~ Reflections ~

The toughest part of managing a child, besides getting them to eat right, is to get them to sleep :) Oh yes, you might be dreary and sleepy, but that doesn't seem to rub onto the child, or ease them to sleep. Often, one might rock oneself to sleep before the Tiny Human finally dozes off. It makes me wonder if I was as much a pain to put to sleep. With time and experience, each of us develop our own styles and techniques to achieve the ultimate outcome.. no judgement on the means to the end :) :D I've finally found a list of songs which seem to help in the task, without realizing that these songs have become my favourites anyway ! Here are the top 5. 5. Surmayi Akhiyo Mae (Hindi, Movie: Sadma) : Somehow Yesudas singing this song to you seems to be the perfect recipe to call upon sleep. Needless to say Gulzar weaves magic through those words. 4. Sapnon ke Ghar ki  (Hindi, Movie: Daddy)  : This is one is definitely one of the best of Talat Aziz. Hadn't heard of the lyricist ...

Most of us in the middle/upper middle class spend what we earn, and maybe, save a little. Working long hours to make ends meet, to make life a little more comfortable is what we strive for. But we don't realize when this strife, becomes a struggle... and ends up hampering our 'life' in total. I've heard so many peers saying life is so stressful.. Little do they realize that it's their work that makes their life feel that way ! I'm not saying work is a joke, and don't take it seriously.  But we need to have as much discipline towards life beyond work. More often than not, family & friends become the collateral damage. Cartoon Credit:  https://www.cartoonstock.com/directory/h/heavy_workload.asp

Progeny has a funny impact on how we look at things... The urge to see a piece of you in flesh and blood is so strong. that we seem to loose all sense of perspective till we do it :) We wish and pray for a creation, who is like us :) Ironically, the similarity we often seek is in the form of the 'adorable' smile, the eating habits, intelligence,  body language.. the list could go on... But what truly matter is what kind of person the child is, the nature, attitude, demeanor... and the key to this is more the environment and upbringing than the gene pool. Don't get me wrong, the gene pool is a good trendsetter, but it is not 'the' reason for someone turning out a certain way. So when we all seek for a part of us in someone else, we need to remember what matter.. I mean what truly counts !  

I was never a 'podcast' person as I prefer reading to listening, if you know what I am saying. But off late, long hours of travel (and old age, which doesn't permit much reading in a moving car) has forced me to rely on my ears (than eyes). Much to my surprise, I discovered some delectable content in the likes of Youtube, Spotify and Gaana.com. One such podcast which I'd recommend to everyone is the podcast by ATS Studio on Spotify, called Mission ISRO  hosted by Harsha Bhogle . It is a beautifully narrated journey of the Indian scientists, on how they managed to make the Indian space mission work. considering it started post Independence, when the government had bigger fish to fry. You'd be surprised to note that Kalam only forms a small part of long list of scientists we need to thank including Vikram Sarabhai , Homi Jehangir Bhabha  and Satish Dhawan , to name a few. What made the podcast even more interesting were the numerous anecdotes through each episode. D...

The first week of the year is often spent in recollecting the best and the worst of the year gone by. It makes sense to thank what we have had, hoping for good times to come. I'd love to say that I make resolutions each year, and try to stick by them, but that's not true.. not even the first part. So let me not call these resolutions. Let's just say these are realizations of the past year, which will be setting the theme of the year ahead. Winds of Change : With a toddler in tow, life has taken a 360degree turn. While we keep trying to restore equilibrium (read: relive experiences and moments of the past) , situations and time spent has changed definitively. Of course it is all for the better, but one often wonders if we can re-attempt what we did earlier. So till we find a new equilibrium (now that there is a tiny human in the equation) , hope we survive the swings & friction, and redefine the new status quo soon. Leap of Faith : There is help all around us, in differ...

Here's another song that always, relives any stress on my mind It means no worries For the rest of your days It's our problem-free philosophy

Most of us are working to earn a living or make a name or for both. But in this strife to achieve what we set out for, we often forget the people in our lives ...  Practicality needs to prevail, as ends need to be met and bills need to be paid.. but if one really thinks about it, one would realize how this material gain seems to, often, override any other wishes. And the biggest collateral damage is always the family and loved ones. So the next time you sit at your work desk and decide to work an 'extra half an hour', please contemplate not just the future time saved at work but also the time missed with the family and loved ones. Needless to say, time with family is definitely priceless, viz-a-viz time at work !  

We all go through phases... Of loving, and losing,  Of loving what is lost, and then losing what is loved... And then it moves in a loop.... The love and the loss needn't pertain to a homo-sapien, but could be something as simple as a habit... In all this loving and losing and loving all over again, I have come to a single consistent conclusion each time...  Look for the bare necessities, Forget about your worries and your strife And then the bare necessities will come to you :)

When one observes their own life from a distance, it will often make you wonder why we fuss so much. Life is so beautiful, each day, as it progresses... But we have a tendency to nit-pick in each and every situation. The distancing helps in developing a bird's eye view to the entire situation... Don't know if the distancing makes one detached, or helps refresh the connections... Either ways, it definitely provides a new perspective ! Reminds of this Song by Bette Midler From a distance the world looks blue and green, and the snow-capped mountains white. From a distance the ocean meets the stream, and the eagle takes to flight. From a distance, there is harmony, and it echoes through the land. It's the voice of hope, it's the voice of peace, it's the voice of every man. From a distance we all have enough, and no one is in need. And there are no guns, no bombs, and no disease, no hungry mouths to feed. From a distance we are instruments marching in a common band. Play...

All of us need guidance.. throughout life.. When we are young, we are more accepting of what people have to say.. As we grow up, we build walls, which are porous in some places, and hard in others... we end up deflecting a lot of the well meant advise from our people... What we don't realize is that we keep learning, if we keep an open mind, at all times and ages, sometimes from the most unsuspecting people and situations... The best teachers are those who show you where to look But don't tell you what to see. ~ Alexandra K. Trenfor