Chakli is a popular crispy snack that is originated in my state Karnataka, India. This is made of rice flour and trust me it tastes so good, you can’t just have one ( I know it’s the tag line of a popular chips brand, but this holds true for Chakli too..! )
The other day there was this competition of preparation and exhibition of Chakli in my native. When I had been there it reminded me of my maternal grandpa. Because there they were promoting one of the oldest methods or I can say a tradition that is on the verge of getting vanished. They call this tradition or the chakli made out of this method as Hand Chakli (ಕೈ ಚಕ್ಕುಲಿ). As the name suggests, we do not use any tool to make the chakli, instead we use hands to make them..! Grandpa used to follow the same tradition to prepare Chakli. I used to look at him with awe as the preparation looks so magical. You will have to check the video to believe it.!
Back in those days, people use to celebrate this Chakli making like a mini festival. Where people used to invite their relatives, neighbours for Chakli kambla (ಚಕ್ಕುಲಿ ಕಂಬಳ). Kambla is a term that is used for the group of people who gather for the preparation of food. Theses get-togethers used to bring people closer. They used to divide the works/ chores and used to chitchat and spend some quality time while munching this yummy snack.
This hand chakli cannot be made using the rice flour that we get in the market. Flour preparation itself has some traditional methods that need to be followed. I can write a separate blog for that, if you are interested.! Let me know if it’s a yes from you.
Advantage of this traditional chakli is, they do not absorb excess oil. If you open packed chaklis, you can feel that oiliness. But with hand chakli, even if you open it after months, you will not feel that greasiness, instead they are as crispy as they were when they were freshly made.!
Post preparing the chakli, people in those days, used to store it in a huge copper vessels and tie the mouth of the vessel using a particular kind of cloth. This used to keep the chaklis super fresh.
Now this tradition is slowly vanishing. People opt for these chakli makers or they buy packed chakli. There are very less people left who know this art of making hand chakli. Even though this looks super easy, but it’s not that easy..!
I am super happy after visiting the exhibition. There was also a competition of making hand chakli. The lady who is preparing chakli in the video, is the runner up. The man who is seen preparing chakli at 3:38 is the winner of the competition. I personally feel we should encourage such competitions to make younger generation aware about these old methods and to keep our old traditions alive.
Do watch the video to know this tradition called Chakli kambla of western ghats. The way hand chakli is made. Video is in Kannada. But the preparation is worth watching. Especially if you are a foodie, you are going to love it.
If you have been following my videos on YouTube and you know Kannada, you are already aware of the stories about how I learnt English after moving to an English medium school and Hindi when I moved to Maharastra. When I talk about learning, it all started when I started schooling..!
Story of me joining a school is short but quite amusing. Wanna hear???
I am the elder kid and I used to be very stubborn back in those days. Like most of the kids of 90’s, even I was not at all pleased with the idea of going to school. I often made a big dramatic scene with all the crying and pleading, every morning..! So my dad decided to try a different method.
Just to add, I must say, parenting is difficult. In order to raise a kid right, either of the parents should be strict and one has to be a friendly. I mean two strict parents or two very leanient parents combo might not really succeed. Again, this is my point of view, you might have a different one. But this topic is always debatable.
Mygirlypedia.com
Back to my story. In my home, mom is the strict one whereas my dad is my first friend, like literally. Wanna know why? You will soon..!
So my dad prioritised his dad duties over his office duties and decided to accompany me to my school. I made sure I continued my efforts to not to sit in school and made my dad take me back home within few minutes of staying at school. (I told you I was stubborn..!!) This continued for couple of days.
Third day dad thought of trying out something new. He became my bench partner (see, I told you he is literally my first friend touchwood) Those tiny chairs were so tiny, my sweet dad used to sit on those to give me company..!
Now enters my mom..!! (Dramatic sound in the background..!!)
Mygirlypedia.com
It must be fifth or sixth day probably, day when my dad lifted me up and started walking towards school, I started crying and asking him to take me back home. He asked me to look back. I still remember what I saw – my mom was holding this big stick, standing right in front of my home asking me to come back, while moving the stick swiftly. Indicating the ‘warm welcome‘ that I will get if I choose to go back home..! Haha that scared me so much that I immediately stopped crying and went to school with dad.
As usual my dad sat along with me. While all other kids used to dance and sing, I used to hold my father’s hand tight and sit right next to him. I was scared that he might leave me in the school and go back to his office. I must really appreciate the fact that my dad is THE BEST. He took leave from his office just to be with me..! How many dads do that??? touchwood
That day was like the longest day of us at school. We didn’t know that there is a snack break in between. Where kids get to eat their snacks that they have brought along with them from home. So my dad and I did not had any snacks so we just sat in a corner, lost in our talks. A little boy came to us and offered his snacks. He had brought those sugary biscuits. I don’t remember his name or face so is my dad. But what my dad remembers is how he felt at that moment. At first dad thought he is such a kind boy..! Later he got to know how smart that boy was…!! That little boy told my dad “Uncle, take me also along with you..!” haha yes, those biscuits were bribe to get him out of the school. He knew this uncle takes his daughter out of school sooner so he thought of taking a chance..! Smart, isn’t it??
So this continued for some days. Where my dad used to be my bench mate. Then one day class teacher spoke to my dad and said “Sir, if you sit like this everyday, you will have to sit here for whole year..!” and she suggested him to leave while I am not paying attention.
