A healthy child makes a happy home

A healthy child makes a happy home ----and no contradiction ---every home with a baby knows how the moods of the family and even the brick and mortar structure changes with the happiness or sadness of a child .

The moment a child gets a scratch all the members run with a helping hand antiseptic is applied , someone runs to fetch a doctor ,debates crop up weather a bandage should be applied or not people loose their cool ,arguments start taking shape animosity crops up all only because they can not see a child in pain .And the moment the kid starts feeling well every one is relaxed and they who had become enemies suddenly become the best of friends because they understand the others concern .

The brick and mortar structure too which was looking forlorn due to the reflections of the inmates moods suddenly becomes cheerful and alive .

This was when a small scratch is the cause of concern But if the anomaly is something more serious. A fever or some infectious disease the matter takes a serious turn ,an aura of gloom envelopes the household and not only the house even their friends start sharing the concern and try to do their best to help the family and the ill child. More so because as we all know with growing population and unconcerned environmental devastation resulting in pollution nearly all illnesses take a very serious turn as a health hazard.

A small fever becomes swine flu ,  another one becomes typhoid , then there is that unheard name leptospira which again is an infection leading to high fever and resulting in death at times, its  cause being adulterated food or exposure to rodents .Not to forget the latest EBOLA virus which is again a deadly infection --in fact deadliest infection at the moment .

The main reason behind this increase in infectious diseases is reduced immunity in children and adults .

Most of us have lost our ability to fight against infections which is the result of TWO main factors the increasing habit of taking medicines for the slightest discomfort or  OVER MEDICATION  and two our unhealthy eating habits and to some extent our unhealthy  habits of personal hygiene.

Over medication destroys our ability to fight diseases  it does give us immediate relief but in the long run it reduces our immunity towards diseases.

And secondly and MOST important reason is faulty eating habits which do not give us nutrition but only increase our body flab , our cholesterol and these in return increase stress and lead to a weak immune system which not only succumbs to infections but also results in Life style diseases like cardiac problems , diabetes etc .  We need some tonic which can help us revamp and rejuvenate our immune system 

We need to see smiling and dancing healthy children instead of children wrapped in shawls and waiting in hospital corridors , we need to see children running after butterflies plucking flowers in the garden instead if children sneezing and coughing and sitting indoors looking longingly at the bright sunlight , we need to see children playing football in the rain making paper boats and floating them in the rain water rather than children sitting hunched up in their parents laps and peeping at the beautiful rain outside .

Immunity is the body’s most reliable defense against diseases and it can be made stronger. by proper food habits , proper exercise and by taking some good tonic like DABUR Chyavanprash

Dabur Chyawanprash,  has a number of herbs like Amla,  one of the best antioxidants, Giloy (Guduchi), known to have immuno-modulatory properties, and many more  natural ingredients like Ashwagandha , satavari , Bala Vidarikand etc . these components of Dabur Chyawanprash increase the  immunity thus   protecting  children  against illnessess.

Another very serious anomaly is the condition of our teeth ---Oral Hygiene --and I was surprised to learn that oral hygiene plays a very important role in leading to cardiac diseases because infections from dirty teeth , enter the bloodstream, attach to blood vessels and increase clot formation.  also inflammation caused by gum disease may also trigger clot formation. and Clots decrease blood flow to the heart,and this may result in high blood pressure and heart attacks .For this the easiest cure is to keep our teeth clean and brush regularly with a good tooth paste -- not only heart disease which attacks the adults at a later stage in life BUT the sight of a child in agony with a tooth ache is no less cruel as we all know tooth ache is an absolutely  unbearable form of pain so lets put our children in the habit of brushing their teeth regularly with a good toothpaste may be like DABUR  RED TOOTH PASTE.

So friends if we want to spare our bundles of joy the agony of  heaps of pain lets give them a healthy life style .
Here's wishing you all a Happy Diwali KEEP SMILING  with those imps and chimps who matter so much to you and who are not only your heirs but heirs to the nation as well 


my entry for https://www.liveveda.com/daburchyawanprash/.

Gharwali diwali

Diwali

Lord Ram together with Sita and Lakshmana came back from  exile and the people of Ayodhya lighted lamps to welcome them.


