Tale of Two Best Friends

This story is dated long, long time ago when India was divided into many kingdoms and was ruled by Kings. There was a small kingdom in the central part of India, which was ruled by Maharaja Pratap Singh. Maharaja Pratap Singh was very rich and had a small family. His wife's name was Maharani Roshni and they had a 7 years old son, Ajay Singh. They also had a pet lion named Sher Khan. Ajay Singh was taught to live like a prince. There were strict rules in the kingdom that he had to follow. One of the rules was that he was not supposed to be with the low-income group class of kids. He was not supposed to talk to them or even go near them.

Om Prakash, a poor man worked as a servant at Maharaja Pratap Singh's palace. He also had a 7 years old son named Raju. Raju was very playful and behaved exactly the way a child did. He was lovable and enjoyed his life with no strict rules.

It was the time of the year when India's most intense weather events, the Monsoon were on the way. During this season, it was common to see children running around and dancing in the rain.

Prince Ajay was staying indoors on a rainy day and following the rules of the palace. He was painting and Sher Khan was sitting beside him. Suddenly, he saw a shadow splashing in the rain. He ran to the window and saw that the shadow was none other than Raju. Sher Khan got very excited and started to twirl around near the window. Ajay spoke to himself, "Oh! My God! Raju is just wearing shorts and a vest and he is jumping in the muddy puddles. I think his mother will get very upset. He is doing the most untidy act one could ever do". The next minute Ajay saw that Sher Khan had ran out of the back door and joined Raju. Sher Khan was running around in the muddy puddles and enjoying the rain as well. Ajay was getting worried that his mother, Maharani Roshni will be very upset if Sher Khan walked with muddy paws on the carpet inside the palace. He thought that he should make an effort to get Sher Khan into the palace before his mother saw it. He wore his rain boots, took an umbrella and went outside. He said to Sher Khan, "Sher Khan, Come! Follow me". But Sher Khan was having a lot of fun twirling around in the water that he hardly heard anything. Ajay repeated his words but Sher Khan was roaring and running around. He tried to pull Sher Khan, but Sher Khan pulled himself back so hard that Ajay fell down.

As Prince Ajay fell in the mud, he got upset at first, but lying there he saw that Raju and Sher Khan were still playing together, getting wet and dancing in the rain. Ajay realized that it was really fun to step in the puddles and splash the rainwater everywhere. It was indeed fun playing in the rain. He took off his rain boots and joined Raju and Sher Khan. The three of them continued the fun even after the rain stopped. When it started to get dark, Raju went to his house. Prince Ajay and Sher Khan returned to the palace. Maharani Roshni saw everything from the palace window. She got upset not only on the fact that Prince Ajay and Sher Khan were muddy and wet, but she was also upset on the fact that Ajay was playing with Raju while he was not supposed to. Ajay was punished for his deed. He was made to stay in his room whole night without dinner.

Raju had enjoyed playing with Prince Ajay so much on that rainy day, that the following week, Raju came back to Prince Ajay's palace and knocked on the window in his room. Ajay was still in bed but reached out to see that it was Raju holding a little kitten in his two hands and petting it. He was tempted to go to Raju and pet the kitten but he remembered that if he did so, his mother would get upset again, have him stay in the room and he will be punished. However, the kitten was so cute that Ajay could not resist. He went out of the window and stayed in the backyard petting the kitten with Raju. Unfortunately, Maharani Roshni spotted him again with Raju. Prince Ajay was called back inside the palace and this time, he was punished even harder. He was told to stay in his room and was not offered any breakfast or lunch. Raju overheard about Ajay's punishment. He could not bear the fact that Ajay would have to stay hungry that long. Raju went to his house and brought a plateful of lunch for Ajay. Raju quietly went to Ajay's window, creeped inside the palace and shared his food with Ajay. Prince Ajay ate hard, old wheat tortillas, which were probably cooked by Raju's mother the night before. He ate those with curry, the flavors of which were different but delicious. After Ajay ate, Raju quietly slipped away.

