Don't give up now

We all have that one person in our lives who is a constant source of inspiration to our lives. For me it is someone who embodies the ‘never give up’ philosophy most brilliantly in her life – My mother!  Mom has been my inspiration right from the very beginning. There is something about her that makes everyone just fall in love with her. She is beautiful, energetic, intelligent and a constant learner! Thinking of mum gives me this warm, fuzzy feeling just like how one would feel while having a big bowl of soup on a cold wintery night.

From the time she remembers, she always wanted to be a Doctor instead ended up being an Air hostess. She was always a topper in her class, even though math was a huge task for her but that never stopped her from acing the class. But somewhere she never gave up on her aspiration and just recently she has concluded her studies and has become a certified Doctor in Alternate Medicine.  What makes it even more special is the fact that along with her long working hours, endless household chores and a recurrent shoulder condition she has managed the doctorate degree.

Learning something new has always been her first love! It has partially to do with the fact that she didn’t have the luxury of going to med school. She moved to Delhi right after her 12^th exam got herself enrolled in the evening college for B.com and during the day she would work. But once she cleared her graduation, she landed up herself with a job at Indian Airlines as an Air hostess. Life got busy but learning never stopped, while working she did her Masters in history and even cleared a few papers while studying for MBA. Even though should couldn’t complete it then, she did try to give her best.  

In a few more years she retires from her long innings at the airlines, but she has already found something to new to keep herself busy with in her retirement. She plans on further learning yoga which would come in handy with naturopathy and ayurvedic line of medicine. It is this perseverance what inspires my life. Whenever I am stuck, I would go back to thinking what would mum have done and just that thought helps me get through tough tasks easily.

Her life story is inspirational and if there is one thing you can take away from her is - you don’t really need to compromise on your dream even if it takes time.

P.S. - And it goes without saying none of this would have been possible without daddy's support. He has always been a silent support in her life and so when she graduated he was the first one to announce about her success. 

P.P.S. - I love you !! 

Fit in or Stand out?

We all live in comfort zones and find it really difficult to part away with it. But such is life, it will bring challenges and will expect you to raise yourself above the petty things and aim at the goal that is set higher. If you are a regular at the blog, then you would know that I love looking for inspiration from people in my life, everyday people like you and me! And so today it’s going to be my eldest niece, Mariah but I love calling her Ammu.

Ammu until this June was studying at the Indian School grade 5, one of the most prestigious CBSE schools in the Oman and was in the CBSE (I) curriculum, which is far more relaxed and than the regular CBSE. However when we decided upon putting Smera into an international school known for strong academics and extra-curricular activities, Ammu seemed excited about this new school for her.

It wasn't going to be a task as she just managed to clear her entrance test in Math and the second challenge set for her was French as opposed to Hindi was going to be the second language and she would have to catch up on her French. The third challenge for Ammu was to make new friends and so far it was easy for her as she joined and grew up from a toddler into a confident and popular 10 year old girl. Now it was going to all back to square one and at 10 it’s a bit more difficult to fit in.

But in all of this she had an advantage as she had an extra month of vacation which she utilised very wisely and got herself enrolled for Math and French coaching. As a result of the challenge that was set in front her, she pushed herself to the limits and in the very first test in French she scored a 100/100 and in Math she scored an 87/100. Since the first week her academic scores have been getting better the ever.

Simultaneously she has been making friends too in her peers and superiors but it is a bit longer process than she had expected. She is trying to make friends without changing the person she is and believe me it’s a tough ask for a 10 yr old. I keep reminding her of all the good parts of her character, while some days are tough but some days are super cool. The problem with the kids at her age is they without realising end up hurting, or bullying their peers. But what is important is not to lose your identity to become one of them.

