At the end of the day...

Poor Customer Service? We are like this wonly!

Lavanya — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 15:37:59 +0000

Do you remember when I said I rued the day I decided to go down the Overseas Citizen of India route? Truer words have never been spoken. For the past two weeks, my life has been one long drawn out misery. From 9.00 AM, I dial and re-dial the number for the person who can tell me what happened to my renunciation of Indian citizenship process. Between 9.00 AM and 9.30 AM, the line will go through and the phone will ring out. After 9.30 AM, I will be greeted ...

Poor Customer Service? We are like this wonly! is a post from: At the end of the day...

Becoming A Naturalised British Citizen

Lavanya — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 08:39:42 +0000

This is a tale in two parts – the first part was painless and easy. The second made me rue the day I decided to embark on this journey. But such is life and I hope my experiences make your journeys somewhat easier. This is the story of my family and I becoming British citizens and then trying to remain Overseas Citizens of India, as well. After pondering for more than 4 years, my husband and I decided to change our citizenship last year. It wasn’t easy, deciding to give up our ...

Becoming A Naturalised British Citizen is a post from: At the end of the day...

Child Safety Oversights – Calling All Imperfect Parents

Lavanya — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 07:13:54 +0000

When Lavz asked me to post on the topic of 'child safety', the voice in my head went,"You've.got.to.be.kidding me!" and I have no idea why I agreed. Here's the thing: Not only am I not qualified to write on child safety or anything remotely close, I am, in fact, on the verge of being included in the Clumsy New Mom's Safety Handbook, under the section titled How to Keep Baby Safe - When Mom is Around. Hmm...child safety. Child friendly. Where should I begin?

Child Safety Oversights – Calling All Imperfect Parents is a post from: At the end of the day...

Health & Safety: Non-existent in the Indian setting

Lavanya — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 10:51:08 +0000

Kiran Manral’s guest post brought up the oft-raised in an Indian context – that of Health & Safety. There have been various incidents in the past decade alone that have result in the needless loss of innocent lives, lives that may well have been spared if a few precautions have been taken beforehand. Tragedies like the Kumbakonam School fire, the Garuda Mall mishap and of course, the recent accident of Aditya Dube, to name a few, may well be averted had basic Health & Safety procedures in place. A fire drill ...

Health & Safety: Non-existent in the Indian setting is a post from: At the end of the day...

Wanted: A Child-friendly Indian Restaurant

Lavanya — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 13:52:31 +0000

When Lavanya invited me to be a guest blogger on her newly revamped blog, the theme she told me, was "child friendly". Write on anything child friendly, she said. Yars, yars, I nodded sagely, and scampered to googlebaba to figure out what I could write about that was child friendly related and something parents across the globe could identify with. And then this happened over the weekend - friends of a friend lost their son when he fell to death from the sixth floor of a restaurant. While the parents were dining with friends.

Wanted: A Child-friendly Indian Restaurant is a post from: At the end of the day...

Question: Want to see how you look in two decades?

Lavanya — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 16:14:57 +0000

Why ever would we want to know how we look when we are OLDER?

Question: Want to see how you look in two decades? is a post from: At the end of the day...

Some Explanation is Necessary…

Lavanya — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 09:03:47 +0000

..as to why this blog went all quiet for a while. Right? Well, the usual thing happened – I lost my writing mojo. I hit a blank wall and just couldn’t get over it. Writing anything became a huge drag. There were so many things in my head that I wanted to put down on paper but somehow my voice was gone. And I didn’t know how to get it back. So I just wallowed. A lot. And then some. But I missed the joy I got out of writing. I was ...

Some Explanation is Necessary… is a post from: At the end of the day...

Best Gift for Mother’s Day

Lavanya — Wed, 05 May 2010 12:53:14 +0000

Before I go any further, let me plug the lovely e-book the ladies at Indusladies.com are bringing out to mark the occasion. The e-book is supposed to be an, I quote, “elegant list of all Indian Mommy Bloggers”, that will be sent to all the members of Indusladies.com as well as their Facebook & Twitter followers. What a lovely idea, ladies! So, dear reader, please link up, join in and spread the word. And so, to Mother’s Day. There’s something I would like to discuss with you, my readers, on the ...

Best Gift for Mother’s Day is a post from: At the end of the day...

The weekend that was…

Lavanya — Sun, 18 Apr 2010 17:18:37 +0000

… quite a good one, thanks very much! Why? Mainly because it was spent lazing at home, my favourite way to spend a weekend. Oh and proof of how desperately I need to get out more? The abundant 17 degree sunshine made me giddy with happiness – cos I could now hang my washing out to dry! No more slowly drying, mouldy smelling smalls and bigs scattered all over the house! No more laundry baskets in perpetual stage of fullness. Wa-hey! Repeat after me: I need to get out more! ...

The weekend that was… is a post from: At the end of the day...

Only Proper Books Need Apply

Lavanya — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 21:50:09 +0000

I walk into my High Street bookstore and at the window, Horrid Henry greets me, along with Tracey Beaker. Inside, they are joined by The Stig, Bakugan and the Ninja Turtles. The Famous Fives and Secret Sevens tucked away in the corners don't even get a look in.

Only Proper Books Need Apply is a post from: At the end of the day...