Glorious Walk

Long months of inactivity had left me feeling disgusted and disappointed with my body that refused to be active.

I would despair at the time fifteen years ago when I was walking the entire neighbourhood, almost 5 km up and down without feeling the least bit exhausted. Given a chance I walked rather than took an auto and especially because I didn't have my own car, I would walk both the long distances and the short one. There would be an exhibition that I wanted to seem or a nursery that u wanted to visit, I would do everything walking as I was too cheap to pay the auto fare.

But after I started driving my own car, I became lazy. Also lack of time prompted me to take the car everywhere, even short distances because after all, time is money and it was more important for me to reach back home on time rather than walk and be healthy.

A few months ago, we went for an outbound workshop from our office. While I am very good at mental workshops, I am a little uncertain about physical workshops.
This workshop was not very tiring but still we had a short walk to a tree lined place and then we were given some endurance exercises.

One was making a person hover on a harness above a tub of balls and he had to throw the balls into a basket. We had harnessed him with ropes and it required superhuman strength to keep him floating.

The second was to make an A shape with bamboos and then control the shape with ropes and make the person mounted on the A to walk a short distance. For every step I would pull along with a colleague and it took immense strength to pull that off, pun intended. But I managed.

At the end of it all, different muscles and parts had been thoroughly exercised but I felt a sense of pride and happiness that I had achieved something that I had never done before.

Truly filled me with so much optimism that I decided to get back to my walking, playing and doing physical activities to feel better about myself yet again.

I don't know how much weight I will manage to lose, but I do know that I will not shy away from physical work.

I do not know how much thinner or nicer I will look, but I do plan to be able to walk a challenging distance easily.

And today, I walked a 5 kilometre distance in the afternoon sun with ease. It filled me with a sense of pride that perhaps it is not so difficult at all.

Go to https://housing.com/lookup to start a fresh journey.

To appreciate Togetherness and our Home

While we have done mini drives quite often, it was the first time the husband decided to do a longish drive which meant traveling from Chennai to Goa by car.

We had booked ourselves in the club Mahindra resort which was another first for us and it was for the first time we were driving across the eastern coast to the western coast.

Hilly terrains always give me the jitters so this was good because we would be close to sea level.

It had been a very long time since we had a proper break especially because kids were small and it is not so easy to take breaks. And add to that our own tardiness.

The drive was very present and we also stopped at a hotel midway so that we could break our joinery. It was more a case of liking the journey more than the destination.

We crossed a few states, braved inclement weather and finally reached the resort.

We were in for a pleasant surprise when we checked into the resort. I had never imagined that it would be such a comfortable place with two sets of beds, one for the children and one for us. The room was huge and the resort had a private beach.

We built sand castles on the beach and looked longingly at the parasailing crowd but of course we couldn't dare to really try it.

We experimented with mutton vindaloo and went to Martin's corner to have dinner.

We visited naturals ice cream parlour every day and had lots of tender coconut ice cream. Slurp.

We truly relaxed, read on the beach, took off cakes from the buffet table to have by the poolside and the children spent the entire day in the pool and the evening on the beach.

We spent the time just looking out of the balcony and generally did very touristy things like strolling the streets.

It was the much needed me time or rather us time that we needed as a family and it came right on time.

And no holiday is complete without seeing the animal kingdom. On the way back we stopped at Bangalore and we went to Banerghatta national park and took the bus safari. Thankfully the kids love nature and they were more than happy to be looking at the animals and enjoying the various species at the butterfly park.

The best part of the holiday is the food. While Goa did not have much to offer by way of local food, we freaked out in the sea food and vindaloo preparation. We ate a lot of salads, yes, and drank soup. And generally were laid back and without any agenda every day.

Sometimes, it pays to just not do anything, a fast vanishing thing. It recharged us and we went back to our world and our work with much gusto. We also learnt to appreciate our own home which is the best of all places and the most comfortable, no matter how hi fi the hotel and resorts are.

https://housing.com/in provides unique solutions for being at home with your choice.

belated Year end Update

 So the year 2015 is full of new beginnings. 
 
 But before that 2014 had not been very kind to us as much as I had hoped. 
 
