On teacher’s day…

Sis 1 started her career as a lecturer in an Engineering college. The opportunity came just by chance. She had never planned on becoming a teacher, nor had ever imagined herself to be one. But she took it up and ended up liking teaching.
Frequently she would crib about how things are in her professional setup, how its a thankless job and how the remuneration is just not worth the effort. Many times she has asked us to find something for her in the corporate world, though not fully comfortable with the idea herself. Each time, we would offer our own insights and comfort her that she is in the right place.

Most of all what strikes me about her profession is the opportunity to make a difference to others lives. And that I think is a big one. She is very committed to her work and is sincere when it comes to helping and guiding students. On more than one occasion, her efforts have been appreciated. Not only by the student, but also by the parents. Such moments give her a huge boost and we all feel very good about this. That at least a few students take the trouble to acknowledge the effort and make time to let their feelings known.

When I hear of such incidents from her, I almost always rue the fact that I never expressed such gratitude or said thanks to the teachers who touched my life and made a difference. I hope to make amends by expressing my thanks to my kids’ teachers and by teaching the kids to express their feelings to people who do make a positive impact on them… however small or big!!

Here’s to all the dedicated teachers who strive to shape up young minds for a better and hopeful tomorrow!!

Happy Teacher’s Day!!!

In hindsight :)

I opened a text file that has the list of known issues I’d documented for the application I test and saw this at the top…

Known issues – something is wrong with me… i’m nuts!!

Dunno when exactly I wrote it down but I must have been really worked up over something. Today, however, it made me smile a huge one

Many terribly upsetting things become so bearable and laughable too.. in hindsight!! So learn to chill and don’t take yourself too seriously… Pause n take a long breath when things seem difficult. Even write it down as I did… you never know when it’ll make you smile or laugh at it

Makes sense to you ?

Thinking out loud…

Is it important or even necessary to teach religion or religious texts in school? I was wondering about this after coming across this piece of news yesterday.

I studied in a school run by the Christian nuns. However, I dont remember having been made to read the Bible, or even parts of it. We used to sing some hymns though. There was never an attempt to impress upon us that Christianity is the best… at least I never felt that way. From what I’ve heard, some schools do make the children read from the Bible. Not sure what goes on in institutions run by Muslims.

For me religion is something that is personal. In the sense, something that guides you in your daily life. Not the rituals and other stuff. You could say, its more about values. What is needed today is that there be more focus on instilling values in the children rather than teach them out of religious scriptures or texts. Reading religious texts they can choose to do when they grow up and find genuine interest in doing so.

Some may argue that instilling values is the aim here too. But why through religion? Values are not specific to religion. Human values can be taught without getting religion/religious texts involved. People with a world view are the need of the hour and of the future … not religious fundamentalists!!

Friday Flowers!

The weekend is here already!

The past week, Adi was down with throat infection and missed school on 2 days. He’s better with medication. But seems like its now Ammu’s turn … coughing a bit and been feverish yesterday night. Its not very bad… but i hope it does not get aggravated. Some medication and rest during the weekend should see her through I hope!! God! I hope she wont have to go through antibiotics…

The happy thing is .. we have a meet coming up tomorrow.. the team mates from the old team. The first team which I worked with in the organization, the team in which I was for the longest time, which gave me a rich experience and some of the most memorable moments and friendships!! Most of them are working in different organizations now.. and we are meeting after a really long time. Thanks to the initiative of the guy who was our PM then

These dainty darlings we gave sis on her b’day They look like roses.. dont they? The stalks are so slender.. couple of flowers fell off even with a slight touch.. left us wondering if we made a good choice. They survived though .. and sis was delighted to receive them

I had seen them for the first time and the florist said they are from Ooty!! Googled some and found that they are called Lisianthus

That’s it for now!

Hope you all have a nice weekend

Sorted!!

Thank God for my reading habit

Yesterday was another day! I was happy yet confused… it was one of those heart vs mind days!! This morning I was still in that mode … but somewhat arriving at a conclusion. And when I got into the bus…I took out my book n started reading. And my line of thought was reaffirmed when I read this line .. ‘the journey matters, not the arrival’. I realized that I need not worry about what might happen. I just need to do what I decide … the main thing is to feel and experience it through. And so I’ve prepared my mind for any kind of outcome..and that makes it easier to take the plunge!!

