"Just Two More Minutes"

 

She was the kind of person who hid an entire world behind her silence. Intelligent, observant, and always thinking, she seldom let others see what was going on in her mind. Somehow, she trusted me enough to let me in. She would tell me even the smallest things—things she never shared with anyone else—and that trust meant more to me than she probably ever knew.

Her way of thinking was completely different from most people. She saw the world through a unique lens, finding connections and possibilities that others would never notice. Even in simple things, her creativity stood out. The color combinations she chose while painting were unexpected yet beautiful, reflecting the originality of her mind.

She had a habit of blending ideas together in the most imaginative ways. She would combine two or three animals and create entirely new creatures, giving them names like 'Peacat' or 'Pealion.'  What seemed playful on the surface revealed a remarkably inventive mind. She wasn't just imagining things—she was creating new worlds and concepts effortlessly.

Her imagination would come alive in her paintings, in the unusual color combinations she chose, and in the funny creatures she invented that seemed to emerge effortlessly from her unique way of thinking.

Beneath her quiet and introverted nature was a mind constantly exploring, observing, and inventing. While many people saw only her silence, those who knew her closely could see how extraordinary her imagination truly was. I was fortunate to be one of the few people she trusted enough to share that hidden world with.

She had an exceptionally sharp mind. Whenever I taught her something, she would grasp the concept almost immediately, often understanding it faster than I expected. Teaching her never felt like a task because she was genuinely curious and eager to learn.

But her attention had its limits. The moment she got bored, she would look at me with that adorable expression and say, 'Estoy aburrida' ('I am bored') in the very language I was teaching her. That was usually my cue that the lesson was over.

Then our time would turn into something else entirely. We would draw, paint, sing songs, or simply sit together and enjoy some snacks. Those moments were often filled with laughter and creativity.

And, of course, there had to be potato chips. They were her favorite.

She was a voracious reader. Books were never just a hobby for her; they were a part of who she was. She could spend hours lost in stories, ideas, and worlds created by others. Over time, her love for reading evolved into something even more remarkable—she began writing her own books. It felt natural for someone with such a vivid imagination and unique way of thinking to become a creator of stories herself.

What always amazed me was how her mind worked. She saw possibilities where others saw ordinary things.

Yet despite all that intelligence and imagination, she had the cutest little habit. Whenever it was time to stop doing something she was deeply engaged in—reading, writing, drawing, or anything else—she would almost invariably ask for 'another two minutes.' It didn't matter whether she had already spent hours on it; she always believed that two more minutes would be enough. Of course, those two minutes often stretched a little longer.

Even now, when I think of her, I remember that phrase. 'Just two more minutes.' It became part of her personality—a reflection of her curiosity, her determination to finish one more page, complete one more thought, add one more detail to a drawing, or stay a little longer in the world she was creating.

What made her special wasn't just her intelligence—it was the way her brilliant mind, boundless creativity, childlike curiosity, and quiet trust all came together. While most people saw a quiet, introverted girl, I was fortunate enough to know the vibrant world she carried inside her.

Wherever life takes her, I hope it remains as colorful as the paintings she loved to create and as boundless as the imagination she carried within her. I hope she continues to read, write, dream, and build new worlds with the same curiosity that always made her special.

I wish her success in everything she chooses to do, happiness in every chapter she writes, and people who appreciate the brilliant, creative, and kind person she is. Though I miss her, my memories of her will always bring a smile to my face.

And if she ever finds herself asking for 'just two more minutes,' I hope life grants her all the time she needs to chase her dreams.

May her future be successful, colorful, and filled with endless possibilities.

To Err is Human!

 To Err Is Human…

 

Is there anyone here who hasn’t done any mistakes in life….

I have….quite a few, but some keep bothering me.  Decades have passed, one mistake with my friend kept me feeling ashamed not to face her. Met her recently in some get together event & couldn’t open up about it, but spoke few sentences & that’s it.  Thinking retrospectively, was the mistake so grievous not to admit and say sorry and go ahead. It wasn’t. But the guilt of it kept me away. Now I repent to do so.  

