Kadmanivasi. My Blog. Geeta Ramani

What do women remember about their mother? What is that one unforgettable gift they received from their mother? The answers were varied, they ranged from objects to observations, and yet each memory was remarkable, each gift, thought provoking. In the book, What My Mother Gave Me: Thirty-one Women on the Gifts That Mattered Most By Elizabeth Benedict (E ditor), women express their feelings about their mother's gift; there is love and joy, thankfulness and gratefulness, grief and sadness. There is sympathy and empathy, understanding and support. And this unique legacy of motherhood, no less than magic,     continues to be the most powerful gift women inherit. It's wonderful to note that all mothers are the same in some ways, yet every mother is different. In her introduction, Elizabeth Benedict writes, ' Having had an unhappy mother- I found myself astonished-feeling a mixture of envy and disbelief-by the stories of happy mothers and daughters.' My reason for picking u...

  Mahishasuramardhini Shloka Every Navarathri, our family recites the Mahishasuramardhini Shloka. My mother taught us to recite the prayer and we have continued doing so. Today, my grandchildren also recite this prayer. Reciting the prayer fills me with enthusiasm, also determination and strength. This year, we decided to record the shlokas and their meaning and for that I'm deeply indebted to both my daughters for the inspiration and the motivation they provided, especially to my younger daughter for the research and compilation of the same.  The Mahishasuramardhini Shloka was composed by Adi Shankaracharya in C. 810 AD. It is a powerful prayer dedicated to Goddess Durga. It invokes the attributes of Durga Devi as she conquers the buffalo demon Mahishasur. The chanting of this prayer    is believed to bless the devotee with courage, confidence, and inner strength. It tells of the conquest of Mahishasura which is symbolic to winning over the Rajasic tendencies in us....

यूं    निकल पड़ी थी सफ़र पे मैं   नए अरमानों से भरी थी डगर!  मुझे मंज़िलों की न थी फ़िकर  मुझे रास्तों की न थी ख़बर!                         जो मेरे साथ चल दिए  उन सब को....मेरी शुकर!  कुछ अपने, राह में छूट गए  है उनकी आस....हमेशा मगर। जिनको फिर से पा लिए वे अरमानों से दिए भर! नए रिश्ते हुए उजागर साथ चले वे मेरी डगर ।                                    राह में हमें मिले                                   बेगानों का दिलबर....                                   हमें खींच लेते हैं वो                                    बेबस प्यार में समेट कर।

The 31st of December 2024. I got down to the happy task of posting new year messages to friends and family. It was around 10 pm, and I had just got started. My school group, the most active for reasons mentioned below, soon flashed an urgent message. Our classmate, Rupa Dasgupta, retired scientist, intrepid traveler, a literature enthusiast, and a dear friend, had breathed her last.    She had been unwell a couple of months, flitting in and out of hospital, fighting and struggling against all odds, only to lose the battle, untimely for us, but a great relief for her.   It took a while to read and register the ultimate truth. Then the shock and sadness set in. What was there to celebrate in the new year! The messages remained unsent. The night passed in thought...even the merriment and crackers ushering in the new year seemed jaded. The new dawn finally helped me see reason. I called dear friends who had remained in constant touch and conveyed to the group the medical upda...

Did 2024 teach me anything different?   A nything significant? Yes! I am happy to acknowledge that 2024 has been a defining year in my life. It is not as if the other years did not teach me anything, they were definitely all very enriching. However, 2024 was different for me, probably it was the first time in my retired life that I spent a whole year at home with neither children nor grandchildren to look after, really, none of the typical activities I am used to. Of course, discounting the Covid years when it was an extraordinary time. So what did 2024 teach me?   With temporary responsibilities taking a backseat, finally I got some time for myself. I decided to invest in my health which involved mindful eating and mindful exercising, apart from several other steps which I undertook to bring about a healthy lifestyle.  The first lesson 2024 taught me was that the level of discipline one needs to change one's life is nothing short of crazy.   The most diffi...