When you have a small child, trips to the zoo are expected. Now that the child in question is independent and responsible enough, I don’t have to hover around her. What it means is that this time around, I could pay attention to the animals in the zoo. Have you ever closely watched a turtle or an owl or a panda for that matter? I have. Believe me when I say, it’s therapeutic, almost meditative. There’s an aura of calm

On 9 November 2019, at the age of 15 years, 285 days, Shafali Verma shattered Sachin Tendulkar’s record and became the youngest cricketer to score a fifty in an innings in International cricket. Just in case one might wave it away as a fluke one off thing, she followed it up with another fifty at the same venue, the very next day. We need new heroes and she fits the bill perfectly. She is that beacon of hope, a role

From a very young age Indian girls are taught to adjust and prioritize others happiness before theirs.  Somewhere that conditioning that “doosro ki khushi mein hi khushi milti hai” gets ingrained in their minds forever. Girls are taught to be submissive and subservient so they can appease their parents, in-laws and husband.  They are told that mothers are always “givers and selfless”.  Due to all this conditioning, women somewhere start living for others more than themselves.  They cannot say No

Sometimes a normal conversation between two people can impregnate numerous discussions and ideas in their minds, thereby giving them the courage to continue their flight towards their goals no matter how many times they failed in the past. And it happened to me in the beginning of this year when a dear friend of mine called me after quite a long time. From personal to professional lives, hobbies to weather we discussed almost everything. We spoke for more than an

I’ve often been told that I don’t rant. I make a point and leave. Of all the things that I hear about myself, this one pleases me a little more than others. And that’s because this is a trait that I have consciously and conscientiously cultivated over time. Like most of us, over the years, I have expended a lot of energy in defending my decisions. To family, friends, sometimes even to random strangers. Maybe I needed to look good

Imagine a scenario where you are sad, angry, hurt or happy and you are speaking with someone and suddenly that person interrupts in between and starts to speak about something unrelated.  You want to vent something out and the other person is busy watching the mobile.  You are sad or in pain and conveying your pain to the other person and he/she starts to describe his/her sorrow. Sounds familiar?  Most people are very good at giving unwarranted advice but not

Listening is one of the toughest skills that a person can master as it requires them to be more present, attentive, and patient. Good listening skills in this digital era, is fast becoming extinct. There is a whole world of difference between hearing what someone is saying and actually listening to them. Listening means we are taking their perspectives into consideration and actually considering what they have to say. People usually have the habit of starting a conversation and putting a

Last Saturday’s thoughts on Etiquette of Grief brought in an outpouring of messages from concerned friends and well-wishers. Thank you so much for checking on me. As my faith was tested severely in the last few days, your words of comfort helped me get back on my feet. I lost someone to a bizarre, freak accident. When she was battling for her life, I was on an emotional rollercoaster. Every time I would break down, it was my daughter who

Most, not all, people from our generation or a generation before that remember being the kids who would be appreciated and called good kids only if they quietly obeyed their parents and elders, never argued or questioned, rarely expressed their opinion or asserted their choice.  The children who would want to live life on their terms and conditions would be labelled as disappointment, rebel, ill mannered, and so on. Why do we have to raise docile children?  Children who are

How can I define life? What can I do to make it more worthwhile?Will I be able to survive the unexpected blows of life?What if my predictions, my judgement will turn out to be completely wrong?What if I will be declared guilty without even getting a chance to prove my point?And there will be plenty more questions about life that I am sure must have visited your mind, thereby giving you sleepless nights, yet life is beautiful and will always