Rashmi's Space

मिस्टर सानेंनी हळू डोळे उघडले. खिडकीतून उन्हं येत होती. खाडकन जागे झाले. दुपार झाली कि काय! घड्याळ बघितल, हुश्श, आठच वाजतायेत! पण पुढच्याच क्षणी लक्षात आलं, आठ वाजले तरी किचन मधून काही आवाज येत नाहीयेत. आज तर गुरुवार, वर्किंग डे, एव्हाना किचन मधून आवाजच नव्हे तर तर-तर्हेचे वासही यायला हवेत. डबा तयार झाला असला पाहिजे, चहा तयार झाला आला पाहिजे. पण आज कसलीच हालचाल दिसत नाही! शेजारी पहिल तर मिसेस सानेही शेजारी नाहीत. काय भानगड आहे बुआ आज?   चष्मा चढवून मिस्टर साने बेडरूम मधून बाहेर आले. मिसेस सानेंचा घरात कुठेच पत्ता नव्हता! गेली कुठे  ही? मिस्टर सानेंनी सुनबाईंना विचारायच ठरवलं. पण श्वेता त्यांना कुठे दिसेना. इतक्यात, "गुडमॉर्निंग  बाबा!" म्हणत श्वेता जांभई देत बाहेर आली आणि त्यांच्या उत्तराची वाट न पाहता, तडक  "गुडमॉर्निंग आई" म्हणत किचन मध्ये गेली. मिस्टर साने तिला काही सांगणार इतक्यात,  "अहो बाबा, आई कुठेयत?" म्हणत पुन्हा बाहेर आली. एव्हाना तिची झोप पूर्णपणे उडाली होती. "माहित नाही बुआ, मला वाटलं तुला काही बोलली असेल..."   त्यांन...

Aanya closed the nursery door as softly as possible and tiptoed to the kitchen. She drank a glass of tap water in one single gulp, filled another glassful and walked out to the living room sipping from it. She looked at the sprawling mess of toys that littered the living room floor and sighed. I need to clean up, she thought. But she also needed to sit down. Her legs, her back, practically her entire body was aching, after spending the whole day on her feet attending to her babies. Okay, I will sit down for just a couple of minutes, she decided, just a couple. The sofa had never felt so comfortable and she could feel her aching back groan with satisfaction when she placed the small cushions behind her as she sat. Suddenly she felt overwhelmed and tears welled up in her eyes. She brushed them off hastily. But this was a regular thing with her these days. She would find herself crying, without explanation, for the smallest, the most inconsequential things! And that wasn’t e...

I am on vacation this week. Okay, strictly speaking, my little one has school holidays and I am at Mum's; having a wonderful time despite working from home! Travelling over the weekend, I was totally stressed about the work week and how I was going to manage work and meet my deadlines. The only blessing was that I knew I wouldn't have to worry about my little one during this time. But I also knew I would be working through the week, much to my parents' dismay. But then again, what choice do we worker bees have! And so it was that the Monday morning dawned after Christmas. After my brother left for his work, me and my little one had breakfast with Mum and Dad; and then, even as they were still chatting, updating me on the status of my various cousins and aunts and uncles, trading latest wedding gossip and generally bringing me up-to-date on the family trivia, my little one got busy sketching and I fired up my laptop. I could see the sadness on Mum's fa...

Sharada was ready. Just before stepping out, she looked at her reflection in the mirror. A lovely lady in her fifties, wearing a gorgeous traditional silk saree stared back at her. She was wearing a glittering bindi and had even tried on the new lipstick her niece had given her for just this occasion. She wore a handful of gold bangles and bracelets, studded with diamonds to match with her necklace and earrings; she also wore toe-rings that peeked out with every step she took – understated toe-rings that spoke nothing of the fact that they were custom made, just for her. Sharada smiled at her reflection, and just before the thoughts caught up with her, decided to move on. Now was not the time to give in to those thoughts.   It was time to go downstairs and join her husband Ram, in welcoming their guests for the evening. Today they were giving a grand reception to her youngest daughter-in-law. Funny how the mind works, she thought. Most people wouldn’t put it this wa...

This is a sponsored post for Colgate's #MagicalStories and was first published on MyCity4Kids.com  Watch Video Here What is the one thing most children are experts at? Telling tales! No, make it telling tall tales! Ask any child who was the best child in class today, and pat comes the reply I was! No matter what the situation, children love to tell tales. And whats more, in most of their stories, they are the heroes! These stories may not always be true, but with their stories, children will have you believe, that they are the next Iron Man! So how does one go about achieving this super active imagination in children? By introducing them to the world of stories in the first place! And like most good habits, you need to start as early as possible. In my case, I started when my little one was a mere three months old; who would enthusiastically coo to urge me on whenever I sat to read out a story for him! This practice also led to his getting addicted to the bedtim...

It is 6:00 am. She wakes up to the alarm and before anyone else gets disturbed by it, puts it off and lies on her back for five minutes. It's a brand new day! And she has been especially looking forward to starting her day as she has a creative writing assignment to complete today. She needs to write, in detail, about something that makes her truly, honestly happy . And she is looking forward to writing about her passion, her  writing! It is 6:15 am.  She is thinking about her assignment as she enters the kitchen and, being one of those people who are incapable of kick-starting their days without a steaming cup of java, brews a pot of fresh coffee. As it brews, she starts organising her thoughts in her mind; and the ingredients she will need for cooking the breakfast and lunch for the men in her life, on the kitchen counter.   It is 6:30 am.  She has been in the kitchen for a quarter of an hour now, and her prep for the cooking ...

The year is 2011. The month is October. And the date should be somewhere towards the end of the month. I have recently moved into a new house; and am recovering from a recent unfortunate medical complication.  My parents have come down from Mumbai to provide moral support as I recuperate; and after a rough few past weeks, I am just about beginning to get my life back on track. The time is 11.00 am. Morning chores are done, and everyone who had to go out for work (or school), has left for the day.  With a cup of coffee in hand, I venture into the study/playroom and take my place on the reading couch with my laptop.  First order of business,  I check the trending news for the day. I read the e-paper, because we do not subscribe to newspapers for the past couple of years, not because we are skimping on money, but because we now have smart phones that have the Apps for every newspaper that we would ever want to read! And that is why, we subscribe to actual physica...

Amit was home after two weeks.  A fortnight this time,   a month last time….I have been doing this for over eight years  he thought wryly.  But today, he had a surprise for his family -  I can't wait to see their faces once I give them my news!  He smiled to himself as he waited for his family to join him on the terrace after dinner. “There are some changes happening at the work place," he started as soon as they were all together. "I won’t bore you with the technical stuff, but, I will be doing most of my work online now,” he said.   Three blank faces looked at him, and then at each other. “Guys! I won’t be travelling from now on. I will be basically working a nine-to-five job and getting back home in time for dinner - every day!” he exclaimed. Six-year old Nysa was the first to recover. “Yay! Daddy will be home at night! Daddy can read me bedtime stories! Will you get me to sleep  Daddy? And oh, will you ...