And thus it became a festival of home coming ---and to date it is exactly what it is a "festival when everyone looks forward to being with his/hers family" .A person is saddest when he/she is away from his family on Diwali night .

And here is a memoir of mine which I would like to share with all you friends.

It was four months since  we had got engaged and we still had a wait of 5 more months before we were to get married --so we would try and meet each other whenever possible his work place was 250 kms from my city and he would come over to our place at the smallest pretext ---and Diwali was a big pretext .  

By the way let me tell you in our days there were no mobiles etc and the only way of communicating used to be letters There were telephones but then no STD facilities and moreover talking to your fiance was a bit awkward so letters were more welcome and whats more we could read and re read them in the privacy of our rooms whenever we felt like .

So "He" wrote to me that he would be coming over for diwali he would reach Nagpur the day before Diwali and leave the day after  --so I was on cloud nine  busy arranging the house telling mom to make and buy his favourite sweets etc.

 Come Diwali eve and we waited and waited for him but no news We were a bit worried but couldn't do anything because as I have written earlier there were no mobiles to contact nor were P.C.Os so readily available .One had to book trunk calls and then wait for the PP to arrive So there was no way I could contact him in the middle of the night --the only option was to  see what could be done in the morning So we went off to sleep 

Suddenly the bell rang at 5 in the morning I was the first to run to the door --opened it and there HE was shivering in the cold .November in those days used to be jittery cold no Global Warming had taken place .
.I was delirious with relief and happiness but he thought I was angry for the delay and started apologizing .

He told us that he had taken the train the day before but some derailment en route had made the train cancel its journey forward so he and some other passengers had decided to share a taxi and the taxiwala too knowing their plight had demanded rupees 200. as against the normal 50.
The taxi hired by them was one of those kinds which have all parts except the horn making a noise  and midway the door gave way as a result he sat all throughout holding the door and protecting himself from falling down --what with all his co passengers piling  themselves on him in their sleep.

 He said even tulsidas would not have done so much for his wife  and tears found their way from  out of my eyes tears of concern for him and of happiness too.

Anyway came diwali night and we were all in the best mood and busy in the celebrations when my brothers and sisters lighted a bunch of ladis ( small string like crackers which make a lot of noise)" just next to where the two of us were standing and we were caught unawares result !!! the sound of those crackers made us stumble into each others arms much to the amusement of the youngsters and embarrassment for us .I went about hiding my face from him and from the elders in the house .


In fact even the elders had enjoyed and pretended to look the other way instead of scolding the naughty teenagers .

Today of course we smile when we think of that episode But that day !!! its was all embarrassment and nothing else I felt as if I had committed a crime .

Whats more my children too have been told of that incident and they tease us every diwali .

So here was my anecdote of Gharwali diwali rather his anecdote for diwali with would be Gharwali.

my entry for https://www.gharwalidiwali.com/.

   <iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/sQ7lMDWJOXA" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>  

murder solved

This is the story
of Old Mcartney
a partner of Mcartney
& Mcartney  the firm.
He was the senior attorney
and a famous attorney
of  Mcartney & Mcartney the firm.
 

As he reached the gates
of his royal estate
he saw the gate-keeper
skimper away
Now that was unusual
so the furious septuagenarian
brought himself to open the gate

But he was unaware
this was a plot and a snare
where he was the unsuspectng bait
A bullet was shot
which went through  his heart
and he slumped on the soil
clear dead.
***
the Detective then came
with  reporters in pursuit
the news like wild fire
was spread.

The suspects were summoned,
five females ,and a son,
not  a criminal so  hardened
the son begged for  pardon
Calling his step mother on the scene.
He then spilled around all the beans.

They had hatched a plot with thoughts  of greed
 and the gate keeper ,to shoot the master agreed
It was a plotting in haste----no one was chaste
So all the three--- in the police dragnet.
were now cooling their heels



The inspector
and sleuth
were friends in their youth
they shared the applaus and accolade
the media anounced
they were better than hounds
and no crimminal would
they let escape .

