Milestone Month !!

I don't usually write updates. It just don't click to me. But DECEMBER was the MILESTONE month for Aryan. So "update toh banta hai bhaiya" ..:D

And why do I say so ?

1.My little Aryan walks now. Though he is still to discover that walking is better than crawling. To him , walking is still a game. But he does !!!! And he enjoys...you should see that acheivement on his face !!!!This was something which was on my mind since so long and its such a relief now.

2.Remember the fight we had over his feeding bottles in the month of August. We have compromised on a sipper. They always win you see but I did not loose this time.

3. He keeps learning and forgeting words. So now that he has forgotten to say "Nahi" , he has learnt to say "Bow Bow"

4. He has recently started loving books and he likes to spend some time with his favourite animal book every day.

4. He knows his 'nosy' and his 'tummy' and he can show you as well.

Bangalore Moms : Calling for HELP !!

Bangalore has so many so many young working moms. Why don't we have some good day cares and playschools. I have not seen even a single daycare/playschool with enough space , confident and capable staff. Either the place is small or dark. Or the staff is new and inexperienced. Not a single place with a lawn.

I really need help. Infact we can help each other. Please list down a few places here. Lets compile a list of "Playschool and Daycare" here. Please leave me names as comments and I will publish those here.

Here is what I know :
Sparrows Care , HSR Layout - DayCare and PlaySchool
Positives
1. DayCare and PlaySchool in one Premises
2. Commodious and Clean
3. Good Cots and Matresses
4. Freshly cooked Food
5. Camera , so that we can see baby from our offices.
6. Lot of activities with all kinds of toys.

Negatives

1. The owner is not experienced for running a day care and sounded too theoritical.
2. Felt like she was insisting too too much on schedule and I am not sure that kids can be programmed to a schedule so well (includes food and sleep timings) and how good is that for their normal physical and more importantly physcological growth.
3. Diapers , why will anyone bother for potty training when baby is in diaper.
4. TV, who wants little kids hooked to TV.
5. Staircase inside the house.


Baby's Day Out , Basavnagar,HAL -DayCare
Positives
1. The Old Lady is well experienced ,not only being old , running the place from 2 years.
2. Baby will get a homely environment.
3. No Diapers , so faster potty training
4. Baby's routine and food will not be changed much , just that he will need to get adjusted to new place.
5. Kid :Adult ratio is good.

Negatives
1. No planned activities. Baby will just spend time as he/she wants.
2. No Playschool
3. 2 kms inside the main road.
4. Small space , no open area.

VidyaArambh, Outer Ring Road - DayCare and PlaySchool
Positives
1. Spacious
2. The director was focussed and planned the schedule well.
3. No Diapers
4. Ecomomical compared to others

Negatives
1. The Daycare was across the busy road
2. No open area to play
3. The day care teachers were not confident enough.
4. Staircase inside the house.

Vibgyor High, Marathalli - DayCare and PlaySchool
Positives
1. Spacious and open. Lot of space to play
2. Play School was satisfactory

Negatives
1. The Daycare was not a facility but a priveledge given. No Matress , no furniture , no toys.
2. Food was out sourced from a caterer and they were already complaining about it being spicy.
3. Expensive
4. Approach road has no "road" and has no lights.

Aaja Nachle

As always , I am not going to write any reviews here. There are enough number of places to read good and bad reviews about the movie. And one of my blog friend also did a tremendous job of writing a great review for the movie.

What I just want to say is that I liked it, inspite of the fact that I saw a pirated version on small screen with bad sound quality. Infact I happened to watch it , when I switched on my TV on sunday afternoon and tuned into the local channel. And it was irresistable , though I don't like watching pirated versions (well , not only for ethical reasons , but also because the poor quality spoils the experience.)

It had everything that I expect from Madhuri Dixshit and Yashraj. Cinematography , casting , music , sets , costumes , dialogues , everything was just too perfect. Madhuri was excellent.I was definitely hooked. It can sure leave a impact on big screen.

So why didn't it clicked ? Probably because it had certain things we would not expect , atleast in India. Like Madhuri had no regrets about eloping and getting married to a wrong person, like she did not comeback looking out for her parents but for her teacher on death bed , like she worked too hard against all odds to keep her dead teacher's word (in today's world ?). Also because it left some questions unanswered. Who will take care of theater after she leaves? What will happen to her future? Will she marry the MP ? And her broken hearted lover , who has been waiting for her all these years ?

But then aren't we supposed to imagine certain things.It was an happy ending , but with a difference . Not the usual , "And they lived happily together" kinds.

I would definitely want to read from people who did not like it.No , not from critics , who sit just to find faults , but from a general audience.

One Memorable Day

My marriage was a typical Indian arranged marriage , though we did fall in love with each other soon ,way too early to our own expectations. So the arranged marriage did convert into a love marriage and I did write the story here.

He was in a different city and me in another and engagement for us was an opportunity to meet after 1.5 months.It was a sunny winter afternoon.I was sitting in a room and could see the main gate. My eyes waited for the guests to arrive. When they arrived , I could see a pair of eyes looking desperately for someone. I enjoyed those moments.Amongst all the traditional ceremonies , we stole some glances.Somehow , we managed to steal 5 minutes from everyone and chat.

Later those 5 minutes became a reason for being teased by both of ours siblings and cousins.My husband says , that I looked pretty and glamorous and probably I looked the best in my life on that day.And how can I deny ? :-P

It surely was one of the few most memorable days of my life.

(Mnamma : This one was for you)

Number Four!

Here I am completing another home work given by Madam Naina :) ..Tag of Four ..

Four Ladies I admire

My GrandMother
My Director in Office
Kiran Bedi
My Mother

Four Favourite Foods

Rajma Chawal
Chole Bhature
Golgappas
Masala Dosa.... well, I can write more here..;-)

Four Favourite Drinks

Strawberry milkshake
Sprite
Lassi
Jal jeera

Four Fondest memories

Of Summer Vacations at my Grandparents place
Of Planning and construction of our house
Of my hostel life in delhi
Of my Honeymoon at Manali

Four Unforgettable Days

First day to PG College
My First date with Anupam
My Wedding Day
The day Aryan was born

And now time for confession ...Four things I should work on

My Weight
My Time Management
My Professional Growth
My Temper

Tagged : Our Song :)

Our song ..we have quite a few , can I write all pleaseeee.

We love the song .."Hume Tumse Pyaar Kitna ..Yeh Hum Nahi.." and its our all time favourite.

And who wouldn't love .."Jab Koi Baat Bigad Jaye.."

Another all time favourite is "Pyaar Ka Dard Hai ..Meetha Meetha .." ..hehheheh ..

I also love "Chura Liya Hai Tumne Joh Dil Ko.." and even "Jaano Meri Jaan ...Tu Mera Main Teri...", don't ask me the reasons ...first one because I love the music and second one because I would love to be naughty and bold enough to sing that loud in public ...at least once in my life ...hehheheh..thats the naughty kid in me.

And Anupam is crazy about all the songs from Rehna Hai Tere Dil Mein (RHTDM), a tamil remake.He finds them too romantic and sensous ..especially .."Zara Zara Mehakta hai .."So these are the songs we always enjoy together :)

Thanks MNamma ..for helping me preserve these memories.

Awarded !

When I just took the break ..I was awarded by two of my blogger friends ..Collection Of Stars and Pixie and this is what they said about me respectively:
"She leaves the most apt comments. I think she has shut shop for some time but I hope she gets back real soon."
AND
"She too writes well, her posts have always left a mark on my mind and she always comments on my posts! :-)"

So like it always happens ..the person who is awarded is asked , "How do you feel Today ?"

I did the same to myself .."How do I feel..did I expected this ?" I feel great , excited and enthusiastic ..and I never expected this. This blog was started spontaneously one day and the purpose was just to pen down my thoughts.Something like a daily diary. As it went on , I figured that it works great to stress out. Also I enjoyed getting opinions from strangers (not so strangers now) about the deepest of my thoughts , without being judged.

