Save your family from Dengue

Tags

causes to champion, dengue

Dengue the very word scares me. I have had Dengue once last year, I remember I was in Hyderabad on a consulting project and suddenly felt drained and had this terrible pain in the back of my eyes. I decided to go to the hotel room and rest for a while, only to wake up to raging fever of 104, upon doing a blood test next day dengue was confirmed. I remember the killing 15 days that followed, the body pain and the platelet count dropping, the test everyday and in the end when I was fine, I still remember being tired and drained for months. Immunity down and catching cold at the drop of a hat.

I know of people who have lost their lives to Dengue and a friend’s son got dengue second time and was so critically ill. Few people know that second and third episodes of dengue could be worst. In the words of my friend Suman

“If you have ever suffered from dengue in the past (even if it was many yearsago), the second episode can be much worse and extremely dangerous. If you have had dengue previously, you MUST take any fever very seriously, and inform the doctors immediately that you have suffered a previous episode. In a second episode, blood pressure drops dramatically because blood vessels burst, and all organs become inflamed due to the excess fluid. Without very strong antibiotic treatment, this fluid has a high risk of becoming infected – leading to often-fatal septicaemia or pneumonia. You could also go into shock (dengue shock syndrome), for which the mortality rate is very high. The progression from platelet drop to death happens with stunning speed – a matter of hours. This happens because the antibodies developed during the first episode actually enhance the entry and replication of the virus – a phenomenon called Antibody-Dependent Enhancement, or ADE. The antibodies in your system from a first dengue attack can remain in your system for up to 20 years.”

It is important for all of us to take dengue seriously and that is why I think this initiative from SC Johnson is noteworthy. The site talks about Payal, a 12 year old from Jaipur who wants to become a doctor and fight dengue. Lets all come together to encourage kids like Payal and make sure we are soon a dengue free country. Check the website for details on what you can do at your home to prevent and call at 1800180181818 to show your support.

You can check out this video as well for more details : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HbTa4IG9Nww

prevent and call at 1800180181818 to show your support.

You can check out this video as well for more details :

Heroes of the Mountains : An ode to the brave mountain people

Tags

act of kindness, bravery, frozen himalayas, ladakh, leh, mountains, rescue, stok kangri, synapse adventures, trek

N along with a few of our very close friends had gone to trek Stok Kangri, a pretty difficult trek at 6153m (20187 ft). They did great but also encountered an incident which we all felt must be shared. So here is Vandana (one of the members of the group) sharing it with you. Might be a little long read but take my words for it, every minute worth it.

Over to her

———————

PATHAR NAHIN, AADMI HAI

We set out at midnight for the final ascent to the summit of Stok Kangri. At around 6:30 AM, our expedition group was 100-150 meters short of the shoulder of Stok, when we heard “Stones, rockfall, sit down now with your hands over your head!” A few seconds later, our lead guide Takpa Norboo called out to his fellow-guide Suraj in Hindi, “Pathar nahin, aadmi hai, Suraj”. (It is not a stone, it is a person, Suraj)

We glanced up from our climb, and saw an image of something (was it a bag or a body?) being hurled off a stony outcrop 50 meters above us. It was a body alright, and it bounced off the snow, another rocky outcrop and back to the snow along a path about 30 meters or so, to our left. The head was unprotected, limbs loose and the face bloodied – the person was probably unconscious or worse. At this point, the four of us from our expedition group huddled around, clinging to our ice axes. We cast furtive glances to the left, almost dreading what we were about to see. Before we could fully grasp the situation, our lead guide, Takpa Norboo dropped his bag, swiftly headed to take position and intercept the ‘rolling body’ in a way that a field goal keeper would.
Takpa is a mountain Sherpa- all muscle and small framed. The person he was trying to save was much bigger than him and appeared to be falling very rapidly. We were on the last leg of our climb on a mountain face that had a 800-1000 meter drop into the glacier.

The body hurtled down with a momentum that seemed to take Takpa down with it. But Takpa was ready. He threw himself in the path of the speeding body, grabbed it with his right hand as it went past him. He spun around to the right, slammed his ice axe into the ground and now both began to slide. Simultaneously, Suraj (our second guide) slammed into the legs of the body and his ice axe into the snow, bringing both Takpa and the body to a grinding halt.

