We human beings have this innate tendency to categorise; we swear by our generalisations – this is perhaps where our deep-rooted and often unfounded views on communities, people and places originated.

Sadly so, because if there is one truth, it is that people cannot be categorised; agreed that our culture and experiences mould who we are as people but generalisations take away from us a vast, second-to-none chance of discovering people and cultures. » Continue reading “16 Feb 10, Tuesday: The UTV Bindaas full-page print ad. Bombay Times, Tuesday, 15 Feb 10, last page.”

Respect, sadly, a term that is myopically understood and applied especially in our culture; I am sure all of us have at some point in our lives heard the instructions ‘respect your elders’ which is often demonstrated by folding of hands or touching of feet; often, this show of respect comes with a life-long unwritten rule that respect means never arguing or having disagreements with the person you ‘show’ respect to.
The truth however, is far away from the reality; respect, if correctly understood and applied can be a key to a treasure trove of meaningful and long-lasting relationships.   » Continue reading “8 Feb 10, Monday: Respect !!”

An interesting and insightful article that holistically tackles marital issues.

Counselling or psychotherapy is most effective when the mind is calm; in either extreme states of mind (hyper or placid) our capacity to make rational decisions is low, hence the first step in the counselling process is to help the counsellee come out of this extreme emotional state; Yoga certainly is one such means to this end!
Tried and tested, the asanas and pranayam techniques not just help in relaxation but also aid in deep inner reflection. » Continue reading “Mumbai Mirror, page 25, Tuesday, 2 Feb 10 – ‘Fit two-gether’”

‘Getting married’ certainly holds its charm; why else would celebrities who live in their own little world where values have different meanings choose to marry instead of just living-in.
Yet, despite tightly crafted pre-nuptial agreements, we see several celebrity marriages publicly fall apart?

What then makes celebrity marriages different from ‘regular’ ones?    » Continue reading “29 Jan 10, Friday: various newspapers: celebrity marriages breaking up.”

Heard this phrase on a popular English soap opera and it struck home.

‘Sorry’ – a much used and abused word. Does accepting an apology mean forgiving the person who caused us hurt or harm?
That’s the popular myth; when someone says sorry to us and we genuinely accept it, we forgive ourselves and that is the greatest gift. » Continue reading “27 Jan 10, Wednesday: “when we get it right, ‘sorry’ is the greatest redemption”.”

Episode summary: Loyalty test on 20-something Karan done at the request of his ‘steady’ girlfriend who is unaware that ‘her’ Karan is two-timing her; to make matters worse, the TV channel’s ‘undercover’ agent becomes the third angle in this convoluted quadrilateral and proves beyond reasonable doubt that the ‘committed’ Karan is actually a cheat.
What ensues is an ugly confrontation between Karan and the two ‘steady’ girlfriends, who were until then unaware of each other’s existence.  Rife with accusations with the added ‘masala’ of slaps, tears, shoving and pushing, breaking of equipment and expletives galore, the episode ends with both girls breaking off with the philandering Karan.
Whew, that’s a lot of action in 20 year olds life!  Wonder where the current generation finds time for other productive pursuits?

Is reality TV taking things too far?  » Continue reading “UTV Bindaas – Reality show “emotional atyachaar’ – episode aired during the week ending 17 Jan 10.”