One must remember – it is not only fools who make mistakes, the wise also do.  Its simply waste of time to chew on your or others mistakes.  If someone else has made a mistake, forgive and forget. If you have made a mistake, ask for forgiveness and move on.  There is no point in getting stuck.

Let your mistake teach you in spite attacking you. It should be a lesson rather than a loss. It should be temporary, detour if necessary and it should not be a dead end.  

One should see a mistake as a mistake, not as ‘my’ or ‘his/her’.  ‘My’ creates guilt  & ‘His/Her’ creates anger. 

One may regret for things you did do or things you didn’t do in past. It’s important to analyze & accept the rationale behind doing or not doing things at that time. 

Many of us who had opportunity to choose different profession than what we are doing now. It might look as a better option now & one might regret for the same…but one should remember ..The grass is always greener on the other side! 

If you get the chance & if its not too late to correct the mistake, take a advantage of that opportunity now. It might be apologizing for the mistake or to correct it ….If there is something you can do it, do it!

Its not always that easy to voice out your mistake in front of others. Try writing it down….you can revise it if you want…Its just important to express yourself.

One should learn how to grow past the pain of mistake, shame. One must involve self in things that gives you gladness & not the guilt.

Art is essential to humanity ……

 

Art is a visual langue that connects the world.  It is an essential form of expression and communication in our daily existence. Art can express complex feelings  & concept that word simply can not.  A picture is worth 1000 words.

Art is a reflection of one’s inner self. It is depiction of how one express themselves.

Art is magical. It triggered by the most basic senses—what you see, what you hear, what you touch, what you taste----Simple things inspire making an Art.  Art comes from the inner thoughts…originates in brain and flows through hand on to the canvas. In this process, one just forgets things around you and concentrate only on your creativity…such a meditation!

Do you need a skill of art to understand art?..No,you do not.

Art can create awareness. It can shape mind. It can build societies.  Arts play a vital part in developing the intellect, to build up a positive character and appreciate natural aesthetics.Arts enhances daily experiences.It develops unbiased, responsive and inventive mind full of creativity and dormant talent.

I get engrossed in the art. Love to draw mandala art with my own ideas.  Mandala comes from an ancient Indian language Sanskrit word meaning… ‘Circle or Center’. It symbolizes a notion that life is never ending & how everything is connected to each other. Originating from Hinduism, Jainism &  Buddhism, one can see this art in many temple walls.

Mandala’s intricate designs help you in meditation. It helps you relieve stress and wipe negativity.

Engross yourself in creativity to express yourself. Do it for yourself without thinking  whether  others like it or not…who cares…..It should give you the happiness, confidence, peace & positivity….All that matters!

 

 

Being a Mother….

 

Nothing in the world will be as joyful as seeing your own creation growing and you being the part of shaping their life. What a gift it is to be able to see them grow!

Its not easy to raise a child. It is full of mixed feelings. Your immediate family and friends could get very opinionated and judgmental about it. But your own style & ideas work best for your own. 

Your life always revolved around them and their happiness.

There are so many things, one can learn from your kids.

You learn to be loving and caring , and at the same time, to be strict.

They teach you to be more patient, more loving, and much more appreciative of every moment when we are together as a family.

The innocence….when your little one want to give a ‘BMW car’ as a birthday gift to his father…the only thing in their mind is to give the most desirable thing as a gift’. Only the pure mind can think about other’s happiness.

The unconditional love makes to overcome fears easily. I was dam scared of water. When my little one was 2, it was mandatory to accompany your kid to learn swimming. He used to sit at the corner watching others happily learning swimming with their mothers. And I took the first step & got down in water…stood at the same place for hours…then learnt swimming just to be with him. Now I enjoy swimming, snorkeling ,diving with him….what a joy!

