Swasth India...Health for all

This past weekend, we had one of 'D's childhood buddies, Sundeep Kapila, visiting us. 'D' and Sundeep go back a long way  and while I have heard a lot of tales about the wonderful childhood memories the boys share, I remember meeting him with 'D' just once when we were in our 9th/10th grade, in one of the school events called "Style 95". I am sure everyone from our batch has quite some memories from that event! You know the kind of memories, that 16 years later, you wish no one tells your spouse about, specially if he/she was not a part of the "Style 95 madness" LOL!!


Jokes apart, Sundeep went on to get the 4th rank in the IIT JEE entrance exam in our batch, joined the Computer Science department in IIT Mumbai, rose through the ranks of McKinsey consulting after he got out of college, and then with the entire world at his feet, he left everything to work for a cause he passionately believed in.


He started a social business/entrepreneurial venture called "Swasth India" with the mission of making primary healthcare accessible and affordable to the urban and rural Indian masses.


Ankur Pegu, another good friend of 'D' and I , from our Cotton College days, and Sundeep's IIT classmate, also left a plum corporate career and joined Sundeep in this noble venture.


In their own words:
"Swasth India is a social business working towards improving the health of low-income segments in urban and rural India and their mission is to
to ensure access to affordable and quality health services to 10 million low-income people by 2018”.



In summary, what Sundeep and Ankur,  identified as the health care problem, they were aiming to solve is this. Every year 32 million Indian people go from above to below poverty line due to a health shock aka getting into huge debts, selling assets, losing jobs caused by unforeseen and often preventable healthcare expenses. Even at times when India boasts of high GDPs and great prosperity, this shift from above to below poverty line doesn't change. The single most important cause for such inadvertent health shocks was identified as lack of accessible/affordable primary health care for the poor.



Their proposed solution:
Accessible/affordable primary health care for the poor in terms of small clinics that have a primary care physician, a dentist, a nurse, pharmacy , a receptionist, all basic test equipment for blood tests, ECGs etc in a small space optimized 250 sq ft facility, in an area densely populated with low income families. As of now, all their health care centres are in the slums of Mumbai.



To get a better idea of the operational model and the logistics involved, please visit their website: http://www.swasthindia.in/ and watch following video : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qM9u_A2_Pck and the ones in their YouTube channel mentioned at the end of this post.


People often do not understand the difference between an NGO and a social business. While an NGO is almost always externally funded and it's sustenance, more often than not perenially depends on the availability of external funds, the main purpose of a social entrepreneurial venture is to meet a social need, while working towards attaining self sustenance within a specified period of time. While a social entrepreneurial venture requires it's fair share of funding in the initial stages, it's business model facilitates sustainability within a specific period of time. This inherently  facilitates scalability and continuance of meeting the social need without being dependent on external funds, once a steady state is reached. Not only that, it has the ability to add jobs to the economy, train individuals to become skilled in specific areas of work(who otherwise would not have access to career promoting training), promote gender equality, women empowerment ...so on and so forth, all of which Swasth India is doing and will continue to do. Optimizing the operations ( IT infrastructure/social infrastructure/medical infrastructure) of such ventures to meet the social need efficiently and effectively , while reaching out to millions of people who need access to the service , is a challenge and makes such ventures really exciting along with being fulfilling for the people involved


Sundeep Kapila and Ankur Pegu are among the smartest of the smart and the brightest of the bright. But not  just that, they are also among the bravest of the brave and the humblest of the humble. And that's what makes all the difference.


More importantly, they are doing more than their fair share to make this world a better place.


I am sure you and I can start doing  a bit of our fair share, in small ways and big, by showing our support for this noble cause and by spreading the word.


Reach out to them, visit one of their centers in Mumbai when you are there next and extend your support in whatever ways you can!


On the web, you can visit Swasth India at:
http://www.swasthindia.in/
Their You Tube channel is:
http://www.youtube.com/swasthindia
Their Facebook page is:
https://www.facebook.com/SwasthIndia


Keep up the good work guys!







 

"Handsfree pandonia"...

Being a very typical Libran, I tend to be quite laid back about life...good or bad, that aspect of my personality extends itself to my parenting style too, more often than not.


