Petals!

In summers, water is the elixir of life for all living beings.  At the Zuri, Kumarakom, where Nature and water is celebrated throughout its lush green spaces, I felt as though I was being recharged by Nature's glory.  Look at Nature and you instantly feel calmer from within. It flows through you.                                [Copyright: Swapna Raghu Sanand - Do not use without permission] The Wise ones say that when you are stressed out and feeling drained, the best thing to do is go outdoors on a long walk. [READ: How to treat your Ego] If you cannot feel it, remove your sandals and let your feet touch the ground. All you need to do is breathe in and breathe out slowly. Feel how the breath stretches from inside your body, traveling through you and outside you. As you deepen this practice outdoors, you are bound to feel much calmer and serene than you did when you stepped out t...

Summer is blazing in full throttle! For parents like me, this is also a time of getting children ready for a new school session. Loads to do, yes!  [READ: 5 Powerful to Teach Your Child to Care and Transform the World] Preparing for the new school session isn't as easy as it sounds. It involves buying the new text books, school supplies, stationery and even a brand new bag to kick start the academic year. A textbook may not be available in the market, which leads to discussions with other parents on where to procure it from and so on.  For kids, summers are a terrific start to reckon with just before the school closes for vacations. Somehow there is a sense of excitement and anticipation in the air. As a child growing up in the 80s, I used to look forward to summer vacations with my parents. [READ: Learn to behave: The Wisest Lesson I learned in 2018] From Africa, we would plan our vacation to India months ahead. A direct flight was next to impossible, which ...

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...

I know I haven't been blogging as often as I wanted to at the start of this year but so many things are happening in my life, like travel. For a working mom like me, the last time I traveled with my family.....is like ages ago. I do travel but mostly on my own and given the kind of school and work schedules that we have to balance out, it usually doesn't happen that we take a break for summer holidays as a family. Let me confess that it's pretty rare, which is why 2018 has been amazing for me. I got to travel with my family....yay! Okay, so back to earth with a big bang, shall we?   First, we headed to Gangtok, in Sikkim, via Siliguri in West Bengal. We had a fabulous time. My love for travel got a real boost, just as it used to in my childhood days, when my parents used to take us to different places during our summer vacations.   For me, the joys of travel have nothing to do with seeing new places, as it does with the fun-filled conversations w...