If anytime you are getting frustrated with your kid. Just think about when they grow older & go for their higher education/profession….you already start missing them. Your frustration melts down in a moment. 

Even you are experiencing the hardest trials of life, motherhood gives you a joy.

You learn to rise to any occasion & found yourself lifted to new heights once put upon yourself, stretching beyond all the limits.

You experience an adventure mothering your child that ever imaginable.

Motherhood gives you an excuse to stay younger forever & enjoying love beyond measure.

Motherhood is my life, my joy, my passion, my greatest achievement.

The best parts of being mother is passing our rich culture and heritage to them in an intentional way, watching your kids evolve into empathetic, kind, smart human being.

If someone says, ‘ your kids look / are just like you’ ….you are on cloud nine.

We all enjoy revisiting the childhood through their experiences. They amaze us every moment with their new ideas and discoveries.

A mother is the superhero in a child’s life.

Sunrise !

 

 

 

It is darkest before the dawn.  Sunrises are the birth of a new day, a new beginning, and a new chance, a chance to let go of yesterday and start a new day, fresh and clean.

Night & day are determined by the Sun’s presence in the sky.

Witnessing sunrise is a glory in itself.

I believe in the sunrise. One needs to know the dark in order to appreciate the sun. The sun is what keeps us alive, it is what makes us happy.  

Its like a dream walking barefoot on the beach with someone whom you love to witness the sunrise.  Sand is so warm & welcoming.  Just sit on the rock at shore…meditate for a while & when you open your eyes, you see the divine sun rays staring at you.

I think we often spend time lingering on the darkness, thinking unnecessary things, instead of appreciating the sun (positive things) when it rises. Sunrise is a beautiful miracle of GOD that defeats the darkness & spread light.

Every sunrise is a new page of the book of your life, don’t let it stay blank. Let the morning sky shade be your favorite color.

Witness the sunrise…….start a day with positivity !

sunita: Taking care of self to help others!

sunita: Taking care of self to help others!: As a mother how many of you think that you take time to look after yourself ? ...I'm sure there are hardly few who do that. In our eff...

Taking care of self to help others!

As a mother how many of you think that you take time to look after yourself ? ...I'm sure there are hardly few who do that.
In our efforts to take care of  everyone around us, we mothers usually end up neglecting ourselves.
Being mother is no doubt a busy job. Still you need to take out some time for yourself. It might be anything from getting a haircut done, pampering yourself with facial, manicure, pedicure or reading your favorite book, singing or listening music, watching a movie without any disturbance etc.

Express your inner creativity. The great artist lies in everyone of us. You just have to recognize and express yourself. It can be very small thing or big thing, but it gives immense pleasure to see your own creativity. Make some origami flowers, paint pictures ( however you want!), knit beautiful scarves or make beautiful jewelry with beads. The list is endless.

Keeping a positive 'Body Image' is a healthy tool. Body image is not only how you look, but how strong you are from inside as well. Your children are watching  you. You should be always a good example to them.

There are simple ways to get it right.
If you are over weight ( obese), loose weight. I know that it is easy to say than do. But believe me if you start doing exercise, it grows on you. You don't have to spend money for it joining expensive fitness clubs. Start walking whenever you get time. Even going for shopping is kind of exercise only.
Swim when your kids are doing their swimming classes. Run with kids in playground and so on.

You always want your kids should eat healthy food. Why don't you follow the same for you. As much kids need nutrition, you need it too. Make interesting dishes with healthy organic food and enjoy them with your family. There is no need to buy expensive vitamin supplements.

The most important thing is 'sleeping right'. Consistent and quality sleep is the requirement for keeping you active throughout the day. Expert says that sleep during 10pm to 4 am is quality sleep. Make most of it to keep you healthy and fine.

Talk about yourself to close ones. It makes you feel light. Feeling of somebody cares for you keep you going.

Reward yourself if you achieve goals or something good happens because of your efforts. You can buy things which you like for yourself such as pair of shoes, nice dress or cosmetics.

