Mental health in childhood means reaching developmental and emotional milestones and learning healthy social skills and how to cope when there are problems. The pandemic has increased the mental burden on children. The interactions that make childhood a formative period in the child’s life such as playing with friends, sports, regular schooling, interacting with others, etc; are all absent to a large extent. Nowadays school classes, tuition/coaching, playing games, reading, etc all activities are online making healthy social interaction almost non-existent.

It is imperative that we as caregivers learn to understand child behaviour and deal with the many emotional, psychological, physical and other setbacks faced by children. It is imperative that we learn to understand the causes, hidden triggers, symptoms and seek help when required.

Whole grains have health benefits. Isn’t that what we heard our mothers and grannies wax eloquent about during our childhood? 

If you are fond of reading only fiction or non-fiction, then this is not a book for you. I would recommend this book to those who carry a love for theology, mythology or philosophy. Anyone who is spiritually inclined or likes dabbling in body restorative techniques would be able to decipher the deeper meaning of this book. As I said earlier, this is not just another book. It is a realization of the way of life. And, unless you are willing to introspect, realise and adopt the teachings, you would not be doing this book justice.

Islands in the stream is my first paperback that is a compilation of a few selected poems. This book is divided into two sections and contains 48 poems in total. The first part is titled ‘nature’s rhapsody’ and it contains poems that sing odes to nature in its many forms. The last two poems of this section pay homage to the peace that descended once the streets went silent due to the pandemic (covid-19). The second section is titled ‘Life’s foibles’ and represents life, its desires, its follies and human nature.

Today, the situation demands that we maintain a sanitized, disinfected environment at home and around us. Believe me when I say that I spend a small fortune, literally thousands of rupees, on sanitization products. And, I am quite fanatical about disinfecting the house and the passage outside the house. People, …

I am obsessed with cleanliness. You will understand the extent as you read this blog, I mop and disinfect my floors at least twice a day. Those who know me would vouch for the fact that my house is always neat and sparkling clean. I am propelled by my motherly …

Written in a reflective tone, ‘Our moon has blood clots – a memoir of a lost home in Kashmir’ is a gut-wrenching chronicle of the events that led to the slaughter of hundreds of Pandits in the Kashmir Valley in barbaric events that unfolded after 1990. Driven out of their ancestral homes and lands and not welcomed warmly by any other countrymen, this is the story of those of ‘nobody’s people’ (page 89).

From the poem ‘Sands of Time’ //They trickled slowly down the funnel, no sound of bells or chime, quietly, through the glass tunnel ran out the sands of time. The mighty mountain stood its ground, foreboding, all alone. The waves would all come and pound their fists onto its stones….//

Between the pages of this book are lovingly cradled a plethora of emotions. As you read, Nisha takes you through pages that invite you to enjoy nature and its elements and gently nudge you to sit, relax and introspect about yourself, about those around you and about life. However, the shift in mood in the book is not sudden. Like a day bright with sunshine and warmth gently sighs into the embrace of the cool, bedecked night; Nisha’s poems lead you down the path of self-discovery and love. Each nugget is presented with such transparent candour that you cannot miss their relevance to your life.