All this – in a matter of seconds. We all tried to gather ourselves; by this time all our guides (Takpa, Suraj, Gulzar and Lotus) checked on us and rushed to the scene to help the person. They provided oxygen immediately, laid out the ropes to create a make-shift stretcher, and emptied their bags to create the support for the stretcher- all resources that were being carried for our group’s expedition. Takpa advised our expedition group to turn around and commence descent. The injured person needed the guides more than us. Oxygen levels of the injured person were dropping to 36; we were out of oxygen cylinders for our own group in any case.

The presence of mind of our guides at this stage was commendable. They had figured out that the choppers might not make it to that altitude. They decided to take him down to a lower altitude. This was a mammoth effort at those heights, with the lack of proper stretchers and equipment. It required the help of at least six people to bring him down.

The rest of the story is resonating in the media. The IAF choppers did a daring act of rescue, placed their own lives at risk at that altitude, to get the injured person into the chopper.

We were shaken by the whole episode but even more overwhelmed by the multiple, random and selfless acts of kindness on the mountains to save a stranger’s life. What would have happened had Takpa not got across so quickly and positioned himself in the path of the speeding body? What would have happened if Suraj did not provide reinforcements? What would have happened if Gulzar had not provided the critical medical support, stabilization and oxygen? What would happen if our guides thought only of the interests of our expedition group? How do people put their own lives at risk to save a stranger?

This story is dedicated to the unsung heroes of the harsh, unforgiving mountains, like Takpa Norboo- how many more such stories exist and never get told or heard? Only those that have been on foot at 20,000 feet on a 30-degree plus, slippery and icy snow face can fathom how hard it is and the calibre of men who did what they did.
This story also reminds us of the need to take the mountains and harsh terrains with utmost seriousness. This is not a walk in the park. We need to be prepared physically and mentally, need the right equipment and the right guidance, expertise and processes.

Most of all, this incident reinforces the belief in humankind – all is not lost and superheroes do exist in real life. Takpa Norboo – we salute you.
-Vandana Ramani
(This article recounts the events as witnessed by the author. It may not be published, edited or rewritten without the express written consent of the author)

Takpa Norboo

Gulzar

Takpa and Lotus

Suraj

Rescue under way

Rescue underway

Rescue Underway

Edited to add : Some press links covering the accident where only IAF has been mentioned

http://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/iaf-rescues-injured-israeli-from-18-350-feet-in-ladakh/article1-1378343.aspx

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4689470,00.html

Screen time : a permanent debate for today’s parent

Tags

parenting, screen time

Put a few young parents in a room together, and you can be sure that within a few minutes or so the topic of discussion will soon divert to the dilemma on most parents’ minds: Screen Time! Questions like, how much is enough, do they even need it at all, and how the child is being affected by the medium – are all grey areas for most parents.

Every parent has a viewpoint on the subject and every parent has an unfailing logic attached to it. Frankly, I have sensible friends at both ends of the spectrum – the ones who truly believe TV is evil and that kids shouldn’t even get near it to the ones who think of TV as the salvation to all their problems ranging from babysitting to everyday tantrums.

The reality, according to me, as is always in life, is to be somewhere in the middle or as they say, striking a balance. Assuming that in this day and age, a 100% cut from technology and TV is possible, is an act of delusion. Schools start computer classes in 1st standard these days and if that is the case how does one keep the child away from the screen? TV and screens are the necessary evil of this generation and I feel that creating a balance is the key for sowing the seeds for your child’s healthy relationship with screen.

At our home, screen time has simple rules. Weekdays are only allowed for project and research for school work and over the weekend, an allowance of 45 minutes of TV and 30 minutes of iPad. Now this worked perfectly fine till I started realizing it’s not the TV I hate but the thousand and one ads that run on TV. Advertisements that tell me child that he will grow well if he drinks boost and he can probably forget all vegetables and other stuff. Ads that tell him that fat is ugly and that hands shouldn’t be washed for 1 min, well I can go on but you get the point.

Plus the quality of programs like Oggy who taught my son to talk in Hindi which scared me like shit, to give you an example. One day at dinner table the child told my mom “Kya mast khaana banaya re bidu” in the voice similar to hold your breath Shakti Kapoor. That is what scared me with his TV time and we struggled, we went and back and forth. I got him some CD’s that he got bored of and hence wanted to go back to TV again.

