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

“Gossip is good for health.” says a study! But why do they need to conduct a study for it? I can say so just by looking at my Chachis, Mausis, buas etc. who spend lot of time gossiping around happily, leading a long, healthy life. Gossip can always be healthy and enjoyable for all, except for the one who has to leave the gossip meeting in between as he/she then becomes the most vulnerable target of gossiping. Otherwise also, gossips can upset the person being made the object of gossip, like  Hrithik Roshan got upset over the rumours of his wife Suzanne demanding an alimony of 400 crore. But, why was he so upset over this? Doesn’t he know how a gossip travels? I had been reading the news about the alleged enormous alimony demanded by Suzanne, but was never surprised as I know when a piece of gossip travels from one person to another; it is the moral duty of the receiving person to do some value addition and pass it on further with the remark, “Don’t tell anybody!” Gossipers a

अजगर करे न चाकरी पंछी करे न काम,  दास मलूका कह गए सब के दाता राम! The literal meaning of the above saying is that “neither the python does any job, nor the bird does any work. Saint Maluka has said that the God takes care of all!” The moral of this saying is that even if one does not do any work, God is there to feed them. Now friends, before you bombard me with endless questions and infinite logics such as even the python has to make efforts to catch his prey and the bird has to get up early morning to catch worm etc., let me remind you, that the above words are not mine, they are said by Saint Maluka! The reason I am sharing this with you is because they help me console myself when I encounter some person being paid (especially by me) without doing anything and I am sure that these words might act as a consolation to you as well. I am sure, if the Saint would have been alive today, he would have taken his words back on seeing just how many people are desperately trying to s

  I agree that times flies, and happier time flies faster. So much has changed during these seventeen years… . From a little bundle packed carefully in warm clothes, you have turned into a tall girl, smartly dressed with matching accessories. As a two year old, you chose a sandal for me in a shoe shop and kept on insisting that I buy it, now I prefer taking you along to help me shop. As a three year old you cried so much as you wanted to wear the newly bought night suit while going for an outing, now you never step out of the house in a clumsy dress. On my birthday or marriage anniversary, you presented me cards made with your unskilled, little hands, now you surprise me with your beautiful post on my Facebook wall. You used to serve me imaginary tea and snacks in your kitchen set, now I cherish the ginger tea you prepare for me. I used to bring books for you and tried hard to make you read them, now you suggest me the books I should read make sure that I finis

The first time we visited Goa, the thing that fascinated my three year old daughter most was parasailing. I remember, she was so fascinated by it that she would start running behind the man carrying his parasailing equipment, and we had great difficulty in bringing her back. At that time she was not eligible for parasailing, and even if she would have been eligible, I would never have allowed her as my heart used to sink at the thought of flying in the sky, even if protected through the ropes. Though we enjoyed that calm trip sitting on the beaches quietly reading and making sand houses, there was no element of thrill in the vacation. So last year when we decided to visit Goa again, I was sure, it was going to be the same peaceful vacation sitting on the chairs outside shacks and relaxing. Our vacation started the way it was supposed to be, but took a turn when a man came to us offering parasailing in the adjacent beach. My daughter (now a teenager) and son both grew excited over t

When my son was about three year old, this was a common scene in our home: I scold my son. He goes to the other side of the bed, saying,” मैं मम्मा से गुस्सा हूँ ! (I am annoyed with Mamma!) ” I try to mollify him, but to no avail. My husband also joins me, but no luck! Few minutes pass. My son:” मैं पापा से भी गुस्सा हूँ ! (I am annoyed with Papa too !)” My husband: “ मैंने क्या किया ?(What have I done?)” As time passes, I stop trying. My son, unable to continue his गुस्सा with his mother, comes to her and says,” लेकिन मैं मम्मा से तो खुश हूँ पर पापा से गुस्सा हूँ ! (I am happy with Mamma but annoyed with Papa!) ” Mother son duo reconcile and chat happily, while the father is puzzled, “ मैंने क्या किया है ?(What have I done?)”

Few days before Diwali, my daughter, while studying her Diwali essay stuck on a line,” Gujhiya, a sweet samosa is prepared on Diwali.” She asked me, “Mamma! What is this Gujhiya?” As I explained her about the delicious sweet dish made on Diwali, her record stuck at “Gujhiya, the sweet samaosa”. She kept on repeating that she wanted to eat the sweet samosa. I told her my mother made very tasty Gujhiya on Diwali and it is a very tedious process to make Gujhiya.  She suddenly asked me,” then why doesn’t my Mom make them? I want to eat Gujhiya, the sweet samosa.”  she kept on repeating these sentences, without realizing how difficult it was for me to control my watering mouth. I started imagining the taste of Gujhiya. Even the thought of Gujhiya took me back to the memory lanes of my childhood, where Gujhiya was an integral part of Diwali and Diwali was not just another festival. It was the biggest festival of the year, for which we used to wait for the whole year. Since my father was in

They say you never realize the worth of a person until you lose him. Same is the case with the sad demise of the legendary cartoonist Pran. The characters created by him were so much part of our daily lives in 1980’s, that we never bothered about who created them. I remember that I started reading his cartoons before I could make out that प्रा 0I written is actually Pran and I pronounced it as “Pra zero one”. In those days, newspaper hawker was the most awaited person in the first week of the month (on 15 th also, if the magazine was fortnightly) and the first item to be read in any children’s magazine was invariably the comic strip by Pran. Even in the women’s magazine “sarita”, there was a comic strip Shrimatiji, which was the most sought after column by the children. We learnt that “ Chacha Chaudhary ka dimaag computer se bhi tez chalta hai (Chacha Chaudhary’s mind acts faster than a computer)” before we actually saw a computer. Also, the little fights chacha Chaudhary