Khatte Mithe Pal Jeevan ke, nostalgia, experiences, family, humour

I had some vague idea about blogging but had never thought that I could enter this beautiful world! I always had an urge to write. As a child, I wrote some poems also, but don’t know why and how I quit writing. During the study of Engineering and subsequently landing upon a so called prestigious government job, the urge to be a writer was hidden somewhere. As writing noting on official files do not require any creativity, so the only sign that I was a creative person inside was the sense of humour displayed by me in witty conversation with my kids or the funny parodies I made to inspire them to eat their food or brush their teeth.  Also, during official functions, I was tired of giving welcome speech and vote of thanks, as I was considered the most suited for this work, but never took seriously the appreciation I got for it. After some years, when the children were old enough to provide me with spare time to write, I again ventured into writing from the spare time left from o...

There are some childhood memories which we can never forget. one such memory very close to my heart is the marriage ceremony of my doll, which became a grand family event. please go through my Hindi story based on one of my sweetest childhood memory ; my Hindi story published in online Hindi magazine  abhivyakti-hindi.org . Please go through the link below to read the story: Gudiya Ka Byah

The word nature itself brings a smile on my face, as it reminds me of my childhood days. As a child, I had never seen TV, leave apart computer and mobile phones, which were not even heard of. The only electronic gazette in the house was radio, which was always under the strict control of my elder sisters and even touching the knob of radio could be termed as a punishable offence, as it would force them to search again for the lost radio station.  It can be said that going to Mother Nature was a compulsion for the children in that era, but it never felt boring as each moment spent with nature brought its own surprises.  I become nostalgic remembering the moment spent under a tree in our own garden in the name of picnic. We used to collect peanuts, biscuits, toffee, water and head towards the tree for the picnic. The long summer afternoons appeared too short for such a picnic. Collecting berries, raw mangoes in the garden while w atching the numerous birds  was a great jo...

She was sitting in her room with teary eyes. She had overheard her mother-in-law telling a friend,” it’s good that my granddaughter is not dark complexioned like her mother.” Though her family always talked in derogatory manner about her dark complexion, her heart doomed each time hearing such conversations. Suddenly, her 4 year old daughter stormed into the room yelling,” Mom! Grandma says I don’t look like you! “Why am I not like you?” Her daughter continued,” You are the most beautiful in world!”                                            © Lisa F. Young | Dreamstime Stock Photos She felt her heart begin to heal …………….... ... She had got the greatest compliment in life! My post for  100 words on Saturday 2014 # 9

              Anushka was sitting with the ring in her hands. She had become so upset that she had almost forgotten her achievement which was once her greatest dream. The celebrations going on in the family for her passing the Civil Services exam seemed to be insipid to her. The centre of her thoughts today was Ishan, whom she was missing badly.  They both had always maintained that although they were engaged, there was no love between them. She started thinking about the strange way in which she had agreed to marry Ishan.              Anushka had developed a liking to her classmate Parikshit while doing graduation. Her family had also agreed for her marriage to him, who was a rich man. But few days before the engagement, Parikshit refused to marry Anushka on the pretext of huge disparity in the status of their families. Anushka was devastated. Her family was also cursing her for being in a relationship ...

The title of the contest left me immersed in my thoughts for some time, “Do we really need to go further to get closer?” At first I dismissed the idea of writing on the subject as I thought closeness is not dependent on the location. But as I lay on my bed in my nocturnal dialogue with myself amidst the background music of snoring of my husband, I started pondering over as to how the family vacations away from home affected the relationship of family members. Even if you think holidays can bring you closer, why you need to go further? After all, a holiday is a holiday. I understood soon as I recalled family holidays to our parental home or attending a family function like wedding. Visits to hometown means socializing with the relatives and friends who your children would find as extinct as dinosaurs. Your mother/mother- in- law (tick whichever is applicable) would chalk out your plan for visiting chachii, mausiji, mausaji ki bahan ke devrani etc.etc. Though you are not at all k...

In my previous blog, I talked about my cooking disaster of baigan ki sabzi. The next incidence in the series happened when I was newly married, and used to stay with my in-laws at Shimla. The cooking was done by my mother-in-law with the help of servant. Being a responsible Gr A Govt Officer, I was exempted from cooking, asI was left with very little time, after office hours, which I spent in roaming around in Mall Road at Shimla, accompanying my husband. Before marriage, I had learnt enough cooking to cook a decent full course meal, but had never dared to cook anything in the presence of my mother-in-law for the fear of spoiling it. I soon got a chance to cook when both my in-laws were out of station, and on a Sunday, the servant proceeded on leave. Apart from cooking a conventional dinner, I decided to surprise my husband and two brothers-in-law with my excellent culinary skills. I decided to make “ Atte Ka Halwa” , as I had successfully cooked it once or twice before marriage u...