And then we discovered Teewe, which changed and eased the whole screen time situation at our home

Teewe is an HDMI media streaming device which transforms any TV with an HDMI port, into a smart TV via which streaming becomes a child’s play (pun intended) on your TV. It allows you to stream content from your phone, laptop, PC or tablet, right onto your television so essentially the control of what your child watches is with you.

The child can’t really wander on the internet which I think is any parent’s fear and yet the child is entertained, can play games, learn the stuff he wants on YouTube (mine loves to watch videos about underwater creatures and how the parts in bike and cars work), listen to music and dance with his friends or watch the good old Tom & Jerry. Its safe content with control in parents’ hands which I think is the only way forward.

So at our home we resolved the screen time tension with Teewe. You can do it too. Whether it’s learning about types of flowers or listening to nursery rhymes or catching a great episode of Mr. Maker, with Teewe the much desired balance and control is easier to achieve.

To know more click here

 

 

Teri Bindiya re …

The word bindi comes from “bindu” which means a dot. The origin of Bindi is dated back to the mythological times and was traditionally sported by both men and women and was called “Visesakachhedya” that is painting the forehead for beautification purpose. The place of the bindi is of a great significance as well as it is supposed to channel the agni or the 6th chakra. This is the chakra which is said to control various levels of concentration attained through meditation. Tantric traditions also believe that this to be a potential point for the release of the latent energy in the human body.

Over time, the bindi transformed into a tilak for and more fancy cosmetic accessory for women. It also somehow managed to transform itself into one of the symbol of marriage along with sindoor, malipu and mangalsutra. Trust us to tie anything beautiful in a women’s body to her marriage and the man.

My relationship with a bindi has seen many ups and downs. At one point of time during college I used to wear those detailed hand painted bindis, remember those boxes of Shingar liquid bindis in all colors, there would be new designs we would discuss and would challenge each other for. I was in love with those bindis, so much so that my title at one of the farewells was “Teri Bindiya re” (gosh yes I am old, do they still do titles?). From there I moved on to those tall thin and lanky sticker bindis. I briefly flirted around with those stone and sequins bindis for functions but soon realised they were not meant for me. And then slowly as the outfits became more western and the attire more formal my affair with bindis, died a slow death.

But all through my love affair with Bindi, one thing I always shied away from was the big bengali style round bindi, always feeling it is not for my already gol gappa like face, and then Ritika Mittal happened in my life. I distinctly remember that day when I was walking into her second or may be third exhibition at Vermillion house wearing a MORA by Ritika creation, she and Melvin looked at me picked up big red bindi and put it on my forehead. There was nothing I could do about. But I also remember how I smiled to myself after that, how I wondered what took me so long and since that day till today saree equals big round bindi for me. Infact I have put it on many more people post that includingSwati Raman Garg, Pallavi Purani, Archana Doshi and loved how it looked on each of them, so here is to Bindi and awakening my 7th chakra 😉

 

PS: Have you guys checked out the #100sareepact. I am doing it and posting all my sarees and stories on the instagram account. Follow me there to get updates. Currently on the 63rd saree 😀

Dear Badi Mummy : A letter to my Granny

Tags

feelings, grandparents, letters, parenting, personal

Dear Badi Mummy,

It is almost been 14 years since you left us and I realised I have never written to you in these years though I don’t think there has been a week which has passed in which I haven’t had a conversation with you.

Last week I was in Delhi, enjoying the Delhi winter, eating the food that I would eat sitting next to you every December, food cooked by you. Gajar ka halwa, the pinnis. I was remembering the sunny afternoons where we would all sit in the verandah of your house and eat moongfalis (peanuts) and how I would blackmail you with the look in my eyes and you would give me the peeled ones. How every evening, you would give us money and we would walk to the nearby shop freezing and rubbing our hands to get samosa and jalebi to eat. I remembered how I would cuddle with you to get warm.  When I saw O grating the carrots with mom to make gajar ka halwa, I felt a strange stab in my heart. I wanted it to be me again sitting with you and making gajar ka halwa. I smiled when I looked at them happily bonding but somewhere the heart gave a cry of longing for you.