My low cal anniversary dinner

My wedding  anniversary celebrations demand that I invite my brother's  and my sister's families over for dinner so it was the same this time too ---what was different was that it had to be a low cal dinner by  popular demand ---and it had to be delicious too on hubby's demand . It was as if everyone had teamed up against me to test my culinary talent ---one would ask why did I feel they were all against me !! yes!! because how can one specially a Bharatiya Naari  make a delicious celebration dinner which is  low in calories .

But I took up the challenge HUM KISI SE KUM NAHI and I teamed up with Borosil to give these people a. run for their smartness

the menu was

starters

 ---it had to be something piping hot because mine is a december wedding and 14th december is nearly always biting cold --so I had thick tomatoe soup served in borosil cup and saucer  and I had prepared it by boiling tomatoes, carrots ,onions and ginger and straining the puree twice thickened it by adding cornflour and then I heated one teaspoonful of ghee put in some very minutely chopped  onion and switched off the gas immediately ; this  was the garnish which gave the soup the desired flavour but cheated it of any calorie after all how many calories can you get by using one   tea spoonful ghee for 15 people  and just before serving I sprinkled white pepper powder and 3 drops each of cream in the soup cups ---oh yes there were croutons too not fried bread but toasted bread.


I had served this soup in my borosil cup and saucer from my tea set---I had put the croutons  in the saucer and soup naturally in the cups; everyone liked this idea as it made drinking soup easy without sitting down at the table  I had stolen  this idea from a very old Film awards function night where I had seen a picture of Dev Anand tasting the soup served in cup and saucer  It  not only keeps the soup warmer for long it is easy to drink too specially during a buffet as one can even keep the crutons  in the saucer and add them as and when required and the beautiful  Borosil transparent products always enhance the beauty of the food ----it all looked so beautiful bright red soup in transparent cups and croutons heaped alongside in the saucers.

next were the snacks

purely desi

Horse gram soaked overnight boiled with a little salt served both warm and cold with lots  of raw onion, , fresh coriander leaves and chopped tomatoes in borosil transparent bowls ---and GOD were the guests bowled over YESSS ... Chane chatpate to their hearts content I had also kept a bowl full  of salted curd churned nicely ,sweet and sour imli ( tamarind ) chutney and extra onions and tomatoes chopped in case anyone needed ---and a small borosil  katori of chopped green  chillies for hubby dear and yes lots of lemon slices looking so pretty peeping from out  of  the borosil bowls

now wasn't that healthy, low cal ,and pretty too!!


Main course


chhole---made without any oil ----it was made by boiling  soaked chick peas  with  salt and tea leaves tied in a small cloth bag  and pressure cooked  on opening  the cooker one is forced to  smile at the lovely dark brown colour of the chhole then add garam masala powder or the chhole masala powder you get in the market  and empty in a transparent borosil container keep aside ready to eat; before serving heat in a microwave add raw onions dhaniya  patti( coriander leaves) mix properly sprinkle some of these on the top just as a decorative garnish together with lime wedges and green chillies-----hai na low cal ?!!

Now I didn't want to be thought of as a desi cook who doesn't know any foreign cooking ---like the trend where every housewife must know some baked dishes etc etc so I served poached fish.

poached mackarel made with Bangda fish placed head to tail in cooker and cooked by covering with  onions, pepper corns, clove,s garlic and salt a  little  vinegar ,water and bay leaves cooked  in the pressure cooker  for about 3 mts in full pressure  removed from cooker by releasing pressure placed in  Borosil serving dish  and poured the liquid which was left in the cooker by making it into a sauce served really hot garnished with coriander leaves and slit green chillies for decoration only .---and like always borosil enhanced the beauty, what with the sauce and fish looking delicious through the transparent glass and the greens adding colour 

chicken too was made in the same way I used the same recipe and and everyone RELISHED ---only it took slightly more time and the masala had ginger too plus I did not add any green garnish .Chicken drumsticks   don't need any decoration Transparent Borosil is all that they need I had used only drumsticks the rest of the chicken was stored in the fridge for some other day



My sister in law is a vegetarian so it was hariyali gobhi for her ---cauliflower and brinjals cooked in   very little oil about 2 tablespoonfuls  which has  one spoonfull  urad  dal  mustard seeds and when it starts spluttering add chopped brinjals and cauliflower  and for the masala add a paste of green coriander leaves and green chilles cover and cook on slow heat and the aroma is heavenly ---empty this green wonder in a borosil bowl to be heated in a microwave before serving no garnishing required just  enjoy the beautiful green colour showing itself off from inside the tranparent borosil container and watch the guests attack and devour tempted by the beautiful  green colour  and tempting taste enhanced by the extraordinarry   aroma of the dhaniya patti and hari mirch combine ..