I had started trusting dad that he will sit along with me daily, so I had started to dance and sing along with other kids. One fine day while I was lost in dance and music, my dad jumped out of the big window (that opened to the corridor) we had in the class and went back. While still dancing, I turn back to see the bench empty. OMG that must have been such lost feeling. I don’t remember the exact feelings that went in my mind and heart but I definitely remember me crying (well I can’t say like a kid, because I was a kid haha) Class teacher made sure I don’t run from school. But after a while when class got over and when I came out I was so so happy and relived to see my dad standing there waiting for me..!! (Oh I still have tears in my eyes while writing this..! )
So this is how I started going to school. When my sister started her schooling, I was her guiding angel haha. She used to cry too. But I was in the same school and her class teacher used to ask me to take care of my little sister. Which I was very happy to do, because it’s a nice feeling to have our own by our side, anytime, anywhere..! Isn’t it?
Mygirlypedia.com
She used to sit with me on my bench just like dad did. While she used to be busy drawing butterflies, house, the sun and the moon, I used to attend the class. Awww I remember she used to show me her drawings too, while trying not to make lot of noise. I am so glad my class teachers were so sweet who never yelled at me for bringing my sister to class.! In fact all of my classmates were happy to see little one in the class. Precious days..!
So this was the story of how I joined the school..!!!
How was your first day at school??? Did you cry??? Any special mentions??? Do share your stories in the comment section. It will be a warm feeling trust me. A walk down such sweet memory lane is always a warm feeling..!
Lockdown, most used word after a scary word – Corona. Together, they made all our lives upside down.
It now feels like ages that we have been out care free and mask free. Feels like forever we are trapped inside our own house.!
While I watch sunrise and sunset everyday from my balcony, I feel like I am trapped in a forever loop which happens in movies about magical powers. When I sit in my balcony to enjoy sunset, my mind asks “another sunset, what did I do today???” While my brain prepares itself to open the door of all sort of thoughts, an inner voice says – “You survived..!”
Yes, if you are reading this (or like the famous starters of every email these days, hope this blog post finds you in good health), you are still breathing and with every breath there is new hope.
Many of my friends ask me how am I coping up with this situation. So while I was answering their questions, thought of sharing the same with my beautiful readers as well. If this post helps even a single soul out there, that makes my soul happy..!
So here are things that makes me stay calm during these pandemic days:
Take one day at a time:
Tomorrow is never promised. Thoughts about tomorrow brings you anxiety. So make your mind understand to take life one day at a time. Let’s not worry about tomorrow or feel sad about yesterday, be in the present.
Breath:
We sometime blame ourselves for not being productive. But what we tend to forget is, pandemic is definitely not the time to think about productivity. It is about survival. It is your choice how you want to spend the time surviving. Being still and calm is also achievement these days. Still, when we see some social media posts about productive people, we tend to feel a lit low. When I feel my mind is preparing itself to think (read it as overthink), I try to focus on my breath. Simple yet not so simple. But very effective. Breath helps you calm down, as I said before gives you hope and importantly helps you shut the door of overthinking process and let you be in the moment.
Time with family:
There are n number of families which became incomplete as they lost their loved one in last one year. So many houses became empty.! Why do we wait for someone to go forever in order to appreciate them??? Why do we need absence of that person in order to appreciate their presence??? Let’s spend some time with our loved ones in person or virtually to make them feel loved and to morally boost them.
Spend time with pets:
They are the ones who are totally unaware of the situation outside. They are in fact happy that their human parents are giving them so much time and attention.! They are happy that their parents aren’t going outside. Spending time with them definitely calm you down. They teach you how to live life in a calm way.
Lesser the screen time, happier you are:
Be it phone/ TV/ computers etc etc, everywhere you get to see about death rates, oxygen scarcity, in short – all negative news. That anxiety is real. I personally do not have energy to take those news anymore. That’s why I had stopped watching news way long back. But these days social medias is also full of such information. I know and totally agree that sharing such information might help people who are in need. But not everyone can take those information. Me being one of them, I have turned to books to find some peace. Books don’t hurt your eyes, don’t emit harmful rays either. They just divert your mind and give you peace by letting you live in a world of imagination.
Cultivate that hobby for which you didn’t had time these many years:
Now that we have time for lot of things, why not continue a hobby that you had discontinued long ago due to lack of time..! I love dancing, singing ( Definitely never going to participate in any of those singing competitions.) That makes me happy. Plus of course blogging and vlogging is something that keeps me connected to my creative side. How about you? What are your hobbies??
Cook:
Trust me it helps. The more frustration you have, more finely you can chop vegetables. Haha.
Exercise:
This has multiple benefits. First and foremost health, which we all have learnt that the most precious one. Secondly, it helps to keep you happy mentally. The more you sweat, the more you shine baby…!! You can get lot of indoor exercise tutorials online. If you are too lazy for that, just walk from hall to kitchen to bedroom and repeat. hehe.
Meditate:
Meditation helps you to calm your mind. I have recently started to learn meditation. Can’t talk much about it but I know it is definitely going to help me.
Watch sunrise and sunset:
I make sure I watch sunset every single day. I am not a morning person, if you are, do watch sunrise. Trust me sunrise and sunsets look beautiful from anywhere and everywhere. You just need time to watch them. Not just because they are soothing to our eyes, they have lot of positive vibes and thoughts to give. Sunrise indicates a new day a new hope. Sunset makes you understand endings can be beautiful too..!
Journal:
Yet times your mind is over processing the thoughts. You need a place or a person to vent out all those thoughts. But in this pandemic everyone has their own set of burdens. To help yourself without troubling anyone around, just pen down those thoughts. This helps you feel lighter.