So the journey continued ..and this daily diary of mine became a hobby and a passion. Writing a few lines and reading some from others , works like a great stress buster. I know that there are people who think alike , who face similiar problems , who live a life like I do. And also , people with a different outlook , which is not that bad too.It also became my way to socialize and interact with the world beyond work and home. So my husband who often asks me , as to why I am so emotionally attached to my blog , would have got his answers probably.

And , now that I know that a few people do look forward to read from me , IT DOES MAKE ME FEEL GREAT ..THANK YOU COS ,PIXIE and ALL THOSE WHO READ FROM ME.

So now that I am done with my Thank You speech ..its my turn to make someone's day.. :D

Gauri : For the effort she puts in each post.
WIAN : For her honest and timely comments and her simple and straight forward writing.
and
MNAmma : For managing twins and blogging so well and commenting so often ..hats off :-)

Happy Birthday NM !

Here is your Birthday Gift !!!!

Hi All,I am back from my vacation and we had a blast. Especially Aryan, no words can express how much he enjoyed the attention and pampering from friends and family.

The vacation was just as I wanted, long and enjoyable and eventful ofcourse. We spent time with all the family members (both sides of families) , celebrated Deepawali,walked and shopped around the local markets , visited my favourite places in Delhi,Jaipur and my hometown. Enjoyed the authentic north indian foods , sweets and chats.

Above all , my brother got engaged and the ceremony was memorable.Could steal some time for a lunch with my sister in law too.

And guess what more ...Aryan got to meet Anirudh and NM :D

So , you have now realized , how much do I have to write , except for the pending Tags...and one post is too less ...so rest later ...

But before that ..a few pics of engagement.

Smiles for you :)

Taking a Break !

Hi Everyone , Thanks for checking on me. Special thanks to DDMom for doing a post too. I was just trying to get a better URL , but then something went wrong and I could not revert to the previous one.Anyways , I like this better :) What do you say?

And yes, the big news is , I am taking a break. As I said earlier , office has restricted internet access now.I do have internet at home but I can hardly find time. I feel like spending all my time with Aryan.

So I have decided to take a sweet break.Time frame is not decided, but I will sure write in sometime.Anyways, I will be travelling for 20 days in November.

Heartfelt thanks to all who drop by...one word from you makes my day :)

Inhuman Cops :(

Ten policemen have been convicted by a court in Delhi for killing two innocent businessmen in the ten-year-old sensational Connaught Place shootout case. Read the full piece of news here.The widow of the victim explained , as to how one usual day turned out to be a nightmare for her life.

I do not know the inside out of this story ,except what I read and saw onTV , but then killing innocent people for the sake of promotions is beyond my imagination. What can promotion mean ...ohh yes..may be it meant more black money for some.

I know there is a lot of debate about encounters and fake encounters , but what about this. Killing someone , planting pistols in their car and expecting promotions ..and they even did not take care of basics like firing some shots from the planted pistol. May be they were trying to copy some Ram Gopal Varma movie , without applying their own brains.Heights of inhumanity and insensitivity ..:(

Sweet Unexpected Prizes

Last week was a Health week in our company. As part of that there was an online health quiz. So , I don't think I am a health concious person , but I just attemped for time pass. To my surprise , I was one among the winner. But wait ...so what, there were sixteen other winners too..heheh..they declared everyone who passed in first division as winners and I just made it. But still it was a sweet surprise and also made me feel happy that I am in top 17 among the 300 who attempted the quiz , when we consider the knowledge about health ...well, not about if we apply that knowledge :P

And the prize ..now thats also not something to feel great about ..a water bottle that's used by gymmers and joggers with a logo and a caption "Stay Fit" ..but then a prize is a prize ..right ?

TV Nostalgia

NM’s post about a TV serial, brought back some fond memories, mostly of Doordarshan. There were certain shows which still stand unforgettable even today.

“Kashish” : Sudesh Beri and Malvika Tiwari played the lead roles. It had just 6 episodes but you feel so connected as if you know them from ages. A director falling in love with his heroine, so well acted and directed. The title track was great, and portrayed the emotions well ..."Na Jane Kyo , ek Kashish si hai ...Dil haule se dastak deta hai ..." That was my favourite TV serial ever. You may blame it to my age then ;-) though I still cannot resist love stories :-P

“Fauji” : Shahrukh khan got introduced and became the talk of the school :)

“Circus” : Who can forget that. Renuka Shahney , Shahrukh Khan and so many others became a part of our lives then.

“Nukad” : Again Renuka Shahney and who can forget Khopari ...the drunkard.

“Dard” : Never watched the serial but loved the title track .."Dil ka ek chehra dikhayi dega, Dard bola toh sunai dega ..." wonderfully sung by Jagjit Singh.

“Mrugnayani” : Ohh I became a fan of Pallavi Joshi since then , she looked beautiful.

“Swabhimaan” : One of its kind. First fancy serial on DD. Time was odd and so I never watched it , but I remember how the Rishab (Rohit Roy) of the serial made my friends crazy.

There have been certain small screen heros and heroines who have been my favourites for no obvious reasons :

Pallavi Joshi – “Mrugnayani” fame
Kitu Gidwani – “Swabhimaan” and “Shaktimaan” is all I can remember
Renuka Shahney - Circus, “Nukad”, “Kora Kagaj” and the movie "Hum aake Hain Kaun"
Gracy Singh – “Laagaan” fame ..was first seen in TV serial “Amanat”
Malvika Tiwari - Probably due to “Kashish” :P
Off recent Prachi Desai – “Kasam se”..Daily soap on Zee

Guys ...

Sudesh Beri - Again for “Kashish”
Maamik - Big brother from "Jo jeeta wohi Sikandar" and "Kya Kehna" was earlier a TV actor.
Ashutosh Gowarikar - When he had hair :P Was seen in CID
Ronit Roy - Yes Yes ...Mr Bajaj of "Kausauti.." fame.

There are a lot more ..cannot recall all ..What do you say ?

YOU GET HERE WHEN .....

You Google on ...

"What makes a good mom"

Others in the list are :

"tara montessori hsr"
"silky hair fetish"
"when is the"best age to learn""
"books vs mind"
"JUDGMENTS OF STRANGERS BASED ON APPEARANCES"
"sparrows hsr layout"
"guess middle name mind tricks"
"Childhood is the best age of all"
"how girls should not get attached too easily"
"I am judgemental"
"define good mother"
"tirupati woodside"
"tirupati mundan"
"blog confessions of my mind"
"Hindi Religious Storybooks"

Well , some of them are valid and they did improved on some, but still it was good fun checking them out :-)

Food Food Food ...

I am a hardcore foodie...you name any dish..ofcourse salads and soups are not included ..and what you get to hear from me ..."Wow..thats my favourite","Aree waah..." and similiar sorts of statements..:-P My husbands says , "Is there anything , thats not your favourite , especially among the sweets."..*sob*

Tell me , if your kids would react like that to foods , how would you react ? You sure will be the happiest Momma on earth. And even my Mom was. Whenever I used to get home from hostel, I would have something ready especially for me. My brother would tease me , that this "Kheer" or "Rajma" were prepared 2 days back and since no one liked it , we kept that for you. And you think I would give an ear to him ...well thats not me...I would happily have whatever it is :-)

In college , I would cover my books with mother diary advertisements ..those tempting ice cream...*slurp*...and the explanation was I feel good to see them when I I get bored of reading. Before I had a kid , my wall papers would either have a landscape or a tempting ice cream.

But now things are not same. I was always a chubby little girl , but then no one wants a chubby big Mom or a Chubby (*fat*) big Wife. All that I ate then and all that I eat now , is showing everywhere. And I know well , that except for others , I need to reduce it for my own self too.

My father , my husband and all those who care for me , would tell me every alternate week (sometimes every week too) and all that it does is , it irritates me , coz I know what they have been telling and everything around me reminds me of that , especially my wardrobe :(

And what do I do about it..barely anything. Yes I do try to control. Every afternoon , I would make resolutions like "to not to have sweets from tomorrow." , "to have just one bite" , "to quit rice" etc etc. I may succeed for a day or two but then what do I do with my taste buds ..*sigh* ..why the hell can I be not determined.

So , since yesterday I have decided to quit sugar in milk..lets see for how long.

