Rekha's Ramblings

It’s almost back-to-college season. For some of you, this might be your first time dropping off a child. Amid the excitement and nerves, here’s a reality we can’t ignore: " ALCOHOL " -  it will likely be part of their new world—whether we like it or not. Even if we, as parents, choose not to drink and believe we’re setting a good example, there’s no guarantee our children will follow suit. Your child may not be a drinker, but peer pressure, the need to fit in, or the desire to look “cool” can sway even the most well-behaved kids. They may have grown up seeing you as their role model, but now they’re surrounded by peers—many of whom might be drinking—and it’s hard to hold the line. It is quite easy to succumb to peer pressure.  Alcohol poisoning is real, dangerous, and more common than most of us think. It can affect anyone—any age, background, or family environment. Recently, someone we know and love almost lost their life because of it. In this recent incident, the absence o...

They said, work hard, go after your dreams. You worked hard and went after your dreams. They say there is a price to pay for everything. Nothing comes for free. So now you have paid the price. You worked hard, you gave your time, you worked hard to fulfill your dreams. They said you can't have everything. So now you have a fulfilled dream, but it has cost you time, the time away from your family. They say there is nothing like spending time with your family. You do just that but now you have no money. Then there are those who were doomed by their circumstances, by where they were born, the color of their skin. It didn't matter how hard they worked. They could have nothing. Their fate was decided by geopolitics, their race. They had no chance. Some will spend their entire lives in refugee camps. The moral of the "they say", "you need to give up something to get something, you can't have it all" is a bunch of BS. I haven't figured...

  What's in a name, one asks. Well, I will tell you. The remnants of history and colonization still live in a catholic community where I grew up. My ancestors were Hindus who were converted to Christianity by Portuguese missionaries during 16th century and either they willingly adopted the Portuguese last names or were forced to take their names. I am not a historian, but this is what I have gathered over the years. Christopher Columbus was trying to find a sea route to India but instead landed somewhere in the Caribbean in Circa 1492. Then another Portuguese sailor Vasco De Gama left in search for the sea route and landed on the west coast of India in circa 1498, bringing Portuguese missionaries to India who then travelled up the coast converting the local Hindu people into Christianity, voluntarily or by force. During that time, they landed in my hometown (only a few kilometers outside of Mumbai). The church that my family attends is four hundred fifty years old. Last names suc...

  It's National Selfie Day today. I call myself the "selfie Queen". I was taking selfies back in the days even before the word "selfie" was coined, not on the phone but with a regular camera. I was an exhausted mom, of twins, there would nobody be around to take a picture of me with them. I have no pictures of me as a baby or growing up, of me or pictures of me with my parents/ siblings and I wanted to make sure that my children had plenty of those. There were times when I was tired, sad , angry, frustrated, feelings of hopelessness, at home with them, sitting on the sofa, crying, all of us. There was a TV in front of the sofa I could see our reflections on the TV screen; looking at their innocent faces on that screen would melt me, spark happiness inside of me. That's when it occurred to me. I wanted to catch those moments, happy, sad moments, when I was ready to give up but I didn't. I had found my happiness, through these selfies. I so very loved tho...

  Lately, I have been listening to Melissa Clark ‘s writing pool podcast. In one of the episodes, she talks about celebrating, are you celebrating enough? She was of course talking about writing, writing victories. She inspired me to write this post, a celebration of small victories. I am not a writer. I am what you may call a rising blogger, mostly mom stories, my journey as a mom. However, my creativity involves pictures and photography. Not too long ago, someone I know in the community asked me this question, why do I label all the pictures I post, who do I think I am? They were joking but I was kind of offended by that remark. Hmm. Who do I think I am? Not a professional photographer by any standard. I don’t have formal training. Sure, I accumulated a lot of photography gear over the years, but it has remained a hobby. I am not delusional. I am an amateur. I label my pictures in the grim hope that someday they may go viral, someday they will be shared by many, and the ori...

Recently, I started watching the TV show This Is Us . One of the episodes was titled “ There .” At first, I didn’t think much of it. But halfway through the episode, one line stopped me in my tracks. One of the characters, Kevin, talks about his father, who is no longer alive. He describes him as the most “ there ” father. A father who was always there for his children. That word lingered with me long after the episode ended. “ There .” Such a simple word, yet it carries so much meaning. It instantly brought me back to my own childhood. My siblings and I were blessed with the most “ there ” father imaginable.  A physically present father. He did not miss anything. Looking back now, especially considering the time and place where I grew up, my father was far ahead of his time.  He was simply there. When and where I grew up, my father was ahead of his time to be always " there ." That was not what fathers did back then. But my father did, he was always present, pushing us to do...

  Yesterday I came across a post by one of my Facebook friends, ‘Vibrantly you growth and leadership’ asking their readers, “how often do you take time to truly reflect on your journey?”   It took me back to a blog I had written almost a decade ago, in my forties and how I have changed over the years. I have always loved to reflect, to ponder, about things, geo political events, people, where we are going as humans. I am always reflecting when I am driving, when I am sitting in the parking lot or even when I am home. My personality back then was that I usually blurted things out, good or bad, no filter. While I was reading my own thoughts which I wrote in my forties, I came to a realization, I am no longer that person, the person who struggled but tried her best to fit in.  I grew up in a household with an abundance of love, where I was seen and heard, where I was allowed to have an opinion and voice. But when I was thrown out in the real world, in a foreign land, by ...