Heart upon my sleeve

One of my team members told me he would be on leave for a day for some personal work. I said ok. Today we got an email from him saying he is the father of a baby boy. At lunch we all discussed how we never knew his wife was expecting. And that made me think – “How god damn easy, simple and uncomplicated it is to be a father”. It just took me back in time 2 yrs when I got to know I was carrying. The first three months were crazy. I did not want anyone in the office to know about it. I would need to throw up at least thrice a day so I would go to the restroom on the third floor of my office and do the needful. Thinking of it makes me feel like puking again. By the time that phase was over, it was time to reveal it because it was showing anyways. I had to miss an amazing summit in the US where all my colleagues got a chance to go. I could have gone but there was a chance my child would have been born somewhere over Saudi Arabia, so I dropped the plan. I worked hard till the last week s...

We had promised a party to my sister and her hubby, so obviously they had finalized on one of the most expensive restaurants in Pune – Hard Rock Café. The place was quite far (Near ABC farms, Koregaon Park) and I had never been to this side of Pune. In fact during the drive I often thought, “Is this really Pune? Looks more like B’lore” As we entered the parking area of the restaurant I started wondering “Is this India? Looks more like the US.” There was a cover charge of 400Rs per couple and looking at the huge crowd I could understand why. We had reserved a table so that turned out to be a very good idea. The ambience inside was great; the music was a bit too loud (or maybe it’s just my age). (Warning: Not the place to go with kids. Unfortunately we didn’t know that before). Jeans and t-shirt, one kid on my waist and the other holding daddy’s hand while daddy pushed the empty stroller, we looked like complete misfits in the world of stilettos and cleavages. But who cares? We were ther...

There have been so many occasions where someone has said “No guarantee of this stuff. See it is made in china.” And I just don’t get it. How can a product’s quality be measured by the country it is manufactured in. Quality depends on how it is manufactured and not where it is manufactured. Quality is directly proportional to the cost. If you want cheaper products you get cheaper quality. It’s that simple. How can I be so ignorant to ‘Made in china’ when the flat screen Dell monitor I am looking at, the keyboard I am typing on, the mouse and the coffee mug too have a ‘Made in China’ tag on them. My daughter’s Fisher Price toys (considered the best brand in toys) are made in China. My Levi’s jeans are made in China. I have a 200Rs unbranded wrist watch and a 5000Rs branded wrist watch – both made in china. I can’t blame if the cheaper watch falls slow in two years. I can’t say “hey this thing does not work cause it’s made in china”. As Indians in general I think we have always been env...

My maid, Swati (name changed) barely 19, got married a month back. Then one day she came to work looking tired. Around lunch time, she said she had started feeling giddy. I thought it was all the hard work any newlywed in their community probably goes through. I told her to go home and take rest. The next day she came to me with tears in her eyes. “I am pregnant”, she said. “What?”, “How?”, “Why?”, I just spurted out questions in a fit of anger plus amazement. “Both my husband and I, do not want a baby so soon. My husband has taken a loan of Rs. 1 lakh for the wedding. We want to repay that first. Only then can we think of a child. We want our child to study in an English medium school. We need to save money for that. All our dreams are crashed now”, she continued. “Did you not talk about this, Swati?”, I asked. ”Tai, we were so busy after the wedding my husband and I never got time to talk”, she said. “Ha! And you had time to do all that has gotten you in this situation”, I said to my...

As I lay on bed, I kept thinking of the conversation I had with mom in the evening. Mom had recently attended a function at a relative’s place on the occasion of Guru Pournima. It was to pay respect to some ‘Swamiji’. She was narrating the incidence to me. About 30-40 ladies of different age groups gathered and recited Mantras and sang Bhajans. My mom felt out-of-place. Each of them seemed to have forgotten about their daily worries and sat there completely absorbed in the mantras. There was a sense of devotion, a sense of contentment while they sang ‘Shree Ram Jai Ram Jai Jai Ram’. They all seemed in a happy place. My mom on the other hand was completely bored. She felt weird that when most ladies of her generation enjoyed spirituality why then did she find no pleasure in it. She asked me “Is something wrong with me?” Incidentally, the very next day she was invited to her sister’s place for lunch. After lunch, my aunt asked her to stay a little longer as her Rummy club members would b...

The last book I had read was “Rich Dad Poor Dad” (see post on Mar 18th below). Absolutely impressed and influenced by Rich Dad, I doubted how much of a monk I could be to read this book with devotion. From some of the online reviews and the catchy name I felt it was about giving up everything materialistic to attain divine peace. “Selling a Ferrari!. He would be some monk(ey) to sell his ferrari!”, I mused. But now I am done reading with the book and I seem to have enjoyed it. In the book, the author Robin Sharma narrates the story of a lawyer-turned-monk, Jullian Mantle, who suddenly realizes where life is taking him, decides to take action and embarks on an odyssey to northern India to acquire wisdom from the learned Sages of Sivana. A changed man, Jullian Mantle comes back to his old friend(and old world) with a mission to spread the wisdom to everyone. Jullian explains the sages’ techniques of mind-control, the Japanese technique of kaizen, self-discipline, time management and wil...

Yippee. It’s my ‘happy birthday’. No, I’m not turning 5 hoping dad would get me a new tricycle, nor am I turning 16, wondering what my boyfriend will gift me. I am turning… well that’s not really the point. But every year I have the same feeling – a feeling that this day is in some way special – a day that’s mine – mine only. Is it ok to be excited on your birthday when you have a two year old daughter whose birthday is coming up? Well, why not. Didn’t Mark Twain say – “Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you don’t mind, it doesn’t matter!” So here I am, enjoying my birthday, like I have always –reminiscing old birthdays(ohh… those college birthdays were the best!), replying to email wishes, talking to friends who remembered to call and making a list of those who forgot(they surely will get a earful) . It's been a great day , it's going to be a wonderful evening with my dear ones and it’s going to be really sad when this day ends. Dear birthday, I am going to miss you. C...