Last evening, an urge to check out if my parenting style lends itself to anything out there in the big internet universe, made me do a quick google search on "parenting types". The search came back with some pretty
fascinating results.


Exotic classification of parenting techniques, the most fascinating of which were:"tiger moms", "wolf dads", "panda moms/dads", "helicopter parent", "landmower parent", "free range parent", "attachment parent", "dragon mom", "handsfree parents" and believe it or not the "pinterest perfect parent". The last one literally made me ROFL.


Well where do 'D' and I fit in! Hard to say but let's look at the above 10 types and see if we fit in, if at all.


1. Tiger mom/parents:
This is what urban dictionary has to say about tiger moms, "A mother who is overly strict with her child in order to foster an academically competitive spirit. This form of upbringing is intended to direct a child towards financially successful careers at the potential risk of feeling emotionally unfulfilled and/or socially inept."


As much as we would like our child/children to have a reasonably comfortable lifestyle, I think "D" and "I" are probably on the same page on this...no "tiger" parenting please.


2. Wolf parenting:
Apparently this requires even more stringent disciplining than tiger parenting and not just that , disciplining extends to corporal punishment...really.!!!


So this goes off our list immediately.


3.Panda mom/dad/parent :
This sounds really cute. Who doesn't love pandas, after all . According to cafe mom's definition, this category of parents is "Happy to parent with cuddliness, but not afraid to show some claw" . Essentially parents who are fun and loving but no pushover.


'D' falls into this category for sure.


Good one to be in myself, but let me go through the entire list before trying to fit myself into any specific category.


4. Helicopter parents:
The type of parent that hovers around the child all the time, not allowing the child too much independence and space to do anything on their own!


5.Landmower parents:
This type of parent removes an obstacle from in front of the child, even before that obstacle gets time to settle in. Mom or dad has already mowed the obstacle down, before the child gets to know what it was. Again Cafe Mom says,"Think the dad who does his kid's homework for him or the mom who wouldn't dream of letting her little snowflake having to clean his own room. These parents insist on making everything easy peasy for their kids".

Having been taught to be adaptable and learning to find our way through life's obstacles pretty much independently, this doesn't sound like 'D' and my cup of tea!

6. Free range parent:
Now as much as this sounds like the organic buys at the neighborhood grocery store, in layman's terms, this is hands off parenting. Now what does "hands off" parenting exactly imply? There are varying degrees of this kind of parenting, but essentially this parenting style is the polar opposite of helicopter parenting...in the very extreme, it would mean letting an independent 7 year old take a subway by himself, taking your kids to the park and leaving them all alone there . If this sounds alright to you and you feel it shouldn't  require a call to the  state social services , well then you are a free range parent.

7. Attachment parent:
Parents who are obsessed about co sleeping, breast feeding, baby wearing so on and so forth. They feel that physical attachment is the only thing that has the ability to nurture long term child-parent attachment.

So let me tell you my story in this context. Before and after Raya was born, I time and again read about and was told about the benefits of breast milk.
The benefits of breast milk made complete sense to me , pre and post Raya's birth. Now after Raya was born, she had issues latching on for the purpose of nursing. She would cry and cry out of hunger and the lactation specialist, a firm proponent of attachment parenting, would insist that I should still keep trying to nurse her directly, instead of pumping out the little breast milk I was making. I kept asking the lactation specialist just one thing, "As long as Raya gets breast milk, what difference does it make whether she gets it through direct nusrsing or through pumped milk". She did not have any logical reasoning to provide me with other than giving me the kind of look that made be feel how horrible a mother I was even to be asking that question. But of course, I  being I, made the call, with the moral support of dear and dear ones . Instead of speding hours trying to help Raya latch on, I pumped breast milk 4-5 times a day, fed Raya the pumped milk and supplemented with infant formula when needed.


Result: I had a happy, well fed smiling baby to cuddle! And no lack of attachment, at least for the past 2.5 years! While huddling/cuddling my baby and physical closeness is what I really look forward, attachment parenting philosophies like forced breast feeding , when it's not yielding results is definitely not my cup of tea!


