Like what you read , read the first part of this story here
Laura Insomnia - Instagram series - uploaded 21st Aug 2025
or you may like this one
Sunday, 7 September 2025
Childhood picnics at Gorai Beach, Mumbai
We lived near the sea when I was a child and so we had a picnic at the beach once or twice a year. This 'we' could be family , friends, building friends or a mix of all these groups. The picnic used to be a great adventure back then. We would have to discuss it as a group and plan the day. It was nearly always planned on a Sunday because everyone worked or studied the rest of the week. If we had a public holiday on another weekday, sometimes, this was preferred as the beach would be less crowded than on the weekend. As I was the youngest at home and also in the groups that my siblings hung around in, I was usually the last one to know about any plan. I, of course, was always game for a fun day out at the beach and in the water.
A day at the Gorai Beach meant waking up much earlier than usual and carrying a bag of homemade food and bottles of water with us. Back then I don't remember anyone buying snacks or bottles of water as and when the need arises, very different from the world of today. We took a bus to the local railway station (Borivli) where we would queue up for another that would take us to the Gorai creek. We needed to take a ferry to cross to the other side. Once on the other side, there were two options of transport to the beach. An auto-rickshaw that many of us could pile into or a tonga-ride ( a horse-driven carriage) to the beach front. When we were larger numbers, it was possible to afford these modes of transport as there were several people who could pay or chip in. However, sometimes either because we couldn't afford the extra expense or all the vehicles were already rented out, due to large crowds, we were forced to walk from the creek to the beach. This used to be a long walk. And as a child of course I dreaded it. However, I remember some deep talks that took place while I tagged along behind the older kids or songs being sung to make us forget the distance. I still remember the long road and our shadows preceding us towards the beach. Luckily, since we started early from home, usually we weren't suffering under a strong sun.
Once we reached the beach, we either hired a beach side shack for a day or we rented a small room or two in a building with some play area around it. As soon as we reached the beach, the idea was to play all the games that we played in our building compound on the beach. We loved playing the games that needed a lot of running space like catch-catch and the chain (Saakli). We usually didn't carry any props or toys to the beach. We played with each other and we didn't really miss anything. Some of us didn't own too many toys anyway and I think the kids who were well-to-do didn't want to bring their cricket bats and balls or badminton rackets to the beach and risk getting them spoilt or stolen. This kept us all at the same level. After playing on the sand for a bit, we always ran into the water. This was after all what we had come to the beach for. We spent several hours as far as I remember in the morning and after lunch time in the water. Again, splashing against the rolling waves, sitting on the sand with one's feet in the water, marveling at the small pockets of air forming in the sand and the water entering these gaps and gush out was pure fun. I remember the wet sand and water running through my fingers.
I remember the skirts of surf formed by the waves that crashed hard or gently settled on the beach. The sea in Mumbai was always welcoming and its gentle slope allows for everyone to be able to walk into it to the level that each of them are comfortable. One must not forget that nearly none of us knew how to swim. Those who did weren't sticking around us young kids anyway. The warm water caressed our bodies and the waves constantly hit, pushed and pulled us. The challenge was to dip one's head into the water. The salt was all over our lips and I remember tasting it instinctively. Of course getting out of this water was very hard and most of us kids weren't happy as it started becoming 4pm as we knew it would soon be time to shut shop.
While we walked back to our shack with our wet clothes sticking to our bodies, yet not cold at all, we knew that the Sun was soon going to start its descent. Mumbai lies on the west coast and so we all knew we had maybe time for one last tea after freshening up. With bodies exhausted from the strength of nature, the heat of the sun and the force of the waves in the Arabian Sea, we reluctantly made our way back. The expanding beach (due to the low tide) and the backdrop of the coconut trees that decorate the entire coast line and the golden tint on the waters which would soon light up the sky was a treat for the eyes. Sadly, as a child I don't remember appreciating that beauty as much as I remember thinking how I couldn't afford any of the little treats that the vendors at the exit of the beach were selling.
