Monday, 31 March 2014

Initially I thought

Whatever was written on the whiteboard by her teacher, she might have copied it on her card, as she was being taught to make a Mother's Day card for the Mothering Sunday that was celebrated yesterday (30/03/14)

So I thought that along with the drawing, designing, paper-cutting, she was also taught what all to write just like the other children in her class.

She clarified, No mummy, it was not so.

The teacher had taught them how to make those paper roses but the interior and exterior decoration with pens and pencils was left to their own personal choices so that they could make it personalized with their own thoughts and feelings about how they felt towards their mothers.

This freedom of expression in a formal school setting pleasantly surprised me....and I was really touched by the way my Kochi wrote about me.

Here's a collage of her Mother's Day card that she made for me and brought home this weekend and as if this wasn't enough she even sent me a lovely e-greeting.

https://plus.google.com/photos/117466581567846877904/albums/5996901030294243105?banner=pwa

Had a wonderful day yesterday with her hugs and kisses and will cherish this day all my life :-)

Besides her favourite hobby of art and craft, she also enjoys reading, writing and listening to music.

Here's a sample of her poems she wrote when she was 9.

http://please-peruse.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/snowman.html

Now she's 10 :-)

Bye for Now,

Cheers
Aparna


--

The AC Daily - Today's News

http://paper.li/alwaysaparna/1319026420

YouTube Playlists - Happy Playing :-)

https://www.youtube.com/user/playingplaylists/playlists

Pleasant surprises from people or places we don't expect feel all the more pleasant :-) Aparna Chatterjee

Saturday, 22 March 2014

What is Ailurophobia ?!

No, it's not a fear of allergies.

LOL :D

Ailurophobia is an abnormal and persistent fear of cats to an extreme and irrational degree wherein sufferers not only dread the bite or scratch of a cat but they also consider the cat as an evil omen. They realize the irrationality of it all but still cannot prevent themselves from reacting anxiously by seeing a cat whether dead or alive, even if it is a non-living piece like a showpiece, a picture, an image on the telly or PC. Their anxiety reactions can make them sweat profusely, have breathing difficulties or even become hysterical at the mere sight or sound of a cat purring because they just cannot tolerate this animal. They loathe it.




The term Ailurophobia is derived from the Greek word Ailuros which means Cat and Phobes which means Fear. It is also known as Felinophobia.

Julius Caesar, Napoleon, Genghis Khan, Mussolini and Hitler - they were all believed to have suffered from this morbid fear of cats.

That's all I had to share for now.

Meaoow....

LOL :D
Aparna


Cat Photo sourced from Desktop HD Wallpapers dot Com

Friday, 21 March 2014

Yesterday

Yesterday while searching images of Khushwant Singh for some Boloji poems, I chanced upon this Photo of the popular Bollywood actor Vinod Khanna. This photo is of his arrival at the cremation ground with his wife Kavita for paying their last respects to the eminent writer who passed away at the age of 99.





What shocked me is the way he has changed, losing his dashing looks to old age, now that he is 67 years old. He used to be such a handsome actor with superb acting skills.

Time takes its toll on everyone....

To relive his magic, I devoted some time today in searching out some beautiful songs of his and making a playlist dedicated to his glorious years....

Anokhi Ada (1973), Imtihan (1974), Parvarish (1977), Lahu Ke Do Rang (1979), Qurbani (1980), Satyamev Jayate (1987), Dayavan (1988), Chandni (1989) and Jurm (1990) are some of the 141 movies he's given us in his career spanning more than 4 decades. Listing them all would be too time-taking and pain-staking for me. Obviously, I haven't watched them all but the few that I've seen made me realise the immense talent he had coupled with a superb physique and a seductive face.

Leaving you today with this new playlist on this Adonis

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FLRL8qMoV4c&list=PLAP2Wr4O1Janbk5CLILaXlnLmFjqOEXMR

ENJOY
Aparna


Image(c)gettyimages.com (courtesy Boloji)

Thursday, 13 March 2014

Dedicated to my Daughter :-)


March is the B'day month of my dearest, darling daughter

She'll be 10 years old this month.

