• F?@K Knows

    Having briefly met Shailendra Singh when he was just starting out
    as a businessman, I was intrigued by the title of his book “F?@K KNOWS”
    and was keen on reviewing it. However, despite being familiar with profanity, I
    doubt I’ll be comfortable going into a bookshop and asking for a book with such
    a name; after all, we all know that F?@K is not the most parliamentary of
    words. But there are many unparliamentary words that are part of our lexicon
    and even elements of our every day speech so once you overcome
    the embarrassment of asking for Shailendra Singh’s maiden book, you can actually
    sit down to enjoy it.
    There comes a stage in
    everyone’s life when you actually wonder who you are, where you are and if you
    are truly happy. After a successful career at India’s first and only
    entertainment, media and communications conglomerate which he helped
    establish and flourish, Shailendra’s eureka moment came at the lowest point of
    his life when he was coping with the triple blow of facing the death of his
    beloved father, fighting a pesky court case in a Middle Eastern country and
    suffering a near fatal heart attack. 
    As the author himself mentions, this book was not written with the
    intention of preaching and teaching but is a genuine effort to reveal a
    different mindset to the younger generation with the sole aim of helping them
    attain true happiness. Once again, Shailendra wields his magic and the genius
    who has helped market several brands and celebrities, has some up with yet
    another self
    help book
      proving the old adage that nothing succeeds like
    success. 
    So prepare to face life with a few easy tips from the newest  life guru on the block who makes you ask the
    basic question that plagues all of us,  “Am
    I truly happy?”  Drawing largely on his
    experiences and zipping through a brief bio, Shailendra teaches us how to find
    oneself. But unlike most life gurus, Shailendra’s  cheeky take on life actually makes you wonder
    why you take yourself so seriously. In a breezy, contemporary and slightly irreverent
    style, “F?@K KNOWS” uncovers the perils and pitfalls of pursuing success in contemporary
    urban life. How many of us HAVE to do something rather than WANT to do it? How
    many of us actually spend time appreciating things that we have? The
    discoveries of Shailendra’s mid
    life crisis
      resonate with
    all of us from a certain generation and though the book is addressed largely to
    the males in the Universe, this book may perhaps help you to avoid the personal
    crisis life in the fast lane can lead to, or at best help you to recognize the
    warning signs and know when to press the brakes. Or won’t it? As Shailendra
    Singh himself says “F?@K KNOWS!”
    While some may cringe at the distinctly crass bits, I enjoyed this
    unpretentious tome with its amusing and interesting anecdotes, (mostly original
    and one distinctly not), earthy wisdom and personal insights which make for an
    interesting and at times, thought provoking read.

    This review is a part of the biggest Book Review Program for Indian Bloggers. Participate now to get free books!

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  • I seem to be one of those ladies who is eternally a lady in waiting.

    Waiting for the bai to come

    Waiting for the bathroom to get free

    Waiting for the kids to get home from school

    Waiting for the cake to rise

    Waiting for the rain to stop.

    No matter what stage of life I am in, I always seem to be playing a waiting game. And it also seems that I’m not the only one playing the waiting game. All of us are playing the game at some stage and in some form.

    These days I’m playing a different waiting game – waiting for the baby to be born.

    Not mine – of course, my daughter’s.

    One of the joys of preparing for a baby is getting the baby’s layette organised. Most hospitals have a list of requirements for the new born and at first glance it is quite intimidating :