I would always try to arm-twist my sister or brother for a Gola with Kala Khatta flavour (a crushed ice popsicle with a black current sort of flavour) or a small sip from a shared bottle of soft drink. But usually the group was in a hurry to get to the auto-rickshaw stand or walk back to the creek to avoid having to get back home after it was dark. Everyone had something to do on a Sunday night, get ready for school the next day or go attend the late evening mass at the local church. Me too, I had a lot left to do. Get back home, take a shower, eat something and go and find some of my friends who hadn't joined us for the picnic and bore them to death talking about my great day!
You can here me read out this story on Apple podcast or Spotify in 'Lekha writes, then reads' or here https://open.spotify.com/episode/3Bby2LnRID12ALbMYTKCY6?si=fRdXm17AQSS4DRRb6Fqlww
Like what you read? You may like this one too
#ChildhoodMemories #GoraiBeach #PicnicVibes #SummerDays #MumbaiLife #BeachDay #Throwback #Nostalgia #Innocence #GrowingUp #RememberWhen #RetroChildhood
Saturday, 6 September 2025
Oh là là! Ces Dieux Indiens! - l'histoire d'Onam
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| Roi Maveli - photo fourni par Shalini Warrier |
Onam est la fête du renouveau. Le retour de Maveli, le bon roi, apporte un regain d'espoir et de joie au Kerala et à son peuple, où qu'il soit dans le monde.
L'histoire raconte que Maveli était un roi très aimé. Juste, vertueux et vénéré par son peuple. Il était si aimé que même le vertueux roi des devas, Indra, comprit qu'il ne pourrait jamais égaler la norme de bonté établie par le roi asura. Incertain, il s'adressa aux dieux, se lamentant sur la façon dont l'équilibre du bien et du mal serait rompu s'ils permettaient que la bonté soit glorifiée par quelqu'un issu d'une race associée au mal et à l'injustice. Les dieux comprirent que Maveli était trop bon pour cette terre. Il devait partir.
Comment attaquer et tuer les bons et les vertueux sans provocation ? Surtout lorsque les agresseurs incarnent eux-mêmes la bonté. Ils ne pouvaient recourir à la guerre ni à la force, car cela aurait ridiculisé leurs aspirations. C'est ainsi que Vishnu parvint à la cour du roi sous l'avatar Vaman, la forme naine, habillé en brahmane. Debout devant le roi, il lui demanda un terrain. Maveli, toujours généreux, se fit un plaisir de satisfaire le brahmane, lui offrant généreusement tout ce qu'il désirait. « Trois pas de terrain mesurés par mes propres pieds », répondit le visiteur. Le roi, amusé, exauça son vœu, ignorant qu'il ne s'agissait pas d'un brahmane ordinaire. Debout devant la terre dont il devait obtenir une part, le petit brahmane commença à grandir. On dit qu'à son premier pas, il couvrit le monde entier, et qu'au second, il couvrit les enfers et tout ce qui restait de l'univers. Le brahmane leva alors une dernière fois la jambe et regarda le roi, cherchant un endroit où poser son pied. Le roi, bien sûr, savait que son heure était venue. Il savait aussi qu'il allait tenir sa promesse envers Shri Vishnu, qui lui avait fait la faveur de venir le chercher lui-même sur cette terre. En véritable soumission, il retira sa couronne, s'inclina et offrit sa tête au Seigneur, la seule chose qui lui appartienne encore.
Satisfait, Vishnu demanda à Maveli ce qu'il désirait en échange de sa vie. Le roi, qui avait vécu si longtemps pour et dans sa terre et son peuple, demanda à pouvoir revenir sur terre une fois par an pour respirer l'air, sentir le contact de la terre sacrée et se réjouir physiquement de l'amour de son peuple. C'est ainsi que chaque Onam, le peuple du Kerala, accueille son roi. Ils prient, dansent et chantent pour accueillir leur roi, lésé par les dieux eux-mêmes, et finalement immortalisé à jamais dans la culture du pays.
Ceci est une traduction de l'histoire écrit par Latha Warrier. L'orginal se trouve sur son site en anglais et vous pouvez le lire ici.
