JUST A THOT:-

The sports in my life have played a pivotal role in sculpting my personality. The better part of my character has been developed over the years only through my involvement in various sports .

On record the first sport or rather martial art that I took up was Taekwondo.

Taekwondo as a martial art not only helped increase my physical strength but also taught me the virtues of patience, tolerance, determination and meticulousness.

It created in me tenacity and perseverance and shaped much of my moral fibre.

My fondest memories however of that period of time in my life are of every single moment that I spent in my Taekwondo classes.

One feels a burst of passion, freedom and inner strengh unleashed within them on doing any martial art.Even as I reflect on those times I am infused with a great and inspiring warmth that helps me to deal with the battles of day-to-day life.

I was rarely injured while practising Taekwondo & I don't remember ever inflicting any serious injuries upon my opponent.
The best part of Taekwondo was that you usually had combats with full protective gear so you never actually hurt anyone ; The greatest you could do was perhaps throw your opponent off their feet with a powerful roundhouse kick and multiple punches.

Taekwondo has another very unique feature. The practioner doesn't learn how to fight one opponent at a time but two. The basic punch is carried out with an ingenious technique such that the other arm's elbow is thrust backwards simultaneously allowing self defence from both sides.

My favourite move was the flying kick. When I had started learning Taekwondo, it used to fascinate me , how human beings could gain enough strength and agility to be able to practically "fly" across distances around 4-5 metres
and even break collosal concrete or ice blocks with their bare hands!!
I was most enthusiastic when I started to learn the same & in my excitement jumped a fraction too high and fell just a few centimetres short of the target. But I did not give up for even a single moment.. Instead I sprung up after each failed attempt trying to improve on my technique. Finally after around fifteen attempts I managed to execute a fine kick that even sent my coach who was holding the target a few steps backwards. That was one of the happiest moments of my life... and it was this delight which came from finally mastering a difficult move that I can never forget from my Taekwondo days.
The same delight I feel now after doing an immensely difficult math problem or returning a nearly impossible serve in a game of tennis....
The exhiliharation of victory and the satisfaction that your effort has finally paid off was just one of the many enriching experiences I had during this vibrant phase of my life.Taekwondo is till date a sport that is closest to my heart which has created in me the spirit of a fighter.

Just a thot..... By Varun Grover

God is the innate spirit, the fountain of hope, the source of all positive energy and happiness, & the creator of a masterpiece, we call nature. He is the inner voice of a sane and conscientious man highlighting the fine line of difference between right and wrong in the materialistic world.

It is my opinion, that there are no exceptional people who attain a 'higher level' of spirituality as compared to others. The very belief that God has created all of mankind, empowers each individual to form their own personal spiritual bond with God.

There is no need of intermediaries in a person's relationship with God.

I feel that messengers of God are those few people who take time out from the ordinary business of their lives to make the world a better place to live in for those less fortunate than themselves; who see the misery of others even amidst a period of personal joy...

Beyond that it could not be more insignificant to me if that kind and charitable soul calls God by the name of Ram, Allah, Jesus , Buddha or Nanak. To me he/she is someone to be revered: someone who embodies the qualities of benevolence, charity, mercy and forebearance......the very purpose for which God created man.

A true devotee of God is not one who spends a good part of his time engaged in religious rites and ceremonies; but one who toils to earn his bread and then chooses to render a hand of love and support to someone in need.

The road to heaven is not paved by denying another human being the right to live or worship the supreme being but in living a harmonious and selfless life in which kindness towards others lies above all else.

If God could tell us what He felt, I believe He would have said " I love not that man who prays for himself, but I love that angel who prays for others."

Lastly I would like to say that God lies in your mind and soul. Your heart is your temple , your brain is your shrine.

THE Taekwondo YEARS..6yrs to 9yrs

TAEKWONDO is a Korean Martial art which was taught at Varun's School from Class I.

In the Annual Day function he broke a tile using his forehead..a bit of an anxious moment for me!!

Subsequently he learnt the sport for three more years at a Taekwondo Academy conducted by a BLACK BELT( DAN 7) instructor , affiliated to the World Taekwondo Federation.Taekwondo is the world's most popular martial art and is quite popular in Delhi .

The classes started with a physical exercise session and Varun unfailingly managed to cover half the track and quietly turn back when no one was looking!!Inspite of being a shirker at the daily initial workout phase, he actually packed in quite a punch and his flying kicks were very good.

At the annual competitions in Talkatora Stadium he won the Silver(2001) and Gold(2002) medals. I was a delighted "Taekwondo" mommy :).

Conclusion of SUNSHINE SERIES..

EPILOGUE: Varun's interests gradually shifted over the years :Drama(9yrs to 13yrs) ,Poetry writing(9yrs-) ,Drawing and Painting; and of course Tennis(12yrs-)and as far as the parenting bit goes well I've just been a good sounding board cum supportive(the works!) mom... all credit to the wonderful teachers and trainers.