Whats My Colour ..

Lets play a game :)

WHITE __ straight forward
BLUE __ lovable
BLACK __ mysterious
RED __ hot/sexy
PINK __ pretty
GREEN __ sweet
PURPLE __ flirt
BROWN __ cool
ORANGE __ caring
MAROON __ attractive
GREY __ talkative
GOLDEN __ sharp
SILVER __ trust worthy
YELLOW __ understanding
RUST __ reserve

Scrap me back ANY 3 colors which you think I am..

Restricted Internet Access

Sad news is ..My office has restricted internet access for personal use. So I am not able to read from all my friends regularly...SORRYYYY FRIENDS ..I AM THE ONLY LOOSER THOUGH...and I may even not be able to write regulary in future..*sob* *sob*

How to Train Parents

Tricks our kids may use on us...funny article ...must read !
Teen-mole--The-parent-trap

So how was the Birth Day ?

So how did the Day go ? Well , quite an eventful day. Aryan planned to wish me before he sleeps , and so he was awake till 12.30 am. Both father and son wished me before they slept. Aryan was colic in the wee hours and so I could not have a good sleep.

There was a training planned in office and so I had to be there by 9.00 am. But the maid did not turn up. So the day started with cleaning of utensils. We had some guests for dinner last night , so you can guess how it was. Admist of washing utensils , I attended the phone calls from friends and family. The made tuned up suddenly when I was half way through , but I was already late for the cab. Anupam was nice enough to drop me to office. Meanwhile I received a big bouque of red roses from my darling husband. I was not expecting this at all and hence delightfully surprised.

When I reached office , I was told that the training has been cancelled :( It was disappointing since I planned my week based on this. In office by lunch everyone in the team could recall one after the another that it was my Birthday and wished me. In the evening my Boss ordered for a BIG cake and we all enjoyed and I took loads of it home too.

On the way back , I visited temple with Anupam. We planned for a dinner out, but when we reached home , Aryan was sleeping. So we waited and waited till he woke up. Finally we left for dinner at 9.00 pm. Got a place till 9.30 pm. My in laws were not too happy with the choice of restaurant and that again was a mood depressor but food was great and it refreshed us all. Aryan enjoyed the dinner , esp the Panneer Tikka , Naan and Tandoori roti :) We were back home by 11.00 pm.

So ..that was it, a lovely but eventful day with loads of ups and downs :)

Thank You!

There is something I never did , though I always wanted to do this.

I wanted to say .."THANK YOU" to Mummy and Papa

...for everything they did since I was born.

...for being on my side in the life's tide.

...for forgiving me at least a 100 times.

...for loving me always like they do.

This is no attempt to be poetic ..All I want to say is Thanks to the best Mummy and Papa in the world. I love you for everthing and apart from everything.I know you don't read my blog and thats probably why I am writing this here ....

All In A Name

Passed on as a tag by WIAN ..I thought what can be a better day for this post of confessions. The tag for one characteristics of yours for each letter of your middle name.
Here are the rules of the tag :

Rule 1. The rules must be mentioned in the beginning of the tag.
Rule 2 You must list one fact that is somehow relevant to your life for each letter of your middle name. If you don’t have a middle name, use the middle name you would have liked to have had.
Rule 3. At the end of your blog post, you need to choose one person for each letter of your middle name to tag. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.

Now that I don't have a middle name (we usually dont have esp for girls) , so let me do it for the name I blog with.

S - Simply Smiling - I smile a lot and good part is I have got my maximum compliments for my smile. Another thing is Smile is one of the first things that draws me to any person. So if you want to be my friend and you have a good smile , half the battle won.

W - Wishful Thinker - Yep , I am a day dreamer and I guess my blog as ascertained this a few times. I dream of future with minute details. Sometimes I dream of real future events and other times , they might be just wishful events :D

A - Affectionate - Those who know me will have no doubt about it. I am generally an affectionate person. I love to love and to be loved ..well I guess everyone is like that , but still ..this post is only about me :D. I remember the Birthdays of even my school friends. I get attached to people , way to easily. I generally don't dislike people. I genuinely believe in unconditional love.

T - Tolerant - Well, my gynaecologist endorsed this :D ..hehehhe...and apart from physical I do believe that I am a strong person mentally.

I - Intutive - As you all know I am ..have already done a few posts on this ..so I refrain myself from saying more here.

DONE....Did I say anything you did not know ...heheheh...sorry ..but could not think of better adjectives ;-)

Now I tag , S for Squiggles, W for Winkey Ways , A for Artnavy, T for tiny-tidbits and I for ItchingToWrite

On The Eve Of The "THE DAY"

Child Labourers and Beggars

Today I was catching up with Timepass and this post of her reminded of an incident. Few years back I was in New Delhi and I was sitting in a Blue Line Bus at ISBT.The bus was waiting for a few more passengers before it starts.

Sometime later, I saw a small boy , not more than 10 years of age , dragged himself to the bus.His legs were handicapped and he was dragging himself on his thighs. He was begging and asking for some money for food. I am ususally against beggars , except for the people who are too old or too handicapped. I gave this boy 1 rupee, probably I wanted to give him more but I just restrained.

The bus started moving and the conductor yelled at the boy to get out of the bus.But the boy paid least attention and kept begging. The conductor got furious and he just lifted the boy by his arms and dropped him out of the slowly moving bus. For a second I was furious and fuming at the conductor though I did not say anything. I thought no one can be more inhuman to throw a handicap child out of the bus.

But that was a momentary thought. What I saw the next moment left me numb. I saw the boy , stood up and abused the conductor and ran away. I felt, I am a fool on earth to pity someone and give my hard earned money. Yes, that was only one rupee , but then I gave it with a feeling of helping a little handicap boy and I realized that I was cheated. I wondered why that boy could not find a better job. Ofcourse he was talented for he fooled 50 people in the bus and in a city like Delhi , then why did he choose to beg. And that too , not the easy way. Dragging yourself on thighs on the roads is definitely not easy.

Makes me think something else too. We are all against child labour. Correct ?Then what do we want from the orphans , who have no one to take care of them. Oh yes, we want the society to adopt them and give them a better life. But will that ever happen ? And even if that happens, do we know the deadline ? How do these kids survive till then ?With a population like us , we have more orphans every day than adoptions. Do we expect these kids to sit hungry and wait for someone to adopt them , be it the parents or organizations. Or do we expect them to beg for their food , which again is against the law.

I genuinely feel that we should not stop these kids from doing the work they are capable of.Ofcourse there should be certain kinds of jobs which should be banned for them.We dont stop kids to act in TV ads and movies. Those kids who earn for their well-to-do parents. But we ban the labourers who wish to earn their bread.

I think its better to earn then to beg, even for a child. This will make them confident and self dependent. Your thoughts are welcome ?

Of My Phobia

Do you remember yourself being scared of something , since you were young and without knowing the reasons of your fear. I have had two such fears ever since I was born. Yes, even before my memory lasts.

I am scared of Buses and Horses. Yes I AM. In my late twenties, I still AM. 'Why?' is what I could never know. But yes I did ride a horse and I did ride a bus ofcourse. Funny part is , I am not scared of any of the two , while using them. I mean, when I was riding the horse I was not scared. And I am not scared when I am inside a bus.

But my mom told me that I used to cry at the sight of a bus and it was always tough to handle me at a bus stand. When I was young, I remember my heart beating fast at the sight of a running bus.My friends would laugh at how my bycycle would go off the road , when I would see a bus coming.

Same it was with horses. When a running horse's feet tap on the road , I feel the tap in my heart and on my head.

Things did improve as I grew up. I am not not THAT scared of buses anymore. I did travel in DTC buses in delhi for 2 years and that helped me wave off 99% of my fear. But still sometimes I feel a slight increase in my heartbeat , when I see a bus , while I cross the road. If thats a Truck , I don't mind :P

Could it be that I was run away by a bus in my previous birth ..hehehe..sounds stupid ..but well that can be the ONLY reason.

Whatever it is , since childhood I have been making a concious effort to get rid of this and success has been coming slowly. Still have to work on horses though :D

Do write about your Fears and Phobias , if any ?