It is very important recharging and refocusing to reconnect with your family.
Do you agree with me?

Making Waves

Let's be honest; we all secretly want our children to be 'best' at something. It's a natural urge. we always seek for comments like "she/ he is definitely the best."
 
Swimming is one of those things I feel that everyone should know how to do. It is such a huge recreation that to remove it from your options is a major disservice to you and your children.

I was a little slow getting my son into water. When we moved to Australia, seeing other kids doing water activities, I enrolled him for lessons at the local pool. It was then that my son's reluctance, or downright refusal, to get wet became evident. He was terrified. His screams when the instructor carried him into pool filled me with sadness and embarrassment. I noticed the sideways glances from parents whose own children jumped enthusiastically into the water while I pleaded with my son to at least dip a toe in.
Week after week I tried everything-applauding him, begging, bribing him-and sometimes getting angry.
At times I felt like giving up. Then one day, it happened. With the help of tube he started moving around and getting confident. He now doesn't want help. Jumping, playing has become a fun water activity for him.


The first thing one must understand with children and water is if you have a fear of the water, they will sense that and it will affect their ability to move forward. Let me say in here that it is vital that everyone respect the water and a certain amount of fear is not a bad thing. 
The earlier you can get a child in the water the better. You go along with child in water. If they already have a fear of the water you will want to make sure you go VERY slow in your progression. You want to start with splashing, and then build up to blowing bubbles. Don't push the child, but do it yourself so they can see what you are doing. If they go under water clap for them. Children respond greatly to our praise. They love the attention and they deserve it!

Overall for any fear that a child has the first thing you must do is take a serious look at why they have that fear. Is it a fear of the water? Is it an attention mechanism? Are they feeding off your fear? Once you know what it is use patience, understanding and A LOT of praise and they will overcome it!

After seeing my son swimming in water, i started taking swimming lessons to swim with him. And I'm loving it!!

Play in every land!

Play serves a multitude of roles in the development of children. It helps them learn their world naturally. Children use play to test ideas, discover relationships, abstract information, express their feeling and ideas, define themselves, and develop peer relationships.

Active players develop and accumulate their own knowledge about their world and their place in it.

Children should be able to do their own experimenting and their own research. Parents and teachers can guide them by providing appropriate material, but the essential thing is that child should understand, construct and re-invent it.

In play, the key word is "engaged." Children should be actively involved in play. The discoveries during play are going to remain life long with them.

Play, which allows children to choose their learning focus and which fosters a broad range of developmental goals, should be included as an essential learning element.  Play education affords teacher the opportunity to go with the natural flow of learning. It gives children freedom to learn without stress.

The Values of play:

Cognitive Development: Play is vital medium for thinking process and  contributes to cognitive growth by providing exposure, which enriches the thinking.
Play provides many opportunities for children to create , invent and design as they build, draw and dramatize. It develops their creativity, reasoning. They learn probabilities through their repeated observations and fairy make accurate predictions.

Social Development: Children learn to deal with their playmate's feelings and attitudes. They learn how to take turns, be patient, cooperate, share and make friendship.

Emotional Development : Play helps children to express their thoughts and feelings. Play helps to reduce anxiety.


Physical Development: Play Provides opportunity to develop fine and gross motor activities. They develop the concept of body size, which helps them to move through their space successfully.

Taking a risk!

There is trend where parents gave a blanket "NO" to their children who wanted to take risks such as walking on the wall, climbing trees, playing in puddles, sliding on high slides etc. They don't even think "why am I saying no? What is the issue, and is it really an issue?"

Some parents have irrational fears of ' stranger danger' and kids getting hurt have become dominant in their minds, that they no longer let their children push boundaries, or even play on their own at the local park.

The term 'Risk taking' often has a negative connotations, the reality is that the willingness to engage in some risky activities provides opportunities to learn new skills, try new behaviors and ultimately reach our potential.

