Reflections Of A Desi Mom

  When is   Enough  really   Enough ?  When is the situation going to get under control for good?  When does the common man/woman/family feel ok ya it was enough - and now I don't have to go through that ordeal anymore?  But Wait!  We are the common people.. Since when we can ask questions or expect explanations?  We are only supposed to walk into those glum centers to press the buttons to caste our negligible vote!  I have always been dark and twisty by nature however, while raising a very curious daughter I have learnt to be a little more realistic.. And in spite of the constant physical pain, isolation, social distancing in the last year - I managed to keep my optimism. Believe in the fact that 1 day we will be free again. Free to step out without layers of masks and bottles of sanitizer in tow. And NO - I am not kidding myself.. I didn't expect that day would come as soon as the clock strikes 12 when the year changed.. But I certainl...

What happens when a blogger is not able to find enough words to express what they are feeling?  It means either something too tragic or extremely wonderful has happened!  Day before yesterday I knew I am going to have a great day because of how I felt and how I took the change in the calendar.. Done with 30s But little did I know I was in for not 1 - but many small n huge surprises!  Now, when you are a close knit nuclear family its difficult to keep secrets and plan out something different than routine - and when it comes to men doing it (hidden from wives ) - its even more difficult or so it seems.... 😎😜😆 Midnight Surprise -  We had just finished watching Indian Idol when my perky 9.5 yr old decided she is feeling sleepy and instead surprised me with a big huge dairy milk silk and balloons to welcome the clock striking 12!  It followed by family video call where I was reminded how it felt like just yesterday I was born in the middle of a chaos (in the city)...

  As a young married lady when I used to see daughter's of friends holding and cuddling their Barbies' amongst other toys - I used to cringe and wowed my future-child would never-ever-oh-so-never hold that skinny little thing ...leave alone play with it.  Aaah!! The perks of being a mother and that too of an incessant young girl - I just finished watching the latest Barbie movie -  Barbie Princess Adventure     Yup! You guessed it right - That's why I titled this  Never say Never !   No offense to #Mattel but I simply hated Barbie Dolls as a young school girl myself. I remember when my uncle living in a another country used to ask me if he wanted me to bring any toy for me - I used to tell him get books on the next trip instead. I think even then the materialistic world of plastic smiles, fake bodies and fashion clothing didn't interest me..just like it doesn't now.  As an aunt - I remember buying Barbies & accessories for my husband...

How are you today?  How are you dealing with the situation?  And no - I am not asking about how your city, neighborhood , society, school is handling the on-going crisis. The numbers keep increasing at some places and there's not much we can do except mind our own business and be extremely careful of not becoming a negative statistic ourselves.  I want to know how many of us ask each other and our own selves -  "How are you?" and  "How am I dealing with the side-effects of the pandemic?" While chatting with my girl friend gang I realized I am not the only 1 who looks forward to the night time peace and quiet these days. We all have our own ways of snooping around and squeezing some 'ME Time' for ourselves.  1 said she loves her clinic..Another said she misses her office.. Another 1 is leaning on to running everyday. My mom looks forward to her Online Yoga class where all she can think about is how further I can stretch and bend. Some days when I open my ...

When Ganeshji comes with an important lesson not only for your 9 year old but also for your own self, I feel the concept of the festival has risen above just customs!!  Due to Covid I was extremely scared of stepping out this time. Leave alone going and selecting a moorti in the rush of Pune's festivities. So the very first time I took the plunge and booked the moorti online.  After discussions n deliberations I chose 1 very subtle and very different than what we always get. Booked it and started visualising decor around the colors.  💙💖 Now came the flowers.  I couldn't think of anyway of getting the flower stock, sanitizing them and keeping them for pooja without spoiling them.  So turned to my very good friend H. She graciously agreed and made such pretty n beautiful flowers n garland out of paper.. I know they touch n feel different.. but in my heart I know I am trying to do the best in my ability for my family! And That was the 1st lesson for N.  📝 W...

Family!  An often over rated but also underestimated concept. Stark contrast in itself. But so is a Family.  Agar is duniya mein koi bhi cheez hai jo aksar nazar andaaz ki jaati hai lekin phir bhi mud ke dekho to apne paas milti hai to woh hai Family.  Aur aksar iski qadr humein tab hoti hai jab woh humse bahot door chali jaati hai ya phir le li jaati hai.  While watching Kapoor & Sons today, I almost cried myself twice. 1 when the lead character Tia cries on her birthday cos she misses her parents badly. And not just because they have passed away. But also because the last words she said to them were unpleasant, horrible and she can never ever change them.  A very very simple thing but we often fail to follow. Be it conversations or your day - Don't ever end them on a bitter note. You don't know if you will wake up to see or have another one.  This pandemic has made us all sit on the edge for a lot of things. Fear of losing ou...

N turned 9! I don't know if its just in my head or more moms resonate with me.. But the number is ringing for a couple of days now. The last single digit Birthday. Next year it will be 2 digit and that's driving me anxious! :-D Nevertheless, thanks to the stupid Corona virus, she knew her b'day was going to be a relatively small affair this year.   She had given up hope to have any friend too on her special day. And she had started looking forward to her special day  with 'Cooking' as the main theme! Oh ya.. she loves to eat.. and in the last cpl of months she has been getting equally  fond of cooking.. So the menu was set daaaays in advance. Aam Ras Poori, Maggi and Biryani and if possible a little cake  that we can make at home. Yes little - She was confident about my culinary skills :-D  Days passed and our countdown started. I and J were feeling were very proud of her and equally sad that she cannot see  even her BFF's on her birthda...