Watch something that makes you feel light and happy:
I love watching and re watching FRIENDS. You can watch any of your favourite series or standup comedy shows to make yourself feel lighter.
Hope this helps. Always remember, we all are in this together. We will get through this.!
Appreciation, a gentle yet much needed push we all need once in a while to continue this journey called life. This push not only brings us joy and happiness, but also helps us to give our best in whatever we do. Agreed?
Appreciating someone for their little or big achievements is one incredible thing to do. Na, not all can do that. If you are one of those who appreciate whole heartedly, you are an amazing person..! I appreciate you for that..!
I know it feels so good to receive appreciation for our achievements or good works, but what we often forget is what is called ‘Self Appreciation’. Where you appreciate yourself for your own good work/ deeds.
So, when was the last time you appreciated yourself ??? What for??? Come on, there must be something. I am sure there is. No matter how small or big that achievement is, you need to appreciate your own self. If you still find nothing, at least for this incredible journey you have had till date..!! It is worth the appreciation.
The other day I was going through an old album. I came across this beautiful picture of mine which was clicked when I was a little girl. That bright smile, that joy in the eyes with which that little girl was looking at me, made me feel soooo good. As if that little girl was so proud of me..!!
This made me look back to my journey or rather this beautiful transformation of this innocent little girl into a strong independent lady.!
Journey wasn’t really easy but it was totally worth it. Lessons I learnt along the journey is something that I will never ever replace it with something else.! I will never ever trade for.
We often see others and appreciate them for their achievements. Sometimes big achievements and sometimes even a little ones. We congratulate someone for even buying a car or a house..! But we often fail or rather forget to look at our own selves and give credit for making it so far..!! Don’t you feel so?
We all were once a caterpillar who have now grown into this big beautiful butterfly. Just like how a butterfly doesn’t know how beautiful its wings are, how it doesn’t know its beauty, we often tend to take a minute of pause to look at our own achievements and appreciate it. How incredibly we have changed through this journey of life. We fail to pat our back for overcoming the phase of life once we thought was the end of life.!
If you are still wondering what your achievements are that are worth appreciating… Here, let me give you a very recent one – 2020. What a year..!! If you are reading this, thst means you have made through it. Thats definitely nothing less than any achievements. It was in deed challenging mentally, physically and even financially. You made it. ***Applaud***.
There were yet times where you thought you wouldn’t make it through that phase. But you stood up, fought and made it..!! Congratulations on that never give up attitude
Oh if you are a mother or a homemaker, you have a whole level of list to appreciate yourself for. For keeping everyone else before you in your own priority list to those sleepless nights for taking care of your family. A big big applaud.
I am sure if you look back, you will get n number of scenarios of life where you are worth all the appreciation. May be for what you achieved, for what you learnt, may be for that fearlessly loving nature of yours, for that incredible heart of yours that forgives others and still continues to believe in goodnesses ahh there are a lot and lot of such things you can think of about yourself for yourself to appreciate yourself. ..!
I am sure, by now there is a list ready in your mind. Let’s do one thing, sit back and relax. Take a pen and a paper right now and list down those scenarios or achievements or any small or big it might be write it down on that paper. I am sure as you start writing down, you remember more and more of it where you didn’t give yourself enough credit. That list will surely bring a smile on your face and warm your heart.
Note of Love : If you are wondering how to appreciate yourself? You can stand in front of the mirror (non mandatory) and say appreciating words. Or you can treat yourself with a good reward. Be it your favourite dessert, item in your Wishlist or anything that makes you feel special, makes you feel loved.!
Next time, when you remember to be kind (as kindness is something this world needs the most RN), also remember that kindness starts with YOU..!!!
Keep Smiling..!!
If you are a Kannadiga/ someone who understand Kannada, you can checkout the Kannada version of same content in my latest YouTube video 🙂
Valentine’s day is just around the corner. People who are in relationships are already planning to celebrate the day of love. They might have already planned the gifts for their partner. You might be wondering how this post is relevant with valentine’s day. It is. Let me tell you how.
I have come across lot of cases where boy has gifted a pet (mostly puppies) to his girl. Who was very happy to accept as puppies are the cutest. But somehow failed to realize that she is accepting a living being and it is a new life time commitment she is opting for. Somehow she fails to take care of the puppy and puppy ends up being in some adoption center. In fact this is also fine because the puppy still has a chance to get a forever home. Some ‘gifts’ end up in roads, some succumb to death because of the negligence.
I am NOT saying gifting a pet is a bad idea. But kindly go through some of the points below to decide whether it a wise choice for you and the one whom you are gifting to.
By the way, if you are not aware, I am a mother of 2 four legged kids. This is absolutely out of my own experience. These are the main points I could think of right now. Read on.
They are Babies, like literally:
You know human babies yet times cry in the middle of the night due to any discomfort or if they are hungry. So does pets. They whine when they feel hungry or they are missing their biological mamma. Yes they do. You need to be patient, loving and caring enough to wake up and feed them, comfort them. Even if it is in the middle of the night or early morning. I was a lazy girl who used to watch sunrise once in a blue moon. But now, my kids make sure I wake up early (read it as when they want me to wake up). #touchwood.
You need to be patient:
You need to be patient if they pee on your expensive sofa/ cloth. You need to be patient when they chew your favorite footwear. Do not beat them when they make noise in the middle of the night and wake you up from your deep sleep. That’s their way of communicating. Just try and understand.
They Eat:
They look cute and also they need food at regular intervals. Some breed or some pets need particular diet to sustain. Make sure you follow that.
