Millennial Parents

 When I snatched the smart phone from my son and downgraded to basic cell phone, he was furious, outraged and what not. He reacted as though I deprived him of his basic human right! What's wrong with tech generation kids? Right from birth they are exposed to technology. They saw their first dog on the iPad, heard their first rhyme on iPod and muttered their first word on the iPhone .These so called "ikids" are no matter very very tech savvy than their parents but they lack the exposure to the real world. It becomes a humongous problem as they become" iteens". Their phone becomes an appendage to their body and they develop separation anxiety and even withdrawal symptoms without it.

                I feel technology is being misused by many and largely by the younger generation. Every parent hands a cell phone to their children with the main intention of keeping in touch with them but it is being used for everything else. Is there a pressing need to face time your friend 10 min after dismissal or share every minute of your life on Instagram?! They are so bombarded by the notifications, text messages and blogs,that they become blind to the boring message from a caring parent trying to find about their whereabouts.
        ◦       Narcissism,materialism are the virtues being catalyzed by the cell phones.Real face to face conversation has become obsolete these days. Technocentric generation use the palm sized yet powerful gadget to meet,greet,fight and even for split ups. Warmth of the hug and hand shake have been replaced by telegraphic text messages. Heartfelt emotions emerge as "emoji s" these days!
        ◦       We as a millennial parents have one more hardship to tackle, that's the devil in the form of gadgets.In my humble opinion we need to fight against the misuse of these gadgets, to educate our kids about the consequence abusing the social media and to empower them with skills to prevent cyber bullying.Giving a cell phone to your kid is like giving a key to the world... they can use it wisely or misuse it terribly!

The Last Words

I was neither your companion nor your confidante
I was neither your spouse nor your sibling.
Yet I heard your last words!
Your sweet heart did not hear your last beat
Your soul mate did not witness your soul depart
Yet I did!
A stranger in a white coat
A stranger responding to a code
I held your hand until it turned cold
I caught your final glance until it went blank
I felt your heaving breaths until the terminal gasp
And I heard your last words... "This ain't an end but a start of another new one for my soul"!

Maternal Merits

Maternal Merits

She carried us inside her womb for nine months enduring all the gestational pain and suffering,which vanished into thin air the moment she touched our tiny hands. Soon our joy became her joy and our sorrow became hers. She clicked our first step, recorded our first word, saved our little hand prints and proudly displayed every award of ours.Tears filled her eyes when we came home crying with our scraped knees. And she jumped in joy at every triumphant moment of ours. She taught us love,value,integrity and above all forgiveness. Mom, Mum, Amma, mamma all means one thing....epitome of endless love.



                                                   Happy Mothers Day!

Missing Modesty !

In a world of Facebook,Twitter and Instagram everyone gets a platform to showcase his/her mundane to triumphant moments. However, I feel that too much unwanted and unfiltered information gets poured into the social media. Should we know what our friends ate for breakfast or what she is planning wear to a party that evening? What merit does these acts carry to get 100 "likes"? Noble deeds of many soldiers,policemen and firefighters goes unappreciated.We live in a narcissistic society where vanity runs in every one's veins and pride pulsates in every one's pulse.Who gives the bragging rights for some people?! May be they take it for granted.
Last December when Chennai was drowning in the flood,I kept pouring all the messages about the city to a whatsapp group here. I was so shocked to see that the hands of these elite ex-Chennaites were tied up in  packing their baggage for their cruise trip or buying Christmas gifts! These are the responsible citizens who will never miss an opportunity to use the spotlight to their advantage. They quickly get transformed into Mother Theresa, be it a social event or a social media.
Even in a chat group, some members are oblivious of the topic of discussion that day and keeps bombarding others with so called proud moments. These "so called" achievements my range from preparing coffee to riding a bike!Few others think that their way of living is superior to others and try to blow their trumpet on every occasion possible. They have to realize that driving a Mercedes or carrying a Micheal Kors doesn't necessarily put them in every one's friends list. There are still people in this world who give importance to the size of the heart than that of the wallet! Why is modesty missing these days? Is the spotlight that social media brings have transformed us all to fame mongers? How will the next generation  turn out to be, being bred in an ego-centric society? Where will this going to end?!

The stranger in the mirror

The cell phone rang and seeing my friend's name I excitedly reached for it.After exchanging pleasantries, she told me that she is visiting NJ on a business trip next week and would love to catch up with me. After I ended the call my thoughts flashed back to the years before the new millennium,when we were living in the "mile high" city of Denver. A serendipitous meeting of ours took us into a soulful friendship.She impressed me in the first meeting itself with her extroverted personality, genuine warmth and free spirit. Her heart was bigger than the "Rockies"and like the snow in Colorado, there was no scarcity for enthusiasm.

