कल सम्पूर्ण विश्व के साथ भारत में भी "महिला दिवस" मनाया जाएगा. इस बार ये थोड़ा सा और खास इसलिए भी है क्युकी २०१८ में यह आयोजन अपने १०० वें वर्ष में प्रवेश कर रहा है. आधुनिक विश्व के इतिहास में सर्वप्रथम १९०८ में १५००० महिलाओं ने न्यूयॉर्क में एक विशाल रैली निकाल कर अपने काम करने के घंटों को कम करने, बेहतर तनख्वाह और वोट डालने जैसे अधिकारों के लिए अपनी लड़ाई शुरू की थी. इस आंदोलन से तत्कालीन सभ्य समाज में महिलाओं की स्थिति की हकीकत पहली बार सामने आई. और ये लड़ाई तब से चल रही है. दुर्भाग्य की बात ये है कि १०० सालो में बहुत अंतर नहीं आया है समाज में महिलाओं की स्तिथि में. हर साल महिला दिवस पर महिलाओ की लैंगिक समानता की बात की जाती है. उसके सम्मान की बात की जाती है, उनके संवैधानिक अधिकारों की बात की जाती है और उनके प्रति बढ़ते अपराधों को रोकने की बात की जाती है. इसके बावजूद आज १०० सालों बाद भी असल में महिलाओं की स्तिथि अब भी वैसी ही है. आज भी विश्व के कई देशो में महिलाओं की हालत बेहद चिंताजनक है और दिन ब दिन महिलाओं के प्रति बढ़ते अपराध, शिक्षा का अभाव और व्यवहारिक असामनता अगले कई ...

होली का दिन हो और अपनी हिंदी फिल्मो के गाने न बजे ऐसा कैसे हो सकता है..  रंग बरसे भीगे चुनर वाली.. और आज ना छोड़ेंगे बस हमजोली.. जैसे गाने जब तक न बजे लगता ही नहीं कि होली आ गई है. इन गानों का बजना और लोगों का थिरकना जैसे किसी परंपरा की तरह हो गया है. होली के त्योहार का उत्साह बढ़ाने में बॉलीवुड ने हमारा खूब साथ दिया है. 1958 से लेकर आज तक फिल्मों में होली के गीत फिल्माएं जाते हैं और वे सुर्खियां भी बटोरते हैं. होली पर गानों का इतिहास काफी पुराना है. पहले के समय में लोग होली पर 'फाग' गाते थे. इसके साथ ही बड़े सारे गाने राधा-कृष्ण की होली को दर्शाने वाले होते थे. जैसे "आज ब्रिज में होली  रे रसिया..". 1981 में आई फिल्म सिलसिला का 'रंग बरसे भीगे चुनर वाली..' होली पर गाये और बजाये जाने वाले गानों में सबसे लोकप्रिय है. असल में ये गाना काफी पुराना है जिसकी जड़े अवध में गाये जाने वाले एक तरह के फाग में है. अभिताभ बच्चन जी खुद ही कई बार बताया कि ये गाना उन्होंने सबसे पहले अपनी पिता जी, हरिवंश राय बच्चन जी से सुना था. फिल्म में इस गाने का रूप थोड़ा बदला पर मिठ...

Exam season is up here and families are under stress. Last week I was there at my in-law's place. My nephew is going to sit for class 10th exam this year. And almost everyone in the family is worried "Aayush ka 10th hai es baar.." On the day of Sankranti, my nephew, Aayush was enjoying the kite flying. Call it ignorance or over-excitement, he climbed over the topmost story of the house where only the water tank is placed. And while chasing the kites, he fell down. Fortunately, he did not get much of injuries. Still, his right-hand suffered a hairline fracture. He got a temporary bandage for a month. Aayush was able to move his hand. The whole month went in pressure. At one end where I found Aayush chilling even with his temporary plaster, his mother (my sister-in-law) and his grandparents (my in-laws) were extremely nervous. It was the high time when school and tuitions start revisions and last minute preparation for the board exams. And Aayush was not able to write. Hi...

