‘Come September ‘was popular tune played at Parsi Navjotes and weddings in the 60’s. It was also a favourite with Nankhatai bands that played it with gusto while the Bandmaster waved his baton and directed the musicians.  And whenever September comes around, I remember this song.

I can hardly believe that the first week of September is over. And the year is almost done.  In a way, I’m glad that September is on its way because August is not exactly my favorite month.

August was a busy month as was June, July, May, March, April February, and January and I have lots to be grateful for.

For it’s a long, long while from May to December / But the days grow short when you reach September. — Maxwell Anderson

Rain :

Even though August was wet, I am grateful for the rains because Mumbai was seriously facing a problem of water shortage. With rampant urbanization, indiscriminate felling of trees and other eco-unfriendly practices, the groundwater level has reached alarming levels.  

Books:

I managed to read two books this month. Both were surprisingly about India .

Aatish Taseer’s The Twice Born was interesting because I learnt many things about Brahmins as a class and myself as an individual. The highly subjective narrative actually clarified many issues that I was unaware of : the class struggle and the freedom movement; how colonisation was viewed by the two different Indias – the traditional  and the modern one. And how disconnected and disparate the two Indias really are.

The second book actually inspired me to write a book review. Recommended by my friend Reena, I felt I just had to write a review and encourage others to read about it. Anuradha Roy’s “All the Lives We Never Lived” was another fascinating book as modern Indian history is a topic dear to my heart.

Food :

With Daughter No 1.’s new diet, I learnt some healthy new recipes. For instance, whole moong chilla was surprisingly tasty though it didn’t look too appetizing. Similarly, the leftovers from her chicken broth was handy to make a pulao rice that the children gobbled up without realising that they were eating pumpkin, carrots, celery and corn along with chunks of chicken!

It was nice to learn that you can eat and lose weight without too many changes in your diet. The chief culprit in weight gain is PORTION SIZE. We tend to forget when to stop eating and snacking is the worst offender. Especially while in front of a screen. The calories go unbidden and unnoticed and at the end of the day, we find ourselves a few grams heavier.

As we all know, dieting alone is insufficient to promote weight loss. Exercise is an equally important component. But with this diet, her pounds dropped off even though she didn’t have time to exercise.

Travel :

My travel days are  restricted these days because of the children’s school schedule and their mothers’ work schedule.

My mom who suffers from AMRD had had her cataract removed a month ago and I was feeling guilty that I couldn’t make time to visit her. But somehow, I managed a quick dash to Pune to visit my folks. Even a 36 hour trip is relaxing. Somehow, crossing the ghats and leaving behind the muggy Mumbai air makes one feel rejuvenated.  So I was happy that I could manage this. Every time I go to Pune, I find something new and interesting. This time, for instance, I noticed a different kind of palm tree that had been standing right under my nose for the past 35 years!

I think that when you are really busy, you need to take some time off just so that you refresh your outlook. Albeit travel in the month of August was not really advisable with the incessant rain and flooding in many parts of the country.

Blogging :

The month began with a blog hop that got my creative juices flowing once more. Though I still have to come up with a regular writing schedule that I can stick to, the ennui that was setting in is slowly vanishing. I got a fairly good response to my post on the #WordsMatter blog hop . This not only made me reconnect with my old blogging pals but also prevented me from going into hibernation all over.

So I hope to be more inspired in September .

I am joining up with VidyaSury’s #GratitudeCircle. I was all prepared to post it up in August but sadly since the 26th, I have been without househelp and juggling so many things that it just fell by the way.

But as ‘they’ say : better late than never!

Ciao,