Remember Chamatka, Suppandi, Tales of Birbal and Jataka Tales? Apparently, a startup, ACK Media, is acquiring a majority stake in Amar Chitra Katha Pvt. Ltd., the company which publishes the wonderful Amar Chitra Katha comics, besides Tinkle and Double Digest.
While I was growing up, this definitely a big hit – a lot more interesting than the history teacher’s droning, dates and maps, a peek into Indian culture and mythology and a definite pride in being Indian. Where else would you see 10 year old eager to read about Rabindranath Tagore’s life or Amarapali, the court dancer in the ancient kingdom of Vaishali and her conversion to Buddism? Also for a generation that was exposed to mainly British literature, this was a refreshing dose of reality and what with Little Anwar, Tantri the Mantri and of course, “It Happened to Me”, a section where readers could write in. I remember huge comic exchange programs every summer vacation when stacks of comics would be lent and borrowed and actually read! Yes, the content is clinical, too non-controversial and sometimes not factual. But I can definitely attest that they are a wonderful tool to make kids sit down and read, get interested in history and feel a sense of pride in being Indian. How many textbooks or any other book for that matter can claim that distinction?
So go for it ACK Media, rerelease those 200 issues that are not in circulation and reach out to a wider audience. I see many a parent appreciating those Kodak moments of quietness while watching their kids engrossed in reading about India!
Whether you are from Gen X, Gen Y or the 1960s, I am reasonably sure that most of us, at some point when we were growing up, felt that our parents did not understand us at all and were stuck in time.
I think a very important factor in parent-child relationship is being able to relate to each other – that is, having a relationship where you are able to understand and be understood. Here are some thoughts on reaching the golden median with your parents:
Make the effort: However old-fashioned and out-of-touch your parents seem to you, make the effort to reach out to them. Spend the time and energy to connect with them on an ongoing basis.
Set expectations: Especially if you think that your public persona is way different from how you behave in front of them. For instance, your parents don’t believe in dating. Doing it behind their back and then expecting them to suddenly embrace the person of your dreams when you decide to tell them is unrealistic. A better strategy would be to talk to them over a period of time (yes, this requires a lot of patience) convince them that things have changed, that you want to choose your own partner and that you will make responsible choices.
Behave responsibly: Be honest with your parents and follow through with responsible behaviour. Keep them in the loop and they will be more willing to listen to you if they trust you to make reasonable choices. Choose smart decision making over not-so-smart impulsive behaviour.
Avoid resentment: It is important to understand that no parent is perfect and that they have made their share of mistakes. Harbouring feelings of resentment and anger against them is not the way to go to build bridges. Parenting is a tough job and it is important to realize that most parents do try to do what is best for their kids.
“What do they know” attitude: Loose the attitude and respect your parent’s opinions, even if you do not agree with them. Listen carefully to what they say, even if it sounds ridiculous to you. Often, you may be surprised that when you peel away all the layers, you will find something at the core that makes a lot of sense and looks out for your best interests.
Be willing to compromise: Just like in any other relationship.
It’s 8.15am and there is still no sign of my regular maid who should be coming in by 7.00am. I panic, I wonder if I should get started on the dirty vessels, the sweeping can always wait, or maybe the hubby… All of a sudden the door bell rings and I rush in relief, to open the door. I find a cute little 10 year-old before me. She insists, in a garbled mixture of Telugu and Kannada, that she will do the chores for today, as her mom has had to rush back to the village. I donot know what to do, but I must decide fast, its getting horribly late for office already. Uhmmm, I let her in to wash vessels, helping her carry it to the sink, with the soap, the tap, the little thing that she is, she cannot even reach upto the tap in the kitchen sink. I chat her up, while she is at it, also while I feel terribly guilty about all of it.
Ever since then I have been thinking about child labour and how disgusting it is! I think on a daily basis each of us do end up interfacing with child labour in some form or the other, either directly or indirectly. The kid at the traffic signal selling ear buds and offerring to clean your windscreen, the kid delivering newspaper or may be milk. While its very easy to take a stand on it when seeing a footage of the kids at the fireworks factories of Sivakasi or the kids at local construction sites or the ones at the fast food junctions that trudge by all grimy, carrying that plastic basket, in which they sweep your used plates into, swipe your table with a grimy sponge and carry on to the next table, it is very tough to take a stand on this issue in practice, when you really need them to do a chore for you, with no other alternative in sight.
Say, you do find the grimy kid cleaning plates and tables at this south-indian fast-food junction you frequent, for that nice dosa, or a cup of strong filter kaapi, or khara bath, what do you do? Leave after telling the manager that he ought not to employ that kid? In doing so, will you really aid in changing the situation? Ok, so you might say, if all of us do it, refuse to eat in such a junction, the manager will eventually come around and let go of him. United we stand! But am not so sure the grimy kid will be happy with this arrangement, he’d most likely beg the manager to put him on the washing of plates, behind the curtains, where noone will really see, and hence noone will really object. The manager will most likely have no problems with that at all, something tells me his rules are like, the wages are proportionate to the age till about 20 or so! Younger the better.
