FoHoH Reflections

  Is Culture Shock Real? - by Dawn Lwakila, Seawood I think it is time that we debunked the notion that culture shock is an intrinsic part of travel. Being a Canadian, settled in India since 2015, I get asked about this all the time, both by other foreigners and by Indians. “How do you handle the culture shock of living in India?” There is an assumption that moving to a new country entails a certain level of emotional and physical distress. I beg to differ. Having lived on four continents and travelled to over 30 countries I feel that culture shock is not something that automatically diminishes as the number of stamps increase in our passports. I think it has more to do with understanding our conditioning. With just the slightest paradigm shift we can gain a new perspective. We are encouraged to believe that there is hardship in travel when it comes to adjusting to a new environment. I think this happens when we impose our own cultural norms and particular values on others. ...

#by Sabita Menon, Pinewood  Mom Chill! Leave Me Alone! It's always a good time and a light moment sitting with my now-adult children and talking about my unique and sometimes annoying parenting skills when they were teenagers. Did I hound them like paparazzi? You bet I did! I'm grateful for the years when they were babies and behaved their age. I'd see them 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and be happy with the delusion that I know them from the inside out. These adorable babies grew every time I blinked. It was too late to freeze them because I was already staring at my genetically engineered aliens, “The Teens,” with their raging hormones. The next few years, they invaded my life and were polite to everyone who wasn’t me. I didn’t see this coming. You won’t either until it hits you! There was always a tug of war over whether I should be a strict or lenient parent or whether I avoid conflict as much as possible. There were days when I tried to figure out parenting over ...

By Nila Fernando,  Grade 11, Fiitjee Global School     Picture this: You’re in front of an audience and it’s your turn to take the stage and present. This scenario, while quite commonplace in both academic and professional fields, is an anxiety inducing one for more than a few people.  According to Forbes magazine, the average person’s number one fear is, none other than, public speaking. It managed to trump even the fear of death and the likeness of uncertainty. While it may seem preposterous for a few, the fact of the matter is that effective oratory skills and the confidence required aren’t a given for many.  Communication is far from simple, but it is very much necessary in this dog-eat-dog world.  What good are our qualifications and outstanding abilities if we’re unable to express our thoughts and ideas eloquently?  It isn’t your content alone which matters; your manner of speaking, that is, tone, body language, vocabulary and mannerisms are all ...

#By Shalini, Seawood  Look deep into nature, and then you'll understand everything better - Albert Einstein We are nothing but a replica of nature. Be it in the colours we wear, the mood we carry, the smile we share, the support we give, the tune we hum or the warmth we exude. We are all nature's children. As we assimilate this deeper and deeper into our consciousness we begin to manifest our version of it.  Look at the epiphanic symphony of Northern Lights, or a magical rainbow through a light drizzle, maybe a colourful array of dancing tulips bidding a bitter winter goodbye or overflowing rivers in monsoon rain, meandering through drenched greenery…everything echoes a rhythm…one which resonates with our inner core. Alive and exuberant!  Our community has these beautiful auras too. We need to just look! Thriving Cannas in multiple hues, Hibiscus blossoms waiting for the sun's first rays or pretty flowers peeking under loose fences. Have we stopped, taken a deep breath, ...

#by Gitanjali, Bridgewood A  Kids growing up in military regiments are often referred to as “military brats” but my story refers to The Indian Air Force where my father served as a Meteorological Officer, in short, ‘the weather man’. That's me with an aircraft just landing behind our house. The balloon I am blowing is hoisted up a pole to show the direction of the wind for the meteorological officer to forecast the weather!  So, all his ‘postings’ were at ‘flying stations’. The most impressionable stint for me was our 4 years in Jorhat. Impressionable, because I was between the age of 4 to 8 years, and I was “home schooled” during this period. Apparently, I was attending a play school in Agra when we were tossed across the country to Jorhat. Mom was the only lady in the camp and I was the only child. All other officers preferred to leave their families behind but my mother would countenance no such decision by my father.  A journey to Jorhat meant crossing the Brahma...

#By Arvind Aathreya, Seawood My first experience or must I say, love affair with this fruit, began when I was four or five years young! In Bangalore, there is this fruit called “pulli vaazhaipazham”. It is oh-so-very sweet and tasty. The taste still lingers strong in my memory even today!  Just the other day, I was having this conversation with a friend on how Indians make the best of the banana fruit, and it made me think about putting out this note as an ode to this humble superfruit - the banana! Let’s begin from the banana tree, or as it’s called in Thamizh - Vaazhai Maram! The tree bears flowers, referred to as vaazhaipoo. This goes into making yummy vaazhaipoo paruppu usili and the most popular of them all - the vaazhaipoo vadai!!  The stem of the tree known as vaazhai thandu in Thamizh, is used to make juices, raitha and even curry.  The vaazhai illai, or the banana leaves, are used to pack food, or used as an alternative for a plate especially at all traditional f...

