RELATIONSHIPS: COLUMNS AND STORIES
Relationships
My life is a web of relationships. The great Indian joint family.
Messy, loving, crazy, contradictory, complex, never easy
But it defines who I am and what I value.
Connections: between people, place and time.
Do relationships make you or do you make them?
With love comes the ability to forgive. Only if you are able to forgive can you overlook slights, flaws, mistakes and miscommunication
While the Dalai Lama talks about loving-kindness meditation as a way to bridge divides, it is essentially about assuming goodwill.
Relationships are defined by connection
Connections can happen perchance but require care to flourish. Ultimately, it is these connections that define the human experience.
This web of connections floats to the surface in cultures such as India, where people are forced into proximity, thanks to density. What you do with (and to) the people around you defines character.
How you behave in times of stress depends on how you value what is at hand.
Relationships and connections are supreme in the path to happiness.
Relationship columns
When do you become “plus one” to your children at social gatherings?
This Indian life: When do you become just your child’s ‘Plus One’? Graceful ageing is about giving up power but retaining self-control.
Did WhatsApp group messaging make Diwali fun?
Even a festival cannot be all "happy happy" when you are a member of a massive WhatsApp group.
The life and death of a WhatsApp group
There are two types of WhatsApp groups: one with a zero-tolerance policy towards forwards and the other with a laissez-faire attitude towards all content including forwards.
On conquering WhatsApp addiction
The problem with a WhatsApp text is that it doesn’t detect tone of voice. It allows you to forget who you are speaking to since the audience is largely invisible.
Baking Christmas cake with Uncle Chandy for HT Brunch
All great cooks have three qualities: stubbornness, irritability and an instinct for proportion.
She/He/They: how an old fashioned family navigates gender fluidity
Don’t shut out the hypocrites and bigots in your family. Engage with them instead. You may be surprised.