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My Sunday got a new name – Rahagiriday
Have you ever danced in the middle of a busy city road, in front of more than 100 spectators, to lyrics you don’t even understand, and still enjoy every bit of it? Have you ever ran downhill holding hands with your children, singing songs and letting the breeze gently blow your hair and your worries away (again in the middle of the busy city road)? Have you ever seen a middle aged lady, dressed conservatively in a sari, sway her hips to the choreography of a 20 year old boy, again in the middle of the road? Have you played cricket and roller skating and kite flying in the middle of the road, all on…
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How much do you love me?
Have been thinking about calling a friend, but something stops me from dialing the number. I have been the one calling her the last three times, but she never seems to get enough time to call me. In fact, the last time I caller her, she said she was busy and she will call me back. It has been five days and she hasn’t called back still. Maybe she is no longer interested in me. Maybe I should also stop calling her up too. Does this sound familiar!?! I can’t say about men, but there are a number of women that I know (including me) who go through this trauma in…
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Happy 10th
Toyna will celebrate her 10th Birthday tomorrow! Like all mothers, I am feeling happy, proud and a little bit bewildered. Where did the time fly? Is it really 10 years, or am I counting it wrong?? Sigh! 10 years it is! All though, I will admit that all of them were not equally glorious. The first 5-6 years after having Toyna, I was just another super paranoid mother constantly worried about providing a perfect childhood to my daughter. I used to constantly worry about her being too weak, too dark, too serious, too naughty, too fussy, too skinny, too small,…. About her watching too much TV, reading too few books,…
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Taming the Ladybird
Like most urban parents, we indulged Toyna, as a child, with all possible toys that our economic condition allowed. She had a walker even before she could stand and a cycle even before she could run. Over time, some toys got passed on to younger cousins and some piled up in our home. She was gifted a new Ladybird cycle by her grandmother for her 10th birthday. With that the count of children’s cycles in our house went upto four. Toynas grandmother and I conspired to skip one stage of cycle in between and ended up buying this last stage cycle for Toyna. I know Toyna would have been comfortable…
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Vendors are like your own Children
Handling unprofessional vendors is very similar to handling your kids. On a typical day, this is how the conversation between me and my kids go: Child: Mama, I want to have a Yogurt now. Mom: No, but it is almost lunch time. How about you have it after you have finished your complete lunch nicely. Child: Nooo! But I want it right now. Mom: But you know the rules; we don’t eat snacks before lunch. It will spoil our appetite for lunch. Child: Nooooooo!!!!! You never listen to me!! You don’t even love me!!!!! Mom (hands crossed, trying to hold back the rising frustration, taking deep breaths and waiting for the…
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Grow Up to Be
“When I was 5 years old, my mother always told me that happiness was the key to life. When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote down ‘happy.’ They told me I didn’t understand the assignment, and I told them they didn’t understand life.” -John Lennon When asked what I wanted to become when I grew up, I used to say, “A Dad!” I guess that is the reason Pavan gets to travel so much. Didn’t realize, God would grant my wish of being a Dad, while being a Mom at the same time!!!
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I Believe I can Fly
I was born in a small paradise in India. Clean, beautiful, small and self sufficient, it is a city which is the envy of most bustling capitals across the world. Chandigarh – one of the only two planned cities of the world is the capital city of both Haryana and Punjab. But that is not what makes it unique. That is not what I remember when I think of my days in Chandigarh. When I think of Chandigarh, I think of the long cycle tracks, hidden between thick, green, shady trees; running criss cross through the entire city. It is on these tracks that I have spent most of my teen…
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Bees Saal Baad
I sat at the ophthalmologists center today, eyes burning with the sting of the eye drops. Tears flowed through my eyes, wetting my cheeks. I dabbed my eyes with the soft cotton balls that the assistant handed me. I figured, it was pretty natural to sit and cry at an Ophthalmologist. If only she knew, that the tears were not because of the drops in my eyes, but because of the memories in my mind. Somehow, the burning liquid had passed right through from my eyes into my brain, making it go into flash back mode. Twenty years ago, my situation was pretty much the same, at least physically. A…
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Being a Woman
Half the world considers a woman as an object to be used. The other half of the world glorifies womanhood to the status of God. I don’t think we are either. We are just a different form of human specie. We might be responsible for bringing life on this planet, but let’s be honest, we cannot do it on our own. We might be more sensitive to emotions of others, but then we are not as tough when it comes to our exterior. Urban women cook, clean, bring up the children, and go to work; but then so do most urban men these days. The problems of the world today will…
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First Annual Day
I remember Toynas first annual day at school. I think I was even more excited about her annual day than her. I dropped her at school at the appointed hour and then hanged around at school for the next couple of hours, just to make sure I got the front row seats. I coaxed my neighbor on the chairs to hold on to my seat, while I sneaked my way to her classroom to get some pictures of her in her dress and makeup. It seemed just the natural thing to do in those days. 6 years later, Yogs principal handed me the invitation to Yogs first annual day. I…
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