Memorable Moments...@2yrs to 5yrs



Developing language skills is a major challenge for children during the toddler stage and preschool years.By 3 years of age ,however,most children can link several words together to form a fairly complete sentence.They can speak about 900 words...Varun holding the pencil and writing his name in Hindi helped by Mom and Panditji..!!

Preschoolers are highly active and constantly exploring the world around them...Varun with a cordless telephone; a few days later it was "accidentally" dropped by him into the bathtub after using it for a long conversation sitting in the bath!!

Varun's love for dancing begins early with a Bhangra dance atop a table..Nani's house in Delhi.

Our favourite haunt for Christmas Plum Pudding...outside the coffee shop at a Delhi hotel....Varun's sweater hand knitted by mami's mami!!

We're all dressed and good to go...wedding in the neighbourhood...dadi's house,Lajpat Nagar.

Restless all day.. little monkey..finally settled on the sofa at grandparents' Mumbai apartment.

Poldy and Varun bringing in the NewYear at a party at Vatika Resort.(Gurgaon Sohna Rd..)...family holiday!!

Varun's favourite haunt.......Essex Farms , New Delhi.

His very first notebook and first day of school ; starting the morning : writing, '' OM ".

THE SON-SHINE...

At the Holy Family hospital..Delhi experiencing its first mosoon showers of the season..chilly..and windy..on 20th July,1994,. our son, Varun was born. Initially we called him Naman;he was in the hospital for a week and we brought him home to his family in our first car(a Maruti 800). The tiring, whirling forty days and then his forty days puja...gifts galore and blessings in abundance; in our family panditji's words ' kinha sona munda' !!

When he was six months old-a trip to Vaishnodevi.An experience to treasure..travelling with the baby in the train..squeezing onto the berth with him for my forty winks.We got boiled water from the the tea stalls on the way to the shrine for his 'bottled milk' routine.

Varun had his second holiday in Goa at the age of 18 mnths. Crossing over the waters from Mumbai ,in a hovercraft :it was a comfortable journey for me watching a movie , great excitement for Varun as he clambered up and down the steps from top deck to lower deck-- non-stop with dad in tow!!

Second year highlights--Varun's mundan:out go the lovely curls and little pony tail since we hadn't cut his hair at all till then;staying in a joint family set-up and enormous fun at each and every festival. :)

Manish and Nanaji: Varun's official babysitters (With 1 month old baby)

The 'Forty day Puja' :Gifts for the baby from his little cousins..

Winter 1995..covered from head to toe.. is with cousins

Mom and baby---- Bouncing ball ;)

Varun's first birthday (20th July 1995) hawan by Arya Samaj Swamiji at Lajpat Nagar home

Varun...Janamashtami 1995

Satya's (MCA buddy) R.K.Puram house

NAVRATRAS 1995....Doll Festival

Starting tomorrow THE SON-SHINE SERIES about my parenting experiences with my son, Varun.

(ABOVE)AT BLESSINGS WITH NIVEDITA...AND STUDENTS...

My last blog in the moonbeam series...this particular blog is about the post-marital moonbeams in my life during the period 1995 onwards.

Since this is all about my quest to find a vocation for myself its going to read a bit like a CV ---also I know for certain by now that a rolling stone gathers no moss!!!

a) When my son turned one, I joined IEC(a computer training institute) to learn computer programming and animation;I couldn't pursue this as a career option as it required a lot of time for practice that I wasn't able to spare. But IEC wiped out the dust gathering in my mind due to humdrum existence. One day, out of the blue, they awarded me with an outstanding performance certificate. Whoopie!

b) Next I took up a tupperware dealership.Tupperware products are a wonderful combination of style and utility;..I worked very hard and was soon a star performer.My manager Payal Bhutani was justifiably proud.From Tupperware I learnt the art of promoting products while looking at everyone's personal requirements, as the focus of the sale.

c) As Varun (my son) turned 4yrs old I took to parent volunteering as a serious pursuit .There were many moms doing it and far more talented than me but I still cherish those moments of unselfish contribution to the schools!!.These photos and notes of thanks are few of the memorabilia saved up by me.The highlights of the jobs done by me during this phase were the life-size models of sheep that I made for a nativity scene,"Ravan's ten heads " (at Apeejay School) and the most precious task---depicting the entire state of Maharashtra ,in the 3B classroom ,for the annual visit of the Japanese delegation to DPS EOK.

d) In the year,2002,a dear friend ,Nivedita recommended me for a summer camp at a

playschool ,BLESSINGS. My association with that school lasted a few years after which I was assigned a class-teacher's job(teaching classI for one academic session) in Varun's school.

e)In the interim( 2003 -2004) I started my own 'home-based enterprise' 'Niru's Home Bakes' ....the brownies and chocolate truffle cakes being the hotselling items!!

f)The last moonbeam on this list is my diploma in Nursery teacher training from the South Delhi Women's Polytechnic, quite close to my home. The faculty selected me for training at two of the most premier educational institutes---the American School at Chanakyapuri and Kangaroo Kids (GK1).

ALL these options and yet no career --:(....yet as they say ...its great to be a 'has been' than a 'could have been'.