Suhani Writes

 New Year(s) come with diaries, banks and hospitals often distribute them. So every new year we have at least five to six diaries at my place waiting to be used. Each and every member of my family gets a new diary during the new year. Often, the craze of diary continues for a week, utmost for a month....the diary later gets forgotten only to be discovered during the Diwali cleaning!  Diaries are used for various purposes, say some people write their personal experiences while some pen down their brain child whereas few prefer diary for maintaining their schedule and in some cases people jot down their daily expenses.  One of the best habits that my father possesses is writing down his daily expenses in his diary. If I try to remember the farthest, I have seen him almost every night writing his daily expenses. So, he has a detailed account of every penny he spent. By year end, he is the only one who has gained the optimum benefit of the diary.  I remember, once I dare...

I remember, when I was a kid I would wake up and rush downstairs to clung on either my mother or my grandmother who would be drawing rangolis at that time. I would grab on their shoulders and would sneak from behind their backs at the magnificent yet minimalistic rangoli ! The muggu seemed magnificent because of the size and the perfection that went into it and yet it was minimalistic because of the countable colors used. My grandmother was a creative soul. She was the one who designed all the rangolis drawn at my home. My granny had also published a book containing all her rangoli designs. She always carried a drawing book wherever she went and drew rangolis as and when she had a brain child. She was indeed best at her work.  Muggu designed by my grandmother; drawn by my mother Muggu was originated in the state of Maharashtra. Long back rangolis were drawn on a tile plastered by cow dung. Cow pie plaster essentially keeps away all the uninvited bites from mosquitoes; that's why...

  Rajasthan is the biggest state present in India. I remember, I visited Rajasthan twice just to cover its beauty and yet I am not sure if I have covered everything. There is so much in Rajasthan to visit...Udaipur 'The City of Lakes', Jaisalmer 'The Golden City', Jaipur 'The Pink City', Bikaner 'home to temples and forts', Sikar 'The Historic City' and so much more, the list can never end! Rajasthan is 'the' place for historic buffs; every schloss in Rajasthan reveals a different story! As I mentioned earlier...it took me two visits to completely admire Rajasthan and yet I must admit that I skipped some mesmerizing places. Often I have seen travel companies put soooo much on their itinerary that the tourists are rushed around! The first day you are in Jaipur and the next day in Bikaner and then in Jaisalmer followed by Jodhpur and Mount Abu and the journey progresses until you are back in your city wondering exactly how many places you v...

It would almost be ten years that we are existing together. It was in 2011, that I met him for the first time....I was overjoyed to have him! However, the ecstatic moments didn't last long. We soon began fighting; we didn't use physical forces to fight each other, mere words were enough to do the harm. Both of us enjoyed the perverse pleasure of hurting each other and honestly we still enjoy. We always have a ball seeing the other one in trouble.  But, over these ten years we have built a beautiful bond....an unbreakable one. We have stood in each other's thick and thin (though our problems aren't that big). Every time I have a lizard in my room he's my shield! Every time he has to complete a project I have a responsibility! These are very minute situations to test our bond but believe me it gets stronger within such circumstances!  My greatest breather to studies is to annoy him and listen to his cranking sound...Ah! It just waves off my frustration like anything! ...

I remember a time when 'glass bottles' were used for sauce packaging. However these bottles weren't very convenient as, if the bottle slipped from your hand you landed in a mess. I can recollect, once the content were almost over I would pour in some water and give the bottle a stir to pull out all the sauce which stuck to the inner side of the bottle to reduce the wastage. These glass bottles weren't great to carry on a picnic, many times we had to opt for our steel vessels to pack sauce! Also these bottles had no control over how much sauce could be squeezed out....sometimes you only needed a drop of it and half the bottle would empty in....huh, we all have been there I suppose! Taking in account all the disadvantages of these glass bottles the sauce producing enterprises opted for the plastic sauce pouches. These pouches are indeed extremely convenient. We can carry them anywhere as they are super flexible and can fit anywhere. Moreover there is no chance of the pack...

Living in today's generation I love eating Maggie, pasta, pizza and a lot of unhealthy stuff. In my place we don't have junk daily but, once in a week to break the boredom of the same old  roti sabji . So, we may have sandwiches on a Sunday and pani puri  the next Sunday and dosa the next week the list never ends as our taste pallet can never be satisfied. I live with with my parents and also my grandfather. Usually, grandparents are the ones who frown when our generation appetizes to these western food items. I have heard many people (even our parents) complain about the western food. The saddest part is many even don't taste it and complain how bad the western food tastes. I think there's only difference of some veggies in batata vada and a burger patties! The vada has only potatoes but the burger patties may have paneer, cauliflower, cabbage, peas and many more veggies.  But, I am happy my grandfather isn't one of those who loathes the western food! He rather enj...