Even though, Prince Ajay saw Raju now and then, he tried to stay away from Raju and avoided getting close to him for fear of being spotted by his mother and getting in trouble. One Sunday afternoon, Maharaja Pratap Singh and Maharani Roshni had gone to the neighboring kingdom to visit a friend's palace. Ajay got out of his palace and spotted Raju climbing a tree. Raju taught Ajay how to climb a tree and played with him. Before Maharaja Pratap Singh and Maharani Roshni came back to the palace, Ajay was already home and no one came to know that he had a play date with Raju.

One day Prince Ajay was walking back to the palace, when some flowers in the bush attracted him. He went closer to the bush and to his utmost surprise, those flowers turned into a snake. The snake climbed the nearby tree branch and it appeared that the snake was going to bite Ajay with its head outstretched. Suddenly, Raju came from behind and quickly broke the branch off the tree and threw it away, far deeper behind in the bushes. He held Ajay's hand and made him run away with him.

Prince Ajay came back to the palace and told this happening to his father and mother. Maharani Roshni was impressed on how Raju saved Prince Ajay's life. Since that day, she allowed Prince Ajay to be Raju's friend. She herself invited Raju over to the palace and thanked him for saving her son's life.

Prince Ajay and Raju became best friends inspite of the caste and income barriers. They played together, climbed trees together and petted animals around. They also danced in the rain and jumped in the muddy puddles together every Monsoon season.

 

Where's my Cape?

I am sure I am not the only one being a wife, mother, daughter, cook, and housekeeper who also wants to be intellectually stimulated by a challenging career and hopes to pursue hobbies like writing, reading, and dancing. Phew! If only a day had 30 hours.
Out of all the jobs that comes with being a woman these days, guess which is the hardest? Parenting. This job does not have any sick days or holidays and comes with a persistent guilt of not being good enough. Over the years I have learnt that being a “Super Mom” is not doing everything but doing what matters the most. It is okay sometimes to let those dust bunnies multiply in peace.
As Mother’s Day approaches, I would like to share some mantras that every mom can live by that I have learnt from my own mom.
Take care of yourself: Just like the oxygen mask rule in planes, you cannot help your family if you are in bad shape yourself. Take time out from your busy life for a few moments of pampering. You deserve it, and you will return energized and refreshed and happier.
Organize, organize, organize: Putting aside an hour to plan out your day/week/month often seems like a waste of time, but there is no way you can manage a home on the fly. The few minutes spent on planning meals, chores, and grocery runs can save hours of indecision and repeat trips to the store, and prevent chaos at busy times of the day.
Delegate: Being a “Super Mom” does not mean doing it all. Learn to delegate! Make sure everyone in the family has some chores to do so they appreciate what it takes to run a household. And whenever it’s all too hard, ASK FOR HELP!
Spend time together: What matters most is not how clean you keep your house or if all your errands get done. What matters most is the time you spend with your children. Play games together, read together, and set aside chunks of quality time with them. This is the time where we only see them and their talents; time where they feel the full impact of our love and admiration, when they know without a shadow of a doubt that they are everything to us.
On this mother’s day, I want to give a shout out to my mom, who is so loving, caring, generous, patient, involved, strong, creative, kind, selfless and always two steps ahead. She is a Super Mom, and I know you can be one too.
HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY!

This article can also be found under the title 'Mantras for Motherhood' at: http://waternoice.com/2012/04/16/mantras-for-motherhood/

Good Luck With Those New Year’s Resolutions!

The desi version of the article "Hello New Year!" has been published in an online Indo-American magazine called "Water No Ice".

http://waternoice.com/2011/12/31/good-luck-with-those-new-years-resolutions/

Hello New Year!



Some people see New Year as another chance to start afresh and another opportunity to make New Year resolutions. Is this time for realistic yearly goal-setting? Is this time to make an unbreakable promise to oneself?