There’s another subtle issue with this ‘taking a stand’ idea. Say you are with a bunch of friends at this fast food junction, would you have the guts to convince all your friends that they must leave this place since the manager employs child-workers over there? Would they all agree? Or would they pull you to sit down and simply enjoy the coffee and not look for child-labours in every darned place! In our fast-paced lifestyles, all we are looking for when out with a bunch of buds, is to have a light moment. Would you really bother getting frenzied about this ‘taking a stand’ idea? Err… I might not. I would crib, maybe speak to the manager about it too, but after my snacks.
What then is a better solution? Laws? Stricter Laws? and equally strict enforcement? Yes, that should be the way to go about it. I believe we already have the laws in place, dont we? And the enforcement? It’s not happening. Should we try writing to editors of newspapers? Should we go on little protest marches that, so like butterflies, die their own death, in a day? Should we think of where we can make a difference, may be not let my maid’s 10 year-old daughter do the chores at my place, do it myself? Or should I simply lie down and take solace in the fact that even though she had to wash my dirty vessels, I gave her a cup of Horlicks. That confuses me, that last bit, may be I didn’t really do her any harm by having her wash vessels in my place, I think.
Then, are the Cracker-dudes at Sivakasi justified in employing the little ones, if they also ensure that they get educated? Is that a fair deal? Then, don’t the little boys and girls employed at construction sites have a right to earning money for their own education? That almost sounds fair, doesn’t it? Donot think am trying to present child-labour to you in a whole new package of how it is justified. Nothing justifies the dangerous working conditions of the kids at the fireworks factories, but if made safe, and the kids are educated simultaneously, am wondering if it is such a unfair deal. What do you say?
Walking in the park one evening, I was horrified to see a 15-year old nanny with a six month old baby on her lap, sitting on a swing and rocking wildly. Panic set in when the girl slipped from the swing and the baby hit its head on the plank. Thankfully, it did not appear to be bad – no blood or bruises. Surprisingly, the baby’s mother was a few feet away.
How do you choose the right nanny or baby sitter for your child? For starters, I would say that the nanny should be at least 22 years old. If you can feel overwhelmed taking care of your child the entire day, do you think that someone who is 10 to 15 years younger than you can do even a decent job of it. Besides, it is illegal to employ someone who is younger than fourteen.
Try to get someone who has had experience managing children or has children of their own. Experience counts and the person is probably more likely to know how to handle your child. Try to get references if possible.
Before you leave your child with the nanny alone for the first time, make sure that you spend a week or ten days observing them. Is she patient when the child throws a tantrum? How does she handle the situation when the child is crying? Is she able to set reasonable behaviour boundaries and rules? At the same time, does she allow the child to explore and is not too over cautious?
Do surprise checks – return home unexpectedly, ask a friend or relative to visit the park when the nanny and child are there to make sure that everything is under control.
Treat the nanny well. After all, it is your child that she is taking care of. Be candid regarding your expectations and priorities as well as behaviour you are unlikely to tolerate.
Lastly, don’t be an over-anxious parent but at the same time, trust your instincts.
“I cant recognise my breasts anymore… they are so HUGE.” This line is said and heard by most pregnant women.
Breasts increase as much as three cup sizes at times in pregnancy and the whole experience is not a picnic. The increased amount of estrogen and progesterone causes the breasts to swell making them tender. Although the tenderness reduces after the first three or four months.
Now the billion dollar question : will they sag?
Answer: Depends on you. Sagging is most often caused due to lack of support during pregnancy.
How can it be avoided?
NO matter how firm the breasts are, prevention is better than cure and therefore you should wear a good support bra. If the breasts are huge, try wearing a night-support bra.
A support bra is more or less close to the soft full cup bra in design but with some additional features. These features include supportive fabric, extra soft elastic, broader sides and back and a deeper center front.
For the night support you will probably find a soft stretchy cotton sports bra extremely comfy and light.
There is no rule that one has to wear the drab softy bras when pregnant. Stores these days carry lots of options for pregnancy bras which are styled. A store that i would rate 20 on 10 is Mothercare. Those pink and blue polka dotted bras are absolutely cute and they come in sets.
Now some thumb rules of bras and pregnancy:
1. Always support your breasts. They are undergoing a huge change (no pun intended) and therefore need to be looked after.
2. Always buy soft bras as the tissue by itself is tender.
3. Its crucial to be examined every six to eight weeks as the breast size changes frequent upto the 36th week.
4. Avoid using underwired bras when pregnant and nursing .. i know the whole support great support thing but then the wire may press into the delicate breast tissue and therefore can cause pain. One may not be able to identify this pain as the breasts are already tender.
For the male readers, kindly share this information with the lady as uncomfy breasts are a cause of major irritation when pregnant and and after delivery if the breasts sag.
