Grandparent's Day Celebration

#GrandparentsDay  #LoveJatao

Today, September 10th, is the Grandparents day. It is not celebrated well in India but many other countries do. Maybe we should too start celebrating it with full joy, after all, our loving Grandparents also need one day when we can pamper them wholeheartedly.

Unfortunately I don't have my grandparents with me. I lost them all, both maternal and paternal when I was very young. I remember their glimpses but nothing more. And when I see other people cherishing the love showered by their grandparents, I feel a deep void. However this void is kind of filling now, all thanks to my lovely son. Our parents i.e. his grandparents just love and cherish him like a prince, so much more than we do. I don't think that we as his parents could pamper him this much any time. LOL!

So, I would be celebrating this grandparents day not with my grandparents, but my son's. And I am sure it's going to be a blast.

To start with, I have already bought matching T-shirts for them. They all will be dressed alike, yes even grandma has to wear a t-shirt today, she has no excuses what so ever. I will lend her one of my jeggings to go with the t-shirt -she is going to rock the show. 

And my husband has already ordered a custom cake for tonight. Choco-vanilla cake with beautiful words written on top - 'Happy Dadu-Dadi Day'.

We will cut the cake and head out... my in-laws are pure vegetarian. They don't even consume Onion and Garlic. So, I have already placed a custom food order in a five-star restaurant where chef is going to prepare a few delicacies without them. - Yes, we have to place a custom order because no chef prepares food without Onion and Garlic.

Post our dinner, we will come back to desi mithai, my father-in-law just loves them. And we will end our day with a photo shoot.

Our son is very small as of now, not even a year old, so I don't know what gift should be given on this occasion. But my plan is to get a wonderful picture of the trio in matching shirts and get it framed. I don't think anything could be better... 

So yes, this is my plan for tonight. And I hope everyone enjoys it. How do you plan to celebrate? 

Also do check out LoveJatao for more creative ideas in celebrating Grandparents Day and don't forget to watch this awesome video by Parachute Advansed

I look forward to hear from you how would you celebrate Grandparents Day. Do share a selfie with your grandparents on Sept. 10, 2017 on Twitter or Facebook with #LoveJatao & @blogadda to win a goodie from Parachute Advansed.

Lots of Love

Pathshala Funwala: English English

#PathshalaFunwala #English

Although our mother-tongue is not English, in my case it is Hindi, but English plays a rather crucial role in our lives. People judge us based on our fluency and accent. And they rate our knowledge and level with the usage of big words. The more you mouth bigger words, the better your English is -no matter if they understand you or not. Yes, this is the current mentality of India and I have faced similar situation.

My mother tells me that she fought our elders to place me and my sister in an English-medium school. She didn't want us to face similar issues she faced when she was growing up. For the record, my mother is a successful gynecologist and she states that lack of proper English caused many hurdles for her. So, yes, she got us in the best English medium school Agra city had to offer. However, the biggest problem was, despite being an English medium, no one spoke in English in our school -not even English teacher. The system failed her and though I knew better English in comparison to other kids in my neighborhood, I failed her. Well, the system failed her. I was too little to understand the importance back then, so I didn't put any efforts in learning good English. I could read and write but my fluency was zero. Problems with us Indians is that, we think in Hindi or our mother-tongue, translate in our minds and blurt English words. And during this translation, we lose our vocabulary, grammar and everything else. I realized this problem when I started giving interviews for colleges.

Even the worst colleges gave preference to fluency in English. Sadly I am not of any any reserved category, so I had to face the harsh reality. Despite passing with flying colors, I failed to get admission in two colleges -it depressed me and gave me a sense of reality. The interview of third college was two months later and it was my preferred college -closer to home and with good placements. I knew my chances were very slim because there were only twenty seats in 'General category' and students from all over India applied to this college. I lost all hopes! How can I get in this college when others wont take me? At this time my mom came to my rescue. She explained me what I had informed her -I failed because of my fluency, so I need to work on it. 

