Anuradha Sridharan

 This might sound like a Vettaiyaadu Vilayaadu style of narrative, so please bear with me🙂 Sun 8AM Our pet cat W was behaving a little oddly. She was cuddled under the sofa and not responding to our calls. She looked scared and wasn't her usual self. Sun 11:30AM The ironwala comes home to collect clothes to be ironed. The door was kept open and W ran out. Sun 8PM W hasn't come back. Though we noticed this, we weren't worried as she usually comes back on her own at night. Mon 8:30AM W hasn't returned yet. There was a slight worry on my mind, as I was leaving for work. But I told myself that there have been times when W was gone for almost 2 days and had come back. Mon 8:30PM No signs of W. All 3 of us went around the apartment, calling her to see if she would respond with her meow. No luck. Couldn't sleep well that night and was keeping my ears open to catch hold of her meow. Tue 11:30AM Saraswati Pooja at home. Prayed to the Goddess and the main item on the list of...

Raising a single cat is a different experience as compared to raising siblings. Over the past one year, we have been privileged to witness this lovely bond of two sisters. They clean each other, do mock play fights and cuddle up together during nap times. They are so used to being together that on rare occasions when one of them steps out for a stroll, the other gets restless and agitated. Last night was the ultimate example of the love these two sisters have for each other. It was a rainy evening and Georgina (the one with orange shade) climbed onto a pipe, got stuck in 3rd floor and was shouting for help. We went looking for her, kept calling her to come down but she was so scared. As we were figuring out options to rescue her, Octi (the one with grey shade and braver of the two) climbed up the pipe like Tarzan and went closer to her sister. Georgina calmed down and Octi tried to show her different ways to get down. She even looked at alternate ways to come back home, but Georgina wa...

  1-2-6-5-3 That's how the cat population in our home changed this year. Our pet cat W adopted us in 2014. Since then, she has been living with us. She's an indoor cat for most of the day, loves to take long naps throughout the day and sometimes during her hunts, would bring home a mouse, a squirrel, or a pigeon as gifts for us🙂 This all changed in 2020 when a mom cat named Judy brought her 4 kittens to our apartment complex. Detailed story shared here . Consider this post as part 2. All of Judy's kittens became pregnant one after another. The last one to get pregnant was Scady, the grey fearless cat. Sometime in Jan this year, she started coming to our balcony often. We knew she was pregnant and was looking for a place to deliver. We didn't want her to deliver in our home, as we feared our pet cat W might harm the babies. But Scady was relentless and kept coming inside our home often. It was clear that she wanted to deliver in our home, as her three sisters had alread...

Once upon a time, there was a cat named Judy. She has just become a mother to 4 little kittens - Playful, Leo, Sleepy, and Scady. She brought the 4 kittens to a nearby apartment. A few families in the apartment fell in love with Judy and her kittens. They fed them food and milk. Judy was happily nursing her little kittens. It was a joy to watch the 4 kittens cuddle up together, roll on the floor on sunny afternoons, or chase each other. The kittens provided a much-needed reprieve for many little children in the apartment, who are stuck in their homes and online classes thanks to Covid. They observed how the kittens were nursed by their mother. They observed how Judy was protective of her kittens, standing guard nearby but at the same time, giving kittens the space to play and have fun. As the kittens grew, Judy pushed them to become more independent. She was hissing and growling at them when they wanted to nurse or cuddle up with their mom. After a few months, Judy left them but the fo...

  For the past few weeks in the Online Minimalism Workshop (OMW) that I'm attending, the topic of discussion is Money. One of the questions that I'm asking myself is " What is my relationship with money? ". I'm grateful that this question was triggered, thanks to OMW. Each individual's relationship with money is influenced by multiple factors - upbringing, childhood experiences, personal values and beliefs, the influence of family, relatives, neighbors and many more. Even when two people, for example, siblings who have experienced similar upbringing and childhood can have different perspectives and a different approach towards money. If they are brought up in an environment where money was less, they can either feel deprived or feel more responsible. The attitude they adopt will decide their relationship with money in their 20s and 30s. For me, my attitude with money is more on the lines of RESPECT and RESPONSIBILITY. Having grown up in a middle-class househol...

