5 special Christmas gifts for Sanju

20th December 2013.

Friday.

"Hey Deepika, I got struck up in a meeting. Can you pick Sanju from school?" My sister made a request over the phone.

"Alright, will do." I wheeled my car to his school.  As I was waiting for my sister’s son a Christmas tree that was lit up beautifully decorated caught my eyes. Christmas is just around the corner! The School will be officially closed till January 1st for exam holidays and it is a common practice that they celebrate the Christmas on the last day of the exam. 

“Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way. Dashing through the snow. In a one-horse open sleigh..." 6 year old Sanju came singing with full enthusiasm.
I continued, “Over the fields we go. Laughing all the way…Ha ha ha ha”

“Chiti, You know these song?”

“Of course. Your Chiti, know everything” I winked and collected the school bag.

“You know, Santa Claus came to our classroom and gifted all my classmates" he showed me a small gifted wrapped packed. He continued, "Will Santa Claus come to our home?"

"He will come only if you do your homework's regularly, being punctual to schools and obedient to parents and chiti" I tried to act smart in front of him, forgetting the fact that kids are always ready with their smart answer. 

"Haiyoo. No homeworks. No school. Its exams holiday" he sighed and turned towards the window. 

We play Santa Claus every year at my office. Since my contribution to his secure future plays a vital role, I thought of playing Santa Claus with him. I quickly sorted a plan. I thought of giving him everyday a gift for the successive 5 days until Christmas. 

Day 1: 21th December 2013. (Saturday).

Cultivating a savings habit from a young age is must. So, I gifted him a undiyal and advised him to save all the Festival money that he receives from his parents, grandparents and relatives. Also I insisted him to add 1 Rupees every day morning as soon as he gets up. 

Day 2: 22th December 2013. (Sunday).

Last month, he won second prize in drawing. He was awarded a trophy and other competitor was given a small car toy as a consolation prize. He kept his face pale and dull and was worried that he has not given that small car toy. Finally, the organizer gave a smile and handed him a car toy. He is that much crazy about cars even though we have a collection of 500 car toys at home. And this is the main reason for selecting the day 2 gift.

I gifted him a car toy and took a promise that once he grows big and earns lot of money, he will buy a real car and will take me a ride in it.

Day 3: 23th December 2013. (Monday).

Securing the future financially alone will not be sufficient. Staying fit and healthy is equally important to enjoy those benefits. The best way I can assure that he will be fit is by doing some sort of physical exercise everyday. I don’t want to force anything at him at this young age. I knew he had had interest for swimming and swimming coaching classes are just 10 minutes away from my home. 

So on 23rd December, I gifted him “Life time membership for swimming” 
I am sure, I have gifted him life time fitness.

Day 4: 24th December 2013. (Tuesday).
If I am a kid, I would definitely hate this day 4 gift. Yes, I gifted him educational books and CDs.
I will also make sure, Every year, I am upgrading him with new CDs according to his age.

Day 5: 254th December 2013. (Wednesday).

HAPPPPPPPPY CHRISTMAS :)

I dressed myself as Santra clause and played jingle bell song on my mobile. He could easily recognize me but was curious to know the 5th and last day gift that he is going to receive in few minutes.
The final gift was..

HDFC SL YoungStar Super Premium which will build savings for his education, marriage, among other needs.

This post is a part of the 1001 Gifts Activity by HDFC Life in association with BlogAdda.

Touch of Mist Book Review by Khushboo Motihar

Touch of Mist Book Review by Khushboo Motihar 

Source - http://munniofalltrades.blogspot.com/2013/12/book-review-touch-of-mist.html

I love surprises and if that surprise involves a book then I feel like I am on cloud nine, sipping chocolate milkshake and eating a box full of cookies as I glide on rainbows. What caused me to be this happy? A message from Deepika, a fellow blogger, who asked me to review her book and I obviously, said a big yes! I was caught up with some college assignments and finally finished reading the book yesterday. Here's the review

About the Book:

Reena was distraught. It seemed unbelievable that she too had succumbed to this rat race of life. The consequences had been dire: a marriage that had broken even before the profundity of those three magical words, “I Love You” could sink in.

“Touch of Mist” is a glitzy, modern-day love story of two young, sophisticated, IT professionals, Gautham and Reena, who meet by chance, sparks ignite and they fall head over heels in love with each other.

They tie the knot and start a new life. But no sooner do they do that that fights erupt and egos clash. The first casualty is love, which plummets and marriage turns miserable; break-up beckons and the relationship dies.

Aftermath. Does Reena commit suicide or fall in love with another person? Does she reconcile with her first love Gautham?

This story meanders through different emotions that touch the lives of the protagonists such as love, friendship, marriage, heartbreak, grief, anticipation, humour, disgust, joy, fear and ends with a heart-warming credo that “Life is to Live”.

ISBN: 978-81-8253-440-7
Cover Price: Rs. 250.00
Publisher - Cyberwit
Author: Deepika Muthusamy
Rating: 3.5

My take on the book:

Friendship, love, inter caste marriage, romance, silly fights, ego clashes, two suicide attempts, an earthquake, a healthy dose of common sense and a happy/sad ending (I won’t give the plot away by telling you whether the couple live happily ever after or not) are the words that can summarize this entire book.

The story starts off by introducing the reader to Gautam and Reena, two IT professionals living in Bangalore. They meet on a bus ride to office and sparks start flying, at least for Gautam. The story then moves on at a leisurely pace till both of them declare their love for each other and get married, after thoda sa masaledar we-are-from-different-religions drama.

Marriage treats the couple well, till both their egos inflate and they start fighting. Initially, they kiss and make up (literally) but then things start going out of hand. Gautam decides to leave for a 6 month long assignment to another city and Reena is a mess. What happens next? Well, you have to read the book to find out!Touch of Mist is an engaging book and I finished it in two days; you can finish it faster if you don’t have to attend college like me.

The only sore point is that it turns a little preachy somewhere in the middle and also towards the end. The editing needs to be tighter, too. There are Adam and Eve conversations in between, where they have a mini argument over Gautam and Reena’s conversations. It is interesting initially, but it is overdone in a few places. That said, the plot is original, the characters are interesting and reading it is a breeze. What more would one want out of a book?

Read Sample Chapters of Touch of Mist

Grab the Novel - "Touch of Mist" 

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