TAKE CARE OF YOUR HEALTH...YOU ARE PRECIOUS

Health is Wealth..I have heard this one right from my childhood days because my beloved father was a health freak.He used to come back from office,and no matter what time of the evening it was,he used to drag my siblings and me out for evening walk..And what a walk it used to be...Through the ups and downs of the roads of Trivandrum of the 70's..From Pattom to Kowdiar or from Pattom to the Mueseum and not forgetting,walking back home the same distance as well.Well, for people who are not TVMites,these are the names of some places in the city of Trivandrum.Every single day,we used to walk nearly 5-6 kms or more.And so maybe,just maybe,our active childhood has kept some of the most common ailments of the present day like Diabetes and Hyper tension at an arm's distance, even at this age for my siblings and me..(Well not me though, as I am hyper tensive due to some other medical reason :((.. )

Well,I feel sad and scared for the present generation.What is the kind of physical activity they have?Academics has taken over everything.Children from the very beginning have been brainwashed that getting into a good Engg College or IIT or IIM should be their basic aim in life.And for that reason, the academic coaching starts from as early as high school level.Where is their childhood gone? It is hidden behind books and more books and the Computer.Well,yes,the kids play cricket,football and every other game that we used to play when we were kids but the difference is,we used to play them on the open fields and our children play them on Computer,sitting comfortably in their rooms.

I used to tell my parents that the diseases that they are suffering at their age of 60's would be suffered by our generation by 40's and God bless our next generation..I don't even want to imagine the health conditions of the next generation...

So,all those people who are not very conscious about healthy eating or exercising,please think again.It is never too late to start on a strict regime of diet and some kind of physical activity.It is not possible to stop eating all the things that we used to love eating till today.Atleast let us eat that moderately and I am very sure that once we see positive changes in our health,we will surely not mind giving up a few of the things that we could not imagine living without till then.Please wake up.You are all aware of the present day health hazards.Its time you all woke up to the fact that a family depends on you.You have to take care of your health not only for your family's sake but also for yourself..

Because I firmly believe that we all are PRECIOUS and we deserve to live a healthy and long life...Come on,get up,start exercising..Walk,Jog,Run,Swim..DO SOMETHING..BE ACTIVE...

THE COLONY DAYS...

During the mid-80's, my father got transferred to Kolkata.We stayed in my father's official quarters.We had nearly 100 flats in the quarters.Evenings were really looked forward to with so much eagerness and enthusiasm.Now that the summer vacation is going to begin for all our children,I just want to tell you about a cute,funny game that we all played when we were kids.

We had kids ranging from the age group 3 to 18 years.Our colony was very well equipped with a good Badminton Court, Table Tennis table,Carrom and even a Lawn Tennis court.Inspite of all these facilities,we kids enjoyed a different game.It was really a UNIQUE game and till date,I have no idea whose great,innovative brain was behind the "discovery" of such a game that till date,I feel,has no equal.Absolutely indigenous game.No money needed to be spent on a bat or a ball.All we needed was a rusty old FAREX or AMULSPRAY tin.

We had a huge dustbin in our colony.And one of us would dare to go into the stinking bin and try and find out a rusty and crushed tin. My house was on the first floor.Fortunately or unfortunately the kitchen of all the flats faced the playground and sad for us,our moms could keep a constant eye on us.My mother was and still is a "hygiene freak".She used to get totally freaked outwhen she used to see me getting into the dustbin and find a crushed tin.Once I returned home after playing, rest assured,I used to get a DETTOL bath to clean me squeaky clean..Well,going back to the "unique game"..

This game was called as DABBA UDAALA..Well,for the guys bad in Hindi(partially Bombaiyya language),'Dabba' meant a Tin and 'Udaala' meant to make it fly or rather kick it so hard that it would land in the next block,flying..