In life I've learnt that trials are a great way to progress ahead in our lives. Sometimes they may make us feel excited and enthusiastic, while others simply are meant to overwhelm us.  The key is to never to lose your confidence, you may lose everything and get it back with firm belief in yourself. My advice for you and every child would be not to hesitate in taking chances and appreciate whatever you've have learned from a tough situation and you must also understand that every step is necessary in this journey called Life!

I know you've always enjoyed Dr. Seuss, he once said "Why fit in when you were born to stand out?”.  Taking a cue from Dr. Seuss, there is wonderful song that I am leaving for you and I feel best describes your situation. I Love You and you make me very proud girl!! 

School is Cool!!

I love to see the little children smile as they go off to school. My daughter started her big school this September. Going to school has always been an enjoyable experience for her. Be it back in Dubai at Blossoms or at Kids World here! Just as I expected her initial first week was great, I would take her to her class leave her in with a big hug and she would happily proceed . By second week we started sending her with cousin sister and our driver aka Salim Uncle. 

This transition wasn't so smooth, Smera was not quite happy about going with Salim. She being mamma’s girl found it difficult to let go, by the end of the 2^nd week slowly as she started getting used to it, the poor child fell sick with terrible viral and bout of wheezing. While it’s common for kids to fall sick when they initially start school, but in Smera’s case falling sick was not a big hitch, re-starting the routine was most complicated part.

As a mother it was really tough for me to send teary little one away, to school. I would spend my day restlessly waiting for her to come back and see smile on her face. This is one of the challenges I wanted her to overcome. Smera loves listening to stories and I would tell her about kids who are less fortunate, who want to go school but can’t make it as they don’t have the means to go to school. I would tell how I didn't realise as a child how important school was. As each day passed her anxiety was reducing but the tears still didn't go away!

Just then 17 year old Malala Yousafzai won Noble Peace prize, and this gave me a perfect story to tell Smera. I pulled “I am Malala” book and read the excerpts to little one, where she was shot on her way back from school. This story really moved little Smera, she asked me a lot of questions, “why did the bad men shot her?”. She had a lot of questions in her head, why girls can’t study? Why the bad men killed children who wanted to go to school. After satisfying her curiosity, I explained to Smera education helps us understand between right or wrong. Those bad men didn't want kids to understand that difference. I explained to her, how Malala’s parents stood as strength for her and encouraged her to study and live the life she wanted to.

Image courtesy:  www.malalafund.org

I am not sure how much of the story she understood, but there were two things that she took away from it, firstly education is a greatest gift that god has given her. Secondly, good education will help her become a good ballerina and super heroine girl! My child had such an impact that the next school, she was all smiles and it made extremely proud! 

Thank you Malala you have in many ways have inspired our lives and may god bless you girl! I wish more power to you girl and let there more girls who show the same courage and the determination as you to study. The great part of girls getting educated is that they would ensure the next generation of children would also study.

Du-bye

Something is different as I write today. It’s not weather or the mood but it’s the backdrop, towering mountains have replaced the skyscrapers.

Change as they say is inevitable, and so it was time for us to move from Dubai to Muscat. We are all set for new challenges, goals, happiness, frustrations and learning’s here in Muscat.

Dubai has been really kind to us. We continue to be great fans of Dubai, of course every place has its own challenges but the city with each passing day tends to grow on you.  For many it might be the city with biggest and tallest, for me it has been the city of firsts!

It was almost 7 years ago I got married and came to Dubai join my hubby. To be honest, at first I didn’t like place very much but in a matter of few months I started calling it home. We set our first house together, done it up to call it our home, bought our first car, and mastered the art of DIY thanks to frequent trips to IKEA among many other things.  But nothing beats the pleasure of being first-time parents.

Little Smera was born here in Dubai and she filled our lives with immense joy. Staying away from family, it was difficult to raise an infant all by ourselves with no prior experience, but it got us closer to each other as partners.

We have been extremely fortunate on our career front and especially my husband who has been part of an outstanding company for the last 10 years. RSA has been extremely generous and supportive of him and his ambitions. In fact Smera is truly a RSA baby with pink and purple being favourite colours, true to the brand colours of the company.

