The Little Diva!

This post  is about a hobby that has kept me fresh and alive in the recent times. Makes me connect so much to nature and gives me immense satisfaction.

The idea to start a water garden was very instinctive. Got inspiration from fellow gardeners who had beautiful ecosystems set up with a water pond in their garden. The whole idea of nurturing a plant in water, caring for them, ensuring the water is very well maintained and clean was a big challenge. But with lots of reading and talks with like minded friends, i decided to set one up, and I am super happy that i did!!

My balcony being a narrow one, all i had was a large enough container which could hold some water plants. I added soil and vermicompost in this container and added water in it. Slowly placed the plants i had inside this container. Used some sand to help settle the soil down and added small pebbles to give it a pond feel:)

Next thing any pond needs is fishes... so there goes where the previous post in my blog came from.. so after adding fishes to this system, the entire setup looks so wonderful! Its such an easily doable thing if we only have the interest for it.

And once set up, this ecosystem becomes self sufficient, the fishes keep the water clean and feed on the algae, the plants settle down and get their fertilizer dose from the fishes!  Basically, i didn't have anything to do beyond this point. All i did was watch nature slowly and steadily settle down and give me suprises :)

And yes the day has arrived when i got this most beautiful surprise from my humble little water body! A first purple lily -A diva indeed !!! :)

Children's day!

Happy Children's day !!!

What makes this day so special that I felt like penning down a post is the fact that we all have a child in each of us, and that child needs to be kept alive and nourished. Childhood is such a beautiful phase of one's life, it is the phase where we dream of conquering the unconquerable and believe in the impossible! 

The curiosity which defines a child is probably the most beautiful attribute which sets a child apart.

As we grow up and get drawn to the nitty-gritty of daily routines, it sometimes gets hard to genuinely enjoy something like we did when we were a child. That carefree attitude is something that's hard to come by once we are branded as 'adults'. Yet, the joy of letting yourself be a child is unparalled. It is a priceless feeling and makes you re-visit and re-live so many wonderful moments from your childhood. 

Recently, i did something very instinctively. I wished to rear fishes!! My husband was quite amused when i shared this thought with him, but followed me happily to the aquarium shop nearby. My daughter and myself were happy with joy which was visible from the big glee on our faces as we observed each of those fishes in detail. We discussed the movie "Finding nemo" and all that happens there, we spoke of bubble guppies and had so much fun, that, we got the shopkeeper wondering if we were there to buy anything or just see around ;)

After casually strolling around for more than an hour, we brought a few fishes home. Stories from the Matsya avatara kept my daughter busy as we got the fishes adjsuted to their new home. Every morning, one of the first things I do after waking up, is to go see them.. talk to them and feed them. Just this simple activity makes me look forward to every morning with so much enthusiasm and curiosity. I love watching them gobble up food and play with each other. Its a beautiful sight. 

Today morning too, as soon as i woke up,i went to do the same thing and i was mighty surprised. There were new babies who greeted me today :) I was so overjoyed that I almost jumped up in joy. Later, shared with all my family and each of them, devoted a good five minutes of their time to go welcome the new babies. I was happy that we all chose to be children for those five minutes. This was probably the best Children's day gift I could ever get!

As i think of children's day on a serious note, I wish we could make the earth a better place to live in for young children. Lets leave behind a beautiful legacy of  world peace, fresh atmosphere, clean surroundings, good water, rich cultural heritage and moral values for our young adults, so they stay happy and healthy. And that is possible, only if each of us become responsible for our acts that might harm the environment in any which way. 

Signing off with a wonderful song by ARR towards this cause...

That First smile!

The last couple of days were spent thinking about all the topics close to my heart and I somehow seem to be enjoying this journey of self-introspection. As I lost time letting my mind wander deep into some of the important happenings of the past, there was one incident that made me feel great and brought a wide smile on my face! Happiness sure grows when shared, so I decided to share that incident with you all and make it infectious :)

And yes, its about my little cupcake who has made my life so colorful ever since she was born. So little V was a much awaited baby at our home, for it was a while since there were any baby blues :) I used to be super active and energetic when carrying V that i would sometimes forget that I was carrying. That surely shows now, as I see little V super active and looking forward to life with so much excitement.

