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Friday, 12 October 2012

women in my life

Women in my life!

The title of this blog should not give any wrong notions about me. I am not a reputed philanderer or a lady-killer. I am a normal human being without abnormal human ambitions. I do not build castles in the air. I am earthly and of the earth. This introduction was necessary before traversing on this tricky track. At the same time I am not a misogynist or a chauvinist. You may conclude that I am a namby-pamby in the mysteries of womanhood. It is however as apparent as daylight that women give us strength, solace and succour. They, so to say, provide us with our survival kit. Having said this let us see what will be the attitude of a male who is steeped in chauvinism or is a philistine. Has he got nothing to do with the  fair species? Apart from the fact that he has been brought out into this world by a woman, a man,  whatever may be his pretentions, is a creature of a  woman. She has a stranglehold on him. He is within the easy pull of a  woman. It may be a moral pull exercised by his mother or sister or daughter or an amorous one exercised by his wife or mistress or girl friend or even a paramour. That much for a man's Independence. It is an oft-repeated saying that the hand that rocks the cradle rules the world. Sometimes I am appalled that a woman is a  repository of all that provides man with strength. We have the example of  Mother Goddess from whom has accrued all the powers of  the divine denizens. Without her benign grace things will go pell mell. Cosmic order will disintegrate leading to chaos and catastrophe. The very foundation of the cosmos will be shaken as if struck by a thunder bolt of mammoth proportion.
Many women have made an irreversible impact on my life. Foremost of them is my mother followed by my wife, mother-in-law, daughter, daughter-in-law, sister and grand daughters,etc. Several others have also contributed to my persona but the list will be unending.
  • Mother  -  Ha mother, my mother, I crave for your hug. My mother was a gift from God. Divinity was oozing from her being. It is said  that she was born after a lot of prayers and worship. A divine aura surrounded her personality.Destiny however robbed her of her beloved mate at a very young age.Saddled with half a dozen little mouths to be fed and taken care of she sallied forth into an uncertain and bewildering world  with only her unbeatable courage and confidence.Single handed this brave lady brought us all up and set us forth in the ocean of life equipped with reasonable education and grit. Adversity did not dim her wit and humour. Throughout, her personality  emitted an infectious demeanour of pleasant and pulsating  life. Whatever I am today is due to her unwavering stewardship.
  •  Mother-in-law  -    She was a virtuous lady of indescribable grace. She possessed a rare ethereal charm. Nobility was her hallmark.The very moment I was introduced to her I was carried away by her grace.My mother-in-law was a woman of God.She was a practising Ram Bhakt.She was also an adept in Sikh tenets.Chanting from Shree Guru Granth Sahib was a favourite devotional practice  nurtured by her.Even I was infected  by her ardent devotion and became an admirer of Shree Guru Nanak Dev.It was at this time that  a colleague of mine, a Sikh gentleman,enabled me to have darshan at various holy Gurudwaras of Delhi  including Rakabganj, Sisganj and Bangla sahib. I am beholden to my mother-in-law for various blessings of life.
  • Wife :   A  wife is a wife all her life. A Punjabi siren  with sinuous grace cuckooed her way into my heart. There was hardly any park or restaurant which this smitten duo had not graced.Right from the beginning it was evident that my cuckoo was and continues to be the dominant partner. Right from seducing and leading me upto the altar, it was her show all the way. Like Mary's little lamb I would follow her meekly. There was an incident  when her authoritarian streaks came to the fore. During the hey days of our courtship or was it that time when our mutual adulation was still nascent(my memory is not helping me here), we came in conflict with the uniformed law. We were sitting in  a park oblivious of our surroundings when something hard poked me. To my astonishment  and consternation I found  the law enforcing agency, in flesh and blood staring at us.He demanded why we were there and what was our purpose of cohorting in a secluded park. Out of my wits for a few moments, a pathetic  look from my  beloved rekindled  my chivalry and  in the tradition of a knight gallant I faced the calamity fairly and squarely. I explained that it was stifling at home and we had ome to the park for a whiff of fresh air.  It did not seem to convince the law enforcing agency. Fearing that my incoherent and broken Hindi would give away the game, the gallant lady took over and fielded further questions. Suffice to say that the danger retreated and we continued with our confabulation. It is often said that women with overbearing traits in their character have the last word in any argument with their mates. It is not true in my case as I generally have the last word. These lethal words are 'I agree'. My woman treats me softly as if I require great nourishing with affection. It will be imprudent if not impudent to question her decisions. If I make any impulsive adventure in this regard it will be met with a look of disdain if not contempt. We completed our golden jubilee two years ago and neither age nor custom has withered away our ardour for each other. Our blissful state continues. Thanks to God Almighty.  
  •  Daughter - A daughter was born to us after lot of prayers. After a son, we thought that in the fitness of things and to complete our planned family the presence of a little angel was required. God blessed us with a nice little doll who herself is now a mother and in due course will become a mother-in-law. She is always calm, cool and collected and her very presence acts as a balm. I am a restless character, my daughter has shown me the virtues of balanced behaviour and good cheer. She is a doctor by profession. She takes good care of our physical, physiological, psychological and emotional health. About physical needs she no doubt attends to my ever lengthening ailments but with her culinary expertise she titillates my tastebuds. I look forward to visits to her house. In all her ventures she is ably assisted by her well renowned doctor husband. In her marital home she has worn the mantle of an able and efficient housewife. She has won the hearts of all members of her husband's family and often acts as  the torch-bearer of their welfare. To the amusement of her grown up children I still call her Gudiya meaning 'doll'. She is deeply religious and does not miss any opportunity to visit Shirdi.  
  • Daughter-in-law -  My daughter-in-law entered our household at a very appropriate time. I and my wife had put in a lot of service  and were on the threshold of superannuation. She landed at this juncture in our house as a saviour. She was no stranger to us her father being my childhood friend. She is the only daughter of her parents, and has two brothers. Her parents and brothers doted on her. She grew up as a strong willed girl ready to face any challenges. She is very strong at the very core of her being. I and she both come under the same zodiac sign. This sometimes resulted in titanic clashes of our will but without any damage. This is a thing of the past and I won't attempt to confront her as she can easily worst me in any argument. There were some hiccups in the initial days of her marriage as her parents were staying away in Bangalore and her husband's family based in Delhi. But it goes to her credit that in no time she got well adjusted and became a full blown Delhi girl. Her personality opened up slowly but surely layer by layer. She is a very affectionate person fully devoted not only to her husband and children, which is natural, but also to her aged father-in-law and mother-in-law which is rare these days. I was the recipient of her kindness at the very onset of her marriage. I had undergone a surgery and she nursed me back to health with devotion. She continues to be solicitous about our heath and well being. She is equally devoted to her mother and brothers and takes good care of them. In her official career also, she has displayed rare brilliance matched only by her sincerity. She is a model daughter-in-law who exemplifies in her personality all the characteristics of a noble person. 

