Category: BOOKS AND READING

Festive Season and it’s charm

Oct 4th, 2021

Festivals are everyone’s favourite. Just with the beginning of festival, Raksha Bandhan festive season starts in India. There are so many reasons and festivals to celebrate in India. As there are many different religious ceremonies are performed here. So many regional languages spoken, our country is an example of unity in diversity. Festivals are feeling of joy and happiness. They add spark to our life.

The moment we think to celebrate any festival, we start preparations for it, new cloths, gifts, colours, lights, sweets, meeting family, get togethers, laughter, traditional dishes for the special occasion. Festivals become reason for happiness for all. There is hardly anyone who don’t celebrate festivals with pomp and show.

Lights bring brightness in our lives. Not only we feel overwhelmed but excited to celebrate any and every festival in the world. Be it Diwali or Eid, be it Gurpurab or Christmas. Thinking about festivals makes us so happy and celebrating them gives more happiness.

How we can celebrate festivals in this pandemic?

First thing to keep in mind is, avoid crowded places. Next important one is, try to celebrate festivals at your home itself. To safeguard our family and neighbourhood we must adhere to the guidelines provided by your respective concern authorities. Due to pollution, firecrackers are banned to be used at the time of Diwali festival. No crowd is allowed at the time of Dussera. But we can celebrate festivals with keeping in mind that, it should be celebrated wisely.

Bring home all the festivity, lights, colours, flowers, decorate your homes, enjoy traditional dishes, connect with friends and families online, share smiles and laughter, be the reason for someone’s happiness. Pandemic has bound us to think and live differently, so let’s adapt the change and without being disappointed, must celebrate each and everyday of our lives with a smile.

How we can be the reason, for someone’s smile?

This pandemic has made many people jobless, they are now running small businesses to earn their livelihood. Support these small businesses, buy from them. Many people don’t have food to eat, provide them food, if it’s possible for you. Let’s join hands, as a global family and celebrate with each other, support each other and enjoy each festival responsibly.

The charm of celebrating festivals should not be missed. I will celebrate Christmas too. I hope we all will celebrate festivals in a different but sensible way.

Ramneet Kaur
Benefits of Reading

Oct 1st, 2021

Reading is a habit which is cultivated right from childhood. We read academic books from where we learn various things. That books are compulsary for children to read and study from them. Other than that, I used to read a lot of comics, newspaper, magzines etc. As child we were not engaged in mobiles and tv. So, we very much have time for reading books, other than school books. Now, it’s difficult to make children cultivate habit of reading, but I manage to do so with my son. I provide him comics, children magzines, story books, he is a big fan of ‘Harry Potter‘. He also read many editions of ‘Tom Gates‘ too.

Due to which his reading, writing and speaking skills are good. The credit goes to him also, as he obeyed me. The benefits of reading was known to me. Which I will share with you today. It strengthens brain, brain scans show that throughout the reading period and for days afterwards brain connectivity increases.

Builds vocabulary, students who read books regularly, beginning at young age, gradually develop large vocabularies. Reading books is the best way to increase your exposure to new words.

Reduce stress, the study found that 30 minutes of reading lowered blood pressure, heart rate and feelings of psychological distress just as effectively as yoga and humour did.

May even help you live longer, the study also concludes that people who read more than 3 1/2 hour every week were 23 percent likely to live longer than those who didn’t read at all.

Prepares you for good night’s sleep, helps prevent age related cognitive decline, reading books and magazines keeps mind engaged, prevents diseases like Alzheimer.

After knowing so many benefits, I am going to buy more books for reading. You also think about it and start reading from today itself.

Ramneet Kaur
Morning Madness

Sep 28th, 2021

Just imagine, it’s 7 O’ clock in the morning already. Are you feeling fresh or just ok? What is the first thing that comes to your mind? Oh! I am getting late, isn’t it? New day, new hope, new challenges makes day worth living, whereas same boring routein makes a dull start. Mornings gives direction to your whole day. If your spirits are high in morning, your whole day will be spend good, for sure. What if you are not feeling fresh or low in morning?

We all are in a hurry, in mornings, to reach office on time, to start online classes,to prepare first meal of the day for the family. Everyone at home gets mad, to start the day. No body wants that their day be ruined. Who wants to be low or dull in morning? No one. Everyone has their own way to start the day. Meditation in morning is good to enhance the mind and body. To recharge the positive energies in us. The planning for morning should be done before night, so that you get time to exercise too, in morning.

Being in a hurry or rush all the time makes things complicated at times. The task or work is same daily, but if we change the approach to complete it, it will be beneficial for us. Listening just instrumental music calms and relax you. Try it once and let me know how was that day goes for you.

While preparing meals always have positive thoughts, as those positive vibes will enhance the energy of food which you are preparing for your family. The more fast you are in the mornings to get dress up and all, the more is the chances that you will forget something or the other. Get ready but don’t forget things that are necessary, like having breakfast, I think we all are on fast forward mode in mornings which makes me imagine it and have a good laugh. Just after the office goers goes to office and school children start attending their classes, it seems that we have won a battle. Battle with time, to be on time. Ignore eating breakfast in mornings, morning walks, meditation. Morning Madness has make us that way.

