Pratima Shah

     Many a times the circumstances or incidences that occur in our life are so complex that it becomes rather difficult and impossible for us to arrive at a neutral conclusion. These phases are mostly witnessed by us all in our relationships and precisely happen a lot with the bunch of people with whom we live. This happens because every person has his/her version of the story. While dealing with such complex issues in relationships it is often observed that whenever there is a dispute between 2 persons, say for example there are 2 friends A and B. When you listen to the story of A, you feel A is right and when you listen to B, you feel B is right. Both are true and both are liars. It is because both have their own perception and their own story. None of them wants to put their foot down and arrive at a conclusion. And this continues lifelong. Observing the cycle of relationships around it can be understood that whenever there is any dispute between two, it is very difficult to an

   The standards of beauty have changed due to westernization and this has hugely impacted the middle class women around. The world has accustomed itself to the new definition of feminity in India and whether one likes it or not, agrees/disagrees we have to accept the changed criteria of beauty. To look beautiful or preserve one's natural beauty requires a lot of effort. Its a life long commitment which a woman makes with herself in taking care of herself inside-outside. Today's woman has to set time aside for herself to look beautiful by sparing time from her hectic daily grind to enhance her beauty. Not every woman has the financial means to even fulfill them. They either do away with the home remedies or try out cheap unhygienic products. Every woman has to judiciously select her make up and clothes that suit her particular style and requirements. But the problem is that majority of the women today are blind followers of the film stars and models. They do not understand

   We are all afraid of pain. Every human tries to flee from pain. We try to escape from pain, try to find means to medicate, try to block it out or we flee. The point I am trying to make is that most of us i.e 95% of us flee from pain. Only 5% face it and understand that pain is the doorway to real power because when you suffer you become strong. When we go into the past and read the history of great people- there is one thing common to all – they all had broken hearts consistently and relentlessly. But rather than remaining stuck in their pain these were the people who fought with it and used it as fuel to find greater freedom, greater power, greater strength, greater gifts, greater wisdom, greater humanity, in service of as many people as possible. Are we able to do this?    I have been an admirer of Kahlil Gibran’s writing and in one his books The Prophet he writes in a chapter On Pain: 'Your pain is the breaking of the shell that encloses your understanding, even as

                                                                                                                                                                                                                 A Happy Mother's day to all...    The kind of trouble child I was makes me wonder and repent as to how my parents would have dealt with me. There are so many things for which I repent after understanding what it is to be a mother. Every woman has this special power which God has given her - of being a mother. Every mother understands what her child wants, why the child is fussy or what makes the child happy. Being a mother is a difficult task too because one grows as a mother as the child grows. Till the child is small there are no issues. The real issues start after the child start growing with years. The growing period has its own kind of problems, anxiety, mood swings which becomes difficult to interpret for a mother of this time or may be all times. My mother has t

   Mistakes are the part and parcel of every human's life. Sometimes one is not even aware of committing a grave mistake. Once realization of our mistakes dawns upon us we are filled with guilt and misery. When hurt by others deeds we harbor resentment, ill feelings and aggression within us. If we hurt others we are at times forever guilty of committing that mistake. One must remember that we are all humans and its natural to err. None of us is perfect. The feelings of resentment, aggression and guilt when bottled up within a person lead to dire consequences and severe diseases. The person adversely affects the mental and physical health.    In case you have erred, the best way is to accept the mistake and start making amends for it by talking openly about it to someone you trust. It becomes necessary for a person to bring out whatever is bottled up by venting it out to your best friend or any person whom you think is appropriate. This must be done as the bottled sentiments/em