 I remember a time when I used to visit my maternal grandmother's place; after dinner all my cousins and I were asked for our ice-cream preferences. Each of us had a different liking: chocolate, strawberry, mango, vanilla....the list would remain the same most of the times! Each of us would get the ice-cream we had asked for and then, all my cousins and I would sit enjoying the ice-cream. We would usually offer each other a spoonful of ice-cream from our own cups. This way we could taste a variety of ice-creams and at the same time we could relish our favorite flavors.  Now just replace the ice-cream with opinions. If we are put in a problem or maybe we are just discussing an issue with our friends or family we may have different opinions. That's because we are raised differently with varied ideologies and beliefs! None of us is the same.  One can literally imagine a party with friends or family, where everyone is having a ball and suddenly a discussion begins on a contro...

  Last Sunday, I was reading an article by the New York Times (https://www.nytimes.com/guides/realestate/home-decor-ideas). The article is about reinventing your house, basically about home décor. What caught my eye was " Do it well and you'll end up with a comfortable and happy home. " Well, it is very true that we need good and well arranged furniture to make our houses look organized but, do furniture make our houses happy? I have kept pondering over this fact for many days. I tried imagining myself, if I had no bed to sleep on would I be happy or maybe if I didn't have a dining table to dine on would I feel miserable. I won't feel any, certainly! For a materialistic person all these goods may affect but only to a certain extent! Home isn't limited only to furniture. The people with whom we live make our dwelling comfortable and not a maple wood flooring! Bond with our family members or with whom we dwell is what makes a house happy or sad. Home is that par...

A week ago, I was cleaning my cupboard. Papers, books, magazines, some unfinished cards, chart papers, letters, birthday cards flooded out of my cupboard! Usually many of us have the habit of hoarding things! I am one of those so, whenever I clean my cupboard I have all my memories rushing to remind me of some sweet, some bitter moments! These amassed souvenirs are one of my most treasured possessions; it won't be wrong to say that they are relics of my life (though it's too early to say so).  As I was cleaning my stuff, I came across an envelope. At the back of my mind I knew what it carried but, I wasn't very sure. Intrigued, I opened the envelope only to discover my most treasured possession...three letters written by my grandmother! With no patience I began reading those letters. With every piece of advice my grandmother had left for me in those letters my eyes welled up only to rush down my dusty cheek! Later on I found two birthday cards designed by my younger brother...

  When I was in class five, I was introduced to a book called 'The Old Man and His God' written by Sudha Murty. As I turned to the last page of the book I was elated with all the short stories the author had written and was very keen to read more of her work. Today, my bookshelf is embellished with almost all her books!  The author of 'The Old Man and His God', Sudha Murty, writes short stories (maximum of her books are short stories) which are barely ten to twelve pages each. They are easy and good reads, especially for the ones who wish to inculcate the habit of reading. What I like most about her writing is that, it is very real. She writes about her personal experiences which make her stories more connecting and heartouching! Her writing has simplicity and yet, you are taken into Murty's world! You can literally imagine words when you read her book! Her stories can be read by children, adolescents and even elder people. Murty's writings has magic as it can c...

  Last Sunday, when I scrolled my WhatsApp account, the one common thing I could see was, people wishing their mothers a ‘Happy Mother’s Day’! All the status updates on WhatsApp that day showed children comforting their mother’s around their arms and smiling widely! Oh, it was an adorable sight!  As kids we are always very close to our mothers, right from our very existence! We have grown in our mother’s comfortable wombs and then into her comfortable laps and under her soothing touch! It is said that even a newborn understands his/her mother’s touch. Her touch is of a different kind, tender and affectionate when we are in pain and strong yet fragile when we are creating pain! Her hugs protect us from all the problems, her pat on our back is more than a Noble Award! Describing a mother's love for her child is impossible as it is beyond words and can only be felt by the kid! Mother’s indeed do a lot for their kids throughout their life and yet, only a day in a year for them...

  “N eil Armstrong was the first man whose boots touched the moon’s surface, Buzz Aldrin was the second one.” We were taught this in school in the second or the third class. Apollo 11 was the mission which had set these astronauts on the Moon. But there weren’t only two astronauts who flew to the moon….they were three of them. Michael Collins was the third one. Many may know this too...but I know his contribution is known to far less people! Collins, often referred to as the ‘forgotten astronaut’ last breathed on 28 th April 2021. Michael was the one who flew Apollo 11. As the rocket took off from the Earth and reached the moon it sent two astronauts down to experience the surface of the moon whereas Collins remained in the spacecraft preparing for the journey back home. He spent hours engulfed in the darkness on the darker side (the side of the moon which is not visible to the earth), orbiting the moon when, he had lost connection with Earth as well as with his fellow companion...