Attraction of Grandchildren

Grand children! How much do we love you!! Grand children you are  the flesh of our flesh and soul  of our soul. When our first grand daughter was born , and I enfolded her in my arms, it gave me a feeling that I was transported  to another world.The ecstasy of that moment cannot be described in words.It is etched deep into the portals of my heart. Wow, I  had become  the mother of her mother. It is a different matter that she is in her early  twenties now. This experience  will  for ever  remain fresh in my mind. Afterwards  we were blessed by three more grand children. All the  four are darlings. They have filled  the space in  the hearts of their grand parents , which we never knew was empty. All four are  God's  gift to us. Whosoever  coined the the word grand child,deserves an applause, because  they are really grand. 

Today  I am in a reminiscent mood. Flashes of the days gone by are vividly  appearing in front of my eyes.I am dreaming with my eyes  open. Incidents are coming  to the fore which are not in chronological order.  There she is, our elder grand daughter ( I will refer to her as Doll in this article). She was  real sweetie pie. Even her naughty pranks  did not irritate  us. In fact we used to  be tickled by her mischiefs.She  too knew that we were amused. She  loved to throw things...... I remember that the sofa cushions  seemed to be  an eye sore to this Doll. During the day the elders would keep the cushions in their  proper  place and next time you enter the room the cushions would be  on the floor.This sequence used to continue the whole day. She also was an expert  in removing clothes from the wardrobe. Her mother would  arrange the garments and the daughter  would pull them out  and  scatter  them , all crushed  on the floor.This little Doll grew up to become a very  responsible  and meticulous  young maiden,who can manage her things  in a responsible manner. My younger grand daughter,(she  will be referred  as a Princess) grew up in the shadow of her elder sister.It is natural that she has acquired  the likes and dislikes of her sister.Both sisters are  fond of Dancing.They  learnt dancing   when they were hardly  three years old.They  have performed  at school and college level  functions. The Princess  is  very much concerned about the welfare of the family.Both  girls are our son's daughters. They love fast music..I am playing two songs which I presume they will like.The first one is We Are Young and the other one is a remix version  of Hawa Hawai.

 

 

  The other  two  grand children are the sons of our daughter.We will refer to the elder one a as Prince and the younger one as Smartu.The Prince is going to become a Doctor in a couple of months. From  his looks he  is  innocent but appearances are deceptive.  He is  a boy with a strong will  and determination and is blessed with  great  self confidence.  He has strong likes and dislikes. He is very fond of listening to old Hindi movie songs. Quiz competitions are his forte. Right from his early school days there was hardly a quiz competition in which he did not get a prize.  The younger one Smartu is actually  a smart boy. He is  a happy go lucky  child, but at the same time very sharp and  intelligent. He is a  connoisseur  of   guitar. Whereever he goes his guitar  accompanies   him.He is  also a connoisseur  of  good food. He likes to listen to Rock music  and also  sings rock music with  great enthusiasm. I present the following  songs  for the boys and their parents to enjoy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Videos courtesy You Tube

Devotional Music in Hindi Movies

  Devotional songs have always found a place of pride in  movies made in our country but  have been  successful  even several years  after their release.

     There was a movie., Do Ankhen Barah Haath directed by V Shantaram, in which a very popular devotional   song  was  the main attraction of the film.

This song  is an all time   favourite  with young  and  old alike. It was adopted by many Schools , to be the part of  the school assembly. 

The next  devotional song which I am  posting  here is from the movie Baiju Bawra,sung by Mohd. Rafi. The song is so moving that it  is capable of touching the  very chords of  the  heart of the listener. This song is based  on Hindustani Classical music.

 

 

There is another  song  which is fresh in memory.  It is from the film Geet Gaata Chal and based on the  lines from  Ram  Charit Manas . I feel this  song  will be appreciated .

 

The Bhajan which became very popular is from the movie Ankush.This song also has found a place  in many  schools'  morning assembly. The music is haunting and the words are inspiring.

There was an old movie starring Dev Anand ,Sadhana and Nanda. .They were the top stars in those days..The song was very appealing and  became  very successful.The name of the movie was Hum Dono.

The last song that I am including here is  from the film Hari Darshan.It  is the chanting of  the Lord's name.
                                                                                                    

 

I  have written this post to revive the memory of  some  devotional songs. 

Source courtesy :You Tube

 

Quick and easy recipes.from my Kitchen

Many times it happens that when I am preparing something my grand daughters want me to leave as they want to make. I cannot  but bend down to their wishes.In my heart of   hearts I pray that things should  go right.   They are always confident that they can manage on their own. They handle the job dexterously, which makes me wonder how and when did they acquire the expertise!! Both of them enjoy cooking   dishes that they relish. The  dishes  that they handle are noodles, pasta, eggs , sandwiches and cakes. The most important thing is that  they have  been  trained to prepare it  in a simple method. I am giving below a cake recipe.

