Women

My learning, my murals

Author: 
Vatsala
Post date: 
17 June 2020

Vatsala Rao was born in Visakhapatnam and brought up in Sindhri, Bihar (now Jharkhand). A brilliant student all through her academic career, Vatsala always stood first in her exams. She completed her Honors in Physics from Ranchi Women’s College.

Due to the untimely death of her father she had to move to Mumbai in 1981. She married Shri Prakash Rao in 1983.

Vatsala is presently living at Jaipur with her husband. She is fond of reading books, especially Agatha Christie and P. G. Wodehouse.

A homemaker, I have continuously accompanied my husband on all his postings. On reaching Kozhikode in 2012, I was very impressed by the temple mural paintings of Kerala. Being a keen painter from childhood, I decided to pursue this rare form of art.

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Mani - my sister, my twin

Author: 
Madhu Chawla
Post date: 
16 May 2020

Dr. Madhu Chawla, a medical professional, graduated from Institute of Medical Sciences, Benaras Hindu University over 40 years ago. Her husband retired from active service in 2015, and the two adult sons are settled in the USA. Having satisfactorily executed domestic and professional commitments, Madhu now works, on a charitable basis, with three NGOs. Giving back to society, for Madhu, is a dream come true. She also worked with underprivileged children with Times of India, in their Teach India programme for two years.

January 27th, 2020. 3.45pm. I am standing outside the bank premises where I had spent about 15 minutes. Suddenly, my mobile jingled. As soon as I pick it up, I hear my brother-in- law Kamesh say, “Mani is no more”.

Silence. On both sides. His perhaps, as he had conveyed all that was needed, in those four words. Me, because this bolt from the blue had stunned me into silence.

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Reflections on a Diwali Tradition: A tribute to Aai

Author: 
Meera Balasubramanian
Post date: 
17 November 2019

Meera Balasubramanian was born and brought up in Madras, Tamil Nadu. She graduated from Stella Maris College with a BA in Sociology, and got her MBA from the Asian Institute of Management, Manila. She has enjoyed living in Manila, Istanbul and Hong Kong. Currently, Meera lives in a suburb of Washington, D.C. with her husband.

My first Diwali in Washington DC was in the 1980s. My husband was in Hungary on work. No kids yet. I had no one to celebrate my favorite festival with, though I did know some people in the neighborhood. One of them was Anu Deolalikar, who lived close by. Another was Marcella, Anu’s brother’s wife. She too lived nearby.

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“Miracle Whipped”: Scorching the tar from Mumbai to Goa

Author: 
Sarika
Post date: 
9 September 2019

Sarika Upadhyay is an MBA in Finance who works part-time for a multinational German company. She is a full-time mother and wife. She likes to live life on her own terms as she is not afraid to be herself and to take the road less traveled.

She loves to travel and is a fitness enthusiast. In her spare time, she’s also a blogger. Dancing gives her tremendous energy and joy. To fulfill her desire of love for nature and travel, she willingly organizes ‘excursions’ but with like-minded friends.

She likes to reach out to people in need of help and is willing to go out of her way to render assistance.

Times Women's Drive 2019 road map from Mumbai to Goa

Times Women's Drive 2019 road map from Mumbai to Goa.

Editor's Note: Sarika recently participated in the Times Women's Drive 2019, a motorsport that invites women from Mumbai, Pune, Bengaluru and Hyderabad to team up and drive all the way to Goa. In its 10th edition this year, the two-day rally was flagged off on 3rd May. Each team had to follow a detailed Rules Book to cover the segments of the course in a given amount of time at a given average speed, taking short breaks along the way but avoiding penalty points. The winners were crowned on 5th May at a gala awards ceremony in Goa.

What follows below is Sarika's experience.

It’s so difficult to get women out of their shell, their comfort zone, their commitments and responsibilities! Of the 100 or so whom I asked to join me in a long drive from Mumbai to Goa via Ganpati Phule, only 2 showed that confidence.

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The untold story of Payal: catharsis for the family

Author: 
Pragnya Mishra
Post date: 
15 August 2019

Pragnya Mishra is an M.Phil. in Anthropology from Utkal University. She also has a post graduation diploma in Rural Management from Xavier Insitute of Management (XIM), Bhubaneswar. Pragnya has four years' of work experinece both in  XIM and  Agricultural Finance Corporation. 

pragnya quit her job to raise her children. She writes occasionally. She has contributed three stories to our website www.inourdays.org . Two of her stories includinhg one in Hindi has been published in two books namely 'Kangan' and 'Dear Daughter'. 

Pragnya has also co-authored a spiritual book 'God always Say Yes'. the book has received much appreciation worldwide. 

It was in the late nineteen seventies. My father, Shri R.K. Mishra, was posted in Gunpur, Koraput. Gunpur is a municipality and one of the sub-divisional headquarters of Ryagada district of Odisha. The outskirts of Gunpur were completely covered by forest and hills. My memory is faint as I was a small kid then, yet to join school. My parents had two beautiful pet peacocks: Payal and Jhankar. The duo was probably rescued from the nearby dense jungle.

