learnings

This morning he asked me if I could button his shirt? How could I refuse, when I saw his wrinkled hands, hands that held me, led me.. Hands that cajoled me spanked me! All stooped and bent as he stood… Tears rolled down My father, dear father!

Why is modern India still in the Victorian era? A young couple who had a love marriage commit suicide as their parents have not accepted them! Whom should we blame? Parents/society/ couple? If the couple live happily their community does not allow them. If they have managed to escape the wrath of the community then the parents don’t accept. My advice to couples: Since you have taken the plunge, go on till the end of the journey. There will be more downs initially but soon they give way to ups! Once parents see you happily married they would relent. Since you have taken a decision to marry without parental consent, why do you get so bogged down when they are in the non-acceptance mode? Time will bring them to you.   My advice to parents; You have lived your life. Let the young ones live theirs. Can we not do that much for our children? If they are working and independent why not let them choose. Your worry maybe, what if their choice is wrong? Well even arranged marriages can f...

The other day a parent told me that her 8th std son was suffering from BP. I was shocked. Looking at the boy I could understand why! He was clearly overweight. He was munching on a packet of bingo (a salted snack). He was never sent to play outdoors and obviously he was an angry young man! The lady’s daughter was in her 11th and she was sulking. Reason- she wanted to do liposuction!! I could not believe my ears. But nothing surprising  though. Obesity, anorexia, juvenile BP/ diabetes are on the rise alarmingly. If India is going to have a ‘sick’ (sic) young population then imagine Abdul Kalam’s 2020 dream. Looks like we oldies have a big job to do. It is doubtful if today’s children will live to see India shining. So we have to do the work of taking India forward !! It is equally surprising to note that the youth have so much of information on health, lifestyle and diseases and yet they are willing to flaunt it in the name of fashion. Behind their make-believe tough veneer they a...

I recently read an article in a popular daily that babymoons are in fashion. For those who do not know what they are, babymoons are trips taken by the couple when the wife is pregnant. Of course this has gained prominence due to Kate Middleton being whisked away to an exotic Mediterranean locale by her Prince Charming! Indians are getting caught in this fashion as well so says the report. So much planning goes into having a baby- beginning from the engagement ceremony is it not! Yet once the baby arrives the young parents are torn between the traditional and modern style of parenting, especially in India when families pitch in. Parenting is crucial and so so important. A child’s personality is set by the time it is five years of age. Now is this not scary? For we often hear parents saying that children would ‘outgrow’ certain traits!!! This is the biggest myth that has to be busted. There are varied styles of parenting: Authoritarian -  It is also known as strict parenting. Her...

Dear Youth, Greetings. I am pained by the recent happenings in my state. Separatism in the name of language or religion kills the essential spirit of democracy. Politics and youth are strange bedfellows. It was shocking to know that students of premier institutions were involved in a protest concerning another nation. Our solidarity should be for India. On no account should regionalism interfere with nationalism. We talk of referendum in another nation; what about implementing it in Kashmir? Let us look into our own fabric. Why was no one protesting the recent rape of a foreign national? What is the image we are projecting? A dalit woman was brutally raped in interior Tamilnadu but there was no protest. Has rape become such a common problem that it is now part and parcel of our lives that we can shut our eyes towards it. Has the Delhi incident drained us so much that we are voiceless now? We have so many demons to fight within. Let us expend our knowledge, technology, energy...

Often I get teased by friends and family for my thirst in learning and attempting some course or the other… If I look back I have enjoyed enrolling in new courses and dong the exams. Equally exciting was to put them into practice. Just recently I came across this story which has bolstered me and hope it will have the same effect on you. Socrates was in prison awaiting his execution when he heard another prisoner singing a difficult lyric by the poet Stesichoros. Socrates begged the man to teach him the lyric.  “Why?” asked the singer. ‘So that I can die knowing one thing more,’ was the great man’s reply.

Disorientation adds dimension to thought process. When disorientation has occurred the brain no longer  sees  what the eyes are looking at, it no longer  hears  what the ears are hearing. One aspect of multidimensional thinking is the ability of the thinker to experience thoughts as realities. Reality is what the person perceives it to be and the disorientation alters the perception. The person’s thoughts become the person’s perception so the thoughts are reality to that individual! If necessity is the mother of invention then multidimensional thinking is the the father! This concept helps us how  da Vinci  and the author of ancient puranas visualized the helicopter / pushpaka vimana  so many 100 years ago.  Leonardo da Vinc i had the gift of dyslexia…