T is for Toys

Hello! Welcome to my seventh attempt at the April AtoZ blogging challenge. My theme this year is Experiences of a first time grandmother! Some sweet, salty moments and learnings! My posts are totally based on what I felt (may even border on rants) and are not meant to be a guide. 

 

Toys! 

As  we awaited our Bundle of Joy, I found myself in a totally new world .. one of baby products! I guess I must have mentioned this in almost every post, its a whole new game out there!

It is now all about sustainability, non toxic materials, learning experiences and so on... Ofcourse there are the usual brick and mortar but online shopping from various start ups opens up a fantastic range as toys go traditional. 

There are toys made from cloth, washable ones with non toxic materials. Some were so cute, I almost ended up ordering one for myself!! 

This cute cloth Elephant is actually a Rattle!

P is for Prepare

Hello! Welcome to my seventh attempt at the April AtoZ blogging challenge. My theme this year is Experiences of a first time grandmother! Some sweet some not so sweet moments and learnings! My posts are totally based on what I felt and are not meant to be a guide. 

Obviously the baby is the focus of this years posts.. but today I would like to share my home preparations for arrival of the grandchild. 

Besides the usual stuff like washing curtains, linen etc.. I cleaned all the doors and windows and had pest control treatment done about one month when baby was still at about 30 weeks of pregnancy. Drawers had to be cleared out to keep baby stuff (its amazing how many things are needed and the amount of space they need!). Besides other stuff, I bought things like buckets to keep used clothes till they were washed next day, round clothes hangers (these are really really useful), sufficient stock of provisions and so on. 

During one of such many shopping trips, my husband had this interesting experience...

L is for Lactation

Hello! Welcome to my seventh attempt at the April AtoZ blogging challenge. My theme this year is Experiences of a first time grandmother! Some sweet, salty moments and learnings! My posts are totally based on what I felt (may even border on rants) and are not meant to be a guide. 

 

Lactation is a part of breast feeding which is what a grandmother is expected to guide the new Mom to do. So I will I will take the liberty of focusing on some really useful aids that are now available. 

Over these years, luckily or unluckily I had almost no exposure to handling newborns, so I had no idea that there is new kind of expert called Lactation Consultant! I heard about them via the prenatal classes at our OBGYN. (Prenatal classes itself was a new thing for me!!) 
That's when I learnt about different positions to nurse a baby.. If like me, this is a first for you, do update yourself here. 

Yet another master stroke by whoever designs such things is a range of products that has made the nursing process much easier and comfortable for Mom. Online shopping sites and regular stores offer a range of Feeding Pillows which are absolutely indispensable ... ask any new Mom! They come in several shapes and some even offer back support! 

Just check out the Breast Feeding section of any online shopping site and you will wonder how we managed so many years ago! 

What has been your experience? I am sure my thoughts may cause a deja vu to some of you especially someone who has hosted a new born. I would love to hear from you!

See you after the weekend folks!

Here are links to my previous AtoZ attempts. 
2013 Mixed Bag
2014 Exercising For Fitness
2015 Gardens of Pune
2016 Herbs
2018 Contemporary A to Z
2019 Caring for the Caregiver

Disclaimer: My posts do mention some products or service providers but these are not sponsored and not meant to be an advertisement.  All posts are from a maternal grandmother's point of view!

Cool (Wordless Wednesday)

N for Netflix

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 fourteen and the alphabet is N.

Usually, N would be for Nest. Right? Yet today, the first word that this alphabet reminds me of is Netflix!

Do I hear you laughing? I guess, for a fifty something doting mother and mother in law, Netflix is a perfect alternative to watching cliched TV serials. 
Before I proceed, let me assure you that this is not a sponsored post 
;-)

J is for Jungle

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 ten and the alphabet is J.

The earliest memory of what the alphabet J stands for is a Jug.

However, I would like to talk about another J word .. Jungle. I guess this is not surprising considering my interest in Field Botany. 

