Petals!

Be ready for an intense emotional, literary upheaval as you get more and more involved in this story. Let me warn you, the story is slow paced. The story line is simple: it takes you through the life and emotions of Radhika who surprises her family by declaring (much to their disappointment) that she is done with studying and that she wants them to find a suitable groom for her. She feels disappointed by their lukewarm reaction and is in a hurry to get married, probably because she feels bored and has nothing special she wants to do in life and marriage, as the society often points out, seems like a perfect solution.    Except that when she meets Ghanashyam, the ‘suitable’ groom, she is not too comfortable with the way they act their roles and try to be individuals they aren’t with each other. She behaves artificially with him and it makes her wonder whether two strangers who are playacting with one another can possibly make a marriage work in a spirit of love a...

Across India , people speak highly of Kerala’s highly famous ‘matriarchal’ system that enabled the daughters of the family to enjoy, own and manage their family property without any interference from the men folk. The culture of celebrating the birth of a girl child is perhaps another indication of how ‘advanced’ Kerala’s society had always been when it came to empowering the women folk. Honestly, I believe it’s ‘crap’! People boast this about Kerala but even in the most educated families, it is the birth of a boy child that is eagerly awaited and boasted of. But a boy and a girl are not socially treated as equals even in the so-called egalitarian matriarchal system. All my life, I have heard many Keralites saying to my mother, “Oh no, you have two daughters and no sons!” with such sympathy that I'd love to whack the smiles off their faces!  So, yes, outwardly, I have come to believe that many Keralites celebrate the birth of daughters…other people’s daughters, to be more ...

“The three great essentials to achieve anything worthwhile are, first, hard work; second, stick-to-itiveness; third, common sense.”  ―  Thomas A. Edison Disclaimer: My personal association with Axess Legal Corp is from 2008 to 2011. I am not professionally associated with Axess Legal Corp from 2011 to 2012. Axess Legal Corp: How it all began The founding of Axess Legal Corp has an interesting background story to it. It was in August 2008 that my husband Sanand Ramakrishnan took a decision that changed the course of our lives once and forever. It also came about unexpectedly that the founding of Axess Legal Corp coincided with a personal tragedy that happened to me.  A grief stricken person is hardly a good support when a new venture begins but I believe that though I was grief stricken, I gave my best possible support to Sanand while he was focused on establishing ALC.  To be honest, it was the toughest of times back then and there were days when I lo...

You can see my son Jyotiraditya running towards his own sand signature 'ADI.' I love this snapshot. We went to the beach early morning so that we could let Adi play without getting too much exposure to the blazing sun.  Even as six in the morning, it was bright, airy and the breeze was strong. The waves were becoming increasingly turbulent. This meant that I was constantly cranky and worried about Adi whenever he tried getting closer to the waves. But I've got to confess: We totally loved the time that we spent on the beach together. It was pure fun.

This year, I took time off to be with my folks in Kerala and I had a great time traveling and spending time with my parents, my in laws, our extended families and so on. Also, for the first time in several years after marriage, I celebrated my birthday with my parents who were totally overjoyed because I hadn't done that in so many years.  Here are some pics from the Summer Vacation 2012: This photo is from our Ooty Trip.  My 6 year old son Jyotiraditya thoroughly enjoyed acting his role of buttering toast during the usual breakfast buffet while I helped myself liberally to all that I shouldnt - pancakes with honey, strawberry milkshakes, puris, so on and so forth. I won't mention the fruit platter yet! :D But the plate shown below is not mine, it is Adi's. He's got it a little messy but I'd rather have him taking it on his own and getting engaged with the process of eating than feed him like a baby. Now that Adi is growing up faster than before, I r...

Before I talk about Amish's Shiva Trilogy 1: The Immortals of Meluha, let me give you a brief personal background about this.  [READ: What are Tantric Practices? Find out!]   The Shiva Concept Didn't Impress Inititally My grandmother, while she lived, was an avid devotee of Lord Shiva and she felt His constant presence in her life in the form of "Ernakulathappan" the Shiva deity who is worshipped in Ernakulam city. She would go and pray there every morning and evening. The joy in her eyes and the excitement in her walk- it was like a woman in deep love and yes, she loved Lord Shiva more than anything. Her devotion ran deep and she tried her best to talk me into it...but the rebellious teenager I was, I have to confess here: I was totally contemptuous of the Shiva concept.  I don't even know why I felt that way then. My mother is also a Shiva Bhakt. However, because of the remarkable influence of my mother and grandmother, I began researching and read...