Who knows maybe my detachment from certain aspects of attachment parenting techniques will show not so good results in the future! Only time will tell though!


8.Dragon mom:
I love this one!!


It's about being fierce and loyal and loving as hell, as a parent. It's also about living in the moment with your kids and loving them for who they are right now, not for the Ivy league education you dream they'll get or the grandchildren they could one day give you.


Goes into the styles I want to nurture in myself along with 'Panda' parenting.


9. Handsfree parenting:
Letting go of internal and external distractions to concentrate on building a relationship with your child by talking to them/listening to them and channelizing your own and the child's energies to help build meaningful lives and to become socially conscious . As abstract as this sounds initially, I think I understand absolutely what this style entails. Distractions to be let go off include  stressful work, big "to do" lists, lofty ambitions requiring
time away from children, and other petty day to day matters. More about this in a blog I closely follow:http://www.handsfreemama.com/about-me/

10.Pinterest perfect parenting: This one's here for the big laughs :)


So well, what's my parenting style or rather what parenting style do I aspire to nurture!!


For lack of creativity, let's call it "Handsfree Pandonian"(Handsfree + Panda + Dragonian ) !! Or maybe you can help me put together a better term for this. It's however, not by chance, that the second word sounds like "pandemonium". A mixture of too many parenting  principles is bound to be a cause of some level of pandemonium.


But who knows, maybe I can actually make it work miracles! Only time will tell!

So  a "Handsfree Pandonian" parent with a my own personal twist, it is, I am aiming to be for now !!


Happy parenting!

Life and times...

While trying to keep life simple, every once in a while I like looking back and doing a check on how meaningful my life really is! Sometimes I like seeing what I see, sometimes I don't...but either way it gives me a chance to revisit my priorities and lead a more meaningful life!


Work...Family...Friends...Giving back to the society in care and kind, given what we are fortunate enough to have at different phases of life...I feel it's always worthwhile to  periodically go  back and do a check of what our life is all about!


Human nature fascinates me! Being a keen observer of human nature, while trying  not to be judgemental, I would like to believe , enables me to nurture human traits in myself that give me peace of mind and also helps me draw the line in relationships with others, so that life,in general, is easier.

I don't know about you, but time and again, I have come across people who can easily be put in one of the following , shall I call "buckets" of traits. Each bucket of traits comes with it's set of pros and cons. and needless to say, there may be overlap.But always easier to figure out where you are or where you want to be, if  it's 'bucketed' out , right?!


Sometimes these traits are inherent in people,(borne out of securities/insecurities, confidence/lack thereof, environment)
and sometimes it's acquired over a period of time. But they are what they are! Social relationships constitute a primary component of our lives. Given the dynamics of social relationships, we are constantly acquiring new habits and to a certain extent changing our ways. I find it really useful to look at these buckets of traits and figure out which bucket I fall into at a specific point of time, which bucket I want to be in and where I need to draw the line in relationships with people so that there is peace of mind !


As captivating as  Kevin Spacey and "House of cards" has been, you cannot deny it that it does leave you with a depressed feeling, at the thought of there being no redemption for goodness for I am sure most of us seek peace of mind more than any other form of success!!


Leaving loners aside, here are the buckets I find folks will generally fall into in social circles.

Bucket 1:
This bucket of traits is the toughest bucket to be in and the toughest to find .

Authenticity, genuineness, empathy, security, confidence,patience are the trademark traits of this bucket.

Pros:
People with these traits do not need overwhelming validation from others to go about their life! While being amicable, cordial and good hearted, they are not the quintessential people pleasers nor are they attention seekers.They are not afraid to say it like it is, without feeling the need to suck up to anyone. They are capable of standing up for a cause and person. They are good hearted, but don't feel the need to shout out how good hearted they are from the rooftop .More often that not, such folks are content and happy with how they look and what they do and if they are not, they find ways to
do what they love and look how they want to look, without whining and depending on others. They always find time to spend with near and dear ones and for good causes. They know how to be cordial, yet keep a distance from folks when interests don't align. They love having conversations on different topics.They prefer to live and let live!


