January 31, 2017

The Culture Tree + Desi Babies book reading!

As a mother of a ten month old, I do have qualms about raising her here in America. Whether or not - will she grow up learning to communicate in her mother tongue, having knowledge and respect for Indian culture or feeling at least a tad bit connected to her Indian roots. 

Luckily, I'm not the only mother with worries stated above. After meeting mompreneurs like Anu Sehgal, owner at The Culture Tree and Reena Puri & Mital Thelan from Desi Babies, I feel extremely proud that there are women out there who are making an effort to infuse the richness of our culture amongst these tiny tots. 

When Anu invited me to an event hosted by her and Desi Babies, I was more than happy to attend. It was a book reading for babies and toddlers for the book Meet my Hindu gods followed by a coloring activity into My first Indian colouring book

Reena and Mital- the authors of the book Meet my Hindu gods have taken great efforts to illustrate it in a manner that would appeal to the kids. Adding fun as they get to learn about their hindu gods.

The book has some cutest of drawings and the choice of words makes it a perfect read for children. 

The hosts were so kind to hand me a personally autographed copy of their book for my daughter. I can't wait to start reading this to her and teach her about Indian gods in the form of most innovative stories. 

Throughout the book reading, the kids listened to the narration patiently and displayed equal enthusiasm during the Question and Answer round. When asked about who their favourite gods were, I was amused at how promptly and confidently they spoke about their choices. 

All the mommies kept themselves entertained indulging in mimosas and samosas, as they happily watched their kids get engrossed into being a bit more desi. Sonia Puri who runs Sonia's petite patisserie added a dollop of sweetness to the event by baking some adorable cookies for the kids. Well let's just say kids weren't the only ones eating them😜 They were irresistibly cute and delish!

Being part of an initiative like this, put a broad smile on my face as I walked my way back home after the event. Making a promise to myself that I'll do my best to teach my daughter about our culture and knowing in my heart that I'll always have company and support from these lovely ladies!


MEET THE TEAM
From the left: Sonia Puri, Reena Puri, Anu Seghal and Mital Telhan
           
 

Posing with the authors, and delighted to have an autographed copy of their book. 
My little one enjoying her story time at home, as I narrate stories of Lord Ganesh and other gods.
Book reading in progress
Checkout how cute these cookies look, adorned with logos of Culture Tree and Desi Babies on them.
Sonia Puri,  owner - Sonia's Petite Patisserie


January 20, 2017

(Belated) Happy 2017!



I know I'm terribly late for "happy new year " wishes.  My apologies for being MIA but I really hope everyone's had a terrific start to twenty seventeen!

With no good reason to justify, why I ignored my blog, I partly blame it on my laziness and partly on being a bit overwhelmed! Yes, overwhelmed from all the hype created around the New Year.

What are your plans for the New Year's Eve? Have you made a list of resolutions yet? Are you hitting the gym already? Feel the energy, be positive etc etc. The pressure of keeping up made me do exactly opposite of all this. Hence, my start to the year was a mellow one. 

Spent the New Year's Eve playing poker with family (losing big time), eating pizza and calling it a night at 12:15 am. This entire month went by doing the following- 

1) Catching up on Bollywood movies that I missed watching on big screen. Aye Dil Hain Mushkil, Rustom, Dear Zindagi and M.S Dhoni. Absolutely loved them all.

2) Wearing the chefs hat and trying my hand at new recipes that included Thai curries and baking thin crust pizzas! 

3) Practicing driving under the supervision of RJ with a mission to be able to drive independently by the month end.

4) Reading The legend of Laxmi Prasad -a book that I wholeheartedly enjoyed and was pleasantly surprised with not just Twinkle Khanna's writing skills but also her choice of genre. 

Having done all this without any pressure to perform makes me feel that I'm ready to get back into the game and put my best foot forward. So if any of you happens to be sailing in the same boat as mine, let's just say it's never too late. Because its not just the first day of a brand new year, but any day, that can be a new start.

Have a lovely weekend!