THE OTHER SIDE OF A COIN

               ''Will you pay the current and water bill today? '' I asked my son as he was having his morning breakfast. It was monday his weekly off and I thought he could finish all the household pending works that day. The  bills had to be paid, the tap in the kitchen needed replacement, the a.c was to be repaired.  Normally I did all the work but now due to demonetization and switch over to online transactions I had to depend on him.
  ''Papa  today I will teach you how to do online transactions.'' my son said to me . I felt very happy . In these days where children didnot bother about parents my son was ready to teach me the latest technology. I felt proud and learnt how to pay the bills online.
                 Another day when his mother asked him to get groceries  he instantly ordered them in key kirana and saw that all items were delivered home in neat and fresh condition. His mother was so happy that the pain of going to the market and spending hours together on selecting items , standing in long queues to pay the bill was not there. He booked cab for us whenever we wished to go out,  Previously he had to take us to our relatives place or temples, or movies. For that we had to wait for the day he was free to take but now everything was available at the click of a button. We were happy that we could also join the new generation.
                  But slowly I understood that I was seeing less of him. we went to temples or relatives places without him in cabs, saw movies in home theatre, paid all bills on my own without his help. He spending time with us reduced drastically and the happiness of going out as a whole family reduced . The electronic media was occupying more time and space than relations In fact it was increasing the distance between human relations making man more lazy and  greedy.
         I decided---  I had to draw a line on how much of technology was needed by a person. Next month I will ask my son to take me to where ever I want to go  instead of booking cabs or paying online!  Only if it was necessary I will opt for technology.

Bouncing deeds

    When Suma reached the bus stop she saw the old man sitting under the tree shaking like a leaf.  She felt sorry for him and thought of giving him something.  She searched her bag and found a ten rupee coin and placed it on his begging bowl. The old man said May God bless you with three times what you have donated. She looked at him surprised for his words. But at the same time her bus arrived and she boarded it. When conductor came near her  she gave him a ten rupee note.  She knew that her fare was  ten rupees and hence she gave him the money. But to her surprise the conductor gave her back money and said "Today being women's day you ladies can have a free travel anywhere today."  Suma was reminded of the beggar's words and gazed at the money for a second.
            At lunch she went to canteen to eat and ordered tiffin. The bill mounted to hundred and ten rupees. She gave a hundred and a ten rupee at the counter and the cashier gave her back ten rupee note. Puzzled she looked at him and he said "today being women's day you ladies get 10% discount on your billing."Again She was reminded of the beggar's words.  Later in the evening her friend Anita came to her and said I am going to Shirdi along with my family. I will not be coming to office for three days " Immediately Suma took out a ten rupee note and asked her to put it in the hundi. But Anita refused to take the money saying that she already had to give Suma twenty she had taken long back and said that she will put a ten in the hundi and returned another ten.Suma was left speechless. She understood one thing for sure.
     What we do to others certainly comes back to us . Beggar's  words were true.

THE PATH --- LITTLE ROUGH

                      Little  Sindhu came crying home. Daddy Raghu hurriedly lifted her asking what had happened? " My friend Meenu pushed me. I fell down and got hurt. "  she answered crying. "Come . Let's go and scold her. " Raghu said to her. Sindhu stopped crying and started smiling . Both of them started to the door. '' All these fights are a part of their playing. We need not interfere . Leave them''  said  Kavya entering into the house. Sindhu was just five years old and she was their only daughter. Both Raghu and Kavya loved her so much and never scolded her. But recently Raghu noticed that Kavya was slightly insensitive towards Sindhu. The other day Sindhu had cut her finger while sharpening her pencil and Kavya had behaved as if nothing had happened instead of panicking. 

             One day Sindhu came home from school and asked her mother to buy mobile phone similar to the one she saw with her friend. Kavya strongly refused to get her one and even slapped her when Sindu started crying badly for it. That night when Raghu returned from work Sindhu complained to him about Kavya. He said that he would talk to her mother and get a phone for her. Later after Sindhu went to bed he started discussing the matter with his wife. But Kavya strongly opposed the thought of buying a phone for her daughter. '' What is wrong in it . Nowadays children are so techie savvy and they are very intelligent too. All the children of this generation know how to use the phone . Our child should not be left behind.' Hearing this Kavya was silent for a second and then started saying. 'I do not want my child to be victim of over confidence, pride or bad behavior in future . If we start providing her all the luxuries and whatever she asks she will grow into a adamant lady in future. Let her learn adjustments with others, with nature, with environment. Let her grow naturally. We will not be with her all the time  to save her from her difficulties. Let her learn to face the harsh realities, hardships as she grows so that in future she is ready to face any dire situation.''  Raghu hearing her words understood that Kavya was the best mother in the

world and was giving the best education to her daughter.