Cons:
'Live and let live' is not the most appreciated quality in this world after all nor is the lack of the ability to suck up to others or inability to follow the herd!! So often times, people with this bucket of traits tend to be taken for granted and go unappreciated. Their confidence is misinterpreted for snobbery. And their 'live and let live' policy and no demand for
attention is considered detachment! Oh well! Such is life.


It may be tough to get to completely know such a person. But once you do,
you always know where you stand in such a person's life. There are no mixed signals and dilly dallying!

Bucket  2:
This bucket of traits is the most prevalent.
Social, harmless people pleasers, good hearted, empathetic, reasonably secure and intelligent.


Pros:
Fun to be around. Seem to be always surrounded  friends. Reliable for the most part. Confident and secure while they have validation from a sub set of people. Not mean. Do not expect undivided attention from anyone. Can be good listeners. Love having conversations on different topics, even if not aligned to their likes and dislikes.


Cons:
People pleasing is not an easy task. For the most part, unable to take a stand when it matters. Trying to please all people all the time can be tough and lead to unnecessarily complicated relations.


May be tough to figure out where you stand in such a person's life! As long as you know that, good to have them around.


Bucket 3:
Social, people pleasers, good hearted, seekers, insecure


Pros:
Fun to be around. Seem to be always surrounded by friends, but unfortunately feel no number of friends is enough. Essentially good hearted but insecurities make a mean streak surface intermittently and the demand for attention can be draining. Can be good listeners and conversationalists, if the topic interests them.


Cons:
Always seeking more in terms of quality of life and relationships. Lack confidence and require constant validation from people around.  Expect undivided attention from everyone they know, without being able to reciprocate. Can be intermittently insensitive when insecurities take hold. Unable to sustain attention in topics that do not interest them.
Impossible to figure out where you stand in such a person's life because of dilly dallying and flakiness!

Good to be around them as long as it's fun and the whining doesn't get annoying!

Bucket 4:
I prefer to call this "the all about me" bucket.


Such folks need a lot of attention and control. They do what works for them at a specific point of time, as long as they get the attention and control they seek. Sometimes reliable, sometimes not. Sometimes mean, sometimes not. Sometimes friendly , sometimes not. They do what it takes as long as it's about them getting the attention they need to survive!


Pros: Probably get transient kicks and highs when one gets the attention they seek.


Cons: Life in general can be tough with a lot of need for attention.


Keep them at a distance?

Bucket 5:
Then of course there are some overall mean spirited people! The only time they get a kick is when they get a good  laugh at someone else's expense or one upmanship on another person.


Pros: Can't see any


Cons: Spread of negativity


Better keep them at a super, super distance?


I think I know which bucket I want to/should aim to be in and which buckets of traits I want to be surrounded by!

Do you?

Ramblings...

11 days...a plane with 239 personnel on board, missing from the face of the earth...speculation...over speculation...analysis...over-analysis...the unrelenting pain faced by friends and family of the folks, on board that flight...the pain that comes with the knowledge of potentially never again seeing a near and dear one...the anguish of not being able to say good bye...the pain of potentially never finding closure...and add to that the pain of suspicion looming large over the heads of everyone on board!!


How unpredictable life can be! You or I could have been one of the passengers or their family member. Such incidents only reinforce and drive home the point of how important it is to live life in  the moment, to let go of often unnecessary worries and whinings...to enjoy and make the most of the little and often what seem to be trivial  moments of life, while they last...for one never knows what the next moment has in store. And as I write this, nothing rings in my ear louder than William H Davis' lines , 'A poor life this is if, full of care, We have no time to stand and stare.'


So the mantra of my life, for now, is "Live in the moment"!!


So that's that . I often make resolutions like the above, but before I know it , I am so boggled down by the weight of the 'cares' of the world, that my life's mantra gets pushed to the abyss of my brain!:(


Yesterday was one such day!


Yesterday just happened to be one of the days when Raya insisted I help her with all 'toddler tasks' aka getting her ready for day care, helping her brush her teeth, helping her with the potty, giving her a bath, putting her to sleep etc. etc. No amount of insistence from 'D' could convince her to allow 'D' to do one of  her tasks. No 'mamma' meant mega tantrum time. 'Baba' was only for play time!! Oh well!


