Take care

Every home is lighted up with the happiness children bring to the entire family. Their energy, naughtiness, innocence and love integrate perfectly to be the bundle of joy in home. They provide hope to live and hope to grow. Their growth creates an atmosphere of growth for the home as well. All the parents would definitely agree to the fact that watching the kids grow is very enthralling and gratifying.

It’s exciting to see them take each step forward. And it’s the parental responsibility to provide the best education, culture and health conducive for their growth physically and mentally. While the children these days are feeling the heat to excel in academics to catch up with the competitive world, the nutritional support required should not be ignored by the parents. The key element to propel excellence in all the fields is a healthy diet and lifestyle. In the world we live in where our delicate children are exposed to more pollution, plenty of junk food and excessive stress level, parents need to handpick each activity for their children to lead life healthily.

Photo courtesy - Andrey_Kuzmin from www.depositphotos.com

Right from the fetal growth till children reach adulthood, parents need to take extra care in each step- vaccination, periodical checkup, child care policy, home medication, medical contacts, emergency caregivers and most importantly healthy food habits. Life of working parents has become too difficult to balance between work and family. Juggling between client appointments and quality family time, the modern parents usually get panic when the children get sick. But the right perspective can make a sea difference. Instead of seeing it as a problem, parents can look at it as an opportunity to re-bond and restart.

The house would seem to be in miserable condition lacking the usual laughter, naughtiness and bustle when the apple of your eye is sick. You have to reject the option of getting disheartened and do not make the other members of the family feel anxious or ignored. While the medication is going on for the sickness, extended story time coupled with snuggling could really have an impact. Prepare their favorite food to cheer up the mood while keeping in mind the health status could help as well.

As prevention is better than cure, it’s better to have an eye on your children’s diet. No matter how busy you are, take a moment to pay attention what nutrients are reaching or not reaching their body. Offer them a plethora of choices and make sure you prepare their favorite food with high nutritional value. Get a habit of knowing their activities that increase their stress level and plan out a break-free schedule to rejuvenate. They are not just the carriers of your family legacy; they are also the future of the nation. By taking care of their growth you take care of the nation’s growth.

To the loving parents, keep pampering your children but in the same time make sure they get the right amount of nutrition and immunity to fight back illness!

P.S. This blog post is written for Indiblogger’s Indi – Happy hours Campaign “A healthy child makes a healthy home” in association with Dabur Chyawanprash.

Kem chho…kemon aachen?

Let’s accept the fact – India is the world’s largest democracy and any change affecting Indians is equal to affecting one-fifth of the world’s population. As globalization has been the mantra for the past years, localization is the current buzz word. It’s not appalling at all when we hear news of farsighted companies changing their GTM (go-to-market) strategies to dive in and cater the needs of one out of every five people of our planet.

India is already becoming powerful in all sectors- be it the launch of Mangalyaan (Mars Orbiter Mission) or developing a nuclear missile (Agni VI) that can attack on US. Now India is also showing aggressive steps towards Pakistan for violating ceasefire across Line of Control and China’s territorial claim on Arunachal Pradesh. “No power on earth can take away even an inch from India”, said Narendra Modi addressing a rally.

Speaking of Modi, he was greeted by US president Barack Obama in Gujarati, “Kem chho?” (how are you?) at the White House. Prime Minister Narendra Modi indeed got a ‘rock’star’ treatment during his visit to the United States by 20,000 Indian-American people which reflects the deep cultural ties between the countries. Undoubtedly, the most powerful country – United States and the emerging world power – India, are strengthening the bilateral relationship.

India has just moved up to be the world’s third largest economy and Modi is a darling of big businesses. With more global CEOs see future production capacity moving and positive FDI reforms indeed are the indicators of India’s future growth. Not to forget the list of billionaires in Forbes list of top richest people.

While India’s political, economic and nuclear power is creating news, her rich traditional and cultural background has always been able to generate followers all around the world. The Indians residing in foreign countries celebrate the Indian festivals in all its grandeur as it’s celebrated in the land of festivals itself. The festive razzmatazz trickles down to different cultures and hence being celebrated globally. The land of many religions, innumerable languages, races, cuisines and life styles is actually a complex and diversified country. The tourists flock to India in search of spirituality, to see magnificent architecture, to broaden perspective by dealing with the cultural shock and other myriad reasons. The impact of this terrific land can be seen when Hollywood celebrities show enthusiasm in Indian fashion such as Indian saris, jewelries, mehendi, yoga (ancient physical, mental and spiritual practices or discipline to transform body and mind) and delicious Indian curries. Indian food in the UK was described as a great British industry by David Cameron while Indian cuisine got popularity in Masterchef (television competitive cooking show) as well. And not to mention the accolades received throughput the globe for Bollywood movies and Indian music.