Rice was plain boiled decorated with green peas, and a dash of grated orange carrot---  and again no other decoration needed to enhance the white fluffy boiled rice except for letting the green peas and orange carrot flakes peep through transparent borosil.

Wheat was represented by  phulkas hot and fluffy coming one after the other from my kitchen thanks to the maid who had agreed to stay back and help.

There was raita too made of grated cucumber and decorated with circles of red chilly powder, roasted cumin powder , and an outer circle of green chillies very finely chopped and I had made the borosil container have an orange rim by turning it upside down and coating it with a very fine film of chilly powder --so as to not affect the taste but enough to give it a nice look ---


And now the desert ----LOW CAL one

kumdha kheer----rich ripe yellow pumpkin grated and boiled with milk you  don't have to thicken the milk the kumdha is so rich in taste that just  two or three  boils and the taste is heavenly --no need to fry the pumpkin or thicken the milk---just pour the stuff into  transparent Borosil container sprinkle some nuts and raisins for colour contrast  and keep aside so that it can be reheated in a microwave just before serving  and served without any botheration of changing vessels etc.and disturbing the garnish.

frozen cake-----for the foreign touch  ---broke a double pack of marie biscuits into big crumbs rubbed half cup of butter  and two ripe bananas into this I  added  two handfuls of almonds walnut and ,raisins and a few drops of vanilla essence and put it in the freezer it did  freeze but wasn't  very hard because I had added bananas instead of pure butter the bananas helped in binding and keeping the fat content comparatively low sprinkled with a generous amount of pomegrenate seeds just before serving.

 It was the most colourful pudding ( not exactly a cake ) showing off its pink and white hues from  inside the transparent bowl


AND


dahi panchamrit --- dahi sweetened with sugar free (the one for the kids had sugar ) had chopped basil (tulsi) leaves and chopped  apples and pomegranate seeds and this was a surprise item because it tasted heavenly and was an innovation on panchamrit which we make during puja but which has lots of dry fruits in it
The chopped basil gave it a pure and fresh aroma and the various colors of fruits a colourful hue like a rainbow  peeping from out of the borosil 

All  of these were very low calorie dishes --and the gathering agreed to it --and hubby's countenance proved  that the stuff was delicious too and the fact that I had used all transparent borosil products added so much to the looks that it  enhanced the taste . Whatever was lacking in the cooking was made up by the crockery.


Then there was coffee too brewing in the Borosil kettle and brought straight to the table for each one to help themselves .

OH What a dinner and the resulting satisfaction after the victory told me what sibling rivalry was .First they test then I win then they applaud . All in good faith


my entry for Borosil My  beautiful  food contest on indiblogger  link being

 http://www.myborosil.com/

My Car connect experience

I am one of those who is always on the lookout for contests on Indiblogger ---of course the main reason is to be able to win prizes ---now ! now !who doesn't want that BUT another very important reason is it gives me a topic to write about  and makes my grey cells  get into the active mode --- I wouldn't be flaunting my thirst for knowledge (in other words showing off) if I said that when I start writing for these contests I learn so many new things about the concerned  products. In fact at times I come across a New Product itself as in this case of  CARCONNECT.IN.

When I logged into this web site I discovered that car connect is such an important site for everyone.

People of all ages and social strata can benefit by joining this site . When I say ages I mean the age group beginning  from 10 because at that age  one is in standard V and has learnt to read ,write and understand ----and wouldn't a boy of ten want to know all about cars . How he would love to boast among his friends about the details  regarding different cars , their price the various features the mileage it gives (being an Indian the knowledge about  "kitna deti hai is so important" hahah ).( but of course you will have to log in or  may be let him share your password for this  particular site won't he be excited and won't you become the best parent )

Carconnect is a site which provides one  with facilities like , Comparison between different cars , Car news  and  about new Car launches etc .

