Mridu Verma's portfolio

I am stunned wordless by the disaster in Japan. The images, their pain and loss is beyond comprehension. I want to pray for them but words fail me. What do I ask? Lord give them strength and courage. As I see images of the disaster, words seem inadequate. A ship tossed about like a toy, cars thrown about with people within, all science technological progress helpless in the face of nature's fury. People who a moment before would have been happy, sad, angry, hurt, working towards their next prized possession; some irritated at things not going their way; let down at people not understanding them -- either not their the next moment or comprehending the horror of what they had lost in a few moments. What do I learn from this moment? Al...

Lord, protect our doubts, because Doubt is a way of praying. It is Doubt that makes us grow because it forces us to look fearlessly at the many answers that exist to one question. And in order for this to be possible… Lord, protect our decisions, because making Decisions is a way of praying. Give us the courage, after our doubts, to be able to choose between one road and another. May our YES always be a YES, and NO always be a NO. Once we have chosen our road, may we never look back nor allow our soul to be eaten away by remorse. And in order for this to be possible… Lord, protect our actions, because Action is way of praying. May our daily bread be the result of the very best that we carry within us. May we, through work and Action,...

I just realised that today was the World Health Day while surfing the net. I felt kind of embarrassed that I had not realized this earlier. After all  2010 World Health day is focusing on urbanisation and health. With most of us living in cities or having loved ones in cities, this is something which directly affects our lives. I have a feeling that living in towns and cities has a different impact on health as against living in villages. Pollution is one such factor that comes to my mind. What could the others be? Can we as individuals and community do something to improve health in our cities?

With Easter round the bend, attention is on eco friendlier ways of celebrating the festival. This time  the White House has opted for environmentally friendly FSC-certified hardwood eggs dyed with vegetable based eggs featuring the signatures of the American President and First Lady. I have initiated an article on Green Easter in CopperWiki. CopperWiki is a community based collaboration to build world's largest repository of information about life and living consciously. The articles written here share useful information, create awareness about issues that affect us and our surroundings and helps people make informed choices. It would be great if we could share some information on greener and healthier ways of celebrating Easter. Do ...

I met her today morning. I was standing at the cash payment counter in the hospital, faces of those standing before me and after me just registering enough to ensure that the queue was moving. She stuck conversation, and I answered perfunctorily, not interested in sharing a slice of my life with a stranger. She had graying hair, a kindly face, looked as if there was a worried family somewhere around the hospital to whom she was providing solid support. (wonder how that thought came to my mind?).   The conversation somehow reached a point where she told me she had come for her own tests. She had cancer. Taken aback I mumbled some thing, I don’t recall what. She said, "No No...  don’t feel bad for me I have sons who are there for me unl...

I recently came across this piece which throws light upon how English came to be a language taught across schools in India. This a part of a speech by Thomas Babington Macaulay in the context of the India bill in 1833. A preview of what he thought - On his recommendation to teach English (instead of Sanskrit or Arabic) "I have no knowledge of either Sanscrit or Arabic.-But I have done what I could to form a correct estimate of their value. I have read translations of the most celebrated Arabic and Sanscrit works. I have conversed both here and at home with men distinguished by their proficiency in the Eastern tongues. I am quite ready to take the Oriental learning at the valuation of the Orientalists themselves. I ...

I am a little over five feet. The little is really little -- equal to a grain of rice -- but it is better than five feet and nothing. Belonging to a family where women hovered around five feet and men around five feet five inches maximum, I blamed it on my genes. If others were taller, well they were luckier with their genes. I would have happily continued blaming factors beyond my control till I noticed something. My cousins were visiting India after a four year stint in the UK. This coincided with their 10-14 year growth period. They talked about the wonders of the developed world and meat sandwiches supplied daily by the school for school lunch. (this was early 1980s). They were tall -- taller than even the adults in the family! ...

Today is Autism Awareness Day. Whenever I think of autism or miracle, her face comes to my mind. I always wonder -- had I been chosen to witness this miracle to reaffirm my belief in the supreme lord? It was a few months after I had shifted to my last address. It was a friendly apartment block, where the greenery below encouraged most of us to spend the evening outdoors. She also used to come down with her son. He was around seven. He looked different -- always looking down, holding his mother's hand and trying to hide behind her if someone approached her.  We both joined the yoga classes around the same time. I really liked her. She was a good human being, smart, honest with a zest for life. Slowly the story came out. The so...

I came from a family of vegetarians. Being a vegetarian is India is not difficult. In most part of the country, the greens are an essential part of the food – whether you are a vegetarian or a non-vegetarian.  The non vegetarian families I knew had chicken or red meat or fish. My Bengali friends had fish every day. Even then their course by course meal had at least two courses of vegetables! And dal a soup made of lentils or pulses was a must.     As  one moves northwards, the land becomes less fertile and there are fewer vegetables to choose from. The kidney beans or rajma, dal makhni or mustard greens or sarson ka saag and a variety of milk products including cottage cheese , yoghurt were a part of the traditional Indian m...

The rise in cases of depression , obesity , insomnia in teenagers , low self esteem , high blood pressure in children , eating disorders , bullying , school violence and even teenage pregnancy are directly or indirectly linked to unhappy children. Whether it is or not, this is again open to debate. My question is can we teach our kids to be happy -- just as we teach them letters, habits, take them  to guitar classes and football classes. Have we told them through our actions that we accept them, our partners, our jobs, our present lives as it is? We strive and work for change but can't wish or it. And after we have put in our best efforts, we have to sit back and await results. Do the kids know that in life as in other p...