To read or not to read - that can never be the question. The habit of reading regularly IS vital. Which is why I think we should never give children the idea that reading is nothing but another hobby. It is not like collecting stamps or playing chess, for us to have the option of not pursuing it if we are not interested. It is like brushing our teeth - we simply cannot be allowed a choice.  I observe many parents wondering how to get their kids to spend more time reading books. So much so that the complaint " my kid throws away the book in five minutes, nothing but the smartphone or the TV can engage his or her attention " has become as common as " my child does not like vegetables " used to be.  To all parents with similar worries on their minds, this page offers a list of suggestions that you could try. But before we get into that, I would like to state that I claim no expertise, but only experience, in this area. I am merely sharing some tips that I have followed...

Yes, vowels are now  They-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named . Or so I am given to understand by most of the text messages I receive. Irrespective of the sender's age group, vowels seem to have become persona non grata.  Now, I understand social media junkies resorting to stripping the flesh off the skeletal consonants. Completely preoccupied with their online identities and having at least ten social media accounts to maintain simultaneously, they simply have no time to waste typing vowels. They have posts of their own to edit and upload, that of others to check, 'follow', 'like' and 'heart'; several selfies to edit, 'filter', touch up and enhance to an extent that would shock somebody who meets them in person for the first time, as their faces would look nothing like their picture; many seething comments to write and numerous things to scrutinize and find politically incorrect.  I do see that if these lost souls are forced to focus on proper spelling, they mig...

  1980s Our family vacation draws to a close . We have four hours left to catch the train back home. We decide to wait in a park.  There is a woman selling tender coconuts outside the gates. As I play with my cousins on the slide, we are joined by her kids. Merry, energetic and giddy with  boisterous mirth, they make terrific playmates.  My mother and aunt lay out  the packed lunch in a shaded spot and summon us to eat.  As we race to the makeshift picnic table, our playmates join us. The ladies hand us the loaded paper plates to be passed around, automatically giving us a few extra , which we spontaneously offer to our new-found friends. Their eyes light up. I joke and laugh with them over a delicious meal, unconsciously forming an indelible memory of a simple but profoundly delightful experience. 2020s We are a group of neighbours strolling around a park, as our children run about and play. As we sit down for a rest, our kids take a break and come running...

  " If I really wanted to pray I’ll tell you what I’d do. I’d go out into a great big field all alone or into the deep, deep, woods, and I’d look up into the sky—up—up—up—into that lovely blue sky that looks as if there was no end to its blueness. And then I’d just feel a prayer."   -  A nne Shirley in ' Anne Of Green Gables ' by  Lucy Maud Montgomery I was sitting inside a temple, accompanied by my grandmother, enjoying the beauty of the golden yellow evening sunlight falling on the walls and pillars. I derived a unique pleasure from the scene  that was spread out in front of me. The sight of the women in their colourful sarees, their oiled hair neatly combed and adorned with flowers, and their turmeric tinted traditional features accentuated by sparkling nose studs and large, round bindi s; people meditating or reading from shloka books, the distant hum of the priests chanting.. ..the kids determined to reach the overhead bells all on their own, jumping...

Social media seems to be flooded with upma memes. I just came across one showing the troubled face of a husband who, after being asked by The Wife to pass his verdict on the taste of the upma ominously lurking on his plate, has almost forgotten to chew and swallow his mouthful in the shock of the worst dilemma of his life - if he were to say it is tasty, she'll heap two more karandi s of it for him to struggle through; on the other hand, if he were to admit the absolute truth and declare his lifelong enmity with it , the aforementioned karandi will end up as a weapon against him! Although I thoroughly enjoyed the creativity of all the upma denouncing memes, their sheer number has made me afraid of telling people that I actually like upma , and being at the receiving end of their dismayed, scornful looks. But now that I have confessed, the security of the sluice gates in my mind has been compromised. I might as well go ahead and let slip another such unspeakable truth, and then...