Taking a sabbatical from work to enjoy motherhood, it was here I first tried my hands at blogging and I must admit I am addicted to it (thanks you for supporting my addiction !).

 There are numerous memories tied with this city and I am really going to miss it. The friends we made, our house (no, home), our favourite food joints and so many other things. However I am sure we are going to make many more new memories and I would love to share it with you all too here on Sangrywords!

To Muscat it is, here we come, with a little prayer in our heart, smile on our faces and hope in our minds to start a new chapter!

My girl turns 3 !!

Three years ago, this exact day I was blessed with a little baby girl. As she turns three today, the best part of being her parent is seeing her smile everyday in the morning. This year has been yet another spectacular roller-coaster ride for us and Smera and through the year many milestones were achieved this year too.

gettyimages.ae

She can talk, make full sentences, sometimes even scold us or publicly embarrass (more on that in my next post). She can now successfully somersault, strike a couple yoga poses and peddle tricycle without falling down and fracturing her hand. Breaking her wrist was the toughest part of the year, I think I must have cried more than her. Even through all that pain and irritation she showed us how brave she is. At least she was much more than me.

She has become more social and loves talking to the ladies. She would love to look at their dress, touch their earrings, if she is lucky might even get them put her some lipstick. While she is still a little vary of the men, actually to be honest she can give dirty looks to men and scare them off too. I kind of feel secure that way!

Another milestone she reached that now she is fully potty-trained and has been diaper-free for the last few months. Infact this was one of the milestones that got delayed a bit, as she was scared to sit on the pot. I had to bribe her with lipstick, to get her sitting on the potty throne initially.

Yes you heard it right, a potty throne that is what it is called – a separate miniature toilet, designed for kids to be trained. But thanks to her cousin sister Amy, she has finally been upgraded to big the pot. Thank god I don’t have carry her throne anymore now. Phew!

Above all this year we have become more of friends, we fight, we kiss and make up. Love to snuggle into each other and then when daddy comes home complain about each other. Now I enjoy when the husband is travelling and it’s just the two of us alone at home, doing all girlie things together, watching her favourite Cinderella or Peppa pig.

gettyimages.ae

Our relationship reminds me of mine with my mother when I was growing. She has got all my bad habits, keeps calling me Mamma all the time, whether there is a need or not. However the funniest bit was once, she says, “mamma you look like my sister!” It’s something I always tell about my mum that she looks like my sister and the little one must have picked up this somewhere from one of our conversations.

I am a very strict parent and maybe you might even find me scolding her all the time, but that is because I want her to be world’s best child. When you grow and read this one, I want you to know mamma loves you a lot. Thank you so much for making our lives so special. God bless you, may you grow up to be a wonderful girl and I am sure success would follow you.

Happy birthday Smera!

Accidental learning

I have said this number of times.  I have learnt a lot from my two year old – it feels back to school days. Take for instance, the case of a Sting-Ray, I only really came to know about this creature after Smera started recognising them. Then there is the difference between a turtle and a tortoise or how to distinguish seal from a sea-lion and to explain how an alligator is different from a crocodile. Of course, all these are testament to my lack of appreciation of marine biology and the result of Smera’s overdeveloped sense of curiosity, fueled by her weekly trips to the Dubai aquarium.

But that’s not the type of learning what I want to talk about today. We learn everyday to be better individuals, trying to be good parents to her. There have been days when I have felt my patience thinning out like an over-stretched rubber-band trying to potty train her. It’s like playing snakes and ladders, some days we go up the learning curve and some days we go back where we started.  

Last week after a potty training accident, I was really upset one evening, thinking to myself, why can I not teach her this? Then I tend to question myself, what is it that I am doing wrong? Just then she comes and sits on my lap and says “Mamma are you upset?”. I nodded my head to say yes and then gently putting her head on my shoulder and said, “I am sorry”.  