THYAGARAJA PANCHARATNA A Spiritual Journey from Ananda to Brahmmananda By R. Ganesan (302, Amalfi) THYAGARAJA PANCHARATNA A Spiritual Journey from Ananda to Brahmmananda By R. Ganesan (302, Amalfi) The group-singing of the Ghana Raga Pancharatna kritis of Saint Tyagaraja is the highlight of the Aradhana offerings before his Samadhi at Thiruvayyaru every year. Elsewhere, in several parts of the world, the Aradhana is conducted on similar lines on the same day or later. Some organisations are conducting it monthly throughout the year on the Bahula Panchami Day. What a unique and marvelous way of remembering the great bard of Thiruvayyaru, the outstanding practitioner and votary of Nama Siddhanta through the medium of music! Chorus singing ensures participation by many people, which is the foundation of the Bhajana Sampradaya, and is essentially socialistic in character. It will be very useful always to remember that Thyagaraja was first and used to sing the Todaya Mangalam songs of the T...

By Shalini, Seawood# Everyday we are engaged in a miracle which we don't even recognise: a blue sky, white clouds, green leaves, the black curious eyes of a child - our own two eyes. All is a miracle.                                   -Thich Nhat Hanh Early risers walk down the nature infused umbrella cover every morning where fresh morning dew, cool wisps of air, chirping birds, and a soft fragrance of a myriad trees beckon you. As you walk the 250 mts stretch you can almost hear your heart beat ever so gently speaking a language of sweet music. It's like nature is your best friend, only you don't notice it always. The sudden sound of a passing vehicle breaks the reverie but only momentarily. A gentle smile or a slight wave of hand or a subtle nod is exchanged among walkers, each one careful not to break the peaceful flow. ...

Sabita Menon, Pinewood Do we want to leave a legacy? This thought-provoking question could spark new insights into our own lives and experiences. Do I wish to leave a legacy behind? YES, I DO! It’s not what I leave for my family, friends, and others. It is what I leave IN them while I’m still here to participate and live through the experience. I sense time fleeting and seem more focused on the present by paying attention to the impact of my words, actions, emotions, and outlook on life. It's become more meaningful to connect with something bigger than myself. My family, friends, and society have long influenced my beliefs, values, and behaviour, laying the groundwork for my legacy. However, as my emotional maturity grows with age, I can see the consequences of a decision far into the future. I remind myself of the possibilities that exist both within and beyond what has been given to me, and what I can create and pass on. A life of fame, accomplishments, and failures d...

Madumitha Selvaraj, Bridgewood# Human beings have been sharing space since time immemorial. The concept of co-existence is a part of our lives and has multiple aspects and challenges to it. In a gated community like ours, I often wonder how we practice co-existence in a way that does not lead to friction or misunderstandings with others around us. There is an interesting idea in psychology called “Both/and Thinking”. It talks about how two seemingly contradictory thoughts can co-exist. Many times, we follow a rigid way of thinking when it comes to expressing our ideas or emotions. We go by the “either-or”, ”Black or white” or “all or nothing” formula. This means that between two ideas or points of view, one cannot exist while the other does. It’s a surprise that our minds sometimes look at every scenario dichotomously. We forget or realise too late, that, seemingly opposing ideas can and do co-exist.  For example, we feel conflicted about taking up a challenging project...

Kumar Raja, Tiana# Index Funds + SIP + Power of Compounding = Financial Freedom “My Advice - Buy The Index” – Warren Buffet Nifty 50 Index is a stock market index that comprises Top 50 companies listed on the NSE. This Index is used as a benchmark for performance of Indian equity. Investing in the Nifty 50 index can be done through Index Funds or ETFs. This is a Passive Investment Strategy. Here the fund manager does not try to beat the market by picking and choosing individual stocks, but simply matches the performance of the Index. Hence the cost of fund management is significantly lower thereby passing on more returns to the investors. Systematic Investment Plan (SIP) is a method of investing in which a fixed amount of money is invested at regular intervals, let’s say 1st of every month, into an Index Fund. SIP allows investors to average out the purchase price of the fund units over time, reducing the impact of market fluctuations. SIP allows investors to invest small a...

Shashi Singh, Seawood#   You will not be able to find a person who would not like to become financially independent and yet there are only a few who follow a methodical approach to financial independence. Sharing some of the common reasons: Poor understanding of Financial Planning People do not clearly understand what Financial Planning is and how it would help them with Financial Independence. For the majority of them, Financial Planning is only about investing, while Insurance Planning, Estate Planning and Goal Based Planning (Risk Profiling, Asset Allocation, Goal Identification and Goal-based investment) are less understood. It is difficult for them to comprehend the benefit of having Term Life Insurance, Health Insurance, Joint Account, Nominee, Will and Trust until an unfortunate event (such as untimely death or major disease) occurs in the family and when it happens, it is too late. COVID taught us this the hard way. Procrastination  For many of those who understand Fin...