This is a translation of the original story written by Latha Warrier, my sister. Her article in English is here
https://www.lathawarrier.com/articles-and-stories/oh-my-these-indian-gods
You can listen to me read out her story here https://open.spotify.com/episode/7eDLZQOYIDAtDbLiDSeMYS?si=KkShLQ_aRIG6_zd9WjM_gg
Cette histoire en français se trouve sur Spotify ou Apple dans le show 'Lekha writes, then reads' ou en cliquant ici https://open.spotify.com/episode/0rTOay3BbiWvvEmXY3upyI?si=MsC-9oN4QraVfoxB79q8HQ
#lesdieuxindiens #mythologieindien #templesindiens #comprendrelInde #lacultureindienne
Wednesday, 3 September 2025
A cat guarding a magical artifact
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| Nina, the cat of a friend |
Up on my ledge,
I slave away,
sleeping for hours, snoring away
I have been requisitioned to withhold,
the ancient knowledge that's yet to be discovered and told.
It's tiring I say,
as I want also to be free,
go out there and join in the frenzy...
of what lays beyond the window-sill,
I stay quiet and then sometimes
I can hear something,
resting tranquil.
This scroll I think lays hidden beneath,
the box squeezed in a ball,
near my feet.
I'm a curious cat
one could say,
a million times an hour, I'm about to reach out
and bounce that ball in play.
But the assignment was to touch-it-not,
and I'm already on my eight life
am I not?
I better behave and stay put,
within these four walls
I jump, play and co-exist
With this scroll,
without which the world
would probably lose it all
This post is a part of Blogchatter Blog Hop https://www.theblogchatter.com/blogchatter-blog-hop-a-new-way-to-write-collectively
#BlogchatterBlogHop
#catlovers #catsandtheirnakhras #catsofinstagram #kitty #catlover #caturday #catoftheday
You can listen to me read this poem and several of my posts on Spotify or Apple on 'Lekha writes, then reads'
Tuesday, 2 September 2025
Poem - My Mirror and me - Instagram upload - 1st Sept 2025
The Chronicles of the youngest child - Amma goes missing - Instagram uploaded 29th August 2025
or
You can also listen to me read out this article on Spotify or Apple podcasts in the show ' Lekha writes, then reads' or listen to it here https://open.spotify.com/episode/39mpjxnrDIzmh8e89flVG5?si=PceYTqDWRs-PgXdD-dAH2Q
Please share and follow if possible.
#thechroniclesoftheyoungestchild #olderparents #oldersiblings #largefamilies #pamperedfourthkid
If he can run -#YouTooCanRun - Mr. P. Venkatraman - Zipper Club coach and founder
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| In full stride...up the ramp |
When life is hard on the people we love and admire, we stand back and take notice. What was till then not so important, can suddenly become extremely instrumental in the way we live our lives. This can change how we go from one day to the next then onwards. Something similar happened to Mr. P. Venkatraman in 1985, when at the age of 28yrs, he had to physically carry his father to hospital while his father was having a heart attack. The being in close quarters during those moments and experiencing seeing the gasping, profuse sweating and overall pain his father was in switched something in Mr. Venkatraman's psyche. He himself was always fit and on the sporty side but this incident reminded him how frail and weak we are when faced with a health crisis. Once stable, his father was operated on in a renowned hospital in London. They guaranteed him a good result and a successful bypass surgery. After the operation and rehabilitation process, their entire family was proficient in understanding states of diseases like Hypolipidermia, diabetes and cardiac related ailments. Since Mr. Venkatraman's grandfather had passed with heart failure when his father was a tiny child and now he saw his father very sick, things he knew had got to change. Mr. Venkatraman decided that henceforth he would consciously take care of his own and his family's health. What he didn't know then was that he would also play an instrumental role in community health. Today at 68 years of age, Mr Venkatraman is not only fit himself but guides thousands of people directly or indirectly down the path of good health. And all this began with the company 'YouTooCanRun' that Mr. Venkatraman started in 2014.