It was a lethargic Monday afternoon - the weather Gods haven’t decided whether it’s gonna be a rainy, gloomy day OR a bright, sunny day yet. My apartment was so cold that I couldn’t keep my feet on the floor. I nicely tucked myself inside a warm comforter, with my daughter D next to me taking a NAP…yes, you read that right. My 6-year old took an afternoon nap after so many months. The kitty cat was cuddled inside a blanket in the adjacent room. Slowly, the clouds decided to give some space for the sun and the shiny rays started brightening my home. Our sunshine-loving cat became aware of this sudden change, that she wanted me to let her out to the balcony, so she could stretch her legs and continue her nap. D woke up from her nap and wanted idlis for lunch. We are a idli-crazy family and we don’t mind eating them ANYTIME during the day. Thankfully, I had some batter and quickly made a plate of mini idlis for her and a piping hot cup of chai for me.  While she was eating he...

“ I’m very happy today, Amma. I had lots of fun ”, screamed my 6-year old daughter D late Saturday evening, while we had the play area all to ourselves and were happily kicking the basketball. I felt cheerful too on a Saturday when husband had been to a whole-day offsite early morning. On any other weekend, I would have felt grumpy but it wasn’t the case today. I woke up at my usual time and made myself a cup of strong coffee. Browsed for an hour and got my "me-time". When my daughter woke up with a big smile, we decided to go out to a mall later during the day. She then asked me to read a story book, while she happily lied down on my lap and listened to the story intently. We then sat for sometime in the balcony, eating an apple and just staring at a clear, blue sky. It was dance time later, and to my surprise, she played my favourite songs - “azhagiye” and “sinamika”, instead of her usual SRK’s songs - did I tell you she is a HUGE fan of SRK? :-) I then realised th...

Learning comes in all forms and from various sources. Children can teach us a lot about spontaneity. They don’t plan or think too much but they are happy being alive in the present. A couple of weeks back, I was in a dull mood for no reason. It was a Saturday afternoon. The rain clouds were playing hide-and-seek. We didn’t step out, fearing the traffic. The afternoon was spent, just lazing around with my daughter D. She should have sensed my restlessness and all of a sudden, she decided to play with her dad. I felt claustrophobic at home and wanted to get some fresh air. I took the keys and stepped out of our home immediately. I went to the terrace and took a short walk. The sky was beautiful, the breeze was cool and strong, there were mild sounds of thunder rumbling from somewhere across the city and of course, there was the usual line-up of cars, honking right outside my apartment.  Suddenly, I heard a drizzle somewhere nearby but not a raindrop on my head yet. Within a few...

It was a beautiful Sunday evening. Rain clouds were gathering and a cool breeze was gently caressing my hair as we were driving to a park in Jayanagar. My daughter D loves parks and play areas. Bangalore is blessed with a lot of them and most importantly, they are well maintained by BBMP. The park was crowded and D played happily to her heart’s content, climbing up and down the slides and swings. There was dancing and singing too. After spending more than an hour, it was time to leave as it started to drizzle. She spotted a Cafe Coffee Day nearby and screamed, “I want Oreo milkshake”. We stepped into CCD and placed her order. I wanted coffee and as I was perusing their menu, I spotted filter coffee. “ Hmm, filter coffee in CCD menu. Let me try it out ”, a thought popped up. “ Why take a chance? Don’t you remember the bad brownie incident that you faced some time back? Order your usual cappuccino ”, another thought responded. (I hate cold coffee. Even if it is a peak summer afternoon, ...

It was a sunny Saturday evening. We (husband, daughter D and I) decided to go to a park as D loves to play in the play area. Being a Saturday, it was crowded and the play equipments (swing, see-saw, slide etc) were lined up with children. D was so excited that she was shouting “yay” on top of her voice. I followed her around as she started to climb up the slide. Husband walked up to me slowly and was looking a little worried. I asked him, “what happened? You look tense”. He showed me his phone with an email open. Without getting into further details, let’s just say, it was a stinker email from someone whose ego was hurt and was venting out his frustrations. More on the lines of “How dare could someone do this to me?”. I was telling my husband to let it go and not give too much of a thought. With such an arrogant, rude and authoritative tone of that email, it was hard to put it aside your mind and enjoy the evening. Meanwhile, D got upset with two boys who were sliding down fast, witho...