Time flies....just the other day she was born in 2004....and now she's gonna be 10.

However old she grows....for me, she'll always be my little baby.

Wanted to dedicate this lovely song to her for her B'day as all the words of this song keep reminding me of her :-)

I've listened to it umpteen times and keep humming it....sometimes with her, sometimes without her.

Even she has loved the song very much and of course, the visuals are wonderful, so is the music by R.D. Burman

I came across this song while compiling a playlist on Harihar Jethalal Zariwala also known to us as Haribhai

Who's he?!

Don't you know?!

He's the extremely talented actor Sanjeev Kumar who gave us movies like Mausam (1977), Aandhi (1976), Koshish (1974) and many more....

Now let me tell you a bit more about the song. It is Chaandni Re Jhoom

Sung by Kishore / Lata in 3 separate versions; enacted by Sanjeev Kumar and Jaya Bachchan with a child artist, lyrics are by the one and only Majrooh Sultanpuri and the movie is Naukar (1979)

Here's how all the 3 versions play

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=twlqZGbeoDU&list=PLAP2Wr4O1Jan9Pnhla_Z_ntzkHDDqeAyp


You can also see this song in the playlist that I made on Sanjeev Kumar

Here's how this Playlist runs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kq_vWD4lTcw&list=PLAP2Wr4O1JamCuhMwfAMVkH5ZnXAJcCSv


And if you are looking for the super hit comedy movie Naukar (1979) from which this beautiful song has been taken

It is here in this Films playlist that has movies old and new, some I've watched, some I've yet to view.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLAP2Wr4O1Jan4GnLnFn0IlaZZcH2G01dI


That's a lot of sharing for now.

Have a Happy Holi that is on March 17th, this year.

Cheers
Aparna

Wednesday, 12 March 2014

This has been long pending....

What?

My thanksgiving

To whom?

Shri Mahila Griha Udyog

For what?

My all-time Favourite Lijjat Black Pepper Papad




I've been having this savoury for over a decade now.

I've tried the other varieties (jeera, plain, green chilli, red chilli, garlic, etc) but always keep coming back to this one as its taste simply suits me :-)

It goes very well with rice and you can even munch it with tea or coffee.

I don't fry it. I simply microwave it for 40-50 secs and enjoy its nice, healthy taste.

Mine is a Category E Microwave (900W), so your heating time would vary if your microwave is of a different specification.

Try this snack if you haven't yet snacked ;-)

Bye for Now,
APARNA :-)

Thursday March 6th 2014 was World Book Day

Thought of sharing with you this book on that day

But I could only finish reading it day before yesterday

So here it is for you today

Voices of Alzheimer's




















This was judged as the Best Consumer Health Book of 2007 by the Library Journal.

It's got a compilation of real life stories of people who have been thru the painful process of Alzheimer's amidst their kith and kin, friends and family and how they coped with this debilitating disease.

This book has been edited by The Healing Project and all proceeds from the sale of this book would be donated to them. They are a non-profit organization founded in 2005 to support those challenged with chronic and life-threatening illnesses.

I bought this book from The Book Depository who give free worldwide delivery.

This book offers us a lot to learn about Alzheimer's - its various stages, symptoms, therapy and palliative care and how we should treat every Alzheimer's case based on the individual's life experiences as every person has a different set of memories to relate to, and it will be a method of trial and error before we see what care plan is the most optimal for the patient. It will never be a case of one shoe that fits all....what will succeed is a person-centred approach, as a treatment that may work well for person A may not be at all working for person B even though both may be suffering from Alzheimer's. Why? Because both of them come from different backgrounds having different lifestyles and an entirely different set of memories related to their upbringing, family, career, relationships, jobs, environment, culture, society, etc.

I've gained some precious insights going thru this book. Hope it also inspires you to become a good carer or caregiver.

That's all I had to share for now.

Cheers
Aparna