Posts

Parenting in the age of screen time & guilt (and PTA meetings)

A few years back my daughter asked my husband the meaning of the word "gay".. My husband explained to her that when a person likes another person from the same gender they are called "gay".. Her next question was "What if they like people from both the genders?".. I don't remember how this conversation concluded.. Usually each parent wants to be the "preferred" parent but for once I was relieved that I wasn't the parent these questions were directed at because I wouldn't have been able to handle them with the same ease my husband did.. Owing to the digital age, kids are a lot better informed than we were when we were their age..  But having access to so much information without actually being able to process/assimilate this information is causing a lot of problems in the generation of today.. I recently watched a show on Netflix titled "Adolescence".. The story shows how teenagers can be influenced by what they see online.. ...

From the diary of a hostel "inmate".. (lol)

Well. I always thought "inmate" was a term used to describe people who were imprisoned.. like those sentenced to jail time for offences they committed.. Of course, it was only after I joined the hostel here at Kochi and began to adhere to the hostel rules that I realised that the only difference between us and those people serving time in prison is that they have forcefully been imprisoned but we joined the hostel by choice.. so the hostel management is right in referring to us as "inmates"..  So a lot people wonder why I chose to stay in a hostel.. The conversation goes like this..  Them: So where are you staying? Me: So & So hostel.. Them: (5 second pause) But why Madam? you are eligible for leased accommodation.. you'll get good houses here on rent.. Me: (Groaning silently and wondering if it's silly to play a pre recorded voice note listing out 10 reasons why I chose to stay in the hostel) Instead I just smile and say it's very close to office.. ...

What women want..

First of all, a very happy International Women's day to all the wonderful ladies out there.. Seeing the statuses of the women in my contact list I'm assuming the ladies had a good time celebrating "our" day and why not? We deserve a good time every once in a while so why not have a day to celebrate who we are - the fairer sex, the mentally stronger gender, besides being fun, enthusiastic, charming, ambitious go-getters.. Basically we can be anything we wish to be on any given day and we should take pride in that.. And Women's Day is an opportune moment to celebrate and revel in the pride of being a woman.. So what is it that a woman really wants.. I personally feel that women want different things from life depending on what phase of their life they're currently in.. As young girls we have a very idealistic expectation from life as we're looking at life from behind rose coloured glasses.. So a young girl dreams of getting married to a handsome Prince, have...

Happy Birthday Mummy :-)

Today would've been Mummy's 64th birthday had she been here with us.. However like she said, it's always the best people that get called to heaven early on.. So she's celebrating her birthday in heaven along with my brother..  My Mummy was a wonderful woman who enjoyed the simple pleasures of life.. a homecooked meal, reading books, stitching, embroidery, knitting and she loved tea and had endless cups of tea in a day..  She was an excellent cook and enjoyed cooking for her family.. Even when she made normal stuff like maggi it tasted just out of this world..  So I inherited none of her homely' hobbies, but I inherited her love for books.. She was a well read woman and had an excellent memory.. And she was an excellent teacher and was well respected and loved by all her students.. She was strict with me and my brother.. More so with me.. She had high expectations of me and growing up I had very little margin for error.. I used to resent it that she was so strict and...

Types of friends we all have.. (A friendship day special post)

First of all, a very happy Friendship day to all of you.. I think you have read enough quotes and seen enough reels depicting the importance of friends/friendship in our lives so I won't give you any more 'gyan' on the subject.. But the occasion calls for a customary blog post so I decided to pen down a few thoughts.. I've come a long way from being that naive girl who believed that 'Friendship is forever'.. "Friends forever" is something I scoff at now.. that's probably the cynic in me speaking.. But I've also come to realise that people come into your life at the exact point in time when you need them.. These people turn into friends and then long after they're gone still stay in your life albeit just as memories, but not without leaving a lasting impression on you..   Today I take this opportunity to thank all these different types of friends (some of who are still in my life and some who are not) who decided to adopt me as their friend ...

For M.. With all my love

So when I met M for the first time I never thought that we'd be friends.. You know because of the Senior/Junior thing that we otherwise term as the "Generation gap".. But when I met M for the first time, I also wasn't prepared for meeting the most calm person ever who was also the coolest, most fun person you could ever meet at the workplace.. So after exchanging pleasantries I asked if she had any work for me and after much thought she gave me some letters to prepare.. It became a daily routine.. I would go to M's desk, greet her with a reverential "Good morning, Ma'am" and ask her if she had any work to assign to me.. and she didn't have much work to give me but I had nowhere else to be so I would sit next to her and watch her as she would go through the day doing her work in a methodical manner.. Her day would begin with a call to her husband as soon as she reached office.. Her next call would be to a friend who is now my friend too.. (heh heh...

From the diary of a novice 'Yogi/Yogini"

So, I'm not sure what a person who learns/practices Yoga a couple of times a week is called and so I'm taking the liberty of calling myself a novice "Yogi" (for want of a better term).. Please pardon my ignorance and let the records show that I don't intend to offend anyone with this post.. So now that the 'disclaimers' are done with, I should get to the point.. In the past couple of years I have tried to focus on my fitness.. So I've joined the gym and tried to be regular with my workouts.. It's been a challenge, but with a lot of support from my hubby and also my mom (when she was here) I have for most part been regular to the gym.. I'm enthusiastic about any physical activity be it working out at the gym or playing any sport like badminton/table tennis.. And when I was transferred back to Bangalore, I found Cult Fit.. Cult Fit has been like the "Find of the year 2023" for me.. For the unversed, Cult Fit is a chain of fitness centre...