THE DIARY OF A HOUSEWIFE

  Who is your  role model ? A question asked by my 11-year old's teacher in class sparked off a healthy but loud  debate . Every child had a different role model as was expected. What disappointed the  teacher  was that all the children named celebrities - Bollywood stars, sports & political heroes. He was quick to point out that we are surrounded by real life  heroes  & role models in our daily lives. When asked to guess who they were, the children fell silent, a hush so loud, it spoke volumes of our shallow views. "Your parents, teachers, others in your community, even your helpers...there are so many of them." His words brought a smile to my face. The children though couldn't understand how "normal people" could be role models. "A role model, he explained,  inspires  us to do better in life. Don't your parents or teachers or your domestic help do that?" The children were then assigned to write about a role model they know closely. ...

“Please help me I don’t know what to do!” My son in his 12th grade, in his most emotionally vulnerable phase, confused with the many choices and decisions he needs to make, laments to us every day. Faced by options aplenty, he feels dizzy and disoriented, clueless about his future. Various internet sources estimate that an adult makes about 35,000 remotely conscious decisions each day In contrast a child makes about 3,000. (Sahakian; Labuzetta, 2013). That’s 3000 too many I say. We talk to him, hoping our guidance and advice will help of course. There  a re hundreds of other online resources with advice too. But as we all know choices and decisions are personal. Making decisions amongst the thousands of options is something we have to do all alone. Sadly our education system & society don’t equip our teenagers with skills to make informed decisions. As parents we can only be there for him every step of the way setting a good example hoping that after every stumble and fall, he ...

A wedding I just attended in the family was more like a project a CEO of a company has just announced. A wedding is a project with every team and members of those teams deeply invested in the project - in this case the future of two people who are entering a new contract with everything on the line. Attending a wedding in normal times is hectic & stressful as it is; doing so in a pandemic is stuff horror movies are based on. But gladly it wasn't. Last week when I attended my nephew's wedding I was excited & nervous at the same time. Excited to visit my husband's family & participate in the wedding festivities & anxious about doing so when the virus was going to accompany us. Meeting family, eating all the goodies, dressing up, chatting, partying - I enjoyed every minute of it, glad to push the virus out of my mind for a few blessed days. I came back home enriched & empowered. I was amazed by all that our traditional customs & culture had to offer in ...

Do you know the corona virus can't make us sick anymore let alone kill us? Well, I wasn't. The country has opened up almost completely and if the traffic on the roads and the people in restaurants and public places are anything to go by it seems like everything is back to normal. With the lockdowns gone, so is the virus, the masks and the social distancing norms. And while I agree panicking about is also not good, dismissing it after months of freaking about it is something I don't quite get. The virus came calling on our family's door just 2 weeks ago taking away with it a special soul, leaving behind it, a trail of grief, misery and regret. Maybe that's why I don't comprehend what is happening around me. It has taken me weeks to post my thoughts about what happened. I resisted doing it, something in me holding me back. But I also know how important it is for the world to take the pandemic seriously and now that most of us for some reason or the other have stop...

Intolerance   took a new meaning for me yesterday. One tiny mistake while driving back my mother who had paid a short visit to our home wanting to meet her grandchildren after a long time, taught me a lesson I will never forget. It will keep me awake at nights for that's how I am made. I realised a long time ago that my manufacturer had sent me out in this world with a number of defects. My loved ones and I of course have been bearing the brunt of my many faceted flaws. The roads in our area are not too busy what with most people choosing wisely to stay at home. But then there are some who do venture out due to various reasons. So well here I was enjoying the feel of the steering wheel in my hands, gabbing away with my mom, loving being on the road after so many weeks when I saw three cars bearing down on me from the opposite direction. With no traffic signals in our locality, I misjudged and instead of coming to a stop, made my turn sooner than I should have blocking the road of o...

I couldn't sleep. Tossing and turning in the bed I mulled over why the thoughts wouldn't stop yapping at me letting me finally shut my eyes and get some much needed sleep. There was a knot in my stomach which I couldn't unknot as I tried my best to unravel the threads I had tied around myself which as always were threatening to drown me in misery.                                In some ways I am used to being like this. Almost a daily occurrence for a person who is highly sensitive. And if you are one of those unfortunate people who like me have been cursed with too much sensitivity—No not in your teeth, though that is unfortunate enough. I am talking about sensitivity in every grey cell of your brain and every bone of your body. And if that sensitivity has permeated every part of your inner self, gnawing away at your peace of mind, each time taking a big bite of it leaving you wounded and scarred you may ne...

Are you one of those employees or even employers who find it difficult to say no even when you know for sure that going ahead with the proposal, project or new hire may harm you and your organisation. A few weeks ago, a persistent to-be client pummeled me with queries about the publishing process, the writing and editing process, charges and everything else related to the publishing of his book.  Under tremendous pressure to be get more work, be nice, efficient, and relatable I answered all his questions, going the extra mile. A few weeks of back and forth later, after hours of time invested, the said person decided he would be able to publish his book on his own without spending a rupee on it.  I have seen this happen many times. Most often than not clients will take advantage of you when you’re too nice – suppliers who can’t deliver on time, colleagues who don’t do their work, customers who demand more and more, learn everything from you and walk out – you’re actually lettin...