Krishna's Musings on Life

  Raising a healthy, happy child is one of the most challenging jobs in the world. Sometimes we rely on our gut instincts and at other times we resort to the same parenting techniques our parents used while we were growing up. Good parenting helps foster qualities like honesty, empathy, kindness, cheerfulness, cooperation, self-reliance and self-control in children. It promotes intellectual curiosity while instilling a desire to achieve. It also protects children from developing depression, anxiety, eating disorders, antisocial behavior or substance abuse. So if you’re wondering how to be a good parent, here are some parenting tips that can help you.   1. Set an example Whether it’s the way you treat yourself or those around you, your children are constantly learning from you. Try not to react in the spur of a moment and always reflect on what it is that you want to achieve with your behavior.   2. Spoil your kids with love This is one of the most important parenting ...

Gianna didn’t believe in the law of attraction . Her life had been too hard-wrought for her to leave anything up to the universe or the fates. Abandoned at the age of two by a drug-addled mother who had simply walked out the front door one rainy afternoon, she had been found by a neighbour late that evening when he walked past and found the door wide open and a hungry, cold Gianna wailing loudly. She’d been handed over to Child Protective Services and her life had become one long foster care-laden drama until the age of 18. At the stroke of midnight, she’d walked out the door without a second look and made her way to the local women’s shelter where she stayed nights until she landed a job as a receptionist at the local law firm. She had no qualifications and had barely scraped through high school but something in her tone and air convinced Mr. Paige of Leslie&Paige that she deserved a chance. Why did Mr. Paige, the founder of the firm, interview her for a lowly receptionist positi...

The melodious chime of the doorbell echoed through the spacious halls of Mukundam Villa. Ananya’s eyes shot open, a smile adorning her face. It was Saturday, 6:30 AM, and the annual Parisu Vizha was about to get underway. She flung her sheet to the side and springing up, jammed her feet into her slippers and sprinted to the bathroom. Mani anna was here with his bounty. Pavi akka would let him in but she had to hurry. She didn’t want to miss a second of helping him sort out everything he had brought. At 6:50 AM, freshly showered in a white cotton churidhar , wavy wet hair clinging to her waist, she made her way to the enormous verandah that hugged all four sides of the villa. She found him and Pavi akka unloading the bags from his trusty Maruti 800. “That car has been through a war and then some, and still, it clings to life,” Ananya often declared amusedly. Mani anna only rolled his eyes and blushed fiercely always at her next words. “Just like you cling to Pavi akka .” “Annie, vaa...

What does the title mean? Let me tell you right off the bat so that you can move on from this article. In this day of lightning-speed browsing, I’ve already lost you, perhaps 😊 A healthy relationship is the ability to laugh at oneself and each other. Laugh with, not at. That’s it. If you have this, it’s all one needs. Of course, there are some other healthy relationship tips too that we could all make use of. After all, human beings are complex. However, if you take it easy, that’s half the job done. The sense of ease and joy that comes from being with a person who’s easygoing and light-hearted cannot be understated. Do you know the freedom of not walking on eggshells around a partner? It’s wonderful! Mostly because you can be you without worrying about how the other person may perceive your words. The other side of it, having a partner who’s sensitive and easily offended, also has its advantages. It may be surprising to hear but the fact is, having such a partner ensures that you a...

Wait. Don’t scroll down past this introduction to get right to the three philosophies. Because I promise you, this is equally important. My teacher always says, if we find even one line in a book valuable, the book has paid for itself. And it’s often not the message of the book that sticks but something else – a word, a character, a musing. Perhaps it’s not the three philosophies you may find most valuable in this article. A three-year-old girl was suffering from a disease. She desperately required a blood transfusion to stay alive. Her five-year-old brother had survived the same disease thus developing the antibodies needed to combat the illness. He was the little girl’s only hope of survival. The doctor explained the situation to the little boy and asked if he would be willing to give his blood to his sister. He hesitated for only a moment before he took a deep breath and said, “If it will save her, I’ll do it.” As the transfusion progressed, he saw the colour returning to his sister...

My alarm beeped loudly and from the deep confines of sleep, my hand reached out automatically to turn it off. I’d trained my brain well. It knew. Alarm = off. I rolled, the blip in my sleep barely registering and knocked myself out again. It wasn’t until hours later that I stirred, stretching lazily. Cracking one eye open, I squinted at the clock. 11:45 AM. Ugh . Hadn’t I meant to wake up at 8:00 AM today? Oh, right. I’d turned off the alarm. Maybe tomorrow. I really hadn’t meant to stay out so late last night but it had been Aditi’s birthday and we all knew how Aditi got when she was the centre of attention. Drunk out of her mind, she insisted we walk the length of Marine Drive at 1:00 in the morning and refused to leave until we all got on board. So, we walked Marine Drive, got Aditi in Raunaq’s car who promised he’d drop her off safely and then finally left. By the time I got home, it was 3:15 AM. Obviously then, I wasn’t going to wake up by 8:00 AM. I sighed and rolled over. These ...