When I saw the prompt of this week "How to teach kids importance of Republic day" I was both amused and confused. Teaching kids anything around nationalism and patriotism is really tough. These are such abstract feeling that can only be understood when one really realizes the importance of Independence and how the collective efforts of our freedom fighters brought it to us. In today's time, when most of the adults are ignorant in executing their duties towards the country, how can we expect kids to be loving for our country!! However, I remember my childhood when I was very patriotic. Reading stories of struggle of freedom was in the curriculum. I was in touch with theories and ethics that made our country. How rules and regulations were made, how tax system was introduced, how policies were made and how our country progressed. I was loving our country so much.  Slowly, as I grew up, I started forgetting all that I read and with that, I also became the part of the c...

Mothers. We love them for many reasons. They brought us in this world, nurture us, mould us and support us whenever we need them. We owe our mothers big time. Right? Ever since our new Miss World Manushi Chillar has bowled judges of the pageant with her answer, everyone is going gaga over one old yet new topic "How much salary should be given to a mother?" Although mothers our there are doing their jobs selfishly and they never claim their dues, the reality is that the household tasks done by women are neither acknowledged as work nor do they get paid for them. A job where you work long hours, no fixed routine, no leaves, no promotion and extra work every now and then, I guess no one would like to apply for this strange type of role. Being a mother myself, I never thought if I should be paid for my hard work. This could be because I am a working mother. I already get paid for my work in my office and this works as a boost for myself so that I can keep myself moti...

Christmas is around the corner and everyone, especially kids are excited. I always feel Christmas is such a kid-friendly festival. Unlike our festivals like Diwali and Holi, there is not much outdoor activity for kids in Christmas. All decorations happen inside the home. The celebration also involves having a gala time being home with great food and Christmas desserts. There are a lot of similarities between Diwali and Christmas as well. Diwali and Christmas, both major occasions are for families and friends to come together in the festive spirit and exchange gifts, sweets and greetings for a propitious year ahead. Although being a non-Christian, I never really celebrated Christmas, but I love this festival as much as I love Diwali. It's simply impossible to ignore Christmas these days. Just like Diwali, you can see shops getting decorated with lights, gifts and desserts from the last week of November. It’s hard to spot an ad that doesn’t have a Christmas theme. ...

Our new generation is learning things with the speed of bullet train. Isn't it? My son is only 3 but he knows how to turn WIFI on in my phone. When for the first time I realized that he is able to play his favourite rhymes on YouTube, the next thing I fear was some unwanted content that may accidentally come up while using the internet. And then this happened as well. Once he was playing an app which I had downloaded, some advertisement flashes in between and as expected he clicked on the advertisement. That advertisement took him to an unwanted website. My eye went popping when I saw this happening right in front me. And that day I decided to take necessary steps to keep my son safe from such cyber issues. Today's kids are very much capable of using laptops, tablets and mobile phones for different purposes. If the usage of internet wisely and carefully happens, it can open the doors of enormous knowledge and intelligence. Even kids under 10 now know that internet can giv...

Giving a gift to your special ones is something that should not be a chore. It must come from your heart. Making someone feel special is more than enough reason to make you give more. It tells the receiver that you were thinking about them. Three, the most important men in my life are my father, my husband and my son. For three of them, I thoughtfully juggle my mind and finally select the best gift. Buying gift for my father and for my son has always been easy for me. For the little master, being a mother, I can buy things that I pretty well know He Wants and I Want for Him. So that's always my call. For my father, I have a long list of items that he longed for in his life but due to other important family expenses, he couldn't buy them. He was the sole earning person of the family and being a responsible father and husband, he always gave his wishes least importance. He is an ideal father, I must say. So when needed, I pick one such item from that "wish list" a...