I didn't know what to do, so I found the best available option. I started reading. In a span of two months I read more than fifty English books and two complete -page to page English newspapers daily. And without even knowing the magic happened!

In the interview, as I started answering words came automatically. I didn't even realize. After ten odd minutes I felt a sudden jolt -I still remember that I had abruptly stopped mid-sentence because I had realized that the words coming out of my mouth were in English and they was flawless. Interviewer had asked - 'is everything alright?' and I had smiled, more to myself, and continued.

Yes, I had gotten the admission that day and it was the best day of my new life. I never ignored my English post that.

I am sure, just like me there are many kids out there who want to learn good English and be proud, just like I am. And Nihar Shanti Amla has taken a wonderful initiative of helping children take first step. They even have a toll free number 8055667788 which provides all necessary details. 

I am blogging about Pathshala Funwala by Nihar Shanti Amla Oil in association with BlogAdda

Love and Cheers

Happy Mother's Day

Love and Family... #MoreIndianThanYouThink

#MoreIndianThanYouThink

'Distance makes the heart grow fonder,' it is a very valid saying. Same happened with me when I left India and moved to Johannesburg for two years assignment. 

I never realized how much I loved my country until I stepped outside. I never cherished it before but within a few days I started missing everything about India - food, culture and even the polluted smells, funny isn't it.

Yes I was missing India but I was not grateful to be an Indian, not until one day. And that day changed my perspective totally.

The team I worked with had ten members. Eight were South Africans, one was Zimbabwean and one Indian i.e. Me. We were sitting at a lunch table when suddenly the topic of relationships came into discussion. Everybody started discussing about their partners and family. 

One of the guys in my team spoke, 'my wife and I treat each other every Saturday. She treats one weekend I treat next. She earns more than me so every time it's her turn to pay I force her to go to some fancy place, but on my turn we go to some burger joint' everyone laughed loudly but I was too stunned to laugh. 'What kind of marriage is this?' I wondered but I ignored.

Next girl narrated a story about how she refused to pay for her mother's bill at a shop... her mother forgot her wallet and that girl refused to pay saying - 'I know you wont pay me back'. Most people sympathized with her saying how mothers try to rip them off but I couldn't understand. I asked her what was the amount she said 20 Rand i.e. Rs. 100... Her words shook me to core. What kind of kids are these, her mother paid for everything till she was old enough to earn and she can't even pay a minuscule amount... Wow!

It was getting really hard for me to sit but I had to... it was my team and I was already the odd-one-out person there. Seeing my reaction they turned their focus on me.

'You are married?' a girl asked.

'Yes,' I replied with a smile.

'How much did you sign prenup for?' I was stunned by the question alone.

'What do you mean?'

'You must have signed a prenup, right?' another guy asked.

'Of course not!' I felt stung by the question.

'How do you divide all the money?'

'We both earn and spend one person's salary. This way we control our expenses and save.' I replied proudly.

'I hope you are spending his salary. You won't want him running away with your money,' the first guy laughed.

'It is not his money or my money, it is OUR money' I explained lightly, hoping the topic is dismissed soon.

'I would never marry without a prenup. What if he bleeds me dry and dumps me,' a girl panicked.

I wanted to ignore the comments but the last statement just flipped me, 'we don't marry in India in anticipation of getting a DIVORCE. We marry one person, we love only one person and spend eternity with that one person. I love my husband and he loves me. That is all we need.' I replied a little heated. I was angry, how dare they say all this rubbish about my marriage. If they are not loyal its their problem.

Of course I left after this and my Zimbabwean friend (my only friend there) followed me. He had grown up in South Africa and knew this part of world. However I, was an outsider. He explained how Indians and Zimbabweans are so different and loyal to their partners. He also explained how our values mattered to us, unlike others.

