Hazards of Encroachments in Chandigarh

Some people rightly feel that the Municipal Corporation of Chandigarh has failed to protect its prime land from encroachers across the city. According to them, a large number of areas have been encroached upon by land-grabbers in parks, city roads & other areas meant for public & a majority of these encroachments are made at behest  of well-connected persons.
                                                                        Certainly,(according to some citizens) Councillors can play an active role in changing the face of this city, which is plagued with a dearth of open spaces so-called encroachments by requesting the concerned resident of their respective area, to get their mess cleaned up, even if it means, hiring an extra labor. Some worthy citizens have rightly given the example of Nehru Park, Sector-22, Chandigarh, which is one of the best- maintained gardens of the city & this has happened only with the efforts of the Area Councillor.
                                                           Its my personal opinion, a meeting should be arranged between the MC officials & the shopkeepers. The shopkeepers should be made aware of the severe accidents, which can occur, due to these encroachments.They should be informed that commuters are going to suffer without any fault of theirs. If all these efforts are going waste, then these market owners should be heavily fined.

Giving Birth To A Girl Child - A Stigma ?

Today in the morning, my mother & my neighbors stopped a vegetable vendor to buy some veggies. When my mom went out,she saw him, talking to somebody on the mobile.While displaying the various seasonal vegetables, he talked on the mobile for a while & then, after sometime, he ended his talk. There was a tinge of sadness, in his conversation on the mobile. So my mother, including the neighbors, asked him automatically about his problem.
                                           He started narrating his family problem that his sister-in- law's(wife's sister) daughter has given birth to a girl child & her in- laws have not bothered to go & bring the daughter-in-law home, along with the baby. Unfortunately, they are unhappy that their daughter in law has given birth to a daughter. This has sent the young mother into a shock & all her family members are wondering as to what steps, they should take to persuade their son-in-law & his family to take back his young wife & new born baby daughter.
                        In our Indian society, literate as well as illiterate people are obsessed with the dogmatic thought that their generation should carry on with the birth of the sons. They refuse to believe that the daughters are more caring & these days, they are rubbing shoulders with the menfolk. You go to any office, bank or government or private organisation, there is not a single department, where you won't find a girl/woman, holding the fort, efficiently & successfully.
                                  Why don't the people, who hate the birth of a girl realize that a baby girl, who is so tender, needs a gentle care & pleasant atmosphere to grow up. When she will go out of her house to study & later on, for work, she will be able to face the world confidently, if she will have a congenial atmosphere at home.
                May God give sense to those who refuse to welcome the birth of a baby girl. ('beti')  

' Your Highness' - Our Maid.

     These days, it is so difficult to find a house maid. Even if we find one, we have to be at her beck & call.
             She is rightly known as, ' Domestic Goddess. '
                      Our middle aged is very neat & clean & is truly worldly wise. The moment she enters our house, she is full of complaints about her aches & pains. But gradually, when you start asking about her neighbors,  her daughter-in-law, her sons & last but not the least, her grand daughter, whom she adores, her tone changes.
                       Like a typical mother-in-law, she is critical about her son's wife. But when you ask her about her grand daughter, her eyes start shining. She starts imitating her grand daughter's dialogues & compares her with all the top heroines of Bollywood.
                                                           Her husband is a rickshaw puller. But he is a drunkard, though like a typical Indian housewife, she doesn't talk ill about him.
                                 One of her sons is hardly earning, but she dreams of  marrying him to an educated girl of a fairly good family.
                                   Like a typical domestic help, she takes quite number of leave. But when she does so, she is sincere enough to inform us, that very day. Right early morning, when we are half asleep, our mobile starts ringing & obviously, we are not happy to receive the information that she is not coming. Then half heavyhearted, we have to clean the utensils & do other household chores, which normally are done by her.
                                Let me tell you about her efficiency, too.She is very fast & excellent at cutting vegetables.She cuts & washes spinach very promptly.
                          Very rarely, she refuses us any work. When we ask her to get something from the market, she willingly does so & with the leftover money, she is sometimes tempted to buy a toffee or sweet for her granddaughter. We gladly let her do so & sometimes, give her money to get something more for her grand daughter.
                    She has all the the gossip about  her ' Mohalla' & entertains us, while describing the different characters, living near her house.
                                                   She loves having strong tea, laced with sugar. Still it is difficult to please her, while making ' her kind of tea.'
                                                         Another very interesting characteristic about her is that whenever we buy  some vegetable  from the nearby market, she twists her lips in a peculiar manner & says that she can get better stuff, from the market, near her house.
                                                                    In conclusion, we can say that she is a very contented person, but aspires to make a better living for herself & her family.


            

My Niece

Myself & my niece are best of friends. I would like to narrate some incidents, which I have shared with her.
             She has grown up now & is very caring & loving.
          When she was a very small kid, we were inseparable.
                       She is my sister's daughter & my brother-in law is a doctor. Whenever there was a get together, she was more than willing to sit on my lap. As soon as she used to come with her parents at our place, she used to jump with excitement in her father's lap.One could see a cheerful expression on her face, particularly, after seeing me at the front door.
                                                                Later, when my niece had started walking, (which was very early) she used to move from one place to another real fast. She was very observant & used to get curious about many things lying in the kitchen & in the living room. Like a typical child, she used to make an imaginative tea  & used to insist that we should all have it. We, in return, like proper good guests, used to appreciate it  & say that it is very nice.
                                   She is still a 'joy' of our life. But since, we are talking about her childhood, I must tell you that she was an 'apple of everybody's eye'. She was pampered thoroughly, whether she was in maternal or paternal house.
                                 As we are very fond of each other, I have to narrate this sweet incident. One day, my sister was feeding pancake to her. At that very moment, her paternal grandfather's brother came with his wife. As chance would have it, I also dropped in for some work, at that very moment. As soon as my niece saw me, she looked at her guests & made a cute gesture, with excitement, indicating my presence.You can very well imagine, as to, how I must have swelled with happiness.
                                                                   The best part about our relationship is that when my sister & brother- in- law were in Halwara, near Ludhiana, myself & my mother used to visit them quite often & stay there for few days. And when it was time to leave their place & as soon as, I used to sit in the car, my niece used to start crying. With a heavy heart, I used to get down & hold her tightly. After sometime, when we used to leave from their place, stealthily, without her knowledge, I used to literally sob for quite some time & later on, ring up my sister to find out about my niece's welfare.
                                                                                Now, too, she is full of antics. She is very fond of jumping about in the whole house & often gets hurt. Once, she managed to break the most beautiful glass round table of the living room in her house. We were all there & we could not get angry with her because she was herself feeling very bad about it. Thank God ! She didn't get hurt.
                                               She is very fond of acting on the stage & thus she has participated in number of plays in her school. She has lots of friends & is a complete extrovert personality. Her teachers & even the Principal of her school are very fond of her.
                                                                In the end, I would like to conclude that she really knows as to how to wrap everybody around her little finger, with her sweet & endearing nature.
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