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 From the heart of a teacher. Ever since the closure of schools/colleges following the lockdown, I have been feeling a strange awkwardness in being a teacher. The entire hue and cry over school fees(to be paid or not) has led to an uncomfortable feeling in my heart. Almost every colkege/school went on a war footing to be online. Suddenly, a teachers work and worth is being made to look directly proportional to the school/college fees being paid. This part saddens me. This lockdown made me realise that teachers are many miles and mindsets away from ever getting their due. The closure of educational institutions was immediately looked upon as though teachers had decided to sit back home and have a "happy time" holiday. However, the online classes initiative by all educational institutions was the time when the teacher was back in action, though on an unfamiliar territory. People not even for a moment emphathized with the problems of a teacher. Almost immediately, the things whi...

 Dear all In my series 'so much being said about COVID' I continue with some interesting observations... Everyone is talking about lessons learnt, but it is typical of me to talk of 'unlearning' as its my favourite topic. Have we realised that we dont need to move around so much? Its not so important to shop or do window shopping! There is no need to buy so many outfits to live happily. To look presentable you dont need a salone haircut, and last but not the least yummy dishes can be made at home and ole' everyone can cook! Have you noticed that although viral jokes were about people becoming obese, most lost weight. Many became calmer and composed instead of being depressed, and a lot many of us now realise that we were running around for practically nothing! Everything can be achieved with simple and little but concerted effort. We all unlearnt popping in pills for all reasons whether we require them or not. We realised for small ailments we dont need a doctor. We...

 Not in a very distant past, I used to be an angry young woman with issues. I was annoyed and pissed with almost everything. The roads, the government, people talking about me, people talking about my friends, family and so and so. I was so so vocal about everything that I would react instantly. Now when I look back, I infer how foolish I was! Probably as you age you tend to ignore certain things. We tend to let things affect us and that's what beats us down every-time. If you'd have read and understood the 3 Es (expressions, emotions and experiences) you'd understand most people don't have any control over their emotions. Am not talking about reflexes, am talking about emotions. A boxer fighting back a guy trying to knock him down has good reflexes. An average guy trying to fight him in an outburst is just not able to handle his emotions properly.  How often has it happened that you picked a Facebook  fight with a stranger and then kept on waiting to comment back and t...

 We have unsung heroes at home. Yes, Our Kids.  Let's acknowledge that our kids have been the most patient beyond their age and intellect, in these testing times. It is not easy for little ones to tame their mind to stay indoors all day all night, for days. It is hard on them to suddenly lose contact with their friends and teachers from school. They crave for open spaces to run around. We have locked them down at our homes with some toys. Their world changed overnight and most of them could hardly ever express their anguish. We owe them an apology for creating such a harsh world they didn't deserve. They deserve a loud applause for being there with us today, stronger than us in these unprecedented circumstances.  Give them a tighter hug, enjoy those naughty tricks , laugh at their jokes , let them make the house dirty,  read them that extra story, comfort their insecurities & add some sparkle ✨ to their life wherever we can. They have been forced to act more matu...