Ingredients:-

1.All purpose flour  One cup

2.Sugar     3/4th of a cup

3.Curd      3/4th of cup

4.Cooking oil  3/4th of a cup

5. Baking powder  1 tsp

6. Cooking soda  1/2 tsp

7.Vanilla essence 1/2 tsp

8.Cocoa powder  3/4 cup

Method of preparation

1st step    Preheat the oven

2nd step    Put all the articles in a  blender and  switch it on for  10  to 15                     minutes   till   all the ingredients are  well blended. the paste should  neither be very thick  nor very thin. (If it very thick add add 4 to 5  spoons of milk.If you find it too thin add little  cocoa powder.)

3rd step   Grease the cake dish  with a  pinch of oil.  Now put the paste in the baking dish  and  keep the dish   inside the oven.

4th step   Bake the cake for 20 to 25 minutes  at 180 o ' Fahrenheit temperature.

5th  step  Allow it to cool  down. Now invert it  on to a plate. Your cake is ready to eat.  You will  enjoy the delicious  sooofffftttt  cake. Do not forget to  tell every body  who takes a piece  that the cake has been prepared  by your daughter.

Recipe for Sandwich

      Children  love  to eat  sandwiches . They are light and easy  on the stomach.  When  I first made   these sandwiches, all those who ate them  were full of praise for them . My grand daughters named them  'Dadi Special Sandwiches.'   Very often the children  take  sandwiches to  School/College. In no time the  demand for the  sandwiches increased.Whenever there is a function or a party in their institution the demand  increases.They will just say 'Dadi, give  forty sandwiches  for tomorrow'.I do not mind preparing any number  of sandwiches for them. in fact,  I love to prepare  any thing for the children and the family. Now both of them have also started   preparing  sandwiches.I am sure that once the children taste the sandwiches they  will want to prepare them.

 Ingredients

1.  Bread slices   8

2  .Hung curd    4tbsp

3.  Egg less mayonnaise  3 tbsp

 4. Cheese  spread   2tsp

5  Tomato sauce    1 tbsp

6   Mustard sauce  1/4 tsp

7.   Olive oil             1 tsp

8.   Salt   to taste

9.   Pepper powder  1 pinch

10.  Grated  and well squeezed vegetables     4 tbs

(Carrot, Bell pepper, Cabbage,

and Cucumber) 

Method;-

Step 1.          Cut the sides of the slices. 

 Step 2.         In a  bowl put all the ingredients except the grated  vegetables. 

 Step3.          Mix  well so that everything is  blended together  finely. 

  Step4.          Now add the vegetables  and mix well.

Step 5.            Spread the paste on the slices.

 Step 6.          Cut the sandwiches in any desired shape. Serve.

Step  7.           The sandwiches can also be grilled.

 Both  these two recipes  can very well be handled by children, as they do not require  any cooking on the fire. I am sure that the children will love them. 

 

 

 

 

A journey through life.

A journey through life

                                                                                                     If    you  are a parent   you must have  noticed and experienced   the behaviour pattern  of  your children  at every stage of their  growing up. The evolution from a toddler to  a teenager  to old age  is wrought with  adventures  and misadventures. At every stage of a man’s life there are  significant  as well as insignificant  happenings some of which  are carried over from child hood,  when we are growing,  till we reach a stage when we have  one leg in the grave.   This growing  old is  an inevitable  change.  The cycle of life goes on rotating  irrespective of the fact whether  you like it or not.

  At different stages of life  we   react to  the changes  as is warranted by nature.  Nobody teaches us  what to do or how to do .  The transition  is natural. For example when I was small every body called me ‘ baby’,after a few years I became a ‘didi’.  As the years  passed  by  I acquired  the status of a  ‘bhabi’, ‘mausi’  or ‘aunty’.The   wheel  of life keeps moving. Suddenly  I am transformed  to the status of a ‘madam’.This   continued for a  fairly  long time when  I become ‘mataji’ and  now ‘dadi’.No one can change the direction of this wheel of life.It moves  at its own  pace.

