A decade of bliss

I rarely write about my personal life, because that is not what this blog is about , however this post is one of those few posts about my life. The event is such that I really felt like I should blog about it, just to document the momentous occasion in my life. It is the occasion of my 10th wedding anniversary. My marriage has completed 10 years this week. Although it seems like just yesterday that we were those two crazy kids (and we practically were just kids)  in love, without a care in the world, who decided that they wanted to spend their lives together.

To Akka with love !

Image source : fotosearch

" Kuch log ek roz jo bichad jaate hain,
   woh hazaroon ke aane se milte nahin,
   Umra bhar chahe koi pukaara kare unka naam,
   Woh phir nahi aate, woh phir nahi aate "
  

These lines are from a well-known hindi  song , whenever I hear these lines, I'm reminded of my Akka.
Losing a loved one is probably the hardest event in anyone's life, and it was in mine too, but not only because I loved Akka, or she loved me, but also because she was one of the most extraordinary woman I'd ever met in my life, and had a big impact on me. She showered me with love, like only a mother can, she spoiled me silly like only a grandparent can, she taught me life lessons like only a teacher can and she got me to trust her and confide in her like only a friend can.
My friend, philosopher and guide, today I share with you, the story of one of the most important person of my life......Akka.

A daughter is a blessing too !!!!

Image source : arthit

                               A daughter may outgrow your lap, but she will never outgrow your heart
                                                                                        ---- Author Unknown                                                                                                  
This sunday i.e the 25th of september 2011 was world daughter's day, as a daughter as well as the mother of a daughter, this day certainly is very special for me. It is the only formal occassion  to celebrate being a daughter or having one.
I am not one of those who think that daughters are better than sons or vice-versa. There's something unique and wonderful about all children, and god gives us children that we are supposed to and meant to have in our life, so be it a son or a daughter they bring a whole lotta joy into their parents lives .

Of changes, milestones and gratitude

I have been a late and fairly recent entrant to blogging, have been reading some blogs regularly for over three years now, but somehow never thought of blogging myself. I thought I'd have nothing to write, I thought I have nothing worth saying, that anyone would like to pay attention to and come and read my posts...so just remained a blog reader....

Group Dynamics of women

Image Source : This is your conscience

In my last post about the way female bonding is represented in Bollywood, one of the fellow bloggers Preeti, made an interesting comment about the whole issue of female bonding.
In my post I had alluded to the fact that in society many think that women are incapable of long standing, deep relationships. I have mixed feelings on this point. On one hand I do believe that women are totally capable of long, deep friendships, and can be honest and supportive to one another, but I also agree that this is more the case of one on one friendships or with a small and close group of few girls.

My disenchantment with Raksha-Bandhan

Image source : yah.in

Many Indian homes will be celebrating the festival of  raksha bandhan or rakhi as it is usually called, in a few days. Sisters all over Indian homes, will tie a sacred thread on their brothers wrists, reminding him of his duty of protecting and loving them.
It is a beautiful tradition that celebrates the bond and love shared by brothers and sisters.
It has roots in hindu mythology, with many versions of it's origins, the most common one being the one where draupadi tore off a piece of cloth from her sari to tie up a bleeding wound on krishna's hand, and he in turn promises her to protect her and repay her debt down to the last thread, which he later follows through on, during the attemped disrobing of draupadi in the royal kingdom, when he magically appears and keeps adding fabric onto her sari, eventually saving her from getting disgraced.
Thus began the tradition of rakhi, or raksha bandhan (which roughly translated means a bond of protection) .

Will the real ABCD please stand up ?

(Image source : wikipedia )

The only reference I had to ABCD growing up was, while learning the alphabet . It was only after living in the USA for a while did I hear those letters in a different context. To those of you reading this, who may still be unaware of what these letters stand for......ABCD is an acronym for American Born Confused Desi. 
It is a phrase which is meant to describe the unique breed of people who are second generation Indian immigrants to the USA, i.e kids who are born in America to parents who are immigrants from India . It is supposedly used to describe the confused state of mind regarding their cultural identity of these category of people, in other words a confusion between their Indian-ness and their American-ness that exists in their minds .

East or West....Mom knows best !

Image source : joansheartart

A few months ago, I came across this interesting article . It is by Amy Chua, author of the book ' Battle hym of the Tiger Mother'. The article and the book caused quite a stir in the American parents' world . Blogosphere and parenting forums  everywhere lit up with reactions ranging from disappointment to disgust, to even calling her an abusive mother. The western world found it difficult to accept a parenting style so polar opposite to common parenting styles in their part of the world. While almost everyone seemed to universally reject her ideas and tried to distance themselves from her (even other asian mothers who said she was giving them a bad name), yet somehow her book remained on the Newyork Times best seller list, so certainly people out there wanted to know what she was talking about .  Here's  an interview of Amy Chua, after the backlash about her article and the book. The wall street journal even posted a rebuttal  article to Chua's article. I haven't read Chua's book (yet), but upon reading the article, I couldn't help but wonder, how I could substitute every place it said 'Chinese' in the article for 'Indian' and it would still be rather true.