Pahi's first day of PRESCHOOL!

Dear Pahi,

You are 2.1 year old and already started schooling today. It was a big day for both of us  (for your dad as well I believe :)). The very thought of you entering the school crying was making me nervous from the first day we started school hunting. I expected few drops of tears from me too but was glad I could control it, thank God for this. It happened soo quick that there was no time for such dramas. And I am soo soo proud of you too for not crying in front of me or else I would have followed you then and there.

It was the first time we left you alone amidst strange faces, I know how you must have felt. But then this is how it goes. You need to face the world all by yourself sooner or later.But don't you worry Mumma and Papa will always be there for you just like the way we were there waiting outside until you showed up about an hour later today.

Frankly speaking I was a little unconvinced about starting school so early for you. Actually it was you dad who persuaded me to think about it. And I am glad we made the right decision at the right time. I dont want to over burden you with any kind of expectations but then there are a few of them that I would like to list down-

Firstly I would want you not to be dependent on anyone, ever. Dependency would never let you grow. I have experienced it. So,

one of few reasons for sending you to school is to help you limit the dependency that you have on me.

You are a bright kid (touch-wood) and I am very proud of this fact. You are too young to recite 5-6 rhymes, count from 1-20 or sing from A-Z but you do that and I am amazed at times.And, I would want you to keep amazing me all the times.

Also do not try to be someone else but be true to yourself always and you will  notice how beautiful it feels. Till now we have never ever compared you with any child and we promise not to do it ever. We love the way you are. We love everything about you- your tantrums as well :D (P.S If you can finish eating your food a lil early, you take 1 hour, baby)

Keep dreaming and keep chasing them until you get what you have dreamt. 

Still could not forget the day we brought you home for the first time from the hospital. Today while driving to school on the same road I again felt the tickle which I have experienced two years back.

And thank you so much for getting up early today and being such a sweetheart. I hope everyday will be a fun day for you at school. 

Waiting eagerly till the time you reply back. 
I love you Pahi.
Hugs and Kisses!

Until then,
Your Mumma

The other side of me!

Random thoughts floating, when everyone around me are having a good night sleep. I am just not in form these days. Something holding me back, don't know what. May be life has become monotonous...may be or may be not. I am not trying to find the answer as well. Sometimes I feel I have the whole world for myself and the other moment there is this feeling that tells me that I am just trying to hold myself back. 

I just read the above para and thought of deleting it...hahahahaha ...sounds like a 80 year old;s writing. Never mind.

Well the day was well spent- Playing with Pahi, cooking,coffee, movie and this and that. The sudden downpour took away all the fun of watching Pahi grooving to music with her dandiya stick. Yes, we could not make it to the garba today evening because of the showers. Grrrr.... for that.

Called a few of the school for admissions. Just could not believe that my lil girl is big enough for a school now.

Pahi needs me now. 

Ciao!

Finally! I am here again

Thinking quite for some tome to come back to this but then something comes up...err well I must admit that I have developed a laid back attitude. But I knew this is not going to hold me from returning back to my accidental love i.e WRITING. Yes, writing is something which I haven't thought in my wildest dream to come to me. But it happened. I will definitely narrate the incident in near future but not now :)

I started this blog to do some professional writing (out of pressure) so please excuse me if the previous entries are bothering. Then when the pressure (professional off course) shifted to something else I thought why not transom this into a personal diary. I did make one or two entries I suppose but then again the writer in me died as the focus was diverted towards a lot of other things.

So, now that I am a stay-at-home mom of a 2year old, I am having a burst of emotions and I don't think there can be a better platform then this to vent out the feelings inside me. 

I hereby promise to myself that I would not refrain from writing no matter what.

You will find me talking about Pahi (the lil angel in my life), PD (The hubby), daily happenings and of course food (cooking has become the latest addiction off late).

Feeling good now!
Ahhhhhh :D

Until next time,
Vandy

TALE to TELL!