It was 2 AM and a usual night routine for the little one when she was 5 weeks old. I was tired of waking up from sleep for her usual feed. I was so tired and could hardly keep my eyes open. My mom, my guardian angel was around to help me out if i needed any assistance. However, i dint want to disturb her because she had done enough during the day for me and the baby. I peeped into the cradle to see the little one wide awake shaking her arms and legs vigorously ! Until then, I had not seen her acknowledging my presence. I must admit it was a wonderful feeling. Until then she was a new born who just needed to be fed and cleaned. But that night was different.. she seemed to know me.. i felt great.. As i finished up with feeding and burping her, i put her on my lap to see if she was still awake, and she did something so so beautiful that I will never forget it till my last breath. She gave me this wonderful toothless smile, a warm one looking into my eyes.. I almost froze in that moment, as i realized that this tiny little creature was responding back to my emotions. She spoke to me in the language we all knew but used little, the language of love. 

Been more than 3 years now, ever since that night, but its been moments such as these that makes me look forward to beautiful things in life , reassure my belief in goodness and calm me down when the days are rough.

Hope this post gave you a good feeling and made you nostalgic about some of your life's best moments too!! May these best memories stay on forever! 

Signing off!

Vasu

Returning to blog with green thoughts!

I recently found the time after a long gap of almost 5 years to check my blog link again... And was happy to re-read some of my old posts. It was a beautiful and nostalgic feeling and made me want to blog more about today so I can come back years later and read them ... An online journal of my thoughts and expressions. A wonderful thing to have indeed when I get old for sure :)

So the last five years have been great! On the personal front, my family has grown and I feel blessed to have a little one who has taken full control of my actions and thoughts!

One of the most remarkable changes in me in these five years is the fact that I have become a more eco-friendly and green person. As a responsible mother of a young one, I guess the hormones of protection surged high and lead to the self discovery of some of the harmful effects of pollution in and around us. May be it was also because of the helpless bangalorean in me unable to see the way my beautiful city has changed to a garbage mess in the recent years.

It all began in nov 2012, when the BBMP could not collect garbage anymore because they had no place to dump it.For a week, we did not know what to do with our garbage bags. Mornings went keeping our ears open to the sound of the garbage truck! The newspapers showed ugly pictures of landfills at mandur, mavallipur and doddaballpur. There were lot of talks about the kind of waste bangalore is generating everyday, consumerism and over-use of plastic. There was also a lot of talk on improper disposal of different types of waste leading to chronic health complications. It was at this juncture that my maternal instincts kicked in thinking about the kind of place my little one would get exposed to! I wanted to do something badly, but i dint know how. I vowed to say no to plastic and other eye-catchy stuff and develop a minimalist approach to life. It was during one of these eye-opening reads that i got to know about Dailydump and composting at home. Since then, there has been no looking back for me in this journey towards a healthier and safer lifestyle.

Composting has now become a part of my lifestyle. Infact, waste segregation and re-using too have become my mantra. Apart from carrying shopping bags and saying NO to plastic bags,my cosmetics now comprise of simple home made face packs from kitchen ingredients or branded ayurvedic formulations. Hairwash happens with the good old shikakai-reetha combo. Body wash is a time tested bath powder made of green gram & turmeric. Even when i have to use soaps/shampoos, i go for less chemical, paraben free and sulfate free ones. Dishwash liquid and washing machine soap are eco-friendly options which dont pollute the soil. Also, I think a little before dumping things into my shopping cart at the super market and go for organic options.Happy to be doing my bit towards a safer & greener earth. 

Seen below are my compost factories residing in my little balcony! 

As a byproduct of green living and composting, my veggie garden surfaced. Though a small little patch in my little balcony, the joy it gives to walk into the garden every morning, look at sprouting seeds and veggies hanging from plants is a therapeutic experience to the soul. Makes me feel fresh and look forward to a beautiful day of hope and success.

Leaving you all with a riot of colours from my lovely balcony!

I am hoping to update the blog regularly with posts about my green journey and topics close to my heart! And may be more songs too! Wish me good luck!