And it was in that moment I was glad to be an Indian. It was in that moment I realized the love I held for my family and importance it held for me. It was in that moment I realized I was more Indian than I ever thought to be. And how much I love India and am grateful to my beloved nation and its vital traditions. One might say that this didn't help me succeed, but if we look around the globe, being Indian makes more marriages and lives a success than anywhere else in the world.

And just like I understood it back then, Lufthansa is helping understand the world, how India is growing and having global influence through its wonderful TV commercial. #MoreIndianThanYouThink

Love and Cheers

Treacherous Desires...

#TreacherousDesires

My dear friends... My latest book 'Treacherous Desires' has been launched recently. And I would like to introduce you all to the same...

Treacherous Desires, although it falls under romance genre, but it is not just an everyday love story, instead it is a dilemma. Dilemma that Kaya faces each day of her life.

Kaya is a modern age girl with everything perfect - job, husband and life – well on the outside. She loves her husband very much however deep down she knows her marriage is failing and she tries everything to save it but… Daksh, her husband as well loves her very much but still… unable to contain their marriage and love they hold, Kaya finds herself helpless and extremely frustrated.

Things really go haywire when she meets a stranger -Shaun, who is not only attractive but also everything Kaya is missing in her life. Things turn worse when he too falls hard for her. 

His smile wreaks havoc and touch causes chaos. Kaya doesn’t know what to do, she tries really hard not to fall for him but she has a void that now only he can fill.

Torn between her failing marriage and the man who is irresistible, Kaya now has the hardest choice to make. Of course she wants her marriage more than anything else but we usually don’t get what we want. 

Whom will she choose? Will she be able to reignite the spark in her marriage or will she initiate a completely new relationship?

Find out more in this roller coaster ride of love, seduction, desires, passion and epic romance – which neither lets you ignore nor lets you endure.

Yes, treacherous desires is a dilemma, dilemma of a girl who doesn’t know what to do. But it is also a romance that will make your toes curl and wish for something similar.

People always ask me, why did I name my book ‘treacherous desires’? Is it erotica?

Well it is not an erotic novel but yes it definitely is 12+, (given my kids mature too soon these days). It is an endearing romance which definitely will take you on a fantasy trip that will make you long for same now and ever.

I named it treacherous desire because no girl wants to have feelings for other man, but they creep in, they are in all manners treacherous whom she is unable to avoid.

Please also ask me what inspired me to write this? Is it my personal life?

And I answer a big NO. No, unlike Kaya I am very happy both inside and outside in my marriage. The inspiration came from a friend who was suffering just like Kaya. When she confided in me I offered her to write a story where a neglected wife falls for a man. I painted a rather vivid picture and where her husband was not able to understand her spoken/unspoken words, he took in the written version and it worked.

Seeing things working between them I thought why not write a full blown novel on the topic and share it with the world. Maybe others can benefit it too. Hence, with her due permission and dialing down a lot of personal stuff I wrote this whole story.

So my friends, everybody who has a partner who is inattentive and a lot in their phone/laptop should read this. If your partner is so, you can gift this by saying – ‘treacherous desires’ can happen. 

I hope you liked the blurb of my book and find it exciting. Please do grab a copy, I can assure you, you wont regret it and once you reach chapter 4, believe me, you wont be able to put it. 

Buy links:

Amazon: http://amzn.to/2mTrKL7
storymirror portal: http://bit.ly/TreacherousDesires
Shopclues: http://bit.ly/TD_ShopClues (Free Delivery)
Snapdeal: http://bit.ly/TD_Snapdeal

Lots of Love and Thanks in Advance for your kind support.

Cheers

The Fun in Space

#ColgateMagicalStories

Colgate did it again. Last time they came up with Sea adventure and this time they have come up with 'Space adventure' and both times my Dwij (my sister's kid, FYI) simply loved them... In this post I am not going to write any gyaan (like I did in previous Colgate post), instead I am going to narrate how he enjoyed the adventure.

Talk about coincidence, the day before I received the packs Dwij was talking about how he wants to be an astronaut and visit all the cool planets in the universe. And the Colgate space adventure pack simply delighted him.