Image: gettyimages.ae

And this made me re-realise, that I have read and I am familiar to the theory bit of being a parent, it’s the practical execution that is much tougher. That is probably the reason why I tend to be hard on myself, expecting miracles on every first attempt. But that’s when little comforting words like, “I love you mamma” or “pretty mamma”, lets me validate on the job done well. 

Even though she drives me insane, it’s Smera herself that helps me find my balance, pushes me to be a better person. When you grow, darling I want you to know that its not you that I was never upset with you.  I am usually bugged with myself that I cannot teach you better or be more tolerant. Just when I feel everything is falling apart, your comforting words, your hug and kiss make me feel better. That’s my lesson for today and for once, I am glad it is non-aquatic. 

Perspirer turns Inspirer !

I think every person is blessed to do something great, it’s upon us find what our goal would be. I love to find inspiration in everyday life. That’s the time when I look around myself, for people who are central in my life to seek inspiration. That’s what keeps me going! It can be rather difficult to search for optimism especially when the chips are down.

I have been feeling extremely lazy for the last few weeks. Blame it on the weather turning it’s course or just me. I have been shying from the gym, blogging or anything social for that matter. All I want is to sleep! With this on my mind, today I am going to write about a dear friend who is my current inspiration.

We go back really long. Childhood buddies, studied together from 2^nd grade in the same class. Though I moved to different, school, cities and countries but none of that changed our friendship. Anika or meri wala Mickey as I love to call her has really inspired me this week. She currently lives in Hyderabad, miles away from Dubai and we have not even spoken for good 5-6 months. Even then she has inspired my lethargic soul this week.

Instructor @ Zumba Fitness with Anika 

My bestie used work in the journalism field but now she has chosen to move away that and follow her passion Zumba.  With some rigorous training and driven by her enthusiasm, she is now a certified Zumba fitness instructor. She takes Zumba classes along with some freelance editing work. 

What makes the story really special is that Anika and I have struggled with our weight since childhood days. While the problem for her was a little heavier than mine. I have always seen her wanting to look slimmer in life, forgetting the fact she was prettier than all of us. As life got busy she found no time to take care of herself and she became a bit chubbier for her liking.

Everyone including her parents, siblings, and friends would ask her to lose weight, but none of them understood one thing that it was not as easy as saying. To be frank no one can understand how difficult it is getting started until they are themselves in that situation. Once you get the start, it’s more challenging to keep the momentum going on.

And then came time when all girls want to be in love and get married, the weight and long working hours would become a big issue. That’s when even with a super-hectic schedule she decided to push herself for walks and gym. Her dedication to challenge herself and her working schedule, made her achieve in goal. She got married to a wonderful man, who accepts her just as she is and encourages her to choose the healthier life.

Basking in her found love with her hubby Nikhil, she is dancing her way into a fitter and happier life and inspiring lazy souls like me sitting miles away in a coffee shop. 

Do show some love and visit Anika's facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/ZumbaFitnessWithAnika

For those reading in Hyderabad please do try a free demo class! 

Worth taking a closer look

Tribute to a great man who still continues to inspire us in many ways. This is a recycled artwork at the Change Initiative, Dubai.  Zoom in and take a closer look :)

Thumbs-up to thumb-sucking?

Lot of the toddlers in Smera’s generation within my family have thumb-sucking habit. Statistically speaking, three out of the four kids in the family have or had this problem.  To be fair I am only using statistics from Smera’s paternal side of cousins.

I was not startled when Smera too found relief with this habit, whilst I was not a fan, atleast she was taking care of herself when she started teething. When relatives and others started noticing we felt the pressure of helping her to get rid of this problem. Typical sign of a parental peer pressure! We refused to bow down to it for a while – a year to be precise, but things must change now or so I thought.