Birds and the Bees Tag

Oh Dear JLT , why did you so this. I always prayed to avoid this tag. When I was tagged I thought of wrting a formal apology. But then I thought, I should not quit , so let me just do it. Here it goes :


On a Saturday afternoon or in any late evening,
when there is silence and the baby is sleeping ,
HE and SHE will find a corner,
And hope the time lasts forever.

Yes thats it , you know I am not too innovative at ANY thing.. :D

P.S : I may decide to take this post offline in a few days.

Ohh..BTW ..whoever wishes to be a sport and make it public can pick this up ....

College and Friends

About 8 years back, S took admission in a PG college.It was her Day 1 in college. She was having some butterflies in her tummy. She was perhaps one of the last person to join the class and she had to pay for that.After about 15 mins , a girl came to class in a Sari. She had a pleasant smile and was looking lovely. The entire class stood up to say Good Morning. S, confused, joined everyone. S was thinking , is this lady a faculty or a senior. She was told that her name is J and she is a senior. J asked S to give her introduction and S followed religiously. Then she was told that this was not the correct way of giving introduction and S followed the instructions. Suddenly everyone started laughing. WHY ? Her classmates played a prank on her. J was from same class and Sari , that was the dress code for wednesdays :P.

Soon the class was full and there was a faculty. A was another girl in the class. Next day another female joined the college , her name was S1. Now it was a class of 40 students and S was one among the four girls.

J was a simple girl , with a sweet smile and a pleasing personality.She was not extraordinarily beautiful , but yet had a charm that could win n number of friends.She stayed in a hostel.

A was exremely thin , simple , but sharp and witty. She was a day scholar.

S1 was quiet and shy. She believed in not messing with anyone and just to the needful. She again was a day scholar.

S , well she is the storyteller and you all know her already. She was a day scholar too , but she stayed with her Uncle.

They were all different , but yet they had something in common , which led them to a great friendship. They shared an good chemistry and always complimented each other. J would run into some problems due to her irresistable charming nature and she would have A and S for her rescue. J and S1 would compete with each other for "who will be the topper" and A and S would closely follow. And together they would give a complex to the boys. S1 and S would drive A and J to their places and to markets on their 2 wheelers. Ohhh , there are some hundred stories like that.

Now , time has passed and as they graduated they progessed in life. They are happily married in different corners of the country. They have not met together for atleast 3 years now. J and S surely met , but that too about 1.5 years back. But atleast on days like today, they still think of each other. Like now , S is thinking, "Why is A not picking her phone ? Is she in some problem (God Forbid) ? Is she out of station? Did he changed her number ? Is she just sleeping ?" She is thinking , if there is any other way to wish A , A VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY !!!! Happy Birthday dear friend.

Secret Desires

Few things I would like to do once(atleast) in my life

• Go to a lonely hilltop/island/forest for 3 days , stay in a hut , with all greens round.Ofcourse the hut should have all basics and I will take Anupam along.)


• Fly high in a hot air baloon and click pictures.


• Paragliding.


• See a snowfall except in movies.


• Get drenched in water on a beach.


• Go Rafting with Husband (Done rafting once, but want to go again with Anupam.)


• Travel in a Cruise.


• Ride a Water Scooter.


• Visit Goa, Kerala, Kashmir and Leh (Ofcourse do photography)


• Take Aryan to Disneyland.


• See a Cricket Match in Stadium. I am not a Cricket crazy ..but just want to feel the excitement.


• Wear a beautiful black evening gown and look gorgeous. (I did mention this before I guess, and I know this will never come true ..coz I need a figure for that :P)

That is it I guess , but wait ..I won't even mind a trip around the world :-P

Where did it come from ?

Today at lunch time , one collegue found an insect in the food. We all had a good time , wondering where it came from (if that was a Company property or Vendor's) , pitying the quality of food and discussing ways to complain (some of us took pictures of the bug ..thanks to mobile cameras :P).

This incident reminds me of an old incident. While on vacation to my Tauji's place, I went to have a glass of water in a summer afternoon.I took a fresh empty glass (IT WAS EMPTY) and took water from the water dispenser (which had a tap). And as i drank the water I saw in the glass...eeeeeeeeeeeek...the glass fell down of my hands , I jumped at my place and I felt pukish. There was a small lizard in the glass ..yuck! Still can't believe it , that it fell down in the glass from the roof while I was drinking and I did not realize. Then where did it come from ? There is no other logical explanation.

Happy Ganesha Chaturthi to All

Birthday Plans :(

This year beginning , when we saw the calender to find out that a leave on my Birthday , makes it an extra long weekend, we thought we can go for a vacation then. Our most awaited destination for a vacation has been Goa. And so we thought of a Goa trip. But with the situation today I had to turn it down. About 15 days to my Birthday , things are not as I expected.

Aryan is just up from severe infection and still in recovering phase.Don't know if he will be able to take the stress. Plus with 4 leaves taken during his sickness , one more seems costly.

Aryan is still on bottle feed , and I am not sure how to manage hygine while travelling.

Aryan still does not walk. I expected him to walk by now.

No , I am not blaming it to him. Just that I don't feel confident. Some of you may say , I never will. Others will say I am not sporty enough.But then my instincts doesn't allow me.

So , probably my Birthday will be jsut another working day. Lets see.

Language Problem

Our mother tongue is Hindi and I know no other language except Hindi and English. And that is what we use to communicate with Aryan , mostly Hindi and sometimes a little English. Aryan goes to a day care and the owner of the place and most of the maids over there are Tamilians. Some of the maids are Kannadica. So what should Aryan do ? At this age my little sweetheart has to listen 4 different languages. What does he pick ? Another problem is , if he picks a word in Hindi , the maids will not understand him and if he picks a word in Tamil , we won't understand.Anupam and I have been thinking about this from quite sometime and this has driven us nuts. How will Aryan learn to speak in such a situation ?

Names of Love

Nicknames tag passed on to me by Kodi. I have always loved nicknames and I myself have many. I think nicknames are nothing but an expression of love by our near and dear ones. Some of them are temporary while others stick forever.Ofcourse , at a certain age , we can find them embarrassing, especially since they do not suit the age and time then.Even I know a few 50 years old Baby(s) and Pappu(s).So I always thought I would get Aryan a nick name which will not get embarrasing with time. But we could not stick to a nick name for him and so though he has many , none of them is a permanent one.

I know there are different school of thoughts about it and probably thats why Kodi's Mom called it as the most embarrasing tag ever. So I dropped the idea of writing this post on Times of Aryan. Since Aryan might grow up with a different opinion and would not like to read this post.

So here I go with all the new/old temporary funny / not-so-funny nicknames of Aryan.

Nanmun - Before he was born and before we knew he was a HE or a SHE , we called him Nanmum (Little one) This one lasted till he got his actual name. People who have not been informed of his real name (Friends/Relatives who contact us once in years), still know him as Nanmun.

Vishu and Veduu - As per horoscope , his name should have been from the letter 'V' , so this is what we initially thought of calling him.

Aru - Shortened version of Aryan.Anupam and I somestimes call him by this name.

Chotu (small) - Aryan's Nana, Nani and Mamu usually address him as Chotu only. Definitely I do not want this one to stick with him.

Meethu (sweet) , Betu (son - malformed from 'Beta') and Pyaru (Lovable) - Aryan's Taiji coined all these terms and his dada dadi also calls him Betu.

Baeboo - Aryan's Papa calls him Baeboo , a malformed version of the word Baby.His dadi loved it and picked it.Definitely I do not want this one too to stick with him.

Kutti Baby - His caretaker calls him with this name.

Editted to Add :
Ganja Man - Anupam started calling him this after his Mundan and this still continues since Aryan has less hair.

Puchu Baby - Another name given to him by Papa.

Bhaiya - His Nanu -Nani calls him Bhaiya ..strange isn't it..even I think so.

RoluPolu,Sonu,RajaBeta,Chuha (rat), khargosh(rabbit),Teddy Bear are some more used by me once in a while.

Now I pass this on to Trishna , NanhiPari ,JustLikeThat and WhatsinAName.