When I showed him the packs he instantly named all the characters. To start with the male astronaut is Dwij, 4 years old and female astronaut is his friend Gauri (whom he calls Gori, LOL). Much to my happiness he was able to recognize all the planets instantly and loved to learn about comets and other interesting things given in the packs. It took us sometime to set up all the characters but the moment we did he fired up with stories. Below are a few stories he cooked up.

#1

Dwij and his adventure

Dwij: "Gori and I are going to Neptune..."

Me" "Why do you want to go there?"

Dwij: "Because it is faaaar away and I want to see entire Solar system"

Me: "But it is very cold there... and why not to Pluto?"

Dwij: "Arre mausi, I will take mota sweater no... and don't worry I will bring Pluto for  you." (Pluto for him is mickey mouse's dog, LOL"

#2

Spider Man to the rescue

Dwij: "We have landed on Neptune but aliens have attacked us... Aaahhhhhhhhhh.......... Run........... 

They have taken Gori, I will fight them. Oh my Gun doesn't work... Help! Help!"

Me: "Did anyone came for help?"

Dwij: "Yes spider man..." 

(You can see spider man fighting off aliens in the photograph)

#3

Planning next mission

Me: "Spider man saved Gauri, what do you both do now?"

Dwij: "We fly in the space and have tails" (i.e. him referring to the photograph of the 2 astronauts roaming in the space attached to the cable)

Me: "It is a cable pagal, how can you develop tails?"

Dwij: "Aliens gave them to us. They bit us. Now we can fly and go to any planet"

Me: "Oh Ok. Which is the next planet you want to go to?"

Dwij: "Mercury"

Me: "Its too hot on mercury betu. You will burn..."

Dwij: "No mausi, I will take AC with me. It will be cool" 

Me: rolling on floor laughing at his cute innocence.

Above were a few small, simple but innocent and interesting conversations I had with a four year old and there were many more...

I thank Colgate for sending me those packs using which I had a memorable evening with my nephew. I hope you buy the pack too and have same with your dear kids as well.

I’m blogging my #ColgateMagicalstories at BlogAdda in association with Colgate.

Love and Cheers

An Amazing Experience at Amazon.in

#Random

We all shop online and nowadays Amazon.in is the most common platform for most of us (it is for me atleast)...

I buy everything online, from clothes to grocery -with a tiny little baby one hardly gets anytime to spare to go out and shop, isn't it. Given I buy everything online I decided to buy my baby's cradle as well. One rule that I follow though is, I never buy a 'non-returnable' product as you never know what problem might occur.

Now, I researched a lot on cradles and discussed with friends. The most recommended one was a little unusual one but given two of my friends' kids have used it I decided to go for it (with difference that they bought it from a shop).
I usually buy 'fulfilled by amazon' products but sadly this was not in it. And this type of cradle was only one. I took my chances based on recommendations but it was not the one for me. 

The product was damaged. The cloth was torn, net was torn, hinge caps were broken and most importantly the cloth was of such poor quality that I feared that if I placed my baby in it, it might tear and hurt him severely -not acceptable condition at all. Of course I decided to return but much to my shock (not surprise) the product was non-returnable. I checked product site again and seller cheated, nowhere it was mentioned that product was non returnable. 

Of course it was not a cheap item for me to let go -even if it was, I can't stand cheats. 

I called customer care immediately. The return of the product was not in their hands. But, they understood my concern. They asked me to send the pictures and they contacted seller. The seller refused to do anything -I guess they forgot that they delivered damaged product. But amazon is pretty good at its services (I found out through this experience), they checked out the pictures I sent and refunded the amount immediately. Not just did they refund my money, they didn't even ask for the product back. They simply let it go. I am not sure what I am going to do with this product but I am never going to use it for my baby.

The product in question is: 

I have never been happier with the services of an online seller. I decided to share this story mainly because I always hear how online sellers cheat or do fraud, but no one talks about good experiences. I just wanted to change that...

