Breakfast with Guptaji

       Variety is good. I always love when there is variety in life. Too much of the same thing becomes boring. What is the point of life it it is boring? It's not just about incidents, it is also true about food. I belong to a south Indian family where the major dishes are Dosa, Idli, Upma and Chapati. There are different versions of these but in the end, the fact remains the same - they all taste similar, well, almost similar! How long can one person eat the same thing without getting bored? 

       Recently, I had an argument with my mom about this. I asked her why she wouldn't learn different things. She just got angry and said "You try it on your own if you are that bored or if you have that free time! I do so much for your sake and you don't know to value it! Kids these days have no respect!" Well, that definitely wasn't what I was expecting to hear when I suggested her to try something new. 

       I have even skipped breakfast many times feigning that I was running late. But truth be told, I was just bored of having the same food every morning. My taste buds demanded something different. I would have continued skipping routine but that mad me too hungry to pay attention to the lectures in college. Soon I was lagging behind in academics and I had to get back to eating breakfast reluctantly.

       For me, my friends' tiffin boxes always looks more tastier than my own. I trade my tiffin box with theirs and thus we taste something new everyday. But how long will this go? Even the items on their menu is limited. I was cribbing about this fact when I read about Kellogg's wale Guptaji (Guptaji of Kellogg's) It said his wife knew over a hundred recipes. That too made of corn flakes. Imagining having something new everyday makes my mouth water with hunger! I so wish I could get to visit this person. 

       I bought a pack of Kellog's corn flakes last week and tried some of the recipes. They turned out yummy. And I became an even great fan of Guptaji's family. How lucky they all might be to try something like that everyday. If only I could get an invite from them too! I wouldn't mind having breakfast at their place every morning! It would be such a bliss.

I just saw this video where everyone asks their family members when Mrs Gupta will be inviting them over for breakfast! Well Guptaji, I too have the same question. When will you be inviting me for breakfast? I just can't wait! Please hurry up :D

Watch more videos about Gupta family here.

Until the next post, 
Sudhi :)

The Best Birthday Ever

       I hate my birthday. Well it is not really birthdays that I hate. In fact, I love them. I just hate that I was born in April, during summer holidays. As a result, I never got to celebrate my special day in school with my friends. The only celebrations so far were the ones at home. That too nothing grand because it was just me, my parents and my sister. Though I loved them, I wished I could have a real party like they show on TV. I craved for such wonderful treat. 

       But last year, I was all more angry. Because, it seemed like the only people with whom I celebrated my birthday, my family, had forgot it as well. My sister went to sleep early, blissfully unaware of the fact that I was waiting for her to wish me at 12. There was still a hope that she was faking it and would surprise me by getting up at midnight but nothing of that sort happened. I convinced myself saying she might be tired and she would wish me the first thing in the morning but when no one remembered about my birthday in the morning too, I was hurt. Hurt didn't even describe how I was feeling. I had never missed wishing her at midnight, always making sure I was the first one to wish her but when it was her turn, how could she forget? I never expected it from my sister at least!

       Most of the morning was spent listening to songs in my room. I refused to go out and face the truth that they have forgot my birthday. Then in the noon, my sister's friend came. They were planning to go for Amul ice cream parlor to celebrate their end of exams! Talk about celebration. My sister was all but ready to leave without me when her friend asked if I want to join in. "Why not?" I said. It was better than sitting alone. At least, I could celebrate it with myself, if everyone had chose to forget. With such thoughts in my mind, I tagged along with them. But when I reached there, I was in for the biggest surprise of my life!

       Not only had my sister arranged a party for me in a hotel, she had called all my friends too. I found out later that none of them wished me because it was the special instruction given to them by my sister. She wanted to make sure I would be really surprised when they brought me here. Trust me, I really was. I was at loss of words. I had always dreamt of this kind of party and my sister had made that dream come true. Of course, she had made me sad in the morning, but it was all worth it. I could easily forget that. "Sorry" she said while hugging and wishing me. The party lasted for two hours while we partied hard and ate delicious food. Needless to say, it was the best birthday party I ever had, together with my sister and friends. There is always fun when you are together with your loved ones and that day the truth of those words rang loud and clear.

PS: This post is written for https://housing.com/.

Until the next post,

Sudhi :)

A New Beginning

       It was the end of another academic year but it was unlike any other. As much as I looked forward to it, I dreaded it with equal fervor. I had finished my schooling and it was time to join for a new college. It was a new beginning, a brand new chapter of my life. But I was scared. I was scared of the new beginning. I was scared of leaving behind the comfort zone and step into the unknown. I was scared of loneliness. Above all, I was scared thinking what if I don't fit in! I had always enjoyed the affection of teachers and I was a top student in my school. Everybody adored me. What if I couldn't achieve the same in the new environment? Would I fit in easily or would I be an outcast? Questions like these started gnawing at the back of mind and I started feeling miserable.

       Actually, the choice was easy. I could have opted to the same college where all my friends joined in. It would have been easier. No need to make new friends, no need to be afraid of not fitting in. I would still be among my gang and life will be as it was - Easy. But there was one concern though. There was another more prestigious college and I had got admission there. It was a dream come true. I had always dreamt of joining there and getting a seat there was an achievement. But the fear of not fitting in made me consider my decision again.