As usual,the number of kids interested in playing the game,never ever matter.More the merrier.So we used to make two teams.Say Team A and Team B.So,one person from either one team would become the "catcher" or the "denner".We had to draw a circle and keep the tin in the middle of the circle.One guy from the other team would come and throw the Dabba as far as possible.Then the "catcher" would have to go and fetch the Dabba and mind you,walk backwards towards the cirlce.He had to place the Dabba in the circle and close his eyes and start counting upto 100.Meanwhile,the rest of the kids would hide in every nook and corner of the colony.The "catcher"definately had a tough job finding the hidden kids as our colony was huge.In his pursuit of finding the next "catcher",he would roam about blindly.In the meanwhile,if anyone from the other team managed to come and kick the Dabba and scream DABBA UDAALAAAAAAAA, the poor "catcher" had to become the "catcher" all over again..Oh,what fun that game used to be.Still I laugh and smile when I explain this game to my children who are amazed to hear about such indigenous games when they have their own world of iPods,PC games,XBoxes etc.

Seriously guys,which do you feel is more exciting?The outdoor games like these or sitting and playing virtual games?

Please encourage your children to play and revive our old games like Kabbadi,KhoKho,Gilli-Danda,Marbles,Hopscotch,7-Tiles,Hopping and Catching,Dog and The Bone.Did we all not enjoy the games?So ,please encourage your kids to play outdoors.Let them fall,hurt their knees(even today I take immense pride in showing off my scar ridden knees),let them climb the parapet walls.Yes,as parents,we will be a bit wary but let them also get a chance to grow up the same carefree way that we all did..Let us bring back those golden outdoor games alive again...

Till my next blog,tata and cheers...

HAPPY WOMEN'S DAY

Hi friends...Wishing all the women around the world, a very Happy Women's Day.

I would like to salute a few women whom I have loved and revered all my life.

Let me start with the most important person in my life...My Amma.I know her only as the most gentle,caring,affectionate,loving person under the sun.As a child,she was always there for my brothers and me.She used to guide us and tell us the difference between the right and wrong.Coming back from school,I always knew my amma would be there to open the door for me with a smile on her face.She not only took care of my brothers and me but also a strict mother-in-law.Not once do I remember her raising her voice against my grandmom, how much ever she tried testing my amma's patience.My father being out of town on official tours for a long period of time,amma used to take care of the things that appa used to take care of when he was in town.Today amma is old,can't see properly but yet whenever I tell her that I am visiting her,she stands in the balcony,waiting for me irrespective of how hot or cold it is outside.If I fail to call her for two days,rest assured I will definately get a call from her on the third day,reminding me that I have forgotten to call her up.Well,every mother on this earth is truly Special and I salute her love and patience...Amma,I love you a lot...

The next important woman in my life..well,she is fast turning into a beautiful woman, is my soft and gentle yet totally totally mature daughter.She is my best friend and confidante. There are times when I am go crazy and she is the one who consoles me and brings me back to normalcy.Her most amazing quality is her capacity to remain calm under any circumstances.I am totally opposite to her.I become totally restless and tensed when things don't go according to my plans or expectations.That is when she reprimands me and calms me down.Well,my sweet daughter,I salute you.You are my Rock of Gibraltar.

Then, I salute MOTHER INDIA. I am proud to be an Indian.As long as we are in our motherland,we crib about population explosion,lack of job opportunities,pollution,water problem,power problem and many more such problems that we create or find a reason to crib about.It is only when we leave our motherland and go abroad that we realise the true value of our own country.Like our mothers,we take our country also too much for granted.Our country has given us so much and I feel time has come for us to give back to our society and people what little we can.VANDE MAATARAM...

And last but not the least, I salute my maid servant without whom life would come to a standstill every morning. Inspite of having her own family to take care of,she knocks on my door every morning,including Sundays.I also salute the lady who sweeps the road in front of our house every day,collects the garbage and keeps the entire road neat and clean.I salute all those ladies, whose husbands are alcoholics and good for nothings and who take care of their families singlehandedly by working day in and day out.