Mr. Venkatraman started out as a Chartered Accountant who ran his own practice for about 10 years. After that he worked in Merchant Banking and finally he opened a B.P.O in 1998 which he ran till 2014. His B.P.O employed over 3000 people in 10 offices in the country. Needless to say, his career choices had always been ones that required him to have energy, enthusiasm and good leadership skills. Along with his job, since he was always enthusiastic about his health and loved running, he started participating in the Mumbai Marathons when the event started in Mumbai in 2003. He did the Fun Run of 7kms in 2003 and the 21kms in 2004 till 2006. Then in 2007, Mr. Venkatraman had some cardiac pains and underwent a bypass surgery in 2007. He says that it was because he was running regularly, he saw the signs well in time and got himself checked for his chest pains. He maintains that being healthy saved his life. After his surgery he trained under medical supervision and went on to complete the half marathon of 21kms from 2008 onwards every year. Mr. Venkatraman has run 170 half marathons. His half marathon in 2008, got him covered by the media when they realised that this runner was someone who had had a bypass and that too just a year before. This achievement gave birth to bigger dreams. If he could do it, others could too and so Mr. Venkatraman started a group called the 'Zipper Club' that he put together with other bypass recovery patients at the Asian Heart hospital. He kept each of his members motivated towards a healthy lifestyle that included regular physical activity. Many of his group members have since then also done multiple half marathons. Weekly training is what gets everyone completing the big event each year. Consistency and regularity are key.
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| Mr. and Mrs. Venkatraman after finishing the Tata Mumbai Marathon of 2024 |
When Mr. Venkatraman finally sold his B.P.O in 2014, he was poised for big changes. He wanted to promote the sport that saved his life and had given him a second chance. He first had to decide on a name for his new venture. Every person who he consulted from amongst his group, his family or friends said the ideal name would be 'YouTooCanRun' as it had been his constant mantra. If someone ever offered him any kind of excuse as to why they couldn't work out or run , he would reply "if I can run after a bypass surgery, you too can run". Prevention of health issues through running became the company's motto. A corporate man, Mr. Venkatraman points out that 'in retail we cure and in wholesale we prevent'. Their vision was to create an ecosystem that people could leverage from and running as a sport could grow. To do this Mr. Venkatraman had to look at the bigger picture of running as a sport in overcrowded metros. Infrastructural issues would need to be overcome.
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| One of the several pacing assignments he has handled |
The company had the first online registration environment which keeps track of the number of members and their certified race counts, pan India. Mr.Venkatraman first certified to be a U.S Level 2 Certified running coach with the R.R.C.A (Road Running Club of America) and then started conducting classes to train people to become marathon coaches. In the midst of this, Mr. Venkatraman wrote a book called 'Sofa to 5k' which specialises in all things targeted specifically to the Indian physique and body. Things like a sweat rate study on how Indians sweat and our metabolic rates are covered in this book. The book sold 1500 copies and influenced several Indians to start to move. Mr. Venkatraman got his family to run first. While we spoke about this I suggested to Mr. Venkatraman that he should write a book about #runningwithfamily and proud #couplegoals. His wife, his sons, his friends and the society in which he lives are all a reflection of his strong convictions.
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| Mr. Venkatraman at the Cherry Blossom 10 miler in Washington DC |
Another dream is to create a franchise model for the 'Zipper Club'. To take what's happening in Mumbai to other parts of India. That way more people can get trained, the concept can grow and several people can benefit from it. On the 'YouTooCanRun' platform they have 1 million people who have registered till date. Over 3 lakh people have run in events that the company has organised. Many of these people come back and participate in multiple events. A huge achievement came On 6 August 2023, when the company managed the Kalaignar Centenary Marathon at Chennai, India which is officially recognized and approved by Guinness World Records as having 65,762 participants and is considered as the Largest Running Race Series held in the world.
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| One of the 170 Half Marathons run |
With all these interesting statistics, I really want to try and understand Mr. Venkatraman's motivation at a deeper level. While I try to figure out why a young Mr. Venkatraman was so focused on getting himself and others fit, I not only heard first the story of his father and the events that followed but also a very interesting analogy. According to Mr Venkatraman, two traits that rule humans are 'greed' and 'fear'. Greed can be seen as vanity or greed for fame, wealth and money. To break it down, we want to look good, so we eat well and do sports. We want to earn money and want lots of it to be comfortable in life.
