Story time with Manju

  Mental health is as important as physical health and often goes untreated and un noticed. This story is an effort to create awareness about Mental Health and its importance.   Karan was sitting on the couch , muscles tensed, sweating profusely , increased heart rate , soon he started sobbing uncontrollably, holding his head in his hands, while Dr Parul looked on . She waited for Karan to settle down and overcome his surge of weeping . Karan was her patient for over a couple of months and was getting treated for “ Fear “, an emotion so intense that it not only affected his daily life but slowly it started affecting his family also .  Karan was an intelligent young man , a software engineer working on AI . Since childhood, he was dealing with a strong emotion , Fear .  As per the psychology textbooks, any person feels at least six emotions very strongly; Happiness, Sadness, Fear, Disgust, Anger and Surprise. These are the six basic emotions that are universally exper...

  I am a pet grandparent to two dogs , Glee and Leia. Glee, the pug and Leia , the Indie.    As a child , I was always raised around dogs, Alsatians, Indies, small Norwich Terriers , whatever be the breed, they were all loving and faithful. I remember my mother telling me that I used to even eat the Roti and milk from their bowl !  I got married into a family, where pets were a huge no no , cats were okay as long as they stayed on the doorstep, but dogs inside the house - unimaginable!  My elder daughter Manasi, was a born animal lover , and as she grew up, every once in a while , she    would    ask me to bring home a puppy. Staying in a joint family, I reluctantly denied this little joy to her .  One evening, as we were taking a stroll , she said , “ Aai, Sneha’s uncle has a Pug , Laila. She’s given a litter”, she said,    as she showed me the pictures of the cute little creations of God . “ Can we get one home please “, she ...

Ameeta and Mayank, being an adventurous couple ,were on their honeymoon to the seventh continent at the bottom of the globe , the Antarctica. They had a huge appetite for adventure and weren’t afraid of pushing their limits. They roamed freely over the frost and permafrost , enjoyed the photography and the adventures of trekking on the South Pole , enjoyed watching the dance of whales and the penguin walks . As they sailed through the Drake passage, they enjoyed the rough seas and the high waves, giving them goosebumps . They entered the precarious waters of the LeMaire Channel and were witness to the tips of the icebergs breaking and floating away in the sea, a distinct sign of global warming . They trekked on the Ross Island through the frost , the largest ice shelf in Antarctica, tumbled and fell and slipped on the frosty earth , laughing off the minor cuts and bruises . All in all, they had a fantastic holiday and were soon on the way back home with experiences to be cherished for ...