Dreams Untold

Yesterday night Aryan was scared. I guess he was having some scary dreams and every time he woke up and clinged to me. So I thought what could those dreams be and that reminded me of my dreams.So, inspired by NM's recent post , here I go with a few of my most weird and funny dreams ever. These have no relations to pregancy though.

In my school , in my college and sometimes even now , this one (with some variations) have made me wake up a several times.

I have an exam today and I am already running late. My Rickshaw puller did not turn up. Its raining and I cannot get any transport. Finally I manged to reach school. Our school is strict on dress code and timings and so I got a good scolding on being late. But when they were just letting me in , they realized that I am without any shoes. *Phew*...They told me that I cannot come in without shoes...BARE FOOT :O And I stand crying , for I missed my exam.

Next one wakes me up with a jolt , more often than anything else.

Its a dream where I see myself fall down. Sometimes from bed while sleeping and sometimes from stairs and sometimes from buildings.

Last but not the least. A recent one and the most weird one.

About a month ago I saw that we have a baby monkey in house.The monkey stays like my kid. He sits in my lap. He eats and sleeps next to us. He talks like us. He is my FIL favourite and my FIL gets angry when someone scolded the monkey for something.

Just then Anupam woke me up and I was like ..Ohh I wanted to see the full dream :-We laughed long about the dream , since my FIL hates pets. I wondered if it was Aryan dressed as monkey :D

Now , what do you think about this being a tag. Come on , share your dreams with us. I tag Naina, Moppet's Mom, Manasi, Rdbans and timepass

Why ????

Why do we have to be stuck in a traffic jam daily ?

Why do all the VIP(s) have to travel through the most chaotic roads of the city at 9 AM or at 6 PM only ?

Why they cannot be directly helicoptered to their destinations , if its impossible to alter their schedules ?

Why does a common office going man has to suffer for four hours (due to traffic piled up) for their 15 mins travel ?

Why do men (sometimes women too) have to take so much stress due to all this traffic chaos ?

Why do we not understand that this unneccesary and unimportant stress will do no good to traffic but a lot bad to us ?

Apprehensive About Milestones

Aryan is almost one year and 2 months old.He is not yet walking.He pulls up to stand with support and moves a few steps with support , but he never attempts to move without support. Some say thats okay while others say he is late.

He speaks only 2 words clearly , which are Mumma and Papa. There are 2 more word like sounding noises ,"bahar" and "aaja". But only I claim them to be words.

I have spoken to his doctor about these issues and he said , we have nothing to worry as yet. So, why this post ? Am I worried at the back of my mind ? Am I apprehensive ?

I do not know if I should believe in Jyothish (astrology) or not. But quite recently my father's astrologer friend said Aryan will walk only when he will be 1.5 years old and talk when he is close to 2 years. Since I admit , that despite of having a logical mind , I do believe in astrology to some extent at the back of my mind , I should no longer be worried. Especially when both the doctor and astrologer speak similiar.

But probably I am even more worried now. One reason is the social pressure. Whoever calls these days , asks us with great confidence "Aryan must be walking now ?" and we have to say no. To which they will console us , "Oh that its ok" (Though they never sound convincing).
Now with 4 more months to go before he actually walks (as per the astrologer , if thats true), I am not prepared to address all those phone calls. Plus we have a vacation planned in November , when we will face all the relatives. I am not prepared to address and bear with their apprehensions about my son.Nor do I have any valid answer ready for them. I definitely do not want to say about the prediction , since even I am not fully convinced by that.

Another reason ofcourse is the fear of unknown.I do not trust astrology 100%. Doctor said nothing to worry as YET. Four months seems like four years to me.

Probably only time will answer my fears. Meanwhile , I can do nothing much about the apprehensions , both mine and of others.

Fighting over the bottle

I was planning for this since quite a long time.But I did not have the courage. So each weekend I would have one of the following excues ready."He is not well today","Guests will be here , we don't want a cranky baby that time","We have to do some unavoidable shopping, he will trouble without milk" and what not.

This weekend though I decided to go for this, without a second thought.So I started on saturday morning.He had just one sip and then we compromised for a slice of bread instead of milk.He had his lunch and slept well and woke up to have 2-3 sips of milk.We again compromised with alternate foods.Bed time milk is his favourite though.He cried for the longest 15 minutes of my life.He begged and complained and was furious , but nothing worked with the bad momma , who sat still with a glass of milk. She kissed and patted but did not give him a bottle of milk.My little baby slept without milk and I cried with a broken heart while I fed him with a bottle of milk ,as he slept.

That was not all , he woke up with some bad cough.But mumma's heart did not melt.Morning went without milk.Early in the evening though mumma was about to give up and was feeling pathetic when the little sweetheart came and kissed mumma.Soon after , he had about half a glass and that again made his mumma a little confident.

I have a bad habit of feeling happy a little too early.Not a single sip at night.I took off for today.I was optimistic that half glass may turn to one today.But not a single sip since morning.At around 3.00 he had a few sips through straw but that was all.To add to this ,now he is not having milk during sleep too. Can I feel more miserable in my life than what I feel today. A hungry little baby sleeping next to me and I being a BAD BAD MUMMA.

I feel like quiting.Not that I did not feel like this in past 3 days , but then I had a satisfaction that he is not left out hungry.Now that he is hungry since morning and had only half of his lunch , I feel miserable. I always thought I will not give up because then he will know how to get his things done , but then I guess he already knows that.

Please God Help!

Happy Raksha Bandhan !!

Today is Raksha Bandhan, popularly called as Rakhi.Its widely celebrated in north india as a festival of love and bonding between brother and sister.

I have a younger brother and two cousins for whom I tie Rakhi.This day brings me such fond memories.When we were kids we would all assemble at my grandparents house on this day.Then my father's sister will tie Rakhi for him and other brothers and we would do the same for our brothers.It was fun to go seniority wise to tie rakhi to all the brothers.And more fun was fighting over the gifts.All the sisters were teased by the brothers for the gifts. My brothers would invariably tease me by giving 1 Ruppe coin as gift. To which I sometimes used to get angry.Later I started accepting it , since I knew the are teasing me ( and also that their parents would force them to give me the rest of the amount too ;-)..hehehhe) My brother , when he was too young , used to say that he did not mind tying me the rakhi , if I give him the gift..:D

Now I am married and far from my brothers.I really miss them and also the fun we had. I miss how they used to tease me over petty things and enjoyed to see me irritated and sometimes crying too.Now ,things are otherwise , we do send gifts for each other and insist on accepting the gifts :D

Life has moved on.Childhood is just some fond memories now.I don't get to meet my cousins in years.I get to meet my brother 1-2 times a year for 2-3 days. But my love for all of them remains unchanged.And so is theirs :D

Today morning , my brother called me in morning and said "I was tying rakhi that you sent , so I thought let me do it online(phone on speaker). Here I put Tika , now I tie Rakhi and now I give you gift..you got it na" ..hehehheh..he wanted to tease me , but I realised that he was missing me :-)

On this day , I just want to say , I miss and I love my brothers ..Happy Raksha Bandhan to all !!

Am I Destined To Be Overweight?

You Are Destined to Struggle With Your Weight

Like most people, you find it a little difficult to stay at at weight you're comfortable with. If you change a few habits and make food less important, you may find the struggle hardly exists anymore.

Are You Destined To Be Overweight?

Excited or Mad ?

REQUEST :Please please don't call me "CRAZY" or "MAD" after you read this.

I came to Bangalore after my wedding and we hardly have any friends (apart from all of you in Bangalore) and relatives in this city.Though I like this city , for the weather , for my job , for the birth place of my baby and so many other things , I just can't stop missing Delhi.The first and foremost reason is it takes just 2 and 5 hours journey to my native and to hubby's respectively from Delhi (and its cost much lesser). There are a few more reasons though , like I feel a natural affinity to the city , where I learnt to be independent and earned my first penny.

So , the post is not about my love for Delhi or Bangalore , but its about me getting so so so excited about going for my yearly 2 weeks vacation to Delhi and our hometowns.NOW..you must be thinking I am going tomorrow or a week after. Nope ..I am going after 2.5 months :-OAnd why am excited today..coz we booked our tickets yesterday.Hehehehheh...remember the request I made before you started reading.

