Is skilled archery the ONLY reason for Ramji's victory?

Ram was exiled, he walked miles and miles tirelessly, got into trouble, fought a war and lots more and his home-coming is celebrated by observing Diwali. Ram’s victory can be blamed on his Guru Rishi Vashistha. 

Other than the formal training of weapons and war, the disciples were also taught life lessons. Taught to be resilient, understand philosophy, understand dharma, take care of the ashram, understand ways of living and living successful. These gurus taught their disciples to be prepared for every life situation.

In the post-colonial era the education system of our country took a different turn. Students were taught to obey and obey well at work. The focus was on study to work and not necessarily study to handle the highs and lows that life throws at us.

The global pandemic really tested people’s ability to survive in the storm. And people succumbed to these situations, some are even now reeling under the pressure.

It’s time to teach ourselves ways of living and resilience. Some people are automatic self-learners; which is wonderful. Yet there are some who need hand holding. Also, we need to relearn to ‘ask’ for help. Either ways it’s important to be aware of these and figure out which ones we need to develop in order to lead a healthy stress-free life. In my 1:1 consulting sessions, the participants do tell me, they wish they knew about these life skills before, that would bring in a lot of ease in the way they dealt with people, jobs, life problems etc. in the past.

Some of the life skills worth considering are:

• Empathy
• Critical thinking
• Time management
• Money management
• Cooking, kitchen management and house management
• First-aid
• Technology
• Self-learning
• Managing a healthy body
• Adapting to the environment
• Making friends
• Clear communication
• Stress-management
• Coping with emotions
• Interpersonal relationships
• Socially skillful
• Coping with success and failures in life
• Effective communication skills
• Developing a ‘solutions’ mindset
• Etiquettes to survive in the society – Email, Corporate, Digital etc..
• Tapping resources and being resourceful
• Networking skills

Phew! Long list isn’t it? Now let’s not blame our education system and sit down being a blamer. We are in a better off era, where a lot of help is offered. There are YouTube videos, tons of content on improving these skills in ourselves. If you aren’t the types to self-study then you can connect with people who offer life skills lessons in form of 1:1 session or training sessions etc.

I’d love to hear from you…… would you reach out to professionals and upskill yourself in Life skills? Drop me a comment and let me know.

Good Bye 2020

 Just a couple more hours of 2020. Here's reflecting on the year gone by.....

By far an unpredictable and an unique year. Looking back, it helped me appreciate grace in various facets of life.

It pushed me, tested me yet blessed me in more than one way. We learnt to co-exist, to show our vulnerabilities, to persist, to survive, to love ourselves and truly count our blessings.

Amongst other things it gave me an opportunity to once more learn and experience Sanskrit language.

Under the partnership of ICEDC and Rotary India I trained over 500 school teachers in personal and professional development program.

I had friends who kept a check on me and help me keep my sanity. Khyati Thakkar, Hitu Khera, Rohini Venugopal, Aradhna and some others.

I now release this year with loads of gratitude and love.

Bring it on 2021.....what magic will we create together? RWGBPPA9SBAB

Wish each of you a happy, prosperous and a BLESSED New year!!

India is My country – Jaisalmer

So this story started when I was in the seventh standard! In Geography we had just about begun learning about the Indian terrains – different types of mountains, plains, oceans etc.. Yeah! India has it all. I was both, fascinated and afraid of the deserts. Yet, I did want to see the Thar Desert. My interest was fuelled by the stories of Alladin, Arabian nights etc. The desert, camel, oasis, no water, no vegetation etc… was very mysterious to me. Somewhere in the rut of life I forgot all of this.

India is My country - Benaras

Benaras, Kashi OR Varanasi, a rose by any other name………..well you know the rest. But, this was a magical trip to say the least. So, something about this city was inviting. And an almost impromptu trip was planned to this magical city.

Nope, wasn’t meant to be a religious trip by any stretch of imagination. Most certainly a gastronomical one and perhaps indulgence in street shopping. With that aim in mind, three idiots set out on an excursion. We landed at the Lal Bahadur Shashtri airport. We had a rough outline of what we wanted to do, but by and large we were on a ‘what else is possible’ mode.

Benaras, is located in Uttar Pradesh. And it is not, your regular ‘Oh so beautiful’ kind of place. The terrain is rough, dry and rustic. It is easy to completely reject it in the first sight and wallow in – ‘Oh bad decision’ kind of thing. But give it a chance, and it slowly grows on you. YES, it does.