Let's take a look at the New Year resolution statistics. 40 to 45% of American adult make one or more resolutions each year. It is seen that 75% resolutions are kept past the first week, 71% past the second week, 64% past one month and 46% past 6 months. (Source: Journal of Clinical Psychology, Volume 58, Issue 4, 2002.) The four most popular New Year resolution topics are related to self-improvement or education, weight, money and relationships. People have seen this time of the year as the time to get into good habits and practices ranging from practicing vegetarianism, getting rid of wicked temptations of junk food, improving fitness levels or embarking on a dream journey.

Like all other goals, New Year resolutions should be specific, have measurable landmarks, and a solid deadline. It should be made very Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time based (SMART Goals). For example, if your resolution is to lose weight, you should aim at a realistic level of weight loss. Aiming too high might provide discouragement and might scare you in the very beginning. Breakdown of the final goal into short term goals and tracking progress will help you stay motivated. If the goal is well attainable and realistic, it will not let the enthusiasm and the hope die out after a few weeks. Sharing your resolution with your family and friends can help provide support to help you make the change and attain the goal. Goals should be made fun and rewarding with a "Carrot, not Stick" approach. After accomplishing the short term goal, reward yourself with what you enjoy the most. (Of course not a box of chocolates for weight loss but something that does not contradict with your goal). This can increase the probability of success, hence will not let you feel guilty of breaking your promise to yourself and at the same time this will honor your commitment to change. Experts say it takes about 21 days for a new activity, such as exercising, to become a habit, and 6 months for it to become part of your personality.

Not only adults but also kids can have New Year resolutions. American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) had released healthy New Year resolution ideas for kids of different age groups. For example, preschoolers could be helped to have resolutions like cleaning up their toys, brushing teeth twice daily and washing their hands. For kids 5-12 years old these are extended into trying out new sport or activity, wearing helmet while biking, wearing sunscreen before going out in the sun, being friendly with other kids and not to release personal information on the Internet. Teenager's New Year resolutions range from proper nutrition to usage of cell phones e.g. they will not use cell phones and text while driving, they will choose non-violent TV shows and video games and will treat other people with respect.

It is seen that even though a lot of people who make New Year resolutions do break them, but resolutions are useful. Some might believe that making confident choices everyday on what really matters to you is more important than New Year resolutions. People who make resolutions are 10 times more likely to attain their goals than people who don't make resolutions. It's good to look forward to what we want and accomplish that, but we must spend time reflecting and be thankful to what we have attained in the past year.

Children and Screen Time | India Currents



Children and Screen Time India Currents

Delight with Veggies

The simple advice that we have heard since we were kids: Eat More Vegetables. Obviously that is easier said than done. Mortality and Morbidity weekly report from the Centers of Disease control and Prevention reported on State-Specific Trends in Fruit and Vegetable Consumption Among Adults in United States, 2000-2009 shows that American adults are simply not eating their veggies, or much fruit, either. The study, titled Healthy People 2010, found that in 2009 efforts to get the public to eat the recommended daily allowance of at least two servings of fruit and at least three of vegetables fell flat. The report states  “In 2009, an estimated 32.5% of adults consumed fruit two or more times per day and 26.3% consumed vegetables three or more times per day, far short of the national targets. Overall, the proportion of adults who met the fruit target declined slightly, but significantly, from 34.4% in 2000 to 32.5% in 2009…” According to a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, each increment of 3 daily servings of fruit and vegetables equate to a 22% decrease in risk of stroke! The International Agency for Research on Cancer, which is part of the World Health Organization, did a monumental review of the best research on fruits, vegetables, and cancer and said that “Eating more vegetables probably lowers the risk of cancers of the esophagus and colon-rectum and possibly reduces the risk of cancers of the mouth, pharynx, stomach, larynx, lung, ovary and kidney."

Homeopathic Use in the United States

Homeopathy, A 200+ year old system of medicine which works on the principal of “Similia similibus curentur” (Let likes be cured by likes), addresses the body in a holistic manner and takes into account all symptoms, behavioral and physical. The homeopathic remedy stimulates the body’s own immune system to respond and heal itself by strengthening the body’s overall constitution. Homeopathy does not follow the "One size fits all" approach. It is a highly individualized system, and the same remedy given to a number of different people will not work in all cases.