       Time was running out and I had to make a decision soon. On one side was certainty and on the other side was change. It was a difficult situation but after lot of thinking I decided to go for the latter. I decided to let go of my fear and face the change head on. Sure, it would take time. But I was certain I could adapt to the changes. And so, I joined my dream college.

       In the beginning, it was a little difficult. I was the only one who had joined there from my school and so I had no friends there.  I had to sit alone and I have to manage on my own. But I didn't give up. I worked hard and read well. Also, I made new friends slowly as days passed. And now when I look back, I feel silly about my fears. How naive I was when I thought I wouldn't fit in. If I had thinking the same, then I would never have got an opportunity to join this prestigious institution and make my name. I am glad I didn't give in to my fears and made the right decision that day. I, who was scared of changes, agree now that changes are good. They give you so much to learn!

This post is written for housing.com

Until the next post,

Sudhi :)

Happy Baby

Last month, when I had a week of holidays, I decided to visit my cousin’s home. There were two reasons – one was I had nothing better to do sitting at home but that was not the exact reason. The other, more exciting reason was my cousin’s sister had come home for and I was excited that I would get to see and play with her little kid. That was the reason why I wanted to go in the first place.

When I finally went, my happiness knew no bounds. The baby was so cute that I was mesmerized by her. Her tiny hands and legs and those tiny fingers, which she would wrap around my forefinger when she was sleeping; my happiness knew no bounds. I was completely enchanted by the little one and there was no getting out of the spell.

The more I spent time with her, the more I was mesmerized. I started spending more time playing with her. I learnt many things during my stay there. I learnt the little things that make the kids happy. Whenever I used to whistle, the baby used to smile. The more animated faces you made, the wider was the smile. There was one more thing which the baby like a lot – her dad used to throw her up in the air and catch her in time. That used to make her laugh a lot. I could only imagine how she might have felt at that moment.

Many things used to catch her fancy. Whenever she saw the ants, she used to crawl behind them. When we put her in the baby walker, she used to drag it along with her and run around the home, making us laugh. If she managed to get out of the back door towards stairs, then was no stopping her from climbing on them. It made her so happy. And, God save us if she got her hands on water! She used to spill it on the floor and then start splashing it around, sitting in the middle of the puddle. If she heard her favorite song being played, she used to jump and clap her hands, which was her version of dance. It was fun to watch her antics.

But one night, I woke up hearing her cry loudly. I rushed to the room to see what had happened. Grandma was consoling the baby while sister was changing the bead spread. I got to know that the baby had wet the bed and had woken up due to the irritation caused from the wet bed spread. It took some time for her to finally calm down and fall asleep. My sister had a guilty look on her face. When I asked what the reason was, she said that earlier that day she had decided to go buy diapers as the stock at home was over but in her haste had forgotten to do so. As a result, the baby had woken up twice already owing to the wet bead spread. She was worried if the sleepless night would make the baby get up with a grumpy mood! She made a note to buy Pampers the first thing next morning.

That night, I understood why they say ‘Dry Baby Happy Baby’

This post is written for Pampers.

Until the next post,

Sudhi :)

Learning to Hope

"Ouch mom stop it! It hurts" I shouted as she was testing where my leg was sprained. I had actually sprained my leg as I was walking to the dining hall in my college. I hadn't noticed the uneven surface and had fell, thus spraining my ankle badly!

It was a busy day in college and I was a volunteer for the send off party that was due next day. Being a volunteer, there were so many things I had to take care of. One of the main things was to make sure we had given invitations to each and every lecturers. With lecturers coming and leaving at odd hours, according to their time table, it was difficult to make sure everyone was invited. In my hurry to invite someone who had just come, I fell and got my right leg sprained. I had no time to see what had happened and I was busy for the rest of the day. Finally when I reached home and removed my shoes, did I see the swelling.. I started to create a big fuss. Everyone at home was worried and they were thinking it might be a fracture. I started to fuss even more and refused to walk or even move the leg. I even refused to go the doctor and started to cry when forced.

I was very scared of fractures. I could not even imagine a bandage on my leg as it would put an end to all the fun. What about the party? I would have to sit all day in same place.

Finally, after lots of coaxing, I went to the doctor. He asked to get an X-Ray done and to my bad luck it was a fracture. I lost of all hopes of going to the party. 

It went on and I was pretty much sulking. I refused to leave my bed and get up. On the 3rd day, when we were watching our favorite program, a talent show, I saw something which inspired me a lot. A lady who had lost her one leg due to doctor's mistake, had decided not to give up. She might have lost her leg but she never lost hope. She learnt to dance and she even got many awards

It made me think. If such a big thing hadn't made her lose hope, why should I sulk for such a small thing? If people can face hardships and come out smiling, why should I let small things like a fracture bother me? It wasn't the end of my life. It was just a party that I had missed. But there was so much more to life than a party. Life was to be lived, not to be wasted doing nothing. With renewed hope, I decided to stop sulking and do something worth in my life.

PS: This story is written for https://housing.com/lookup

Until next post,

Sudhi