Hello readers,
My book is live and with this I complete 25 published books
11-11 Make a wish
(Making a wish is like whispering secrets to the universe, hoping for a magical response. It's a fleeting moment where dreams take flight on the wings of possibility, carrying our deepest desires to the stars above.
https://www.ukiyotoindia.com/product-page/11-11-make-a-wish
Love
Juju
Hello readers,
Sharing link of my book 24th , close to my heart
The Unveiling Radiance
(Women possess boundless strength and limitless potential, capable of overcoming any obstacle and achieving extraordinary feats. Their courage, wisdom, and compassion illuminate paths of empowerment and inspire generations to dream boldly and strive for greatness.)
https://www.ukiyotoindia.com/product-page/the-unveiling-radiance
Love,
Juju
Free-lancing!
Hello readers,
Since last five months or so, I am facing a crisis situation
ever since my long-term house helper left the job suddenly as her children were
going to Dubai. Since then, no helper is staying for longer than 1 week period.
I have given chance to so many of them, that I have lost count. The shortest
time period is one day.
These days, house help are in demand. There is always
shortage. To combat this, each helper has taken many houses to improve their financial
status. Recently, I learnt about few maids in a prime location with catchment
houses exceeding their physical limitations. The way out is to skip houses in rotation
(day offs), do other houses and so on. The salary of extra 2-3 houses is like a bonus. As on a single day they work in designated number of houses, and keep this cycle of rotation
and day off.
Yesterday, incident was out of league. As usual a
Nepali lady came enquiring about work. I told her about cleaning the houses and
utensils. To which she replied, “Madamji! I am a cook. I was told you need a cook.
But if you will insist, I will do the cleaning part.”
I replied, “I have a cook, I need help for the said
work.”
Immediately. Her eyes lit up and she said, “I will ask
my sister-in-law. She is into free-lancing.”
I was surprisingly shocked, “Free - lancing?”
She said, “Yes, free-lancing. It means you fix up working
hours and salary and the work you want her to do. She is multi-talented. She has "khula khaata for work". Means you need to decide the work areas prior to hiring her. Unlike
me, I can only cook food.”
A smile came up and I said, “Please send your free
-lancer tomorrow.”
That’s another story that this lady went back to Nepal
without informing. My search is still on. But I loved the use of this word in a maid's vocabulary. Seems like corporate culture is seeping in Maids community too.
Love,
Juju.
Doctor
Diary Entries
Doctor! What should I do?
Disclaimer: Non -fiction anecdotes. Names have not been used to maintain privacy.
There is one NRI patient who comes every year for her ultrasound – mainly mammography, abdominal and pelvis studies. It’s been more than two years now that she has visited my centre. I pray to almighty for her well-being.
She works as a registered nurse in some foreign
country (can’t recollect the name). She used to come to meet her daughter who
was five years and living with her parents.
During initial check-ups, it used to be a very professional
conversation. Gradually, she became more than just a patient. She had come to India
for silicone breast implants and a follow up mammogram. During her
next visit she told me her implant had leaked and she had to get it done again. During
that particular visit, I noticed change in her appearance too. She confided,
“Doctor, I come to India for cosmetic surgeries. Last year I had come for
silicon breast implants. Now I have come for lip fillers, cheek contouring, tummy
tuck and enhanced back.”
My jaw literally dropped and I couldn’t
help but ask, “Why so many surgeries? What do you do? Are you into films?” She
said, “No, doctor! I am a registered nurse.” I did not utter a word and gave
her the reports. While collecting her reports, she politely asked, “Doctor, can
I see you when you are free! I want to share my story “I replied, “Sure, we can
sit once I am through with my patients.” She went to do her chores and returned.
Suddenly she started sobbing softly and
said, “Doctor, I am tired of these plastic surgeries. I want to be a mother to
my daughter. I want to take my daughter with me,” I just listened silently. She
continued, “My husband is very particular about my physical appearance. Every year he
suggests a plastic surgery and forces me to get it done from India. Chance of seeing my daughter always motivates me. I spend all my savings on these surgeries. He wants to change my
look.” She pulled out a photo from her purse and said, “See, this picture. This
is how I used to look, now I feel like a mannequin. I don’t recognize the person
I see in the mirror every day.”
She started crying inconsolably. " Ours was a love marriage. I went against my parents to marry him. I have changed
everything to make him happy. Still, he finds a fault in something or other,
Plus, he doesn’t want to keep our daughter with us. He feels the baby will
intrude into our privacy.”, she concluded. We sat in silence. We had another
round of tea. Finally, she spoke, “Thank you mam! for your patient listening.
Please guide me.”
I took a deep breath trying to assimilate what I had just heard in the last one hour.It definitely didn't sound real. I silently prayed to God for the right words. Words blurted out from my mouth.