Feeling guilty now for not keeping a daily check on what's happening outside and most importantly inside me. There is so much to say. It’s been 5 months now and feels great. I have never been so protective of myself then I am these days. A huge sense of responsibility has crept in within me. Will try and share the stories of all the hormonal imbalances within me from now.
 P.S- Please bear with me. J
I don’t know whether its HE or SHE, a small part within me says it’s HE, but then another part says, it can be SHE. But I secretly want a baby girl (@pradyumna Happy? J)

Week 22:
I am hoping she should be the size of a small papaya. Errr … well I don’t know.

Feelings: I feel pregnant. J
Well, there are times when I am the happiest person on earth and again there are times where I am a little jinxed. I am very close to my third trimester and sometimes worried as to how I am going to manage myself and the lil baby. Those swellings on the feet and body are driving me nuts. My foot is almost twice its size and the wedding ring refuses to come out of my finger. I am still trying to pull it out, but in vain. The removal of the ring on the other finger was quite traumatic, so I better not try it with the other one.

Body: I feel blotted. I have put on lots of weight and I am concerned. Sigh!

Movements: Little tickles.
Doctors say it’s too early to feel the baby now, but I can feel her and it’s the best feeling. She keeps moving and makes her presence felt whenever I am alone. May be she is trying to say that I am with you. Awwwww.

Milestones: Well, for sure the baby movement. I can feel her, what else I want to know.

Cravings: Nothing in particular, depends on mood.

Food: I think I am turning veggie. I like my plate with lots of green vegetables and pulses.

Sleep: I wake up early for some unknown reasons. (Early is 7 :D), I wish I can sleep more.

Concerns: There are so many. Let’s not talk about it now! 

Awkward moments: Pradyumna saying every minute- “Baby steps”. Grrrr… I am not a baby J
Also, each time I see myself in the mirror, I get upset. So, these days I refrain myself from looking into the mirror. Awkward but true. People are sometimes very mean to pregnant women. Not all, but a few of them. So, a chic in office told me that I have put on a lot of weight and kept staring at me. I swear, next time if anyone tells me this is sure to get a punch on the face.  None of my dresses fits me. Thanks to mommy dear for making them fit me again. Phew!

I Miss:  Sleeping on my tummy, staying up late at night. I don’t have the liberty to do these stuff. Grrrr. Also miss taking the caffeine sips with Pradyumna over the weekends. I have to sip milk instead, how boring.
Diet: Forget about it. One moment I think I will stay away from ice-creams and chocolates and other moments I have them out from the refrigerator. No self-control. Sob!
Okay…enough for today I guess. I need to concentrate on the damn iPad now.
Will come back next week.
Vandana

Saas…Bahu…Beti...Behen!

While our beloved TV channels have been striving hard to improve the status of women in the society, the government is slowly waking up to reality. Women today rule many things in a way and our position is not at all inferior, not any longer fellas!

Switch on the TV set you will find out that I am not kidding. All thanks to the umpteen number of TV Channel which are airing endless numbers of women centric shows day in day out. The term Saas-Bahu has become so familiar that this has become synonymous with Tom & Jerry, Ram & Laxman or Laila & Majnu.

If we divert our focus for sometime from the fiction to non-fiction shows then we witness the same thing. You say "Big Boss" and you remember Veena Malik or Dolly Bindra more then you remember Khali or Bindu. You say "SplitsVilla" and you remember Sakshi, Pavitra or Joanna more then you remember Mohit or Siddhartha. We women rule baby!

No one can deny the fact that women rule the small screen kingdom. As soon as you switch on the TV set you enter into a world of saas, bahu, beti, maa, behen, baby, chachi and the list continues. The number of women centric shows on TV is astounding. Do you remember any of the shows which are or were based on men? I seriously don’t remember any and now I am forced to think as why till now there aren’t any public objections for slandering all men on television. Well… don’t you think it’s an insult to the mankind? Now that we have brands selling out men soap and talc why can’t we have a show on TV based on their life? Just think about it.