    • 4 dozen cotton nappies
    • 3 towels
    • 3 baby wrappers
    • 1 dozen baby “gowns” ( for lack of a better word!)
    • 1 dozen baby vests
    and so the list goes on to include blankets and plastic sheets and baby powder and soap and oil and bonnets and…….. All these garments have to be labelled and washed and kept in readiness with the clothes required for the mother.
    So Anna Shetty and I have been scouring the net and the streets of Mumbai looking for appropriate clothes. 
    The last time I made a baby’s layette was over thirty years ago when Colaba Causeway had a few Textile Mill shops selling fabric by the yard. I remember going to the Bombay Dying shop with my mother and buying beautifully printed cotswool to make baby blankets. We also bought metres fine cotton cloth to make the baby dresses with satin ribbon tie-ups, sheets and baby wrappers. 
    Today Colaba Causeway doesn’t have a single shop that sells yardage and  The Bombay Dying store which is the only Mill shop on the street doesn’t even know what Cotswool is! Gone are the days of making nappies, quilts, sheets and knitting booties: to assemble a baby’s layette these days, only requires knowing where to shop. So we decided to move with the times and go shopping : 
    Kamdhenu, a multi specialty store at Napean Sea Road closest to St. Elizabeth’s Hospital a popular SoBo maternity option, has the entire range of baby stuff from cribs to prams to “Born Baby Clothes.” ( I’m not joking about that – there really are clothes for born babies). Just Moms and Pritams are two stand alone shops at Breach Candy who also stock baby things and are specially handy for picking up a gift for the newborn. And if you can go through the maze that is Premsons, you will also find baby stuff there on the first floor. 
    Mama & BeBe near Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan off Chowpatty is ridiculously expensive and has a rickety staircase to the mezzanine where they keep cots and cribs that look distinctly used. When I asked the salesgirl how they expected pregnant women to negotiate the narrow stairs, she gave me a look which translated as ” Can’t pregnant women walk?”
    RTI which was once the only place that knew what a layette was is now the only place where you get old fashioned stuff at thoroughly modern prices. This shop too is totally avoidable.
    Westside across the road has stuff for newborns who are either going to be living in the Arctic or in an air-conditioned environment where the temperature is maintained at zero degrees. None of the clothes are suitable for a baby born in summer.

    So I went down to Nandu Drapers in Girgaon and picked up most of the stuff.

    There seem to be lots of stuff happening for babies these days : you can get a whole range of clothes right from the traditional “jhabli” to bodysuits coveralls which were unheard of when we were young. But try asking for a LAYETTE and you will get a blank expression.

    But in keeping with the tradition of making something for the baby, Anna Shetty and I made a patchwork crib quilt  appliqued yellow ducks and polyfill fibre which I sourced from a mattress shop at Nana’s Chowk. And this evening while walking home through the Parsi General Hospital lane, I came across a tiny mattress shop which sold the polyfill for half the price!

    Which brings me to my basic premise in life – I can never win. 

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  • Boy Doll, Girl Doll

    Boy Doll , Girl Doll

    “What can I get you?” I asked my little girls as I was preparing to leave for a holiday , my first ever , without them.
    “Can I have anything I want?” they asked in unison.
    “Of course, anything you want?” said I,slightly  scared that they may ask for something impossible. 
    “I want a picture book,” said the older one
    “And I want a baby boy doll,” piped up her little sister. 
    Christmas lights outside Hamleys London store ...
    Christmas lights outside Hamleys London store in 2004. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
    The words rang in my ears as I went through the doll section at Hamleys, the iconic toy store in London. Here I was, having the dream vacation but miserable every time I saw a child. Like all mothers of toddlers, I yearned for a holiday without having to worry about two little girls tugging at my hand all day long.  What I didn’t bargain for was that deep gnawing feeling, that tugging at my heart every time I saw a little girl, a feeling that was intensified when I saw two little girls walking down the road, playing in the park or just looking at a museum exhibit as I was.
    My little girls were perfect – sisters who were born just eighteen months apart. With the younger one always trying to copy her elder sister, the girls were like twins, an idea re-enforced by my  passion for dressing them up identically. But the girls were as alike as chalk and cheese : the elder one quiet, responsible, lady like and gentle, the little one chatty and bratty. And  all through the holiday I remembered my girls and was just dying to get back to them.

    I searched all over London  for the perfect little boy doll and was told that there aren’t really any “BOY DOLLS”. So finally when I saw the doll section at  Hamleys, I was convinced that this was the place where I would find one: and there it was a cute little bald baby,dressed in blue overalls,sleeping blissfully in a wicker basket.

    It was really early morning when we arrived home but that did not stop my two little girls from rushing  into my arms welcoming me with rib crushing hugs and millions of wet kisses. Amid chattering and hugs we opened our bags and delivered the goodies, thrilled to hear their appreciative oohs and aahs of delights. My little girl was thrilled with her doll and immediately began feeding it with the little milk bottle she found in the basket.

    When the doll wee-ed, her sister told her that the clothes needed to be changed and the two girls busied themselves taking  off the doll’s clothes. Almost immediately their chatter stopped and I sensed a perceptible disappointment.

    “Mama!” they wailed together,” This is not a  boy doll. It’s a girl.”

    This post is a part of <a title=”Write Over the Weekend” href=”http://blog.blogadda.com/category/write-over-the-weekend-wow” target=”_blank”>Write Over the Weekend</a>, an initiative for <a title=”Reach out to the largest community of Indian Bloggers” href=”http://www.blogadda.com/” target=”_blank”>Indian Bloggers</a> by BlogAdda

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