 As a family - We lost my Nani and Nana in a space of five months. 
 One on 1st jan and the other in 28th July. 
 While Nani was suffering from illness I am still under shock about Nana. Didn't expect him to go away so suddenly. 
 
 Work wise the year was full of travels for both hubby and me and we also did manage a couple of holidays including Singapore and Coonoor. 
I also managed to take a break in December to oversee the renovation of our home. 

 Well so we ended the year feeling happy poor! 

> Especially after the inclusion of a library!

I also managed three publications with Mango Chutney, mathematics Fun fact and fictionhttp://www.mangobooks.net/book_details/8345/mathematics_fun,_facts_and_fiction

and folk tales from around the world. 
http://www.mangobooks.net/book_details/8428/folktales_from_around_the_world

Women's Web very kindly published my interview 

http://www.womensweb.in/2015/03/riti-kaunteya-life-as-an-author/

And now for the resolutions


- A general attempt to move over to more green less artificial 
- try to build in exercise
- write everyday 
- read more
- read more of HBR
- eat out even lesser. We already reduced to bare minimum
- healthy snacks for children. More fruits less processed
- follow 5 s system at home.
- teach children independence and make their own bed at least and maintain their own cupboards
- focus on kids ' studies better and make it more organised and regimental
- follow the keyboard course and be serious about it
- wake up on time on the alarm
- Reduce and remove iPad usage by children
- make children read more
- socialise more

- use more of flower decor 

Kiddy speak

Ojas is particular Tejas should not touch him with cough hand. Ie the hand in which he has coughed as it will transfer germs

They think it is ok to take leave of half day from school if mamma has a holiday. Guess what. They tried. They failed.

Apparently whisper is a sort of chuddy for soaking up the blue coloured susu.

On when told to pee in the compost bin just a bit Tejas asked how can I stop once I start

Metallica and medina are places of worship for Muslims

Apparently Donut practiced hard for race so that he can be like Ojas bhaiya and win medals

Floral Cheer

Taking the Bold Step

We were married for just a few months and had moved to a new rented place. Everyone advised us to buy a house rather than rent because at that time when the real estate had not boomed, it made more sense to buy rather than pay a high rent. Ultimately our EMI would be nearly equal or comparable to the rent and we would end up at least owning the house. We searched long and hard for the dream home that suited our requirements.
We went to new sites, looked at existing houses and scanned the property pages every weekend. At first we were willing to shift at any part of the town as long as it was towards the South for the purpose of convenience of commute to my work place.
Then, we started narrowing down choices, especially when we had to traverse narrow lanes and congested streets to reach the site.
We looked at houses, measured the built up area and realized to our dismay that the plinth area, built up area and actual square feet that we end up with are vastly different.
We decided on a few things. We will not compromise for less than three bedroom house, not live lower than the second floor neither higher than that and must live on the shortest and most convenient route to my office. We decided upon a budget which was decent enough and decided not to budge from it. We also wanted to satisfy the bare minimum vaastu requirements.
As we trawled through sites and made contacts after contacts for like seven months, we realized that it was not easy to find the house of our choice in the locality of our choice and within the budget that we wanted. We nearly gave up after seven months of trying very hard and stopped looking. House is like love. You get it when you stop looking for it.
So it happened that one day a bank representative came to my husband asking whether we wanted a home loan. My husband said of course we want but there is this small detail of we not having found a home at all for buying. The guy proved to be god send. He had a house in mind which was more expensive than our budget, two bedroom and on the ground floor. The saving grace was that it was in the heart of the town and on my office route so I could catch the office vehicle in five minutes My husband took one look at it and he liked the feel of the place. He was sure that I would like it even though it failed on all of our conditions.

 I saw the place the very next day and fell in love with the entire thing. The clincher was the tiny garden. One in the front and one on the back. And the rest as they say is history. We took the bold step of buying a house inspite of it not meeting our requirements and we have never looked back after that.

https://housing.com/ - your new home to find a home

Look Up Stories

It was sports day in school and my sons were ready to be winners in their team game.

The son had practiced for the race the entire weekend.

He would run up to the bandage, pick the bandage up and then run up to his doll and tie the bandage, slowly and laboriously to the podgy leg of the teddy bear and t hen pick himself and the teddy bear up and race to the finish line.

