I am going through a dilemma these days. My 1-month old fairy girl, Siya, is not well. Some doctors say it is whooping cough, some pneumonia and one says it must be tuberculosis. I can’t help but pray that whatever it is gets cured soon. To add to it, my mat-leave has ended on 21st March, but I need to be with my little one at least for a few more months so she can recuperate and get started on her growth path. Now my dilemma is whether to join office so I can support my family financially or continue to be with my baby as long as she needs me. As is usual in such cases, my brain and my heart are at war with each other.
I am mulling over such thoughts and staring at the walls of my bedroom. Staring back at me is Winnie – The Pooh, my favorite Disney character.
I’ve always loved Pooh. He is innocent, silly, funny, crazy-for-hunny, extremely kind and a great friend to have. Things are always happening in 100-Acre-Woods where he lives with his buddies – Piglet, Tiger, Rabbit, Eeyore, Kanga, Roo, Owl, Gopher, Heffalump and Christopher. They are always helping each other, discovering new things and simply being friendly. Pooh stickers on my wall are my personal reminders for just what we need to learn today.
Under the mad rat race in every field – relationships, business – everything, there’s a fundamental ingredient. We are all trying to find happiness. And we can find happiness in doing something only if our doing helps, benefits or simply pleases some real person. No technology is great for its own sake. It’s usage to people – whether it helps them grow their business or stay connected or simply have fun, is the crux. No business is successful if while doing it you are sacrificing precious time with your family. No amount of money is worth having if you cannot spend it for the people you love.
I know some of you might call me impractical, an emotional fool, but think about it for a moment and you’ll understand why I am choosing to stay hungry, stay Pooh-ish, stay with my little one as long as it takes for her to be healthy again even if it means stretching hard on my family budget.
p.s. Excuse me Rashmi Bansal, for naming this post similar to your book “Stay Hungry Stay Foolish”.
p.s. In case you are wondering, the above image is a collage of snaps from my bedroom wall. 
You too can order some wallies like the ones above from here.
It was during my early second pregnancy that Harvinder introduced me to BabyCenter.com newsletters. Over the last eight months and even now when I have little Siya in my arms, I’ve turned to it for information, tips, advice and more.
I found it one stop shop for parents. Some of the highlights I find useful are:
- Weekly newsletter during PGcy kept me up-to-date on “what’s-happening-with-my-baby”, advice about what best to eat / avoid when, what possible symptoms to watch for, what exercises / activities to take up etc.
- Medical conditions, their symptoms, possible causes and things you can do to reduce / avoid them – This second PGcy was a really rough ride for me. Low b.p., excruciating lower back pain, infections – you name it, I had it. At least knowing more about what was happening to me, why and how I could ease some of the pain helped a lot.
- Forums / community – For each article they have comments from community members. women share their experiences, give tips and advice and overall boost each other’s spirit.
They also have offers from diapers.com etc but I did not use these, so no comments there.
So if you are a trying-to-be parent, would-be parent or having kids & toddlers go take a look at this great site. It’s worth spending some time on!
There are two things that fueled this
(a) I am an Indian to the core and
(b) I simply love literature
Let me explain those two a little. I am an Indian to the core. I can (and do) love Greek food, English fiction, American (monster) trucks, Japanese furniture and crafts, Chinese calligraphy and beads and several many other from all over the globe, but deep down I have India in me. I love my country – its rich and varied heritage, culture, being a part of this colourful, soulful community. Naturally what follows is a love for all our festivals and celebrations. Being able to enjoy Diwali, Eid and Christmas in a small town in Goa is an experience unlike any other. I also love our national festivals and days – Independence day, Republic day and even Children’s day
Secondly, I simply love literature. Fiction mostly. I get really carried away, misty eyed even when I read something beautiful. (Remember Yugandhar by Shivaji Sawant? Or Heidi by Johanna Spyri?)
So when Children’s day came by this year I tried to combine these two seemingly unrelated ideas. Here’s what we did at home:
- - I scripted “Merchant of Venice” by W. Shakespeare into a skit in Hindi
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- – Hindi’ized it (Shylock became Thakur Ratan Singh)
- – Slashed etcetras from the plot (I had only 5 actors, one of whom was a 3 yr old!)
- Broke down everything into scenes, dialogues
- Explained the story, each character and scene to my 5-actor (children) crew
- - Our kids’ tuition teacher and her sister along with Bhaiya became our judges. Tuition teacher’s family was audience.
- - Bhabhi took up make-up-artist-cum-hostess role.
- - My husband Chiran put on his cameraman’s cap
- - Practiced. Practiced. Practiced.
- - Rehearsed. Rehearsed. Rehearsed.
The result? It was through and through fun. Kids and elders all worked together as a team. Come to think of it, how often do we really manage that? 
I’ll be uploading the video shortly on YouTube. Watch this space for a link..