I turned to internet for solution to get rid of this problem. Armed with all the google-guided knowledge, I have used multiple techniques to kick her habit – threatening, scolding, checking with her doctors, consulting other parents. Most of them tend to point to a bitter nail polish. However I was not very keen on it, as wherever I checked, the pharmacist mentioned that the child has to be at least 3 years to conduct that experiment.

During the latest of my thumb sucking anxiety bout, I walked in to a pharmacy to meet my savior. The lovely pharmacist gave me the bitter nail polish and the confidence to try it out on my little one.  I re-checked with her to make sure but was convinced with her reassuring tone ‘No problem Ma’am, this will work!’

And one day last week, I finally laid my hands on the perfect potion to cure this problem. So all excited I discussed my plans with the hubby to apply it on her thumb next morning before sending her to school. The day started on a good note, without much fuss she had her breakfast and even finished her milk, then I applied the medicine on her explaining to how it would help her.

All set we get into the car to drop her first at her school and then to meet up my friends for a coffee morning. As soon as she was buckled up in went her finger, this was the first time Smera realised what bitter taste is. A few meters into the drive everything that she ate came out, forcing me to go back to square one – home!

The problem didn’t end there, it wasn’t going to be so easy-peasy for me. God had made the prefect plan to punish me, I washed her with soap and water but the medicine did not go – it was water-resistant! Next I wanted to try the nail-polish remover but the crying child won’t even let me touch her, then I turn to google.com but all that didn’t help either or maybe I was too hassled to even browse through the pages.

Finally I filled the bath-tub with bubbles and got her to play in the water, thankfully this trick has never failed me so far and it worked when I really wanted. While she was playing I try to scrub of her thumb with some soap and water and after good 7-8 attempts the medicine was finally gone, leaving me grounded for the day and with no coffee.

This episode left a bitter taste but gave me a chance to reflect upon things and a lesson to let go of things a little – as my wiser half says ‘Have you seen any grown ups sucking thumb ?, take it easy !’ 

Yogathon 2012 - My update !!

I am ecstatic as I write this post updating about my big day – Yogathon 2012. This is officially my first attempt at anything that involves a long-drawn-out training.

The task was 108 surya namaskar or sun salutations in an event organized by Fitness First Middle East to raise funds for Dubai Autism Centre. My guess was that I could comfortably do 50 sun salutations, but I was determined to give it my all.

As it turns out I managed 95.5 of those successfully and 0.5% of the routine I skipped in tying up my hair. Just 5 months of irregular yoga training have helped me supersede my expectations and that too for a good cause! 

 Even more pleasing was how little my inflexible husband managed to do and that towards the end he resorted to something that he always does when I am winning – running away! I meant literally around the park.

I am signing out with some pictures from today’s event.

The venue - Burj Park behind Dubai mall fountains

The team leading the Yogathon

The organiser and founder of Yogathon - Peewee Sanchez and my instructor too!! 

The very-kind and my favourite - Marcellene!

And toughest my toughest instructor - Bhama 

Super long wait !!

Childhood is really the best part of one’s life. I spent most of my childhood wishing to be a Super-girl. Time when most kids would aspire to be doctors or engineers, I had something entirely different planned out for myself. I could have taken the regular route – being doctor or engineer. A tradition followed by most Malayali kids, but then there were two problems. Number crunching was never my forte and then biology really sickened me. 

I tried a number of things to test out if I had it in myself to be Super-girl.

• Jumped from stairs, boundary walls to check if I could fly.
• Ate spinach hoping to release some extraordinary muscle power to bash up my brother.
• Walking after lights out at night – hoping that my X-ray vision will guide me through darkness.

Alas, all that came out of those escapades were a few broken bones and shaken confidence.

Soon I realised that I am just another girl, feeling dejected and disappointed - I decided to pursue other things in life.

When parenthood dawned upon us, I had a new found desire to try my hands on becoming a Super-mum. I thought just like my mum, I too would be a super-mum at managing our little Smera, our white tiled house, my family, work (which I do not do) and our life.

