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"Allow the child to have real-life enriching experiences in School Breaks"

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I have read with interest some of the letters to the editor (Straits Times) in the past month on what local primary schools can learn from international schools in Singapore. As a mother of 2 boys, one who attends an international school and is now in Grade 10 (O level equivalent) and other who attends a local primary school (now in P5), I have often been asked THE burning question, “Which system do you think is better?” I always skirt the question as I don’t have I have the expertise to declare one system better than the other and I don’t have the right to generalize. However, what I repeatedly say is based on my personal experience. While my elder son has not once in his 13 years of schooling (he has been attending the same international school since nursery) complained about going to school and is sad to miss school even on days that he is unwell or we are on holiday; it’s the complete opposite for my younger one who cried every morning while going to school from P1 to P3, is wis
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Isha Foundation Inner Engineering Completion

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I attended the Inner Engineering completion course in March 2019  where I was initiated into the 21 minute kriya called Shambhavi Mahamudra. My completion course came in a year and a half after completion of the Inner Engineering 7 module online course.  About the Inner Engineering Completion Program: Every aspect of the program has been designed lovingly by Sadhguru and delivered by the ever joyful, humble volunteers. Everything was perfect- from the ambiance to the timeliness and flow of the program to the pranic food we were served. Even the white rose given to us at the end of the program refused to wither for 20 days and mine has now found pride of place in my copy of Sadhguru's "Inner Engineering, A Yogi's Guide to Joy." While the program was steered by  devoted full time volunteers of Isha Foundation, the initiation into the Mahamudra itself was led by Sadhguru in his orotund voice over video. The humbleness and selfless joy of service that the
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To Dad - My Unassuming Mentor

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"I wish Daddy there weren't always problems to solve and people to please, I wish there were moments that could be mine to grieve, to heal, to be just me. I wish life gave us a second chance to be together and undo all this pain,  I wish Daddy I could be your little girl again...." Grief has many shades I believe - it can be shiny, glistening white; it can be dark and somber black and more often than not it's a looming grey- the grey being the most overbearing- a hue that engulfs your heart and mind at all times like that cloud in the sky that threatens but doesn't rain. It strikes your mind in flashes and with a thunderous clap, it overpowers all that is around you in that moment. It silences and deafens, it shocks and stuns. This grey in all its broody expanse has consumed my spirit at the moment as I struggle for answers within and outside.  My father - my unassuming mentor. my inspiration and my confidante, passed on to anot
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Musings...

" There I sat l ooking out for the rain that didn’t fall, Listening for the birds that didn’t chirp, Waiting for the letter that didn’t arrive. There I sat pining for the love I could never have, Craving for the passion I could not rouse, Longing for the life I could not live. There I wept alone and forlorn, Regretting fate's chances that had passed me by, Remembering those who had too soon said goodbye! There I sat for infinity with closed eyes, Tiny cascading droplets caressing my cheeks, Taking me by sweet surprise! There I sat with a smile touching my lips, Humming in my ears, tickling my soul, Feeling the love within, making it mine!" I have attempted a poem after ages....I know it comes across as very amateurish but I wanted to pen it down nevertheless...who knows when the next spark of inspiration will strike or if it ever will.....of course I hope it opens a Pandora's box and I can improve on this in the coming d
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Mid-life Crisis or Second Coming of Age?

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Not by choice, but by law of nature, I am at the threshold of my life's heavier, greyer, reflective half - the mid-life! ( Note:   I am relying purely on statistics and averages here, no tarot reading or palmistry is involved!) So, I am wondering if, behind that grey lock that refuses to mingle with its black neighbors or that obstinate belly fat that no  yogasana  is able to dislodge, there is also a crisis  lurking to engulf my mid-life? Is there a reason behind the madness-   those flashes of despair  interjected by sparks of  giddy hope, boredom replaced by bubbly enthusiasm, self-loathing shooed away by self-adulation? Is my propensity to swing from a deep meditative state to bollywood twist, and from Shantaram to Fifty Shades of Grey in the blink of an eye, a product  of my budding mid-life crisis? ( the hormonal changes have taken way too much beating anyway) Conversely, should I also credit my mid-life with a 'growing up' experience, a kind of '
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'The Fault in Our Stars' by John Green - A Heartfelt Book Review

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Hazel Grace, in 'The Fault in our Stars,' " But, Gus, my love, I cannot tell you how thankful I am for our little infinity. I wouldn't trade it for the world. You gave me a forever within the numbered days, and I'm grateful.” The book, 'The Fault in our Stars' by John Green can easily be brushed aside as another tragic love story of two teenagers. But read it the way it is meant to be read -with your heart, between the lines and you will be enamored by the world the author has created for Hazel and Augustus, the star crossed lovers.     The book is tragic, it's poignant, it is heart breaking but even in the face of the inevitability of separation and death, it is not without hope and joy. And that is what sets the book apart. For me, the book celebrates love and life within the finite boundaries of life and the infinite possibilities of timelessness. It is about the understanding that no forever, however long, lasts forever and that no now
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Books I Love to Read Aloud- Part 1 - 'The Gruffalo'

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'THE GRUFFALO'  The Gruffalo is a 15 year old classic children's book written  by Julia Donaldson and illustrated by Axel Scheffler  that has sold over 4 million copies worldwide. I recently borrowed the book from the library for my 2 year old and had no inkling before I turned its pages that I would love it just as much as my boy does! From the time we borrowed the book, we have read the book tens of times without once getting tired of it! I love it when my son who has memorized most of the lines from the book, finishes my sentences and prompts me on the next line. "Oh help! Oh no, its a Gruffalo!"  "What's a Gruffalo?" "Why didn't you know?  With his terrible claws and terrible jaws, Gruffalo is the  most loved monster ever to set paw!" Here's my take on what makes Gruffalo the classic, super loved hit that it is? A. The Storyline - Gruffalo's story starts with a hungry little brown mouse making
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