I whistled and clapped and nudged him to do it faster, however he focused on doing it right.

My ambidextrous child, who can write and colour with both hands was having immense problem with the simple act of tying a bandage because of orientation issues and confusion of the hands. Hence he focused more and more on getting it write while I played my part in nudging him to go faster.

On the day of the sports day, the clouds were covering the sky owing to the long week of rains and the school was apprehensive about the sports day as anytime the rain gods could play spoil sport and shower us with their blessings that is the torrential sudden rains which would wet the grassy ground and spoil the sports day for us.

So with great apprehension and trepidation the sports day was declared open and the children started competing in their sports day event one by one.

The theme was profession and the race was based on various professions like pizza delivery for which Tejas' team got the first prize, brick house building, postman etc.

Ojas' class represented the medical guy who would put the bandage on an injured leg.

As he stood in line preparing for his race, my heart raced much more because the pressure of performance would be immense considering the twin had won his race.

The whistle blew and mys on rushed towards the bandage, picked it up and settled himself to tie the bandage to the leg of the teddy bear.

He struggled with both hands, and was all fingers yet focused on doing the bandage correctly. He did manage to secure it and rushed to the finish line.

However he finished neither first nor second not third. But the school was nice enough to award him a participation medal.

My heart beat fast as I went up to his class to collect him back after the sports day, wondering what tears I will have to encounter.

I prepared myself to hug his tears away and as he came out of the class he showed me his consolation prize medal and said simply, "Mamma, I won."

The clouds parted and the sun shone bright and clear and with that it gave me a burst of pride optimism. My son had won because he had managed to tie the bandage well and truly. His race was only with himself and not with anyone else.

And when you are feeling down and wondering whether you will find your dream house at all, go on to https://housing.com/lookup

This story is submitted for indiblogger.in Look up stories. 

Keep your skin pimple free

I am participating in the garnish clear skin contest and would like to share the problems that pimples bring in life.

Pimples are basically eruptions that have a knack of appearing on the face before crucial meetings, a hot date or a party. I often wonder whether they have a sixth sense at tells them, yes, come out now. This person has an important event that she or he is waiting for quite some time. So come out and show yourself right in the nose or the cheek or somewhere extremely painful.

And after that you will find yourself working on it using your nails or any other instrument which basically ruptures it and let's out the yucky stuff. And then it will appear somewhere else like a persistent weed. Horrible stuff I tell you.

Have you ever been referred to has pimply faced by anyone? Surely pimples give you a great identity. Let's say someone forgets your name and is trying to tell someone else about you. Imagine if they refer to you as ...arre that person with a pimply face.

Remember even J K Rowling used pimply faced for Stanley Shupnik and that became an identity point for him.

I would be horrified if anyone referred to me as pimply faced seriously but while one cannot help it coming, one must make sure that they run after it with the proverbial stick and try to beat it down thus prevent it from appearing again.

Well either prevention or cure. Which would you prefer?

They say keeping the skin clear and dirt free is one of the best ways of preventing pimples.

Excess sebum secretion by the oil glands is the primary cause behind this problem. Pimples generally occur on the face, neck, back and shoulders. Though not a critical condition, pimples can make a person feel miserable due to their appearance like I said, especially because they tend to appear on important critical dates!

A number of fast relief remedies are available.
The most common being ice, tooth paste, garlic, tea tree oil etc.

Apart from over the counter medicines.

However of one seriously wants to prevent pimples from coming, they must clean their face regularly using a nice face wash which is gentle on the facial skin.

Also use a good scrub that clears dead cells and there by prevents pimples from getting the matrix for forming. And be stress free.

Check the site http://www.garnier.in/face-care/beauty/garnier/pure-active/neem-face-wash and experience the freshness of garner pure active neem face wash.

Melbourne Masti

I am taking part in the indiblogger contest
What's your reason for falling in love with Melbourne, the most liveable city in the world?

