Ganesh Chaturthi - 2023 - the year of God of Wisdom gave me Self Care Wisdom

 Things that will go wrong, most obviously go wrong, but our lives keep moving forward like the cycle of seasons from one year to the next. At anytime, if we sit down quietly for 10 minutes, we can figure out so many things we would’ve done differently and our lives would’ve turned out better than it is right now - may be more glitz or glamour, more money, bigger house, a successful career or kids not missing out on opportunities that they did miss because of oversight or undersight, long - sight, short - sight (ahhhhhhh)...the list is just too long and thoughts and doubts too many. 

This is when, I switch to Youtube University or Insta College for inspiration, motivation or recommendation (or any other tion that exists out there) - daily struggles of a by choice home - maker and stay at home mom. And as I turned around to switch on the fan, I tripped over my son’s scooty - so as to remind me that I need to get him to understand about cleaning up after playing (sigh). So, getting back to my earlier point of finding “the tions” - I have realised that it only works if you have the most important ingredient in you “Inner Peace”.

When you are truly at peace, then you can filter out all the noise on any of these research platforms and get exactly what you want. The Internet is a powerful tool, but only if you know how to use it efficiently, else it is a waste of time as there is always a data traffic jam, just like my writing so far, as it’s not tied into the title of this post. So, here we go, after that loooooong introduction - I found that inner peace exists only if you fully take the control of your emotions and state of mind from everyone’s hands and firmly grab into yours, and Ganapati festival this year (2023) has become special for me for this reason.

A bihari household trying to celebrate a Marathi festival, the way it is done in Maharashtra - that was an interesting experience. Ganesh Chaturthi, traditionally, for Biharis has just been about celebrating that one day after Teej with lots of lovely vegetarian food and modak or ladoo as prasad after Ganesh pooja. My kids, this year, ensured that I get an opportunity to fulfil my wish of celebrating it with a little pomp and show and longer than 1 day. And they held my hand, every step of the way. I have been a mom and home - maker for quite some time, so mommy things come very naturally to me, but “my age things” - not so much, though it should - that’s what my daughter says to me. Everytime, she asks me about my hopes and dreams - I really have to dig deeper to get the answer, probably because moms get programmed to think that it's selfish (it's not), but I know how much of an effort it is to convince myself otherwise.

Sooooooo, coming back from the tangent, the whole idea of celebration was quite daunting, as I had no clue about how to go about it. First, I decided on the “No pictures, No Insta, FB” approach. This instantly took the pressure off grand celebrations or celebrating in a certain way. Second, I decided to do only the absolute essential things, as that is the real me. Third, was divine intervention. This is when I felt that if we take the first 2 steps towards our goal, the third step is made clear by God or any supreme power you believe in. Co - incidentally had to cancel a Ganesh Modelling class for kids, before Ganesh Chaturthi because something came up and rescheduled for Ganesh Chaturthi. Got over my fear of driving through the city on Ganesh Chaturthi, thinking there will be a lot of traffic - made me understand the celebration a little better. So, kids made their own bappa statues and brought him home on Ganesh Chaturthi. The next 4 days of pooja got done with a few “time glitches” - in terms of arti time, bhog time and stuff. But, I kept telling myself not to hyper - ventilate and enjoy myself, as that is the most important part of this celebration. We did Visarjan today, and as I finish my article -  I am already thinking about Durga Puja and Deepavali - reminding myself to enjoy this moment.

My favourite part of the day was when kids did the Visarjan of their statues - felt like a guest had come and left and now will only come next year. Truly, in my heart I felt a bit emotional, and awaiting Ganesh Pooja next year - 

गणपती बाप्पा मोरया , पुढच्या वर्षी लवकर या

On the Journey of Self Discovery

 My last post was 5  years ago, which in turn was 5 yrs after the post before it. This trend of posting after every 5 years has to stop now.

A lot has happened in these 5 years. I have been blessed with another child, who is now 4 yrs old. Life has taken a 360 deg turn and I find myself at the starting line again, but with the experience of the 360 degrees, so hoping to fair better.

The universe has been very kind to me and already gave me umpteen chances to do what I really wanted to do, but I never realised it. Faced with many challenges and circumstances. Now, this chance is a do or die. When I think about it, I feel these experiences have made me a stronger and resilient mommy and a human being.

