Hard: Hero and Villain   . I’m known as hard. The dictionary defines me as ‘not soft to the touch and difficult to bend or break.'I can also mean harsh or resolute, and over time, those meanings become part of my personality. You can see me as physical, emotional, serious, or humorous. People use me as a compliment, a warning, or a reason they couldn’t get closer. They might describe a rough patch in life as a hard time or a hardship. Aha! Pardon me, but I remember maths being one of the hardest subjects for you! It was the greatest ordeal of your school life. I’ve seen how hard it is for you people to let go of your possessions, relationships, past, fears, pride, and grudges and resentments. Take it from me: you’ll feel lighter and more cheerful when you do. If you’re a cold, unfeeling, and unforgiving person, you may be described as hard-hearted.  Ouch! Children bring joy to your life, but parenting…that’s hard, I hear. Well, good luck with raising yo...

BOOK Title: A LITTLE BOOK OF MAGICAL PLANTS Author: Ruskin Bond Publisher: Rupa Publications India.  Book Review     A Little Book of Magical Plants by Ruskin Bond.            I stumbled upon this cute and charming little book in my Kindle library and picked it because it was written by one of my favourite authors, Ruskin Bond.   In A Little Book of Magical Plants , the renowned author makes us look at plants with respect and awe. This cute little book, written and illustrated in green, is bound to delight adults and children alike.    Bond begins his little book about his favourite plants, shrubs, and trees with his lucky rubber plant, which he says loves to move. It grows all over the place. He shares quirky anecdotes, like how much he loves an aloo–french bean curry and how the tomato, a staple in Indian cuisine, was first considered poisonous.     His keen powers of observation and fondness for his plants s...

  Love Your heart and mine Are gently entwined, Journeying together, Your hand in mine. You’re the friend, the lover I longed to discover.   I love you Just the way you are: I know I will never find another you.     Fear The little voice in your head, Your trembling hands, Your clammy palms— You’ve sensed a lion on the prowl. You’ve chosen to stay away from it all.   Fear twists the spoke in your wheel. It plants the thorn in your rose. Fear is the dragon you dread; You would rather lie all day in bed.   Look fear in the eye Until it shrivels and dies. Fear must not survive.   Anger When anger strikes, You unleash the beast inside. He’s either raging mad Or cold as ice.   Anger does you little good. Control it if you will— Only let a little spill.     Happiness Happiness is… The twinkle in your eye When she says hello , not goodbye.   Happiness ...

  Book Review—Forget Me Not by Lavanya Krishnamurthy.     Book Title: Forget Me Not Author: Lavanya Krishnamurthy Genre: Psychological – Medical thriller/Romance Length – 194 pages. What if you woke up one fine day, unable to remember who you are, where you are, or the people in your life?   When investigative journalist Avantika Krishnan wakes up in a hospital room, she cannot remember how she got there or anything about the three men who claim to be connected to her because she has been diagnosed with retrograde amnesia. Adding to her confusion, there is also the strange phenomenon of women who enroll in a certain weight-loss programme and subsequently succumb to acute appendicitis. This medical mystery unfolds alongside Avantika’s crisis. Are the two connected? What follows is the gutsy and resilient Avantika’s journey to unearth the truth about the mysterious appendicitis and piece together her own life with no memory of her past. As th...

  Meet Marietta   I’m Marietta Pereira, 61, a homemaker, a trained primary school teacher, and mother of two boys, currently living in Mumbai with my better half and navigating the empty-nest phase and silver years of our lives.   Advancing age comes with its challenges, but you're also more at peace with yourself in many respects.  I love being around kids, and my brief six-year spell of teaching first and third graders was some of the most rewarding years. Raising kids, as I learned later, is quite another cup of tea. I am what I am… You get what you see. I’ve come a long way from a shy and awkward little girl that I was to a moderately talkative woman participating in activities that keep me in the public eye to a small extent.( I serve as lector in the church I attend.)  I’m no paragon of virtue, but those who know me would say I am the proverbial ‘good girl.’ I’ve come into my own late in life, but then, as they say, “better late than never. " I c...

    I watched the movie Bookclub a few years ago and thoroughly enjoyed it. The movie follows the lives of four women who have been meeting for forty years as book club members, bonding over the books they read and becoming friends. When they read Fifty Shades of Grey, they begin to view their lives from different perspectives. Well, this is not a review of the movie but about my foray into the world of book clubs. A friend recently started a book club but has slightly tweaked its format. I was quite reluctant to join at first because I don’t consider myself a serious reader, and I'm trying to read more. I declined the invitation but, on second thought decided to dive in, and I wasn’t disappointed. The tweaked version of the book club saw us not reading and discussing a single chosen book but instead following a topic or theme. This time, each member told a tale from Aesop’s Fables together with the moral, after which a short discussion on the moral ens...