No, I will not talk about how fast and extent of jungles that we are losing to 'development' but instead I would like to give you some glimpses of a few forests. India is rich in natural heritage and there are reserve forests and sanctuaries across the length and breath of the country.

A naturalist once told me, "No two forests are the same. Each one has its own beauty and must be enjoyed for what it has to offer." I had asked him which forest is better - Tadoba or Pench or Kanha.

Then, I had not really understood what he meant but now that I have managed to tick off a few forests from my bucket list, I can truly appreciate what he wanted to say.

Here are some images ...

C for Camera

 

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 three and the alphabet is C.

C is for Cat. Or Camera! To be very specific cell phone camera.

Years ago, we were proud owners of a simple rectangular point and shoot. Moments were captured for ever and we eagerly waited for the film to be developed. Our joy knew no bound when we had perfectly beautiful people or landscapes staring at us from the paper. More often though, we had grainy images with camera shake or eyes shut or even worse... image captured just when someone was about to put a huge piece cake in their mouth! 

With tech progress cameras have kept getting better so much so that they are now small enough to be installed on cell phones. The initial devices had only rear facing cameras now we have cameras that look back at us! 

This is the one that has caught the fancy of people everywhere as it produces the famous 'Selfie'. Now we need not depend on anyone else to take a picture of ourselves. either alone or in a group (when it becomes a groupfie). According to this article in The Telegraph, an Australian man has claimed to be the inventor of the word!

Offerings (Wordless Wednesday)

Lord of the Files

We purchased our home quite a few years ago, a time when computers were not an integral part of the government machinery. As was the norm, the registration papers were retained by the Municipal authorities and owners retained photocopies. There was a central office that looked after registrations of the entire city. With burgeoning real estate, and scores of property registrations every day, one can only imagine the number of documents that had piled up. Where and how well were they stored were questions best left unasked.

I guess, the task of storage was eventually just too much and the Municipal Corporation decided to digitise the documents. This meant that owners could now collect their documents after producing the original registration receipt. We were happy as the property file with us would now be complete with original documents. The only problem was that in the interim 15 odd years, the procedure had been decentralised and we had no clue where to begin.

Instant Refresher (Wordless Wednesday)

Mismatched shoes - by design

Currently its the FIFA World Cup 2014 that rules TV time at home. Being hosted by Brazil, the live telecasts can be seen at some unearthly hours in India but football fans are not complaining. Ofcourse repeat telecasts are shown to suit those not willing to sacrifice their sleep but it means others at home having to give up their favourite serials. 

Since I could not fight the football fever, I decided to join in. As I was trying to learn the intricacies of a spectacular pass or a heroic save, I found myself admiring the fluorescent brilliant colours of players' footwear. 

Note: All images below are from the TV transmission on Six HD via Hathway cable provider.

Mentally I congratulated the company and its designers that had come up with these great uniforms for the players. Coordinating colours for the different teams and the accessories must have been a real challenge.... And that's where I spotted in some players had differently coloured shoes on the Right and Left feet.

Pink shoe on the right foot and blue on the left

The Walls are Alive

Many years ago, when my husband was still serving in the Indian armed forces, the most important aspect when moving into the allocated MES accommodation was getting it painted -- ‘chuna’ was our brutally frank description of that process. The team of workers 'did' up the houses in a day, two days if we were lucky. All of us had uniform pale yellow walls with white ceilings. Just that layer of coloured water on the walls gave the homes a fresher feel and we happily settled in. The family was not separated, there was a Kendriya Vidyalaya for the children and we were happy. That's just how things were in our times.Decorating homes meant displaying mementos, paintings, embroidery, potted plants and so on. Paint as decor by itself was unheard of. 

Out on civil street after my hubby had quit service, we were quite confused when it was time to paint our flat. We opted for the Asian Paints Home Solutions which meant the company took care of everything including the dreaded 'post paint' cleaning of the home. 

Maddening Ad Fads!