We all know that Diwali is celebrated by remembering the return of the god Rama, his wife Sita and his brother Lakshmana from exile of 14 years. But the religious significance of Diwali varies regionally within India, depending on the school of Hindu philosophy, regional myths, legends, and beliefs. Some believers celebrate Deepavali as the return of Pandavas after 12 years of Vanvas and one year of agyatavas. Many other Hindus believe Diwali is linked to the celebration of Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth and prosperity, and wife of the god Vishnu. Hindus in some regions of India associate Diwali with the "legend of Yama and Nachiketa on Kartika amavasya (Diwali night)". Here is the story of Yama and Nachiketa: Vajasrawas, a famous person during the ancient India, was performing a yagna in which the performer had to give away all his wealth.Vajasrawas had a son named Nachiketa, who was sixteen years ol...

सभी बेटियों के लिए.. " तू डरे नहीं.. थमे नहीं.. रुके नहीं.. तू हर अड़चन के आगे बढ़ती रहे.. तू सूरज बने.. रोशन करे ये जहाँ.. तू चंदा बने.. शीतल करे.. जैसे सुहानी हवा.. तू तारो सा चमक और भी ऊंचा उड़ती रहे.. तू हर अड़चन के आगे बढ़ती रहे.. चाहे कोई कितना हॅसे, तू कभी हतास ना हो.. दम चाहे कोई कितने भरे.तू कभी परेशां ना हो.. तू दुनिया को छोड़ अपने सपने बुनती रहे.. तू हर अड़चन के आगे बढ़ती रहे.. गर कभी मुश्किलों का कोहरा करे दे अँधेरा.. तू चिराग बन कर उसे मिटा देना.. गर कोई कोशिश करे छूने की.. तू काली बन कर सबक सिखला देना.. सब कुछ है मुमकिन ये मान तू कदम रखती रहे.. तू हर अड़चन के आगे बढ़ती रहे.. जब कभी मन में हो गुत्थियां हज़ार.. हर रोज होने लगे रिश्ते गलत फ़हमियों के शिकार.. तू दूसरे की सुन फिर अपना पक्ष रखना..  पर याद रहे अच्छा नहीं होता एक हद से ज्यादा झुकना.. तू अपने अस्तित्व के लिए का मान रखती रहे.. तू हर अड़चन के आगे बढ़ती रहे.. चुप रह कर जीना अब सच में मुश्किल है.. अन्याय सहने वाला अब और भी बड़ा मुझदिल है.. तू बोलेगी, मुँह खोलेगी तभी जमाना बदलेगा.. जब होग...

This week’s prompt is something I can relate myself very much. I have faced many such incidents in my life, when just because I could not gather the courage to take action, I accepted failure without even trying. I am completely opposite personality as compared to my parents and my younger sister. All of them are outspoken and believe in speaking mind. My mother says getting your mind clean with speaking is much better than keeping your thoughts inside and feel suffocated. Despite, she was with me all the time, still I had to struggle a lot to change my basic nature of speaking less and feeling shy. I don’t exactly remember when it started but the very first incident I can recall is when I was in class fifth. During the class, two of my classmates were talking. They were sitting behind me so I was able to listen what they were saying. Their talks made me laugh a bit and at the same moment, the teacher caught me. He asked me why I was laughing and talking. I got so scared and ...

Birthdays are always special whether it's for kids or adults. We always have a hidden desire to get our birthdays celebrated, right? Birthdays have actually become another family festival which the whole family now celebrate with full swing. After I got married, one little "Birthday" incidence changed my perspective towards birthdays. I got married in Feb and in July came my husband's birthday. I asked him about his birthday gift so that accordingly I could buy something. He told me his answer and a supporting story for that answer. Let me first reveal his answer "What money can't buy". I was mystified after getting this answer.  And now comes the story. During his studies, he used to save some money using different ways. Ways, for example, not returning the changes to my mother in-law after he did any buying, charging her some amount for getting things from the market etc.. On his sister's birthday ( which comes during winters), he decided to ...