Piece of mind!

He's at it again! My elder one with his ever-observant, inquisitive streak questioning life's intricacies. I wonder how do other parents handle such queries? Anyone reading this with similar experience please be kind enough to share your valuable opinion. This time it was a bomb of a question thrown at me. After witnessing a couple of family weddings during the past few months, his simple yet intricate query was "why do brides always go to the groom's house? why is it not the other way round? why did i left my home, parents, friends, etc and decided to live with his father in a new town when he could have done the same for me?" This left me dumbstruck for a few moments until i found words in my mouth to put them to form something which sounded like an answer.... (by the way, there was a twinning emotion at the very same moment where the innate social worker in me wanted to do a little jig every time he comes up with something like this as i came to terms with th

Far from the maddening crowd…. Yes! That’s what our priority was when we planned our trip to Ramgarh in the foothills of Kumaon in the summer of 2016. Come May and June and most of North India starts packing their bags for the cooler climes. I shied away from the touristy nainital and almora as it was brimming with people. We searched for options around bhimtal, sattal and then finally headed towards bhowali and uphill which made us look for some more in ramgarh, mukteshwar and as far as peora, however thinking of travelling with two small kids we decided to not head away too far as it would get tiring for them. After a good week’s internet search we zeroed in on the Ramgarh Bungalows, a heritage property of Neemrana Group at Ramgarh which is around 30 kms uphill bhowali. I went through a lot of reviews of the Neemrana Hotels, the Ramgarh Bungalows, their “non-hotel hotels” and I would say everyone should experience Neemrana at least once in their lifetime. Indeed a “non-hotel hote

To the stars and fireflies To the dusk which has surrendered itself to the dark skies, Of folklores which speak of full moon Regaling lovers who meet and swoon, Over hopeful vows and ever after promises…. Where the dance of twilight belongs to their dreams Where the sunsets are embraced entwined and the glorious dawns are welcomed with open arms, Of a place you tell me Where dreams come true and rainbows shine Where one knows of clouds only with silver lining Not a soul cringes, nor an eye rains Coz I know of a world which owns those who love and bereave Those who fiercely hold onto their flickering flame In the moonless and darkest of skies  who passionately embrace darkness swashbuckling the yearnings of their soul, who wonder where to get their share of sunshine and confetti When the night becomes both a mammoth and a soul mate to them stabbing in the back with incessant ‘what ifs’ and gently lending a shoulder to cry on wholeheartedly, To

At the risk of sounding cliche I would say that the buzz of Raksha Bandhan led me to think how tying of Rakhi is synonymous with the bond of love and care between a brother and sister. So leaping across many thoughts of love and hate, my mind inevitably wandered towards the rampant killings, bombings, terror attacks, lynchings, rapes, murders and what not, all across the world! Yes, I sound like a maniac thinking that only this is what happens around us, when indeed life has so much more to offer. But you see I cannot help myself.  Somehow most nights (not every night) before going to bed tucking my kids in, kissing their sleeping faces my mind inevitably drifts to images of grief stricken, dirt laden, faces of kids among the rubble called Syria and I shudder at the mere thought of those innocents. I wonder what if we were subjected to such situation, then another shudder, close my eyes, thank God a zillion times and a silent prayer goes for them who are suffering.  Closer home,

Like the way you do this, Suddenly popping out of somewhere and then unknowingly i witnessed myself "lost" Lost in the whirlwind, Like the way you do this, a force so effortless a magnetism so impulsive leaving behind a non-plussed me Like the way you do this the games played so uncoyishly yet they found a way and won over the phenomenon "me"in a sway!

Going back to places you have been earlier to with your loved ones brings back pleasant memories. And revisiting such places is always double the fun, enjoying the present and relishing the past. Two years ago while coming back from our weekend trip to Corbett my husband said I love the solitude, wish to come back here. May 2015 saw us heading towards Corbett again, adding more members to our brood this time- (literally) a seven month old gem of a girl, extended family and more fun. Mostly I am the trip planner when we travel. There were certain things on my mind before I zeroed in on the trip, first and foremost the place being child-friendly, coordinating in accordance with everyone’s feasibility, travelling time should be less as it was a weekend trip and so on and so forth. Our group of 13 reached from 3 different locations and it was from Moradabad that we packed ourselves into two cars and headed towards ramnagar which is around two and a half hours drive away. The drive