  • Sister  - I and my four brothers together have a sister. She is elder to me by two years. Being the only sister, the brothers have throughout showered her with a lot of affection. I am very attached to her. Right from my toddler-hood she took me under her protective wings. Even now if at any time I face any uncomfortable situation, I turn to her for solace and she does not disappoint me. A hearty chat with her either over telephone or through Skype restores my tranquillity. She has impacted my personality with her ever affable and affectionate nature.

  •  Grandaughters - While delineating the characters of the ladies mentioned above, I cannot sidetrack my grandaughters. These little ladies smother me with their innocent affection and unmatched love. Everybody in the family and even in friends circles pamper them, but this adulation and approbation have not spoilt them. They take it in their stride and thoroughly enjoy it. In keeping with the trend of modern times, they have grown up as self willed and confident persons. The are also very concerned with the welfare of their grandparents and inspite of their whirlwind schedules, spend valuable time with them. We watch with great interest their progression in life. God bless them.
  • Nieces  - I am also blessed with the love and affection of my nieces. As young ones, I have cradled them and now they are grandmothers. While efficiently handling their family affairs, they have not forgotten me and I am the recipient of their continuous affection and solicitude.
                                                                                                                            

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Thursday, 11 October 2012

Need to Strengthen School Education

According to John Dewey a famous educational reformer, 
"Education is not  preparation for life; Education is life itself.”