   At all stages of life we  act and react differently. No one gives you any sermons  of acting according to the age you attain.  A small child , hardly a few months old, knows that by crying  he will get milk.  Hence  he  adopts this method. As the child  grows  older he  devices his  own ways and means to achieve whatever he wants. A common and most effective  method which the children adopt at this  stage of life is  to  add  their  teacher's  name  to  the request. The children are very smart. They very well understand the pulse of their  parents. Sometimes they take the advantage of their parents’ ignorance. Once a boy  demanded money from  his  illiterate father for purchasing a ‘time table ‘ book.  At a later date the poor father,  on his visit to the school, complained that  he was  spending  a lot of money  on the son’s education. He specifically mentioned expenditure  on time table book, which was amusing  to the teachers.

 When the children enter their teens their  demands and their requirements too undergo a sea change. They are at a stage of life when they are confused. The child is  at the cross roads.He seems to be a misfit. Among adults  he is considered to be a child  and  in the company of children he is  termed  a bully. This is a testing time for the parents too.The famous story of Rabindra Nath Tagore has very vividly  described the mental state of an adolescent boy and the inability of a widowed mother  to handle this child! This the stage of life when the parent can  make a child a friend for life or  create a distance  between  him  and  the child  for ever.I quote a few sentences from the story which depict the  transition from childhood to  adolescence."It is impossible to shower  affection on him as on a little boy; and he is always getting in the way.If he talks with a childish lisp he is called a baby, and if he answers in a grown-up way  he is called impertinent.In fact any talk from him is resented. Then he is at the unattractive growing  age.” The parents should be considerate and have a  friendly and  positive approach towards the child at this stage. The child must feel that  he is ‘wanted’. Once this barrier  is crossed the real personality of the child comes  to the fore.  The children then reach an age when they can take  their own decisions.  They attain  maturity and are capable  of  facing the  atrocities and  challenges of  the  society. They are thus  mature enough to bring up a family.

There is a story going round  which narrates the various stages of life in a  humorous but   brutal way. This is how  the story goes.  Inside the four walls of an office  lunch hour  discussions  are a regular feature.   They often discuss  how they managed to get the job  they were holding. Within a  lapse of  four to five  years the  topic for discussion is  about interviews , which their children  have to face in various schools .  With the passage of time  the conversations are turned towards   their own promotions . Who got the promotion,  who was overlooked and so on.  As they grow older they  seek information about  the marriage of  their children and where did they settle down.  Slowly but surely  the  topic  changes  to their own retirement,  enquiring who  has settled down and where. Now comes the age of sufferings and our  friends whenever they meet  discuss  their mutual  afflictions and ailments.  The next time they meet  they  discuss who  among their  friends or colleagues  have  slept in  eternal sleep. Thus goes on  life!!  Human nature being the same, generation after generation  the same story of life is repeated. The venue and theme of the story remains  the same!  Only the characters change!!

 

 

 

Famous Music Directors of Hindi Cinema

Hindi Cinema  is different from  movies of other countries  because of abundance  of songs. The songs hold a place of prestige in  Hindi cinema. The popularity of a movie is judged by the success rate of the  songs. In olden days songs were composed with very few accompaniments.The lyrics too were simple but  the songs  were  sung by people very enthusiastically. Husan Lal  -Bhagatram   were popular  music Directors. Sample a song directed by them  for the movie Badi Bahen.

  This   song was a rage. It  took the whole country  by storm. This duo  directed the music of several movies.  Surraiya, Shamshad Begam  and Noor Jahan were  the singing stars of that era.  The success of the  songs in those days depended on the songs  sung by these   artists                                                             

Naushad was  a very versatile music director.  His career started in the year 1940  and continued up to 2006. His songs for Mother India and Baiju Bawra brought him great laurels. Mohd Rafi was an up coming  singer  those days He too contributed to the success of  Naushad. He gave a classical touch to film music  which proved  to be  very popular  with  the  public.  The following devotional song sung by Mohd. Rafihad  a classical flavour.Naushad  sung for almost every artist of those times

 

                                                                                                                    While speaking of Music Directors  we cannot afford to miss the name of Shankar Jaikishen. This  'jodi , SJ .' was  one the greatest  Music Directors. They were spotted by  Raj Kapoor, in whose  films  they gave  memorable music, which is hummed by music lovers even   after a lapse of  more than half a century.I  love the following song  which they directed  for Chori Chori

S.D. Burman was another  Music Director  who  achieved great heights. His songs  had the touch of Bengali Folk Music.He collaborated with Dev Anand  and produced  songs for famous films like Taxi Driver,  Pyasaa,  Sujata and Nau Do Gyarah. Singers like Geeta Dutt and Hemant Kumar  came into form by associating with him. The song from Jaal sung by Hemant Kumar is presented here

 

One more song Directed by S.D. Burman which was an all time hit is also  presented below. It is from the movie Sujata , sung by Talat Mahmood

Rahul Dev Burman son of S.D. Burman , was a Music Director of repute.  His songs had  a touch of  Western Music. Kishore Kumar and Asha Bhonsle reached the pinnacle of their  career , singing songs  directed by RD Burman. He directed songs for famous movies like Yaadon Ki baraat, Sholay and Masoom.He sang the song Mehbooba o Mehbooba  . He also made remix numbers of some  renowned songs. 

