The very thought of being away from my son all day long sometimes makes me feel low. Being a working woman, I seldom feel that my responsibilities as a mother remain overlooked. The talks of some non-working friends & family ladies add more to this worry of mine. Some of them never worked and many of them had to leave their jobs in order to fulfill the responsibility as a mother. My life often takes me to the thought of becoming a homemaker so that I can stay at home all the time for my son. However, at the same moment, I also realize my responsibility towards my family which includes my in-laws and my aging parents who need financial support from me. My role of being a working woman allows me to share the financial responsibilities of my husband. I have worked against all odds to make a career. So, how can I abandon all this? But should I not take better care of my family? When my boys was an infant, I saw him playing and enjoying with the family living in my neighborhood. He...

Don’t you think raising these tiny souls is no less than working for NASA? I always get such vibes when I see my son stepping on the milestones of his life. It is a feeling of proud mixed with sentimental reflex. “Khushi Ke anshu..” you see. Recently a few things happened at our end that made me so glad and eminent. Let me share with you those incidents. One fine day I forgot to put the lunch box in my office bag. It was “Kadhi-Chawal” that day so I was happy that lunch would be a nice treat. Unfortunately, I missed to carry it with me. When I opened my bag during lunch hours, with dreams of having Kadhi-Chawal, I realized, I forgot to take it from the kitchen. I cursed myself for my forgetfulness. Back home, we enjoyed Kadhi-Chawal in dinner as Kadhi-Chawal is my son’s favorite as well. When I was tucking him in the bed, like every day, he demanded a new story. So, I made a whole new story around what happened with me (as I forgot the lunchbox) that day. My boy was with me throug...

Over the last few years, air pollution in India has become a major concern. As a Delhi resident, I am also worried about increasing level of air pollution around my surrounding.  As per studies, the component of pollution, more harmful to health is usually worst in the winter. And we all know that winter is about to knock our doors. Recent news has also declared that Diwali holidays brought lots of air pollution from the celebratory fireworks.  But the question is what can we do? As a mother, I want to keep my son safe from this poor quality air with doing what best I can do. And after reading lots of stuff I found out that pollution mask can provide protection from the harmful effect of breathing in the bad air of Delhi. Pollution Face masks that filter out airborne particles can make a big difference in our exposure to air pollution. A mask with a high-quality filter that fits properly can be an effective measure against the inhalation of harmful pollutant partic...

हमारे घरो में ये आम बात है कि छोटे बच्चे सोने से पहले कहानी या लोरिया सुनते है अपनी माँ से. मेरा घर भी कुछ अलग नही है. बस मेरे घर में हम दोनों पति पत्नी मिलकर ये काम करते है. मुझे गाने का शौक है और अच्छी बात ये है कि मेरे पतिदेव को भी यही कीड़ा है. हमारा झुकाव पुराने फ़िल्मी गानों की तरफ ज्यादा है. पर सबसे ज्यादा जो हमें पसंद है वो है लोक गीत जिन्हें हम आम भाषा में folk songs बोलते है. अवध से आने की वजह से ये लोक गीत अच्छे से रचे बसे है हमारी सोंच में. हमारे यहाँ शादी या किसी और शुभ काम में लोक गीत गाना आम है. मेरी माँ और सासू माँ दोनों ही अच्छा गाती है. मुझे बड़ा अच्छा लगता है जब हम अपना इतिहास गीतों के माध्यम से याद करते है. और हमारे यहाँ किसी देवी या देव की पूजा भी बिना गीतों के पूरी नही होती. पतिदेव के ननिहाल में सब लोग ही अच्छा गाते है जिसका काफी असर है उनके ऊपर. मुझे तो स्कूल के समय से ही अच्छा लगता था गाना. इन्ही वजहों से हम दोनों को ही कई लोक गीत आते है.  वैसे आज के ज़माने में लोग कजरी, चैती, दादरा, बन्ना जैसे लोक गीत ना सुनते है और ना ही सुनाते है. पर हमने अपने घर में ये...

कहानी हिंदी में लेखन की एक विधा है. और अगर विकिपीडिया की माने तो ये बस उन्नीसवीं सदी में शुरू हुई थी. पर मुझे तो लगता है मनुष्य के जन्म के साथ ही साथ कहानी का भी जन्म हुआ और तभी से कहानी कहना तथा सुनना मानव का आदिम स्वभाव बन गया. बच्चो और कहानियो का नाता बड़ा पुराना रहा है. असल में बच्चे ही कहानियो को कहानी बनाते है. क्योंकि कहानी के चार तत्वो में से एक "प्रभाव" बच्चो पर ही सबसे ज्यादा देखा जा सकता है कहानी सुनने के बाद. बाकी के तीन कहानी के तत्व "रोचकता", "वक्‍ता" एवं "श्रोता" होते है. ये चार तत्व मिल कर कथावस्तु, पात्र, संवाद, वातावरण, भाषा-शैली तथा उद्देश्य निर्धारित करते है किसी कहानी का. मुझे तो अपने बेटे का धय्न्वाद देगा होगा क्योंकि वो मेरे जीवन में कहानियो को फिर से ले आया. बड़े होने के साथ-साथ हमारा कहानियो के प्रति झुकाव बदलता जाता है. हम आसान से लगने वाले आख्यो से जटिल विषयो की तरफ जाने लगते है. पर जैसे ही कोई बच्चा आपके जीवन में उन पुरानी और आसान कहानियो को वापस ले आता है वैसे ही जीवन में एक सरलता महसूस होने लगती है. मुझे तो हुई...