The writers’ emphasis  on education  being  life itself  is  very apt and thought provoking. In any  assembly  a  well educated  person  can be identified without   any  effort. Those who are  educated in the real sense display a cultured demeanour.  They  are courteous, well mannered  and sophisticated. People wonder where did  they  have their schooling. I  pondered upon the situation prevailing  in Delhi. There are  some very  good schools  and there  are some not so good. This is applicable  to both  Govt.  and  Private schools. 

There are many  Govt.  and Public Schools in Delhi  which are doing  an excellent job for the cause of Education.This article is not  directed towards these schools.

In Delhi the Private schools are known as Public schools, which is  a misnomer.People have a craze   to admit their children to  these so called Public schools.  After all  what is so special  about these schools? The only attraction  is that English is taught  from  KG and Nursery classes.  Taking advantage of  the  public  obsession   several such  schools have  mushroomed  all over the city.Whether it is in the interiors  of the city or  rural areas  or  even in some  posh areas, there is no dearth of such schools   which can be nomenclated as  teaching shops. There are Schools which are located in two or three room   tenements,which give the impression  of a cow-shed, but they proclaim that  they are  public  schools, providing quality education. We feel amused when we come to know the names of of these schools.Just add the word 'Convent,'  to the name and lo and behold  a public  school is born!!  These schools charge exorbitant  fees and fleece the gullible public. They do not provide trained and well educated teachers.  What kind of teaching can we expect from such teachers?  Who are the owners of such schools? There is no society or trust  running these schools. The proprietor may be a local Halwai, who has never entered the portals of a school.There are  Peons, Drivers, Shopkeepers, Primary school teachers  and many more  who have taken up the responsibility of  providing quality(?) education to the students.  

The reason for the multiplicity of  so called  public schools  is due to the ever increasing  demand for English. The rickshaw puller, the dhobi, the sweeper, the mason,  domestic servant  and  several others  want their children to study English  and prefer to send their wards to these schools.  I recall that I  happened to meet  one of the teachers serving in one such school. I enquired how much salary  she was drawing.  I was stunned to know that she was drawing a salary  of 1500 Rs. per month. She told me that  there were three teachers in the 'school' and  all the three were getting the same salary!!These schools are run for monetary  gains and not for any social  or national purpose.

The question is what is the solution ? How can  such schools be dissuaded  from functioning? The govt should  provide quality education so that people are weaned away from   such  schools.  Efforts are  being  made by the govt. to provide free quality education to the masses.  For example, In the year 2009  the  govt. passed  the Right to Education Act.It was implemented in 2010. 

According to the Act all  the children between the age of 6 to 14 will  have a  right  to  be educated. Even the reputed  Public Schools were covered within the rules of this Act. It envisaged that  it would be mandatory for all public schools  to reserve 25% seats for economically  backward  students. The Act laid down that Govt would reimburse the expenses  in the case of such students.  This is a social welfare  scheme and if  allowed to run, it can do wonders   in eradicating the  demon of  ‘money making’ to a great extent.

The Scheme of opening Pratibha Vidyalayas in Govt schools is also  directed towards raising the standard of education.It is essential that more such schools should  be opened for the benefit of the students.I close with a quotation  by Nelson Mandela,"Education is the most powerful weapon,which you can use to change the world."