Mommy is my  first and most favourite identifier. For the longest time, it was my only identifier and bringing up two small kids, I was happy in that small world. With my kids growing up and developing their own personalities, I got a feeling that my kids don't want "Mommy" to be my only identifier, especially my daughter. This jolted me out of my laziness and slumber to realise that I could do much more and can't hide behind the excuse of being a mommy of small kids anymore. My dearest darlings also made me realise that if they see a strong independent woman role model in front of them, the daughter would aspire to be one and son will appreciate such women. 

It's not at all what we tell kids, but all the time, it's what they see and observe. Kids learn family dynamics and husband - wife relations only by observing. If a dad keeps shouting at the mom, the kids pick up on that easily, no matter how much the father tells his kids to respect their mom. If dad doesn't respect mom, kids don't respect mom. If kids witness a lot arguments between hubby and wife, they feel insecure about their family staying together. Any ways, this topic is for another day. Today is the day of making a vow to myself.

Today, 8th August 2021, I make a solemn vow and a pinky promise to my kids that their mommy is gonna have an identity that signifies NEHA JYOTISHI, not just D/O, W/O, M/O. So, it will inspire them to have their own identity irrespective what the world thinks of that identity.

So, with renewed energy of the faith and awe my kids have towards me, I step back into the blogsphere and the world in general.

Stay Safe, Stay Calm, Stay Happy.

Flow of Thoughts

I don't know how to start....I'm really really rusty....

Has this trend of blogging ended, plateau(ed)....no clue. My last post was way back in 2012....

A lot has happened since then.....from being just Mrs...I have become a mommy and today since my dearest is out with her grandparents I finally got time to dust off my mind and my blogs.

After almost 5 years, I have accessed my blogger account to open and see what I used to be and what I used to write about.

I hope I can be more regular. For now, I need to pick up where I left off and think of things and get into a critical thinking mode.

Filling up Facebook Updates Page :)

Hi everyone,

1. All those people who are constantly bombarded by facebook showing updates I made, I'm sorry.
2. All those people who go to their facebook and see the whole news feed page filled up by me, I'm sorry.

I'm really sorry folks, please accept my humble apology.

I'm in the phase of taking baby steps back to facebook, social networking and my netlife as I call it.

Stay warm this winter.

Oh and new year resolutions almost done :).

Taking Baby Steps

As I said in my last post, I'm taking this week to plan for this year. I have also been reminded that not only should I plan for this year but also form a broader vision for at least the next 5 years.

The 5 year plan vision initially was hazy, but is now becoming clear. It helps to put in small amounts of energy in it everyday rather a big burst of energy for 2 days and then recovering from that energy loss for 1 week. That takes me to my first resolution:

Sustainable Energy levels - at least till I can maintain my Mach 3 speed, I will be flying at lesser than Mach 1.

More later....

Happy New Year !!!

New year is about new beginnings and I'm trying to make some too. One I had already made in the middle of this year - Marriage :).

Currently, on a break from everything and enjoying marital life. Learning process is on, just about a different subject. Anyways back to the topic....

A new year has begun yesterday and with it I have also decided to make new beginnings....

1. Would like to see myself more on the blogosphere.
2. Would like to see myself more in touch with the techie world (and I mean not just programming).
3. Would like to see myself pursuing my other interests.
4. Would like to see myself as a much fitter person.
5. Would like to see myself living a lifestyle I had always dreamt of since I have the resources for it (the active lifestyle, I had always thought of).

Now, can we call them new year resolutions, I don't think so. I would think of them as categories and sub-categories. New Year resolutions, as I understand, are like goals and they should be SMART (Specific Measurable Attainable Realistic Timely). I believe, the 5 points above would help me make my new year resolutions. Haven't yet made them.

I'll be using the first week of January to assess last year and make my resolution. To keep myself on track, also planning to make a road map and a rough planner, so as to track the year and evaluate my progress thorought the year.

So, wish me luck as I wish all of you luck with forming your new year resolutions.

Wish all of you and your families a very happy and prosperous new year :) :)

Haleem Zindabad!!!

This just in on cnn ibn....Haleem is about to become a state asset of Andhra Pradesh.

For those who don't know what it is, its a Ramzaan month special mutton delicacy, think of it as a mutton upma if you will with wheat and spices along with mutton. The dish has become so popular that it has now broken its seasonal bounds.

Traditionally, Haleem was found in Hyderabad only during Ramzaan. Since, its popularity has grown exponentially and reached foreign shores, a lot of places offer Haleem round the year now. So, next time you are in Hyderabad be sure to get your box of Haleem and enjoy the heavenly preparation :).