WOMEN OF THE WORLD,I SALUTE YOU.YOU ARE ALL UNIQUE.ENJOY BEING A MOTHER,SISTER,GRANDMOTHER,MOTHER-IN-LAW,AUNT,NIECE,A FRIEND AND ABOVE ALL,ENJOY BEING A WOMAN.

WHAT TO WRITE????

I have not written for quite sometime now.I really don't know what to write about.Sometimes,when I sit and ponder about something to write about,I get hundreds of topics in a flash to write about and when I actually sit in front of the computer and see the box TITLE, my brain goes blank.Why does this happen?

Well,maybe I will write things today that may come into my mind,one after the other.Just want to see how many different directions my thoughts flow.Don't be surprised if there is absolutely no connection between one topic and the next one.

Right now,I am just worried about how to pin my son down to make him study for his fast approaching final exams.Well,he is still in the 6th std.Chota fella as per my mom and my dear ones.They tell me not pressurise him to study from now on itself.But I feel if I fail to instil that sense of responsibility (mind you,not fear) in him, he may never ever get serious in his life.He takes life cool.I appreciate the capacity of some people to take life cool.Under this category,belongs one more person I know ..my daughter..Bindaas attitude.Wish I was like them.Anyways,till the end of March,my poor lungs has to bear the brunt of examinations.How so,you may wonder...Well, you see to make them both study I have to scream and yell to pull them away from TV and PC..So my poor lungs has to work overtime..

You know the next thought that comes into my mind is a thought that might have perhaps made you all a bit angry and perplexed too.Just today I went out to pay my telephone bills, I saw a real big traffic jam on the road that is generally empty during that part of the day. People were getting impatient and honking away to glory.The worst honkers were the YELLOW BOARD cabs.Anyone living in Bangalore will surely know who they are.Well, I could not move an inch on my scooter. Sitting on my scooter and wondering about the reason for this traffic jam, I suddenly remembered that an important politician was going to travel by the same road and so the roads were cordoned off for security reasons.What I don't understand is that if a representative of the public is so scared to travel amidst the junta,why should he or she call himself or herself our representative?Do they have any inkling about the problems that we,the junta ,face when roads are blocked for them to travel,tension free?There might be a patient fighting the battle of life in an ambulance stuck in the middle of the jam or a passenger getting late to catch his train or flight or a candidate getting late for an interview that would make or break his life?These are the thoughts that make me ponder and ultimately,I get no answer and just sigh away.Because these are the hurdles that a common man has to face in the so called "democratic" country.

Last but not the least, why do we crave for winter when it is summer and why do we crave for summer when it is winter and why do we crave for rain when summer too gets on to our nerves?Is there an end to the human beings desires??I wonder.....

till the next blog,cheers and tata...

FROM A GOOD HOUSEWIFE TO BEST HOUSEWIFE

Why is it often said, being a housewife is easy and being a career woman is tough?

When I was a kid, I used to always tell my father that on growing up, I would become a career woman.But my father always encouraged me to be a good housewife.

I used to then consider the whole thing as a typical case of male chauvinism.But now when I have become a housewife, I realise that being one is a real tough job with a hell lot of responsibilities.

Most of my friends are successful career women and also good housewives.Seeing their success, I used to often sit and grumble and feel totally useless.

I had to once again face the wrath of my beloved father. He still stuck to his views.I used to tell my father about the importance of being financially independent.Leaving the monetary benefits aside, our educational qualifications too would be used in the right way.

Father dearest agreed to this but asked me to assess the monetary value of all the services rendered by my mother for all of us.For example, cooking,washing,cleaning,ironing, taking care of the house....and the list went on and on.I was at a total loss for words and I had to give up the argument.Instead of going out and working hard to earn some money, why not stay at home,take care of all the household chores and save some money? This was the main point mooted by my beloved father.

The other day,I mentioned the same "topic" to one of my friends,who is a very successful career woman and also a good housewife.She immediately agreed that being a housewife is equally tough and she summed up the profile of a housewife as :

Cook

Childcare Specialist

Cleaner

Teacher

Finance Expert

Driver

Child Psychologist

Counsellor (for hubby and kids)

Friend

Seamstress

Marketing Expert

Vacation and Travel Consultant

PR Expert (writes all the letter and sends cards etc)

The list could go on and on .....

