Four Clover Life- By Namrata Shailendra Singh

Usually, there would be three people in the office that early- the office boy, the janitor, and an account assistant. Today I saw him too, and he offered to make coffee for me. He looked crisp as a toast that morning in a pearl-white shirt and charcoal trousers, a tie, hair- a mottled mixture of black, grey, and white, and eyes that that had a sparkle of a thousand splendid suns. don’t know why, but my heart skipped a beat at the thought of seeing him again, and the next day, and the day after. Two months later we were furtively writing emails to each other- in the office. Emails about my words, my thoughts, free verses vs rhyming poems, and ME. I HAD NEVER FELT SO VISIBLE. I would stay back after office hours just to be with him and savor his presence; he made affection feel simple and it felt nice to receive it. Though his family wasn’t there, they weren’t entirely absent either. We ate tofu burgers at the food court of DLF square sharing stories of our lives: me talking about my i

  As an Indian American mom, I struggle to teach my daughter the right values, and my parenting has sometimes been questioned. But motherhood in America changed it all…so much so that I am surprised at the cosmic shift that can happen in life when a baby pops out of the womb. As if all the alcohol inside the body dried up, the hormones vaporized in thin air, and all the morality, values, and traditions of India have one door to knock on – MINE. Thanks to the population of the Indian community here, I have fodder for my eyes and ears, to reinforce how we must preserve the Indian-ness in us, in our children; otherwise ‘times are bad’ and ‘anything can happen, you see’. Phew! To read the article, click on The Indian American Mom Image courtesy-Pixabay

Can I change or redefine parenting to create a meaningful upbringing ?  Or is it just a matter of chance? Do parents play a role in shaping the habits, attitudes, and personality of a child? Or is it no big deal ? But why meaningful? Because parenting cannot guarantee happiness to the child  every time . It can assure is 'meaning' so that the child feels worthwhile and  purposeful, both  falling and flying high. I worked for Xerox India Ltd back in 2006-2010 in various roles. From corporate HR to Regional HR Manager N & E and later S & W. It was during this time that I had the opportunity to meet Mr. Princy Bhatnagar, the Sales Head for Xerox India. It was one of those regular days at work where I heard him talking to his colleagues about family and children, and he said: Parenting is the most challenging yet most gratifying experience of one's life. I left Xerox India in 2011 and went ahead, traversing my own life. I wasn't a parent then, but his words st