Rashmi's Space

Baffled by the title? Let me explain. I was recently watching the 1980’s classic Bollywood movie  Khoobsurat  and there was this scene where the female protagonist breaks into an impromptu song and urges us to think  what if?  – What if birds swam in the ocean and the fish flew; what if coffee was available every time we opened a tap and candy and toffees grew on trees; what if the Sun was blue and the Moon was red; what if we slept on a table and ate on a bed…what if, what if, what if…. And that got me thinking! (Now you see the problem with having a vivid imagination?) Well, it got me thinking,  what if things weren’t the way they always are in the real world? But, I wasn’t indulging in as ingenuous thoughts of the lyricist as mentioned in the song ( watch here ); but something else entirely – You see, I had just read the morning papers and checked my FB feed; and was raring to have a go at the things that were really annoying; b...

Each of us is a product of our upbringing and circumstances. Invariably, therefore, we all have our set of likes, opinions and preferences. Some of these have been passed on to us through the elder generation while others are a product of our thoughts and perceptions. It is this mixed baggage that we carry as a person that stays with us when we become parents. This baggage, however, has serious potential to influence our children in a big way.   I recently read an article that says "do not pass on your hatred to your children." It details how parents invariably tend to instill in their children, the dislike they have towards certain things or people. The author's point being - "Just because you don't like something, do not make your children dislike it or just never expose them to it at all!"