It’s no secret - everyone knows about my obsession with squeaky clean house and for the most part I managed pretty well except on some occasions.  My first eight and a half months of motherhood were fine and then Smera started walking! Suddenly my neat house suddenly started looking like a war-zone.

Tell you very frankly just like most mothers I tried to resist getting angry since that is what every kid does. Just then I started giving in to my evil side, while that had very little effect on my angel. With a sheepish smile and impish look from the corner of her eyes she would continue on her rampage. From spilling to crumbling, smearing food and even rubbishing the house with minutest pieces of torn paper.

After months of hard-work and patience, I finally have the power - my extraordinary Super-mum power. My 2 month-old power has rescued me from numerous panic attacks.

I am now unflustered even when I see her crumble a cookie, attack the tissue paper box or when she empties the detergent powder box on the couch. My little power machine can tackle all this and much more, leaving me with the Super-mum feeling.

It’s my hand held vacuum cleaner – cordless, bagless wonder. It’s so handy that I am going to be taking it on my next vacation!

Image courtesy: Corbis.com 

Dream, Do or is it the other way around?

Yesterday, I met a young girl from Sri-Lanka. Let’s call her Chandrika. She’s must be in her early 20’s and is working as a maid with a cleaning company here in Dubai. I can’t exactly place what it is, but I took an instant liking to this girl. Chandrika was accompanying my life-saver (aka my part-time help). We chatted up over a cup of tea and thus I became drawn in to her story.

Growing up, Chandrika wanted to be a doctor.  Yet, she was happy to settle for becoming a nurse.  She passed her nursing course with a first class and was overjoyed when she got a job offer from Dubai. The placement agent promised a position with a clinic and a salary which she could only dream of back home.

Shortly after that, Chandrika landed in Dubai to take-up the promised job. Quickly, she found out she was not going to be working in a clinic, but a cleaning company.  She had two options – to curse her luck or to make the best of a bad situation; she chose later. The silver lining is that she would be earning more than she would earn as a nurse back home, even if it meant cleaning toilets.

I know of so many people including myself who didn’t utilize the opportunity that was available for us. I am sure I could have been a doctor or something big, if only I’d put my heart to it. And here was a little girl, struggled to studying nursing and ends up working as a maid.

Life feels unfair to all those wanted to study and do something big life and didn’t have the opportunity to do so.  I feel the world would be a much better place, if some of us who are fortunate can help such people who have a burning desire to succeed.

Back to Chandrika, she is working on improving her English language skills. She spends her weekends preparing to write the nursing test that’ll help her get a nursing license in Dubai.

I am saying a prayer today for Chandrika and her dreams.

I’ve also signed up for helping a doer to dream – English Language Tuitions.

Dear daddy ...

To my Daddy,

A week in and I still cannot find the right line to start. Last week went by re-living my childhood memories thinking of the time we spent together, the jokes we shared, the fights we had, the lessons I learnt and the times you’ve been there for me (that would be all the time!).

You and I are so similar – when it comes to getting angry or having fun. I miss those days when we would watch Malayalam movies on weekend together without knowing the name of the movie and more recently when you and ma were here last year on Smera’s arrival. I miss those days when you would wake me up and rush me to get to school on-time, picking me up after college and discussing politics over tea.

Even then, it took me my first stint of living away from home to realise how much I love you and amma. But the best was yet to come - my admiration for you both are unexplainable in words now that I am a mother to Smera. It’s a tough task and you have all my sympathies now for all that I have put you through.

Of course there are numerous things I still need to learn from you. The one that tops my mind first is being disciplined, in life and more particularly about my health. Someone asked why are you so fixated about your weight?  Without a slightest bit of delay my answer was – “You have not seen my mom and dad”. Sometimes I really feel ashamed that I can’t even match half your energy at my age. Another thing I truly love about is your take it easy attitude, I know how much you hate the word tension, and just on this one occasion I wish if I was not like ma. 

