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Story of My Life
I am working on the presentation for tomorrow, but somehow my mind is not able to concentrate. I open the thick black cover of my phone to check for any missed calls or messages. Nothing there! I chide myself. I just checked my phone status 5 minutes back. If there is any change in status, I will hear it. I don’t need to check again on the same. I should concentrate on the presentation. I need to finish it today. A few minutes later the door bell rings. My blood races causing my heart to jump. Yes! Finally! I rush to the door and open it. “Shilpa Roy?”, the man outside nonchalantly asks.…
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Two Mothers and Two Fathers
Since the time Yog was born, two years ago, life has been more or less revolving around him. Food, vaccinations, clothes, toys and even hospitals have been predominantly focused on his requirements. Toyna, eight at the time when Yog was born, was used to being the Princess of the house but easily shifted into the backseat. Over these years, we have been accustomed to Yog falling sick and the entire household including Toyna, running around him, trying anything to make him feel better. Today, after a long long time, the tables were turned. Toyna fell sick; sick enough for me to panic a little and rush her to the hospital. The doctor…
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There is no shame in being a Working Parent
In the past, I have often felt guilty when my children screamed for attention in the middle of late evening office conference calls. No matter how hard you try and avoid such calls; lets face it, we all end up getting into those just to connect with folks who are unreachable during the day. I have apologized profusely for the interruptions and begged to be ignored for a while. For a long time, I have even considered myself incapable of being a good professional as long as I had children by my side. 10 years of juggling children and work, and yet rising in my career, has taught me one…
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The Gift of Good Health
Most days Yogs unlimited energy can be the source of real strain on everyone in the house. Jumping on chairs, climbing on tables, trying to get the TV down or putting his hands between the elevator doors, all these pranks manage to keep everyone on their toes. On extreme days, I wish he would be a little less active, a little more calmer and a lot more disciplined. I guess, my prayers were answered and I was gifted such a day today. Yog contracted a bad stomach infection and he lay in bed barely able to move, dirtying diaper after diaper. There was no jumping around, no broken cups, and absolutely…
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Genes
Most parents I know regret the fact that their children have taken after their spouse. They secretly wish that their children were more like themselves. For me it is completely the opposite. I am really glad that both my children have taken after their father. It works out extremely well for me, as their father himself is on the move quite often. In such a scenario, just looking at both of them, I see glimpses of him in the food we eat, in the way we go for walks, in the way we roll over with laughter. He is always midst of us even when he is miles away. I…
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Network with the Second Level Supplier
I have learnt that in order to find the right resource for your project you should create a relationship with the suppliers who provide resources to the resource you need. For example: When searching for a cook for my household, we approached agents, bakeries, and sweet shops but did not get any response. After all these people consume the resource in demand (in this case a cook) themselves. So why would they pass on their own valuable resource to me. Then one evening, when I was buying vegetables with our neighborhood Green Grocer, I broached the subject for a cook with her. She thought for a while and said she will let me know. We…
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The Master Key
I hereby make a prophecy that 20 years from now, Yog will become some form of automobile engineer. While a car mechanic is also an automobile engineer, like any other starry eyes mother, I think he will be somewhere in the likes of Dilip Chaabria or working with the ISRO on the creating the shuttle to reach the black hole near Saturn. This prophecy is based on a simple fact that ever since Yog was able to focus his two eyes together, he is just obsessed with engines, cycles, bikes, cars, tractors, trucks and aeroplanes. For someone like me, who just not into automobiles of any kind, this is really…
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Welcome to the Real World
Nirbhaya in December 2012 changed the world that we live in. The outrage, in those days, was so high that it managed to break down a lot of dams that the society had carefully built over centuries. The flood that followed soaked, tumbled and rinsed the whole country pretty much like a fully automated washing machine. As an after effect of the Nirbhaya tragedy, we now have more and more men and women stepping up for women rights. We have Deepika Padukone going to the extent of suggesting that extra marital sex is fine. We have Leslee Udwin trying to show the lack of remorse in the rapist. We have a…