This may not make much sense but I so needed to write it down!! It makes me feel so much better already

Coincidences…?

Some events make you think so… isnt it?

A couple of weeks ago, me n my friend were talking about two people in office; the two are very good friends and partners. Basically our observations.. one (A) is very friendly.. acknowledges others around him, wishes them… also knows and addresses everyone by their name. The other one(B), just passes by as if we dont exist. We never know whether to wish him when we do look at him.So most often we just look the other way when we see him coming!

Sometime in the past week we saw this person(B) in the basement parking. As he passed by, he gave us a nice smile and said hi. I was really surprised. My friend said that maybe he’s that way outside the office. And i nodded, not knowing what to think. Again, a few days later, he smiled at us… in the office This happened a couple of times. I joked to my friend that maybe he overheard us talking about him!

This reminded me of a similar incident during our college days. There was this guy with long hair, Sanjay Dutt style. He didnt look any good with the long hair..at least thats what we (our gang) felt. Once during the lunch hour our conversation turned to this guy and his hair, and our unanimous opinion was that he would look better if he tied his hair into a pony. And lo, the very next day he entered the class wearing a pony!!

I’m sure most of us would have had such experiences… which leave us thinking whether it was a mere coincidence or was there something more to it? Tell me tell me

Hello!!

Phew! I got to my blog again!! I guess it must have felt orphaned orrrr… was the break a welcome one ? Well, its been exactly one month since I did a post. And, I’ve missed recording a lot of blogworthy moments

Adi is a big boy now! His mantra these days, since he turned 3, is ‘I can!…I’m biggg!!’ Biggg is the buzzword, if you know what I mean All his waking hours are filled with non stop chatter And his mind is itching for action all the time!! He forms correct sentences and talks clearly and with such a flourish that it leaves us stumped … many a times. Wonder how the little cuddly fellow has grown up all of a sudden. He has learnt all the words n mannerisms from his didi… apes her, to be precise The nice things are always appreciated but when it comes to the whining and stuff, sis says that she can’t stand the repeat telecast LOL!!

Some snippets…
Ammu*pointing to my skirt*: Mamma, pls i want this skirt when I grow big

Adi: Bomma, I want this skirt when I become big

Ammu *pointing to some bangle of mine*: Mamma, I want your bangles when I become big..

Adi: Bomma, I want your bangles when I become big

Ammu: But this is for girls

Adi*pronto*: Bomma, I want this when I become a girl!

Couple of days back…Adi climbed onto his didi’s red chair n fell with a thud. Thata was visibly shocked. But Adi got up with his usual non chalance and thata picked the chair and kept it in a different position. Adi then came n occupied his seat, turned around and said ‘thata, say sorry to me!’ We were amused, but he continued…. ‘Thata, first you say sorry to me!!… say sorry…’

Thata: Why? what did i do?

Adi: Why did you take my chair? say sorry!!

We couldnt help laughing our hearts out. More than the words, it was his threatening action with his cute lil finger that had us in splits. While his mamma n baba are sometimes aghast at his words n actions, the granddad seems to be enjoying it all!! He is amused greatly by the  lil ones prompt n witty remarks!! and takes great pride in recounting his stories to us

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Ammu is on the dreaded path, that of  perfectionism. This is not something new. Even as a pre schooler, she wanted her things to be kept in a neat way. And just the way she places them. Not for her, the neatness of mamma or thata!! She just wouldnt like it if we touched her stuff or placed them differently. But now, it has got a whole new dimension. She seems obsessed with neat writing… has been getting ‘neat work’ remarks from the teacher and that seems to egg her on. Not a bad thing at all. But she ends up spending most of her time writing and rewriting, erasing many times in between. And if still not pleased with the effort, she just tears off the page resulting in reams of paper going to the waste basket i have tried to explain that paper is precious n should not be wasted but all that is in vain.Sis teases me saying that its my past that has come back to bug me!! I think it wont go away easily