Anyways, although the woman portrays various roles on TV, they all have almost the same duties and responsibilities in all the show. As a wife/bahu/maa a female is portrayed as being loving, caring and submissive; as a beti/behen she is shown as lively, full of life and restricting herself from any kinda night outs because her family is too conservative or protective. Yeah! I don’t remember whether I have witnessed a single scene in any of the shows (since the time I have became a TV addict) where the daughter of the house goes out for night outs, and parents are cool about it… Most of our urban parents are today cool about daughters going out for parties… Actually, the protagonists’ parents aren’t cool, her friends’ parents are!

Now let’s focus on the sasu maa’s.  Well all the saas of the present day shows have undergone a major transformation. They are not acting like the typical saas all of a sudden. By transformation I don’t mean a full transformation but saasu maa’s are suddenly behaving a lot better then what they used to be in the past (atleast on TV).  So suddenly we see the saas helping out her bahus in the kitchen in the morning rather than expecting her to prepare a full course breakfast for the entire janta at home. She also accompanies the bahu to the beauty parlour and enjoys having pani-puri with her. The bahus too have stopped nagging against their saasu maa’ and have closed playing the blame game and exaggerating and complaining to their hubby’s about his mother’s behavior.

Remember the days when the female protagonists used wake up with untouched heavy makeup and jewelries. Well I always used to make fun of my mother for watching such unbearable stuff on TV.  But this trend has changed all of a sudden. The ladies have started wearing night suits or at least if they are not wearing one then they are minus their lipstick and jewelries, which is acceptable to me as a viewer.

A woman is portrayed differently on TV today. Gone are the days when you used to see women in saree and salwar suits only. If we look at programs like "Gulaal", "Na Aana Iss Desh Meri Laado" or "Balika Vadhu" you will notice a sudden switch from an urbanized look to a more rural one. It’s good to see a change in trend and get away from the monotony. And the best part is we in the cities have taken to wear clothes like our rustic sisters in our shows like "Gulaal". And how proud my grandmom feels when she sees me fully clad… Priceless moment (Psst, little does she know my influence is my new friend TV, and not so much her conservative thought)

But then, having said that - something which concerned me was that all these series speak of many causes. Like for example Balika Vadhu is all about child marriage and Gulaal is about a woman marrying her l’il ten year old dewar. Well… yes, I know what you must be thinking. Are these evil things still practiced in our country? Or is it right to show such content on television? We will talk about this soon in the upcoming blogs for sure.

So it’s the power puff girls everywhere who are stealing the limelight. The females are driving the small screen in India, no doubt about it. I will throw some more light on it on my next blog.

But for now women rule the small screen, for sure!

Until then!
Chalios

Is Television equal to WOMEN minus MEN?

Are you also the one who think men should also be treated equally just like their female counterparts? Be it Armaan in ‘Jassi Jaisi Koi Nahi ‘, ‘Sujal in Kahin Toh Hoga’ or Sushant in ‘Pavitra Rishta’ don’t you think the female protagonists totally overshadowed them?

The focus has never been on the men on television.  They have always been the scapegoat and are shown as criminals or oppressors just for the sake of portraying women as innocent and potentially better then them.  I am sure the women love to see this, don’t we? But before I get deeper into this there’s one exception which I have noticed recently. The trend has been changing with Sajjan Singh’s arrival in the popular TV serial “Pratigya” aired on Star Plus. This man has made some changes recently in TV viewing with his electrifying dialogues and accent.  Not only Sajjan Singh but Brahmanand from “Maryaada” has been grabbing attention from all the male audience for a change.

Now lets again jump back to what we were discussing leaving Sajjan Singh’wa behind J

All the women centric soaps depict pretty much the same stuff. A target is defined and a root cause analysis of the target is done. By target, don’t think that I am talking about the target audience here, by target I mean that part of the society which the script writer is targeting to destroy and wants people to have pity. Well we can’t deny the fact that to focus on the women and to show their goodness, males are victimized and degraded as always.  This has always been the win- win formula for the script writers.

Poor men… sorry to say but the damage already been done. This one is the tested formula and can’t go wrong anytime.

