Health is wealth....???

Health is wealth....??? Honestly speaking, I never ever cared for this phrase before my pregnancy or even for that matter couple of months after that.

So, this is one thing which I might like to change in myself is my 'Chalta hai' attitude towards my health always. Yeah....I did not treasured my high immunity body type due to which I rarely suffered from common cold, cough, general fever and all these petty bodily infections. Also, albeit high immunity I got slow BMR which resulted of a plump me in my twenties and OBESE me after my pregnancy!!

So what made realize the worth of good health?As I said I always enjoyed high immunity of my body and even while pregnant when generally this immunity level drops I managed to stay perfectly fine with a "housefull" of people suffering from bad throat & cold infections. However, only during my pregnancy I cared a bit for myself with healthy eating & regular walking which yielded my 'normal' pregnancy. I was almost fine after my pregnancy barring lower body pain & stitch scar. I was back to my normal routine the very next day Mishti was born ( I was discharged from hospital the same day my baby was born). Never to mention everything fall into place with quick recovery of my wound , Mishti able to take the breast feed etc

When Mishti was 2.5 months old, I had to go to Allahabad for 1.5 months to stay there at my in-laws place. Just a day before we came back to Gurgaon, I was infected with a strange 'milder' version of chicken-guinea. So symptoms are high body temperature with acute joint pain. This pain hit every joint of body like elbow, shoulder, wrist, finger joints, knee, ankle etc. If it had been usual situation (means if I was not a new mom) I would have never got infected with this peculiar fever but as pregnancy generally lowers the immunity of the body I got hit with this virus. So, after coming back from Allahabad  I was down with this ailment for couple of days......fever was not a matter of worry but the worst part was the acute joint pain which literally made me realize the importance of every bone of my body. Even to cover the distance from living room to bed room I took ages and literally crawled like a snail!!!! But after a week of recovery, this pain was still there in few critical joints of my body ( inner thighs, knee ankle...) and used to show off   its ugly face for every movement of mine.

We switched to homeopathy and my doc asked for a blood test to be done. Findings: The ESR & CRP level is found really high in my blood. I googled and found that it means an early stage of rheumatoid arthritis.That stupid fever had triggered these factors in my body which were dormant  ( I am saying dormant coz due to heredity factor...my mom has arthritis.... these were present in my body). Medication started and so as my my real testing time. 

Handling a small baby all alone, along with house hold chores and cooking and icing to the cake was this joint pain!!! Believe me,changing posture while sleeping had been a nightmare and for turning side it took me real 4-5 minutes!! I was not able to get myself up from bed and stand on my feet...forget about anything else I was not able to carry Mishti properly or lift her at times :-(

SG was very supportive and took frequent leaves to manage the chores but this continued for months.After couple of months it came bit under control but doc clearly told me that due to my 'weight' issues complete cure is getting delayed! I felt terrible...with no time for workouts or even walking I have no option lose even a gram of fat! Now, I got accustomed with this pain of inner thigh muscles...Yes it is still there. It is really painful as I wriggle myself out of bed or try to match pace with crawling Mishti.Doc says it is gonna take time.

Now I understand the importance of losing weight...bad enough, still not able to chalk out a regular routine for exercise as one person has to be completely after Mishti nowadays. Lets see....how early I can make a way out of this trouble. But one thing is for sure....I have to lose weight badly if I want to stop this decay of my health.

Just Like that.......Choice of Words!!!!

Alert: Few words of this post are slang as per my standard. Readers discretion requested.


One recent TV commercial of a soft-drink triggered this post. Hope I don't sound like a human fossil when I say that nowadays there are many words which has entered entertainment media which were a complete no-no even few years back.

The lyrics of this advertisements are 

Iske paas guitar hai, sabko isse pyar hai,

Isko kaise jheloon main, Kaise iski le loon main

(Translation: He has the guitar, therefore everyone loves him: How can I tolerate him, How Can I screw him up)

As far my knowledge, this highlighted term is a slang in Hindi and is completely a double meaning statement. But still it is so easily tucked inside that jingle and is heard by all age of people. The moment I heard this limerick, it hit my ear drum. I am not sure but are we being more relaxed towards our 'choice of words'.

I still remember when a Bollywood song "Sexy.sexy mujhe log bole" with a skimpy dressed Karishma Kapoor gyrating to this tune hit the charts, so much hue & cry was raised. Ultimately even that song was re- released as "Baby baby mujhe log bole". But then after sometime this word 'sexy' got comfortably adjusted in our lingo. Now other than human even mobile phones & cars are also sexy!

"Kamina" was always known as a 'gaali' but in recent years Bollywood got a movie by this term( remember Shahid Kapur in double role!!) and this 'gaali' filled posters was all over movie halls & multiplexes.Am I over-reacting???