They Poop:
Yes they do. Like any living being who eats, poops. Pets do too. Make sure you are ready to clean it. Especially if are planning to get guinea pig because they look cute as button, be ready to clean tons of poop and gallons of pee. #Experienced. Also after a while you get so used to it that for example, my nose has stopped sensing the smell of their poop or pee.
PS : If you thinking fishes are of low maintenance. Let me tell you, you need to regularly change the water else you know the consequence. 😦
They feel cold/ hot too:
I see some people keeping their pets tied up outside home with no roof on top, no bed to sleep on. I wish I could punch those monsters and rescue those pets. It is very simple. They have skin, they are living beings (please don’t mind me using this word n times. Because most of the people out there don’t behave like they know this fact that pets are living beings.) they feel the climatic changes, just like we do. Do you know, dog’s nose becomes dry just like our skin during winter??? They need warmth, they need cooler when they are hot. I bought cooler for my kids. I know I am a good mom. Thanks to my mom who thought me these values. #touchwood.
They fall sick:
Yes they do fall sick yet times. You need to be extra loving to comfort them so that they recover quickly. Plus, do not forget the cleanings you have to do. Oh come on, don’t make faces. It is common across all living beings.
They need regular vaccinations:
Yes you need to spend money on vaccinations on regular basis. Theses vaccinations are essentials and should be timely enough to protect your kid from diseases.
They need grooming:
Some breeds of dogs, cats need grooming on regular basis. You need to spend money and time on it in order to keep them look neat and healthy.
They need love:
Pets do not ask for your bank statement, your money, job, vacation, shopping any materialistic things. Alllll they need is your time, love and care. Some pets, especially dogs go into depression if you neglect them.
They Need Attention:
Especially if you are getting a dog, make sure there is someone at home all the time. Because most of the dogs get depressed and cry if they are left alone. This might annoy some of the people near you live.
Need a backup when you are not around:
You need to make sure there is someone to look after your kids while you are out of station. After all they are not soft toys to lock in the cupboard while going out. Know?
You must be thinking, is it really worth ‘investing’ so much??? Answer is Absofuckinglutely YES.
I have seen a lot of people through my life. But I never found true and selfless love as an animal. They have absolutely no expectations in return. All they need is you, your time, love. At the end of the day, they don’t question about how your day was. All they do is your day better by their love. It is a nice feeling to know that there is someone who is waiting for you back home and is literally happy to see you again. Especially a dog, their jumping, screaming when you reach home is absolutely precious. They make you feel loved, special.
No matter how you look, what your skin color is, what your religion is, what your economic status is, whether you are single, divorced, handicapped anything… In the eyes of your pets, you are perfect. You are nothing less than angel (especially a dog. For cats, the attitude is slightly different. I remembered the joke I had read the other day. Check it out below)
Animals are blessings to the mankind. In the fast-pace of life where people re drawn towards materialistic world, pets are the reminder of what true love and life are.But remember pets are part of life for you. But for them, their master is their ONLY life. Make sure it is a good one.
If you are ok with these for the rest of the life, get a pet. It’s a commitment. If you leave your partner, I am sure he will move on and get a new partner. If you leave your pet, it’s really hard for them to move on. There are many cases where they die because of heart break. So think before you get a pet because it’s a silent commitment.
If you are not Ok with even a single point mentioned above, then please please do not get one. Be happy with a soft toy, because they don’t need any of these care, plus they are cute too.!! 🙂
You travel not to get lost, but to find yourself..!!!
When I was young, I had heard this phrase which said – Either you read a book or roam the world. Even though I love reading books, I love travelling even more.
When I say travel, most of the population want to visit a foreign location. Well, someday even I want to. Specifically Paris. Oh come on someone who love beauty and fashion, of course it’s the Disney land for us..!! (Ahmmm well, Disney land too is in my bucket list. Thanks to the inner kid in me who refuses to grow up. We are never too old for Disney. Are we?? Naa.!!).
But I think I belong to that category of population, who wants to explore own country first. I mean India is incredible. #IncredibleIndia. We have 29 states, 7 union territories. N number of culture, language. Immense variety of food, flora, fauna…!! Most of the tourists from all over the world has India in their bucket list. How lucky are we to get a chance to live in such a country with so many bio diversities.! I have been to 10 states so far. Many more to go..!!!
This year, 2019 June, I had been to Himachal Pradesh, with my BFF (read it as sister) and bunch of dear friends. We had amazing experience. (Check my Instagram for more pictures.)
Major adventurous thing we did in this trip is paragliding at Solang Valley Manali.
One of our dear friend had this in her bucket list. She wanted to experience this, by jumping off the cliff in Manali (of course with all safety). I love adventures like this. I have done paragliding (comparatively very smaller heights, parasailing, rappelling etc) But jumping from the height of 3200+ meters, was not an easy thing. Still the adventure bug in me made sure that I did this adventure..!!!
We went to the ticket centre to get the tickets for the paragliding. Honestly, I was afraid. I felt like those three musketeers of the Bollywood movie Zindagi na Milegi Doobara (one of my favourites.) I made use of every brain cells to encourage me to do this.
Buying tickets, making mind was just the starters. When the ticket centre person asked us to sign the forms, phew that is where my hands started shaking. haha. It said they are not responsible if anything happens. We got to sign it as a token of agreement. They also take our personal details like name, address etc. In case, you know.!
My biggest encouragement was my sister. She said she will also do it.!! Even though she was terrified, she was comforted with the fact that her sister, me, will be with her. (See this is the best part of having siblings. We don’t let our sibling do any adventure alone.!).