Well I, for once, have stopped grumbling about not being a career woman and am trying to change from a good housewife to the best housewife...

Till then, Cheerios and Tata....

My Childhood

I want to tell you the simple rustic childhood that I had in Trivandrum.My father used to work in the Reserve Bank of India there.Since my brothers are too elder to me,my elder brother came to BLR for his graduation and my second brother went off to REC TRICHY for his Engg.I was left alone.And since my father was a big officer in RBI,he was given a palatial house.Well,it was me and my mom and granny.Those days,TVM was one unknown small city or rather kind of a village.Just one bus,one cycle or a car on the road and human beings too were scarce then.You know,I did not have friends of my age and my only friend was my maid servant Lissy..I am sure she must be now in her 60's.She used to take me to her humble hut which was behind our bungalow.BUT behind our bungalow was a vast stretch of paddy fields with 100s of ducks floating in the fields during harvesting season and during the season when they used to start planting seeds,it used to be another look altogether.The women would sing folk songs and happily plant the little saplings without caring for the scorching sunlight.I used to sit and watch all that.You know,as a kid,i never felt bored.Then slowly the kids around my maid servants house became my best friends.They were a bit apprehensive to even come near me in the beginning for so many reasons a few of which were that i was a bit too FAIR as per their standards (they used to call me white cockroach and run away)and also they thought we were rich and so would not mix with them.You know,you must have seen the pathways between the paddy fields??well crabs used to make homes on the sides of those pathways.I used to take a coconut leaf, scrap out the leafy part,retain the centre part(the one with which broomsticks are made) and then slowly insert that into the crabs hole.The minute the crab used to catch on to the stick,i used to pull it out to see the crab hanging on the other end..Seeing its angrily moving claws,the till then brave maha,would throw the stick and scream her head out...What fun..water snakes were a common sight then.

I used to get into small ponds with my friend and dip one hankie into the water and then catch small fishes and tadpoles..you know,once my newly bought HAWAII slipper got stuck in the mud when i was catching the fish and the way I had cried because a thrashing was guaranteed if I had gone home with one foot with the slipper on and another foot bare..but with all my courage left,I put my hand into the clayey mud and pulled out my slipper!!SO many such "adventures"are there to narrate..

.Lissy my maid used to take me to her small hut for CHRISTMAS and serve me the goodies made for the festival..cakes,murukkus,and a curry made with tapioca(locally called as KAPPA which is supposed to be eaten with fish).Her neighbours used to come and stand and stare at a "rich"man's "fair" daughter eating from a poor man's humble house.But the taste of those goodies still linger on on my tongue even to this day...

I had a very very simple childhood and I am proud of it.Not once did my parents make me realise the fact that we were Brahmins and we were not supposed to eat in a servant's house.Infact,I was never made aware of the caste system by my parents.I was taught by my beloved father that all human beings are equal.I am teaching the same principles of life to my children.Hope they can assimilate these simple principles in their lives some day.

Till my next blog,Cheers and Tata..

My very first blog...

Good morning world...Well,let me start at the very beginning...

Who ever thinks or says that we,the grownups know everything under the sun,need to think again.Let me tell you why.Very often ,I used to hear my teenaged kids,well the little fella is fast approaching his teens unlike my daughter who is already a cute one,sitting and discussing about Big B's Blogs,AK's Blogs,SRK's Blogs.I used to sit and ponder about this newly heard word,well atleast to my old ears.So leaving aside all my apprehensions of being laughed at by my kids,I asked them what the word "blog"actually meant.Well,I guess I undermined my kids abilities..Very patiently ,my daughter told me the funda about Blogging...and here I am penning my first ever blog...Yipeeeeeeee..hope I am able to do more of this...Till then, cheers and tata....