Then another word used in one Hindi movie (movie name: Thank you) song which shows three leading actors (Akshay Kumar, Bobby Deol & Irrfan Khan) dancing to it. The word is "Tharki". It means 'horny'...I wonder what censor board is doing! What if my kid has been in that 'asking questions' age and asked me the meaning of this word ????

Then what about that roaring hit song "Bhaag DK Bose"!!! No, I am not getting hyper because I share the same last name but it is a clear-cut 'gaali'!!! Isn't it!

Might be I have too much aversion to these slang and do not not very comfortable with their use in day-to day language. But I wonder how in near future I can teach my kid about the better 'choice of words' when the whole society is getting more tolerable to this lingo! Parents what do you say.....???

Old Diary....

Just found some old diaries in my closet......I had the habit of writing diary during my school & college days, not everyday but whenever I had something to 'get out of my system' (borrowing this term from R'Mom).

While reading them, I just slipped back to memory lane....although time, situation & circumstances has changed so much, so many people who has captured the pages of my diary might not be in contact with now, but still it feels nice while reading them.

Apart from writing my heart out, in one of those diaries I used to scribble verses in Hindi (Although I always scored low in Hindi, but does that stop anyone from showing off their poetic skills!!). Thought of sharing few verses which I penned long back. I would not bore people with all in one go but one in one post.

ज़िन्दगी...                                  (Feb'2001)

एक थी 'ज़िन्दगी',
         हसीन, खुबसूरत सी.....
हर पल एक नया रंग दिखाती,
हर लम्हा एक नए अंदाज़ में आगे बदती
          एक थी 'ज़िन्दगी'.....
कभी खुशियों का था आलम,
         कभी अश्कों से थी आँखे नम,
थोड़ी ख़ुशी, थोडा गम,  यही तो थी 'ज़िन्दगी'......
         कभी अपने तेज़ रफ़्तार से सबको पीछे छोड़ देती,
कभी अपने ठहराव से बोझिल सी बन जाती,
         कभी रूकती, कभी चलती, यही तो थी 'ज़िन्दगी'......

वहीँ कहीं पर 'मौत' खड़ा था,
           'ज़िन्दगी' का दीवाना......
चाहता था 'ज़िन्दगी' को अपनी बाँहों में समेट लेना,
वैसे तो 'ज़िन्दगी' और 'मौत' की कई बार मुलाकातें हुई थी,
पर 'ज़िन्दगी' तो अपनी ही धुन में
            'मौत' को अनदेखा कर आगे बढ गयी थी......
'मौत' को यकीन था कि उसकी मोहब्बत रंग लाएगी
'ज़िन्दगी' एक न एक दिन भाग कर उसके पास चली आएगी...

और, हुआ भी यही..
'ज़िन्दगी' 'मौत' की चाहत को न टाल पाई,
'मौत' अपनी बाहें फैलाये खड़ा था
         'ज़िन्दगी' उसकी आगोश में समां गयी......
इस तरह खत्म हुआ 'ज़िन्दगी' का वजूद
     'मौत' ने उसे अपना नाम जो दे दिया था .....

Observations.....

So, before it is too late that I forget the minute details of the recent Allahabad trip which includes couple of weddings, I should jot down at least my observations or inferences. As my blog title reads as " My world through my spectacled eyes " thus these points are only reflections of how I perceive things & issues, others opinion may or may not vary.

Even with best precautions taken babies tend to get infections during train journey.... you can sanitize hands  multiple times but what to do when your kid is licking the train wall or seats (eeeeeeekkkkkk!!!)

If your baby is still in her pre - walking stage then for sure you would have a hard time in any wedding. You cannot let your baby  crawl or roll like she does at her home in marriage hall or the guest houses, so be prepared for a super cranky baby.

Also, your skills would be tested as your baby tries to wriggle herself out of your lap and in the process pulls everything which comes her way...be it your decked up hair, saree plates ( one of my saree which I wore in one of functions is torn now), mobile phone etc

No matter how sincere parent you are, some of your elderly relatives would still be critical of your parenting style and would shower their expert advice on you.

Do not waste money on buying pretty but complicated dresses like lehenga, saree or heavily decorated princess frock for your kid. If there is slightest discomfort, kid would refuse to wear that or would be at her cranky best while wearing them.

So much hard earned money is wasted to arrange these big fat weddings that I wish Mishti should get married in court and later we can have a party.

People should switch over to artificial flower decorations in wedding instead of spending thousands on  flowers....guess it would be quite nature friendly as well.  Also, stop giving garlands or rose bud to 'Baraatis' for welcome purpose....It is thrown away within minutes.

Mishti in her Patiala suit!!!

Princess indeed!!!

Cousins!!!

Celebrating Myself....

Alert: This turned out to be a long post.

