Petals!

February is the month of love yet this has also been a month of great pain for Indians across the world. Even as we pay respect to our brave martyrs in Pulwama, we are also witnessing great anger, grief and sorrow across the country. This rage is spilling on to social media platforms too. [READ: Lost someone you loved?]  and    [READ: The Wisest Lesson I learned in 2018] Let's remember that our brave men in the defence forces are not the only ones to have made a supreme sacrifice for the motherland. Their families too deserve our love, care and respect, for they too make the ultimate sacrifice for the nation - they are the champions who hold their heads high for the nation. We owe them more than our words can ever convey. We owe them decency. We owe them basic humanity. But there's one thing we need to do.   It's our duty to the nation and to ourselves.  Here it is:  Don't spread hatred or fake news.  Don't share gory ima...

It's been a rainy weekend and I loved being indoors, sipping piping hot chai to soothe my sore throat while watching some movies on Amazon Prime. The weather changes have added to my health woes and I was finding it difficult to breathe properly. Armed with books to read and movies to watch, I think I managed just fine.  This weekend, I was watching The Bee Season starring Richard Gere (Alert: I just adore the man!), Juliette Binoche and Flora Cross, it struck me there are subtle yet profound takeaways for Indian families too.                                                                            [Source: ETV, Google] For those who haven't watched "Bee Season" yet, it's about an American family that is falling apart. Saul is a Jewish scholar who has big dreams about training hi...

Last Friday, it was Holi, the festival of colours. Guess what I wanted to do? Sleep!  [ MUST READ: A Dad's Advice to the Daughter he loves ] I know what you are thinking, ''What kind of mother wants sleep on Holi?"  I do. Yup! But what happened is the opposite. That's life, isn't it? [READ:  Why Parenting is Important to Child Development ]                                 FOLLOW MY BOARDS ON PINTEREST During Holi, I was busy  cooking, washing the dishes, moping the floor that had messy footprints.  Yup, welcome to the Working Mom's home life on a 'Holi' day:) Now I have put together a few things which helps me to stay focused: 1. Start the morning with something that perks you up Anything that lifts your  dormant energy (remember, you woke up from sleep, right?) can work to get your morning rocking. What perks me up is the view from my ...

Time flies faster than we can imagine.  A little girl who is the ''music" of our home is now celebrating her birthday, continents apart. Her birthday is on January 6th and it brought back many sweet childhood memories. She is away from home but never far from our thoughts or my heart.  Geethu and I, as sisters, grew up together and as most of those who know us already will know, we are absolute opposites but we complement each other in a beautiful way. But let me confess, growing up with a super intelligent kid who could breathe, think and talk science and maths like a pro was a traumatic experience for the older sibling - namely, me. It didn't help that she was also one of the best in all types of sports and we had no space to keep all the certificates and prizes she won for her school in different sports categories. Well, I spared my parents the trauma of having to store my certificates or trophies of glory by not having any...lol!  What I think is most...

What if you could move to a country that made it the norm for working parents to take it easy and spend more time with their kids?  In Brigid Schulte's book, Overwhelmed: Work, Love and Play When No One has the Time , she explores how different Denmark is from the rest of the world, particularly when it comes to parenting, leisure and sharing of household tasks by men and women. Denmark: Parenting comes first, Productivity second  The Danish economy is one of the most competitive in the world and it is also has one of the most productive ranking with one of the highest standards of living in the world.                                           [Image Credit: http://www.pexels.com/] Consider this: Denmark has one of the longest paid parental leaves and one of the highest rates of mothers who work in the labor market in the world. Danish men do almost as...

Before I became a mother, I was a busy, successful party-hopping editor. I came home only to crash and I didn't have a single boring 'at-home' weekend. And I kept FAR away whenever I saw kids....just as I did from domestic pets ....not that the two are fair comparisons.  And when I was in the process of becoming a mother, I went cranky with worry.  Kept asking myself questions like: Will I be a responsible, loving mother? Will I feel that my baby tied me down to a routine that bogs me down? I remember the exact moment when my baby, Adi was placed in my arms.  When the doctor placed Adi in my arms, I saw a red face that was shrieking in a way that would have made anyone wish to be tone-deaf....but the emotion that I felt at that moment was one of ocean-like love, may be much more.  I loved this tiny being with a fierceness that I didn't think could have existed in me ...no wonder, it is said that when a baby is born, a mother is a...

It's March! Woohooo! My son turns 8, this month. It's also that month of the year when I take stock of my journey into motherhood and how I am still faring. Nothing frightens me more than being totally responsible for the little life that I have been instrumental in giving birth to. H e's a growing boy, on the verge of turning 8 and I am so happy for the person he is - positive, full of life, energy and amazing wit! The other thing is - I am not one of those perfect moms.  What a relief! In fact, I don’t endorse the very concept of perfect moms raising perfect kids. I mean, what is that? Are we grooming robots or kids?  Here are four things parents should be wary of: 1. Perfect Parenting  With all respect, I have come across many ‘perfect parents’ kids.  Those who learn to tie their shoe laces perfectly by the time they are three, those who are taught to distinguish between ‘designer’ clothes/toys versus the rubbish that the rest of us dole out as n...