Tanu or Datto?

Tanu or Datto? (Post does not contain spoilers)

Imagine that there is going to be wedding in the family - who are you rooting for Tanu or Datto?

It's a bit late for a review - so this isn't one. It has been already established that Tanu Weds Manu Returns is an original and entertaining fare, a combination which is somewhat rare in Bollywood. (About the minor inconsistencies in the plot - that we can all live with, right?!) and I have nothing to add to what you may have already read or heard about it. A quick and big kudos to the team and actors who were just spot-on in their performances and especially to Kangana Ranaut for giving us Tanu and Datto.

So we have an incredible badass Tanu with all her idiosyncrasies and we have an immensely mature Datto with a passionate state-level accent. And I could not decide who I was rooting for and I still can't.

Not all of us can agree with Tanu - she thrives on challenges, flirts with all her heart and is a woe, to all. And yet, there is that endearing warmth in her that draws you close to her even as she points out the pointless in that brazen manner of hers. If complexity had another name, Tanu would probably be it.

Where we have Tanu - a rebel without a cause, we have Datto - a rebel with a cause. Don't get distracted by her humongous dental attributes (which may have contributed to her name) or her accented personality, she knows exactly what she wants and how to hold her ground with ease. She doesn't have airs, she knows her strengths, her weaknesses, and has a level head over her athletic shoulders.

Where am I going with this? They are not real characters, you may say, and my perception could well be purported from excellent work of the talented Ranaut.

True. No matter how much I would want them to be, they are what they are - screen characters. We may never see a real life Tanu wrapped in a tiny towel interrogating a prospective groom or a Datto exercising her freedom to make choices minus the heavyweight category risk of being hung or shot.

However, given the immense popularity of the movie, I kind of take heart in the assumption that we have made space for the likes of Tanu and Datto - graceful and crazy or crass and good-natured, but both empowered, the latter perhaps a bit more than the former. Time then to fill that space in flesh and blood.

So, imagine that there is going to be wedding in the family - who are you rooting for Tanu or Datto?

A Strap-py affair!

Yes, this post is about straps - and before your imagination takes flight, let me assure you it's not about anything naughty! Quite the opposite actually...straps of shoes for toddlers.

My young one seldom gets his shoes right - they have had the pleasure of ending up on the wrong feet much to my displeasure. I don't believe I am alone in this hitch but that does not quite end my woes.


A little research on the information highway turned me towards exits that did little to reduce or improve my predicament in the least bit. What I learnt was that children are not inconvenienced, with their feet still taking on a harder outline, and therefore feel little discomfort for wearing them wrong. That does little to my discomfort of watching those tiny feet in action anticipating a tumble in the next step.

Observation has great power as I learnt a long time ago. And this is what I saw. My kiddo finds it more comfortable to strap the shoes in than out. Hence, he wears them so. A little experiment with my shoes made me realize that it is indeed easier to strap them on the inside.

Now I have no idea or inclination to research why the straps of shoes are on the outside. Maybe it's more comfortable to walk for adults with them on the outside, or they conform to our sense of beauty. I don't know.

What I wish for is, for shoe designers to create shoes with straps on the inside, or at least offer that option for shoes for the young ones. Till I come across one such pair (highly unlikely) or my kiddo grows out of wearing them wrong, this strappy affair of mine isn't going to end anytime soon. Sigh!

Conflicting Mind by Ronaq

This poem has been written by Ronaq Sahni, a 6th grader...rarely do we come across such sweet gems...thought I would share this with you all:


CONFLICTING MIND.
I stand at a Crossroads,
Perplexed and torn, bewildered and confounded
Tugged and pulled, the paths drawing me in,
I stand there,
Gripped in fear of making an erroneous choice
Yet acknowledging, I must make one,
On the path to my left, I see enlightenment,
A colorful rainbow, bright blue sky, butterflies fluttering through the air,
I am quite tempted to choose this road,
But there is a false sense of security and gaiety,
I realize as I gaze at the butterflies fly idly, and the rainbow, which seems almost bland,
I then have a feeling that this path would lead to sorrow and would end my journey,
I fought the temptation to choose this passage and looked away.
On the road to my right, the clouds are black,
The moon unseeable in the pitch black sky,
Rain pounding hard against the ground,
The trees sagged, their leafless branches almost touching the ground,
The road is fouled and begrimed, covered with cracks,
The grass was dry and eerily glowing in the darkness of the night,
This road looked miserable, and I knew then, that this is not the road to take,
If I did, my journey would come to an unpleasant end.
At last, I set my eyes upon the path in front of me,
There was a slight drizzle, and the clouds were gray,
But the rain was helpful, supporting the greenery underneath,
The Sun poked politely through the clouds, casting a rainbow that looked true and genuine,
I took a deep breath and walked ahead, hoping I chose well.
While making decisions, one must make sacrifices,
Yet keeping in mind that they cannot get out of hand,
Many hate choices and making decisions, but the wise do not,
For they know that our choices control our destiny, and keep our destiny from controlling us.



[Source: https://www.facebook.com/subarnas ... Ronaq is Subarna's son...Ronaq has been chosen for a writers' workshop with author & poet Paul B.Janeczko after being declared First Place winner in a Middle School Poetry Competition. All the very best my dear boy and thank you for letting me share :) ]

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Heartwarming urban short stories based in the enigmatic city of Delhi. A doctor who understands true love's calling, an adolescent who comes face-to-face with the reality of her life, a gay individual reflecting upon his choices in life and death, an interesting encounter with a homeless vagabond, a career woman seeking a place in the city - five stories five lives and their moment of realization!

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Safety for School

One of the most remarkable traffic rules in the US refers to School Buses. When a school bus stops to pick up or offload children, it flashes its various lights and pulls out a mechanical arm that has the "STOP" sign on it. Traffic on both sides of the road has to come to a complete stop at least 300 m away from where the bus is. Violations to this rule are not given traffic tickets or fines but carry severe penalties including but not limited to revocation or suspension of the driving license.

I have forever been fascinated with this rule. Rush hour, no rush hour, busy roads or not, there is not one vehicle that does not stop. And I see children run to the bus or alight from it, safe.

And I think of children who do not have this right to safety. I remember my days as a child. And I remember the horrible accident I had once been witness to. Mom was late by a few minutes, the child alighted from the school bus and ran across the road without paying heed to the traffic that had no obligation to stop.

There are no similar rules in India or if there are, I have not seen any vehicle taking note of it. All I hear or read of in this respect, are young lives snubbed out under tires.

Children need protection. Children are the future. Children have rights. And yet, the largest democracy in the world cannot ensure the right to safety of a child in the simple scenario of her getting on and off the school bus.

You can't afford her!!!...

Some years ago, we went to a wedding ceremony and were introduced to pleasant middle-aged guy. A little small-talk later, he asked me what I did...Having quit work with a brand new baby then, I sheepishly replied..."Housewife"

He smiled and turned to my husband and said - "You know, if she billed you for all the work she does, you would not be able to afford her."

That guy, I learned later, ran a reputed multidisciplinary super-specialty hospital in India. No surprises there...only someone who thinks right can do right, right? smile emoticon

Living in Minnesota – Mummy’s the wor(l)d!

Subway’s a favorite with the four-year-old which is where we headed for dinner the other evening. It’s exciting for the tiny tot to see the array of vegetables that are put in the bread and even more exciting are the high stools where they can be consumed with relish. 

A sandwich and salad later, we perched ourselves with our picnic atop those round things which do give me a bit of a vertigo so to speak.

What’s that Mummy? – the little one points to the box of salad. It looks different from the six inch bread that he has his hands and mouth full with, and therefore the curiosity.

It’s salad. You can try it but I don’t think you will like it as much. I say.

A minute later when Papa joins us in our high perch he asks if the sandwich eater would like to try some of the salad.

No, thanks. Mummy says I won’t like it.

You know, there are some perks of motherhood that surpass their worth in gold. And that moment was one - when Mummy knows everything.

I am guessing in about ten years or less that statement would change to – Mummy you don’t know anything. I already have trouble telling one Nicki Minaj from another for crying out loud! (No offense to the pop icon, or is it hip-hop?)

But right now, Mummy’s the world. And I am deliriously happy to be it. J