I remembered the days gone by, on how I would come from school and rush to hug you. On how I would tell you every small thing that happened in school. On how I shared about my first crush with you and you looked at me with wide eyes and said “moyi marjaani, dhyaan rakhin” and then the warm smile spread at your face and you gave me the best hug in the world. On how, when I hid that I have flunked in one subject in school from mom-dad, I came and told that to you and how you slowly and gently made me confess that to mom. On how it was you I told about my first boyfriend ever, it was you I shared my fear of mensuration, on how it was you whom I came and told my nightmares and my dreams. Both the ones I saw in the day and night. For me while growing up you were my friend, you were my mom and you were the force in my life, my strength and that one person who would drive me. Who I would look upto, who I would search for in happiness and in sadness, in clarity and in confusion.

And then that day 13.5 years ago, on a Diwali night when I got a call that you are sick, I remember every turn of the foggy Delhi roads, every thought that came to my mind that evening and I remember reaching there to be told that you are no more among us and I remember feeling nothing. And then ofcourse the tears came and they went. Life moved on, we all moved on but somewhere you left a huge void in my life that no one has been able to fill.

So much has happened in this past 14 years, so much that I would have loved you to be a part of. I married a person who understands me, supports me and loves me. Ofcourse we fight, like you used to say if two people living together don’t argue, they are drifting apart. But we also have a bond that I saw you and daddyji sharing. A bond of love and trust, a bond of togetherness.

I am now not a software engineer, who just sits in front of computer doing god knows what (though to be honest, I still sit a lot in front of my laptop). I now work in the food industry. It’s a love I have picked up from you and taken to next level.

But more important than anything else, I am now a mother of a 7 year old boy who I would have loved you to meet. In whom, sometimes I see your spunk, your zest for life, your stubbornness and my eyes wet because there is nothing more I would want than to see you and him bond. The joy of my life and the most important person in my life. I would give anything to see you hug him, to see you bless him.

Early this week, I went to meet daddyji who at the age of 93 is so different from the grand-dad image I have from my childhood, he is ageing, he is frail and he remembers you. He often says “Tu te chali gayee, mainu chod gayee” and I see that sadness in his eyes. My heart broke to see him like that, asking the same question nth time and forgetting he has asked it before. I remembered the man who would bring us all fruits, always the sweetest ones, and cut post dinner. A man whom everyone was slightly scared of, a man who commanded respect and love in every action. Old age is evil, old age is harsh and I could see it in him. If you ask me, I saw that in him the day you passed away. He has never been the same after that but this time it hit me that daddyji who 10 years ago shocked everyone by dancing on my mehendi is now an old man.

But you know what badi mummy, you know what I felt the most when I met him. That where are you? Why aren’t you around? I feel terribly selfish thinking about it but I wanted you to be there, I don’t have the heart to see daddyji anymore without you. I miss you today and everyday.

Yours Khasma-nu-khani,

Mona

Things I never want to forget about N #4

Tags

being married, just me, personal, the husband, Things I never want to forget about N

And I did it again, the number 3 in this series was posted on 14 and today is 19th but God promise in my mind I had written those 5 posts and scheduled one for everyday as we were traveling on a short anniversary celebration break (more on that in the next post hopefully) but today morning when I logged into the blog and saw there were no published posts, neither there were any drafts saved. I don’t know where those posts went but I promise I wrote them and right now my heart is crying on losing not one, not two but 5 posts. Sigh but I will attempt them again. Hopefully they will be close to the ones I wrote the first time

Things I never want to forget about N #4

His dedication towards fitness

Everyone who reads this blog knows, how many times I have attempted and given up on my weight loss program. Many times I have achieved some results I agree but always give up. I am just not dedicated enough. Sigh but N he is the total opposite, dedicated and inspiring.

I look at him day on day, working out and taking his health and fitness very very seriously. Planning his runs, his long cycle rides, every day gym and being very very cranky on the day he misses it.