Men have always been neglected on television for some reason.   Have you ever seen a single man in any of the show posters? Umm… think think! Well, very few of them, right? I remember seeing Anurag (Harshad Chopra) in ‘Tere Liye’ posters along with Taani (Anupriya Kapoor) and that’s only because he is awesome and can’t escape my attention even though Taani is occupying a major portion of the frame.

Very few of the men (except Sajjan and Brahmanand) have the privilege of getting attention from all the aunts and didi’s. No doubt, not a single show can work without a man but they still don’t fit in the frame/posters in any of the show.  Have you ever seen any of the three Mihir’s in ‘Kyunki Saas Bhi Bahu Thi’ in any of the Kyunki posters apart from Tulsi? Be it Gulaal in ‘Gulaal’ or Ammaji and Sia in ‘Na Aana iss Desh Meri Laado’ the promos always begins and ends with the face of the females for sure.

As a viewer I would surely like to see some men oriented programs on TV just to see how men react to this. I am really excited to think if they would be glued to the TV set just the way they do when they watch the late night’s soccer matches.

I know guys who are mad about watching a few of the international shows like ‘Two and a Half Men’, ‘Prison Break’, ‘How I Met Your Mothe’r, ‘Dexter’ or F.R.I.E.N.D.S’ but the hindi GEC’s are still lagging behind to cater to their needs. Well… no wait, there’s one show which I remember guys were crazy about. Remember the show ‘Remix’ which used to come on Star One. But then it was again more inclined towards the teenagers.

So right now if we forget about the reality shows for sometime then there’s nothing for the male audience which would interest them.  

Hope the productions houses are reading this. 

Gay-laxy in your living room

So the scripting team of the popular hindi serial “Maryaada” is talking a step forward and is daring to show something which has never been done for the general TV audience. The show continues to take an interesting turn with the gay track. Yes you heard it right, gay track in a hindi GEC is something which is the talk of the town recently. Well I can’t stop myself from bringing this to your notice as soon as my mother called me up and asked – “Aisa bhi hota hai kya???”. I am sure most of the mothers and the other members of the Indian family would be enlightened sitting in their living rooms on what is going on across the globe and most of them are sure to get more protective for their kids then they were before.

The truth is now out that Gaurav is a gay. It will be an interesting track to watch how a rustic lady like Vidya (Gaurav’s wife) reacts to this. Because a women can fight for her rights and emotions when there is another lady in her husbands life but to understand the fact that one’s husbands is not straight and that for an illiterate women like Vidya would be a different story. If you are getting gripped with this track then I would suggest you to read my first post Bitten by the TV bug and understand a little about the show and its key characters.

What I liked about the show is that it’s trying to establish the concept of homosexuality in a way completely different from how it is treated in most of the Bollywood movies or in most of the hindi serials. It’s not the kind where a gay is depicted as funny and always looked down upon with his cheesy dialogues or behavior.  Here the characters are handled sensitively thereby exploring the emotional aspect of the characters rather then the physical relationship and how they dress up and all. It’s really surprising to watch how a man can emotionally be connected to another man.  See the clip embedded to find how its portrayal is different. 

One can’t deny the fact that homosexuality is still considered a taboo in most part of our country. People still hesitate to confess openly that he/she is gay as they are afraid that they would be out casted and would bring shame to their family. The same is happening in the show where the mother- Devyani is trying hard to cover her son Gaurav’s relationship with Karan. She is leaving no stone unturned to convince Gaurav to come out of the relationship. First she gets Gaurav married to Vidya and then again she threatens to kill herself. But all these do not stop Gaurav from coming back to Karan. It’s who he is!

So its time to break away all the norms and give men a chance to show up their talent. Gone are the days when we used to have only women centric shows and men being shown as puppets in the hands of their mothers and wives. I am sure Maryaada would get a decent number of male fan followings with its present track. Not only the show has brought about a change in the audience but it’s also a welcoming change from the usual episodes of all the back biting women’s which men were always complaining about. The most important aspect of it being we surely hope for changed perceptions among the masses. This is surely a step-up in the portrayal of gay characters on the small and big screen. Star Plus… This is really a nayi soch on the TV platform. Hats off to the brains behind the channel!!!

Kudos for this!