Well , thats me , I myself think I am crazy..but can't help it.I am going for Diwali ,and I actually started planning about what I will be doing there.Who all I will meet.What all will Aryan do.How will Aryan's cousins react to see Aryan.What would we all wear for Diwali and what not. Uff..what a stupid crazy female I am.

This habit of mine has disappointed me so many times.I get too excited and think too much into details and then I am seriously disappointed when I find others are not equally excited or when things don't turn up as I want. I keep telling myself that I should not think too much , should not plan too much and in the end should not get disappointed too much ..but no use :-( I cannot change my basic nature :-(

What do I do to help myself ? Do you really think I am crazy ..OK ..forget about the request on the top..and say it loud please.

On a second thought , is life not about the joy in these little excitements.May be I am crazy , but then I do find some smiles in little things.I get disappointed when things don't turn my way and I cry over small things (coz I ALWAYS feel they are important ..unlike others) , but then I get over them very soon and see at the brighter side.
But still, may be I would want to change a little..*scratching my head*

Through the eyes of a child

Read this poem in Mad momma's comment window and could not help recording and sharing this.

If I could see the world,
Through the eyes of a child.
What a wonderful world this would be.
There'd be no trouble and no strife,
Just a big happy life.With a bluebird in every tree.
(If I Could See The World Through)

I could see right, no wrong.
I could see good, no bad.
I could see all the good things,
In life I've never had.If I could see the world,
Through the eyes of a child.
What a wonderful world this would be.

If I could see the world,
Through the eyes of a child.
Smiling faces would greet me all the while.
Like a lovely work of art,
It would warm my weary heart,
Just to see through the eyes of a child.

I could see right, no wrong.
I could see good, no bad.
I could see all the good things,
In life I've never had.
If I could see the world,
Through the eyes of a child.
What a wonderful world this would be

Independence Day - A thought

I am back after a short hibernation and here is wishing everyone a very Happy Independence Day and Happy Teej too (for those who celebrate that).

So how did everyone celebrate ? I did not do anything for particular because of the virus at home.I did read NM's post on Independence day and I realized how times have been changing.Getting hooked to Doordharshan to see the Flag,going to school to hoist the flag.Performing plays and dances to portray the spirt of patrotism, singing the National Anthem.Coming back with sweets and full enthusiasm and watching some special movie on the patrotism used to be our routine on 15th August and 26th January year after year. But things changed and these are now just sweet memories.

Our grandparents use to tell us stories about freedom struggle with great passion but with each passing generation we are loosing that passion. Times are changing , like Doordharshan was replaced by Cable network and now Tata sky.Now schools do not have a compulsary attendence on Independence day and Republic day.Parents think that clubbing the day with weekend can mean a vacation. Kids these days, no longer feel the same enthusiasm for the celebration as we did.They are happy because they get a HOLIDAY in the mid of August and in chilly January winters.I asked few of my colleagues as what did their kids do yesterday and all of them told that kids bunked the school.No one feels its worth to go to school for just flag hoisting.People are bored listening to same speeches by Presidents and Prime Ministers year after year.They hardly say something new.

60 years have gone by.60 long years.Generations have changed.Soon we will have no eye witnesses of the freedom struggle.How do we maintain the same enthusiasm.Sooner or later our independence struggle will just be read in our history books in class VII.Coming generations will not be able to visualize the passion, the struggle ,the pain and the effort. Few people will judge the rights and wrongs and what could have been different.We will always have two national holidays.Flags will still be hoisted as a custom and more as a RULE on all the govt.buildings.

To be frank, do we really need independence day to feel patriotic.And should that be celebrated in the same way year after year.I think we should move ahead and find new ways to celebrate our freedom.Ways which our kids feel a part of.Ways which are just not customary. So that Independence day and Republic day do not become just holidays.

Some days are bad..

Like the ones when you have to see your little sweet heart coughing BADLY..
Like the ones when your baby does not eat for he is scared of throwing up again..
Like the ones when the frequency of your cutie's crying is more than smiles..
Like the ones when the father also has same infections as the son..

Some days are REALLY BAD..

P.S. Will post more when the days are not as bad as they are today.

'Mommy guilt' a fact of life for most with kids

Ohh none of us is alone. 'Mommy Guilt' has hit each one of us at times. I did a post and then I read Poppin and JLT. We expressed in different ways , but its all the same.

Here is what I read today :

"Mommy guilt" is both instinctual and cultural, he says. "Our culture looks to Mom to be the person who is there, who is hands on. There is this feeling that 'This is what I'm supposed to be and anything else I do is selfish.' "
Crawford says working mothers who feel an inordinate amount of guilt often try to overcompensate by forcing quality time with their children. These attempts can often backfire. "Any guilt that you carry from home to work or work to home will interfere in your performance in that role and in your satisfaction with that role. So you're really cheating yourself."

Not only is guilt harmful for couples, but Crawford believes it also hurts children. "A child will pick up on that and they'll ultimately feel like they're the reason that Mom feels guilty."

Read the full article here.

"In case you're worried about what's going to become of the younger generation, it's going to grow up and start worrying about the younger generation." - Roger Allen

Judging Strangers based on Intutions ?

I have mentioned in some of my previous posts that I am an intutive person.I decide things based on my intutions or 6th sense so many times.Till date my 6th sense has hardly driven me wrong and so I trust my intutions.

When I meet someone, I guess about the traits of the person by looking at him/her.Things like he/she is a geniuine person, he/she is intelligent, he/she is just like me, I can trust this person, I can make friends with him/her,he is a politician,he can stab at the back, he is a flirt and so many of these kinds and I can say I am hardly wrong till date.There have been times when people have portaied themselves to be different then their actual self and over the course of time I have felt that I was wrong, but some day their actual selves have come to picture.Similarly, when I read/listen about a person or talk to someone over the phone, I imagine about their personality. Relatives cannot always be chosen but I do choose friends based on my inner voice. I also stay away from some relatives and colleagues as directed by my inner voice though they hardly did any harm till date.

I really wonder, if others do the same.My husband says that I am a great observer.I observe things closely.May be he is true and may be thats the reason my guesses are always /mostly right. In reply I usually laugh and say that the sixth sense is inbuilt for girls.But then I have some friends who can hardly judge people and they often face fallback of their wrong judgement.So then may be its not inbuilt for all the girls.

Someone once wrote on my blog that "Intuition is a reflection of our past experiences coupled with our level of comfort.Likes and dislikes are manifestations of our comfort level with respect to the person/thing for which a like or dislike is being formed." But I still feel, I should not be judging people based on my past experiences and sometimes just plain intutions.Forming an opinion or like /dislike for someone based on just your apprehensions is not justified.You may be right and you may be wrong. Everyone should be given a chance to prove/express.But then, I am always a looser when I don't trust myself, so I am not too sure.

BTW..I have survived till my 50th post ..Yippee!

My Worst Nightmare and My Secret Wish!

Do you think you are scared of something ? What is your worst nightmare ? I don't know when how and why but I have a fear of blindness.Not like , I feel that I will be blind some day but just that I feel that nothing can be worse than being blind. I simply cannot tolerate darkness.I am not scared of darkness like many of us and I can go in a dark forest alone but I don't like it.I love the light and the colours.And I feel that their can be no serious punishment than making someone blind.It not only makes you handicap physically but also restrain you to see the beauty around.I feel the world is so beautiful and each one of us have a right to see and feel it.

I believe that our eyes are the most precious ,delicate and beautiful gift that God has given us.So ,probably thats the reason I wish to donate my eyes.Thats a secret wish and I have promised myself to definitely do so.Probably thats the best I can do with the little I have.I need to work on this.And this post is a reminder to myself.

Editted to Add : Reading NM's comment ,I feel I could not express what I wanted to.Blindness is a nightmare for me.Ofcourse the blind have the courage to face that and be happy with what God has decided for them.God gives us a strength to overcome our handicaps.Handicap people are stronger than us in so many different ways.Everyday I see one blind female crossing the busy Airport Road with great ease.Just a matter of her practice.Happiness is just our perception. But then still I cannot imagine darkness forever.The thought is killing for me and I wish to bring light to someone.May be someone can utilize this gift from God, after I die.