As Indian economy grows smartly and foreign majors knock at our doors eager to get a foothold, we consumers will become the focus of the marketing fraternity. Stiff competition means every customer has to be reached out to both at home and outside. This leads to a veritable advertising blitzkrieg! Even as we speak, ad gurus are pulling out all stops, thinking out of the box as they goes in for the kill so to speak. Practically, it means all spaces - be they natural or manmade are used to reach out to us, the consumers! Thus we find pavements advertising telecom carriers, bus shelters displaying new housing schemes and public transport vehicles looking like a well decorated cake as images scream out qualities of some product.

One has to admire the versatility of the creative minds, as using conventional ad space in print/ radio/hoardings is passé. Thus newspapers or magazines now have promotional sachets stuck on to them for free trials. I don’t know if the move has made a difference to product sales but some newspaper delivery boys certainly made a quick buck selling off these samples! Companies increasingly splurge on dedicated four-page supplements or glossy magazine pullouts to showcase their product!

Main Street

MG Road in Pune is not what it used to be. In its halycon days it was the place for high end shopping, the road for the classes (not masses) to shop in. The advent of the mall culture has eroded its illustrious status and slowly but surely it has lost its position as the premier shopping destination in the city.

Popularly called "Main Street" it retains its olde world charm, as almost all establishments take the mandatory Puneri afternoon siesta... Malls or not, these shops are shut every afternoon and the weekly off continues to be Sunday instead of Monday like most other shops in the city. Some of the shops will take you back in time to the British era with their quaint wooden panelling, wooden steps and decor of an age gone by.

Marzorin is one such cafe (if we can call it so) housed in a building that can easily be from the last century. Its biggest claim to fame are its sandwiches.While I dont much relish their mayonnaise, there are those who will sing its praises. What I love best are their macaroons- the almond ones. Buying those had become an annual ritual for us when we came from our distant bases. Their taste is unchanged over the years but size certainly has reduced.

Enjoy the view on the bustling street

Almond macaroons

 Marzorin is a great place to just sit down and soak in the atmosphere of this road. The Pasteur bakery next door also offers reasonably priced cakes but if you are looking for exclusive gourment stuff, you better look elsewhere. Budhani located just across the street shows is known far and wide for its Batata chivda (a savoury snack made from fried potato strips). These are just a few places on a foodie trail on the Main Street- one that demands you to first tear up your calorie chart!
Cheers!

Shrikhand or Mishti Doi: Who wins?

Dahi is an integral part of our Marathi diet. We eat it just by itself or with sugar added (dahi sakhar) or churned up into 'taak' (buttermilk). To add value, it is drained of excess water and sweetened to make Shrikhand! The one and only supreme dish that is traditionally served as part of the meal but also lends itself to be served as a post-meal 'desert'!

Shrikhand and dahi have a permanent irreplaceable place in the hearts of Maharashtrians.

There can be no better combination... which is what I thought till I ate Mishti Doi.

Music Festivals: Dos and Dont

Winter is a beautiful season in Pune. Besides lovely weather, excellent veggies (I refer to their quality not price!), sales and exhibition galore, there are usually several cultural programs as well. Despite several artists performing throughout the year, the period following Divali is particularly busy. Music festivals both small and big mean a virtual auditory feast for music lovers! And these are not simple three hour affairs, but are spread over a period of 3-5 days.

Since 2003 I have attended several such 'utsav' because that is what they are - music festivals!  The audience obviously largely comprises die hard music lovers. However there is a small percentage of people who are present there simply to accompany their loved one who loves that particular music genre/artist or to
merely 'log' their presence at the event or youngsters (a rising number of them seen these days) who tag along with their 'group'. Prestigious events like the Sawai Gandharva Bhimsen (the last name added from this year) attract Hindustani music aficionados from across the seven seas!

Music to our ears

Its been a long long time since my last post! And I have been shaken out of my lethargy by some really outstanding news, information that I would like to share with those who may not have already read about it.

Music lovers its time to rejoice again!

While we have been moaning about the demise of WorldSpace Satellite Radio, activities were on behind the scenes. This online article on VCC circle (http://www.vccircle.com/500/news/timbre-media-to-ring-in-%E2%80%98worldspace-radio%E2%80%99-once-again) has brought back the smile to our faces, cheered the heart and generally got most of us in a thoroughly upbeat mood.