"Please show me your husband’s pic, what does he do by profession?"I enquired. She pulled out a photograph from her purse and said, “He is a Hair stylist and works in a Unisex Salon.” I couldn’t believe, what I saw! In the picture, I saw a middle-aged man with receding hairline, unkempt beard, stained yellow teeth and a protruding belly. “You are doing to please this man?”, I pointed at his picture. She said, “He is my husband. He has this fancy of a perfect wife and forces me to undergo these life-threatening procedures. Doctor! what should I do ? What should I change?”
“Live your life, your way, take your
daughter with you. And this time, Change, your husband,” I replied softly and
gave her a re-assuring glance. She smiled, thanked me and left. I could see a
confidence in her stride.
I have not seen her since last two years. Hope all is well at her end.
This patient's story was an eye opener (Seems like a script of some movie.)
Keep reading, keep sharing. Keep loving,
keep caring.
Love,
Juju
Hello readers,
I am sharing a very interesting concept which I recently learnt. Although, many of us must be already practicing this in our day to day lives, I was enchanted by the term “CAP person”.
Right from
our developmental stage, each soul develops their own ways to live and devise coping
mechanisms accordingly. When life hits a rough patch or we tend to find ourselves
on cross roads, CAP person works like a BLS -Basic Life Support system.
Right CAP
is of utmost importance to protect us from harsh weather and helps us in
braving the chill/ adversities of life.
We have our
inner circle as well as an outer circle. Blessed are those souls who have that
one person in their life, who prevents their life from derailing from the main
track or acts like an oxygen mask in times of suffocation.
This soul is
a good listener, is non-judgemental, self-motivated with a positive attitude and always
leaves you empowered. The onus is on us
to identify such souls and cherish the bonds.
CAP stands
for Calling A Positive (person).
I know my
CAPs.
Hope you know
your CAPs too.
Keep
reading, keep sharing
Keep
loving, Keep caring.
Love,
Juju
Hello readers,
Sharing listing links of my Best seller book creating ripples and positive waves in Literary ocean. 🏆 Golden Book Awards, Suenos Book of the year, Young Adult Book of the year, 8th Indie Author championship.
Momsie Popsie Diary 2.0 Reimagining Life's Tapestry
Available as Paperback, Hardback, Kindle, Audiobook and language translation in Filipino, Japanese, French and Italian (in process) translations.
https://amzn.eu/d/bOtp8Zv
https://www.amazon.in/dp/B0D1Y5SV4P
https://notionpress.com/read/momsie-popsie-diary-2-0-reimagining-life-s-tapestry?utm_source=share_publish_email&utm_medium=whatsapp
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https://www.kobo.com/in/en/search?query=Momsie+Popsie+Diary+2.0%3A+Reimagining+Life%E2%80%99s+Tapestry
https://books.google.co.in/books?id=ixTNEAAAQBAJ&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&printsec=frontcover&dq=Momsie+Popsie+Diary+2.0:+Reimagining+Life%E2%80%99s+Tapestry&hl=en&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false
https://www.amazon.in/dp/B0D1Y5SV4P
Indian Links:
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e-Book Links:
Amazon Kindle
https://www.amazon.in/MOMSIE-POPSIE-DIARY-TIME-LIVING-ebook/dp/B08M6FPDJV
Google Play
https://play.google.com/store/books/details/JUJU_S_PEARLS_MOMSIE_POPSIE_DIARY?id=fkcFEAAAQBAJ
iBook
https://books.apple.com/us/book/momsie-popsie-diary/id1538582528?ls=1
Kobo
https://www.kobo.com/in/en/ebook/momsie-popsie-diary
Love,
Juju
Hello readers,
Sharing the link of my latest book number 23 , Yudh Shastra Volume 1.
https://www.ukiyotoindia.com/product-page/yudh-shastra-volume-i
Happy reading
Love,
Juju
Chapter 38 (edited), page 97 of my Debut Book - Momsie Popsie Diary Tea time chit chat on living life (Golden Book Awards 2023) Available as Paperback & e-book on Amazon and all e-commerce sites.
(Simple, kind way to save relations and stay strong)
· *Inspired
write up. Dedicated to Twinkle - my dear friend
It’s of utmost important
to have a positive, motivating inner circle. Conversation with such souls usually leaves one motivated, brimming
with new recipes for My Mind’s Café.
A routine conversation drifted
to maintaining relations, it’s importance and the best ways to handle them
amicably.
I casually remarked, “Some
relations are like bedsheets with manufacturing defects (In Hindi language we
refer to it as kapde ke kaan hain). No matter how carefully you try to fold
them neatly, one corner will always jutt out in the most obnoxious way giving
it a very untidy look.”