Weekend was a weekend !

We lived it in our own way.Three of us did whatever we wanted to with no schedules and hurries. Aryan slept for 6 hours during the day on saturday in two shifts which gave us ample time to do the cleaning.So I arranged Aryan's cloths (summer cloths went in and winter ones popped out) and re-arranged the racks in my room.

Afternoon we slept to the fullest.Evening we had fun playing with Aryan.Late evening ,after Aryan slept, we saw "Hyderabad Blues 2". The movie was good and we both enjoyed it.No big star cast but yet it kept us hooked in typical Nagesh Kukunoor style.

Sunday also it was cold and drizzling so we did not plan an outing.We played with Aryan and I stock checked my kitchen.After lunch Aryan had a good nap and then we went to buy our weekly grocery and veggies(a fixed schedule for each week). On the way back we bought VCD of "Jhoom Barabar Jhoom". So we saw that during the evening and enjoyed.Nothing new , but yet an enjoyable movie.Lot of peppy music ,great star cast, typical Yashraj style. The day was closed with dinner of Aalo Paranthas with egg bhurji and curd...what more to ask for :-P.

So , that was all ..a weekend of rest , masti and ofcourse the cleaning :-D Thats why I say , weekend was a weekend.

An Arranged cum Love Marriage !!

Once upon a time, there was a boy and a girl.The boy worked in Bangalore and the girl in Delhi.Both of their parents decided to find a better half for them and in the process they both met in a restaurant in Delhi.There was a platonic conversation for 45 minutes.They spoke about each others likes and dislikes , they spoke about how they visualize their future life and what they expect from their partners.The girl liked the straight forward guy who spoke without adding any frills.He had a magical smile and a good sense of humour.The guy liked her innosence , her smile and her clarity of thought. Time just flew by and then they parted ,saying bye to each other.Somewhere deep down the girl realized that the boy likes her , by the look in his eyes. Now was the time of decision making.A life time decision in 45 minutes.She never thought she could do that.She did not know why she felt he was the one! She also said yes! Probably she gave up to his honesty.

So all was fixed and they were given a day to know each other better , before the guy would go back to Bangalore , until the day of engagement.They roamed around Delhi roads and chatted.They wanted to stop the ticking clock, but the day passed by and they said Good bye.
That was not all.They started talking over the phone daily. From 5 to 15 minutes , soon to an hour and then 2. They thought of asking some discounts from the service providers. The two starngers soon became best of friends and more than that.

They met again at their engagement and sneaked looks at each other among the ceremonies.They got to meet twice ,the next day and then again on the day when he left for Bangalore.The phone conversations continued to grow longer.

Valentine day was just 2 days before their wedding and among the wedding preps they could bribe and pamper their sister in laws to arrange a 30 minutes meeting.They sat in a not so happening restaurant at 11.00 in the morning.The restaurant's day was just started and so they faced the curious looks from the waiters and stewards. They could hardly talk that day.Just 2 days and they will be together forever.The girl did not know what to talk.She did not know how to hold the excitement of being together and the fear of leaving a lot behind.She heard that marriage brings a peculiar feeling for a girl and she was realizing it with each passing day and each passing minute.

The boy and the girl are now a couple , happily enjoying love and life.

Fetish and Me :O

NM has tagged me for having Fetish about something.Fetish and Me ..ummm ..thinking...oh yes..but thats for more than one :-P ..is that okay NM :-)

So here I go.
1. I have fetish about bags.I have atleast a dozen handbags and to add to more I am lazy to use them often.While we shifted the house my husband was amazed to see that one rack of my cupboard was full of just handbags :P.Worse is still to come ..I don't feel like throwing them, so I have some with broken zips too :P

2. And about clothes but you know thats not my fault ;-) My diameter keeps on changing so often... :P(my favourite excuse ..ohh ..not just an excuse though ..sigh..). So I have an overflowing cupboard and 2 suitcases for JUST ME !! And hey ..I would love to wear all the variety if my body allows :)

3. About Greeting cards , sending and receiving and then collecting them.And yes ..each word should match the feeling.But off late ..I don't receive any ..thanks to the technology and even I am not sending regularly.

4. Last but not the least..I had fetish about key chains in school and college and whenever I would visit a place all I would buy will be a key chain and a hand bag :)

Yep, thats it.I know you cannot stop laughing and my husband will so very happy to read that I finally admitted all this :-) So just to make others smile ..I confessed. Passing this on to Pixie,Poppin and WIAN. Come on ..Give a try ..I am sure you will also have more than one !

Are we killing their Childhood , Their Freedom ?

Apart from school , he goes to a skating class everyday.Then on Mondays he has an Abascus and a drawing class.On Wednesdays and Fridays he has Music classes. Thats the weekly schedule for a 10 year old.And they plan to start his French and German classes soon , as soon as they find a good teacher. Since they think he still has some bandwidth on Tuesdays and Thursdays and weekends ofcourse.

A conversation with the mother today made me ponder.Is it right ? She said , this is the best age to learn and I agree. But at the same time this is the only age to enjoy.She said she wants him to be the best and survive the competetion ahead.Its true that I wish my son to be a master of all but then I guess this is over kill. Should they not have sometime of their own. Just play with whatever they like.Enjoy the innocence of their childhood ,feel the world around and find happiness and joy with simple things.Skating is enjoyable , but then not if its compulsary to do it everyday.You will master it but in the process you may loose the fun of it.Schools these days have lot of extra curricular activities and I don't mind extra classes for 1-2 skills during weekends , but I guess I am not pro about this over burden.

I did wrote about this some time back too.If my kid is extra passionate about music /drawing or whatever , I would go an extra mile for him to master that.But is it okay to force him for a french class just because I wish him to learn that at the age of 10.I thought this is the only age when you have freedom to live , sleep , eat and play and when we had that , how could be take that away from our kids ?

What Books for my Kid ?

Kiran's post inspired me for this one.Why are our kids not reading Amar Chitra Kathas? Or for that matter any Indian literature.I remember reading Amar Chitr kathas and Stories from Ramayana and Mahabharatha apart from Champak , Nandan , Chandamamma and some russian story books.I noticed with friends and relatives that kids today are not given any indian books to read and I truly don't understand the reason.I have no inhibitions against other books , and they can be reading them all.But don't you think our books brings them closer to our history , our mythology and our culture. Okay, I agree we have some fairy tales in our mythology and there can be a debate about all that being true/false , but anyways they are reading Harry Potter , so whats wrong with Hanuman ? Indian books brings them closer to our values and morals in simple Indian setup which they can relate to and visualize. With due respect to other literature , I think we have a great literature for our kids and we can be proud of that.But on the contrary , some of my counter parts , don't think its worth.Or shall I say , its something to do with our ego and status.We feel proud if our kid can talk about all the famous international characters and toons on TV and its kind of down market to talk about ACK ? Will my kid be out of place , if he reads more/equal number of Indian books vs others ?

How do we protect our kids ?

I know it was never easy to raise kids and especially , well mannered ,well educated ,confident,independent and cultured kids with strong moral values.But is it not becoming increasingly difficult with each passing day or may be I have realized it now , after being a mom.Oh I know the topic is not new, we all have read and thought about it so many times before , mad momma did a post too, but this has been haunting my mind from quite a few days and I wish pen down my thoughts.

How do we protect our kids from the society ? We can spend money to educate them in whatever fields , but how do we educate them about the dangers from human predators ? And at what age ? With incidents like Nithari (which is not the only one of its kinds) and like the ones mentioned by mad momma and Trishna , no age seems to be early.I don't have a daughter yet and I know these thoughts will haunt more after I have one , but then with this inhuman frustrated society , I guess I would need to educate my son too.

Yes, no one did educated us and yet we survived.But then many of us still carry certain black spots in our personality.Certain memories still haunt.Each one of us have faced eve teasing and harrasments from known/unknowns.There may have been times when we could hardly realize what we went through and later in life , there may have been times when we felt frustrated and yet helpless.Some of us may have shared things with our parents/friends/life partners while others would have carried it all the way in our hearts.Should our kids go through the same or can we do something to make their lives better.

