Peace of mind on SALE…SALE…SALE

By- Mridula Chaudhari

For every minute you remain angry, you give up sixty seconds of peace of mind - Ralph Waldo Emerson

                                                                                                                                                                        
   Early morning cup of tea always has an accompaniment, that of a daily newspaper. I can’t think of my morning cuppa without my most bankable companion. It is such an amazing mix that few can live without. Now a days, however, many households do not get their daily newspaper, they prefer reading online. This is a good habit, costs less, but does it give similar joy? I have my own doubts.

    Akbar Shaikh is an exceptional example of a newspaper vendor. Whatever the weather, heavy rain or chilling cold, Akbar has to drop the newspaper at my doorstep, exactly at 5.15. He braves all weather conditions, his own home conditions, his physical condition or his health condition. I cannot but admire Akbar for his regularity and prompt service. On the days when waking up is difficult, I take my inspiration from Akbar and leave the bed promptly.

    Coming back to the newspaper reading, on that particular day I took the newspaper inside and it felt extremely bulky. Thinking that there is load of news in it, I grabbed at it and with my steaming hot cup of tea proceeded to read it. But lo…, I kept turning page after page and advertisements kept staring in my face. Diwali Dhamaka was happening much before Diwali. With sales by the most popular online stores, newspaper shouted….SALE….SALE…..SALE.

   If these were online sales, then why did they need print media to support them for advertising? Why couldn’t they just confine their shouts of SALE….SALE…SALE online? If they did so, life for people like me, who read news in the newspaper, would be so much more livable?

There was so much sale, that I felt they would give the goodies free of cost after a while!!! Their Diwali Dhamaka was already making dhamakas at people’s house with women fighting with their husbands to loosen their purse strings.

    I kept turning page after page and still there was no news. I was wondering what happened to Pakistan and to PM’s itinerary and if girls were safe in our country, all of a sudden. The newspaper had only the SALE…..happening with cell phones, jewellery, TV, Refrigerator etc. on offer.

    I was wondering why people were spending so much money, spending or squandering, and that too just by clicking and entering their credit card numbers. Once Diwali is over and it is back to the grind, I can bet we would have bought half the things that we did not require at all. These goodies have entered our homes and taken away not just the space in our homes but our peace of mind too. In the bargain we SOLD our peace of mind, I guess!!!                                                                

Highs & lows of growing up

By - Mridula Chaudhari

Best books 

Turning current circumstances into opportunity is key to success!

Stepping out of Std. V and stepping in Std. VI and going in the next class every year is the best phase for children. Not just for children but for their parents too, I guess. Children have considerable time to enjoy their study time and play time. If you ask the children however, or even their mothers they will differ with my opinion. Mothers of school going children are always bogged down by their child’s incessant demands and the demands of the current education system. However, trust me they say all this only because they have not seen the days ahead.

     Come college days and the challenges are multiplied. Students lose their focus completely and are at a loss to know what they were supposed to do. They come under tremendous pressure from their peers and parents too. They need to spend time hanging around with their friends and also in their study rooms. Pressure to deliver good results looms large as this is the time when they have to face competitive exams too.

      There is no need to panic though. Sincerity and hard work with a dash of smartness helps sail through. Their job is only to keep focus and believe in themselves. There are number of choices thrown in front of them, spoilt for choices as they say more frequently. It’s where the proficiency of prioritizing helps to a large extent. If the choices are studied thoroughly, they can be tackled in the best possible way. There is certainly no need to panic at such times. There is no need to regret the past or be anxious about the future. Life takes its own course and if we are focused nothing can go horribly wrong.

     Once you take up the course the next worry is whether, I will do well or not, whether I will get a good break with the current course or not. The list however does not stop here it goes on like the proverbial tail of the hanuman, never ending.

     If that is so, is there any reason to keep cribbing about the current situation we are in? We are out here to create our own destiny, but sometimes we end up being victims of circumstances? Is there anything wrong here? Sometimes we may find ourselves better positioned than what we had dreamt of. Learning to accept our surroundings and circumstances is the key to success. Accept and smile than reject and whimper.

     Turning current circumstances into opportunity is the key to success! “The people who lose are the ones who either don’t fail at all and get stuck, or the ones who fail so big, they don’t get to play again.” —so said Seth Godin.

By - Mridula Chaudhari

Mobile phones

Treatise with Technology

To crash an airplane, you need to start flying one, said my friend. That got me thinking and thinking really hard. How true it was what he said. His reaction came due to a lame excuse given by me for not able to meet him since he was staying way too long from my place.

It is so easy for us to say no to a particular activity that sounds inconvenient. We conveniently call off everything that we cannot identify with little thinking what it may have on offer. When Rashmi was asked to write for her school magazine, she conveniently replied that she doesn’t have any inclination towards creative writing. Rashmi did not as much give a try and finally could not develop any writing prowess. However, Shubhangi took up the opportunity and tried her hand at it and pursued it until she became a good writer. Today she can boast of writing several articles in several editions and takes pride in her achievement.

It is not an easy task to learn a new trait but giving it a try certainly is. Learning a new skill can open new doors and give new perspectives. A man is a student all his life, they say. In this regard, senior generation has a hard task at hand. With newer features getting added to the gadgets, they have to learn new skills everyday. My mom once made me sit next to her and show how to use WhatsApp on her new cell phone. After the initial lessons and quite a few Q&As and practice sessions, today she can use @ feature better than I. She makes sure she gets the latest upgrades and converses in all the languages she knows. I finally learned how to write in vernacular only from her. Her forwards aren’t forwards, she types the best ‘Thoughts’ herself before sending them. She secretly feels that she can get good senses prevailing on me. I, at my end, wish I could get her gyan right.

The excitement that she shows in learning new things is exemplary. If we can get our children to be as excited about things around us, they can all fly an airplane I guess!!!