Only if this site was available a few years back it would have made deciding what car to buy so easy Not like how it was for us depending upon word to mouth publicity ---sometimes true sometimes misleading.

Though let me share a secret ,. There was a certain Mr X  in our small   township and he was an expert in Cars   we  would always keep an eye on the car this Mr X owned whenever we had to buy a car we  would go in for the same  car as this guy because his acumen could be relied upon. without any hitch.--it never let us down ---now wasn't that intelligent of us !!! You would say why didn't you people ask this Mr X for his advice instead of  being silent admirers and followers WELL   I am still wondering as to WHY didn't we .? that would have been much easier nahi kya ? but then there is a thing called EGO too nahi kya ?

Anyways

So if we would have had sites like CARCONNECT in those  days, we would have saved ourselves so much of  trouble.Just log into the site and click on the various facilities offered , click on the information wanted and hey presto get all the details within 48 hours .Features  like  compare cars ; car news ;  new launches of various companies etc  similarly while embarking on long journeys Car connect could  provide us with all the route details.

No sweat ----if we couldn't reap the benefits of  a site such as Car Connect at least our children are lucky to be contemporaries to this amazingly helpful site. And we will share their experiences and enjoy --in fact I am sure my kids would love to put the responsibilities of the Travel  Department right from buying their car ( money of course they will have to shell out ) for them ,to arranging their trips . I would love to oblige them .
With all details just a click away I can always play the dependable mom and make myself indispensable to them .Thus keeping my image of Super mom intact.

By the way did you know I am a  " B Positive"---that includes my blood group  and also my  attitude towards life .
If I couldn't reap the harvests of Carconnect in my hay days I will make hay while the sun will shine on my children's farm .

This site called "car connect"
Is so important and  perfect
It chooses your car for you 
And makes you   special among the  milieu.



my entry for the CARCONNECT experience contest on indiblogger

http://www.carconnect.in

kuchh yadein college ki

Contrary to popular belief I personally think that girls from co-ed schools are more timid as compared to those from an all girls school---probably because in school they are subjected to a lot of highhanded and snooty behavior from  boys who at that age  consider girls to be inferior, sissy etc and keep on sneering at them ----in short most school boys are the  GEORGY PORGY types..

In college ,girls from these schools are reserved  but confident and know how to take care of themselves --and the boys too have by now become quite human.and gentlemanly and polite ---they are growing up you see.They now smile at the same girls they sneered at in school---getting interested in the opposite gender!!!!!! any way God Bless them .

The PG institutes have a different level of metamorphosis but that can be discussed in the PG anecdotes ---may be  next post LOL

So --  as the story goes ,I coming from a co-ed school into a co-ed college would always stear clear of any gossips involving affairs etc More so  as I was the outgoing types ,hockey,drama,music ,debates etc etc even and AIR artist (ahem not boasting the story requires this mention) so I preferred to have the label of "proud-and haughty " as both a prefix and a suffix to my name.rather than that of  a  flirt .

Most of my friends had BF's who took special care of them But  I just couldn't make myself be 'that' kind of friends with any boy .I was friendly with all but if anyone tried to come closer I would avoid them and somehow conveyed the message ---this far and no farther.

May be the ideas ingrained in me by my NANAJI were responsible for this (ref: BACHPAN  KI YADEIN)   but I was really scared of mixing with boys.

Though one day something happened which changed my whole attitude towards this  gender of the species of homo sapiens.

 It was  college election time, I had gone to the  office to pay my fees when suddenly  2 rowdy  groups entered the office entangled in a very very serious fight --the kind involving hockey sticks and iron chains with blood flowing  both from wounds as well as bloodshot eyes.They were shouting hoarsely hitting and attacking each other ---I was trapped---the fight was so serious that even the clerks and peons looked  frightened .
I was literally shaking in fear ,a boy was pushed and hit so hard that he came and fell just where I was standing I could have fainted --so scared was I .  When suddenly there was absolute silence all around and one of the ring leaders from the opposite gang  caught hold  of the boy who had fallen  then he asked me to leave the office he even asked one of his gang to escort me .Both the gangs stopped the fight  2or 3  from each   gang escorted me out of the office and then  went back into the office.