Dear N, know that I love you for this and respect you for this and someday, someday I hope that I will get inspired enough to become like you here

Things I never want to forget about N #3

Tags

being married, just me, personal, the husband, Things I never want to forget about N

Things I never want to forget about N #3 : That he loves to travel, that he loves to drive

One of the earliest memory I have of N is from our first or second date, we were lunching at Ebony and generally chatting about life in general and somewhere came up the topic of cars and driving and I mentioned how I would love to one day do a Delhi-Bangalore drive and without skipping a beat he looked into my eyes and said, “we’ll do it together one day”. We were officially not even dating at that time.

And that was a starting of a lifetime journey of many many trips that we have taken together, including two drives to Delhi and back in the car.

I love how we both get excited at the name of a long drive (though offlate he has taken more to the bike and it’s breaking my heart a bit), the planning starts. Xls sheets are made, time log kept of each destination, each pit stop. I love how you and me fight for the wheel, for the chance to drive and I love how we now have our own sweet way to sort those out.

I love how we both get itchy to get out of the city every few months and I love how you want to discover a new road, a new route every time we head out

Here’s to many more journeys we take together, here’s to many more roads we discover and here’s to you loving the car more than the bike again 😉

And here are two songs which almost ours when I talk about road travel

Things I never want to forget about N #2

Tags

being married, just me, personal, the husband, Things I never want to forget about N

Things I never want to forget about N #2 : That you dance like nobody’s watching 🙂 

I still remember how early on in our dating period may be our second or third date, that era where Bangalore used to have more discotheques that we can count on our fingers, me and N had planned an evening together at a pub called “Sparks”. It used to be one of those happening pubs at that time and how after a couple of drinks you asked if I would like to dance and frankly that was the last thing I remember clearly of that evening. After that I was in an imaginary world, a world where we did much swirling and twisting around. In a world where that first casual touch while dancing felt something else. But what I clearly remember about that evening is thinking oh this guy knows how to move and well. You danced like a dream that day and I might not remember anything else from that day but I do remember the dance.

Fast forward the scene to almost a year later, it was our mehendi evening and considering there I was marrying somehow from South of India, we had invited N and his family to the mehendi function. Now if you have attended mehendi of a punjabi wedding you know what a riot they are. I had a gang of young cousins who were literally meeting N for the first time that evening and were ready to jump right into the saali-jija mode, jokes about dance and south indians vs north indians were also predictably making the rounds as were couple of glasses filled with things you don’t mention in front of the family. I was at the corner of the hall sitting like a good bride to be getting mehendi applied on my hands when suddenly I saw one of the cousins pulling N up for dancing, everyone was prepared for resistance and shyness but thak he came and he took the dance floor by surprise and then he came to me and pulled me in to and we danced like a happy couple. Surprise, happiness, glee and hoots in shining on everyone’s faces and that was the time he truly made his first entry to my big mad punjabi family because if you don’t dance you can’t be a part of the punjabi family you see.

And then a year or so after marriage I remember getting excited and joining a dance studio, where we learnt together Salsa, Cha Cha Cha, Jive and a couple of more dance forms for about 6 months or so. So much fun every Saturday evening going for the class and then coming back and participating all that has been taught. I remember that Goa trip where we Jived a little on the live band that was playing in one of the beach shacks. I remember that time for about 2 years or so where we would break into a quick salsa or cha cha cha as soon as we would get the beat of it in any song. It would be like we have the beats playing constantly in our heads “1 2 cha cha cha, 3 4 cha cha cha”.. “1 2 3 4 5 6” and as if on a que we will suddenly pick it up start dancing. I loved those days of dancing of connecting on that level so intuitive.

Fast forward 8.5 years later, at my sister A’s wedding and how you pulled everyone on stage and then let go, danced like really nobody’s watching. I then had my uncle come up to me, give me a gentle hug, keep his hand on my shoulder and say “Mona, yeh apna ho gaya, bilkul bete jaisa” (he is become ours, just like one of our sons). My heart smiled that day and then I went and did one number dance with you.

