Preeti Shenoy's blog.

Apologies to all my English friends and to my non-Hindi speaking friends who read my blog as I have used a lot of Hindi words and Hindi movie references in this post. The subtle and not so subtle differences in living in UK and India. For 37 years of my life I lived in India. I was born in India, raised in India, have visited almost every state in India and have studied in educational Institutions in four different parts of India and also speak 6 different Indian languages. In other words, I am one hundred percent Indian.(and a very patriotic one at that) Then one fine day, we moved lock stock and barrel (Okay, not barrel. My husband is NOT fat and I am certainly not calling him a barrel) to the UK and it was a great eye-opener for me about how less than 0.9 percent of world’s population lived and how I had to adjust and adapt to their ways , after living life MY way for so very long. You can teach an old dog new tricks, but the dog has to be willing to learn. Most importantly

Many many years back, and it seems like such a long time ago-- almost another lifetime as it was before I had my children-- I used to read the self help books. I used to follow the parts that appealed to me and I used to consciously mould my way of behaviour according to what the books suggested. Needless to say I would choose the books with care, and one of the books I read very early on in my life, was ' Don't say Yes when you want to say No' . I remember following some of the exercises in the book and I remember how the book emphasised the difference between being assertive and being aggressive, and why it was important to say No. I have never had a problem saying no to people when I don't want to do something they have requested. Paulo Coelho tweeted some time ago "No" is painful, but much better than a "yes" that brings regrets. How true! Many years back I had also read another book whose title I have now forgotten. The book had an excell

All snaps clicked by me this morning just a few minutes ago, in my garden and around my home. Click on each to enlarge. This is my post for Wordless wednesday.

The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step, said Confucius, thousands of years ago, when travelling a thousand miles probably took a few months. Yet, even after so many centuries, the depth of what he said is just as relevant. I too embarked on a journey three years ago, when I began blogging in this very month (On 22nd October, to be precise) and I had no idea what a long way I would come since then. This is my 364th post! But something even more special happened today. My blog crossed an important milestone, for any true blue blogger-- 1,00,000 visits! Yes--One lakh! (In case you thought it was a typo) :-) The page views had already exceeded 1,60,200 a long time back. A big thank you to all of you, who read whatever I write, who leave me such wonderful comments, who mail me regularly in case I don't update in three days, asking what has happened. It would surely not have been possible without you--so a big and heartfelt thank you. When I first started blog

Happy birthday to the one in the centre :-) She turns three today. ( I could not really be wordless, even though this is my post for Wordless wednesday )

I am sorry I had to remove this poem as it is under consideration for publication. © 2009 Preeti Shenoy For more poems click here . Some poems have already appeared in print. If you're into poetry publishing and want to buy the rights to this poem please mail me on ps @ preetisatish.com

It is deliberately and consciously that I try to keep current affairs and ‘breaking news’ away from this blog. This is a blog full of Bubblegums and Candies , hot chocolate and iced tea, warmth and love, comfort and happiness and of course, delighted genuine peals of laughter. I get hundreds of mails from people who share their lives with me and who consider me a good friend. I am humbled and honoured that my writing touches your souls. But today, if you have come looking for the things that you usually look for, (especially the 'surprise' that I promised in last post) I’d suggest you stop reading. Sometimes bitter pills are needed too, as digestives. It is the Thekkady boat tragedy that has compelled me to write this post. Perhaps it is because I have visited this very place and sailed on the glorious river Periyar, a countless times. Perhaps, it is because I have recommended this place to my friends who are visiting Kerala for the first time. Perhaps, it is because, a