Thursday, 4 October 2012

Humour in The Class Room


 Humour in the classroom

Humour  is the spice of life. Without humour  life  will be dull. We  come across several instances in every day life  which make us laugh. Some times we even laugh  at the cost of others . Such humour is garish  which  hurts the feelings of  others.There are occasions when unintentionally we utter words  which are  spoken without  giving a second thought as to what we are saying    and  which     may pierce  the heart of  others. This must  be condemned. Such humour will come in the category of barb. 
          In  our work place we encounter many  situations  which humour us. I will confine myself to a few  such  situations  which occurred  within the precincts of  schools. I recollect  a funny situation which I had to face on the very first day  when I was promoted as a Principal and went to report for duty. I was posted to a tented school. It was the month of July when after the rains  it becomes very humid. I reached the school.Nobody knew me.I entered the  tent which  was the office of the In charge.  I found her surrounded by at least ten or twelve teachers One teacher was standing behind the In charge and 'fanning'    her   No body noticed me. After about ten minutes a teacher asked me curtly,"What  do you want? Madam is very busy. Come tomorrow."I just said in a       very cool  demeanour,"I have come to join."Immediately they all said in a chorus that there is no vacancy  in this school.. I  said  , "I have come to join  as Principal".This had an electrifying effect.Within  seconds the crowded tent  looked  deserted. Only the Principal and the 'fanning' teacher were left.I sat down.At jet speed the fanning teacher came and stood behind me and started fanning.I was furious and told her that I should not see   the fan again. Even though I felt annoyed at that  moment, but when I remember that incident  I feel amused.
 Another  funny incident  which  I would like to  narrate pertains to an examination centre. I along with four colleagues  paid a surprise visit to one  rural  area centre. As soon as we entered the corridor, we were shocked that bundles and bundles of books, notebooks, guides and what not showered on us like flying saucers. The same  thunder fell upon us through the windows and ventilators as we crossed  from one class  to another. What  a welcome!! We all had a hearty laugh after leaving the centre.
    Another hilarious episode which comes to mind  took place in the Economics class. The teacher was teaching about banking. One girl was  sleeping in the class. The teacher's  shark eyes noticed  her. He immediately called out the girl's name.She got up with a start  and was confronted with a question,"how many types  of interest are there."? The girl, without even blinking her eyes  replied ,"sir, there are two types of interest' .Apparently pleased with this answer the teacher  paid her a compliment, and  asked her to proceed. The girl gained  confidence and replied, "Sir my first interest is  in your subject, Economics, because you teach us nicely  and second interest is my dog ,who also  loves me.' The whole class burst  into wild laughter and the poor teacher walked out in disgust.
    Once  a girl's sister was getting married and she sent an application for leave which was read out to the class.A portion, which I still remember goes on as follows,"sir as my father is marrying my sister  on(the date)  I will not be obligated to attend   school. Sir I  did  not tell you before this  because I did not want to embrace(embarrass) you........"          
 I  will conclude this with one more incident.A teacher was posted in a  rural  area, where  tbhe spoken language had regional flavour. She entered  the class with great enthusiasm. She  however could not   control the class. The monitor got up and  shouted,Tumau sab kahe chup naa hovey?  Dekha naahi bhenji kab se bhaunk rahi se? freely translated  the child said  'Why are you all not keeping quiet? Dont you see that madam is barking for so much time?'
   There are several such episodes which we come across everyday. Will some one like to contribute?










Saturday, 29 September 2012

The Plasms of life

'I wish someone told me earlier  about the  sufferings and sorrows  of  Mrs. Arora. Oh ! how much I wished  that  I  had known  what was behind  the  sad and helpless expression  of  this elegant  and sober lady who was posted to my school.  The depth  of her eyes  conveyed that deep  down  within her  heart   there was  suffering , a suffering  which was only hers  and  was purposely hidden from  the  probing   eyes  of the world.

This  graceful lady, who was posted to my school, depicted   a sober and composed  demeanour when she came to join the school. I was instantly attracted by her towering  personality.  I  had seen her some years  ago. At that time she was  a bubbly and  exuberant   young  lady.Just within a period of three years  so much change! I wondered what had happened to her during this  period!

