Manasi's Binoculars

Since I have become a mother 5 years ago, not only do I have a bigger heart full of love but am also exposed to a cringe world of people who love to hate the working mothers. Yes, I am a mother and I am also pursuing a regular job, nothing unusual as I see most people around me doing the same. While I agree I have been shamed for doing this ‘anti-nirupa roy’ thing in the past by certain relatives, this is the first time fellow working women have indulged in shaming me over a 30 minute long ‘interview’ to get my son admitted to a supposed ‘high-profile’ school in Ahmedabad. It does sound unbelievable, given we have such big numbers of working mothers now than we had in the last generation. While we are talking about increasing the number of women in workplace, promoting gender equality in sports, etc. there is a big bad world out there who is probably still living under the rock or refuses to accept the times we are living in. Sadly, this working mother shaming was done to me b...

Fun times! Chaos, confusion and melodrama are an integral part of my daily routine. Running around the house with a morsel in the hand or sometimes just without it, shrill voices erupting in intervals, while trying to hide any trace of a mobile phone or a laptop. This is a common sight at my home. It has become a part of me and how! I only realised when I had a baby-less house for two days. It so happened that both baby and his dad went out of town to meet the extended family and I could not join them due to work commitments.  As many of you would dread, I too was anxious about having to live without my baby for full two days or three nights to be precise. It was like a part of me would be missing all the while. Will I ever be able to bear the silence the home will have? All such thoughts crammed me up. Finally when the much dreaded day arrived and I drove from the office to an empty home, I could barely focus on the road. Though a familiar trail, it seemed like a lon...