I Know We Are Cute 😜 #touchwood
We both were trembling but we were laughing looking at each other’s face. (Another benefit of having your sibling as your crime partner. We make each other laugh in the worst situations too.)
We paid the money for our rides and they showed us the way to the peek from where we were supposed to jump..! They took us to the peek by ropeway ( 3200 meters height, so obvious). We were accompanied by two paragliding rider/ pilots who had all the equipment with them.
Just to break the ice, I spoke to one of them about their experience with paragliding. Since how long they have been doing this. (Honestly not just to break the ice, to make sure we are in safe hands.!) They said 8-10 years. They have done trainings and have certificates too. (They could read the fear in my face. Of course. haha).
We reached the cliff. There were already people who were waiting for their turn to fly. Some were already flying.
They have different spots on the mountain cliff. Depending on your body weight, they classify the different levels of starting point. Well, they considered my sister and me as ‘underweight’. If it would be a boy he might have been offended. But girls are indirectly proportional to the ‘weight related compliments’. We become ‘more happy’ when someone say we have ‘less weight’. Vice versa. We were very happy. We had already made a note of food we are going to have, without guilt, if we reach home safely..! haha. I said this weight point specifically because they were planning to take both of us in a single paraglide due to weight factor. Less the weight, more difficult it is to control the paraglide. But those pilots had some words with each other and decided to take us separately.
My sister and I were hugging each other. People over there had gala time laughing at us. Bothering about them was the least thing in our list that time.
So when it comes to paragliding in most of the cases, especially if the height from where we are starting is more, we will always be accompanied by a pilot. They tie the harness and pilot and we will be sitting on that harness. Harness suspends below a fabric wing. You will be sitting in front and you get to enjoy the ride thoroughly. Pilot on the other hand, sits behind us and controls the paraglider. Paraglider is light weight and the wing shape is maintained by the suspension lines, the pressure of air entering vents in the front of the wing and the aerodynamic forces of the air flowing over the outside. I must say pilot need a lot of arm strength to control the paraglider.
Being a responsible sister, I was more worried for my sister. How will she manage and stuff.! I had a word with her pilot. By this time you might have guessed what I might have asked him. You are right, about his years of experience. 😁 She went to fly first as her pilot was ready. The mountain was sloppy. Too tough to walk without falling. She flew and I could hear her scream. I was nervous for her. Her paraglider went smoothly in the air. Smooth like a butter she glided in the air and she went quite far where I couldn’t hear her scream any more.
Between my brain cells were worried about my sister, my pilot asked me to come and wear the safety gears. Pheww… I wore it and made sure they checked it well. The people over there, the paragliding team people, they were having fun looking at me panicking. But the pilot was a very nice person. He had a small chat with me and made me feel that I am in safe hands. As I had given instructions that I need to run through the sloppy mountain for few seconds and pull my legs up in the air, I just took a long breath and said “This is it”.
I just kept a foot forward, a man fell down His leg was tangled to my paraglider’s strings. I told to myself “Good start Pallavi.!”.
There comes the moment. I started running through sloppy mountain for a while and pulled my legs up and guess what, within some seconds I was in the air…!!!!!!
See I had got my first sign when that guy fell down, that it is going to be more adventurous for me. That is exactly what happened with me.
Wind started blowing in full speed. I mean the weather changed in no time. As soon as I was in air, air was thrilled I guess. Haha. The pilot had tough time controlling the balloon. If you are the first timer, jumping from such heights, you tend to get scared a bit. I was scared for fraction of second because we were swinging in full speed. From south to north. (Watch the video to know what exactly I am talking about). Total 180 degree swing. I could see all tiny people and vehicles down there. I could see my legs hanging in air and no floor beneath. Screaming at the top of my lungs helped me a bit. But then I was like “It’s ok na. In the worst case I won’t make it but Fu*k it. Let me enjoy the view”. That’s when I started noticing and enjoying smallest things.
The fresh cool breeze was magical. The snow covered mountain peaks surrounding me, were surreal. People were looking so tiny down there. That made me realise how small are we in this huge universe. That moment made me realise, we can’t take control of all the situations. We can do two things, either panic and waste more energy and time. Or just be in the moment, look at positive side and enjoy to make the most of the present. I did choose to enjoy.
The pilot was kind. He struggled a lot to control the paraglider. He was worried when I had magically stopped screaming and was totally silent. haha. He was constantly checking whether I was ok.
At some point of time, I thought we are going to hit a tree. I was so in careless mode that time, I was laughing at the situation. I thought it would be like in those cartoon movies. Where cartoon characters hit long, pointy trees and get stuck there..!! haha. You can find this ‘almost hitting a tree moment’ in the video.
While coming down it was hilarious too. It was a crowded area. I thought I will kick someone on their face. Because we are supposed to keep our leg up while landing and chances were high that in the crowd some absent minded fellow ending up on my feet. 😅
Jokes apart, I must say, those two minutes while I was in the air, was magical.
Usual or normal paragliding is smooth. They jump and glide in the air. They cover huge area and enjoy nature’s view.
But mine..!! Haha it was a rollercoaster ride.
when I landed, people over there (by the way there are people to capture your paragliding moments. You can pay them and get your pieces of memories in the form of photos/ videos they have captured.) who had observed me paragliding, said, “you had the perfect paragliding experience. This is the exact thrill people seek in this sport.”. I was surprised and that made me even more happy. That was like a compliment people usually give you when you come out of a sh*t situation with flying colours…!!!
While my sister had fun and happily enjoyed her paragliding, I thoroughly enjoyed and learnt a lot in those few moments of mine, in the air. Flying like a bird made me feel free and lighter from inside…!!!