She was a hard working and a sincere teacher.  She came to school, attended to her  prescribed  time table and left the school.  She did not  mingle with  others,  as if always  lost in  a world of her own.The outcome was,to say the least,  that staff members and students  passed unsavoury remarks about  her. Some said she was arrogant, some others said  she was  presumptuous  and brazen.  There was no end  to all these comments.  I presume that most of  these  comments reached her but she paid no heed to them.

All this ended as abruptly as it started. One day in a school function some irresponsible students openly mimicked her. They uttered  harsh words against her. All  this was too much for her to bear  and she burst into  tears.  Some  staff members escorted her to my office. I let her cry for some time and then sat by her side. I spoke very  softly  and encouraged her to speak. Ultimately she  came out  of her shell.  She narrated  to me that her husband was mercilessly killed by  an unruly mob. 

She had hardly recovered from this shock,  when  she was informed that her only son, who was studying abroad,  too became a victim  of mob violence. This was the last straw in her otherwise  life of sorrow. I let her cry. After narrating these two incidents  she  became stable.I advised her that  whatever had happened should be forgotten. I reminded her of Tennyson’s famous  lines

Let the dead Past bury its dead!
Act—act in the living Present!
Heart within,and God o’er head!

Slowly she was transformed . I felt that had I known all this earlier,I would have consoled her as I did  now.

Note: This is a true incident.Only the name of the teacher has been changed to protect her identity.

Wednesday, 12 September 2012

From My Kitchen Diary xi

From My Kitchen Diary xi


 Salad : mixed salad

 Salads are an integral part of a good meal.Without a salad the   dining table looks  incomplete. Salad making is  an art. With ones ingenuity and creativeness  one can  transform any vegetable or fruit  into a delectable and  presentable salad.  Today  I am penning a few salad recipes which are  not only a treat for our palates but also presentable  and nutritious.1.Beetroot Salad
Ingredients:---
Beetroot   2 medium size
Carrot       1 medium
Cooking oil  1 tbsp
Green Chillies    2 
Lemon               1
Coconut Grated   1/4 cup
Salt      To taste.
Method
  Grate the beetroot and the carrot.Lightly mix  them together. Keep a wok on the  fire, add  beetroot and carrot and stir for a couple of minutes Add 3/4  of the grated coconut and salt  and remove from the fire. Keep it in the frig.Just before serving add  the juice of  one lemon.Make it presentable by  arranging the  remaining  coconut and green chillies on the top. Serve cold.
2.  Green salad:-
  Ingredients:---
 Salad Leaves  4 or 5
 Cheese cubes ..3
Tomato       2 medium
Walnut    3
 Plum  6  (or any other seasonal fruit)
 Mayonnaise   2 tbsps
 Vinegar        3 tbsp
 Salt   to taste
Method
  Wash and dry the salad leaves,Cut them coarselyDry roast the walnuts. Cut the cheese into small pieces.Cut the tomatoes into small  pieces Deseed the Plums.  Add salt.Mix all the ingredients,Now add mayonnaise, and in the end add vinegar.The Salad may be decorated with walnuts and fruits.
This Salad, if taken with bread slice  can be a  full meal in itself.
  3.  Corn Salad :--
    Ingredients
  Corn seeds  1 cup
  Tomatoes  2
  Onions  2 small
  Green peas  1/4 
   Broccoli      2 florets
   Salt      according to taste
   Pepper  powder  One Pinch
   Salad  Dressing(Recipe given below)  About 3 tbsps. 
Method
  Steam  the corn seeds, Peas and broccoli, each separately.Tomatoes and onions  can be cut thin round slices. Arrange the salad in a platter in the following sequence
In the centre keep the corn. 
   2nd circle--- we can arrange the tomatoes   
   3rd  circle,,,, arrange the peas
   4th circle ,,,,arrange onions
   5th circle,,,,Brocoli
Sprinkle salt and pepper and  spread  the salad  dressing on all the vegetables. Serve cold.  
  Salad Dressing   Take 1 cup of vinegar(preferably the red one),  1/2 tsp mustard powder, Oregano 1 pinch, honey  2 tbsps. and  olive oil 2 tbsps. I use this concoction in most of the salads that I make. Its sweet and sour taste and exqusite aroma  will tempt any one to  sample it.

