More to come on nursing bras soon.
 Set in a beautiful old bungalow in a charming and quite residential part of Jayanagar, Active Canvas is as much about experiencing art in the right surroundings as learning it. Founded by two sisters, Raksha and Divya, this project with its tag line of art=fun, is funded, very interestingly, by Nadathur Holdings.
Active Canvas has whole lot of courses – long-term, as well short-term courses that are perfect for the summer, for everyone from ages 3 to 82. They offer courses in drawing, sketching, painting, theater, dance, fitness, pottery, clay, music, language, craft and photography. In addition, there are also special courses such as parent-toddler clay classes, couples only classes and senior citizen classes. An interesting fact about their art, clay and pottery classes is that they provide all the materials for the course and so you are spared the trouble of hunting for canvases and what-not in crowded Avenue Road.
 The bungalow, with its gleaming red oxide floors and old-fashioned windows which allow natural light to filter in, is divided into five studios. Yellow barn, the dance studio with its lovely wooden floors and mirrored wall looks perfect for kid’s ballet lessons. The ceramic studio, Olam, is situated in the first floor of the house, is light-drenched and engaging with its huge windows, electric potter’s wheels and clays.
Active Canvas is truly meant to bring out the artist in you! So go on, tap into your creativity or your child’s, and take those guitar classes, terracotta lessons or paper making courses.
Active Canvas is located at 343, 10th A Main, 3rd Cross,1st Block, Jayanagar, Bangalore 560 011, ph: 41609122 or 99801-29768. You can send them email at info@activcanvas.in.
For a list of their summer courses, click here.
Now that summer vacation is almost here, here is an ideal outing for the under-8 category - the Butterfly Park at Bannerghatta National Park.
 The Butterfly Park is located at one corner of the national park. Trees and shrubs line the path which has interesting signage on either side with information on butterflies. The path leads to a huge, transparent dome housing the butterflies. The dome itself is quite remarkable, with a controlled environment inside. A tropical garden grows inside with bright, colourful flowers; there is a pond with a bridge and even a waterfall – quite a perfect setting for butterflies.
We saw lots of different types of butterflies and my daughter was completely fascinated to see them eat (there are holders with sticky food, and many butterflies cluster around these areas). We spent a good amount of time looking at the fish in the pond (that’s kids for you – we go to the Butterfly Park – but spend most of the time admiring the fish). The dome leads into a museum that exhibits larvae, lifecycle of caterpillars, moths, butterflies and so on. The eggs and cocoon were appropriately gawked and ooh-ahhed at by my daughter!! An audio-visual room that screens an English presentation leads to the exit.
 The Butterfly Park is located on Bannerghatta road, approximately 20-30 minutes from IIM-B. Plan to spend 1-2 hours in the park. Eatables are not allowed inside – so we snacked in the car after we were done. The park timings are 9 am to 5 pm – presentations start from 10 am. Tickets are priced Rs.10 for kids over 5 and Rs.20 for adults. You pay extra for taking a camera (I think it was Rs.30 or so) or a camcorder (Rs.100 approximately).
Overall, a fun trip for a kid. If you have a pre-schooler, make sure you read The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle before you take them to visit the Butterfly Park.
If you a parent, or have to baby-sit a kid, here’s a fun activity that my friend Eric told me about, that can occupy a 3 to 6 year old for about an hour, or if you are really lucky, for longer than that!
Ingredients required:
- Cornflour (the stuff that is used for thickening gravies)
- Water
Add some cornflour from the packet into a large bowl. Add an equal amount of water to it. Stir the cornflour in very slowly. Then, add a little more water until you have something that looks like a slightly thick liquid. Stir slowly again.
If you take a spoon and very slowly put it in and raise it off, it should pour off slowly like a thick liquid. If it’s too watery, add more cornflour.
The idea is to make something that is not really a solid or a liquid (it is called a non-newtonian fluid). When force is applied, it is a solid. When no force is applied, it is a liquid.
As an example, once you have made this thing, ask your kid to punch it hard with the fist. It will not splash, it will feel like you hit a solid object! But you can pour it out like a liquid.
If you hit it with a spoon, the spoon will bounce off. But if you put the spoon in slowly, it will go in as if it is going in a liquid.
You can roll it into a ball in your hand (constantly applying pressure) and then when you stop rolling, it will melt.
Most importantly, it can be cleaned up easily by just adding more water until it becomes a liquid.
Here’s a video of someone walking across a pool full of this stuff!
Welcome to blah, India’s first and only online lifestyle focused magazine, written by you! We will be covering a wide range of lifestyle related topics, such as fashion, health, professional life, and fine arts, just to name a few. Our authors are home-grown localites with a passion for particular lifestyle-related issues, and now, their voices are being delivered to you. So sit back, relax, and enjoy - and please feel free to leave our authors crumbs to share your own experiences and insights with our authors and other readers alike.
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