife decided it was best that the kids continue their education in Mumbai. While it’s always tough living away from your family, it is Rahul who often gets this air of sympathy and people cooing around him - oh it’s so tough for you living away from your family, just once or twice a year you meet them. You must be missing your kids so much. His wife Seema who is a homemaker and who is the sole parent to their kids during his absence strangely does not get as much acknowledged. People do remark that it’s not easy fo...

Most people might look upon me as a strange breed of working mom who isn't bitten by the guilt factor while she spends 12 hours without her baby. What sort of a mom is that they may wonder? Aren't working moms supposed to be constantly ridden by guilt of not spending enough time with their children? In my case as I have always spoken in my blogs I never feel guilty cos my daughter is looked after by my mom. I know she is in good hands, on days I need to spend longer time at work or that quarterly office party which I cannot be giving excuses to miss each time, I attend it carefree for I know she is peacefully snuggled in bed with my mom by her side. Also another reason is- I realized this mindless guilt will only cause damage to me by eating me up bit by bit. It's not that I would ever quit my job or take up a less demanding one. I have studied hard to get this far and my ambition is to grow in my career - is it the money that lures me or the position or being in a ul...

Meera disconnected the call and chuckled at herself. She ran to the mirror and looked at her image. She was glowing, the blush and pink tinge in her cheeks was so evident. The doorbell rang and she ran out to answer it. A new set of guests were ushered in. The house was full of people- relatives, friends, and cousins. The constant chatter, music, dhol, the aroma of fresh jalebis and mithais, samosas and kachoris filled in air. Her mother ran from here to there checking if the guests were comfortable and running over to supervise the cook. Her father was busy on the phone discussing details with the wedding hall manager. Meera's best friend Juhi grabbed her by the arm and took her to the terrace. So you are finally getting married my dearie. I cannot believe it. I am so thrilled I am going to dance the whole night. But hey don't forget the promise we made to each other years back. We will share the details and our first night experience with each other. So you are goin...

In the middle of the night when most people have retired to bed, barring a few lovers who are whispering sweet nothings into their phones, and a few who are hooked to the idiot box or catching up on the latest series of " Game of Thrones" or some other daily soap on their laptop. An eerie silence has crept around but for the occasional bark of a stray dog. In our home, the hubby snores blissfully unaware of worldly woes. In the other room, I, my mom and the baby are asleep. What a picture perfect moment! And then the clock strikes 1.30 am. It's time for her night shift. The baby opens her bright big eyes and lets out a wail. I and my mom are jolted out of our reverie. I hurriedly reach out for her milk bottle as my half asleep self starts frantically searching for her glasses, pops them on and then hurriedly starts making milk for the baby hoping that she would have it quickly and sleep. High hopes! Which are surely not going to be met. The baby hungrily slurp...

First year of marriage. The hubby's birthday. Demand for party by all his friends and relatives. Let's call them home for lunch, he says. I look at him- my eyes wide as saucers, a look of bewilderment on my face.  Well you know right that I can just cook for 2-3 people. I won't be able to handle this battalion. Let's just order in or better take them out. Will be the perfect thing to do I say. No no you don't need to cook. My sister will do all that. And her co sister will help. You just need to be around to help them with odd jobs. Umm that sounds ok then. I never realized at that point these odd jobs and this thing of entertaining people would be such a tedious thing and so taxing for a woman. So, as a woman of the house who was about to have visitors and many of them were coming for the first time, I had to make sure the house was spic and span. Right from dusting the furniture to cleaning the loos till then shone like that harpic ad, and ...