Here is N on my sisters wedding

And here is one of my favorite songs from favorite movies about Dancing ever

and another one because no talk about Dance can be over without Time of my life and dirty dancing

Things I never want to forget about N #1

Tags

being married, just me, personal, the husband, Things I never want to forget about N

So I had seen this on Revathi’s blog sometime ago and made a mental note about doing this for 10 things as a countdown to our 10th Anniversary but life always has other plans, I got a sudden work assignment which had me burning midnight oil along with something else that kept us even more busy. N’s granny who is 86 and lives with us suddenly fell very sick about 2 weeks ago, she couldn’t breathe and we had to rush her to emergency. One week in the CCU about 10 days in hospital she is now back home. Still not fully fine but slowly recovering, as much as she can at this age. Old age is tough, you are the person struggling with being dependent on someone and everybody around is usually used to being taken care by you and not vice versa. It’s tough to see them suffering and feel helpless because all doctors tell you for every problem they have is that “It’s the age, We can’t cure her. We just have to make her as comfortable as we can”. We all know it’s the truth but it’s the truth that hurts. The past 2.5 week have been a struggle but now slowly life is coming back to rhythm with granny also settling with a full-time attendant taking care of her and like doctors say we hope to make her as comfortable as we can.

Anyways, back to the main topic of this post.

So the man and me have been married for 10 years (well almost) and we have known each other for a year or so before that. We have our good days and bad days. Days where I can’t stop hugging him and there are days when I want to have nothing to do with him or even see his face for a long time to come. As people we are as different as two ends of magnets, two opposite poles could be but yet we bring balance in each others life (or so I would like to think and believe). Friends have often teased us on how they look at us and start believing that marriages are indeed made in heaven else we wouldn’t have chose each other and hence Revathi’s idea of listing a few things that I will never forget or never want to forget about N really stuck home for me.

I wanted to do a 10 day countdown to the 10th anniversary but I know have only 7 days to go to the big day nevertheless I think I will do the 10 day thing and continue it post 17th too and here is the first post.

Things I never want to forget about N #1

He brings the stability and much required slowness in our life 

In the world we are living in right now. We are all in a hurry, hurry to tick off the to-do list, hurry to reach from point A to point B, hurry to catch the latest restaurant in town, hurry about everything. And to top it all everyone who knows me, knows that I am the compulsive doer. Someone who always needs a project on hand, needs to go out, needs to cook, needs to read, needs to organise, needs to… Essentially I run on a fast forward mode and always need to do something. So if left to me our life would have been a bundle of hurries and does.

N on the other hand takes his own sweet time even to buy a shirt. It’s not the indecisiveness we are taking about here, he has pretty clear thought process when it comes to making decisions, it’s just the general pace of living, I am talking about his ability to steal a relaxed moment even in the middle of madness, I am talking about his desire to enjoy everyday of life slowly. His pace to take life slowly as it comes irritates me sometimes yes but when I look back at the 10 years of my life I can’t tell you how thankful I am for that. It is brought a rhythm to our life, a sense that I really can’t begin to describe but only feel. It has also made me stop many times doing what I am doing and ask myself “is this really what I want to do, is this really important” and then throw back my feet and just chill out, curl up next to him and do nothing. Our friend V jokes, when we talk about you guys we always take the average pace in mind and that is how much it works for us.

For me, living with him is like every moment of what this song is talking about and I am so glad of the slowness he brings to my life in the times of rush everywhere

PS: I do hope and pray that I finish this series, I am known to start a series on this blog and then abandon it after a couple of posts

Gratitude Journal Part 1

Tags

being thankful, gratitude, gratitude journal, just me, life, personal

Some days ago a friend tagged me on twitter/FB to do a 30 day gratitude journal. Just be thankful for something everyday. I think its bringing a lot of people in my life. 16 days down I thought it might be a good idea to collate of all those notes on the blog. Here are the first 15 days in Part 1

So Aparna Jain tagged/nudged me into doing a ‪#‎GratitudeJournal‬ For next 30 days I will be posting two things I was grateful about that day. I think it always helps to reflect back and pick on the small joys each day.