Miracle Garden

My son wanted to participate in a story telling competition in school. The Only condition was that it should be self-written story. I discussed with sonny boy and he wanted to write something about trees/nature. And so we started…..

There is this divinely beautiful miracle garden I saw. It had tall huge gates made of gold. Solid strong brick walls layered with colourful creepers. This mesmerised me. I lightly touched the gates and it opened welcoming me inside. Oh! What a sight to behold.

India is My country

India is my country …………………… AND I am unapologetic-ally proud of it. So, some feel, I go overboard with it, some say I ‘think’ too much. Either ways there is no apologising for loving this country that gave me my identity, education, income and shelter. This post isn’t about patriotism. It’s about the beauty of – India. In school we’d say the pledge and I took one line a little too seriously – ‘I am proud of its rich and varied heritage’. This line slowly grew on me. As I read geography and learnt to connect it with the history [took a very long time] and started travelling to various places, I began to appreciate this rich and varied heritage. BUT, it is my cousin Sweety Rao who pushed and pushed me to write my perspective about various places I ever visited. I was like – what’s the big deal. What I see is my perspective, my understanding and experience. Why is anyone interested in it? But, she is relentless. 

Oh BTW 'Matrubhoomi prem' is an Indian concept. Oh yes it's ours!

Doodle and Me

Doodle and me go back a long way. I am guessing it is something we all did as school students. Yes those designs in the margins of the notebook during class is what I am referring to. A continuous pattern or scribbling our own names or artistic representation of some letters. Yes those exact things that filled the margins of our book and for which we got flak from both parents and teachers.

Now years later I saw my son’s books filled with these scribbles and ofcourse I gave him a piece of my mind. But was reminded of my own school days. So essentially all children do this. Yes I learn a lot from my prodigy [whether I like it or not is irrelevant].

Nine points to stay motivated and positive

 Have you experienced days where you wake up groggy and grumpy and feel generally lost? Yes I have seen such days and mind you, many such days. Nothing feels right, everything seems out of control and generally everything is overwhelming. The worst is I feel sapped of positivity, creative energy and inspiration etc.

The momentum needs to come from within. Yes motivation isn’t out there. No person or place can motivate you. You need to do it for yourself.

So I thought of writing few points to stay up and about and put together at most times. Here’s what can be done:

Ten tips for a well organised and decluttered house

Having a mess free, well organised house is an ever elusive dream for many. It is that coveted position that many can’t really reach. To add to the chaos there are endless videos on: My daily cleaning routine, 30 ideas to a well organised kitchen, Cleaning hacks etc..

Now these videos raise the bar so high that it puts many on a guilt trip. Hence I thought of writing a blog doing a reality check. The fact that you are even reading this article means there are chances that you are either grappling with organising your home or are looking for some motivation to do so.

1.   Set realistic goals:

Please do not set your standard so high that they cannot be met. A lot depends on which your life cycle, routine, responsibilities and the actual time spent in your house. If you have toddlers and babies in the house, your priority is to ensure they are safe, well fed and looked after and NOT really having a well organised house. If you spend several hours out of the house I wonder how much time can be dedicated in organisation/cleaning etc. If you have all grown up in the house and well abiding to a routine then perhaps you have a higher chance of having a neat, clean and well organised house.

School tiffin ideas

Cooking is an art and school tiffin in that gamut is a challenge to say the least. So many things come into play e.g.: The choice of menu, presentation, taste, nutritional value, palatable after about 4/5 hours of cooking etc.

Some children just do not eat home cooked food. They thrive on junk. While I do not have such a problem, my challenge is how NOT to repeat a menu. And that is a pressure created by my own self :)

Presenting a week's school tiffin ideas.

Diwali rangoli ideas

Diwali is just round the corner. You have hardly any time left to scout for Diwali designs and materials. 


I have compiled herein a few my rangoli designs from past Diwali seasons. Do let me know if you liked the designs. 

Simple Kolam DIY

Click below to see an easy peasy DIY simple kolam. This kolam can be drawn in under 5 minutes. 

Dance the Dance of Joy

Its that time of the year again.................dance the dance of joy!!

That's my outfit for the season

It's the first day of the new month and also the beginning of the Navratras, hence I thought of doing a festive round up and throw back.

Our country is unique in every way and sense. In the context of festivals also

Touching feet - Respect?

