CRUX OF LIFE

As a child, I remember that I was quite impatient. Now, when I look at my son, I wonder that he is pretty much like I was when I was a child. My attention span was low, and I often found it challenging to wait for things. Waiting for my turn, whether in games or daily activities, seemed like an eternity. I wanted instant gratification and had little tolerance for delays. That was probably the reason I wasn't great at creative arts like painting, stitching, knitting, etc. I preferred short stories to read, novels was a big no, because I can't read it in one go. We used to get the monthly subscription based story books. One of the stories in those books would come in series. I always skipped the story that had "to be continued in next edition" written at the end. Because I didn't have the patience to wait for next month. To my frustration, my friends used to discuss about only that one story which I used to skip.  With passage of time, things seem to have changed au...

One of my co-workers opined that meetings and townhalls are waste of time and how returning to offices is equivalent to loss of productive hours. Bombarded with statuses on how return to office will make life hell from many colleagues, it triggered my need to put across my views.  I too have enjoyed and discovered the benefits of remote work such as reduced commute times and increased flexibility, but in-person interactions provide much more value in terms of building relationships, fostering creativity, and addressing complex issues collaboratively. Networking  and human connections are indispensable part of work life. Sadly, covid 19 has had a profound impact on human interactions. Networking is often misunderstood as a race to rack up contacts. It's not that. We should think of networking as a practice to cultivate authentic relationships over time.  Amid the sounds of click-clack of keyboards and chitchat of friends in the office, we could identify the furrowed brow o...

After a long time, we planned to go on a proper vacation. In the last few years tours and travels have been on halt for us. May be something to do with subconscious hesitation after covid19. This break was much needed after almost 3 years..  Day1 - Our first halt was Nainital. It's called the city of lakes. But we had our stay planned on a hill top away from the hustle bustle of the city life.  We decided to take rest for the rest of the day after close to 8 hours drive. The area had poor network giving some rest to our smart phones too. My 10 year old son was feeling a little disappointed- no friends here.. But soon came a cute stray pup for his rescue. My son is generally quite timid when it comes to animals, but there was something sweet in this stray dog. We didn't hear it bark during our stay. It was a cool, calm and composed puppy - Shera. Look at the way they are having some silent conversations .  Sipping the  tea blended with the ar...

I always wondered why do people pray a tree and specially a banyan tree. The Banyan tree has got some special significance. They offer so much prasad before the tree making it look clumsy. After I got married into a different culture, I followed it anyway. The yearly Vat Savitri Vrata is a ritual I follow along with my in-laws. Nothing wrong in following something you may not completely believe, but if it makes others happy - was my idea.  Over the years, I got used to this ritual, and in fact, I now look forward to it. It gives us a reason to go to the Banyan tree. In the busy busy life, when was the last time you moved out just to meet an old friend? Beautiful, Huge, and Peaceful. It gives us a reason to Hug one of our least remembered friends - the nature. The Prasad we offer goes to ants, birds and the monkeys eagerly waiting to fill up their tummies. Dear Banyan tree,  Thank you for the shade you give in the scorching heat. Thank you for being home to multiple species on ...

Never thought I can read a hindi novel that too almost a century old classic novel. Last I read something must have been champak Or nandan (story books) during my childhood days.  Thanks to #kindleUnlimited. Its been there in my library for a couple of months now. I assumed that it will not engage me... After all it is published in 1931. How would I even relate to pre-independence era story, that too in Hindi!!  But I was so very wrong! I am pleasantly surprised to note that this century old novel still is very relevant to this era.  The story is about Ramanath whose life is swayed by people of authority as well as his wrong notions about the people he knew. He didn't have a mind of his own, got easily scared about the consequences of his actions but who didn't have the courage to fight for them when things actually went wrong. Because of his irresponsible actions, he didn't know how he was actually causing harm to his family and got himself caught up in situa...

It's a lazy winter morning and I was feeling super lazy. I wanted to stay in bed tugged in the warmth of the blanket for some more time.. And continue with the movie that was playing on screen in the theatre called dream..  But.. This tummy... It is never in the control of your heart... Neither when it is empty nor when it needs to get emptied. Tummy makes sure that it gets the priority...  By the way, hasn't tummy these days become the focal point of our lives? Whatever be it's size, people have to comment about it😄.  Anyway, I woke up reluctantly, got fresh up to medidate. First day of the year.. I wanted to be good girl... But these days, I just can't sit for long with no thoughts. Mind is always in multi-tasking mode. Thoughts jumbled up. Unlike Tummy, mind takes its own sweet time to have the thoughts settled.  Wish there was a pause button which we could press to mute the thoughts for a while..  I got distracted and couldn't stop myself from s...