Mr. Venkatraman says that Greed was joined by Fear the moment he got married. Now he was responsible for his own family. Fear of poor health and its consequences were very evident to him and so he lived the life he did, working hard but making a large investment in his health. Along the way, he got a lot of people on the path to preventing health scares with regular checkups. He talks about how at forty years of age, he collected 40 of his friends and went to the Hinduja hospital and got group medical check ups done. This was his idea of a group outing aimed at preventing issues instead of a group outing that went out to make merry.
Mr Venkatraman helped sow the seeds of a physically healthy community way back when there was not as much public awareness of good health and fitness as there is now. Twenty years ago cricket was perhaps the only pan India physical activity and walking or running were not as popular as they are today. This is no longer true and lots of people are taking their health seriously. There are innumerable health groups who walk, run, cycle or do yoga together. Thanks to people like this who carry a small spark of an idea within them and dare to put it in motion that the light has spread to so many people.
I hope Mr. Venkatraman's project reaches many more people because undoubtedly people are more motivated when they are working together towards a goal. Also many new runners need just that little push to get started on their health journey. Sometimes all it takes to get them started is for them to hear the words, "You too can run!"
Some videos to watch https://youtu.be/DtblWvm10C8?
#YouTooCanRun #zipperclub #healthandfitness
Read the story of two 'Zipper Club' members here
and
Or read about an extraordinary athlete in Belgium
Tuesday, 26 August 2025
Poem - An apple a day keeps the doctor away
An apple a day,
Keeps the doctor away,
Is a quote that’s been with us to
Intend to keep our vices away.
Yet many of us,
Stick to them bad habits hard
And the apple just sits rotting
In our fruit tray.
The intention is good!
And our hearts damn close
To making all illnesses go away.
But the action is lacking,
The tongue is smacking,
The remembering it’s hit,
Of the day before yesterday.
This is a series of poems on quotes that are classic and known by everyone. #wellness #goodlife
you may like these
The Chronicles of the youngest Child - My brother Raj's birthday to a young me - my doll from Italy - Instagram upload 25th Aug 2025
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| illustration Lucie Colinet, image source Temu |
Like what you read?
You may like
The Chronicles of the youngest Child - the price I paid for Chocolate - Instagram series - uploaded 10Aug 2025
or
You may also like to explore my instagram voiceover poems here
or listen to it on Spotify or Apple in 'Lekha writes, then reads' or here https://open.spotify.com/episode/7fDqzIKPLuIFvMIwW03QHO?si=tnfOdTfeRPuStxLEyx30FA
Saturday, 23 August 2025
My mirror and me
I look in the mirror and who do I see,
I see the little girl I was, looking back at me
She seems to be saying that I’m happy here, yes I am…
I don’t want to grow up,
Adulting is a scam.
I look in the mirror and who do I see,
I see my late mother looking back at me,
Have fun while you’re alive she seems to be saying,
No point in suffering baby, on the way out
You rather die laughing at your stupidity and solitude …
Than trying to fit in with the world and its clout.
I look in the mirror and who do I see,
I see my darling sister looking back at me
She’s wondering when we’ll meet again
Though despite living in different continents..
I could say she’s the pendant
While I’m the chain..
Together we make such a rare and unique gem,
The bonds of which tighten..
Like a stitch on a hem.
I look in the mirror and who do I see,
I see my daughters looking straight back at me,
Now I wonder what lesson I will learn
But their smiles and eyes..
Soften my concern.
They’re just happy living their lives, young and free..
Women of strength, security and fortitude
They are already showing up to be.
The mirror can relax now,
There’s nothing more to see,
Until my mind wanders and I
Search again for me.
Listen to me read this poem on spotify
like what you read? You may like these poems
or
or
Friday, 22 August 2025
The Chronicles of the youngest Child - the price I paid for Chocolate - Instagram series - uploaded 10Aug 2025
 |
| illustration by Lucie Colinet |
Liked what you read?
Maybe you will like this story too
Safe, under her wings
or
#thechroniclesoftheyoungestchild
#largefamilies
#oldersiblings
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