Walking Kaleidoscope

 I recently had the privilege to talk to a group of parents and children (7-14 yr old) on perils of Digital communication at a workshop. I went in assuming whole lot of gyan, but what surprised me was the children giving all the gyan ..against digital medium. And now before you exult on the generation being saved from the evil clutches..a la star wars style..No, our kids are not giving up on digital medium. Not anytime soon. While this bunch was totally well informed about why they must not spend so much time on gadgets, it also explained why it wont give up on it. Here, I am listing few of the things why they love to spend time on gadgets and where I think their thoughts have come from. 1. Competitive streak - As parent we all want our kids to excel in their chosen fields. We are the first source where they learn that coming first in class gets you rewarded. Coming last, is not a good thing. it does not matter that you were a Picasso competing in a class of Einsteins. F

Marriage as they say is sacred in India (at least). An institution that classifies a relationship between a man and a woman as pure. What it also does classify any emotion beyond this relationship for the opposite sex as inappropriate, guilt laden and sinful (to an extent). Having been a person who thinks from heart, I find this hypothesis very unsettling. Agreed that I choose one person over others to commit myself to. But that choice comes at a point of time and time is not a stationary object. Also, I do believe that all human beings suffer from multiple personality disorders (or orders if you want it to be). With some people our funny side comes out, with others competitive. We find it relaxing in some peoples company and in some peoples company our passionate self comes out. Some people bring out the good in us and some people bring out or worst selves. Over a long period of time, it is possible to see the multiple personalities of the same person as well. However, to put this

We all have few checklists in life for which we have no reasons but we just want to tick the box. Visiting Gurudongmar and North Sikkim was one such item for me. After planning for 3 consecutive years and not succeeding, I finally managed it this year with my husband and kiddo along.  Day 1: A mid morning flight to Bagdogra and a rather chaotic and traffic struck drive took us to Gangtok by 7 PM. Our stay was at Hotel Prime View, which is pretty off the main market and rather peaceful, with very good food and hospitable staff. Gangtok is really a hill city bustling with traders, tourists and locals who come down to shop here for their regular supplies. Over the years it has grown beyond its capacity but there are spots for every type of tourists still..fine dine to local fare, desi to international cuisine, casinos and treks, night life and sleeping hamlets. We have explored Gangtok in our earlier trips and this time, it was just a night halt. Day 2: Our driver for the trip