Creative Musings

An  article in Huffington Post that I accidentally stumbled upon drove me into writing this post. This article showcased a shocking, controversial health ad by the State of Milwaukee in the US that warns parents on the dangers on co-sleeping. In the advert, the baby is showing sleeping next to a big knife and it says," Your Baby Sleeping with You Can Just be as Dangerous."  I could not believe my eyes and read and re-read the article and the ad to make sure that I had understood them correctly. Both my children have slept with us on the family bed so I was curious to know - can it really be that bad? I researched some more and realised it was all about taking a few simple common-sense precautions. Click here to read my article on Co-sleeping pros and cons published on the Rise& Shine website. My Personal Experience with Co-sleeping The article and the advertisement also brought back memories of when I had a brush with this Western concept or rather stigma

3 times a week, when I enter the condominium gym and climb the treadmill, my eyes instinctively find the many rule boards dutifully pasted on all the walls- " Gym users must be properly attired at all times", announces one board , "No entering the gym in sandals or swimsuits." The other states the obvious, " Gym users are advised to carry their own towels. " A third asks users to be considerate and limit the use of the treadmill to 30 mins to allow those waiting to have a chance. Then I look around and wonder about the unwritten rules, the so called gym etiquettes-how many of us bother ourselves with these?  When you enter the gym how do you acknowledge the people inside? - with a curt nod of the head ( hmmm you are a fitness freak like me, are you? ) or a know-it-all smile followed by a smirk ( you come here once a month isn't it - and you had to make today that day) ?  What must be done of those people who stroll on the treadmill or worse

This is my first culinary post folks and I am hoping all of you will encourage my maiden effort.! I have been inspired to dish out this post by a few of my friends and fellow bloggers who post recipes on a regular basis. And whenever I happen to view their blog posts, I plan to pen down my own culinary escapades (which are a plenty as I love cooking) . But usually in my house, the dish is consumed and burped down before it can be arranged and photographed!!!  And my blog post is forgotten till the next time I read another interesting recipe. I am even more thrilled about this post as it is a fish- recipe. Seafood including fish is not my strong point in either cooking or eating.  I belong to North India where non-vegetarian food is limited mainly to chicken and lamb. But my husband, an Oriya relishes fish and my kids also love the texture and simple flavours of fish such as salmon, cod and pomfret. So I decided to give this dish a try. I was also inspired by a similar dish I at

A Cheetah Mom with her Cub I have always been quite a clumsy oaf! As a helpful kid at home, I always volunteered to set the dinner table. My mother and my sister thanked me profusely but declined my offer of help. The reason being that on those occasions where they had unknowingly sought my help- I had broken many a plate and glasses. I had ruined my mother's Chinaware and on 2 fateful nights, I had even dropped the whole serving bowl - once filled with daal (lentil soup) and the other time with a vegetable my mother had taken a painstaking half an hour to cook!!! At school, I was a literary champ but a sports disaster. Once in school, I tripped on a basketball and broke my arm without ever having played the sport! I avoided PE lessons feigning a tummy ache whenever I could (an excuse that cannot be dismissed in girls who have just hit puberty) , while my friends jumped with joy at a whole hour of fun on the fields away from studies.  The house (flat) where I spent m