Wednesday, December 31, 2014

This is what you are resolving to do in 2015: Happy New Year

Well last Sunday of 2014 has got me more active than any of the other days this year. Even before I wrap up my year, I am sorting things that I want to do in 2015. And while Im jotting my list, I think this is what most people are also thinking of doing:

1.       Getting in shape – Most people want to slim down, a handful lucky folks want to gain weight. Moral f the story, no body is happy with their body type and want to alter it. Ironically, very few will actually work towards it.

2.       More of ‘me’ time – Be it office folks, kids or nudgy in laws – everybody resolves to spend more time with themselves. The circle of life is such that very few actually achieve it.

3.        Eating healthy – Thanks to our lifestyles, most want to eat healthy. But the moment we think of having “kuch achcha” it falls in the non-veg genre or the fried fare. You can resolve to eat more greens, but thanks to the great Indian taste buds most will fail doing this.

4.        Getting up early – For most of getting up at 6 am is a daily challenge. Most of us will get up early for the first few days and will generally slouch to old routine.  Reason: Overbearing routine and lifestyle where office and nuclear family demands drains us frequently.

5.       Take up a habit – Everyone wants to take up a habit and nurture it with time. Some succeed other wither away but there’s no harm trying.

With this list, Im good to go in 2015. I hope I stick to these routines, otherwise you know what stopped me.

Sunday, December 14, 2014

Parenting now is not a kid’s play

Yesterday a huge newspaper advertisement about a baby show at neighborhood school glared at me. I looked at it and then ignored it and then gave it a sly look. I knew for sure that my Mr Right doesn’t get excited about such shows. His reason: “my baby is not to be upheld for advertising of any sorts, whatever he is… he is good enough for me”.

Right then a neighbor – who is also a close friend and has a son about the same age as my son – popped a Whatapp message, “hey lets go to this baby show tomm…. It will be a good exposure for kids ”.

The school in question is located in the next corner, so all sorts of excuses ran futile. On the pretext of inquiring about school fee and curriculum I dished out a proposal for attending the baby show to Mr Right. Surprisingly he agreed (may be because I mentioned the school curriculum and admission inquiry instead of the baby show).

Today, it was icy cold but I was surprised to see harried parents running towards school along with their kids. And kids, my my, were dressed in attires cut straight from Bollywood. A little girl had put on fairy dress, a boy was dressed as krishna, another one was dressed as politician, and my kid was in the rockstar avatar. I had done the basic minimum – put him rugged jeans and jacket and a spiked hair. Every kid beamed with smile, chased balloons at the school campus, got busy drinking cola and munching chips.

Of course there were the regular rounds to judge a kids’ activities, parents’ awareness and other things. What struck me was that there were so many parents even from very humble backgrounds. This whole glitz wasn’t just about middle class people. Also the awareness rounds proved that every parent had decent knowledge about hygine, good eating habits and even about inculcating good habits in kids.

A decade ago the numbers for such parents could have been less. Almost all parents were curious about admissions, curriculum, schedules etc. Given the fact that most kids there were below 3 years and the concern that parents had for these kids and learning processes was really noteworthy.  I cant really say if so much concern is a good thing or not but then in a society where good schools = good marks = good future equation holds prominence what else can you expect from a parent?