अभी कुछ दिनों पहले आई एक खबर ने हम सब के रोंगटे खड़े कर दिए. आशा साहनी नाम की एक ६३ साल की वृद्ध महिला अपने घर में मृत पाई गई. मुझसे तो ठीक से वो न्यूज़ सुनी भी नहीं गई. अकेलेपन की शिकार आशा साहनी ने एक साल से अपने बेटे से बात भी नहीं की थी. वो अपने फ्लैट में अकेले ही रहती थी पति की मृत्यु के बाद से क्युकी बेटा US चला गया था अपने परिवार के साथ. आशा साहनी एक संभ्रांत महिला थी. जिस सोसाइटी में वो रहती थी उसमे ५-६ करोड़ की लागत के दो फ्लैट थे उनके पास. पर सबकुछ होने के बाद भी परिवार का साथ नहीं था.  फिर एक और खबर मिली जिसने मुझे सोचने पर मज़बूर कर दिया. करोड़पति विजयपत सिंघानिया सड़को पर आ गए है और इसके लिए वो अपने बेटे को जिम्मेदार बता रहे है. ७८ साल के विजयपत सिंघानिया अपने देश के कुछ जाने माने संभ्रांत लोगो में से थे जिन्होंने रेमंड नाम के कपड़ो के ब्रांड को लोगो तक पहुंचाया. 12 हजार करोड़ रुपये की मालियत वाले रेमंड ग्रुप के मालिक विजयपत सिंघानिया को उनके बेटे ने पैसे-पैसे के लिए मोहताज कर दिया. आजकल वो किराये के एक घर में रह रहे है, बीमार है, कार नहीं है कही आने जाने के लिए और बेटे के...

In our country, we celebrate life and all those things which help in living our lives well. One such celebration is Harvest festivals. In different states of India, harvest festivals are being celebrated based on the main crops of that region and its timing. But regardless of state or time, the main reason behind every harvest festival is to welcome new food and to bid thanks to almighty for giving us an important aspect of our lives, harvest. Here are few harvest festivals that we celebrate with excitement and zeal every year :  1. Makara Sankranti in January:  Makar Sankranti is a major harvest festival celebrated in almost every state of India. This festival is to honour the beginning of the harvest season and end of the northeast monsoon in South India. Makar Sankranti is respected as the beginning of an auspicious phase in Indian (Hindu) culture. It is cited as the 'holy phase of transition'. Makara Sankranti is known as Pongal, Uttarayana, Lohri, Kh...

Last night I had my husband's office mate and his family as our guests. They were curious to see how the flat is designed in our society and looked at what is where at our 2 bhk house. 2 BHK means we have two bedrooms in our house and a hall. While we have a little one who sleeps with us only, the lady questioned me about making the other bedroom as kid's room while we could have made that our guest room instead. Well, this is a question I was ready with the answer for as I had to face this several times before and I am expecting it to be repeated there for me in future too. I politely smiled at her and said, "I could not name it anything but the kid's room." I then explained her why. The wardrobe in that room is filled with stuff that I have to buy in bulk to keep it an economic purchase like, the baby diapers, baby wipes, and bags in which I dispose of them.  I also showed her how the wardrobe is filled with the clothes that are bigger in size for...

Good food is really a blessing, isn't it? And as I am talking about those who really go into making an average food to finger licking, I realized our spices undoubtedly do magic with the everyday food.  Apart from the basic ingredients and a well-known, trusted recipe, a play of spices and herbs can really lift up a preparation. Every region in India uses spices to make their local food extraordinary. It is only a matter of spices that change the taste of the same Shambhar in Tamil Nadu, Kerala and in north India. We all make Chole but the game of spices do something to what we relish as famous Panjabi Chole.  It is all about the little nuances that go into creating a dish from ordinary to exceptional. A handful of spices always remain in our kitchens and we know their unique flavors. However, there are a number of spices are little unheard-of. While these form an essential part of a few local innate cuisines in some part of India, the rest of India doe...

Today I am going to admit of what many parenting experts may consider wrong. I am an unashamed briber of my son and my husband also does that without thinking much about it. My son is not much fussy about eating but many times I say "Finish your plate and you'll get a Dairy Milk." Then happens when he is not ready to be quite while combing his hair, we use this bribing trick, "Once your hair are done, you'll get my cell phone."  I know the army of parenting gurus can be judgmental and they would criticize me that I am extrinsically rewarding my son. Rather than giving him intrinsic benefits, I am taking a wrong step of rewarding him based on his acts. To which I would say "Is that really so bad?" Sometimes kids are non-compliant, non-cooperative, who not only don't know what's good for them, they even don't go with what their parents think is good for them. For example, tooth brushing, getting homework done, sitting quietly, not j...