Imagine it’s Sunday morning, you wake up late, there is no hurry to go anywhere, you eat your breakfast, the way it should be eaten daily. Your favourite meal. What if it happens daily, I mean to say, what if you find time for your morning meal on weekdays too. For that you have to stop your morning madness ( hurry) and think about time management in the mornings.

Nourish yourself, pamper yourself, love yourself,other things will follow. Prepare your favourite food, so that you have cravings for it, be mad to find happiness, happiness in waking up early, you can refer to benefits of waking up early, on internet. Also you can find benefits of having nutritious breakfast in mornings. We all know what is good and right for us, still not doing it, it is our fault and we will bear the consequences later, for not taking care of ourselves. So, better be mad for your health rather than be mad in mornings for no reason.

Everything can’t be taught. Realising is enough. If you will not give importance to yourselves, no one will. So, be a morning person, watch sun rise, go for morning walks, eat well, be excited to wake up early in the morning. Your morning madness will transform into morning bliss.

Ramneet Kaur
Health of a child is more important than academic grades. Do you Agree?

Sep 25th, 2021

Every child in the world is stressed, to be at home due to pandemic and online studies makes it more stressful. We as parents go to departmental stores or for grocery shopping but children are more bound to be at home 24/7. Children miss their school, where schools are not open, they miss their friends and teachers, the offline classes, which they were taking before pandemic, not only make them disciplined and active, but children were not getting so tired earlier, as compared to today, in online classes.

My son take 3 classes daily, as compared to 7 classes when he used to go to school. His breakfast time is not fixed, his eyes gets tired and overall health is being deteriorating. Not only children feeling stressed due to studies, but all the time sitting indoor making them obese. Children are deprived of enjoying the growing years which they might be enjoying in offline school.

Their mental and emotional well being is much important than just grades or studies. Studies will give them knowledge but, what if they will not be capable to use it in appropriate manner. Just mugging up things and all the time thinking about grades is not the solution, as children have to reconnect with friends and teachers. They learn a lot when they commute to school and back home. Which a teacher can’t teach them. The insecurities about this pandemic has made us so changed, then how can we expect that children should behave in the same manner, which they use to before pandemic. Children do develop sense of insecurities about future.

There are activities introduced on daily basis, new activities are making them though, more occupied but, it’s easy to just post an assignment and that too on very short notice, for children to do it,but is only making children more stressed and in pressure. The psychology of children needs to be area of concern right now for parents, teachers and country as a whole too. One day it’s announced,the vaccine for children are out ,will be provided by sep 2021. Then, there is no news about it. How our children are impacted by it is, they are given false hope, that children will get vaccinated soon and will go to school.

We as parent are providing them with extra curricular activities at home. It’s duty of education system that if the parents are paying full fee to schools and schools are providing 50% less classes then they should work on emotional and mental health of children too. The amount which we as parents are spending on extra curricular activities are financial burden on us too. Education policies should be made in favour of children, their overall well being is much important than just grades.

It’s a topic to be discussed and do something globally for, for all the children in the world. Child vaccination and then opening of schools should be on top priority list of education policy makers worldwide.

Ramneet Kaur
How to grow your savings?

Sep 23rd, 2021

When a habit is cultivated to save, we initially save in a piggy bank, then think to deposit in a bank. So that, our money will be safe. We felt the gladness that the money saved will be a help in future. The next step comes when we think to grow our savings too. Question arise in our mind is it necessary to grow our savings? What do you mean by growing the savings? How to grow our savings?

We all know the saved money is to be used in future. The necessity could arise may be after 6 months or after 6 years, we never know. So the saving should be done in such a manner so that it can beat the effect of inflation. For example, If a thing you purchase today is of 100 INR after 6 years that thing may cost you 120 INR so the purchasing power of your money gets decreased with the increase in inflation. It’s not the scenario globally, there are countries where you have to pay banks, to safeguard your money. Every country’s economy works according to their financial policies. So what I want to convey is that choose that particular instrument to save your money so that it also fetch you some good return to beat inflation. Saving is that amount which we save from our income and investment is surplus amount which we are willing to invest to make profit out of it.

In order to appropriately grow your money it’s important to know all the aspect of a saving scheme or fund. If you want more liquidity then saving account is an option or you can deposit in liquid fund also. But you have enough money in savings then opt for mutual fund. There are many mutual funds which are available in market, you have to choose one according to your needs. You can start your investment from as less as 500 INR.

I like mutual fund investment than investment in shares as its very time consuming and stressful to invest in shares as compared to mutual funds. Go for mutual funds and grow your savings so as to meet your future requirements. There are people who still trust traditional instuments like fixed deposit for safety of their money but it’s not recommended at all.