At the end of the day, Raya gave 'D' a goodnight hug and kiss and was waiting for me to take her upstairs to put her to bed. A hectic past week at work combined with the exhaustion of bringing up a toddler was beginning to take it's toll. "Live in the moment" /"Enjoy your child's innocence and charm, while it lasts", was slowly being pushed to the abyss of my mind.


Exhausted and exasperated, I whined to 'D', "Sometimes Raya is so unreasonable! It's tough ! How can I possibly do everything?!"


Even before D could say anything, pat came Raya's spontaneous response, 'You sure can, mamma!'...'You sure can!'


That brought on a burst of laughter...with it, was washed away all the fatigue, and of course, it was  all that was needed to revive the significance of the "Live in the moment" mantra ! What  better way to end a day than with the knowledge, or shall I say 'illusion' , that there is a little toddler in this world who believes, I am a super woman, after all !!


With prayers and hope that friends and family of all aboard flight MH370 find closure.

Shaking it like Shammi...

Parenting is exhausting for sure, but then let's just say it comes with its share of sometimes not so obvious 'perks'. More often than not, at the end of the day, once Raya is off to bed, and I finally have a chance to reflect on the day's happenings, there are way too many 'toddler' incidents and situations that bring smiles, to my face, than scowls!!

Of course, toddler tantrums abound. This blog post contains  some tid bits about the entertaining portions of my 'toddler parenting days'...incidents and situations that keep me grounded and happy, when toddler 'parenting' blues threaten to engulf me.

As of now (yes as of Feb, 2014), 'Mamma' is Raya's 'fav' parent. That translates to shouts for "I want only mamma. I want only mamma" and 'mamma' being essentially needed to do all the hard work (bathing her, dressing her up, potty time, teeth brushing, putting her to sleep, reading time ...you get the gist) while 'Baba' dear gets to do all the fun stuff...play time...puzzle time...lego time...choo choo train time...tv time...not too bad a deal for not being the 'fav' parent of the moment, I guess...but oh well, loyalties keep changing fast as far as a 2.5 year old is concerned :). Let me relate a recent incident to prove this point of ever shifting loyalties. It made 'D' and I literally ROFL.

The way our usual morning looks like is this:
Raya wobbles her way from her room to our bed at around 4:30-5:00 am with her entourage of 'ninny's' (aka blankies, an entourage of exactly 4 blankies, she cannot do without, at sleep time). She comes to my side of the bed, climbs over my body onto the bed, slumps and goes off to sleep for another couple of hours. Thereafter 'D' is officially the first one to wake up in the morning. He gets Raya's cup of milk to the bed. She drinks her milk and from then on, it's 'only mamma' time. Brushing teeth..'only mamma'...help with the potty...'only mamma'...dressing her up....'only mamma'...brushing her hair...'only mamma'....dropping off to Toucans(her classroom)...that's for baba, but only after I answer in the affirmative to her question, 'You pick me from Toucans, mamma?!!'. Oh well, I am 'loving' the love while it lasts!! :)

Coming back to the tale of shifting loyalties, so on one such morning, after the 'only mamma' sessions, 'D' (he had an overnight work trip planned for that day), was about to head out of the home with Raya and was saying to her,"Raya...I am going to Richmond today for work. I will not come back this evening. I will see you tomorrow. Don't trouble mama." A second later, pat comes Raya's reply, "No baba, don't go to 'Richmound'"..."I want only you"..."I want only you"..."I don't want mamma"...LOL...now you know what I mean about quick  shifts in loyalties among 2.5 year olds:) That evening, in D's absence, started with whimpers of 'Where is Baba?','Where is Baba'.'I want Baba'. But we managed. DD came back the next evening from his tour, and after the usual exchange of hugs, kisses, huddles and cuddles between father and daughter, while they were playing with lego blocks, 'D' started troubling Raya again. I don't remember what exactly the issue was , but I think he was hiding and not giving her the blocks she was asking for. First Raya started with, 'Give me red block, Baba'...'Give me red block, Baba'...When 'D' didn't pay heed, she started complaining to me..."Mamma, Baba not listen to me"..."Mamma, Baba not listen to me"...and that was followed by..."Go back to 'Richmound', Baba!"....ha ha ha ha...another one that brought on rolls of laughter.