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A love story of the platonic type

Author: 
Madhu Chawla
Post date: 
14 July 2019

Dr. Madhu Chawla, a medical professional, graduated from Institute of Medical Sciences, Benaras Hindu University over 40 years ago. Her husband retired from active service last year, and the two adult sons are settled in the USA. Having satisfactorily executed domestic and professional commitments, Madhu now works, on a charitable basis, with three NGOs. Giving back to society, for Madhu, is a dream come true. She also worked with underprivileged children with Times of India, in their Teach India programme for two years.

An eerie silence. Or at best an uneasy calm. Unexplained. Two friends, as thick as thieves, almost polite strangers now. A change that she cannot understand. A friendship she refuses to give up. And, for which he gives no answer.

The story of Mehr and Abeer.

Flashback to a few years ago.

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Romancing Yoga

Author: 
Sangeeta Gogoi
Post date: 
10 July 2019

Sangeeta Gogoi is a freelancer based in Mizoram. She served as a Labour Officer at the Labour office of the Government of Assam. She was also HR executive in the Hospice sector and visiting faculty in various institutions. She is a certified nutritionist from Stanford University and a yoga therapist.

Presently Sangeeta is Director, Meraki Yoga Retreat Centre. She stays with her husband, Jitu Gohain, and 5 year old son, Ayan Gogoi Gohain, on a remote hill-top in Mizoram. Jitu Gohain is an electrical engineer and manager with Power Grid Corporation. The India Book of Records bestowed the title of youngest author in India on four-year-old Ayan for his book 'Honeycomb' that was published in January 2018.

My love for yoga started when I was 4. At home, I used to be dazed by seeing my mother, Janoki Gogoi, perform the various mudras (especially, chakrasan) right after her morning prayers. And at school our Principal; Dr. Haladhar Duwarah, Sir, made it a daily part of the school curriculum.

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The Life and Times of Pragnya

Author: 
Pragnya Mishra
Post date: 
22 September 2018

Pragnya Mishra is an M.Phil. in Anthropology from Utkal University. She also has a post graduation diploma in Rural Management from Xavier Insitute of Management (XIM), Bhubaneswar. Pragnya worked for two years as Research Associate with XIM. She later joined the Agricultural Finance Corporation but quit her job to raise her children.

Pragnya spent 12 wonderful years in South Africa and one year in Dubai. At present Pragnya is a full time homemaker having shifted to India five years ago. She is parenting her three children, a daughter and twin boys, by herself as her husband continues to work in South Africa.

Pragnya is active on social media and is highly respected by her friends and well-wishers.

It was a perfect sunny day in Johannesburg, South Africa. I could feel the warmth of the sunrays through my kitchen. I was in a hurry to finish my cooking before my twins arrived from school. After all, my two 2½ year old tiny tots needed loads of attention.

I usually fed them lunch and put them to sleep before my daughter returned from school. She had not grown up enough to take care of herself all on her own.

Suddenly my phone rang. It was from the school that my twins attended. The lady on the other side very politely informed me that I should meet the principal at once. They had something important to share about my son, Raj.

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Stitches of another kind

Author: 
Madhu Chawla
Post date: 
1 July 2016

Dr. Madhu Chawla, a medical professional, graduated from Institute of Medical Sciences, Benaras Hindu University over 40 years ago. Her husband retired from active service last year, and the two adult sons are settled in the USA. Having satisfactorily executed domestic and professional commitments, Madhu now works, on a charitable basis, with three NGOs. Giving back to society, for Madhu, is a dream come true. She also worked with underprivileged children with Times of India, in their Teach India programme for two years.

An emergency call from the factory. The factory of Sandoz Pharmaceuticals, Thane, Maharashtra. The Calcium Sandoz people. From their Medical Clinic where I worked as the Doctor. A lady from the township had fallen and cut her forehead. A 500 meter dash, if it can be called that, and I was there.

The township was small. Only and totally inhabited by skeletal staff who may be needed in the factory post regular working hours. Archana Talukdar was the wife of one such staff member. She was also a good friend of mine. There was a huge playground in the centre of the township. Used by all in the township. The children played in gay abandon. The ladies gravitated to meet each other in what could be best called a common living room. The men joined this motley group on their return from the factory.

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The Reluctant President

Author: 
Tilak Mathur
Post date: 
24 June 2016

Tilak Mathur is a PhD in English Literature with specialisation in the British poet and playwright T. S. Eliot. Tilak is very actively engaged with social and charitable work in and around Jaipur. Basically a homemaker, she came into her own as a natural leader when she got an opportunity to lead. She lives in Jaipur with her husband Subhash. She often travels to Ahmedabad and USA where her two sons, daughters-in-law and grandchildren live.

In the year 2005 the outgoing President of Indian Revenue Service Ladies Association (IRSLA) at Ahmedabad nominated me as the new President. As I was skceptical of my capabilities I felt that I was the reluctant chosen one. But to my surprise the innings got off to a good start with the support of most members, in particular Mrs. Saroj Bansal, an important office bearer of the Ladies Association.

In all, we were about 20 members of this exclusive club who would organise functions and get together on festivals and other important occasions. Social activities were also on our agenda. With these responsibilities on my shoulders, each festival took on a new meaning.

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