Show me your "halwa"

Recently I chanced to overhear a little tyke of 4, singing a local film song with an adorable lisp. The song originally says "Show me your jalwa" (roughly translates to "show me your inner spirit") and the sweetheart was lisping "Show me your halwa"......!!!! (for those who're curious, halwa is a dessert).

Made me smile. Really. Children can be so sweet and innocent. Took me back to school days when we'd been taught a song about a "Teddy Bears' Picnic". It had a line "watch them catch them unawares.." which, to my 5 yr old brain seemed like a fun game of catch, where you "watch them catch their underwear..."!!!!! actually had pictured diaper clad teddies which we had to play with and catch!!!!


Another memory of my 5 yr old niece asking in awe....."Is the moon here green in color....!?!??"... on looking from her height in the car I realized she was viewing it through the green band across the windscreen!

Another kid of 3 asking her dad while at the ATM.."But daddy why is it called a 'ladybird'??" Bet you can't answer that one!!!

Seriously, listen to kids once in a while.... makes you forget your worries even if for a while! :)

The 'twain shall never meet?

I just read a well written blog about the differences between men and women (here) and had a good chuckle!

Why? well, I've always been very amused at the inherent differences between men and women and the ultimate irony that a (straight) couple provides. Think about it, men and women are by nature and instinct born of gazillion years attracted to each other and choose to cohabit together....... and that's when they first think "OMG!!! This is a different species altogether!!!!!!" Panic surmounts as both parties are clueless...!!!! Women just don't get how every ball game/ cricket match/ F1 being televised could be appealing and men are baffled by a woman's demand to "talk".

Women are stunned when the "macho" men in their life refuses to use some sunscreen in Goa and would rather come home with a painful burn. And men are equally lost about why women feel so moved when they get a pretty piece of fluff from a friend instead of a "useful" gift on her birthday.

Well, I could go on and on, but, if you've been in a relationship you know what I'm talking about!!!

So, what's to be done? Do we just bemoan the fact endlessly to friends or get mad?? Aha!! There is a way out...

First of all accept the differences. Secondly, work out some areas of compromise (I said some. you'd be stupid to try all). Third and final learn to pick your battles...

I guess the first two are pretty obvious. As for the third point, well, ask yourself, "does it really make a huge difference if he/she forgot to pick up whatever" Get the idea? We have but one life... can't keep getting mad at all the small stuff...

By the way, also learn some guile! Yep, you heard me! :D If he hates being nagged, make a list of weekly chores, stick it on the list and keep marking yours off.... on saturday, compare notes!
If she takes an hour to dress and you're always late, tell her you have to leave at actually time - half an hour... better still change the clock in the house to run ahead.

Well, I just had to write this today although to actually cover the whole topic would take me a year or two at least!!

How do I keep awake????

(y.a.w.n...) Whoops! sorry about that but I am sooo very sleepy...!! I had to stay up till around 4 am this morning and have a looong day ahead .....!! If I yawned any bigger, you could probably see upto my intestines.... eww....gross!! I know.. but hey, I'm too sleepy to know what I'm saying.....!

So I started thinking....what are the top ten ways to overcome drowsiness?? Here's my list...

1. Splash cold water in your eyes several times a day
2. Good old coffee...strong!
3. Headphones playing loud music (if you can work with music that is)
4. A brisk walk around the office every hour
   
5. A quick power nap...at your desk....! Mind you ...not more than 5 mins
   
6. Yet another coffee
   
7. Tons of water (if not to refresh you then at least to counter balance all the coffee!)
   
8. A post lunch walk outdoors
9. Call a friend and chat for a while
10. If all else fails imagine your boss's purple hued face when you miss your deadline!!!!!!!!!
    

Declutter and Get organized!!!

Do you fidn yourself wondering very often why your house is always a mess? That you really need to get down to cleaning that cupboard? Really need to sort out the papers? Can't find that all important document? Hmmm... well, its a fairly common trait and can be overcome with a few simple changes..

It's really not a difficult task to get organized.

• First, fix a cork board to your kitchen wall or dedicate a space behind a door for this. if you can't get hold of a cork board, tape up a thermocol sheet and cover it with a bright old cloth so it looks good. And do buy some board pins.

• Next, you can have a look at this very helpful websitewhich provides several templates for your convenience. I, for one, am very forgetful of birthdays and anniversary. So, I've gotten a birthday calendar from here. You could get To Do lists, Cleaning lists, grocery lists, etc from the site.[If taking print outs is not possible, at least go through the various templates to identify which areas could be of use to you. then take separate sheets for each and just write the purpose of the sheet on top]
• Now that you have your sheets, fill them in!
  