Dad, I know I don’t say this very often– you are the best dad I could have asked for and I can’t thank you enough for giving us a good life.  You have given me a great mother and a wonderful brother and on your 60th birthday, I just want to say – I love you.

Happy Birthday!!

P.S. – I remember you got very emotional watching the movie Baghban and had tears in your eyes. Well that’s not going to happen to you, we are going to take good care of you. But instead you and me can author a hilarious comedy writing our life stories. Tell me what you think of it?  

Image courtesy: corbis.com

God-fearing? I don’t think so

What does the phrase “God-fearing” really mean?  I have heard these in a number of different contexts – in the devoted religious sense of the word, in the parents telling children how to behave situations and how I can miss, the ubiquitous Indian matrimonial advertisements that typically starts with something like “We prefer proposals from God fearing professionals of good families…”

The reason for this sudden philosophical reflection is once again my little one, Smera. During our recent trip to Delhi to see her G.Pa and G.Ma, she developed a particular fondness to the Barbie-doll-sized idol of Ganeshji (one of Hindu deities) that was sat in our living room.  She would at first touch his nose and playfully hold his hand. Later, when she musters enough courage, she would put her arms around and lift him up and go for a stroll.

Being the dutiful grandma, fearing that Smera would break the idol, and risk the God’s wrath, my mother tactfully took possession of the deity and placed it in our more secure puja-room (prayer-room).  This of course was followed by a fitting grandmotherly advice on respect for all religions and fear of God.  We left it at that and moved on with our lives.

A few days later, Smera got her first chance to get in to the puja-room when she tagged along with her Grandma for her early morning prayers. I am sure she must have found the setting of the room itself amusing – walls plastered with murals of deities, lingering aroma of the incense and soft lighting from the flickering diyas (oil-lamps). 

Then she spotted the idol of Ganeshji who was earlier moved to safer grounds. And in no time, her face lit up in excitement as if she had bumped into a long lost friend.  Leaping from her Grandma’s lap and cutting through the consonance of the prayer hymns she said “Hi!” She then continued with her mono-syllabic conversation with the God throughout the duration of the prayer. 

God-fearing? I don’t think so. But something tells me (or should I say my little one taught me) befriending someone is better than being fearful, be it mere mortals or the God. Don’t you think?  

Motherhood, a soap opera!

Fifteen months of motherhood has taken the toll. What else would explain my perennially tired existence, pony-tailed hair-do, dark circles, and a constant desire to sleep?

I guess this must by a reality for any expat mom with out a full-time help or the support system we take for granted, back home. Yet, I find it difficult to accept that I do not have any time to myself.

That’s not completely true, is it? -  I get my daily breather when my part-time help comes home and on weekends when Daddy is in charge of Smera. But, there is something that I find very difficult to come to terms with - being at someone’s mercy to go to the beauty parlour ! I am not being unreasonable here, just enough time for me to get through regular and very essential stuff, nothing fancy.

I shouldn’t though, be complaining about the lack of inspiration when it comes to personal upkeep. I only to need to step out to my balcony to spot all the lovely ladies in our apartment complex - some even mothers of 13 or 14yr olds, look younger and definitely fitter than me.

I have on numerous occasions complimented them, and somehow that still does not feel enough to applaud the way each one of them take care of themselves. There is a fashion-week-feel to the occasions I get to meet most them together – usually for a party at someone’s place.

During the recent Valentines Day, on the way to one such get-together, I bumped into a lady at the elevator. I was on the phone, but we noticed each other and then we surprised each other, when we later turned up at the same party. But nothing could have prepared me for what came next.

After the customary pleasantries and introduction, the sweet lady revealed, that when she met me at the elevator, she thought I was some college girl skipping class on a Valentines day!