A newly formed Bangalore-based company Timbre Media will soon start broadcasting music as we knew and loved on WorldSpace. Formed by a dedicated group of ex-WorldSpace personnel, the company will deliver music to us via the broadband Internet, DTH and cable. Their efforts are indeed commendable as they have gone great lengths to get this project off the ground. This is another article on the topic (http://business.in.com/article/tipoff/worldspace-radio-is-back/26912/1).

Of course this means we can now freely sell our old WorldSpace antennae and receivers as scrap as that equipment will be useless here. But who's complaining?

The joy of listening to uninterrupted ad-free radio is what most erstwhile-WorldSpace subscribers will willingly take up.
This is indeed music to our ears!
Cheers!

Plastic Money

As more and more establishments accept plastic money, we increasingly turn to the comfort and convenience it offers not to mention some time leeway before we actually make the payment (in case of credit or charge cards). The process usually consists of the card being swiped at the cash counter, signing on a tiny slip (printed with fading ink in microscopic font- particularly for baby boomer eyes!!) and walking out with the desired goods!
Simple aint it??

Yes provided the machine that does the swiping is in good working condition.
Have you at any times been met with an 'error' message on the machine? Probably... Usually the cashier re-swipes the card or you may proffer another one from the plastic collection in the wallet! The machine spits out the piece of paper and you are done. Voila!

However it may happen that the machine and related IT connections have actually deducted the sum from your account, but you do not know that. Repeated swiping will still give the 'error' message and the money will continue to be deducted. Of course this is only an occasional issue and does not happen in all instances of 'error' messages of the swiping machine.

In the above case, the bank account will show multiple deductions to the same vendor...

This can be an extremely painful situation. What is to be done???

• The first thing is if possible go back to the shop and inform the manager and get him to inform his bank about this failed transaction/swipe.
• Then contact your own branch with details of the transaction.
• If the shop/vendor informs his bank and does not claim the money then it will be credited back to your account in a fixed time (for different banks this differs e.g 11 working days etc). Till then the funds remain in suspense account. Of course, immediate action on your part is vital.

In the interim you may worry yourself sick but till that mandatory period is over your funds will not be returned. All cards have some policy about this so it is important to take some time to understand it. Check out the relevant page on the website of your debit/credit/ charge card or better still speak to their customer care.

Another thing you can do is to activate SMS alerts for debit/credit/charge card debits on your account. This way you will immediately know once some funds are debited once your card is swiped even if the machine shows an error. This can save you a lot of hassle and headache. Not to mention loss of interest on your money.

Here is the link to a query in the Economic Times about a failed online card-transaction. The expert's replies are given there. (http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/personal-finance/fixed-deposits/query-corner-fixed-deposits/articleshow/7616504.cms)

As they say in the military, its better to sweat in peace than bleed in war.
As you take time to understand interest rules on your plastic money, or actions if it gets lost, also understand what to do and what is the normal bank procedure in case of a failed card transaction.
Cheers!

Ninth Pune International Film Festival 2011 (PIFF)

Not an avid movie aficionado, I decided to become a ‘delegate’ for the ninth Pune International Film Festival (PIFF). At Rs 500 per person (other than for students and senior citizens) it seemed a steal as one could watch movies for the entire day (four a day at some venues) – obviously you had to have the stomach for it … And I refer to more than an overdose of movies. It takes quite something to move from theater to theater as the mind is bombarded with expressions of tormented feelings from across the world extending from love, hate, violence, forgiveness, religious extremism and so on. Spoilt for choice we learnt to 'study' the brochure and match it with the schedule and our work and tried to watch as many as possible (11 is the latest score and we have two days to go...)

Not all movies were what we expected but some notable ones were 'Zeppelin', 'On the path', 'The Cherry Orchard', 'Puzzle', 'The Tree' and 'How I ended last Summer.'