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Yesterday, the three of us, sis1, sis2 and me, went to watch Anjaana Anjaani. I had been wanting to go watch a movie in the theatre since quite some time. Sis 2, having had a holiday on the occasion of  mahalaya, decided to book the tickets. and we went. And just as I was trying to recollect when was the last time that he 3 of us had gone to watch a movie, we realised that we had never gone together to watch a movie. Just the 3 of us that is. I have gone with either of them but never with both!! I was very surprised at this, given the fact that we hang out together almost all of our free time!!! And so..I’m recording this

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Time’s a running, running so fast. there’s so much to do and so lil time Isnt it? Dasara/Navratri/Durga pooja is already here and Diwali will also be here shortly!! Seems like where has 2010 gone already…But of course I’m not complaining. Its my annual vacation time… time for the trip to Mysore to soak in the Dasara ambience, to just be a part of all the lights n festivities Its an experience I look forward to every year. This time I’ll be taking Adi along. First time without his mamma and baba. He is super excited…. more so for the train journey!! I forgot to mention…trains and aeroplanes are the most fascinating things for him right now And he wants to know if the train will be as biggggg as our dining area … thats big in comparison to his toy train na

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Happy weekend folks

 

Wish you all a happy weekend! Revel in the Dasara/Navratri/Durga pooja festivities

I’m sure it happens..

… to you too

You go and read a blog post(s), leave a comment(s) there. Come back to yours and find that this same person has been on your page at that very time!! Dunno what is the word that would explain this feeling… but feels nice for sure that there is some kind of sync between the two people!!

Been experiencing this since past few days

Shortcuts anyone?

Recently I have noticed a spate of posts that point to wrong usage of English that drives people up the wall! Well, I for one, am particular about the usage of words, context, spellings …

I feel that where language is concerned, each to his own. Meaning, if a person is passionate about the language and its usage, he/she will try, as far as possible, to use it correctly. For the rest, it becomes just another means of communication! And rules dont mean much… Of course, this could lead to a lot of confusion and other consequences… but then its another thing between the people that are concerned As long as i can understand what the other person is trying to say, I’m ok… it doesnt drive me up the wall.

What did astound me a while ago was this and this . The ban came as a shock but what shocked me even more was the fact that the use of SMS language in exams had been allowed until then! And the justification for its use by so many students!! I fail to understand, just what the students were thinking when they decided to use this in their answer sheets. I, in fact pity them, that they think they can save some time and energy by using this .They seem to have no idea what they can expect in the real world

I just hope that they wake up and realize that shortcuts don’t usually take you anywhere!!

Monday musings!

You discover a blog… go awwwwwwwww reading post after post. Then write a heartfelt comment… a longish one at that. Wait for the comment to be approved and to appear on the blog! Wait over… the comment appears; but mystery of mysteries… there’s no reply to the said comment! Not even an acknowledgement of sorts This, when there is a reply to all the comments before and after the said comment. This … is what stupefies me!!

And yes.. this has happened to me more than once! I totally fail to understand why!! I dont think i’m unreasonable in expecting a reply. Am I? If so, please someone enlighten me! And.. though i hop over to read their blogs once in a while, i do not leave a comment… even when the post is too good or too touching. May not be the right thing to do But sigh! some things do put me off terribly… at times

But thankfully, this is just minuscule in comparison to all the support and friendship that i have received in this blog world. Seesh!! Then, what am i doing dwelling on the trivial stuff? Not me… not done… not at all!

So here i go… and cheer myself up Presenting to me…  2 lovely blog awards! The blogger buddy award from Sweet Swaram … yay! glad to be your buddy Swaru!!

Thanks Swaram

And Beautiful blogger award from the lovely Swati of MyAmusingMind!! thanks a ton Swati

Thanks Swati

And in true blogger spirit, spreading the cheer to these beautiful people who enrich my life with their tales and creations!

* Shankari of Naradtales

* Momo’s ma of Mehek – the fragrance in our lives

* Trishna of My Sunshine

* Shilpa of Smile…it costs you nothing

* My sis 1 who has recently started commenting here! She doesnt write… just reads my blog… encourages me… and gives me some fodder for Adi posts So..she is a blogger too wat say?

So, its three cheers to blogging and yay to all the bloggers who spread the love and cheer

P.S: I hope Swaram and Swati wont want to whack me for such a late response to their lovely gesture