The blue sky

Who doesn't know the Ramayana? It is a timeless classic of how good wins over evil; how parents, the elderly, and teachers should be respected; how relations between family members should be; and how a good ruler and a good human being should be. The Ramayana is relevant even in today's time where we can learn valuable lessons about different aspects of life. We, in India, grew up listening to the stories of Lord Rama from our grandparents. In 1987, Ramayana was aired on the DD national television channel, and we all know how empty the streets were when Ramayana was aired on Sundays! The people playing the characters in Ramayan gained so much fame and respect that it created a lasting impression on the masses. I saw some videos where the people playing Ram and Lakshman refused to do any advertisements for products such as tobacco or alcohol that could hurt the sentiments of the people. Such was Ramayana's dedication and the impact it had on the characters. For many years,  ...

As some of you might know, we stay in a city named Karlsruhe, in the Southwestern part of Germany, the state is called Baden Württemberg. The academic year in this state and the neighbouring state, Bayern starts in the second week of September. This year the schools began on 12th September. But for the children who attend school for the first time, the first graders and the children who will complete primary school, i.e. fourth grade and go to secondary school, to grade 5 have their first day on some other day. Their school doesn't start with the regular ones as it is a new experience for them, and they need to take it slowly and systematically. My son started going to secondary school yesterday, i.e. in class 5. Yesterday was orientation day, where parents, grandparents, and other relatives accompanied their wards to the new school. A welcome band played for us, and the school principal welcomed us all and gave a small speech to the students, hinting at the new year and the challe...

सखू आजी... मी तिला लहानपणापासून ह्याच नावाने ओळखत होते आणि हाक ही तशीच मारत होते. सखू आजी म्हणजे माझ्या बाबांची सख्खी धाकटी मावशी. ती महाड ला राहायची, म्हणजे माझ्या आठवणीत तरी ती तिथेच होती. आधी ती दादर ला होती असं आजी सांगायची मग नंतर महाड ला गेली. तिकडे तिचे दोन भाऊ, त्यांचा परिवार आणि ही आणि हीचे यजमान असे वेगवेगळ्या घरात पण एकाच आवारात राहायचे. सोबत होयची एकमेकांची आणि मदत ही. सगळे सण एकत्र साजरे होत होते आणि अडी अडचणीला एकमेकांसाठी हजर असायचे. सखू आजी आणि तिचे यजमान, बाळासाहेब आमच्याकडे डोंबिवली ला नेहमी येत असत. मला ती आली की खूप आनंद होत असे, ती एकदम हसरी, मनमिळाऊ होती. तिचे स्वतःचे काही अपत्य नव्हते. तिचा माझ्या बाबांवर खूप जीव होता. ते जेव्हा मिलिटरी शाळेत होते तेव्हा ती त्यांना नेहमी भेटायला जायची, कारण तेव्हा माझे आजी आजोबा पंजाब मध्ये होते. सुट्ट्या सुरू झाल्या की ती बाबांना ट्रेन ने पंजाब ला घेऊन जायची आणि तिकडे थोडे दिवस राहून परत यायची. त्यामुळे बाबांचा तिच्यावर विशेष जीव होता. त्यांना ही मावशी आली की खूप आनंद होत असे, मग काय आइस्क्रीम चा विशेष कार्यक्रम होत असे ती आली क...