One way to know about different places is to physically visit them. For couch potatoes reading Outlook Traveller is a good option. I have just discovered that watching movies from different countries is a good way to see that countryside up close. So do make it a point to visit an international film festival being held in your city... We enjoyed the accompanying Japanese arts exhibition and free sushi at the PIFF 2011!!

The disadvantage is that with the movie overload, we do not have time to savour, introspect and let the movie's thoughts and emotions sink it. So make your choices and enjoy every screening.
I remember a very apt dialogue by the character Matthias Silcher about films in the movie 'Zeppelin', he says they"... make time stand still but also fly past..."

Overall the PIFF was well organised but there is huge scope for improvement if it wants to go places. Buying the passes was a stressful experience. I have not yet fathomed the need for Pan card or electricity bill for the same. Of course as films did not have the usual Censor board certificate and had very explicit content I can understand that organisers wanted to be sure that attendees were over 18 years... The screenings were at several venues across town but we were unable to make it to Fame and NFAI Kothrud. My comments on organisation/actual presentation of the movies are in the table below and are obviously based on shows that we actually watched and feedback of other delegates who regularly attended that particular venue.

Quality	Venue: E-square	Venue: Inox	Venue: City Pride Kothrud	Venue: R-Deccan
National Anthem	NOT Played	Played	NOT Played	NOT Played
Announcements	In Marathi and English	Only English	Only Marathi	Only English
Censor Board Certificate	Not Displayed	Not Displayed	Not Displayed	Not Displayed
Interval	No	No	No	Yes
Punctuality	Excellent	Excellent	Excellent	Excellent
Presentation Skills of announcers	Needs vast improvment	Needs vast improvement	Needs vast improvement	Needs vast improvement
Age Group of Delegates	Predominantly youth	Mixed age group	Predominantly seniors and baby boomers	Mixed age group

A Divali Gift to yourself

Happy Divali!
This is a time for feasting, spending time with friends and family.
Its a time when all of us invest in something for our homes, get gifts for near and dear ones...
All of us buy something for ourselves... new clothes, jewellery, electronics to name just a few...

Yet we often overlook an important aspect...
Our health!
No, this is not another post about healthy eating and a healthy lifestyle.
I am talking about health insurance.

Being self employed has several advantages but it also means having to pay your own bills for health care.
In India, we hesitate to visit the government hospitals in case of any problems, except politicos and top babus of course.
For the rest of us, private care is the care of choice.
But it means hefty bills.
In case of an emergency most private hospitals demand a cash advance of thousands of rupees before the patient is admitted.

This can be create extremely tense moments for the caretakers and patient as well.
Having valid health insurance can help tide over such an emergency. There are several types of health insurance but in my experience, the cashless variety is the best. In case of an emergency, one has to approach the empaneled hospitals and there are no worries about paying bills. In such policies, usually the bill is settled directly by the insurer.
The patient can simply focus all energies on regaining health.

What's more, premium paid for health insurance gives us tax breaks and successive renewals after a 'no-claim' period may offer a premium rebate as well!

Has this motivated you to buy a health insurance policy? Here are a few tips:
Do a thorough market survey for products by different insurance firms. For baby-boomers, some medical tests may be required before buying the policy- the cost may be covered by the insurer. Its important to know that a new policy may not cover existing medical conditions.

In case you use the services of an insurance agent, you must ask pointed questions if the policy being sold to you meets your needs. Often agents mis-sell policies or one lands up holding holding one that does not cover your requirements. Find out the procedure to be followed in case of an emergency and make sure everyone at home knows it. If any documents (or copies thereof) are to be produced in case of an emergency, keep them in a separate clearly marked envelope in an easily accessible place. Regularly check with the insurer about list of empaneled hospitals- it may change subject to company or hospital policies.

Those who do not have health insurance or did not bother to renew it, consider gifting yourself a policy this Divali.
Its worth it!

Have a healthy prosperous year ahead!
Rgds
Archana

Disclaimer: I am not an insurance agent nor do I work for any insurance firm!