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Makes Living Fun

Reading is the fun way to go!

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30th (1)

Imagine waking up to a world without the internet, which for some inexplicable reason has ceased to exist forever. For most of us, a life without Google, YouTube, and Facebook is a scenario nightmares are made of.

Those of us who grew up reading books (and those who have taken up reading recently) would probably raise our collective eyebrows one eighth of an inch, yawn politely and pick up the juicy crime thriller we had been reading before the ‘calamity’ took the surfing millions by surprise and sent them into a state of deep shock and utter disbelief! However, the book lovers would be more interested to find out who really committed the crime in the whodunit we just mentioned: was it the butler or was it the hollywood star staying at the Haveli as the Maharajah’s personal guest!

The world is divided into two groups: Book lovers, and those who regard the activity as one that requires infinite amount of patience to wade through tonnes of the written word– one solitary page at a time. For book lovers, however, it was books that kept them out of mischief in childhood, it was books that provided them with a window to the world in college, and it was books that kept them entertained when they started fending for themselves. [Read more…]

Republic Day: Celebrating the Constitution of India

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23rd

The story of India’s independence from the British rule is a story without precedence that demonstrated to the world that adopting a strategy of nonviolence and civil disobedience could prove to be a potent force capable of bringing a mighty empire to its knees.

The newly-gained freedom brought with it its own set of challenges: namely, dealing with the aftermath of the partition of the country, persuading the principalities to join the Union, and unifying diverse groups under a common theme—the idea that we are one nation and one people.

We also needed to frame a constitution based on modern ideas that was capable of delivering justice to all citizens regardless of caste, creed, language, ethnicity or religion as a matter of priority. Our laws until then were based on the modified colonial Government of India Act 1935.

However, our leaders rose to the occasion: A drafting committee was duly appointed to draft a permanent constitution, with Dr B R Ambedkar as chairman. 26 January, 1950 is the day on which India formally adopted the Constitution and is celebrated as Republic Day. [Read more…]

Enjoy Winter with Fun Board Games & Activity Crafts

By:

16th

Winter’s here! It’s time to dust those board games and have a gala time with family and friends. Playing board games is not only a fun activity but in the process, children can learn a lot of strategies and it can help develop their brain as well.

Every craft or an activity book has its own way of teaching something new and improving children’s sensory skills. Not only a child’s individual development, but also his social skills are accelerated by various board games and crafts.

Here are some of the ways board games and activity crafts can help your children:

They introduce the concept of critical thinking

Board games cannot be played unless and until you think through your next move. It helps develop the functionality of critical thinking in your child and also helps them to learn to strategize.

Board games like monopoly, mastermind and chess help the kids develop their thinking abilities and help them think in different ways.

It is very essential that kids learn to think of new ideas or ideas that are out of the box from an early age and these board games provide an interesting and fun way to achieve the same. [Read more…]

The Diverse Harvest Festivals in India – a closer look

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9th copy (1)

The Diverse Harvest Festivals in India – a closer look

With the harvest festivals like Makar Sankranti, Bihu, Lohri and Pongal right around the corner, we are all excited to see what this harvest season has in store for us. We were taught that these harvest festivals are one of the most fun-filled but equally important festivals for the farmers across India.

Therefore, it is our duty to educate our kids about these harvest festivals and their significance in India. This will be a fun-filled opportunity for them to see how these festivals are celebrated and why they are important.

Here are some ways that people celebrate these harvest festivals across India:

Pongal O Pongal!

Pongal is one of the most celebrated festivals in the state of Tamil Nadu. It is a 4 day long festival during the season when rice, turmeric, sugar-cane and other cereals are harvested. Typically, the celebrations consists of boiling rice in an earthen pot and making a sweet dish out of it, in the process allowing the rice to boil out of the pot while the people shout ‘Pongal O Pongal’.

The word Pongal means ‘to boil’ in Tamil. The first day is celebrated as Bhogi where useless house articles are thrown in the pyre and burnt.

The second day is when the rice is boiled in a pot outside of the house accompanied by sugarcane and other sweets for consumption. [Read more…]

4 Activities Children Can Do Until School Re-opens

By:

19thmay

 

Summer holidays are drawing to a close. All good things in life must come to an end and so must this. Come June and it is time to go back to school.

Hope you enjoyed every moment of your holidays. What is left of your summer holidays can be put to good use by taking a moment to reflect on the highlights of the summer holidays and also by planning for the year ahead.

Moment for reflection: Were you able to do all the activities you had planned during the vacation? What was the best moment of your holidays and what was the not so good moment? You have been probably lazing about quite a bit in the summer holidays, which is perfectly fine because you have earned it by working hard all year.

[Read more…]

Raising children with positive attitude

By:

24thapril

 

Parenting, as most of us have had the occasion to find out, is a thankless job. When our kids do well, the world praises them for their achievement. And when they behave badly, well, it is the parents – especially mothers – who get to bear the brunt of criticism.