Love and Cheers

Finding my 'smile' again

#MagicOfWarmth  #Smile

Falling in love is easy, but to keep on falling in love is most difficult. 

Life is one big melodrama, isn't it? The more in-depth you think about it the more drama you find in it.

Talking about my life, I met my husband 9 years ago and fell in love with him instantly. I could never believe how someone can be so kind, polite, loving, caring and responsible. He was the perfect man and I didn't miss a moment in making him mine. So, we got married and everything was just perfect - well everything except one thing. Although, we lived alone but we were never alone. We always had a shadow of family. We moved to South Africa and even then the shadow followed. I started hating everything that we had - that was just work and no holidays. We never went anywhere because we had to save money (for family) and we didn't take break because we had to save up holidays to go back to our 'family'.

I started to feel I was losing my smile, my happiness and even my marriage. I saw everything falling apart when one fine day he asked me join him for a long drive. I love long drives but to my utter surprise he took me on a very long drive – 1300 kms to be precise. It was our anniversary week and he planned a whole week out. We both were in same department and somehow he managed to get us both a week's holiday. In whole week he planned a trip of 5 cities, and it was simply blissful. I couldn't believe that he planned everything from hotels to candle-lit dinners and my job was just to cherish each moment. 

As we drove six hours straight I asked him, "Why?" It's not that I was not happy, but it's just that I had never seen this side of him. He was so swamped in work and responsibilities that I had lost touch with the man I fell in love with and that day I saw a glimpse of him. 

He held my hand and replied, "You believe that I don't see how sad you are, but I actually do. I am sorry for neglecting you for so long"

Tears brimmed my eyes at his sentiment. I know he loves me but it was the first time he had shown such sentiment. 

"Happy 3rd anniversary" he continued and gently kissing my hand he pressed hard on accelerator for neither of us could wait to arrive our destination.

Next morning I woke up with a sweet memory of last night and romantic dinner. It was incredible.

"I don't remember when last you woke up with a smile on your face" my husband smiled as he caressed my hair. A feeling of warmth spread through my body as I realized, 'Yes, I too don't remember when I smiled like this before', but in that moment, in my smile, in his smile, I knew - 'I have fallen in love with him, again'

And just like that, we rekindled our love and laughed together into the beautiful morning.

I’m blogging about my #MagicOfWarmth moment at BlogAdda in association with Parachute Advansed Hot Oil

Love and Cheers

My 'Jug' - My 'Lifeline'

#DearZindagi

Life is not fair but it does makes up for it... my life made up for all past miseries by giving me the perfect husband i.e. my lifeline.

We met 8 years ago and in few days will complete six years of marriage and I cannot ask for a better partner. He is the sweetest, smartest and kindest person in this whole world and life has been a little too generous for giving him to me.

You won't believe but most days we spend 24 hours together. People in my office know this because we are in same department and everyone is always in aww that how come two people - who are so different that they seem like opposite poles of Earth can gel together so well. My colleagues many times say - "I would rip my hubby's hair if I had to spend so much time with him" or "We would kill each other" or "I need my space" and etc. etc. but for me I am in my perfect space. Any space that doesn't involve him is a void for me and I know for sure he feels the same.

He is one person with whom I can share anything and everything. Many girls complain about their husbands to their mothers but in my case it is opposite. Even if I have a complaint against him, I can talk to him directly and he listens (not that he implements but yes he lets me blabber and ease up my heart). And he does the same... If we have any issues we don’t burden our hearts with them, we just speak and that make us what we are... Best Friends. 

He is one person on whole planet who knows all my secrets, the ones from before marriage as well –shh… some are rather big ones and he is fine with them. If something good or bad happens he is the first person I tell and same is with him, I am the first person he tells and in case we are not able to connect then and there, you should see how restless we get. Haha!

Also, you won’t believe he even knows which all actors I find hot and sexy and he is totally fine with them –and when someone ask him he is like as if she is gonna get him… LOL!