Hearing this my friend
laughed and said, “I look it from a different perspective. Some relations are
like that subject in your school life, no matter how hard you study, try to
revise, you never cross beyond 80 marks,” she remarked.
“That’s such a
beautiful and an interesting analogy. Comparing a relation to a subject which is difficult
or one dislikes, as it brings down your total aggregate (means your wholesome life.) Wow! Its so profound,”
I replied.
I continued, “It sounds funny too, to say my XY relation is like a Punjabi language for me. No matter how hard I
try to learn, I can never cross 85 and it brings down my % from 99 to 96 %. If
we delve into deeply, there is a hidden deep meaning,” I paused and thanked her.
Just as I have to study Punjabi, to be able to pass my class in school, similarly I need to work on that relation too in order to pass the class of life.
She remarked on a
lighter note, “Many of your blog write ups have churned from our talks. You owe
me a treat.”
" Off course!, anytime, as always, " I chuckled.
Please write in comments
section about your views about this analogy.
Which subject is your relation, mine is Punjabi. Yours?
Love,
Juju
Three in a relationship (marriage)!
Recently, there has been a rising trend in souring of relationships. The culprit is almost always the third entity in the relationship. It is very important to identify this.
I distinctly remember from an old interview of Late Princess Diana where she had said,” We were always three in a marriage. So, it was a bit crowded.” To my young mind as a student, these lines had a great impact. These two lines always come up whenever I hear about disturbed relationships.
The most common
third entity nowadays is mobile phone. Let’s keep aside the new vocabulary
terms-, ghosting, phubbing etc, associated with this. I feel this is the most powerful third entity. Earlier, extra marital affairs were the leading cause of souring. Now a days, it's the affair with one’s own gadgets – mobile, television, laptops.
Gone are the days when couples/ families used to sit together, discuss about each other’s days. Now, everyone is engrossed in checking their mobiles. The neck is seldom raised even to look at the family person sitting right across. It’s always about utilizing every second, so much so that family/couple time is considered as mere wastage of time by majority. This has impacted in way beyond one can comprehend.
Recently, one of my close associates, thought about kicking this third entity out of her relationship. So, they experimented on the morning tea by keeping their mobiles aside and not switching on the T.V. Initially, they found it very difficult to just sit together while having morning cup of tea. Internally, they felt it was a waste of time. They could have listened to news or checked their messages/emails to save time. They realized they had nothing to talk. Over next few days, they became impatient and tried to drink their tea in an ultra fast manner. By the end of first week, they decided to give up tea, as it was bad for health. The third entity had deep roots and poor tea was pronounced as the culprit and punished.
The same experiment was tried for meals - dinner time. The family had got used to eating separately. When they sat together in person without their gadgets, there was uneasiness and each one started finding flaws in the taste of meals, even the shape and softness of chapattis, crockery, even the fine dust on dining table There was impatience and each one decided to eat in their rooms. They had nothing to talk. Even the lady of the house thought, when her family ate in a fully attentive state, they found faults in almost everything. With their mobiles, they relish whatever is cooked and don’t complain. This experiment failed too.
Another experiment is under run -of going for couple walks and family walks. Each one has ear pods in place and seems to be happily walking. The moment the ear pod is out, the person stops walking. This reminds me of the famous dialogue from the film Sholay where Gabbar tells Basanti, “Jab tak tere pair chaleinge, tab tak iski saanse challeingi.”
Awaiting an update on this experiment. Pray it is successful. And proves humans are not slaves to social gadgets. Till then, do introspect and identify your third!
Family time happens only when there is no Wi-Fi or hotspot. I bless the electricity board in my area.
Keep loving, keep caring.
Keep reading, keep sharing.
Please leave your comments
Love,
Juju
Thank You Hong Kong!
Dear Readers,
From now, I have
introduced a feature of gratitude write up to acknowledge and convey my heart felt thanks
to my dear readers from the country which tops the list in a week.
Last two weeks have witnessed
an exponential rise in my readers from a beautiful country Hong Kong. More than
90% of my readers are from Hong Kong. I have visited this country with my family and have fond memories.
It would a great help,
if my readers subscribe and can share their thoughts in the comments section- what
did you like in my write ups or how it resonated with you.
Please feel free to mention
your areas of interest, or topics you want to read either in comments section or
via an email.
FYI (All my books are available
in all formats (PB, HB, Audiobook) on all ecommerce sites as well as
translation of Momsie Popsie Diary 2.0 Reimagining Life’s Tapestry in Filipino,
French, Japanese and Italian in process.)
Let’s see which country
tops the list next week.
Keep reading, Keep
sharing.
Keep loving, Keep
caring.
Love,
Juju.
Metaphors # Bank terminology God created humans in all shapes and sizes with unique metabolisms. There are some who gain weight at a bullet...