⚡️Potter Mania⚡️

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BB & GG are heavily into the Harry Potter series. They started as very reluctant readers – I had to cajole them to give the series a shot, but now are completely hooked, reading the books multiple times!

I’ve always loved the series and read each book as it came along, and for a very long time, wanted GG & BB to experience the Potter magic with me. But, like I wrote earlier, they didn’t really seem interested. Then last December, at the airport on the way to a family holiday, I bribed GG to try one book. She decided to buy 2 and was instantly hooked. She then went on to buy the other books and it was the turn to bribe BB. 

BB does not like to read anything, unless it pertains to his love – aeronautics! So we used multiple tricks to get him to start reading – bribes, coercion and what have you. Soon he got hooked too and these days, invariably you see both of them with a book from the series in their hands!

They even found the Pottermore site and i have to threaten them to revoke computer privileges if they are on the site instead of studying. Today they even forgot an online class because of this…

I’m not really complaining about this addiction as I’ll welcome a book addict anytime! But hopefully this will not interfere with their studies, what with the PSLE looming ahead of us.

In My Hands Today…

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The Palace of Illusions – Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni

A reimagining of the world-famous Indian epic, the Mahabharat—told from the point of view of an amazing woman.

Relevant to today’s war-torn world, The Palace of Illusions takes us back to a time that is half history, half myth, and wholly magical. Narrated by Panchaali, the wife of the legendary Pandavas brothers in the Mahabharat, the novel gives us a new interpretation of this ancient tale.

The novel traces the princess Panchaali’s life, beginning with her birth in fire and following her spirited balancing act as a woman with five husbands who have been cheated out of their father’s kingdom. Panchaali is swept into their quest to reclaim their birthright, remaining at their side through years of exile and a terrible civil war involving all the important kings of India. Meanwhile, we never lose sight of her strategic duels with her mother-in-law, her complicated friendship with the enigmatic Krishna, or her secret attraction to the mysterious man who is her husbands’ most dangerous enemy. Panchaali is a fiery female redefining for us a world of warriors, gods, and the ever-manipulating hands of fate.

2015 Week 9: Weekly Update

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A super, super busy week for me…We had a work-related conference in the week, which unusually was 2 back-to-back events and was over the whole week. This was in a five star hotel in the city and so it was going back and forth for me the whole week.

I did manage to speak to my ex-boss and he has reassured me that according to him, I do have a good future in this organisation and that I should not make any rash decisions before speaking to my new boss who will come on-board within the next two months. So I’ve decided to heed his advice. I will keep quiet and see how things pan out. If things do not work out, then there’s always the outside world!

During the conference, I was sort of vindicated – things that were done without mine and another colleague’s knowledge and know-how didn’t go well, what they thought was new thought process didn’t go down with the participants, whom we knew better than them. Anyway I am not going to dwell on negativity!

Health-wise, my sugar level has gone up – result of all wrong eating this week I think. So I really need to look out for these signals and eat well this month before my next blood test. At that point, my doctor will decide whether we continue my current medication, or do something else….

PSLE Week 9 Updates

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A very boring week from my perspective. I was away from home the whole week for a related conference (more about that tomorrow), and so most days by the time I came home, GG & BB were asleep!

GG even wrote me a note on the things she wanted to tell me, but couldn’t! So sweet right!

We are having Parent-Teacher Meetings in school on Monday and Wednesday and I am sure the teachers and me will/should have a lot to talk about…

On another note, BB & GG have their NAPFA (National Physical Fitness Award) test on Monday and Wednesday and they are a bit scared about it. This test is to assess the overall fitness of students in primary, secondary and tertiary institutions with the test modified to suit age and gender. Of the six stations, they are worried about 1-2 that they are not sure of passing. They say they will be made to take it again and again till they pass it. More about this next week…

In My Hands Today…

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My Feudal Lord – Tehmina Durrani, William Hoffer and Marilyn Hoffer

Born into one of Pakistan’s most influential families, Tehmina Durrani was raised in the privileged milieu of Lahore high society. Like all women of her rank, she was expected to marry a prosperous Muslim from a respectable family, bear him many children and lead a sheltered life of leisure.

Her marriage to Mustafa Khar, one of Pakistan’s most eminent political figures, soon turned into a nightmare. Violently possessive and pathologically jealous, Mustafa Khar succeeded in cutting her off from the outside world. For fourteen years, Tehmina suffered alone, in silence.

When she decided to rebel, the price she paid was extremely high: as a Muslim woman seeking a divorce, she signed away all financial support, lost the custody of her four children, and found herself alienated from her friends and disowned by her parents.
When this book was first published it shook Pakistani society to its foundations. Here at last was someone who had succeded in reconciling her faith in Islam with her ardent belief in women’s rights. Tehmina Durrani’s story provided extraordinary insights into the vulnerable position of women caught in the complex web of Muslim society.