Rather I would say most loveable city in the world?
What fascinates me about Melbourne is all this excitement about the gold rush. It somehow gives me a sense of excitement and mystery and being a gold freak myself, I would live to see the place where gold was actually mined. I also understand that from a city which was hardly liveable, it is now having people come in from Tasmania even, the place which has the cleanest air in the world. Now if someone belonging to such a place would wish to settle in Melbourne, I am sure it has a lot in it.

I would love to visit the city and see for myself multiple things that are so popular there.

The way I love to see a city is to actually do the little little things that the citizens do on a day ti day basis. Basically behave like a local, take long walks, do some street shopping, go to the parks, eat in the local joints and eat street food, take the local mass transport instead of taking taxis and go to the famed operas and performances. I wish to see Melbourne from the eyes of a local and so the local stuff rather than doing just touristy stuff like visiting the heritage places.

I would love to see the museum which takes one on a complete tour of the history of Melbourne

I would like to tour the city in its tram network and perhaps eat in one of their tram restaurants

I would live to witness and photograph the street art.

See the historic gold bar that has been used for demonstration of the gold bar making process.

I would love to witness the penguin parade and go to the strawberry farm too, and I am sure my children would love both of them.

Check out these videos about Tanmay's and Rohan's exploration of Melbourne
http://bit.ly/CAMvideos

And may be you could explore http://www.visitmelbourne.com/India.aspx   On your own and see what treasures the city has for you.

Overall it is a great idea to check out these sites if you are planning a tour to Melbourne. It gives a comprehensive view of the attractions in the city and would be a great tool to plan the stay accordingly.

Now something for you

"Which of these places would you want to visit in Melbourne and why?".

The best answer (chosen by me) on every valid entry will win a gift voucher. The contest on my blog  ends on 4th Jan 2015.

Kitna hain Hota hai na Sachchai mein

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=RvGOTeJsZb8

http://www.coca-colaindia.com/products/kinley_water.html


Very often when it comes to small things, we tend to lie our way through rather than disclose the truth. Sometimes it stems from the fact that one may have missed informing the other person about his or her whereabouts or perhaps the explanation would be so long that one may prefer to just speak a small white lie to avoid getting into the mess of giving a long explanation. And some may just feel that the truth may hurt so it is better to lie rather than take the onus of belling the cat and speaking the truth and being the villain in the piece. Sometimes it may just be a matter of feeling ashamed of the truth so it is easier to lie so that one's good image is not damaged.


I recall a small incident in school which comes back to me with great clarity, while on the topic.

I had always been fascinated by the chalkboard duster in school. The smooth manner in which it swished across the board erasing even the tiniest of marking on the smooth board was always a source of delight to me. But I had this unearned fear of ever touching that duster in school. Somehow I felt I shouldn't be touching the board and if I did, the teacher would scold me. I always imagined holding the duster in my hand and erasing the messy writing on the board all by myself. I wanted to feel the sense of erasing the board using the duster that looked so soft and efficient. And more than ever, I wanted to own one, since this was an object which was not widely available in ordinary stationary shops of those days and of course had I asked for it, I wouldn't have been granted permission to buy it anyway as what would be the use of a duster in a household?




Well one day, I happened to find my may inside the school store room where I went to look for my lost water bottle.

I noticed on one dark corner was a treasure trove of dusters, shining, new and squeaky clean, not a single fabric of the duster faded or worn out. I looked around and decided that I could appropriate one for myself and no one would be wiser.
I took one duster and then I had the problem of taking it with me safely till my school bag.

I stuffed it inside the belt of my skirt, grievously spraining my tummy as I pushed that duster in to hide it.


And I rushed to class and stuffed the duster into my bag.

Once home, the sharp eyed mom noticed that I had a duster with me.

I glibly lied that I found it fallen in the school ground.

It didn't take long for mom to figure out that a brand new duster would not be lying in the school ground unattended for me to pick it up and bring home. It must have been done stealthily.

I could have lied for some more time, but at that moment I decided to tell the truth.

Well I felt an immediate relief and returned the duster to the school, silently of course and mom got me a duster for me.


So well, all was  well in the end. If didn't have to bear the burden of a lie and I also got a duster for myself.

A win win situation.

This entry is submitted for the contest on indiblogger.in https://www.indiblogger.in/happyhours/purity-in-every-drop/#submission_requirements