A few days back, I woke up with a not-so-happy state of mind. There were many questions that I was asking myself - “What the hell I’m doing?”, “Does anyone care?”, “What’s the point?”, “Why is it so hard to change or influence behavior?” and so on. It is strange that such mornings coincide on days when I don’t have Yoga classes. As usual, my trusted confidante, my husband bears the brunt of my rants :-) He patiently replied, “If you love what you are doing, don’t worry about results. Give yourself more time to see any impact.”. Though it made a lot of sense, my mind wasn’t clear. I continued my daily routine and was preparing lunch. My maid dropped in and asked me for a headache tablet. I used to stock up these medicines earlier but I have completely stopped taking painkiller medicines and manage common ailments through home remedies. I responded to her, “I don’t buy those medicines these days”. She continued with her work but I felt sorry for her state. So I made my usual dry ginger...

A few days back, a video clip titled “What’s wrong with this generation?” was shared by a few friends in my FB timeline. It was a 15 min talk by Simon Senek on millennials - the passion with which he spoke and the way he listed down the reasons was just awesome. I then googled to get the full video and listened to his 1 hour talk on leadership . An absolute must-watch, I should say. Though I have read his book “ Start with Why ”, I haven't listened to many of his talks. 2 days later, after listening to his thought-provoking talk on leadership, Youtube recommended me this conversation between Simon and Marie Forleo. The focus of the talk was on his latest book “Leaders eat last” - very powerful and insightful talk yet again. I have added this book to my reading list. In this video, at 26th min, he talks about why we humans are designed to take care of each other. “There is a chemical called oxytocin which is the chemical responsible for our feelings of love, friendship and...

This is the story of a young woman who is 70+ years old and lives by herself. Thanks to my EthnicPalate food catering service in my apartment, I got to meet her a few months back. Her daughter reached out to me by email and had asked me if I could deliver food(breakfast/lunch) every weekend to her mother. I happily obliged. The elderly aunty always greets me with a smile every weekend morning. I was initially serving food in arecanut plates and cups. But aunty said one day, “why are you wasting such nice plates? You can give me in steel plates and I’ll wash and return”. I asked her, “Do you have a maid, aunty?” She said, “No, I cook and clean the dishes by myself. I have to keep myself active. There’s nothing much for me to do anyway” I learnt 2 important lessons from her that day. 1. Our previous generations have always followed this principle - Reuse > Recycle. There is a cost to recycle stuff, even if it is biodegradable. 2. Even if you can afford luxury (maid, cook et...

This incident happened around 4-5 months back. As part of my usual evening routine, I took my daughter to the play area in my apartment. I was upset about something that day and I couldn't recollect now what exactly had happened. An elderly aunty also came by with her grand-daughter. We have met a couple of times earlier but never had a conversation. I said "Hello aunty". She replied "hello beta, kaise ho?" (how are you?).    I said "teek hun, aunty" (I'm fine).  She: "What's your name?" I: "I'm Anuradha, aunty" She: "You know, Anuradha means a star. Keep shining like a star always" I: "thank you aunty" with a big smile Those words meant a lot that day. It brought a few tears in the corner of my eyes but the effect didn't stop at that day. Every time I see her, I offer a "namaste aunty" and I could feel a lot of positive vibes. There's no long conversation or chat...

I'm starting this series titled "Chronicles of Positivity" to log positive experiences/moments from my life. Given that the media is filled with negative news, we forget to appreciate the little, positive moments that just pass by like a soft feather in rough winds. My goal is to make sure that I log such moments that touched my heart, stirred my soul and made me take a pause in a busy day. Hope my readers can relate to these little snippets too. Here we go - the first one! On a Saturday afternoon, I had been to Reliance Footprint to buy shoes for myself. While I was trying out a few pairs, there was a family who were also checking out shoes for the lady of the house. The husband and their son (9-10 years maybe?) were eagerly selecting different models and giving to the mother, the son suggesting "Amma, try this" while the husband saying "try this, will look good when you go out on special occasions". Felt so heartwarming, seeing the shoppi...