Yowoto: The New ABC Of Parenting: B For Beauty

Dear daughter,

You are beautiful, my daughter. You are my gift from god. You are my lesson to learn.

We have family, friends, relatives and random people coming in and going out of our lives. All of these people and more besides constantly walk up to us, saying, “Oh! Your daughter is so pretty.” Even better, they go to you and say, “Oh, you are so cute! Such a beautiful child.”

Read the complete letter here.

Parentous: Goddess Of Small Things (August 2nd)

So, I think. I always think. What lessons am I imparting to my daughter? Motherhood has been a great teacher. I have been unlearning some old lessons and learning a few new. I have found answers to some old questions, while I seem to have discovered a new queries.

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Parentous: We've arrived. Have we? (July 11th)

“Your children are not your children. They are the sons and daughters of life’s longing for itself.

They come through you, but not from you.

And though they are with you, yet they belong not to you.

You may house their bodies, but not souls.

You may strive to be like them, but seek not to make them like you.”

– Khalil Gibran

Read the complete article here.

Parentous: I Hate The Monster, But I Love My Child More (July 21st)

It’s always been there. Some speak about it. Some do not. Most often, we do not. It gives us that unsettling feeling. A feeling of oh-i-wish-i-did-not-have-to-talk-about-it.

We’ve skirted it way beyond we should have. We have saved our society from the blames it deserves. We kept thinking this will never come back to haunt us. But its ugly face appears every now and then. The monster is here to stay. With its long hands that enter people’s lives. And scars it for a moment. For a while. Sometimes, I hate to accept this, but for a lifetime.

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Yowoto: A Letter To The Bangalore Child Rapist

Mr Rapist,

Oh! You don’t like being addressed like that? Too bad. That’s all that you will be known as from now on. This is your identity for eternity. This is what will define you and your life. No matter how cool your actual name might sound, or how much effort your parents may have taken for finding the perfect name for you, from this moment on, none of it will matter. You will always be known as an abuser/rapist/molester. Fancy names, no?

Read the complete letter here.

Yowoto: The New ABC Of Parenting: A for Apology (July 10th)

Dear daughter,

‘Sorry’ is a beautiful word. Every time I hear you say that word, you grow in my eyes. Every time anyone says that word with sincerity, that person grows, a tad bit, in my eyes.

Read the complete letter here.

The Alternative: My first post

There are days, when I fail to respect and follow anything that I have taught her. There are days when someone we know closely behaves unusually. And then she asks me, “Amma, why did you/s/he do that? That is bad.” I know, I say. And I apologise. And I have tears in my eyes having realised that I did not or could not control an emotion of mine, which led to this action.

Read the complete write up here.