I noticed there were many new lines apart from my ‘lines of destiny’, as said by the astrologers. These new lines are crisscrossed all over my hand, small in size – like healed cuts, wrinkles of mildly burnt skin, the dry and stretched skin of my palm and fingers, nails have become so soft that they bend and crack at slight friction or accidental force, so frequently that eventually, I had to cut them short. ...
You- the Unique Human Being, the Individual; the only person on this earth with your Fingerprints, your Retina, your Thoughts, your Smile, your Experiences, your Skills is YOU....
While I am sure that we all need a beauty touch-up after almost three months of dishwashing, brooming, wiping the floor, non-stop cooking (and planning to cook even more), running around the house with kids Or for kids Or both (parenting you know), late sittings in front of the screen(whether for Netflix or office work) and many more unnoticed and passing-by tasks that we all have been doing and will be doing for some more time to come; but I am not sure how safe it will be to pay much overdue visit to the beauty parlour and hair salon right now....
Social Distancing, Quarantine are the new words added to our vocabulary these days. Although the situation is worrisome and serious, the key to coming out of it is staying inside and staying positive inside. The need of the hour is to be thankful for our safety, be aware that this is a once in a lifetime situation and we must utilize this to our best capacity. We have two options – EITHER keep yearning to go out and sulk OR use whatever time we get to re-invent and re-discover ourselves. The choice is ours. With the Lockdown 3.0 running and with all the housework that needs to be done, baby duties, office calls and conference calls, still, all the dreams of ‘Work-From-Home’ and 'whims and fancies' attached to it can be fulfilled now....
Motherhood is a journey that we all have to embark upon and go through on our own. Yes, if we are super lucky, we will be helped by supportive in-laws, our own parents, super understanding partner, a faithful maid OR we might have to be on our own after a couple of days/weeks/months. But I have heard quite a few moms saying we were not well informed about what we will have to lose or what we might become after having a baby. With due respect, I would want to ask them, if they were told about nitty-gritty (cons of mommyhood), would they have chosen otherwise?...
When old goes away and life seems like a long, uphill, dark tunnel that never seems to end, Just remember one thing - there is light waiting for you at one or the other bend....
A job we dreamt of; a partner who loves us for what we are, a sibling we fight with every day but are still proud of; a couple of close friends we can be crazy with; a child we adore; parents whose upbringing has made us what we are today; understanding in-laws; a healthy body many struggle for; travel to a destination we had dreamt about, being able to eat when and what we want – the list is endless, but we take these for granted and complain about what we do not have.. ki ye sab to theek hai lekin.. One of the most underrated quotes in-spite of being heard most commonly is: ‘Count Your Blessings’. :) ...
The Corona crisis has brought in many changes in our day to day lives, the way we think and the way we approach a situation. A commendable thing that has come out as a result of this is Self-discipline. We are characters of a catastrophe movie and we have got to be our own heroes. Barring some people, who just don’t seem to understand the importance of this social distancing and lockdown or are intentionally breaching the safety rules, everyone else is serious enough to fall in line and follow what the authorities have been shouting from the rooftops. The lockdown has locked us in our houses without house helps, without a smooth supply of groceries, without vegetable and fruits, without any place to walk around and without any place to go to. Initially, I was very happy as if an unplanned vacation has started and I was happy with everyone at home - safe and in sight. Then began the phase of being worn out when I was tired of cooking and cleaning which left me wondering, "Who are these people who have all the time in the world to be innovative, creative and try new activities every day? The likes of Dalgona Coffee Challenge or Hand Emojis...
Offering our seat to an elderly person or a lady with kids while travelling; stopping to pick up a passer-by who fell from his/her vehicle or just slipped on the stairs; asking the elderly couple next door if they need some groceries or milk in this corona struck situation as they are at higher risk; saying 'it is ok' with a smile to children when they break something by mistake; gracefully granting leave to house-help if she or someone in her house is sick; complimenting someone's food just because the person has put in efforts in cooking for us; offering a glass of water to the delivery guy; gracefully leaving 2-5 rupees with the vegetable vendor if he doesn’t have change; saying 'Thank You' to the rickshaw driver who dropped us to our destination; giving some food to the friendly stray animals and many more opportunities every day. Kindness makes us feel good and might make someone little happier today. Try it! ...
Corona O Corona,
You have been scary enough,
don't you think you have been a little too rough?...