Thru my heart

Much before I became a Mum, I have always given a lot of importance to keeping my surrounding spic and span, ensuring that there is no litter, in fact I reprimand most of my people for littering public places as well. I keep a hand sanitizer ready in my vanity bag at all times, and make sure I use it before I eat, or visit any babies. After my daughter was born, like every other Mum, I am forever conscious and extra careful of things, making sure that people who visit her wash their hands or sanitize them, her water bottle is well  sterilized and any dust in and around the home is dusted off. As Mothers, cleanliness and making sure our babies are well protected from any kind of germs, is always our utmost priority. But one thing that we are often oblivious to is the germs in and around our house which are not conspicuous and hence not easy to get rid of. With the mounting levels of pollution, this is a menace and we need to find a way of combating this. These germs spread air b...

Are you single? No, I am married Oh, then you are a Muslim though you don't really looks like one or are you Christian? Nope, I am a Hindu and so is my husband  Then no mangalsutra, bindi, toe ring, kum kum(sindoor). Why is that? These modern girls, they forget the significance of these rituals. Does this sound familiar to you if you are among those married women who is found sans (without) these adornments? I recall an incident couple of years back when I was not married and my Mom and I went on a trip to Singapore, an all girls trip it was. There was an elderly couple travelling with us in the group and on seeing my Mom without any mangalsutra or bindi, the elderly gentleman asked her the same questions that I played out above, except for the last one, which I bet he told himself silently. Don't get me wrong, I am not against wearing these nor am I trying to propagate any such message. I have all the respect for our customs but I fail to realize ...

I haven't baked a cake ever though I read about how much fun it can be, when I flip through blog posts by my dear Mommy Blogger friends. I am not much of a sweet tooth. So where did that even come from? This piece is not about that situation that every woman faces when she becomes a Mommy- the decision of whether to continue working or become a SAHM? Or probably a Work from Home Mom.  I am a Working Mom by choice. Family support affords me that bandwidth to work. Sounds easy? No it isn't.  I don't have to worry about the Nanny taking a day off or my child not happy at the day care? Is she well fed? Are her diapers changed in time? How is she treated? Not that all day cares are filled with monsters who are out to get our kids, but when we leave them at a day care or with a Maid/ Nanny,  to say that we would be completely at peace without a crease of worry, is not true. When our child is being taken care of by our kith and kin, we are much more at ease. But does tha...

Don't break your marriage. What will people say? You have to live in this society. We are in India not in any foreign country and we have some values, culture and tradition. How can you just ignore that?  People will treat you as an outcast, the friends and well wishers you have now will all vanish into thin air. If no one else, at least think of your kids. Why do you want them to grow in such a troubled and lonely atmosphere? Don't they deserve Mommy and Daddy? Other children will start ignoring them and how will you save them from people's prying eyes and prodding fingers. I wonder how many mothers had to hear this when they voiced their decision of separating from their spouse. And how many of them retreated and decided to suffer in silence. Don't get me wrong, I am not here to propagate the D word.  Not at all. I am fully aware that a child needs both set of parents and both have a vital role to play in giving him a fulfilling childhood. But what happ...

I remember when I was a little girl, I was always told by my mother and adults in the family to be kind, think before I speak, do not hurt feelings of others, it is a bad thing to do. As these values were imbibed in me at a very young age, they still remain. As I grew up I did realize kindness will not work with all kinds of people and in all situations. At times, one needs to put kindness aside and be stern and sometimes rude too. But one should not forget that being kind is a virtue that needs to be followed and inculcated among our little ones too. These days however I am shocked to see people no longer regard kindness as a prerequisite to lead a good life. In fact sarcasm is the in thing, being rude is considered cool, ganging up and making fun of someone is what people love to indulge in. Switch on any TV channel and you will find the host and guests of talk shows yelling at the top of their voices. This so called trend started by Arnab has shockingly glued people onto his...

Megha sipped her latte and looked out of the window. She was dreading the conversation with Baba. He had given her an ultimatum. “Megha I do not want to pressurize you but you need to understand our situation as well. We are not coercing you into marrying Aditya. We are just asking you to meet him. That too in an informal setup. You choose the place. Coffee Day, a shopping mall, any restaurant of your choice or the park. We do understand times have changed and we do not expect you to say a Yes immediately. Take your time. Only when you feel comfortable we will go ahead. If there is anything that makes you feel uneasy, we will decline beta. Your happiness is what matters” Megha was 25, a smart young girl; she worked for an IT company- loved music, bollywood movies and shopping. She liked spending time with her friends. Though she was an easy going girl, she was crystal clear about her goals in life, what she wanted to achieve professionally and her plans for marriage, the kind of man ...

A Short Story. The cup of tea lay cold in her hands, she hardly noticed. Her mind was in turmoil. How she missed him. Wish he was with her today, to share her thoughts, to listen to her and help her resolve the dilemma. She missed her husband, her confidante and friend of the past 30 years. A massive heart attack 2 years back and Girish had left her forever. The world stood still for Kusum and coming to terms with reality had taken a tremendous effort for her. What made it more difficult is that it was just the two of them that lived together in Mysore. Their only daughter Preeti was married and lived with her husband in Bangalore. It had been 2 years. Though they missed their daughter but they had created a beautiful world for themselves. They both were retired bank officials. They spent their time relishing every moment of life at a leisurely pace. The mornings were occupied in teaching underprivileged children at a school; afternoons were nap time and evenings were spent...