A college girl! - far cry from the down-beat self assessment early on. “My Santoor-moment”, I told myself, while sporting a broad grin through all of the following week.

I guess, a well meant compliment works better than the best beauty treatment.

Note: Santoor is a well known bathing soap brand in India. The brand is made popular by its iconic yet consistently cheesy commercials.  It typically features a beautiful Mom walking into a party being spotted by unsuspecting ladies. Just as everyone shower compliments such as ‘which college are you from?’ or ‘are you single?’ – a child appears on the scene calling “Mommy…” to everyone’s surprise. Here is a video

Twice as Versatile?

I was recently given the 'Versatile Blogger Award' by Iamlonelytoes and PurpleChronicle.  It may appear as the blogosphere equivalent of chain-mails, but if you think about it, it's got to be good to be recognised by your peers. Thank you Joriel and Kajal!

According to The Versatile Blogger Award rules one has to:

§         Add a picture of the award in your post.

§         Thank the award giver.

§         Share 7 random facts about you.

§      Nominate 15 other bloggers for The Versatile Blogger Award and let them know that they've been nominated.

Here is my list of 7 random things-

1. I love to talk. A LOT. My report cards always had ‘very talktive’ remark on them.
2. I don’t sweat much on my face just get hot flush. I secretly pray that one day I can also sweat like everyone else.
3. I was once served chewing gum in my KFC. Yikes !!!
4. I have lots of grey hair, more than my mum does. Sigh !!
5. I have a habit of saying the same thing in 3 languages – Hindi, English, Malayalam.
6. If I were given option either to die or eat fruits (esp banana), it would be a hard choice.
7. I suffer from passive road rage, I’ll tell you all about this in another post.

These are some of my favourite blogs, some new, some old but all are worth reading. Check them out when you get a chance.


Squeaky corner
Anzz café
Life unordinary
Indian ma
Madhusha
Awesome since ‘92
A beautiful mind
Musings and Reflections
Confessions of a Semi-Domesticated Mama
Nona Pensive
Arnab Maity Travel and Photography
Style by Eva diva
A Traveller's soul
Sandier pastures
Spilled milk shake

Italian for Dinner?

Few minutes into the journey back, our car smelled like a pizzeria.  I could recognize a delightful mix of appetizing Italian flavours and yet we were nowhere near a Pizza Hut, Papa Jones or Vapiano.  We had just been to a farm in the middle of the Arabian Desert.

A farm, none like what I’ve seen before – endless rows of Basil, Oregano, Dill, Ricotta and Parsley neatly spaced and stacked inside a greenhouse. Just like a new born, each bed of herbs are rocked, fed and cared at regular intervals. Staying with the baby analogy, each of the little herbs is kept warm with a string incandescent lights that hung just above their heads.

Let me assure you - this is not something out of a science-fiction movie, though occasionally I had to pinch myself into not thinking so. This is the magic of Hydroponics – method of growing plants using mineral nutrient solutions, in water, without soil. And the place that we had just been to is Emirates Hydroponics Farms in a place called Al Bahia midway between Abu Dhabi and Dubai.

To a person like me who have grown up in a city, the farm certainly is industrial-scale and yet remarkably it maintains a small-farm-charm. And I would attribute part of that charm to the live tour given to us by the person who owns the place, Rudi Azzato.

Rudi gave us a walking tour of the farm, a crash-course in hydroponics, fielded about a hundred questions, gave us a bunch of fresh herbs (pictured above) and put up with our little one who did her best to wreck his workplace.  Thank you Rudi, you were a great host and made our day!

With my newly acquired collection of herbs, no prizes for guessing what’s for dinner at our place these days!

----------------------------------------------------------

Post-script: If I managed to tickle your curiosity, you would be pleased to know that the Emirates Hydroponics Farms offers schools, families, & groups an educational and interesting field day trip. A fantastic learning opportunity and it is free!  You can find more details through the link below.

Emirates Hydroponic Farm