The world is embracing Indianness encompassing the diversity; in near future we shall see companies catering to even smaller regional segments within the county unlocking opportunities that otherwise would go unnoticed. When markets mature and growth slows, to reignite and accelerate growth targeting developing nations would be a very wise approach – especially when there is a richly diverse market.

Do not get shocked when you are greeted in your regional language or served your regional food or listen to regional music when your travel abroad (while you would have expected just an Indian touch)!

P.S. This blog post is for the Indiblogger contest More Indian than you think in association with  Lufthansa. 

Har Har Mahadev – book review of the Shiva trilogy by Amish Tripathi

Though mythology is an important feature of every culture, its value from our generation is seen to be fading out mostly because of the conflict between the existence of the myths passed on to the generation and the rational thoughts. Added to the already existing confusion is the complexity of the mythology to some extent.

Amish Tripathi’s Shiva trilogy amalgamates mythology, history and fiction to make the whole story very believable and easy to be followed by all. The series makes you belief that the actions/deeds (karma) are the deciding factors in transforming a human to supreme unlike the fantasy stories (from Hindu mythology) that we heard while growing up from our parents/grandparents. The characterization of Shiva is very appealing and so is the climax and revelation of Neelkanth. The detailed description of other characters, places and situations actually helps the readers to proceed smoothly with the plot. The immortals of Meluha is a certain page-turner with an interesting take on Shiva. Integrating all the known details about the Indus Valley Civilization and giving own explanations for various concepts made the first book of the trilogy a brilliant piece of work.

It isn’t often one comes across a book by an Indian author, with a sequel. The Secret of the Nagas – second book of the trilogy is filled with secret, suspense and shock. While the protagonist Shiva- a tribal leader slowly rises to prominence as a powerful leader, the story managed to continue the mesmerized saga by weaving Shiva - Pasupathi, Parvathi - the Mother Goddess, Ram - the supreme Lord of the times, Ganesh - the elephant headed God , Parasurama and Kali - the black form of Parvati, the Naga Queen. The author managed to bring together timelines for a perfect mix and elaborate tale that takes a different kind of imagination.

The third and last book of the series – The Oath of the Vayuputras takes us on a beautiful visual journey with the powerful writing and narration style clubbed with amazing conceptualization. The classic good vs. evil tale includes emotion, drama, action and war. There are a lot of twists and turns each linked to each other in some way or another – but the author brings a closure to all the characters of the trilogy. The action-packed massive book provides a satisfying experience as the story progresses and ends.

The perfect fabrication of the very well conceptualized story with the history (Indus Valley Civilization), geography (North Indian plains above the Vindhays) and mythology of India is still a fantasy! The author often uses the story to put forth his opinion on many issues - like karma, ethics, consequentialism, existentialism and the balance of good and evil. Though it is clearly intended to make the readers think, sometimes it just feels irksome. It is understood that the author is trying to give the story a modern touch to connect with the general audience but usage of certain words/phrases is quite jarring given the era the trilogy is set in.  The language used throughout the trilogy is very simple – may be for beginners, for whom Amitav Ghosh’s brilliance may be too much to comprehend. Overall, I liked the concept of the trilogy, satisfied with the explanations through the research done by the author and would recommend to Indian readers who can co-relate the mythological stories with the facts described in the series.

Aroma from the snooty Ooty

They say the best trips are those which are spontaneous than the ones planned meticulously.

When my old friend pitched in the idea of a small get-together in the form of a travel trip, I nodded picturing loveliest beach, crystal-clear water, wisps of cloud touching the high mountains, a walk in a deep forest, basking in the afterglow, impressed by some majestic monument. But the suggestion was the queen of hill stations – Ooty.

The aesthetic feeling changed the definition of hectic fundamentally. The joy of meeting my old friends after a long time and the excitement on the start of the journey overshadowed all the trouble to rush back from  office on a traffic-jammed Friday evening to reach Bangalore (from Chennai) and catching a train to Mysore and hopping on a cab to reach the marvelous hill station. Yes, had to go through the Mysore route to enjoy the travel with my Bangalore friends instead of travelling alone via Coimbatore. I didn’t feel an iota of pain when I knew I would be welcomed with birds chirping around, soft breeze passing to leave the lingering scents from Nilgiris and a clear sky with the sun shining just mildly.

Located in one of the hottest states in India, Ooty is bestowed with an eternal Spring season. The exquisite view of the verdant tea and coffee plantations is beyond words could describe (they were spread beyond horizon!) I was intoxicated by the mesmerizing grandeur of the hill station amongst the Niligiri range. It is for a reason that Ooty is called as the queen of hill stations.

