THE DIARY OF A HOUSEWIFE

CELEBRATING 23 YEARS OF TOGETHERNESS!  Here we are... With lots of ups and downs and many things in between, Here we are... after years 20 and तीन. We met when I was just nineteen and you a dashing young pilot I had just seen. Life together a blessing and what a blast it has been, Like a never ending romance, melodrama, thriller and fantasy scene. We have endured many a wrongs, hits and losses on the chin, But afresh we have always let life again begin. Many an unforgettable seasons together we have been, Through it all our family stands tall today bearing an ever widening grin. BIRTHDAY WISHES FOR A DEAR FRIEND So many people you meet But not with all your heart will beat, Some become so dear That losing them is something you fear, Funny jokes and laughs out loud Always the rowdy me will be one of your crowd, Our friendship was built in the most remarkable way Hope it will grow stronger till our hair turn grey, As...

Having lost about 15 kgs recently many friends and acquaintances alike have begun complimenting and commenting on my shedding the extra kilos. Some even asked me to share my before and after pictures. Well, to that I have only one thing to say, which before and after pictures should I share? Please bear with me when I ask myself the above question and confuse the hell out of you. It’s not the choice of pictures that has me baffled but rather the selection of pictures of which of the three times I have been fortunate enough to lose weight that perplexes me. This one? 86 kgs 2003 BEFORE 53 Kgs 2005 AFTER This one? 80 Kgs 2009 BEFORE 58 Kgs 2011 AFTER Or then there is this one? 77 Kgs 2016 BEFORE 60 Kgs 2018 AFTER Aha, you might say, or even congratulate me on losing a grand total of 72 kilos over the span of some 20 years. But let me stop you there. Though many will say and I too am aware that losing weight thrice, is not ...

So, my son is getting bullied in school. And like many concerned parents my husband and I stressed about it endlessly. What affected us most was seeing him come home unhappy and anxious every day.  What was really happening in the class that all he talked about as soon as he stepped off the bus was how so and so was hitting him, so and so was pinching him in the bottom, so and so was taking away his stationery, breaking it, throwing it away, and so and so was teasing him. What broke my heart was the fact that he said he had no best friend, no one to talk to in class. Why Mama why, he asks me daily and why oh why I ask myself everyday seeing him struggle to fit in, to be a part of the popular group who refuse to include him in their shenanigans.  I don't do anything to provoke them he says when I question him if inadvertently he has done something to alienate this "popular" group of boys. I just want to play with them but they don't let me. Every...

At many times and moments in your life you feel like a complete and utter failure. You have made mistakes, you have hurt people, you have regrets, and sometimes you have done things you can never ever imagine you were foolish and dumb enough to do and then the most important of all, the one thing that is bound to make everyone feel like a failure - you have been unable to  follow and accomplish your dreams. Then of course you have the usual gripes, I have not become rich, I haven't really achieved anything great, I haven't really contributed to the betterment of society, I am not a celebrity, I am not an artist, dancer or painter, I am not a Nobel laureate and I haven't won an Oscar.  All romanticised dreams of many star struck youth, dreamt on many a star filled night, keeping some alive with hope while leaving some restless and filled with doubts.  And then life happens, all dreams forgotten in the hustle and bustle of everyday living. The stars f...

Ladies let's not just sit around and talk. You want your life and the world to change, first let's change ourselves.  Empowerment is the talk of today. We talk about women empowerment everyday but what does it really mean; especially to you?  All available literature defines women empowerment as the process in which women expand and recreate what it is that they can be, do, and accomplish in a circumstance that they previously were denied. It can also be said to be the process which refers to increasing and improving the social, economic, political and legal strength of the women, to ensure equal-rights to women, and to make them confident enough to claim their rights. But all the laws and rules and regulations set by governments all over the country and even the world cannot help empower women if women themselves don't begin the process by first empowering their minds, their bodies and their souls. Unshackle your minds, challenge yourselves, increase...

There's a very highly educated and qualified career woman I know for a fact who is abusive, mentally and physically to her maids. Maids in the plural because none of them stick around for more than a month. Now these are not rumours or gossip, 2 of them have actually asked for help to escape her clutches. While fortunately for all concerned, things have never gone out of hand and each of these girls safely found employment elsewhere, the much in news Unnao and Kathua rape and murder cases sparked a debate in my head with myself. What did I do, what actions did I or the others who were aware of her awful misdeeds take even when the girls brought it all to our notice? Yes they didn't come to us directly asking for help but they did talk to us about their employers behaviour. Like all others except for some mild commiseration I looked the other way, not wanting to get involved. Everyday the newspapers and other media channels are filled with rapes, murders and abuse of c...

She said she was right while I said no I was right...well, so in a way we were both right. I said she was wrong while she said no I was wrong...well, so in a way we were both wrong. A few weeks ago I found myself in an uncomfortable situation. I refused to take a step back and understand that what I had said to a friend had hurt her and it was only when we hashed it out were we both able to come to the conclusion that our different perception about what had happened was the culprit. Confused? Don't know or understand what I am talking about? Well, don't worry, you are not the only one stuck between black or white; right or wrong; good or bad; correct or incorrect; should or shouldn't; can or cannot...right or wrong.  As for me, like all of you, as I have grown older I have begun to realise nothing in life is as simple as being right or wrong and black or white. But what still confuses me is what lies in between. Is everything that is not right or wrong ...

Huffing and puffing and with great effort I had finally managed to reach the finishing line. Oh thank goodness it was over. Why the hell had I agreed to this? Why was God punishing me? What did I do to deserve this? Why couldn't I have been one of the fortunate few who don't have to wage a never ending war on considerable weight gain all through my life. I had had no interest and motivation in participating in the marathon. I was there because my husband, a hard-core runner since the last year and a part of the freerunners group coaxed me to experience the thrill of running. He had benefitted from it so much that he didn't want me to miss out on it.  Thus I had relented and taken part; running the 3 kms was a challenge, a big, nasty, scary challenge I was not interested in or motivated to do. But I did it just wanting to experience this new wave of enthusiasm and craze for running that was spreading all over the country especially if Facebook is to be b...

   “Today is Women’s Day, Mama, when is Men’s Day?” my 8-year-old asked me yesterday on International Women's Day. “There is no Men’s Day,” I told him without giving it much thought. And yes, he did go on to ask me why. It was time to think, now, wasn’t it? “Well,” I told him, “you see, because women are very important and people everywhere need to respect them and need to be reminded that they should be celebrated.” “Aren’t women respected? We respect you and love you. You are our mama and the most important person in our lives just as Papa is,” was the prompt reply. It was time to get serious now. The standard replies weren’t going to be enough for a curious and inquiring mind. “Yes, but women don’t get importance everywhere and not everyone thinks like you, baby,” I said. “What do you mean, Mama?” Fortunately for me, our recent visit to the National Defence Academy, my husband’s (a fighter pilot, in the Air Force, now retired)...