So that's that. Other than that, the Das household these days is in constant chatter mode!

Here are some tidbits of conversations that have lingered on in my mind and will be best remembered if captured in writing.

Scene 1:

I fill my water bottle with a few ice cubes and water and am drinking from it. Raya notices it and of course, starts saying, "I want ice, mamma"...
"I want ice in my 'bouttle'" (Oh toddlers and their obsession with ice).  Of course, I refuse to give her any. She gets really annoyed and in a raised voice says, "Mammaaa...I want ice in my 'bouttle'". I refuse again. Now she is really annoyed, on the verge of crying, but still putting up the fight , and in a slightly more raised tone of voice , "Mammaaaaa...you have ten ice...give me one ice in my 'bouttle' please"!!! The 'please' kind of trumped me. Did I have a choice but to give in!

Scene 2:

We were having the usual conversation about whether Raya resembles 'D' or I with some friends. So I was saying, Raya has 'D's eyes. 'D' then said to Raya, "So Raya, do you have my eyes?". Pat comes her reply,"No baba, you have my eyes!" LOL.

Scene 3:

Over the weekend, we had a few friends visiting from out of town. They have a daughter,'A' (Aanya) . Raya and 'A' bonded well over the period of the first day, after some initial hiccups. In the evening, Raya had to go to another friend's birthday party and 'A' was at home. I, of course, had to run around Raya throughout the party(she being more than her usual bundle of energy) and by the end of it, I was exhausted. Post the party, as I slumped into the seat in the car after strapping Raya up in her car seat, I hear Raya taking out stuff from her goody bag and then she says, "Mama, where is 'Aanya's' goody bag. I want to take goody bag for 'Aanya'". For all the exhaustion that parenting brings on, all the the prep talk about 'sharing' and 'caring', and for all the times, when asking her to share with kids of the same age, proves a struggle, moments like these make it all worthwhile!

Leaving you with a video of Raya 'Shaking it like Shammi'. Happy parenting !

Another day...another year...

2013 has whizzed past...

As compared to the same time last year, some things have changed ...

- I am a few pounds lighter(it's a different thing that I still have 20 more pounds to shed to reach my target weight). Baby steps perhaps, but steps nevertheless :)

- 'D' is a few  pounds healthier and blames it all on all the delicious food I feed him (LOL...btw, complete pun intended here , for the benefit of all those who don't know me well enough!!)

- Our parents have found a few more reasons to worry about now, with a growing grand child in the fold...is Raya eating well...is Raya sleeping well...is Raya playing well...does Raya remember us...you get the gist!:) 

- My younger, commitment phobic, brother seems to be closer to leading a commitment phobia free life ! 

- I seem to be steps closer to reviving my reading habits. Managed to read 8 out of the 12 books, I had challenged myself to read at the beginning of the year! Have been able to pick writing back up as well. Personally for me,
that's an achievement with having to run around an active toddler in the household, taking priority over everything else.

- Our list of places to travel to/cuisines to try before we die is shorter by a few entries.

- I am a few steps closer to mastering the professional skills I had set out to build.

- We have made some progress in achieving our goal of giving back to the community in kind. In 2014, I will hopefully be able to spend more time and physical effort on such ventures, more specifically related to education of the girl child and poverty stricken/abused children.

- My little girl is growing up faster than we would like her to:(...And these days, much like Joey (from 'FRIENDS') , she asks,"Hey...What u doing , mamma?" .

Her favorite phrases these days are "Hey guys!"..."Know that?"..."What u doing?"

Her favorite books are "Brown bear" by Eric Carle and "The Giving Tree" by Shel Silverstein

Her favorite TV shows are "Dora the Explorer" and "Minnie Mouse Bowtique".

Her favorite songs are,"I like to move it" and "Hokey Pokey".

Her favorite activities are making tea and coffee in her kitchen and serving everyone, building blocks with lego and letting her hair down and 'jump dancing' in the rain and snow :).