Kind of makes sense why our mothers tended to be on tenterhooks at social gatherings we were taken to. Kids tend to be a little too gregarious at times and end up being a little too obnoxious and ill-disciplined for the standards set by mothers. While dad soon got engrossed in a conversation on sports or politics, it was left to mother to keep her flock in check.

[Read more…]

Advantages of home cooked food

By:

17thapril

How often do you get the urge to eat out? Saturday evenings and Sunday mornings are the most likely candidates. The former because we feel we deserve it for all the hardwork we put in during the week. The latter is a result of a feeling that we are also entitled for a break from the household chores at least once a week. Well, you are justified on both counts.

If you are a single working professional, then chances are that you either depend on a food vendor in your neighbourhood in the afternoons and settle for a home-delivery from a fastfood joint in the evenings.

However, it is essential to know about the harmful effects of eating out on a daily basis. Outside food tends to have the following disadvantages:

  • Use of inferior quality ingredients and left-overs.
  • Use of additives and preservatives.
  • Over-priced as they pass on the overheads to the customer.
  • Food is repeatedly cooked robbing it of its nutritional value.
  • The most important, however is hygiene or the lack of it with restaurant food.

The advantages of home-cooking are many and we will look at some of them in an effort to encourage you to try your hands at home cooking.

  • Hygiene: With home-cooking, you are in-charge of quality and that is one less thing to worry about.
  • Freshness: Get fresh ingredients on the way home. Cook just about enough food for your needs. Never buy a large fridge as it tempts you to cook more food for later use.
  • Nutrition: Your well-being depends on what shape you are in physically. Home cooking allows you ensure that you eat a well-balanced diet.
  • Finances: There is never enough of this precious stuff. Home cooking allows you to start saving money and teaches you the importance of money management.
  • Hobby: Cooking is a great way to unwind after a hard day’s work. You will find that it is also a great way to make friends with like-minded people in the community.
  • Life skill: Cooking is an important skill that is often overlooked. But it can come in handy when you are on your own in an alien place.

It is essential to point out at this stage that the aim of this article is not to suggest all outside food is of inferior quality, but to point out the advantages of home-cooked food. There are enough honest and hardworking people out there who serve delicious and hygienic food.

Finally, home-cooking as an activity is priceless. It helps to strengthen family bonds and has something to offer to everyone. It is an activity that involves more than just cooking food.

  • If you are a professional and single, just pick up the phone and call your mother or a favourite aunt to consult about a recipe. Any excuse to get in touch with family is a good excuse.
  • If you are a married man, there is no better way to express your love for your wife by helping her out in the kitchen.
  • If you are a married woman, there is no better way to spend some quality time with your husband.
  • If you have kids, there is no better way to instill discipline in them by pointing out the virtues of home-cooked food and its superiority over junk food.

7 Fun-filled Traditional Games for Children this Summer Holidays

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10thaprilAs traditional way of life slowly cedes ground to technological modernity, many indigenous cultures around the world have had to bear the brunt of collateral damage inflicted by the onslaught of an ever-advancing technology and its influence on traditional way of life.

Our country has proved to be an exception, so far, to the all-pervasive influence of modern technology and its effect on native culture. However, we have not been totally immune to its homogenizing effect on traditional games and indigenous languages.

Traditional games have always been an integral part of our cultural milieu. India is home to a vast array of indoor and outdoor games, often played using nothing more than common household items, stones and even tree branches.

Some of them have been forgotten, some are still being played by small rural communities, and some like the Kabbadi are being revived in a big way.

Let us have a look at some of the traditional games which most of us have played in our childhood.

Hide ‘n’ seek: This is a universal favourite where one player is delegated to seek out the rest of the guys who have to go into hiding within a limited time span.
Benefits: Teaches kids the value of patience.

Kho-kho: Played by two teams with alternate members of one team kneeling and facing opposite directions. The team that tags all the opponents in the shortest time are the winners.
Benefits: Promotes quick response time and teamwork.

Kancha or goli: There are a number of variations to the core game, but the main aim is to hit your opponent’s marble(goli) which allows you to own it!
Benefits: Teaches kids to deal with bullies and to be street smart.

Lagori: One team tries to unsettle a stack of 7 flat stones with a tennis ball. The aim is to rebuild the stack while the opposing team tries to prevent you from doing so by trying to hit one of your team members with the ball.
Benefits: Improves reflexes and promotes teamwork.

Kith kith/ Kunte Bille: This hopping game is mainly played by girls, and involves negotiating a grid drawn in the form of a 1×3, 2×1, and 1×1 squares. Each player has to precision throw a flat stone into one of the squares in a particular order. Completing the routine in the quickest time wins you the game.
Benefits: This is a strategy game and capturing certain squares in the grid can make your opponent’s life difficult.

Ali Guli Mane: All you need is the ‘mane’ or the wooden board with 14 pits carved into it (seven on each side). They are filled with cowry shells or any other seed. The aim is to capture all the shells or seeds using a prescribed set of rules.
Benefits: This strategy game promotes the ability to do quick mental math.