 












Sunday, 9 September 2012

Clutter in the house? How to handle?

Some days  ago I saw my husband  behind a mountain  of papers.Papers, big and small, some fresh and others fading  and whithering away by the passage  of time cluttered  his table. This scene  was actually being  enacted for the last  several days.  I  just saw him everyday taking  out a  new bundle and  frantically  discarding  papers one by one and throwing back back into the same   bundle. Whenever I asked him what  was he  looking for so intently, he  did not even respond. Why was he so  desperate? Finally I could not  bear it  any longer. I pulled away the bundle and repeated  the same query. He then told me that he  was searching for a paper  which he had received from the bank and it had to be submitted  for Income Tax purposes. The main reason was that the  papers had  accumulated over a period of time.  This clutter  had not got  his attention. 

It is a basic human  nature to possess  and  not to throw away  any thing.A housewife   never likes to discard any thing. Specially  every kitchen  has the privilege to  store within its four walls all sorts of  knick  knacks.  Generally the clutter is more obvious  in  the  papers,which include bills, receipts, instruction manuals, guarantee cards,  old newspapers and magazines and what not. The kitchen clutter includes  numberless  bottles, tins and containers  which have no   use in the family but continue to exist  due to  either the family’s emotional attachment   or indifference  towards them. If we ponder how much we have  accumulated  we will be shocked at our own stupidity. The drawers are all full of unwanted things which jump out every time we  open them. Clothes spread  everywhere are a great eye sore. No space is spared. The  doors ,windows  and chairs  silently bear the burden of the clothes. All this overcrowding    is one of the reasons for    stress . A famous writer has said, ’There will be calmness and tranquillity  when external things are removed.”

Our endeavour should be not  to allow things to go on  adding, even if their date has not expired. There are many items  to which we are emotionally attached.It will only be gathering dust  lying  unused.  One must keep in mind that if an article has not been used in the last one year ,it deserves to be discarded. We keep on adding to our wardrobe.The ‘in’ window is   kept open but the ‘out’ window   hardly opens. 
One must realise  that  one way traffic  will only  result in jams.It must be a two way process.You will feel  more relaxed if you firmly discard items which are no longer relevant. 
Then peace of mind will ensue.

Use it up
Wear it out;
Make it do --
Or do without ( Alfred Einstein)
The best way to keep the house  neat and clean is  to out wit your  possessiveness and be more organised. We must ensure that house cleaning is not illusory ie. hide away things from  your sight and dump  them  in some corner of  the house.   

In the words of  Mother Teresa
The more you have, the more you are occupied.
The less you have, the more free you are."

Our motto should be-
'DOWN WITH CLUTTER
 DOWN WITH CLUTTER and again
 DOWN WITH CLUTTER!!!

Friday, 7 September 2012

Chocolate Pudding

In my last article ' From My Kitchen Diary ' the recipe  of chocolate pudding  could  not be accommodated due to space constraint. Today  the recipe is  being given below. 

Ingredients for Chocolate Pudding:-
1.Cocoa powder   1 cup
2.Coffee  powder   1 tbsp
3.Milk               1 litre
4.Sugar             100 gms
5 Bread slices    2 (sides removed)
6. Custard Powder   3 tbsp
7. Vanilla essence  1/4 tsp
8.Chocolate sauce   3 tbsp 


Chocolate pudding
Method:-
In the milk add cocoa powder, coffee powder,  and completely  mashed bread slices. Keep it on  medium flame  till it boils. Keep stirring so that no lumps are formed.When the milk starts  boiling, add sugar and chocolate sauce. Now lower the heat and add custard powder dissolved in  1/4th cup of water. Keep stirring all the time till the the milk thickens.Remove from the fire and add vanilla essence.Ensure that there are no lumps.

Take  a bowl and pour the mixture in  it. Keep the pudding in the refrigerator. Don't freeze it. You may also pour the pudding in  small bowls  to serve individually.