Though both of us had our roots in different parts of the globe we gelled instantaneously. Who would expect a sandwich and sambar combo to click ?!She opened my eyes to American way of living. Soon"Friends"and "Seinfeld" became as exciting as watching "Oliyum Oliyum"and "Chitrahaar". While my taste buds got accustomed to gustatory stimulus from pizza and pasta, my tongue imbibed her American linguistic skills. My folks back home noticed that mummy became mommy, brinjal became eggplant and curd got substituted by yogurt. Followed by much anticipated  phonetic change of rolling the "R"!

Our bond further strengthened when we sailed through maternity blues and glows together.   Then came our first bundle of joy...As a first time mom both of us experienced the excitement of all the "Firsts" together ... first nursery, first car seat,first picture etc. Both our sons marked their first car ride to each other's house when they were less than 2 weeks old. Very soon we started sharing feeding tips, parenting magazines, baby products etc. She was a mom of a totally different breed .While she remained unperturbed through the incessant crying spells of her baby, I got a panic attack even when my son burped. Taking my infant son to nearest grocery store was a Herculean task for me while she paraded the whole city with her baby like a kangaroo! 

She instilled the much needed courage in me to venture of out. She deleted the fear and insecurity, edited my social skills and saved my persona in a new file for which I will always be grateful. After we moved to NJ, life threw more challenges at me and the transformation continued... The years flew by, babies grew into toddlers then to teenagers but we didn't get a chance to meet until now.When I looked at the mirror that night I saw that the image of naive,nervous, ignorant and impulsive lady has faded away. I was happy to say good bye to that stranger in the mirror. Will my friend be happy too?

Reflections: The last day of school

Reflections: The last day of school:           Seeing my friend's daughter's picture of the last day of school took me back....20 plus years. The tension of the exam...

The last day of school

          Seeing my friend's daughter's picture of the last day of school took me back....20 plus years. The tension of the exam months was nerve-wracking in high school. As the month of February approached, we put away all our novels and replaced it with text books.Our toys became the geometry boxes as we spent hours perfecting those trapezoids and polygons. Drawing books were substituted by Biology record books as we let our artistic skills out with sketches of cockroaches and frogs. In the ensuing weeks our text books became our listening partner as we recited all our syllabuses to it,pillows as we often dozed off on it and also punching cushion to show our frustration and anger.
           After two grueling weeks of non stop studies,tension, lack of sleep,I usually become a zombie waiting for a reprieve. This was especially true for the 12th std public exams when the pressure on us was tremendous. For me it was self inflicted since I had set my goals higher and challenged a senior friend of mine that I will score higher than him. In the final year of school though, exams seemed to be never ending as we jumped from half yearly exams to 2 sets of mock exams before the final one. On the morning of the first public exam,me and my friend Geetha went to the nearby Ramar temple and prayed to all our favorite Gods.Most of the students entered the school that day with their foreheads decorated  with "viboodhi" and "kumkum" from all the temples in the "Temple City"procured by their devout parents. That was an act so typical of our pious parents, who somehow seem to have had more belief in the supernatural powers than in the intellectual capacity of their off springs! The big examination hall, silence not usual for our Craft Hall, pacing proctors, and the racing clocks... so intimidating. It made me forget my own name. Finally I was able to get my thoughts straight and pull through the first examination which was English. As I got used to the routine the tension eased a little only to surface again as more difficult and important subject tests arrived. The last exam was biology which was very crucial one for me. That time I thought the performance in that particular exam could make or break my "White coat" dreams. After reviewing the answer sheet a zillion times, I submitted it to the examiner and without even looking back, walked out. I still remember the feeling as I walked out of the hall, felt like being released from prison. Sun shine seemed brighter and air outside crisp.In the midst of hot Madurai summer, I even felt the cool Kodai breeze on my face. I was in an euphoric state. Summer vacation at last!! No books, no homework and no more taxing exams !!
         As a tradition, me and my friends used to gather outside "Aavin". "Aavin" was our favorite haunt, a combination of ice cream parlor and on-the-go snack bar and one of a kind in TVS nagar that time. We talked about latest movies, TV shows, vacations plans etc etc. That evening was very special to all of us since we said "Good Bye" temporarily to our buddies. In those days without the internet chat rooms we had to meet each other physically in their living rooms to chit chat. Similarly face-to-face encounter was our face book to show our likes ( and dislikes). That being said meeting our friends who lived only 3 miles away was a remote possibility. This was particularly very hard after we finished our 12th exams. It was a bitter sweet moment I would say. As the excitement of starting college life filled my mind, my heart was drowning in sorrow to say adieu to my dearest friends whom I have known most of my life time.Equally hard was to bid farewell to my school which by then held a special place in my heart. Having spent 14 years in the same school, I personified it, often relating to it as guardian who embraced me with open arms and a warm heart. Its vast playground lined with shady trees, compact "Craft hall",open corridors and cozy classrooms,I knew will etched in my memory forever. As I came home that evening my excitement had died down. I didn't want to change my uniform and for the first time I went to sleep in it, knowing that I will never get another chance in my life to be a school girl again.