Feb The Flying month

Facts about February
1)   In the past the month of February was considered as the month of bad luck and was devoted to honouring the dead and performing the duties of purification In fact there was a Roman ritual  februare which means to purify.
2)It is the only month which can pass with no full moon.
3) Much ado about nothing is the only Shakespeare play that mentions February.
4) February is known as the month of National pet dental health.
5) It is known as the black history month in US, Canada,UK...
6) It is dedicated to chocolate and celebrated as National chocolate lovers month.
7). It is the month where lovers enjoy as Valentine day falls in this month.
8)  Lastly it gives tension to students as exams seem fast approaching.

Positivity __The driving force

            Positive thinking means thinking on the brighter side of things or life. Positive thinking brings brightness to eyes ,more energy and happiness to mind.
             Water should keep on flowing to be fresh and useful to mankind. If it stagnates, it smells foul and becomes a breeding ground for mosquitoes and rodents.  Mind is similar to water. It should be constantly working that too in positive direction. Otherwise it will start rusting and unnecessary thoughts will drag the person towards his downfall.
              We all know that ideal man's brain is devil's workshop.. So let us all make sure that we think good, so that we do good and live happily. Let's teach our children to think positively and aim high.  For this to happen we  should first become positive, ignore those who try to suppress us, forgive those who try to harm us and forget about negativity. It is really very difficult to do so but certainly it works wonders if we constantly keep trying.
              To get rid of negativity we should
1) Change your body language
2)Be creative in your thoughts and work.
3) Take a walk when confused .
4) Spend one minute calming your mind of negativity
5) List out for all that God has given you and you should be grateful for.

                             Make a habit of thinking good about something  you do not like everyday. Slowly you can see that you are thinking positively about everything without any difficulty. You will not fuss over small mistakes done by others for you will start seeing them from their angle.
              To improve positive thoughts
1)Use only positive words while talking
2)Use only  the words that evoke strength and success
3)Let your thoughts not wander.Direct them in positive direction
4) Push out all that is negative from your mind.
5) Believe in yourself and your success.
6) Read good books and success stories.
        So be positive and see the difference it makes.

Dear soldier. I salute you

A person cannot live alone in this world . He needs the help of his parents, family , and friends to live happily.  Even the milkman, the grocer, the doctor play an important role in our lives. Of course we thank them for the help they have rendered.  But have we ever thought of the soldiers  who are always alert  so that we can relax. The soldiers who do not enjoy birthday parties , festivals, or  ceremonies are the people to whom we should show our gratitude in the front. They sacrifice their happiness for the sake of our well-being.  We enjoy the feats displayed by them during the republic day celebrations or on Navy day,army day.....  But is that enough?   
         So what else should we do?   We should try to make them a part of our family. But how?  What do we do with our family.? We try to safe guard their interests by not letting them down ,by seeing that they are happy.  We pray to God to take care of them.  So why not we do the same with our soldiers? Why not we pray every day that they are healthy and safe  so that they can do their duties properly.
           Let us take a resolution on this republic day that we shall give due respect to our soldiers, see that they stay healthy and happy . We should make a habit of including the soldiers well-being in our everyday prayers. We should also cultivate the courage they display....That is to help the fellow citizens in emergency and dire situations.  and not leave them to their mercy. 
                           .       Happy Republic day.!

SMALL GESTURES.

 The words 'please 'and 'thank you' are used by each one of us in our daily life so many times. Do you know how much powerful they are?  Here is an example.  A lady had a habit of buying betel leaves from a paan broker every week she went to buy vegetables in the vegetable market. She used to give change of ten rupees to paan seller and get the betel leaves from him As betel leaves were not easily available there she could not get them anywhere else and was forced to give ten rupees for four leaves instead ten leaves . But instead of grumbling over the loss she used to thank the paan seller for selling the betel leaves for they donot appreciate the idea of selling the leaves separately instead of paan. [two leaves are enough to make a paan and it costs about three times the rate of leaves.]. This paan seller also used to provide change to that lady.

           One day it had rained heavily and the market was very slippery . There were very few people at the market and they were in a hurryto return to their homes before it started to rain again. Unfortunately this lady slipped and hurt her leg. It pained a  lot and she could not move her leg.  There was no one to help her. She tried calling her husband frantically but of no use. She did not know what to do. Nobody was ready to help her.  But then this paan wallah came to her rescue.  He got a auto , helped her to get in and sent her home. It might be a small help but a timely one   A timely help is always appreciated than an ordinary one.  All she did to get that timely help was just saying the two ordinary words  'please and thank-you.