My life is sweet and complete now just because I have the best partner in my life. I can’t believe God has been so kind to me and I hope I never jinx it. Because, as you can imagine, without him, even a moment in my life is impossible and fruitless. And I don’t think I can ever survive.

Yup, that’s my ‘jug’ aka my lifeline aka my soulmate. Who is yours?

PS: I am writing about Jug in my life for the #DearZindagi activity at BlogAdda.

Love & Cheers

A letter to Zindagi - You were harsh but you made it worthwhile...

#DearZindagi  #ShortStory

Dear Zindagi

Growing up you were so harsh... with parents always away, you kept us surrounded with weird relatives who, if I recall properly, didn't give a damn about us. I still remember those days, coming back from school, eating stale cold lunch and then studying in anticipation mom will come back soon. I remember praying to fall sick so that mom will take a day off with me and will be there just for me... well why crib now as all this is in the past. And no matter what happened back then, I am still grateful to you for everything you have given as well. 

To start with I thank you for giving me a baby brother when I was ten. He brought a new sense of purpose in my life. The only reason why I wanted to get back to my home. Thank you for giving me a reason to protect and love someone like I have never loved and protected anyone. You gave me sense of responsibility and maturity.

Later you gave me a good college and lovely friends. You know how I made no friends in school, yes it is a tragic thing but girls were mean there and I am glad I made none. But in college you gave me awesome time where I could be me and made the best of friends with whom I am still in touch and love.

You also gave me a good job, that too at college placement and I still can't believe that I alone got placed. You not only made me do good there but also helped me find the man I truly love and adore. And much to my surprise, he reciprocated the feelings and despite all my flaws and darkness, he is with me for eight years now. Thanks to you I will have him forever and I cherish him everyday of my life.

You also laid down path for me and helped me be a writer. Sadly I not as successful I had dreamed but it is work in progress and I am sure you will work some miracles soon, LOL!

Now when I look back I realize that yes, you have been extremely harsh at times. I could barely make friends or relate to people growing up. You kept me so introvert that even writing this makes me nervous but I am grateful. I am thankful to you for shaping my life in such a way and if ever got a chance, I wont change a bit about you from the past because you made me what I am today. All the distress and the tiresome tests have made me a better person and I am happy. 

Thank you for giving me a happy and content today and hopefully a better future. I am glad to be living the way I have always dreamed of and all thanks to you my Zindagi. Have you turned back on me, I don't know where I would be... 

I believe it is rightfully said, when life takes you through hell, just keep going... you never know where you might end up. Well, I ended up in my self-made heaven,  I hope you give the same to everyone too.

PS:  I am writing a letter to life for the #DearZindagi activity at BlogAdda

Love & Cheers

शून्य - a place to be...

#RandomThoughts  #ShortPoem

संघर्षों से थक कर, कई बार मैं यूं ही खो जाती हूँ 

तब मैं खुद को शून्य में ताकती पाती हूँ 

ज़िन्दगी के हर सफर में हमसफ़र बनता ये शून्य 

इसही में मैं समाती हूँ , और यहीं वक़्त बिताती हूँ 

PS: Written for Indispire Edition 141:Write a post on 0 (Zero). Write anything- humour, short story, haiku, poem, or a memory.

Introducing my book: Live-in with a Ghost

#Books  #Personal

I have received many feedbacks regarding how writing reviews on my blog have helped other authors. So, given it is my 100th post yay!, I decided to do something for myself.

Through this post I would like to introduce my book (which was published almost a year ago) to all my blogger and reader friends. The title of my book is - 'Live-in with a Ghost' which is a romantic fantasy and touches upon supernatural aspects.