You can also buy gold coins or gold bonds which ever you like as it will also fetch you returns and it can also be used to take loans. The jewellery which we buy always has an emotional value attached to it and we get carried away by it. So, don’t consider gold jewellery as investment moreover it also has high making charges which make it less valuable as compared to gold coins. For investing your savings in gold always go for gold coins or gold bonds. So that when you sell it, your heart don’t break or you don’t think that this gold was given to me on so and so occassion by special person and has emotions attached to it, which is in case of gold jewellery.

Be wise to choose for your future. As you control stearing of your life.

Ramneet Kaur
Nature

Sep 21st, 2021

Nature need utmost attention which is overdue from so many years now. Advancement is good but not at the cost of sacrificing our natural resources. We have to act fast to conserve our natural resources and nature too. It’s necessary to provide our children good environment to live in. The moment we will think as global family, that yes we had to do something about it and a little effort can also make a big difference. We will take first step to conserve natural beauty and so is endangered species, for which organisations spend huge amount.

We are converting from fuel engines to electric vehicles, that’s a good move. Because pollution is the main cause of the problems be it air, water, sound, sea pollution. The more the population the more pollution. All the things are interrelated. The more educated people, it will be more easy to educate them about the ill- effects of creating pollution. The thought which inspire me to write about nature is, On Sunday I was just listening to music and it clicked my mind to listen to chirping of birds. Then I thought when we were children we use to see these birds in abundance but now our children can only listen to them on mobile. Most of the birds are endangered due to pollution in cities.

The more we come close to nature, the more we feel happy. Watching plants grow, their greenary is good for our eyes too. Spending time in gardening or watering plants make us feel the difference. Though I am writing with the help of technology and it made the world small and reachable. The thoughts are shared on technology based platform, but it’s high time we also be nature lover too. Making money is good but what if that money makes you ill.

Nature comprise of things which are not man-made. The beautiful creation of its kind. Till now we have only taken advantage of natural resources and now is the time to give back to nature so that our children could also enjoy what we use to enjoy. Be it flora or fauna, clean air to breathe, clean water to drink, less waste. Just for the sake of cost cutting various manufacturers pack their goods in plastic packaging. It should be banned because the more plastic waste, the more non-renewable waste generates and is dangerous.

See inside your house, how many things you buy are in plastic packaging? If it’s above 50% then, think again, how much plastic will you be able to recycle on daily basis? Although we recycle, still it’s duty of each manufacturer to help in conserving nature. I know one of the brand who sell beauty products and also plant trees. So, you have power to purchase, use it wisely.

We as an individual can do our bit but if we collectively force manufacturers to act rightfully the positive impact will be seen soon. Nature is a thing to be felt, you will feel it, when you visit a village, where greenary exist, you will feel it at beach, the calmness which nature provide is lacked in metropolitan cities. You can have small green spaces though, but with immense pollution. Education plays a vital role here, not only it provide right direction, but also create sense of responsibility towards planet earth. The pros and cons of each action we take, to save planet earth, be it small or big could easily be understood and conveyed. For example, there are two person, one is educated and the other one is uneducated it’s easy to teach educated person about, global warming as compared to uneducated person. It’s high time organisations should provide adequate knowledge to uneducated people also, so that they can also be a part of, how to save nature and natural resources.

Being a nature lover, it’s our duty and responsibility to give back to nature by any means, be it, by buying eco-friendly products or planting trees.

We have to take the responsibility else the next generation will suffer. Don’t let that happen.

Ramneet Kaur
Family

Sep 17th, 2021

The moment we are born, our name gets associated with a family. How we are raised, our education, values all come from family. The first word which we speak is not taught in a school but at home, the first step which we take is at home. There are elders, siblings, parents all together make a family. Togetherness and happiness of a family is more important than anything in life. We have joint families and nuclear families. We are now more bound to live in our homes due to covid.

Avoiding going out. Taking precautions will not only save us but our family too. We have seen that everyone lost their near and dear ones due to covid. But helping each other as a global family saved us all. The country which need help is being helped by other countries. So by helping, together standing with each other, in sorrow and lending shoulder make us all stronger than ever. It shows how important it was to stand by each other.

The humanity is what saved each one of us. The good in us saved us all. Be happy and grateful that we are alive. Each day we should celebrate life. We meet so many people in our lives. We learn from them, get inspired by them, people may come and go, but family is where we always return to. Where our roots are. In the words of Mother Terresa ‘If you want to change the world, go home and love your family’.

The family which we get, is by chance, but the people who stood by us in all thick and thin are also family which we choose for ourselves. Never loose those people. The people who make us successful, the people who trust us, the people who help us to grow, the people who give us wings to fly and ready to save us when we fall. All those are also family.

Value your family and be there whenever it’s needed. To make a family, a happy family, each family members efforts are required. To get strength and happiness one must totally be dedicated towards family. Hope, that we all as global family get rid of this pandemic soon and live a normal life as we were living earlier, before covid outbreak.

Ramneet Kaur