In order to see the view of world and life from far, you too should try this sport at least once.
Do check the video to have a glimpse of my paragliding experience.
While browsing through the Instagram feed I came across this beautiful video of two kids hugging each other. If you are thinking what’s so special about this video, do have a look at this video.
Isn’t it beautiful. This made me so happy and also think what we were when we were of that age.! I felt that we all were once a clean slate. Which is not so clean anymore..!!
Just think about it; when we were born, we have no tags attached, not even a name. With few minutes of our presence on this planet, we are given so many tags and norms to follow.
Firstly we were divided in terms of gender. If you are a boy you are expected to do certain things and if you are a girl you must obey and follow certain things. Each gender has do’s and don’ts to be ‘strictly’ followed to be on the good books of those 4 people (char log/ society).
Then we are given a name, that is not an interesting part. The interesting part here is the surname. Surname comes as a part of religion or the cast you belong to. It’s kind of an indicator of your whole family, religion etc. Needless to say, we were then divided based on religion. Umm that is not the end, it’s just a beginning. With every religion comes a number of castes. These castes are further divided into sub castes. Phew. You are supposed to follow certain customs and traditions that are attached with them.
There also a classification based on our skin colour. Some find fair skin beautiful. Some find Dusky skin gorgeous. There are people in the world who treats you based on your skin colour. Which is really unfortunate.
During the education we were divided into different categories. On a lighter note. like first bencher last bencher. Scholar, failure. We were also divided based on the stream we chose – science commerce arts etc.
Then comes the degree part. Where we decide what we want to be, in order to impress the society and parents. Also to make sure that our purpose of taking birth is fulfilled. Society divides us or we divide ourselves into the categories like engineers, doctors, architect, butcher, driver, house maker etc.
How can we forget money. I mean this is one thing that is driving us and the world crazy. This is something we all fight for and run the rat race for. Isn’t it. The amount of money one have can get him respect in the society. Even if you don’t agree with me right now deep down you know that’s true. If one has money he can escape all the crimes made and still be treated well out there.
Ahh I forgot one thing we are widely and popularly divided into – countries. Let’s not talk about the problems we have inside the country. Like the problems states of same country, have within each other. But, in the name of country we are forgetting one major thing that is humanity. We are fighting over countries. Killing innocent people and animals. This classification is really the worst of all.
Take a minute think about what you were and what have you become now. Weren’t we all happy kid, just like these kids in the video. Agree or no, the very reason this video went popular because the kids have different skin colour. Irrespective of that, they are so happy with each other’s company.! As you can see they are unaware of all the ‘classifications/ categories’ of the world. They are very happy to see each other and their just enjoying their lives, every moment.
Do you ever feel that life would be so simpler if we were as same as we were when we were born. Happy, innocent, curious and most importantly pure hearted. No negativity, no cruelty. Just happy and content.
I know people say that the world is cruel outside and you need to face the world you need to change and shape yourself in such a way that you to survive in this world. But tell me one thing, who is world? we are the world. We the human being, who are the most dominant creature on this earth are the significant part of the world. If we were kind to ourselves, to all the people out there, I don’t think there will be much negativity and cruelty left. I know it’s impossible to achieve but I really wish if we had a heart like a baby then our lives and most importantly this planet earth would be so much happier and safer place to live.
With amount of cruelty and bloodshed that is happening all over the world, love and kindness are what this world needs the most.
let’s be kind to ourselves to the world let’s stop criticizing or treating people based on their religion, caste, education qualification, occupation, economical status Let’s just accept people for their nature and good deeds. I hope we stop shedding blood in the name of religion, caste, country, instead we work towards welfare of our one common home – mother earth.
This morning, while I was reading the newspaper a small column caught my eyes. It’s news about Uttarakhand state.A part of the state consisting of 312 villages, has the data or stats saying that there are 312 male babies born in last three months. Interesting part here is, there is not even a single girl child born in that duration..!!
Before you go into the loop of thinking about any curse or something, let me tell you it’s one of those incidents where a girl child is treated as a curse.! It is not a coincident that every mother gave birth to a boy in last three months. This seems like many girl children have been murdered while they were inside their mothers’ womb. Which is said to be one of the most safest and most comfortable place for a kid. Unfortunately those girls couldn’t even make it to the world.
Why does Indians pray for a male child??? That to in front of Devi/ goddess, who is a female. During the days of kings, they longed for a male child as they needed a ruler to protect their kingdoms and people. One who could continue the name of their family. This makes a little sense as most of those rulers or dynasties were worth mentioning in the pages of history. What about now??? Do all individuals who are opting to kill their girl child has any dynasty to take care of???In some cases they go to the extra heights to get the male or the husband a ‘new’ wife with the hope (read it as guarantee) that she will give him a male child which his previous wife couldn’t. They seldom know that the gender of the baby is determined by the chromosome shared by the father, not the mother. Changing the wife is not the solution…!! Changing the attitude is.
I don’t have a brother of my own. But I have a sister who loves me more than a brother would have loved me.
She is always emotionally available for me. She understands and takes care of me more than any male creature would ever do. Because the level of understanding and love you share with your sister is no where comparable to that of with a brother. Back in those days, since I don’t have a brother, we were judged, questioned a lot many times. As a child and now as an adult I was, am and will always be glad that I have a sister and not a brother. Sisters are for life. Brothers, ummm they are not really good at maintaining all the relationships at a time. It’s too much for them to juggle between mother and wife. Forget about sisters. (It’s out of my own experience with my cousin brothers. If you have a brother who loves and takes care of you even after his marriage, you should appreciate your brother more. ) But I had this doubt why people insist a couple to have a baby boy, why not a baby girl???