• Some of your lists could be:
• Weekly chores,
  
• Weekend To Do List,(here's where you add one long standing task per week.)
• Monthly To Dos
  
• Birthday chart,
  
• Grocery list (to which you can keep adding so that when you finally go to the supermarket, you just tear the sheet off!),
• Weekly menus (working moms... it takes a bit of time to write this once a week, but it really helps)

Now, that was to handle all the tasks and chores that pile up routinely. What about decluttering? I'd read in the reader's Digest long back, that anything that's not been used for 2 years or more, will most likely never get used! Well, out they go!!
Next: your cupboard looks like its bursting at the seams yet you feel you've no clothes to wear? get everything out in a pile. Now, anything that's been there for very long needs to be put in a pile that you will donate and feel good about! (Yes, it includes clothes that are favourites, and look..they still look so good...)
Anything which you'd optimistically thought you could fit into and have not been able to for more than 3 years... o.u.t!!! well, you get the drift by now... I'm sure your cupboard will breathe easier..
Do you have the tendency to store everything? every plastic bottle and every pickle jar and every good plastic bag? if they're lying idle for anything more than a month.... please call the kabadi walla.

What next? well, now that you're tidying up, decide on designated spaces for different items. Like all bills go into boxA. All important documents are in File B, passport, cheque books, gas book all in another folder/box. Keep all warranty cards of every single appliance together. Maintain separate folders/ files for each person in the house, which will hold all of his/her certificates. Keys should be kept in a little jar/bowl/key peg.. Just remember to always keep things back in place and then you'd never be looking for things again!!

All you need to do now is refer your charts and sheet to remember all tasks (you'll never miss a birthday and never pay a bill late) and just remember to keep things in place instead of dumping them on the first available surface!

Good luck and please do give me your feedbacks and share your tips as well!!

cold in summer

I just disposed the 40th tissue since morning.. my nose feels raw and sore from all the blowing its been subjected to. The AC in office just makes it worse... Woke up yesterday with a disgusting post nasal drip and gargled throughout the day (twice actually!) to wake up this morning with what seemed like the heaviest head in the world but ahh.. no more icky throat.

Summer here is...well, very pleasant and quite chilly at night so I guess I succumbed to temperature fluctuations at night... For now I'm having loads of hot coffee and tea and beginning to enjoy speaking in my husky voice...

No matter how old you are, don't you wish Mommy was around at times like this? I do. Siiiiiiiigh........

Ebony and Irony

Have you ever wondered at India's hypocrisy about racism? Let me explain. My father recently traveled on work to an African country. Post work, he decided to take a swim in the company's common pool. When he got in there were a few other Indians. But, the moment some of the natives got in the pool, said others not only slid out but even whispered to my dad that he should get out before the "Kaale log" got in!! Incidentally he was even warned not to eat non-veg as it is prepared by...yes, you got it... "kaale log"!!!

Why are Indians so obsessed with fair skin? Why is a girl with a golden complexion and beautiful skin told by all in her family that she's so unlucky cos she's not fair? Why are fairness creams such a success in our country?

Its ridiculous. I was in Goa sometime back and would you believe that the Europeans there had deeper tans than we did and were least bothered by it? And on the contrary the Indian girls wouldn't even stay in the sea for fear of a tan. Ok, let me not paint everyone black (no, pun wasn't intended!)... there are a few evolved people, I admit. But, the majority are obsessed with "fair" skin.

How many people even realize that the word "complexion" refers to the overall appearance of someone's skin and not just color?

It's sad, really, when you hear relatives commenting on adorable little tykes with a "oh, her Mother should start applying sandal wood paste (and blah, blah) right now so that later her skin clears up a bit.."

My cousin sis was pleasantly surprised when on relocating to the US one of the first compliments she got was for her "awesome tan"!!!

So all you girls out there.... revel in your natural color... with health and happiness... and for goodness sake... stop listening to people who believe color matters!

"Life is full of sweet sweet things I want to do some tasting...."

So sang Boney M of yesteryears. Have you ever felt that way? Have you ever felt that there's so much to do but one life is simply not enough for it?? Just the other day I was telling my significant other that maybe I should've been an actor... "Why?", was the surprised response.... to which I replied... "At least that way I'd get to play so many different roles..!" Well, I was speaking lightly then, but honestly, I so often feel that there's so much I want to do but its just too much.. You wonder what I could want that seems too much for one life? Ok here goes:

• I want to be a successful lawyer (no, I don't have a degree in law)
  
• I want to be a jazz pianist (I play two simple tunes with just one hand)
  
• I want to play a drum kit as well
  
• I want to own a profitable business
• I want to go deep sea diving (for someone who barely swims!)
• I want to sing professionally
• I want to be a stage actor
• I want to be a columnist
• I want to be a counselor to troubled teens
• I want to do a travelogue
• I want to write a cook book someday
• I want to take my sketching to a serious level

My list can go on for quite a bit... you see, some of them might be doable if I pick a few from the list. But anything more than a few just cannot be done! And when you live in a big messy metropolitan where distances are huge and the traffic is disastrous, even signing up for a few things becomes that much harder... add to that a full time job and family.... you get the drift? No. Don't get me wrong... I'm not the kind to sit and bemoan my fate, etc... I'm a high octane person who tries to make the most of every minute...but sometimes I do feel that life is too short to experience all that it has to offer... don't you think so?

What are your dreams?