Kids of this generation are learning early but thats what our parents thought about us too.Yet we faced what we did.Learning early has both advantages and disadvantages.Half the knowledge is even more dangerous.One of my friend shared this article today and perhaps that is why I am doing this post today.Even if we educate them against the frustated predators , how do we educate them (little later in life) about not making deadly mistakes.I am not going to discuss about whats right/wrong , we can have different opinions , but whatever it is , we cannot deny the need to educate our kids.How and when should we educate them ? And God forbid , what should be our reaction if we are one of the mothers from the article ?

These are some questions , I am struggling with. May be time will answer , as always. But then I hope it will not be late till then.

Judgemental ..oh yes !

Tagged. Am I judgemental ? Ohh yes I judge people over a lot of things and I am quite an intutive person.So I decide so many things based on my intutions and my judgement.

1. I judge people from their Eyes and Smiles ..I feel eyes and smiles can hardly lie. AND I have a good success record on this one.I get negatively judgemental about people who wear an artificial smile all the time.
2. I judge people by the tone of their voice and sometimes by the choice of their words too.
3. I am judgemental about the females who crib about their familes(Husbands/MIL/DIL or whoever) to anyone and everyone.
4. I am judgemental about people who are always praising everyone around and that too after drinking some syrupy sugar.Ahh..no one can be soo shweet 24/7. And one of them is my BOSS :)
5. I am judgemental about the guys who envy their female colleagues for they finish their work in time and are hardly seen in office after working hours.
6. I am judgemental about colleagues who always say that they are too busy for a coffee / lunch.
7. I am judgemental about people who can never reach anywhere in time. Ohh, you need not be punchual always , but once in a while please ..:)
8. I was judgemental about my friends in college who would study day and night and yet would complain about no prepartion.
9. I get judgemental about people who are always complaining about something or the other.
10.I get judgemental about people who talk too much and more about those who talk about only them and theirs.

Well , thats my list and I don't think I am unreasonale ..do you think so ? So lets have a list from a few more , I tag Sunita, utbt , Asha and Trishna.

Happy Birthday to Dear ARYAN !!

Happy Birthday to Dear ARYAN !!!

Imaginations Turn To Reality

This is what I had in my room , when I was expecting.My imagination and my feelings on a piece of paper and he turned out so much like what I thought :-)

My precious little baby

I have loved you from the start

You are a tiny miracle

Laying closely to my heart

Each day I feel your presence

Each day you quickly grow

Each day your heart beats softly

As only I could know

So I'll keep this in a special place

And remember each year through

Of this very special time of life

The months I carried you!!


Running errands and talking on the phone,

I am pleasantly reminded that I am not alone.

Little tiny hands a precious rounded knee

pushing and twisting that no one can see.

Oh sweet child kicking up your heels,

it is our little secret that only I can feel.

I look forward to your birth,

when I can kiss your skin,

but for now I will just smile,

As I feel you play within.

The Story of Aryan's Birth - 1 year ago

I wanted to do this as a journal entry on Aryan's website about an year ago..but with a young baby, I missed that. May be today is the best day to recall ,the maximum I can , and do Aryan's Birth story..so here it goes.

20th July, last year was like any other day in 3rd trimester of pregnancy.I went for my daily walk with Mummy.Like any other day I was wondering , when is baby planning to come.In fact I was getting restless day by day.Most of my friends due in july had already delivered.I had slight pain in pelvic area , but I did not take that seriously.Since my BH were getting severe every day now , I assumed my restless and pain to be some part of rehearsal .. :-) That day I could not sleep nicely ..but that was not very different..:-)...most of my days were similar. The difference was my urge for restroom trips was more frequent and I had pain in turning to sides.

Then it happenned... :-D. It was 5.45 am on 21st July when my water broke.I was wet and bleeding too. I woke up my husband saying that lets go to hospital.He called up doctor immediately and she also asked us to come to hospital as soon as possible.She pacified me not to worry.Some how I felt I was not as worried as I always thought i would be.Anupam woke up Mummy and we gave finishing touches to our already packed bags.I brushed my teeth and got ready. No pains yet...:(

We reached labour suite.It was 7 in the morning.I was given a bed to lie down and wait.They had a word with my doctor and i was given induction through a gel at 7.40 am. The doctor on duty told me that cervix is too posterior and she could not touch that.I was made to lie down and wait for pain.Meanwhile I was given idlis for breakfast.At about 9.30 I started getting some contractions.They were about 10 mins apart but not regular.I was getting 3-4 contractions and then there was a lull period , when I used to relax.At around 11.00 am I was getting contractions taht were 3-5 mins apart but still they were not regular and there was still a lull period after 4-5 contractions.The doctor asked a nurse to time my contractions.She placed her hand on my tummy and said that the pain I am getting are not contractions.My uterus should tighten while I get contractions and I should feel the pain in the entire stomach and not just lower abdomen and back.I was not feeling any tightening and there was no pain in upper part of tummy. It was a so demoralizing for me.Afetr some time I had a chance to speak to the doctor on duty and I asked her if what I was feeling are contractions ? she smiled at me and said ofcourse though they are not good enough.I thought , is it because i am not shouting loud , they feel so ? Though my lower back and lower abdomen paine like hell,I was trying hard not to shout.Thats because my mother in law told me that shouting will not help me and I thought she was right .I was already feeling very thirsty and I thought shouting and crying will make me dehydrated and I will loose my energy.I was feeling sleepy between the contractions.I tried hard not to sleep and concentrated on the gossiping going on between nurses doctors , nurses as well as 2 other patients and their attendents .. :-) Meanwhile they allowed me to meet my mother in law at about every 2 hours.

At about 2 pm my doctor came.She examined me and said that I am dilated between 1-2 cms.My cervix is still posterior and she thinks I will deliver only till night.She inserted a pill to improve contractions.After she left , I was wondering , perhaps pregnancy is the only thing where both patients and doctors are waiting for pain to aggravate intead of soothing that.I had my lunch.I was getting juices every 2 hours which I was not feeling like drinking.All I wanted was water.I was asking for water every 15 mins.Pain was getting severe.I was murmuring "OM" or "Please God Help me" or "I know i can do it" kind of phrases.I wanted someone to massage by back.i felt that my back will tear off.My husband and mother in law was around to comfort me.They gave me enema ,to ease my urge to pass.

At about 6 pm the resident doctor examined me and said that I am only 3-4 cms dilated and its going to take a long time.At 6.30 my Gynae came back and based on the resident doctor's examination ,she said that she will come back to see me at 9.00 pm.Time was passing really slow.I was feeling strong urge to go to rest rooms which was ignored by the resident doctor.She told me that it was because baby was pushing.At 9.30 pm there was no sign of my Gyane.Now I lost all my patience and told the dc , please let me know if the doctor is going to come at all.I started begging them to call the doctor.I told them that I have a strong urge to pass motion and I cannot hold any longer.The resident doctor then examined me at about 9.45 and she was almost shocked.She said "Ohh My GOD ..Baby is Here ..She is Completely Dialated , shift her soon ,else she will deliver in 10 minutes"( I was supposedto be shifted to a suite at 6-7 cms dilation , where I would deliver).There was panic, someone was rushing for wheel chair , someone was calling doctor , someone was calling my husband.I was in shock and surprise.Within 15 minutes I was in the suite and my doctor just came running (in Anupam's language , she appeared like God).All the preparations went in super fast manner.The doctor asked me to push and Anupam and MIL were with me. At 10.35 pm on 21st July 2006 Aryan was born. The 16 hours of pain , turned into a sweet little baby.

The doctor showed me the baby and I did not know , how to react.I was just blank.I looked at the baby and gave a customary kiss on the forehead.It was only after an hour when I actually took the baby in my lap.After another hour , I was happily nurturing my sweet heart.

That night I slept for just 2 hours , that too in two shifts.Not because Aryan did not let me sleep (rather he slept for 5 hours at a stretch) but may be because I was too excited to sleep.