I am very fond songs directed by Kalyan Ji, Anand ji.They entered the world of Music when many big-wigs were ruling the the film world.That was the golden period of  film music.With their perseverance and dedication they made a place for themselves.Kishore Kumar sang  some super hit under their direction.One such song is  being presented  here . The song is from the movie, Safar.

One of my most favourite Music Directors is Madan Mohan.  He was popularly known as Ghazal ka Prince. Some of the best  compositions  were sung by singers like Talat Mahmood and Lata Mangeshkar. A ghazal by Talat Mahmood ',Phir wohi shaam'  is my  all time favourite.

 There are songs and songs . There are many more famous Music Directors like Salil Chaudhry, Anil Biswas  and OP Nayyar .But there is no end. The world of music is  like  an unfathomable ocean.The more we we try to hold on the more it  loosens its grip. I end this with a  popular song,from Anarkali which I feel is one of Lata Mageshkar's best!!

Everyday Marvels

Everyday Marvels

 The title of the  contest  for WOW has, in a way, made me   aware of so much happening around me but  it was as if it did not exist  before .  I am so much engrossed in the daily hum drum  of life  that  I   have no time to  ponder over  my surroundings  and  things which  have always been around.   The truth is that I have never  seen the beauty   which  is all around me. Within  the  natural  surroundings   of  our own  habitat   are  hidden    so many secrets   that if you unfold them , you will  realise that  your  visiting   the hills and tourist resorts  to  be in the  midst  of nature  is  superfluous. The  ambience   which I can enjoy from my balcony  is exotic.  The majestic eucalyptus trees dancing  with gay abundance  enthuse you.There are so many trees,which have adorned our house like the ornaments  worn by a new bride.You name  a tree and it is there. There are Gulmohars, Laburnums, Ashok, Neem, Amaltas and many more.

 Last evening ,when  I was sitting in the balcony of my house  I  was witness to another  world .  A battalion  of  small black ants  was  marching  in an  orderly manner  to no where.What a discipline!! As if they had  been trained by  some professionals.  The world of these insects  and birds is  unique, which  a commoner like me fails to fathom. My husband has made it a practise that after his daily puja   he keeps the remains  in a flower pot. When  he started  keeping  the prasad   a few  crows used to  come hesitatingly , take  away the prasad ,perhaps to enjoy  it in a solitary place. But  now  they seem to  have understood that their  mentor  has no  malafide intention, they wait for him  to   offer the prasad  and eat it in  his presence and proximity . Some days if he is late for the Puja the crows  start cawing and crowing loudly.!! I and my husband have another endearing friend…… a squirrel. We used to keep some nuts on the parapet  of our balcony’ This little squirrel comes every day  for the nuts. Some days back  there were no nuts to be kept.This smart little  creature tried  to climb  our door as  if to  remind us !!    Besides these live friends, there are  a variety of flowers in the balcony  which I saw closely in  the last few days

The front side of the house is witness to  trees  and flowers of different  colours. A sweet fragrance emanating from them is mild  and soothing for the soul.

Just opposite to  our residence  is a park. I never  gave any thought  to it. It was only an ordinary  existence for me. What I observed in the last two days has  been a great learning experience.  It  is   a   sort of   revelation   and  an eye opener. It is a sort of mini mirror of the society. Early mornings  and  evenings  the park is  full,  people  from all  strata  of society   come to this park, which becomes a sort of kaleidoscope. Besides  regular walkers there are   people sitting in groups and gossipping. The hot topics  for discussion  are  politics and  family woes. In another corner  a yoga class is in progress.  Then there is a laughter club  where people  laugh  at the highest pitch of their voice. In the afternoon the park is taken over by  the maids  of the colony.

   Looking  around in the last two  days was an exhilarating experience  for me . In conclusion I am reminded  of some of  the famous lines of a poem, 'All things bright and beautiful' by the poet, William Henry Monk.

All things bright and beautiful,
All creatures great and small,
All things wise and wonderful:
The Lord God made them all.

,

 

Click here and then copy the code

This post is a part of <a title="WOW" href="http://blog.blogadda.com/2012/09/28/write-over-the-weekend-wow-indian-blogs">Write Over the We