Many people have asked me how I came across with this idea and here is how. When I wrote the book we were in South Africa and like always my husband was super busy. Given we were in foreign country, we had literally no friends and I had no one to share my feelings and grievances. Hence, just like we used to do in our childhood I created an imaginary friend and started talking. People laugh at this notion and some called me crazy but it helped me - it helped me my sanity and marriage. My imaginations took a wild turn when I thought what if I had a partner who was just for me? Unlike my super-busy husband he would pay full attention only to me - I know it's selfish - but through this thought I started a story in my head which eventually turned into a novel.

The story of my book is a simple love story where a girl meets a boy in most unusual circumstances. Where she, Jia, is a human, he, Jai, is a ghost. And not just a regular haunting ghost but a ghost of a man who is in coma for quite sometime. Yes, he is alive and it complicates things. Initially super scared of him, she later befriends him and then falls in love. Their love story is obviously complex as people from two dimensions cannot survive together long but somehow they manage... How? Is the part which you can know if you read the book.

Many reviewers have told me that the book reminds them of a Hollywood movie but I cannot repeat it often but the creation of this story was my own, I don't indulge in plagiarism. On a positive note, I take proud in thinking that I was able to cook up a story which was worthy enough to have a movie on similar lines.

The blurb of the book is: "Jia & Jai have a unique love story where she is human and he is a ghost. They meet during an out-of-body experience after an accident. Although from different worlds, she is simple middle-class journalist and he is a rich playboy, they fall in love instantly. During the adventure of their relation they both go through various exciting events which include tears, laughter, love and even fighting-off goons. Throughout their relation, the only thing Jia fears is what if he wakes up and forgets her. And in the end of the story he does wake up but if he remembers her is yet to be known..."

I hope I was able to intrigue you a bit about my book and you would like to check it out. If so, please help out a fellow blogger and click on links below to grab yourself a copy.

Paperback on Amazon: http://www.amazon.in/Live-Ghost-Kritika-Sharma/dp/9384315133

Kindle Edition: https://www.amazon.in/Live-ghost-Kritika-Sharma-ebook/dp/B01CIYUSHU

Flipkart: http://www.flipkart.com/live-in-ghost-english/p/itmeczumaythzdn3?pid=9789384315139

Or, you can get a copy from me. Just message me your details. :)

Please leave your comments, I would love to hear from you.

Love and Cheers,

Laundry Goes Odd Even - A Wonderful Initiative

#ShortStories  #LaundryGoesOddEven

PC: www.huffingtonpost.ca

Ariel has taken  a big initiative of making laundry not just 'women's chore'. Unlike the super flop
Delhi's odd even rule, Ariel's "Laundry goes Odd-Even" is a wonderful initiative.

In most households people believe washing clothes is a women's task and so is being promoted by many other players like Surf Excel, Tide etc. Even in an advert of Surf Excel they say - 'we cannot wash clothes better than your mom', as if a mom's hands will add magic touch which will magically disappear all stains. The perception is wrong and the concept is wrong. And Ariel is trying to change it and hats off to this initiative.

My family is very different, I believe it is one of the very few families in India where my father supports my mother by doing laundry and my husband supports me. It's not like they wash it with their hands but doing so using washing machine is also a huge help. Every woman (working or homemaker) will agree. However, I have seen so many other families of my friends and relatives where still the husband sits on the couch watching TV /reading something /or just pretending to do so while the wife works her ass off. We should stop that and all husbands should understand that if they will act like this, similar will be the situation of their daughters.

Laundry is just one part of daily chores and all men should understand that in today's world where women go out and work equivalently with men, men should also help equivalently at home.

I am taking part in the #LaundryGoesOddEven Challenge by Ariel India at BlogAdda. 
And in this initiative I received a complimentary 1KG pack of Ariel Matic which both my husband and I used alternatively. Given its just us in our home we don't get many soiled clothes to wash every day to follow odd - even by dates, but we have decided to go odd - even on turns to wash in a loving peaceful way. I wish every couple decides to do this and not just by dates or days but through turns. Because, I wonder (not accusing anyone) if, for example, all odd days are assigned to men, will any clothes be ever washed on those day ;)

This initiative is a big step in right direction and we all hope it brings a positive change in Indian culture.

