Tag: 2018 AtoZ

Welcome! 
We are with the 2018 April AtoZ Blogging challenge and its my fifth attempt. For those who missed it, here is the link to my Theme Reveal post. Do the alphabets still stand for the same things we learnt about in Nursery school? 

Its day eighteen and the alphabet is R.


R is for Rat. That is what I learnt in school. 
Rat as in the rodent that is a menace and dread in every household. Its cousin the Mouse is probably more welcome in laboratories as its commonly used as a lab animal. 
Outside the scientific setting, even a small kid with relate the word ‘Mouse’ to the black device attached to a laptop or PC … 

A close cousin of the rat is the mouse. A mouse is the  वाहन (vahan meaning transport or vehicle) of Lord Ganesha. You will always find a tiny mouse at the feet of any idol or image of this favourite elephant headed God.

This is the famous DagduSheth Ganapati of Pune. Click on the image to see his ‘vahan’ at the bottom left of the image- at the feet of the Lord Ganesh

Using the attributes of this mammal, the word rat has entered our vocabulary in many different ways.. 

• We smell a ‘rat’ whenever we suspect some discrepancy or untoward…. 
• The neighbourhood hunk possibly achieved this status by being a gym ‘rat’ and spending hours and hours working out at the health club!
• The office colleagues called him a ‘rat’ for betraying them in a crunch.
• Hair stylists refer to something called the Hair ‘Rat’ .. now now, there is no need to curl up in distaste! From what I have read, this was quite in fashion years ago to easily create classical hair styles. Women collected fallen hair, put it into a mesh bag and created the ‘rat’. This article gives more info. Recently I remember seeing one used at a local parlour to create the prefect French Knot the difference being, it was commercially made. 

• Scabbers who is the pet of Ronald Weasely. How many Harry Potter fans here?
• Ratatouille is a cute movie with a rat as the central figure and the movie has won one Oscar! 
• Can we ever forget Mickey Mouse and Tom and Jerry?? Though they are technically referred to as ‘Mouse’ I think both can find a place of honour in this post 🙂
• The Pied Piper of Hamelin must also find a mention in this post. He is said to have rid the city of rats in the year 1284. My research revealed some interesting stuff about Hamelin city which is in Germany. There is an automated clock describing the story of the Pied Piper. Do read this very interesting article on Mental Floss about Hamelin city.

Welcome! 
We are with the 2018 April AtoZ Blogging challenge and its my fifth attempt. For those who missed it, here is the link to my Theme Reveal post. Do the alphabets still stand for the same things we learnt about in Nursery school? 

Its day seventeen and the alphabet is Q.


Traditionally, Q is for Queen and today I will stay with the word Queen.


The only difference is that I would like each and every woman to be wearing a crown.


Here’s what has prompted this coronation…

Women devote so much time for our careers, families, homes that very often we put themselves at the bottom of the priority list. 

Well, ok, it may not be true for everyone.. so I can speak only for the ladies I have met over the last few decades. When in a crunch, it was always ‘She’ who did away with her free time/exercise/hobby and so on. 

I too am guilty of this. 

Let me add that this was a voluntary decision – one that was forced on me by my conscience. I have never really found out why since I was brought up in an open, progressive atmosphere and married into an equally open and progressive family.

Still it has happened. 

And then, a few years ago, I decided to put a stop. 

That’s when I decided that I need time for Myself. 
The world (read my family) can and does very well without me – that was a difficult one to digest at a great cost to my ego. But it set me free from myself! 

I have stopped carrying all worries of the world…. 

I am not perfect.

I have learnt to appreciate myself and accept my own short comings. I don’t depend on appreciation from friends/relatives to feel good. (But honestly.. it does feel awesome to be praised!)

I have opted out of the rat race long ago. Being a tortoise is good. It lets me walk on the path less travelled and appreciate what God gives me. 

Weight is not the sole criteria. Being fit is. Salt and pepper hair is to be accepted as are the knee caps and calcium supplements. Grey hair does have its advantages in being offered to jump a queue! 😉


Time marches on.Change is inevitable. Accepting it makes my life easier. 

I owe it to myself to be happy. 


That’s when I crowned myself a queen. 


These are my two-paise tips for every woman to be one! 

We are more than half way through the AtoZ challenge. Hang in there folks…
Cheers!

Welcome! 
We are with the 2018 April AtoZ Blogging challenge and its my fifth attempt. For those who missed it, here is the link to my Theme Reveal post. Do the alphabets still stand for the same things we learnt about in Nursery school? 


Its day sixteen and the alphabet is P.


Traditionally P is for Pen or Parrot. But in view of the recent outcry around the world and the Cambridge Analytica scandal, I would say P is for Privacy. Privacy or security of our data-  whether on social media or simply information generated by using our cell phones. 


This data breach has generated a volley of jokes and I will share a couple of them here- both received via WhatsApp. 

Mark Zuckerberg got involved in a car accident with an M.P’s son’s car in Delhi. (MP = Member of Parliament)


MP’s Son angrily: Do you know who my father is?


MZ: yes, his name is Jaspal Singh. He has 237 friends out of which 35 are women and your mother doesn’t know 10 of them. Last month he went to Thailand and he……..


MP’s son:  Bas kar yaar galti meri thi (Stop it, it was my mistake)

In the old days, such activity may have been called ‘spying’ but may have been used exclusively by governments or security agencies. We have read of letters being steamed open, phones tapped. On a general level, the neighbourhood shopkeeper knew preferences and ordering pattern of all his customers.  


Such monitoring of individual preferences has now spread to the digital world as people switch to ordering via e-portals, extensively depend on apps etc. Naturally, this info is much sought after by marketing companies. They use it to sell their products, subtly ‘guide'(influence) our thoughts and so on. 


When ever we sign up for a social media account, we first have to tick a checkbox that has us agreeing to their Terms and Conditions. This usually covers the way in which the company will use our data, jurisdiction for any disputes etc. My sole attempt to read these Terms and Conditions was discouraging – not because of what was written but  its nature. There was  reams of legalese – the implications of which were quite difficult to comprehend. So if I needed to use that particular service,  I simply ticked the check box and proceeded.


Like it or not, we are in a digital age. The SciFi movies of our childhood do not seem imaginary any more. Its almost as if the situations depicted in some episodes of the Netflix serial ‘Black Mirror‘ are actually happening! 

The Internet is here to stay and along with it the new age spies. Its up to us to use our discretion to keep these forces at bay. Learn to live with it knowing its disadvantages.  


Here are a couple of good articles about how we can reclaim our privacy.  


Is it time to go back to the old ways? Letters by Post, Libraries instead of Google to search and so on…


I would love to hear your views on this subject!