I did asked this question to some ‘elderly’ people who asked such questions to me or to my family. The answers were –
You will not be with your parents when they grow old, because you will have to move to your husband’s home and take care of your in laws. But a son will always be there.
Son can protect his parents physically and economically.
Son will carry on the name of the family, unlike girls who need to adopt her husband’s surname.
When parents die, son is the one who’ll lit the sacred fire in order to give his parents eternal peace. The list continued.
Back in those days I didn’t really bother to give answers to those questions. But now I guess I have some.
First of all, what is the guarantee that the son will always be there for you? Instead, i guarantee that daughters love and take care of parents way more better than a son would ever try to. Because we girls have this super power called love and care. They are like our ‘default settings’. You don’t have to configure those in us. But in guys, I can’t guarantee that you can even configure that in each boy. While adopting the new family, we still can be ourselves with our own family – parents and siblings.
Son can protect you physically. What??? Is a super man or something??? About economic support, hello, we do earn and support family just like any son. sometimes, trust me we earn more than your loved son does.
The trend of changing surname to that of husband’s is long gone. A girl has the right to keep her paternal surname with her name forever. If she wants, she can add her husband’s surname as a suffix. Thanks to actress Aishwarya Rai Bachhan who started this trend.
About sacred fire to attain peace. Firstly, we girls are high on emotions. WE can’t even and don’t want to discuss such emotional stuffs. But one query – Is there any proof that only if a son does this ritual, God will grant peace??? As far as I remember Gods are not gender biased. Are they???
Evil in me is glad today that some of the ladies who used to ask questions about ‘ONLY’ girl children to my parents, are tasting their own karma. Some of their sons have left them, some are not earning, some are not married because girls think that they are not a good candidates to get married…!!! Ahem ahem. I am not claiming that all the sons are careless or all daughters are responsible. I know few boys who are great sons. But if you compare, the emotional support a parent gets from daughter is way more than a son. The number of responsible daughters is higher than responsible sons.Girls are talkative, so free entertainment in the house. haha. Caring enough to switch roles yet times when parents behave like a child. We are good listeners. We know to love beyond limit and care without giving up. We are good at academics (I am not saying this, every year the exam result stats say this), we aim to earn and be independent plus aim to support parents when they are in need. No matter where we go, we will always feel loved to be called as our parents’ daughters. Girls are no more restricted to kitchen or home making, we are in every field now. Right from agriculture to space science, from dance to athletics, we are reaching new heights every single day.I just want to tell one thing to those who pray and wish to have male child – No matter how good your son gets, you will NEED a girl to get married to him to ‘carry on’ your family name…!!!Even though female feticide or abortion is illegal, it’s horrifying that people still opt to do it. It is dishartening to see so many girl children losing their lives before opening their eyes, for no fault of theirs. Even though concerned officials have started the investigation in the Uttarakhand case, unless and until we, as a citizen don’t wake up, such incidents are not going to end. Because improving a nation or society is not just the responsibility of government or one individual.Let’s not let a girl child who can become a loving daughter, caring sister, charming wife, adorable daughter in law, amazing mother, close her eyes permanently before even opening them…!!
While scrolling through the infinite Instagram feed, I came across this video featuring one of the best performers of our time – Vidya Balan.
Vidya has given us some amazing movies. Apart from being well known for her great performances, she has been in news for her weight. Yep, weight. I have even seen some of the clips where some reporters ask her about her ‘extra’ weight. Even though all most all the actresses are body shamed at some point, Vidya has been body shamed a lot more than any of the actresses. She has confessed in one of her interviews that she had been constantly reminded about her body type by people, even before she joined Bollywood.
Vidya has once again made us feel proud by the way she expressed her views and experience, about most talked topic – Body-shaming.
In this short video Vidya is seen singing some of iconic Hindi songs with new lyrics. Lyrics which describe the pain of a woman who is judged for her appearance. The pain of not respecting her identity is evident.
Lyrics is something like this:
Sometimes you call me fat, sometimes you call me short, Sometimes you call me dark. By these words of yours, My heart aches. You knowingly/ unknowingly becomes this ignorant.
You forget my name, instead, calls me by different ‘nick names’. I have my own identity too.
Man is trapped between black and white. How silly of him to judge each and everyone around.
The message she gives is so true:
Making fun of someone by their weight, body part, colour is something you should be ashamed of. By such things you are hampering self-confidence of someone. It hurts them real bad. Every individual is different and that’s what makes him/ her special…!!!
We easily judge people. Pass comments. Healthy teasing between friends is something different. But sometimes, when we cross a limit and that one comment can cause lot of damage. You never know the woman whom you said fat might be having health issues which is making her gain weight. She might have had sleepless nights crying about it, she might be starving herself to lose those weight you are worried about (read it as making her worry about). By calling someone by their skin colour, you are adding up to their self-doubts.
If you think only people with more curves are body shamed, you are wrong. People who are under weight or have no curves, have their set of painful stories to share. If you think people with white skin are blessed and are safe from such bullies, na you are not right. We also have some creepy names given by some creeps.
For every body type, there are bunch of people who can come up with creative names. Moti/ fatty, patli/ flat, chotu/ shorty, gori/ fairness cream ki dukhaan, kaali blah blah blah. They fail to see a person beyond weight, height, skin colour…!!! If you judge a book by its cover, you might miss a lot of good things the book might add to your value.