Kabaddi: Finally, the most popular of traditional games and which has made a huge comeback in recent times, thanks to the Kabaddi Premier League promoted by celebrities and industry captains.
Benefits: The game promotes physical strength, agility and breath control.

There are countless other traditional games that require no expensive toys, consume no electric or battery power but guarantee non-stop fun to children.

Do encourage your children to try them out this summer holidays!

Importance of spending quality time with your children

By:

3rdapril

Time and tide wait for no one, they say. Time flies and often makes us wonder whether an hour these days is really made up of as many minutes as it was when we were young. In those days life was a more leisurely affair, and everybody seemed to have time for everyone else.

Alas, that is no longer the case. Our lifestyles and habits have changed beyond recognition, trying to keep pace with life in the fast lane in the modern times.

Five to six days of work a week, and spending Sunday trying to recover from the bruises sustained during the week leaves us with very little time or inclination for social interaction.

We still have exactly the same number of hours made up of exactly the same number of minutes as you had when we were, well, young. But strangely, everyone is pressed for time.

However, when it is time for our children to move out, many of us wonder why we never noticed it. Empty nest syndrome is a fact of life, but dreaded by every parent. Parents are suddenly filled with remorse for not spending enough time with their children.

Why it is important to spend quality time with your children?

● Bonding between child and the parents: It is absolutely necessary to provide enough time and attention to this vital aspect of parenting. The bonds that are formed during the formative years remain strong even without physical presence.
● Family as support system: Children learn through observation and the importance given by parents to family life will play a major role when it is time for your children to start a family of their own. A healthy society is just an extension of healthy family life.
● Reading vital signs in time: Spending quality time with your child will help you notice abrupt behavioral changes that may be early warning signs of some serious condition.
● Taking stock: Spending regular time with your kids will help you take stock of your child’s activities, and may be, make a course correction at the right time.
● Leaning on each other: A great way to solve a problem is to depend and lean on each other. Knowing that someone is always there for them will make your children take on life boldly and with supreme confidence.

Finally, family life is all about being there for each other, and caring for each other. Spending quality time is a term popular with child psychologists, and social anthropologists, that emphasises the importance of quality over quantity.

The trick therefore is to, not spend a lot of time but enough time that can really make a difference – to the child and to us, the parents.

As they say, it’s not the hours of work that you put in that matter, but it’s really all about the work that you put in those hours.

Lullaby: More than just a song

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A new mother’s ultimate ambition is to get a good night’s sleep. (Most would settle for sleep any time of the day.)

If she is lucky, her baby will sleep well enough to provide her some well needed respite and allow her to catch up on the much needed sleep – but strictly at the baby’s whims.

A sleeping baby is the most beautiful sight in the world. But sometimes they wake up in a nasty mood, sending the household into a tizzy. Usually the baby is just hungry and settles down once she is fed. And everybody heaves a sigh of relief.

They say a father never wakes up his second baby just to see her smile. Experience tells him that it is not a good idea at all. The first time around, he had a screaming baby to contend with, and worse, he had to explain his actions to the baby’s less-than-amused mother.

Putting children to bed is an art form. One needs to have loads of patience and privy to a repository of lullabies, songs, and stories depending on the age of the child.

A lullaby is also known as cradle-song and is a song sung to children with the intention of soothing them to sleep. The music is often simple and repetitive.

The lullabies are not restricted to their primary use as a sleep-inducer in babies. They have been used for 4000 years by various cultures to pass down cultural knowledge or tradition and to develop communication skills of the child.

27thMarch

So how do lullabies work their magic?

One explanation is that lullabies feature a triple meter(in simple terms, rhythm established by a poem), which imparts a rocking or swaying rhythm similar to what  the fetus experienced while in the womb. Recreation of this womb experience has the power to comfort a children and soothe them off to sleep. (Credits: http://health.howstuffworks.com/)

  • Lullabies actually create a physiological response in the body which can have far-reaching effects on health and wellness of the baby. Studies have shown that they improved respiratory function, reduced heart rates – indicating lower stress levels – better sleeping and sucking patterns in the premature babies.
  • Does simply speaking to a baby have the same effect as singing? In a university study, it was found that the set of premature babies exposed to singing gained greater health benefits than those who listened to spoken words or those who were exposed to neither.

It is clear that lullabies have a calming and soothing effect on the babies. Unsurprisingly, they actually reduce parental stress too.

Finally, here is a popular Indian lullaby in Hindi ‘So meri rani’ (Sleep my little princess)

Sleep my queen, sleep my queen

I’ll tell you the story of a king.

In the king’s fields grew golden grain,

A sturdy young man came to guard it

.….

….

Sleep my queen, sleep my queen

I’ll tell you the story of a king.

You can find a collection of lullabies here http://www.babycentre.co.uk/lullaby-lyrics