As I start thinking about writing on this topic of  'Celebrating Myself', I realized that indeed it is a difficult theme to elaborate. We all must have celebrated so many things & events in our life be it numerous birthdays, anniversaries, our success, other's failure(!!), different milestones of life etc. but the moments when we honestly celebrated being us is quite few.

So, grabbing this opportunity, I want to recall an incident of my life when I celebrated myself . That was not very significant incident but yes, it gave me that confidence & self-esteem which I carry on my nose (as people say... :)) till today. So, I would just rewind the scenario when I was 21 years old. As a kid and a teenager I always had been the Ms. Nobody in my school or coaching centre or my college. With my below average looks, plump body and average academic performance I was hardly to be noticed and kept a low key in any public gatherings. Sometimes my confidence level would hit the ground when I see other girls/boys of my age proving their mettle in academics or sports or other extra curricular activities or might be in wooing boyfriends .

Anyways, coming back to that incident, it was another regular day when I was on my way to BCA classes. That time I generally used to drive my two-wheeler to college but for some reasons I was using public transport that day. So, I took the shared auto which would drop me till a certain stop after which I had to take a cycle rickshaw. In Allahabad ( my home town) these shared autos are any female's nightmare and a perfect environment for sickening gropers or eve-teasers. So, I was sitting at the window-corner seat when a very well-dressed young man boarded that auto from the nearby engineering college stop and occupied the seat next to me. He had a big bag with him which he kept on his lap.

Soon, he started the conversation with me by asking the shortest way to reach railway station. He told me that  he is from Delhi, had come for some entrance exams in my city and would be boarding his train the same night. He was kind of a talkative person and started talking how small my city is and how the conservative mentality of Allahabad is suffocating. Although he was a stranger but I also chatted with him to kill the time. But, after some time I realized that he was way too close sitting next to me in spite of less passengers in that auto ( 3 guys were sitting in the seat facing us and only two of us are seated in other seat which is generally meant for 4 people).  I ignored this, and then again after sometime I felt his hand on my body when the auto took a sharp turn. One part of my brain started sending alert signals but the other part asked me not to over-react and be quiet. I put my folder in between us but it was of no use.That sicko very proficiently used his bag as a hideout for his loitering hand and groped me ...this time his hand was on my breasts!!!

Moreover, that leach is continuously talking with me while doing so!!.My stop was approaching,my brain was  working peculiarly, I pushed his hand with my elbow, got down at my stop, paid fare to the driver and then I just said to that guy 'Listen'. As soon as he peeped out of that auto door, I slapped him!!!.....Yes I hit him on his face....He was dumbstruck. The auto was about to move but the driver stopped ...the other passengers were astonished. This slap was quite unexpected from a small town docile girl. I asked the auto driver to move on and went away to get a rickshaw. Trembling with anger and the outburst I took the rickshaw. I was still not able to believe that I have hit somebody. Other than hitting innocent blows during sibling fights, I had never ever hit anyone in my life.

It was not the first time I faced this sexual harassment but I don't know what triggered to replace my usual mute 'ignore it' reaction to this violent outburst. As my anger settled down a very feel-good feeling engulfed my mind. I was feeling so better than those incidents when I chose to keep quiet and was scared of being judged and labeled in case if I raise my voice against these sexual harassment.

As soon as I reached home I called( it was land-line phone connection days....) both of my best friends and told them about it. When my parents came to know about this they just told me that I could have not been violent but raising a voice and public disgrace would have worked. I felt happy with the fact that they were not advising so because I am a girl but were just concerned about their child's well being ( My mom said what if that guy had been a localite and retaliated with a big gang or acid attack!!!). Anyways, in the evening both my friends came at my place and congratulated me. One of them ( who is at present my hubby) got pastries for me to 'celebrate'. Soon, other fiends also dropped by and we discussed & discussed that matter.I felt at the top of the world.

After this incident, I never kept quiet while being groped or harassed or even being treated biased. Sometimes with an elbow push in DTC bus, or with a stern stare till the time the other person feels uncomfortable or with being vocal and candid about my right to information at my workplace I carried on. My personality also went through a drastic change gradually after this incident with my new found confidence. From an earlier Ms. nobody in college I became Ms. Indispensable in my professional life. I handled double of my work- responsibilities with sheer confidence & presence of mind. I enjoyed being myself. It is not that my looks have improved or I have acquired this zero-sized figure or shone in academic field....I was the same person but now equipped with my persona who is not scared to express her opinions, likes & dislikes ,ambitions or thought process and above all is able to give it back if any 'nonsense' comes her way.

As today I continue to celebrate myself, just being 'Me' ( which I know is very unladylike as per the stereo-types)....still I regret why I had not slapped all those molesters, gropers, flashers or eve-teasers who have earlier trespassed my personal space earlier with their heinous activities.