Lord Ganesha is the first one we pray to when we start any ritual. Lord Krishna is the one who has though us the gem – Bhagavad Gita, whom we love and worship. When we worship all Gods irrespective of their body type or skin colour, why can’t we celebrate goodness of a human irrespective of their body or skin type?
So the next time before commenting or laughing at someone, let’s spend a little more time and give work to our brains to see the person beyond the size/ colour. It is definitely not acceptable to harm someone’s self confidence.
If you are body shamed and if it is bothering you, I just want to ask you one question – whose views matter to you the most, some bunch of unwanted people or someone who knows and loves you?? No matter how perfect you try to be, people will always have their ‘free comments’ to offer.If we keep giving importance to those comments, which are doing harm and absolutely no good to you, you are wasting this precious life. Instead of letting your energy flow into that direction, utilise it to love yourself. To be happy and comfortable in your own skin. Life is too short to waste it on people who doesn’t matter. Isn’t it???
We live in a society where most of the things have some standards already set. Nobody knows who did it, but most of us blindly just follow. As simple as a birth of a baby. “Raja beta hona chahiye” (It should be a darling prince). Be it beauty – where skin colour is the primary factor to be judged by, education – of course the marks decide whether you are ‘smart’ or dumb etc etc. This never ending list goes on. People who live for the society (read it as live to impress the society) try their best to fit in to these standards. May be because of this, these standards still exists. I am glad it is slowly getting changed. But we are a long way to go, to completely set new generation free from these standards.
Society never spares anyone. Even for parents they have some set of standards to meet when it comes to their kids. Kids should be well behaved, should score good marks since from preschool to graduation. Get a good job blah and blah. Parents struggle a lot to make these happen. They make sure their kids get good education and provide everything s/he needs. But unfortunately not all the parents see the world through their kids’ eyes.
‘Studies’ – definitely not a cake walk for everyone. Most of the kids struggle and put in their efforts to learn and score good marks to make their parents proud. Some are blessed with good intellect and some are not. Some love mathematics, some get fever before maths exam. Every kid is different. A kid might not be good at everything but every kid is good at something. Instead of recognising and supporting the skills he is good at, most of the parents end up making him fit in to the puzzle where he doesn’t belong.
At the end of the day, all parents want their child to live a secure life when s/he grows up. A secure job will definitely bring financial security but can’t assure the mental peace, satisfaction and happiness which one needs along the journey of life.
Every year during exam result announcements, especially for 10th and 12th boards, we always read or hear the sad news of students committing suicides for not getting good marks. Why do you think so??? What might have made the kid to feel ending life is more easier than continuing the life.
Like every year, this year as well I saw tweets, Facebook posts about people boasting about the percentages their kids scored (which are mostly 90 and above), I came across this post on Instagram which warmed my heart.
This post is by a mom who appreciated her son on social media (with both heart and brain), for scoring well in 10 CBSE. Nowadays children score 100/100 in most of the subjects. When I say children, there are literally bunch of students who score so well. Before I set your expectation high, let me tell you the mom I am talking about, her son for whom she is so proud of didn’t actually meet ‘good score’ as per the ‘education standards’. Yes, he has scored 60%.
I can somehow listen to the judgemental aunties yelling “Is this a thing to appreciate your kid for?”.
Well Yes. Definitely Yes.
The thing I loved about this post or the thing made me happy for that kid is the fact that he has his supper supportive mom by his side. She saw him struggle. She saw him not giving up. Most importantly she appreciated him for that. She appreciated the efforts he put in. She understood that her kid is indeed like a fish who is meant to swim in the ocean. Asking him to climb a tree is not something fair for him. Isn’t it a beautiful feeling for getting appreciated for your efforts. Especially by your mom and dad???
A parent should support the hard work the child puts in. Look at the efforts more than the results. Because once you are out in the real world and you look back, you wonder where you are going to apply the algebra formulas, for which you had almost broke your head…!!!
This post by Vandana Sufia Katoch has went viral for all the right reasons. People like her are indeed pillars of progressive India. Let’s appreciate her for setting such a nice example of good parenting. We want more parents like this lady who loves her children more than society. Who is more keen to support her kid to pave his own path rather than making him to take part in the rat race. We want more parents like her who appreciate the good virtues in kid rather than the numbers they score on their score cards.
Instead of making kids run in the race, let them fly freely. Be the wind beneath their wings.
Girls are talkative, so free entertainment in the house. haha. Caring enough to switch roles yet times when parents behave like a child. We are good listeners. We know to love beyond limit and care without giving up. We are good at academics (I am not saying this, every year the exam result stats say this), we aim to earn and be independent plus aim to support parents when they are in need. No matter where we go, we will always feel loved to be called as our parents’ daughters. Girls are no more restricted to kitchen or home making, we are in every field now. Right from agriculture to space science, from dance to athletics, we are reaching new heights every single day.I just want to tell one thing to those who pray and wish to have male child – No matter how good your son gets, you will NEED a girl to get married to him to ‘carry on’ your family name…!!!
Even though female feticide or abortion is illegal, it’s horrifying that people still opt to do it. It is dishartening to see so many girl children losing their lives before opening their eyes, for no fault of theirs. Even though concerned officials have started the investigation in the Uttarakhand case, unless and until we, as a citizen don’t wake up, such incidents are not going to end. Because improving a nation or society is not just the responsibility of government or one individual.Let’s not let a girl child who can become a loving daughter, caring sister, charming wife, adorable daughter in law, amazing mother, close her eyes permanently before even opening them…!!
Mygirlypedia 