The question mark in the headline is a deliberate one and is also the topic of discussion today.

From my younger days I have been averse to touching people’s feet. In the teens it was labelled ‘rebellious’ But, I sure did know it wasn’t. I just didn’t like the idea. And I also declared that touching someone’s feet doesn’t ensure that I really respect that person. Anyways days passed and I kind of put my guards down. Eventually, I just did it as a physical exercise. There was no point discussing it with anyone because somehow no one seemed to understand.

On and off, I would discuss this topic with others and somehow most people seemed to have no problem doing it. Then came along my good friend google. I googled for any information on this tradition. Few things came up:

My Krishna collection

Krishna means different things to different people. To me it symbolises an infinite love energy.  It encourages self love. I am an ardent Krishna fan and all things associated with him namely peacock feather, lotus and shells. I have few good collections of the Krishna idols. 

So presenting a picture heavy blog after a long time. Brass and wood are my favourite combination and that is exactly what you will feast your eyes on. 

Above: a collage of my Krishna collection

Scroll down enjoy and do leave comments below. 

Independence day celebrations

This comes a little after Independence day celebrations, strategically so, only when people have forgotten all about this day.

Until I was in college, I would look up to the independence and republic day celebrations. Participation in singing and other activities was fun in more than one way. For starters practice meant no need to attend lectures for a few days just before the actual day. There would be so much fun and masti just being with friends from our own and other classes. Full time pass in the name of practice, lots to eat because we had many breaks. On the day we were the important set of students that the crowd would look at. Running around looking busy was just a fad then I guess.

Too much time on hand!

Before becoming a parent I was not so social. General chit chat with someone didn’t really interest me. But well things change after one becomes a parent. The other parents become our friends and child related events namely play dates or birthday parties become our idea of socialisation. No I am not excited; I am just about recovering from this shock. You can’t beat them join them.

Looking at the brighter side, I get a lot of insight into human relations, expectation from child/spouse etc. from these interactions. I learn most of my parenting lessons or shocks from other parents. More shocks than lessons in fact. My ideas of parenting don’t really fit the ‘norm’.

Whose career is it anyways?

I often hear parents saying that it’s a competitive world. Choice of career and getting into a good stream is tough etc. In this light they pressurise the children as early as 5^th grade. This takes a toll on not just the children but also the entire family. People have a restrictive vision when it comes to career choice, say medicine, engineering, MBA etc. Of late I have come across so many parents talking of career counselling, aptitude test etc. for children as young as 10 years. It completely scares me and makes me wonder if these kids have a childhood at all. First there was the craze of medical and engineering entrance, then came along the IIMs and IITs followed by the latest integrated college; and now the baap of all coaching for the admissions into integrated college. This coaching happens for the children of about 6^th or 7^th grade!

Have we all gone completely nuts? We expect the child to be a super human; go to school, do the school homework, take school tests and also coaching to get into a goddamn integrated college whose future is not really known to many. This not just takes a toll on the kid’s health but I think we are putting together a production unit of zombies!

Parenthood – What’s your reason?

Aah! You clicked the link and reached the blog! Awesome read on.

I believe our society is very nosey! Yeah everyone spends a lot of time and energy trying to understand what someone else is up to. 

The newlyweds barely complete one month anniversary and get asked when they will expand their family??

Man proposes child disposes – Vacation.

Man proposes child disposes – Vacation.

Yes you read it right! Man proposes child disposes. Ever since I have become a parent my god seems to have changed or moved its energy into my child. As much as it is fun, fulfilling and enjoyable being around this demi god; it is tough and difficult. Just like finding THE god!

All my choices revolve around my child ever since I have become a parent. Choice of quitting a job, holidays, selection of school everything and anything has the intention of his highest good. And this is what happens to my choices….

So we are all excited and set for our first vacation on the event of his first birthday with this demi god! We book the train tickets, hotel etc.. all set as to what to expect etc… The moment we reach the train station our little one who rarely cried in his first year of existence, starts howling uncontrollably. We are left hapless. The train we are expected to board arrives at the platform and leaves and we decide to drop the trip. On our way back home the moment we leave the railway station this demi god laughs like it is his biggest victory!

Our jaws drop in amazement!! Till date we have no clue why this child cried so much.

And yes that’s why I say – Man proposes child disposes.

This is the first in the series. Do drop a line if you wish to read some more on this series.