Challenge and risk, in particular during outdoor play, allow children to test the limits of their physical, intellectual and social development.

The research also shown that kids who have adventurous experiences, where they move beyond their comfort zone, are the once more likely to excel. And not just physically- the ability to take sensible risks can have impact on academic and social success.

Some parents have dilemma to do these sorts of things. They want their children to do such activities. At the same time they have fear of to be deemed to be bad parents.

We have so many examples around us. The great maratha warier 'Shivaji' was allowed to take all sorts of risk in his young age. ( I don't mean by this that our kids to learn all those activities!)
Sachin Tendulkar, at very young age he started making records.

Children who are open to taking physical risks are more open to taking on challenges on other areas. They are happier, academically, to try the more difficult puzzles and tasks, and are more confident about entering unknown social groups.

' If you are used to deal with fear, you can deal with anything.'

All above doesn't mean that parents should just watch children doing things. They should give their children opportunity to take calculated risks, at the same time they should push their child a little.
Parents should find out your own child's capabilities, get then to move out of their comfort zone, not just physically, but socially.

If you help them doing things 2-3 times, they will be confident to do the same of their own, rather they will like to do it of their own. And then it will be hard to say who is PROUDER!

Save Energy!

Lots of power cuts happening all over India to save lights!
Is anybody thought about Ambani's light bills shooted upto several lacs.....it was re considered and given rs 40,000/- discount.......it had become a big news.
Is it  like people who have money can use power howmuchever they want???  Nobody spoke about Ambani are misusing light energy which comes from natural source!
Why the government is quiet about such issue???

sunita: Think positive!

sunita: Think positive!: "One should not discuss bad/sad/wrong things happened with self, it only adds into grief!! Some think that telling your grief to others will ..."

Think positive!

One should not discuss bad/sad/wrong things happened with self, it only adds into grief!!
Some think that telling your grief to others will help giving way it out......but while telling it to other you keep thinking about it one more time.
I'm not saying that by not telling it to other one should keep thinking about it all the time and congest your mind.
Ignore and keep yourself busy in some other interesting things, so those sad thoughts will not come in mind.
One can  take part in somebody elses happiness as well.

sunita: how to keep your cool!

sunita: how to keep your cool!: "At home and at work place.....everywhere people are ready to interfere in your matters without their own interest. As taught by the elders i..."

sunita: Funny but the fact!

sunita: Funny but the fact!: "In Laws...the common subject of discussion in all married woman. However kind and good they are , can't become like your parents for sure. M..."

sunita: Blood relations!

sunita: Blood relations!: "I always feel that only blood relation can have that inner caring feeling .... Your spouse might be spending lot of time with you and you do..."

sunita: Ayodhya verdict!

sunita: Ayodhya verdict!: "I really like the ayodhya verdict.....intelligent result! Still people are unhappy saying that judges did not consider about people who demo..."

sunita: Mother kills her daughter!

sunita: Mother kills her daughter!: "i agree that deepika parmar has done a sin.....but i also think that one should consider her mind set behind doing that...... Mother of prem..."

Mother kills her daughter!

i agree that deepika parmar has done a sin.....but i also think that one should consider her mind set behind doing that......
Mother of premature twins who are hospitalzed since one and half months and she is alone struggling with it. Her husband or anybody else not helping her. She had history of death of her two sons in past. She must be really troubled.
No mother according to me can have intentions of murdering of their child for selfish reasons for sure.

Blood relations!

I always feel that only blood relation can have that inner caring feeling ....
Your spouse might be spending lot of time with you and you do accept so many things from him/her......but as much your blood relation fulfill things upto your expections and understand you...spouse never can!
I'm not saying that spouses are simply hopeless....they do things for you and care and love you as well..
but never can take place of your blood relations for sure.
sometimes i feel one can take their blood relations for granted...spouse can not be or else you will keep waiting..
It might be only my experience and i hope so..