Reflections Of A Desi Mom

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...

From Books n Tiffins --- To Bandwidth n Distancing! And just like that, the new Academic Year began..  Unlike every year, there was no excitement of the online-report..  Nor was there any rush to buy tiffins, bags and uniforms alike.. Instead us parents were found scrambling to set up a decent gadget where children can attend online classes.  Mann, the world has not only changed - it has boiled down to a bunch of screens, microphones and cameras.  The first few years teachers were trying to inculcate a sense of inclusiveness by encouraging the kids to speak...  This year the same teachers have to ask the kids to be quiet and invisible!  From classroom etiquette, to online etiquette... these children are learning and helping us learn invaluable lessons!  As I and N gear up for a very interesting Online Session of Grade 4, I ponder over all the fuss we created over things that seem pointless right now! But at the same time I k...

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...

#GoCorona and #Lockdown and #StayHome  These hashtags are is all that we eat, see, like and follow pretty much every day.  And then there are some other hashtags that have jumped up in the line.. #homecooking #dalgonacoffee #homemadebread #cookingincorona #homemeadpanipuri #foodgram are the current and happening hashtags doing rounds amongst people stuck in their homes all over the world. People are going above and beyond experimenting in their kitchens with minimal as well as fancy pantry items. And I have some of those in my family and friend circle too. Daddy-Daughter combo in my home has been making interesting stuff from Corn Chivda to Rasgulla to Maggi Omelette to variations of chicken! They can spend hours slogging in that hot kitchen. The non-foodie me is often at awe but never motivated to gear up my cooking skills.  Another series of hashtags going around in the world of moms of  young children is the art and craft. People are creating ...

CoronaVirus has hit. CoronaVirus is REAL. CoronaVirus is difficult to deal with. Stay In. Wash hands. Be Safe. Yes. All these things are all over the internet, newspapers, WhatsApp, maid-talk, grocery stores, family circle - literally - not just the talk of the town but the whole world. And rightly so. Finally, we have become united in fighting off just 1 enemy and not making enemies out of each other - YET.  People are going crazy over hand-washing techniques and stock-piling not just food supplies but also sanitizers and of course Toilet Paper and maybe making an enemy or 2 on the way! But more than that the world around us is full of notions and horrifying images of being stuck at home with our better halves and off-springs. Its been more than a week that I had started feeling the pinch of the virus coming to India and the panicky person I am - I stopped sending N to school. It was only after few days of our state and later city being the worst hit, schoo...