As I walked away  I heard a loud crash of  furniture  being thrown  about ---THE FIGHT HAD RESUMED--- .
 the clerks and peons were trying in vain to stop the fight ---the principal came out of his office to intervene and even threatened to call the police I don't know what happened  later on as I had left for the hostel.

 But I had discovered that CHIVALRY was not dead and thanked GOD for that.

Bachpan ki yadein

There is one school of thoughts which always associates bachpan with fun and frolic playing hide and seek ---eating sweets icecreams etc---all in all having fun .

Then there is another which tells us about the deprived children and how they have to slog for their daily bread ,go through maltreatment and abuse at the hands of drunkard fathers,step mothers and all that ---all in all sadnesss galore a great tear jerkar.---this includes the slumdog kinds too.

Two extremes--but here's my bachpan --and the middle path it followed .

My father was a mines manager and lived in the interiors (jungles of madhya pradesh and maharashtra   )so we either went to a hostel or to our grandparents for our education .I was sent to my nanaji's gaurdianship ---a true disciplinarian --- who saw to my studies ,and to my diet personally.

NOthing very sad but quite torturous --cows milk ,chyawanprash ugh !! and for every mistake I made he would make me rub my nose on the wall .
Never let me use the eraser so that even the smallest mistake boasted itself prominently on my notebook.and then that punishment. though it did help me never to repeat the mistake.

He even made me skip the rope 100 times every evening(health conscious) .

I happened to be the eldest of all the children in my joint family so whenever a new member of the clan joined school I was made to be their local guardian --imagine 9 years old myself had to take their responsibilities they commited mistakes and I was called up by mother superior-- worst was I had two uncles who were younger to me ; when I was in class 2 they were in KG1 and KG2 respectively and I had to address them as "mama' relations had their own sanctity those days --and I was their local guardian too in school.--I am sure you people must have by now started sympathising with me .

Then it was my brothers turn to join me in Nanaji's house and thank GOD he just wouldn't tolerate the patriarch's dominating ways so my parents shifted us to a hostel ---
But here too I was elder and he the younger so I was found shedding tears  when he got the caining  

One nice thing about my Grandpas house was that My granny did not allow non veg food to be cooked in the regular kitchen so that other "" kitchen ""used was like a temple to us "when will its doors open?" specially for eggs Oh what a delicacy
Tell you something though my nani did not eat eggs but she was the one who bought them she had one ABBU Mia who would come with eggs in a basket and then nani would sit on a chair: one of us kids would go and bring 2 bowls , one filled with water and Abbu mia would dip each egg in the water the ones which sank were the good ones and we would put them in the other bowl . We loved doing this job handling each egg lovingly .

Then the time to eat those eggs --hmmm --heavenly !! the aroma still wafts whenever I think of those days .
Eggs never tasted so nice ever after  ---

Then my dad got transfered to the headoffice and we shifted to a house-- the family together .
This was the time I was in the 9th standard and life had become lovely --7.45 am I would be ready for school and sit in front of the radio scribbling down in my 400 hundred pages note book what talat mahmood was singing My mother saw to it that no one disturbed me at that time .Then 8 am just as K L saigal started his song we knew we should be out of the house else we may be late for school.

We went to school on bycycles the whole lot of us and all the passers by knew us and we knew them because we were regulars on the road .and if any one of us did not cross the other at the same place everyday it meant we were either late or early.

In school I used to be a great singer and also a storyteller --would tell the girls stories of movies complete with songs

Then Hockey: in the beginning I tried to avoid but Mrs Joseph our senior teacher knew I had the makings of a great goal keeper and she ignored all my tears.Am I gratefull ?YES. 

I am also gratefull to her for pushing me on the stage and making me a good artist .

so these are my Bachpan ki yadein .
iske baad toh college "" woh kissa phir kabhi


would you like to share your bachpan ki yadein ? We would love to read each others memories do share ALL ARE TAGGED 

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