- On a more serious note, our families have had to learn to live without two important people of our lives, 'D's atama(maternal grandmom) and my jethpeha(my maternal uncle). The only consolation is that both of them led lives that were personally and professionally fulfilling. And they leave behind a legacy that would need a lot of hard work to sustain.

As compared to the same time last year, here are some things that haven't changed...

- My eternal optimism...

- Our marital status... (Jokes apart , this seems be something we need to keep track of now, given the rate at which relationships are failing and marriages crumbling, more so, to stop getting complacent and to keep the spark alive:))      

- My piano and guitar strumming skills... ( I think I'll just have to join Raya in her classes)

As for resolutions for the new year, like I mentioned in one of my earlier posts, on the personal front, I never really make objective/measurable resolutions for myself...My resolutions are always hazy, more in the likes of read more, sleep less, write more, weigh less, dump the piano, pick up the guitar, work hard, party harder...You get the gist! None of my personal resolutions are such that I can look back at the year gone by and objectively declare their fruition/failure. It’s great that I, at least, have ‘SMART’ (in managerial lingo, 'Specific Measurable Achievable Realistic Timebound') professional objectives for 2014...that will keep my life balanced as far as resolutions are concerned, for sure. A complete dearth of objectives for a new year could potentially deem life directionless whereas too many ‘SMART’ personal and professional resolutions can make a year of life end up becoming one helluva marathon with no finish line in sight !

We ended 2013 with a road trip along the Pacific Coast Highway of the United States, driving from Los Angeles to Santa Clara, with pit stops at the Terranea Resort , Palos Verdes...Santa Monica...Santa Barbara...Pismo Beach...San Louis Obispo...Morro Bay...Big Sur...Carmel...Monterey. Managed to squeeze in a side trip to the Napa valley as well.

The best part of the trip was, though, catching up and spending some quality time with 'D' and my college buddies. Having almost grown up together through the ups and downs of the four years of undergrad hostel life, it reinforced our belief that these are the only friendships that probably never go stale...over a period of time, most friends and acquaintances come and go...but with school/college buddies, you can always pick up from where you left off...relive memories, drink, eat, argue, debate about random/controversial topics, speak your heart out without being judged and still maintain the pristinity of the relationship, no matter what!

What better way to start a new year than with the reinforcement of this belief!

Happy New Year folks!

The 'why' of a goodbye...

Yesterday, my parents left for home, in India, after a two and a half month stay with us.

We've been trying to mentally prepare Raya for this for the past couple of days, telling her that her "Ma and Koka need to go back to their own home in India"...That " Mamma, Baba and Raya will visit them soon next year" etc. etc. Her initial, vehement , "Ma, Koka ...No go to India ! Ma, Koka...No go to India!" changed to "I want to go to India too!" yesterday morning, followed by a major meltdown ( uncontrollatable shrieks for 'Koka' and 'Ma' ) at the airport, seeing them leave, as they made their way down to the terminal on the escalator.

Goodbyes are tough for the kiddos, for us, and I think more so for the grandparents, whose lives generally tend to revolve around their grand children as age catches on!

I am so glad Raya was able to spend some quality time with D's mom as well as my parents this year! The 'toddler turning into a spoilt brat' factor aside , I think time spent with grandparents enriches the lives of little ones like nothing else can and there is absolutely no substitute for grand parental affection!

We managed to calm Raya down yesterday, after a big struggle, telling her about how she could still talk to 'Ma'/'Koka' on the phone and skype  with them like she does with her Ata. We gave her a ride on what she calls the
"excalator" (escalator) and tried our best to distract her with other stuff.

Today morning she  woke up with the question,
"Mamma ...Ma, Koka gone to India in excalator?...Why mamma?"

While I managed to put together an answer to her "Why mamma?" , the look on her face, as she asked me the question, broke my heart!

Goodbyes are tough indeed! Tougher, when you have to explain the "why of a goodbye" to a little toddler!

P.S:
Raya calls her maternal grandmom, 'Ma'...her maternal granddad, 'Koka'...her paternal grandmom, Ata and her paternal granddad, Dadu.