Small things in life matter .

It all started when I decided that I too can bake a cake of patisserie standard. My darlings somehow planted this idea inside my head that without much of baking experience or training, I can also bake like an expert and that too in my first attempt. What high expectations? But then who can you blame? All little ones think their mothers have magical powers and are capable of doing everything. I was prepping for the bake day since a couple of days. Groceries check. Apron check. Oven check. Recipe check. Attitude check. Almost everything was checked and so I thought I was all set. What can possibly go wrong? Both my daughters were my sous chefs and were giving me instructions about how exactly they wanted my cake to be. First lesson- if you are baking and that too for the first time start with a basic cake, nothing fancy. Also dont forget-There is something called as pre heating of the oven. Better be aware of it. We started with the dry ingredients first. Sieving and mixing

As small kids, life seems very easy breezy. Endless small talk. Collecting seashells like there is no tomorrow. Shrieking at the top of your voice. Throwing tantrums. Making sand castles. Dressing up for tea parties. And a lot more fun things to fill up their day. What is more interesting is, when as a kid you are doing all these things, it never seems as frivolous. Kids are in their own sweet world, which they take rather seriously. They think and approach their problems as if the world would end, if it doesn't happen as they have planned. Like the other day, my Naughty4 was frantically going through her wooden box which is full of ornaments, bows and colourful ribbons. She was almost in tears. Obviously, she wasnt able to find something important to her. And so I asked her what she was searching for. To which she innocently replied that she had got small colourful stones in her pocket, which she had meticulously collected from the garden and had stored those precious belo

Grandmothers are special. Especially to their grandkids. Grandkids love and worship their grannies and the grannies adore their grandkids to the moon and back. What if I tell you I know one such granny who adores not only her grandchild but adores other kids too. She is very loving and generous and an amazing cook. She is always so eager to help others and is in fine fettle. At her age, I doubt If we will be able stand on two feet and walk, let alone running errands. I remember when we were young our granny would go to great extents to fulfill our demands. However small or big it would be, she would make sure we got atleast something, which was close to what we asked for. In those days, almost over three decades back, money and food weren't abundant like it is in today's day and time. Most people used to scavenge for things which could be reused. My gran was such a towering figure, not in terms of physique but in terms of substance. She was an amazing woman and stood h

When I told my hubby how boring it is sometimes when both our daughters go to school and he for office, I was looking for some empathy and not a solution to a problem. For me there was no problem at all. I loved the free time I was getting so I could think and write more clearly. I just needed him to listen to me. But no, he had to rescue me like I was a damsel in distress. He started offering solutions to a non- existant problem. Doesn't this happen to you too? Reverse the situation. Your husband is discussing some office trivia with you. He wants you to listen and appreciate him for what he did in that situation. Instead, we being women, start advising him how it would have benefited him, if he would have reacted in a different way( read your way) and so we start grooming him to make him like us. Men like to fix all things broken or not. And women like to change and improve and nurture everything required or not. So many times when people tell me that they- husband and w

My dad has always taught me to be generous without hesitation. When I was younger, I never understood what he meant by that. All I saw was my mum and dad working hard to make a good life and helping people in need without thinking twice and without any hesitation. All the relatives and friends never used to think twice when they were in trouble as they knew all they had to do was - ask, and my parents would be there for them, sometimes giving a cash favour and on more occasions being there in person and giving their time and energy to help and just be there in other peoples moment of difficulty. The enthusiasm which they had was unmatched. He always told me that you never give away things which you no longer need. That's not the way to give. That is not being generous. It's just discarding all those things you no longer need. He then used to encourage me to give things which I was still using and were good to give. The things which are not good to be used by you are n

The most important accessory for me while dressing up is a nice pair of shoes. If they are nice, you are good to go. Doesn't matter if they are loubs or not, if they look neat and fit you like a glove then they are yours to be. A girl can never have enough shoes as they have to change according to an occasion, weather, outfit, mood and some other factors. One of my favourites are belly . Apart from the comfort factor they look good on almost everything. They look elegant and I like wearing them for a casual outing and also on ankle length culottes or trousers. The mules look very nice and they feel quite comfortable too. I like wearing them on jeans and casual wear. I dont like to wear them for summers though as they make my toes sweat. Jutis are my fave option when it comes to ethnic wear or dresses which have a bit of embroidery on it. They come in amazing colours and combinations and look so pretty. They make the feet look super stylish. Stilettoes are ever

Ikigai is a Japanese word or rather it is a Japanese concept which means finding the reason of your being or the purpose and meaning of your being and a feeling of wellbeing. Ikigai is something which gives a sense of satisfaction to an individual. Everyone of us have our own Ikigai based on our beliefs and values. I am glad that I found my ikigai in my writing. Earlier I used to scribble notes and write randomly about whatever came to my mind. And now I am trying to write with more focus and resolve. The more you write, the more you learn how to write. Till the time we understand our purpose of life or that which gives us joy we all are aimlessly trying to dabble many different things. And that's not bad, rather it is essential to go through the grind to gain sagacity. To some their ikigai may be in their routine lives. To have a routine and to follow that religiously day in and day out is commendable. You dont have to do extraordinary things to find your ikigai. Just f

It's not a secret that in our Indian society people still look at dusky skin colour with much disdain. They will talk about how progressive they are but at the same time twitch their nose at anyone who do not conform to their standards of beauty and intellect. People still think drinking tea which is dark in colour might literally change their skin colour. So the more you drink tea the duskier you become. I cant decide who is more stupider - the people who are perpetuating this to be true or the people who dont drink tea in the fear of getting duskier. Nothing could be more outlandish than a beverage getting to decide who can be fair and who cannot be fair. Furthermore someone needs to tell the dogmatics that the colour of the skin is different because of the melanin in our body which has changed and evolved according to the climatic conditions and relocation of our ancestors for their survival. Just because one is dark coloured you cannot differentiate him/her. The only

Happiness is subjective. Its relative. What is boon to one might be a bane to someone else. But still all of us are running after the all elusive happiness. We are happy but not content. Everytime we achieve something we want or desire, we become happy. However that happiness is shortlived. We are so fixated on something more, that we never celebrate where we are at the moment or what we have already achieved. We are constantly running a race where there cannot be any winner as the damn race never ends! Once we achieve what we want, we set our eyes on something bigger, something better, something higher. Does it mean that we are stuck in this materialistic world where there is no contentment.. We strive hard to achieve our set goals. And when we get that dream job, that dream salary, that dream house, that dream car, why aren't we still happy. Why is there a void which constantly needs to be filled in. The moment we achieve our goals we waste no time to stretch that band a b

Mothers are the sweetest and kindest souls ever, would not be an overstatement. I dont understand then why only my mom has to differ. I dont mean that she isnt sweet but yeah she is definitely not sugar sweet type.(atleast to me). How she is to my kid brother is a thing to debate. No matter what she has to offer as an explanation I would never buy into one. The funny thing is my brother thinks exactly the same thing about my mums and my relation. He thinks she takes my side and favours me more than him. Earlier I never used to understand this complexity of the mind. Both of us had proper theories and proofs to support our case. And my mum used to clarify all the time that she is not on any one particular side and that we will only get it when we have our own children. And how on point was she? Now that I have my own two kids, history is repeating itself and now I am the one who no matter how hard I try, can never be a good referee. There are maddening allegations made by both my