Act of gifting!

Was reading this entry on gifts on Laksh’s blog. Was reminded of a discussion I have had before, several times actually. P & I prefer giving gift cards. While a friend of ours actually dislikes getting one saying it has no thought behind. Our idea behind getting a gift card is to leave the choice to the receiver and they can purchase what they want. (put in more money if needed )
This is to avoid getting something useless for the other person or to repeat something they already have (unintentionally of course) We have had repetitions of toys given to Aakash and sometimes without a gift receipt even.
So after those discussions, we get gifts (with gift receipts) to those who voiced their dislike toward gift cards…and gift cards to others
Reading Laksh’s entry..I realised one thing. When we do get gift cards, we end up getting something we want…not necessarily desire…But how do we know what the other person desires? unless they have a wish list that we know of.
Personally, I love receiving and giving gifts (or cards as the case might be…love hearing what the card was used for too )
Just throwing out my thoughts out here…

Monsoon is here!

It has been raining continuously today. I do like the rains…in fact associate a sense of romance to it.
But…of course there is a but that will come right? Rains are enjoyable when the drainage is good…It is well known that is not so here. The streets get water logged, and of course, the roads get bumpy..we would not know where the road lies and where a pothole is!! (rather the road lies among the potholes). There also is a distinct stink….which erases the “mann vasanai”!!
Such things make a pleasant experience like the monsoons really bad

Enlightenment?

Been reading the Spiritual Research Foundation. It hit me that we are going to leave our physical body here on earth (duh! right? :)) So, should we not take better care of our souls than we do our body?? It would help by not hurting others by our words or actions. Be courteous, understanding.Be a good friend.
As a friend of mine said, in the end; people don’t see how much you have earned/studied…it is how many people remember you for the good person that you were.
So, I resolve to try be a nice person….have been trying to reduce my short temper for ages now…but have a long way to go. Of course, a great body to go with the good soul would help too what say? Guess I do have a looooong way to go.
Well, I just hope that I don’t fall sick and trouble others in any way in the end!

Beatuty - Skin deep?!

Today’s discussion on India 60 minutes on NDTV was whether India was getting obsessive and spending too much on beauty? They interviewed school and college kids. Statistics shown were that school kids spend Rs 2500 a month upto 30K per year on beauty!!! Just reminded me of the time I cam home after cutting my hair short (above my shoulder) with a front fringe. It cost me Rs 50 if I remember right…my mother freaked out..so freaked that she called my father who was working abroad to notify him about what his daughter did!! I was in Class XII then! I still think twice before going for a shorter cut
Boy!! have times changed!! Parents are paying for this extravagance and supporting the kids! They say that it is not crossing the line. Is it that people are willing to spend more or am I becoming like my mother who freaked when she saw my short cut??
Being well groomed and going overboard are two different things. People cannot justify extravagance saying they are doing all this for being well groomed. Hair straightening when in middle or high school for no reason??? The kids are so brand conscious. I did know about the brands but did not bother to spend my parents money on those to wear to college on a daily basis. I did splurge for birthdays or other occasions and there were people who said that I should not even do that (not my family )
I still don’t wear make-up on a daily basis and am amazed at women who came to my gym with make-up for a work out!! May be I am one of those people who is termed as ugly?!?
Well that is my two cents on this!

Spirituality

When one undergoes stress and has nothing to do but wait for what one wants, spirituality seems to be the inevitable answer.We go check our horoscopes out for some sort of solution. Repeatedly, we had been told that our ancestors were unhappy that we are undergoing all what we are!! We had to do certain rituals and stuff…my question was how can our ancestors do us harm? Don’t they want us to be happy?
Vasu directed me to this site on Spirituality Reasearch Foundation
Very informative.Explains a lot of things…Made me understand things on a different level. Have not really started chanting…but at least I have put a step forward in understanding! Hope that is a start to better things

A Meme

Was reading Swaminathan’s entry titled urban myths about divorce & marriage. It contains the following link…
Top Ten Myths of Divorce

This is worth the time to read…
Better to stay married and sort out all differences don’t you think?
This should serve as an eye opener for those who think that divorce is the easy solution for any marital conflict instead of compromise & understanding. There is nothing revolutionary in going for a divorce, it is actually prudent to work things out.

