THE DIARY OF A HOUSEWIFE

I was fortunate to see nature at it's best recently when my family and I travelled to a tiger reserve, a national park, a forest, where I could lay eyes on mother earth in all its glory. It was beautiful, wondrous, overwhelming and breathtaking. The animals, the flora, even the huge, scary spiders, all took my breath away. I was so happy to see our country doing so much for animals and its forests when I was told by our guide how much the Indian Forest Service is doing to preserve these wondrous places. Struck by the jungle, in awe of nature and its many wonders I lived in a bubble for a few days. However the happiness and elation was short-lived. Back in our concrete jungle, hating the loud ugliness of it all, I came across the mention of a book called The Vanishing by  Prerna Singh Bindra  about how our forests were slowly and steadily being destroyed. I haven't read the book yet but an article about the book caught my eye.  Can a populous country like ...

Being a parent is the toughest thing in the world. And as my children grow older I realise it gets tougher each day with promise of even tougher times ahead. When they were babies, completely dependent on us, their parents, physically and emotionally, I couldn't wait for them to grow up. But as my parents ( of a 45 and 44 year old) have realised over the years parenting and its responsibilities never ever come to an end. As a parent my primary responsibility is to teach them the ways of life, teach them how to be safe, teach them to be street smart in today's world, and teach them how to look after themselves, to be independent and to be responsible humans. As a parent another thing I have had to do is to question myself constantly. Am I setting the correct example? Am I passing on good values and principles to them, which well let's face it are different for each of us? Am I able to answer all their questions satisfactorily and clear all their doubts? ...

The government is cracking the whip on traffic rule violations. How dare the government I say? How could these corrupt politicians be hard on the common man? The common man is poor, hard working, burdened with taxes, traffic, dumb rules and potholed roads. The poverty ridden citizen of this country owes no one anything. If anything, it's the government which owes us - everything. Free transportation, free water, free electricity, free education,  free speech, free access to facilities, free wifi, free...free...free... The government needs to free us from the loathsome burden of shackles of rules.  RULES YOU SEE ARE FOR FOOLS! Only fools follow rules and maintain discipline. Its wise individuals who make their own rules, choices and decisions - whatever suits them. The wise know what is best. Enforcing the public, strongarming them by imposing harsh fines on traffic violators is the work of tyrants and dictators. We as citizens of the country have the right ...

                                    So, age shaming or ageism as it can be called is actually a thing. I had never thought of it nor heard of it till I googled it a few days ago. What prompted me to do so was a simple comment from someone who I believe was trying to compliment me. Now she didn't say anything to me directly but did so to my good friend who was most affronted by her remark and berated her for being what in her view was stupid.                                      What she said was nothing new albeit something similar to what many of us have said or say commonly, sometime or the other in our lives. "Oh, she looks so good for her age," "she doesn't look old at all," or the comment which had my friend up in arms - "she runs everyday, she is so regular even at her age."  ...

Sick and tired of traffic jams in your city? Hate wasting time in gargantuan queues, being jostled and shoved around? What about having recurring nightmares of achieving nirvana, reaching the pearly gates only to find yourself stuck in a queue behind thousands of people? And now imagine being  on Earth, caught in a traffic jam on Mount Everest , the highest mountain in the world. In late May a photograph by a Nepalese mountaineer, showing a serpentine line of climbers extending to the top of Mount Everest on Facebook went viral​. My mouth dropped open and my heart began to thump as I saw the overcrowded mountain littered with mountaineers in colourful protective gear. A scary sight indeed. (I thanked God there were people from all over the world on the mountain. Can you picture Indians queuing on the top of Everest, patiently, to achieve and conquer the summit? I can’t! Let’s face it we hate queues; we don’t believe in them and hate following rules. But then that’s ano...

A 16-year old caught in the age old dilemma - mug up and sail through with high grades or learn and study what he really wants to.  Rebuked and censured for not understanding the importance of slaving over his books, he lashes out not because he is unwilling to slog or put in the hard work but because he refuses to do so without actually understanding the concepts, wanting to learn and gain meaningful knowledge which will not only prepare him for real life but will also make him intellectually ready to contribute to making our world a better place to live in.      Education is Flawed! What more is that Education will continue to be flawed, not  because of the fact that we will have more knowledge and our  curiosity and questions will increase, but the fact that the  purposes and outcomes of our education system are flawed. The idea comes to me personally, as I have been through  multiple boards during m...

THE ROAD TRIP THAT MADE ME WRITE ‘ROAD TRIP’!! An author describes her journey ...destination ...her novel ROAD TRIP: AHMEDABAD TO ASHA GUEST HOUSE! Load bags into the trunk of the car, settle one’s self with one’s companions in the car and then just take off with the AC on and the music blaring! This experience of a ‘road trip’ has been shown and described in length in numerous books and movies and I believe that many young women harbour the dream of going on a road trip with their friends someday. I too, was no exception and I had also dreamed of going on a road trip with my female friends. So much so that when my dream finally materialised, it also enabled me to write the novel ‘Road Trip Ahmedabad to Asha Guest House’. In the beginning of my novel, ‘Road Trip Ahmedabad to Asha Guest House’ I have dedicated the novel to my cousin Gauravee Adhyaru and to my friend Poonam Pathak. With the latter, we had often discussed our longing to go on a road trip together and wit...

DARK AGES! WE HAVE ENTERED THE DARK AGES! No, that’s not what I believe, I got that from the social media. While the majority of India exulted in NDA’s victory in the Lok Sabha elections, a TSUNAMO, most called it, there is a percentage of Indians who were plunged into mourning at the tragedy that had befallen them. Now, normally, I refrain from commenting or posting anything related to politics. How can I participate in debates and discussions about the said subject when I don’t know much about politics, politicians, governments, their policies except for what I read in the newspapers and hear on media? I have never even met a politician and don’t follow any one of them on social media or otherwise. More and more, as I advance in age and hopefully wisdom, I realise I know nothing and understand even less.   However, my newly acquired wisdom has made me privy to one very obvious fact. I – we are surrounded by hate, resentment, hostility, ill-will – whatever name ...