• Are you guilty of being a lazy mom?

     

     

    Image of a lazy mom
    Source

    The other day I was talking to my CAREER WOMAN cousin who has recently retired from her job.  But of course, being a career woman, she can’t really retire and is thinking of starting another career, this time as an entrepreneur. As a SAHM whose Start Ups are soon Given Up before they actually took off,  I was moaning the fact that I could never retire because I had no career to begin with, therefore, no job to retire from.

    “It’s all your fault, ” she tells me ” for not being a lazy mom!”

    Now that was news indeed to me. For the first time ever I was actually chastised for not being lazy. 

    This got me thinking. It is true that  mothers who are lazy do in fact have children who are most competent. The logic is very simple.

    [tweetthis display_mode=”box”]Hardworking mother=Lazy child[/tweetthis]

    If you have a lazy mother, you have no option but to do things for yourself. Hence you grow up to be a more efficient adult who is totally capable of doing things for himself.

    Stop picking up the toys

    The first thing to do is to stop picking up the toys, putting away the clothes and feeding the babies. As soon as they are able, children should be encouraged to do things for themselves. This not only empowers them but frees you from a lifetime of picking up the pieces and keeping track of important documents etc.

    So does that mean, you should put up your feet and watch movies all day long?

    Not at all. On the contrary, pick up your degree, get a job and go to work.

     

    So for all you working mothers who feel guilty when they go to work,

    [tweetthis display_mode=”box”]throw out the guilt and go back to work. [/tweetthis]

     

     

    Image for working mom
    source

    Image for BellyBytes

  • You are warned. This is a major rant.

    My reality 

    I live in a modern world and a modern household with modern appliances to make my life easier. I am a gadget freak and love updating my life with technology so in my reality, I have a lot of gadgets like geysers to give me hot water, a toaster for my breakfast, a hot water kettle for my coffee, a washing machine for my clothes, a dishwasher for the dishes …….you get the drift don’t you?

    I also have four televisions , four air conditioners and  one refrigerator all manufactured by SAMSUNG from a reputed dealer called CROMA ( that is another story!) 

    The virtual world of SAMSUNG

    It all began with my SAMSUNG refrigerator which is hardly over two years old. We suddenly found that it wasn’t cooling properly and called up the Samsung service centre. I also made an online service complaint.

    Incidentally, when you log on to the Samsung website, the first product that pops up is the telephone. Does this mean that Samsung telephones have the most complaints/customers? 

    It pains me to tell you that it took several phone calls to the call centre ( which means a recurrent litany of the customer identification and complaint) before the complaint was attended to. And that too after I complained publicly on Samsung’s FB page.

    The real agony of Samsung’s reality

    It was only when the television set started playing up did I really face Samsung’s virtual world. As usual, I had an IVR option and after pressing all the buttons, got a Customer Sales Executive who wasn’t busy. I narrated my tale of woe and was told that my complaint would be looked into within the next 24 hours. Days passed before I again complained online.

    A real man actually called up and I explained the problem yet again. This time the man told me that the nearest service agent was at Koparhhairane (which is within a 25 km radius from where I live) and that I should take my appliance there.

    Anyone who lives in Bombay will tell you that this is a near impossible task unless of course, you are living in Koparkhairane.

    All I really wanted was a new remote and a technician to visit my place and fix the snowy screen.

    As part of my daily routine now, I make a complaint to Samsung every day only to be assured that the Engineer will call me up and the complaint will be sorted out within the next 24 hours. Needless to say, the 24 hours have extended to a week now.

    I wonder when Samsung’s virtual world will match my reality.

    Ciao

     

  • Shopaholics in Mumbai

    My posts on shopping in Mumbai have generated the most footfalls. It was time for my readers who found them interesting to get an update.

    In this post, I’ve tried to amalgamate what I’ve learnt over the past,  re-organised my old posts, re-tagged them, put subheadings and made them more readable.

    I do hope you visit them and show them some love by sharing.

    Mumbai is for Shopaholics

    Not many people will find Mumbai a shopper’s paradise. Especially those who like clean. Those who like organised. Those who like calm.

    But for those of you who like chaos, crowds, disorder, noise and the hustle and bustle of humanity, Mumbai is truly the oldest shopping mall in the world. Shopping in Mumbai can be fun as much as it is maddening and I’d like to share with you my favourite shopping grounds. Undoubtedly, the Kalbadevi-Pydhonie-Crawford Market -Lohar Chawl Area tops the list.  It has everything you could ask for right from a glass bead to a shower fitting, all under one sky.  This  wholesale market  is throbbing with customers from all over the country, sourcing products for retail trade back home

    Specialised markets and specialised lanes

    Much like the aisles of a shop, each road with its narrow side lanes specialises in a single product/category. Thieves Market is dedicated to bric-a brac, old cars and antiques.

    At the Copper Market, kitchen utensils are sold by the kilo.

    The Municipal Market still sells vegetables and fruit though it is slowly changing its profile to groceries and other household goods including baby wipes and pampers!

    My favourite remains Mulji Jetha Market where yards of fabric are sold at wholesale rates. This is the best place to hunt for fabric for a bespoke trousseau. The side lane off Jhaveri Bazar is dedicated to laces and the other to buttons and beads.

    Jhaveri Bazar is home to many high-end jewellers, though bigger names are now making way for wholesalers of costume jewellery, thanks to the two terrorist attacks it has faced in the recent past.

    Equally fascinating is the Plastic market for containers and furniture.

    Shopping Tips

    • Avoid entering a shop at opening time unless you are a genuine buyer. Shopkeepers are superstitious about the first sale and are reluctant to serve window shoppers.
    • Most shopkeepers discourage bargaining.
    • Avoid being lured by ‘touts’ into visiting shops you don’t want to visit. They can pester you and become a nuisance.
    • Most shops open by 11
    • Don’t be fooled by the shopkeeper’s offers of tea/cold drink. If he waves out to an assistant waving his hand in a victory sign, he is actually telling him NOT to get it!
    • Don’t pay attention to street hawkers who tempt you with ‘bargains’ you don’t really want.
    • Keep an eye on your purse, there are many nimble-fingered urchins lurking around.
    • Preferably go with a local who knows the market else you can spend hours trying to find exactly what you want.
    • Enjoy the madness and the chaos of shopping in Mumbai. It’s truly a crazy place to shop in. 

     

    Ciao,

     

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