Education

I am currently waiting for my visa papers to get back. My son will be turning 3 late this year. He has been registered in a pre-school close to the place where I stay and it has been informed that he would join late that is when we get back. That is the background. Now to what we are going through…people telling me that I am ruining the whole of my son’s education by keeping him at home during this time of waiting!!
My logic is, I should be getting my travel papers soon. So, why go through the hassle of searching for a good pre-school, of the grind of the whole admission process just for may be a couple of months at the max? More to this thought was that he does not turn 3 by the cut off date in the school district that I stay in. One of the pre-schools there actually responded saying he is not eligible to join pre-school this year. He would actually be joining school only after he turn 5.
So, when people keep telling me that I am hampering my son’s whole future…it infuriates and irritates me! After a while, I start feeling guilty and start thinking if so many people are saying this…may be I am wrong in my thought!!
This also made me wonder when we actually need to send kids to school first? They say we never stop learning and that kids adapt easily….so why must I be almost harassed to enroll my son into a pre-school at that for just a couple of months maximum?? The result of this harassment I take it upon my hubby as if we don’t have enough to argue about

Opinions aplenty!

Well, the title goes for anything and everything. This entry though is about traditional beliefs…I recently read about someone who was disillusioned in the whole kolu for Navrathri and was talking about politely refusing invites to the same.
This made me think of many of the traditions that we have that are slowly disappearing. Kolu is to pray to the Goddesses…the slokas/pujas happen in the morning; while evening is a means to socialising. People coming home for sundal, singing songs and chatting to catch up. Coming back home to compare the taste of one sundal from another, enjoying some rare songs that one gets to hear or encourage the learners who use this as a practice session. Just the decorations are a challenge to the artist in each person. Most of the dolls in each house might be repetitions; but not how they arrange them…themes are big things. Yes, there are those who do all for show…but in this case; it is one festival where it is permissible :)Well, atleast one can come home and talk about those that are so artificial too right? A topic for conversation at home.
When one thinks about traditions, one can realise how each one has some thought into it…for example, the margazhi tradition of waking up early to put the kolam is to get the laziness out. One would love to snuggle up under sheets and sleep in the colder weather. Making seedai for Krishnashtami is to have something crunchy when it is generally raining outside; or neer more for Ramanavami which is in summer!
Accepted that there are some which are outdated in this age…like don’t stitch after sun down. That was to avoid strain to the eyes when the lights are out and is outdated now thanks to electricity…Probably there are many more that can be listed.
One should see the merits and demerits of each and take what appears right instead of writing off all saying it is being old fashioned or to say that you are disillusioned. For my part, I try follow traditions as much as I can and hope I can transfer this thought to my son too!
Well that is my take on this….of course opinions aplenty!

Waiting!!

I guess all of us would have done this at some point or the other in our lives. Results of exams, medical tests, a person, an answer about something, a mail….the list can keep going on! I am right now waiting for papers…Waiting sucks!! real bad… Not being able to plan anything!! I keep waiting for that phone call or mail which does not seem to come at all I am not a patient person by nature…and this forced lesson in patience makes it worse. My mother used to say that I always want things yesterday when I was growing up! Why can’t things work out?? and sooooooon at that What makes my waiting worse are the queries and comments that come from people….suggestions about what I must do without any idea of what I am actually going through!!! To a certain extent, I try to avoid/ignore those…but they get to me after a certain point!!!
Guess this is my vent after waiting for eternity!!! (… it has been a little over 3 weeks now since the expected date!!) Well,I am person who did ask my ob/gyn when my baby would come out in the 32nd week….could not wait to see my son!!! Btw, my son was born 3 days after the due date

Courtesy and phones

I keep reading articles and watching news items of ban on cell phones in schools. Also…though some people have cell phones, they have not even had the courtesy to call and cancel an appointment they had made. They just did not turn up.
Got me thinking….why must one have a cell phone at all? For all the features it comes loaded with except use it as a “mobile” phone?? We read about mobile phone etiquettes of switching it off in the theatre, doctor’s office, hospitals etc…, What about actually using it to make a call and say that one is delayed or that one cannot make it for an appointment? I put this in as it has been happening repeatedly with various people. I originally thought that it was just a coincidence when it happened once and once again….
Returning calls made…that is another issue totally. Why can’t people be prompt and return calls? Listen to their voicemails?? Is it just me being in the old world or are people really becoming rude??
On a recent train trip, I saw people all around me having their cell phones glued to their ear…either talking or listening to music non stop…infact some of them were so uncouth that they had their music playing on speaker!!! And they had also set alarms for the wee hours of the morning so as to get down in their stop….but why should it be so loud to wake up the whole compartment one wonders? What about vibrate mode??
Anyways, just another thought that came into this muddled head of mine!