Day 1

1. Ojas who amazes me with the change of character and understanding he shows every time N is traveling. The fact that I am doing it all alone somehow makes him so much more calmer that it surprises me

2. Friends that move from being buddies to working partners so smoothly, yes I am looking at you Swati, we started working on the “Flavour Bombs 2014” today and I can’t tell you how excited how I am

Day 2 #GratitudeJournal1. the handsofindia exhibition currently running in Bangalore. Lovely handloom stuff, skirts, pallazo and tops. Smart fits (and in bigger sizes too) and good Indian fabrics and yes I bought a lovely orange pant from them. Go folks if you can
2. A lovely Friday evening spent. Great food and lots of conversation around food with the chef and a friend….Some Good wine, is there anything else one could ask for 

Day 3 #gratitudejournal1. I am grateful for technology which helps me to be connected with friends and family. Did a google hangout with my mad bunch of girl friends this morning, many counties and cities and yet it felt like we were together. Girls I am also grateful for you all. You help me maintain the balance in my own madness and sanity 
2. I am grateful for Saturday evenings, family, drink and some good music.

Day 4 #gratitudejournal
1. Friends who understand the joke sometimes before you have even said it
2. Good food and drinks

Day5 ‪#‎gratitdueJournal‬

Today I am grateful for my support system at home, my mother in law, the househelp and the ofcourse the man himself. While I am sitting here in Hyderabad for work the child went to school, was fed, did homework and is already in bed. I couldn’t have been sitting here enjoying my work if I didn’t have that support, if I didn’t know he was well taken care of, yet my mind was in Bangalore all of evening  The needs of a working mum and the guilt of motherhood.. Bittersweet just like most moments parenthood has brought along

Day 6 ‪#‎gratitudeJournal‬

Grateful for the plants in my garden which have survived even after being ignored for 4 years, I am yet to tend to the garden after I have come back to the house but every now and then a flower, a fruit pops up to make me smile. Some smiles I saw a couple of days ago

 

 

Day 7 ‪#‎gratitudeJournal‬

Grateful for books to read and the friends who reco them. Grateful for my kindle which helps me access books with ease and carry many at a time everywhere . On an aside, I realised at about 9pm that I was wearing two different Jhumkis in my ears all day. So grateful for my ability to laugh at myself

Day 8 ‪#‎gratitudeJournal‬
I am grateful for blogging, it has given me a lot including opening doors to my current career but more than anything it has given me so many friendships. Brought so many people in my life. Today caught up with one too. Also grateful for red lipstick, there is something about wearing red on lips which is liberating, happy and sexy at the same time

Day 9 ‪#‎gratitudeJournal‬

So I skipped posting yesterday, it was one of those days when I was feeling like nothing is right in my world, that everything is going wrong and there is nothing I want to be grateful about, and then this morning when I went for my morning walk and saw people sleeping on the road I realised that no whatever goes wrong in our lives, we still have a lot to be grateful about. So today I am grateful about what life has given me. Today I am grateful about life itself.

Day 10 ‪#‎gratitudeJournal‬

Today I am grateful for FB, Twitter, whatsapp and other social media places which have made sharing my thoughts, moments and more so easy. Because of which I feel connected to many new and old friends. Be it the cousin miles apart, friends in the different continents be it fb messaging, the wall or a whatsapp group … Thank you social media

Day 11 ‪#‎gratitudeJournal‬

Today I am grateful for cellphones and the ease of communication these days. Ojas has high fever since yesterday and I am thankful for the fact that I could be on the phone getting updates sitting so far away, that I could do a quick skype with him in the morning to calm myself. I can’t even imagine the time when we had one landline phone in all of the street while going up. Wonder how our parents used to cope up

Day 12 #‎gratitudeJournal‬

Today I am grateful for the colors that Indian festivals have, the joy and the food. Can’t wait to get back home to do my bit

In the picture, utbt’s super awesome golu. I am almost tempted to keep one next time

Day 13 ‪#‎gratitudeJournal‬

Grateful for food books and the friends who gift them  Preethi Vemu you left yours behind

Siri Pulipaka thank you darling

I realised I missed posting day 14 ‪#‎gratitudeJournal‬ and it was only because I was too busy absorbing in the love I was showered upon after the 10 day trip.. The child, the man and the dog.. Even the house help… So today I am grateful for the love in my life… It does keep me going

Day 15 ‪#‎gratitudeJournal‬

So the recovering child told me he wants to bake and I decided to keep the sulking aside He searched for what to bake in my books and then we sat and wrote recipe for some whole wheat almond and choco chip cupcakes… Totally yumm they are and then fluffy decided he is feeling totally left out and begged and emotionally blackmailed the brother into feeding him some muffins. Grateful for baking and having found what I love