Sea Elves of Myth - Coffee Time Reads

  A recent virtual talk I attended on the various growth issues among children took me to a totally different terrain. Among the different issues related to the topic that were discussed the mention of 'bone-age' ( the degree of maturation of a child's bones)  caught my attention. It was a relatively new concept for me. Though the talk did not mention much on the term or the reasons that affected it, I was intrigued. Some days of study and research led me to writing this article, so that I can share some thoughts on it with you, children. What are the factors affecting our growth? Genetic factors, we all know that. But along with that there are many environmental and cultural factors like stress, exposure to sunlight, amount of physical activity and most importantly the quality of food. Quality of Food/ Plastic Ingestion  We know we can't live with out plastics. They are there everywhere. From our favorite toys to our school bag, from burgers to shawarmas most of...

  I began writing blogs as a pastime during the lockdown days of Covid 19 pandemic, to be precise when the second wave hit India. The  literary output was more self indulging at first but later the responses of those who read my scribes boosted my sense of self- worth. Recently when I found something that concerns the parents and well-wishers of our kids, I thought I would digress from my usual style. So here we go…   I happened to attend a talk by a Pediatrician on the growth issues among children. I could perfectly understand most of the things she addressed. Being the mother of two,   I had similar concerns. What hit me like a dynamite was when she mentioned something called ‘bone age.’ I remember something similar to it being mentioned between Patrick Jane and Teresa Lisbon in the American drama series ‘The Mentalist.’ But then who takes the stuff they show on T.V seriously. This time it was mentioned in quite a different context, definitely not related to solv...

Just like all Sunday mornings Sarah laid on her bed feeling sleepy and tired. She was not particularly enthusiastic about Sunday mornings. They meant going to church at 8 in the morning and being there till almost noon and the day was almost over.   She loved Saturdays though. There was no school, no homework and long hours of play. The thought of the long Sunday service she had to attend made Sarah lethargic to get out of her bed. She pretended to be asleep until her father woke her up. Lazily she washed up and sat by the breakfast table nibbling on her toast until her mom rushed her. Sunday Services of Syrian Jacobite Church meant long hours of standing with folded hands and prayers mostly in Syriac and archaic Malayalam which were all Greek for the little girl to decipher. In church she spent most of her time watching and wondering in amazement how the pious old and elderly attended the service.  Her mom who stood next to her seemed involved in the service and seemed...

  The other day my son came rushing in to the kitchen and told me that Elon Musk is not the richest man on Earth anymore. ‘It’s a French fashion tycoon Bernard Arnault mama and his wealth is about $186.3 billion—putting him $300 million above Jeff Bezos, who is worth $186 billion, and Elon Musk, worth $147.3 billion,’ he went on spiritedly. The boy dreams to grow up rich and kept track of all the richest guys around.   Though he fantasizes of doing well in life, he was not a fan of hard work and labour when it came to helping out at home. He delegated his sister for everything from fetching his school stuff to doing his domestic chores. But things changed once I put him on a payroll for doing the chores around the house. Miraculously from the next day on his bed was well made every morning, things at their designated spots, room always tidied and the boy even volunteered to do his own laundry. He was offering his ass...

    It has become my habit to sip my morning coffee while flipping through the WhatsApp status uploads. A ritual perfected by our ancestors, but then, they did it with newspapers. While they devoured the newspaper to know what happened in their country and the world at large I enjoyed watching the Tik Tok videos, trolls and birthday videos. In fact most of the time it’s how I remember to wish people on their birthdays and anniversaries. In a way WhatsApp has taken over the duty of reminding us of our special moments from Facebook. Good Job WhatsApp!! One morning I was in my usual routine of having my coffee with the status updates, the latest in vogue  troll caught my eye. It was a troll from the Malayalam movie Joji. My former engineering students were the first in line to upload the troll and then my B. Ed. students followed in league. They were trying to correct the common misconceptions of the public regarding the difficulty level of their respective courses. W...

                                  For the last one year I have been anointed the family barber and to be honest have enjoyed the title very much. These lock down days have given me an opportunity to sharpen my hair styling skills. If my dad and husband requested my services, it was not the case when it came to my son. With him I had to beg, bribe and at times threaten to make him agree to shear off his unruly mane. Then he has always had issues with grooming. The trivialities of civilization like bathing, brushing, combing and changing cloths could hardly find a place in his busy daily schedule of games and play. Let alone setting time apart for trimming nails and getting haircuts. Hundred Year's War                                    ...

    Looking at the sobbing eyes of her child Mother’s heart melted. Which mother can bear the tears of her child? It is time to take charge…. So Mother put on her cape to set off and straighten some things. After all, isn’t it the job of every concerned, loving mom? Even before those times of Johnson & Johnson ads moms who invariably vowed to get the best for their child, mothers everywhere shared a similar concept. It is their primary, if not sole, duty and responsibility -  safeguard their brood. Mother had been a staunch believer of this concept. She had taken it her life mission to protect and preserve, to make sure that no harm will come to her child. So she never let her child play in the sun or in the rain lest it might give a heatstroke or pneumonia. A single cough could give her a panic attack as it might be whooping cough, common cold could turn into meningitis and a soft stool could be cholera. For...