We didn’t mind searching for hotels to stay put (remember, it was not planned) as the lush and green picturesque scenario laid down never reduced their charm. Or there was some magic in the air – compelled to skip lunch, the incomplete tour of the royal Mysore palace, getting delayed due to block in road because somewhere on the way a truck was stuck and now unavailability of hotel rooms – nothing seemed to deter the state of peace. We concluded that Ooty is a provider of inner peace through its unique charm.

The visit to the exotic Rose garden was a feast to our eyes and pleased our noses with different fragrances – strong and faint with the sweetness in the air. The chilled breeze brushed pass our cheeks while on the boat in Ooty lake leaving the invigorating fragrance of Eucalyptus – the artificial lake is surrounded by groves of Eucalyptus trees. Those are tall and strong trees- exhibiting unlimited possibility by its delightful scent in the surrounding near and far. The refreshingly aromatic fragrance can attract you to enjoy a walk amongst the blue-green leaves – just to be conjured to forget all the fragrances you have ever smelt. The splendid waters and lush greens were a perfect recipe for tranquility.

Botanical Garden flaunted flourishing green well maintained lawns and immense variety of flora. I was greedily soaking peace in the pleasant weather escaping from the heat waves of Chennai. The slight smell of the bloom was a bonus to the ecstatic experience. I was literally on cloud nine when we reached Doddabetta Peak – the pinnacle of Ooty. At 8650 feet and 10 kilometers from Ooty, it provides a panoramic view from the telescope house.

The trip would have been incomplete without going to Coonoor. A drive to Coonoor from Ooty was about 18 km along a thin road along the mountain. As we drove through the clouds, I could smell a strong familiar fragrance from the previous day – incredible aroma from the tall and dense Eucalyptus trees on the way. The fragrance was the same – unchanged, like the mountain rain- fresh and pure just enough to appease your inner chaos.

We reached the Dolphin’s nose enjoying the enchanting view created by the blue haze and the sound of the passing streams of water. The Dolphin’s nose is a blessed site of Ooty that stimulates your senses. The view was indeed breathtaking by offering high density mountains, twisting streams and widespread tea gardens. As we left the most scenic view point, my olfactory system longed for the distinct and powerful fragrance on our way back. And when we reached the spot again, I wanted to take back the fragrance to Chennai from the nature’s symphony. So I drenched my soul with the fresh and clean scent from the magnificent Eucalyptus trees and etched my heart with the astounding views from the painter’s paradise.

I had remembered since last September the fragrance of tall Eucalyptus trees from Ooty and wondered what it would be like to add the fragrance for Godrej aer.

P.S. This blog post is for Indiblogger contest Inspire a fragrance.

Let’s get winning

“At the end of your life, you will never regret not having passed one more test, not winning one more verdict or not closing one more deal. You will regret time not spent with a husband, a friend, a child, or a parent.” - Barbara Bush.

For all those men and women who are addicted to winning only in the professional front, take a break and look back to ponder if you are a winner at your own home too. We are so engrossed in pursuit of success that we leave out our near and dear ones (un)knowingly. And we forget for whom we are actually toiling so hard and what are we trying to prove.

Ever wondered a teacher’s child could fail an examination and a doctor’s kid could suffer from a deadly disease. In this case, the teacher could be successful in teaching as a profession and the doctor in curing diseases but they lose in the family affair. It’s not just sheer negligence; it’s the thirst for winning that becomes the only thing in the profession. To be successful in just one field is so easy by virtue of talent, to be successful in all fronts takes character. Optimism- shifts the outlook into mental wins. Pessimism and loss are wired for every act opposite to a calmer life. It all starts within you rather than in others.

To rewire from anxious to calm and adding chemicals and electricity for new paths to a calmer life, listed down are the perspectives for winning brainpower-

1. Invent one refreshing solution to replace a routine that leaves you bored or in a rut.
2. Uplift your work area with natural lighting.
3. Thank a cranky worker for even a small accomplishment.
4. Give an offender the gift of forgiveness, by letting go of a grudge.
5. Propose winning alternatives to an observed annoying habit.
6. Act as the person you want others to see in you, and that you'll become.
7. Vary your background sounds and add music for more motivating outlooks.
8. Stir curiosity and engage others by tapping into their interests.
9. Sleep well in order to perceive your world well.
10. Research and open mentally to new and different ideas daily.
11. Change on regular basis.
12. Diversify your talent development to engage new perspectives.
13. Create rather than criticize.

 P.S. This blog post is for Indiblogger contest WINNING.