This mothers’ day, there have been a lot talks about mothers and motherhood. Meanwhile, a start plus promo clip caught the attention and we noticed how a mother made his son learn how to care and respect women. (Watch the video at the end) If you have not watched it, let me tell you in this video a cute boy of 5 or 6 is sitting on the first seat in a bus while there comes a little girl with her mother. The mother of the boy vacates her seat to accommodate them and the little boy follows her mother by letting his seat to the famine duo. The clip tells us what and how much boys learn from their mothers when it comes to their way of treating another female in their lives.  There was another picture message I noted a few years back in which a boy asks his mother how he can find the best women for himself. At this, his mother replies, “instead of focusing on selection of best women, focus on being the best man.” We know that family is the first school for a child. For a b...

We always hear how demanding  pregnancy can be to our body, but despite many pregnancy troubles like swollen feet, morning sickness, achy back, most of the ladies find pregnancy the best time of their life. Extra care, extra pampering, and freedom of eating anything. Who can deny the importance of these things?   I also loved my pregnancy days and I even miss them because of these luxuries. Howbeit, my pregnancy days were memorable for a few more reasons.  2014 is a special year for me because this year my son came into my life. And I love August (the month) of 2014 because it gave me 31 days to understand myself more. It was my pregnancy’s 9 th month in August 2014, and I went to my parent’s place in starting of the month, because travel was not allowed after that. During this whole month, I learned a new thing about life every day.  Like any other first-time pregnant woman, I was having many apprehensions. I used to think how this baby was going to ...

रिद्धि और सिद्धि दो बहने बस ३ और १ साल की थी जब उनकी माँ गुजर गई. रिद्धि के पापा ने बच्चों की छोटी उम्र के चलते सबके कहने पर दूसरी शादी कर ली. पर जैसा कि हमेशा होता है नई माँ दोनों बहनो के साथ अच्छा बर्ताव नहीं करती थी. सिद्धि तो छोटी थी इसलिए उसे कम समझ आता था नई माँ का पराया बर्ताव पर रिद्धि में इतनी समझ थी कि वो नई माँ की अजीब बोली और कड़वे जवाबो से दुखी हो जाए. रिद्धि के पापा अपनी बेटियों से प्यार तो करते थे पर नई माँ की तरफ भी उनका झुकाव हो गया था. इसलिए वो कभी कभी ही नई माँ के गलत बर्ताव पर उन्हें टोकते थे. रिद्धि अपनी छोटी बहन के साथ बस अपनी दुनिया सही करने में लगी रहती थी. रिद्धि के पापा को किताबो का बड़ा शौक था. उनके घर में दर्जनों किताबे थी अलग अलग हिंदी लेखकों की. रिद्धि के पापा किताबो के साथ ही अपनी पहली पत्नी के जाने का दुःख भुलाते रहते थे. जब भी खाली समय होता, उनके साथ में कोई ना कोई किताब होती. नई माँ को कभी कभी चिढ़ भी होती रिद्धि के पापा के किताबो को ज्यादा तवज्जो देने से. पर रिद्धि के पापा को उनकी बातो का कुछ फरक ना पड़ता, उन्होंने किताबो को ही दोस्त बना लिया था. और यह...

When I see my father talking to his grandson like today’s cool Nanu, I smile, and smile widest I can. Whenever I notice my mother, cooking his grandson’s favourite Kadhi-Chawal, I feel more and more respect for her. On the other side, when I find my in-laws obeying my son’s kiddie orders and running with him, despite their age, I feel so happy about my son’s life. He has such doting grandparents who can do anything to keep their grandkid happy.   “A grandparent is someone with silver in their hair and gold in their heart” Before our culture became so mobile and when nuclear families were rare, it was common for children to grow up surrounded by extended family, including grandparents and other family members. Slowly the trend changed and people mostly started living in nuclear families. The reasons are many why this happened but the most common sake is jobs in distant cities. Kids move out to other cities while parents remain staying in their hometown. I am also one such ...

Our lives with our kids are going smoothly. We are happy and contended but whether our kids feel so?  Kids are very imaginative in nature and they believe in freedom, trial runs, and frequent changes. On the other side, we adults like a stable life without much change or experiment. It's always easy to live our lives without excitement and surprise but for kids tiny surprises or random moments of being silly break the usual boredom of life and make them feel the top of the world.  Here are some of the things that we parents can do to surprise our kids and make them feel special. Not every day we should do them and some of them can be done once in a while but testing out these ideas with little customization will show your kids you are thinking of them. Some super cool ideas which kids love: 1. Your kids must be doing art/craft work. Get their artwork framed and put it in your living room. Let others know your kid's talent and when guests admire your kids, they'll...