Mamuni arrives!

Kakuli the cook has brought Mamuni the maid now! Am tickled pink by their names!

Just be...

Today is one of those blank days. No ideas floating around, nothing to really bite into. Even those closest to me are wondering why I have disappeared from me.

The only way to get through such days is to just be. Not try to investigate or analyze. No major decisions to be taken during this time.

Just be.

And come out on the other side, maybe stronger, maybe not.

Love: Yes/No

Today's post is not going to be a commentary. Just wanted to highlight a topic that Aamir Khan brought up on his popular programme, Satyameva Jayate: about how we do not give our young ones in India the freedom to love. Read his view here.

I wonder how I as a mother would behave in the future when it comes to the topic of my young ones falling in love. Will I try to straitjacket them according to the structure I have created in my mind, or will I give them wings to fly? Only time will tell.

Yawn!

Sleep, glorious sleep. I have always needed lots of it, but how the human being amazingly adapts to situations. I now get by on 8 hours of sleep, which is perfect. During my MBA days, have got by on 3 and 4 hours. Couple that with activity-packed days, and I am left wondering... Why didn't I get headaches then? How does the human being adjust to such sleep deprivation for such a long period? Interesting...

(P.S. This was Thursday's post, which as usual, didn't get published from my phone.) 

No guilt!

I missed one day in blogging! Now I'm not going to beat myself up about it, just going to make a public promise that some day in this one-month trial, I will blog twice! That's that. I'm not going to beat myself up about that.

That brings me straight to today's topic: Guilt. As an Indian living in urban Bangalore, part of the Marthomite community and active participant in family matters, why am I made to feel guilty all the time? We are so good at making those boundaries for others. Oh no, you shouldn't do that, no stepping over this line, I don't like you thinking like this... why are we so bothered about others' actions?

The Bible (and I'm sure other holy writings do too) talks about the taking out of the log from one's own eye before pointing out the speck in another's. My friend Sumana writes on the same topic in her social commentary blog This & That. And those closest to me remind me how every person I judge has their own story.

So before I feel guilty about something, let me remember that I am entitled to my own opinion, action and life. That may sound selfish, but I think it's one of my first steps to freedom! Yoohoo!

My little woman

The rites of passage into womanhood are many. School, college, work, that first crush, the first love, first heartbreak, successes, disappointments, understanding that relationships wax and wane, deciphering your own understanding of time and generations... Each woman writes her own story. And today, as my little N took her first steps into my alma mater, history sighed deeply, and the future smiled. God be with you as you paint your world, find your tune and discover your stars!

Hairy Tales

And this is today's post. Am working from home today because of a strike advisory. And am using the time to also preen myself to attend a cousin's wedding in the evening. What with the abundance of wedding-related events last month, I can now take out all my sarees, see if the blouse fits (which usually requires some amount of dexterity and breath-holding), match jewellery and footwear and handbag, and do something about my darned hair.

Hair has always been my bane. And for oh-so many years, I maintained it in a short (and smart?) style. It was easy to comb out, didn't need accessories or maintenance products and best of all, was never a topic of conversation. Of course, once in a while, I would tire of the style and try and grow it out. But you know what's the problem with my hair? When short, it looks and feel different. As it grows, each hair takes on a mind and ambition of its own. I get totally frizzy, unmanageable hair. And I suffer it for a while, thinking that if it grows out just a wee bit more, maybe it will fall like those lustrous curls I have always wanted, but alas! It curls and curls and remains on my shoulders, and just looks more and more untidy.

The other day, I brushed it out into what I thought was a neater-than-usual style and was ready to leave, when my aunt asks me, "Don't you have to comb your hair?" Grrrrrr!

Tech Savvy?

This is yesterday's post. I typed out this thought from my phone so many times but the darn thing kept hanging, and so here I am today. Still trying to be disciplined.

Who would you consider to be more tech-savvy? A technology professional based in the US, who works with supercomputers, but didnt own a cellphone till just two years back and who only recently discovered Skype, or a stay-at-home grandmom who chats, skypes and sms-es with abandon?

fairy tales?

I just read aloud The Pied Piper of Hamelin for the children's bedtime story. This story has always been slightly creepy for me because of how the children get lost in the end. Today's version of the story, however seems to have been written by someone like me, for it has a different ending - the children are reunited with their parents. Imagine the town of Hamelin in the original story... How deathly quiet, how sorrowful, how filled with sobs and deep anguish The agony of losing one's child can be so crippling, imagine a whole town sharing this grief. Each household soaked in their own sadness, with no hope of support from the neighbours... The thought is heart-wrenching. I leave you with that image... A pining mother standing at a window staring into the sunset, and my heart and prayers go out to every mother who has lost her child in any way.

Weather you like it or not!

What is it about one's mood and the weather?

Folks who come from sunny climes feel that Bangalore's famed hill station-like weather is gloomy and depressing. I love it.

So much so that I feel like I come alive totally in this weather. It allows you to go out or stay at home without any problem. You don't have to be weighed down with sunglasses, water, headache medicine or tissues to wipe that infernal perspiration. The only weight you may have to carry is an umbrella, which, given the stylish variety available these days, is a good accessory.

Today is one of those days. Take a look at the weather forecast for today.



The wind and the low temperature and the overcast skies... lovely.

Hello old friend...

Monday morning, and I am already thinking of what I should write about. Now that's a good sign, isn't it?

Today's topic is movies. I am not much of a movie-watcher. Would rather read a book or two in the time it takes for that story to dramatically unfold on screen. But the few times that I do watch a movie, I enjoy it.

So was thinking, why do I prefer a book? One main reason is that reading a book is a very personal activity, it's just me and the book. The other reason is - I can let my imagination soar when I read a book. Am not restricted by the film maker's view of the world. And books have been a part of my life from childhood onwards. The visits to the neighbourhood library, the swaps with friends, delving into my dad's book collection, the rare purchase of a crackling new book... all were magical. And the magic continues to this day.

I hadn't been regularly reading for quite a while. Now am planning to read often. You know what my problem is when it comes to reading? I can't put down a book when I am immersed in the story. And these days, my lil ones need to be looked after, so I really don't have the luxury of doing so. But like all other aspects of life, my reading style too can be adjusted.

Thanks, Anj, for the loan of that fantastic book "Room" last week. I guess that is the book that can be hailed as the one that has yanked me back into the world of serious readers! Hello old friend, the book.