I hope this post/video/initiative brings some change in your household too.

Love and Cheers

Poem - Her Melancholy

#MyPoems

When you are harassed

Nothing comes to mind

Just that you are alone

And the world is blind

The same she feel some days

Some days when she is sad

Wondering if things will go back ever

To times when it was not so bad

As the loneliness surround her

And misery envelopes her to core

She hopes he realizes her pain

And let it not become a chore

It's not him who is at fault

She is miserable because of his name

He still loves her to his soul

But sadly he is only the 'one' she can blame

~~Kritika Rajat Sharma

PS: Not written basis personal experiences

Love and Cheers

Happy Holi - Sweet Memories :)

#KhulKeKheloHoli  #ShortStories

Holi, the festival of colors and by far my favorite holiday. I like Diwali too, we get to wear new clothes and decorate the house on Diwali but I am against crackers, I don't like the noise and smoke. However Holi is completely different. It is beautiful, peaceful and one day to be yourself with the people you love.

Unfortunately, now we don't get the chance to play Holi like we played before, you see we all are grown ups and all the cousins and friends are scattered. Most of my friends are allergic to colors so the fun has gone, however, when I close my eyes and think about this festival I remember my childhood days.

I don't remember exactly how old I was back then but there is one year which I relive each time. Back then we lived in one big house with seven families in it. Our home had five kids (four girls and one boy) around ten years old (including myself) and six teenagers. As you can imagine, when one house has so many kids what would happen on Holi. My aunt, badi taiji, had warned us all for weeks to play outside as every year we spray color all over walls and ruin them. Yes, we were very scared of her but we didn't pay any heed to her warnings, well you know - bura na mano Holi hai. 

Our plans always pre-dated its date. My mother massaged our hairs for a week with coconut oil to save them from damage and made us apply mustard oil each day so that it is able to protect our skin on the D-day. Also, you see Holi always fell around our exams and our parents were exceptionally cautious for us to play with water. They didn't want us to fall sick but we always successfully sneaked out and get all wet. Well, once you are wet thoroughly, no one can stop you. So we did the same that year. We all woke up early and began our day filling water balloons. Now I think about it, it is not very polite to throw water-balloons - especially filled with hard color water but try it to explain to a ten year old. We filled all the buckets with colored water and planted them around the house to throw it on everyone who comes in today. We were all ready but our taiji caught us. She threw us out of the house but we had our fun. We played for hours and enjoyed. Tore each other's clothes and played in mud. It was epic. However when we came in all colored she hit my cousin brother. Yes, sometimes she just lost it. You ruined the floors, she yelled.

All fun lost we went to our rooms crying. However my brother, who was naughtiest and seriously

pissed for being hit decided to take revenge. He came up with a conspiracy. See we had two water tanks in our house, one on roof which was connected to all bathrooms and second underground which was used in case of emergencies. My naughty brother pulled out the trick we were planning (but never executing) for two-three years now. He gathered all the packets of hard colors from us and poured them in the main tank right before our taiji was about to take a shower. She doesn't play Holi, it ruins her skin. When she started her shower, water was all clean but during her bathe it turned colorful and she came out yelling and screaming and in all shades of pink, blue and black.

No, that's not us!

Well, we could not have laughed harder that day or beaten up as well. But it was totally worth it. Every time since then we think about Holi we only remember her colored face and every time we are not able to contain our laughter. Yes, we were very naughty. It took our family more than  a week to get the tank cleaned up, they put us to the task and we had a blast doing so.

Yeah, now when I think about it, we never celebrate Holi like we before. I wish I could be back in my childhood and spend one more Holi with all my cousins. Dance with them on all epic songs and eat my mother's famous Holi special samosas again. Sigh! 

Hope you have fun with Holi and are blessed with loving moments.

"I’m pledging to #KhulKeKheloHoli this year by sharing my Holi memories at BlogAdda in association with Parachute Advansed.”

Love and Cheers