On buying a house in the US/Apartments in Bangalore

This is my second year in the US and looking at the way real estate is doing tempted me to buy a house here.However I decided to closely examine the life of a few of our family friends and see how they did with their little mansions.

Ensuring I don't use names to guard privacy(else brickbats are awaited) let me narrate the saga of a few families visited.

One of our friends attributed his weight loss success story to the new house.Sounds peculiar, but the lawn mowing, snow clearing, landscaping(see -its not a big deal-plant a few trees) repainting did it all.Think of all the money saved by not enrolling in a gym.

The second friend got good at accounting and planning.Here it goes
2008 self bonus-Leather sofa set from lazy boys
2008 wife bonus- LCD TV to be stuck on a wall
2009 self bonus -Landscaping
2009 wife bonus- California windows and office space furnishings at home
2010 self bonus.................................................................:-)

The third one planned a number of tours to thy neighbours homes.Picked up quite some tips from each one.I happened to be a dazzled spectator of one such tour wherein the neighbour displayed her home in style (felt like taking a Louvre tour)and explained the importance of the master bed.It turned out to be pretty high(wondered if there was a magic ladder or stool hidden to climb on it) and the quilt supposedly made from the feathers of an rare species Greek bird.
The cleaning process of the quilt involved numerous steps(for now lets get back to the topic) and I wondered how much money would have gone on such a thing where your chances of falling from the same outweighed the importance of it.
Nevertheless, our friend did buy a big bungalow and so it went on for a long time,Painting the house, redoing the windows , a minibar and kick-a-leg ballroom in the basement.I must definitely appreciate their time and dedication, but when it was all done, the house was put for sale and a paltry 25K profit out of the entire exercise!!!!

In this country where both the spouses work(for need or to kill boredom) and where children are programmed to be occupied 24/7 365 days in a year,
Does owning such a big den really make sense?
That money could have been spent on a family trip to the big Ben instead!
Are own houses a place for annual get togethers and grill????

On a similar note are the palatial apartments in Bangalore where IT couples spend very few hours in the house and the rest on the roads laden with traffic or their Air conditioned cubicle.
Children have their own room, CDs , TV , laptop and are hardly out of their den.

When I look at the other side of the road lined with tiny houses with a maximum of one big bedroom and an entire family living in it, Iam amused not because of the fact that they are the "not so blessed" economically hit strata of the society, but the peace of mind they possess.
Children from such homes still play on the road without servant supervision, share their toys (broken bats and used scooter tyres:-) and enjoy their time living thy moment.
On the other side are the children from the IT couple sector who are enclosed in the apartment complex accompanied by their respective maids or the children in these big houses surrounding the big apple with high-fi gadgets killing time and rusting their brains.

Say, isn't it time to get back to a good old tyre swing on the mango tree?
Yawa Mohana Murali kareyitho doora theerake ninanu
Yawa brindavanavu seliyithu ninna mannina kannanu................................................

The Universal brothers

It would be close to 9 years after graduating from Engineering.But as the saying goes, it still seems like yesterday.
I happened to chance upon my poetry book and lo behold I got to read the poem written by me on two very interesting personalities of our college time.For all the pranks they played, i must admit they turned out to be two successful personalities in life.They also formed an e group ensuring that all our batchmates kept in touch.And till date have remained to be the very best of my friends.

The great poem--:-)

THE UNIVERSAL BROTHERS

Criminal looks, diehard Image

Sporting biceps thinner than matchsticks

Oh!Here they come to display their antics

One is surely Maharishi Narad

The other no better than him

Can you guess what they are competing for

Forcing their entry amidst girls

The first competition is blading

Second is a pretty disastrous one

To obtain the title of "Krishna paramatma"

Little do they know

They are two precious ge(r) ms

Presenting Junnu bhai and Nag bhai

The universal brothers of the world

Getting back to work after a Baby

I have lost count of the amount of advice received during and post pregnancy.
The diet, the rest, handling the baby.I spent most of the time(which was not required anyway) on comparing post pregnancy times in India and the US.And as the mind always ponders -Wasn't the other side always green?


All said and done, the reality is that the baby is all yours after a while and YOU must handle it..
After a good 6 months of maternity leave, Iam now facing the million dollar question of getting back to work.And here comes a few facts from my understanding of bringing up a child.

Myth#1:It is important for the mother to stay with the child for at least one year
Truth:
Children get to recognise faces very clearly by 6 months of age and by 8 months they get social(or anti social may I say ;-)They would clearly know who the mother is and would not be willing to adjust with a new person.An ideal time to start work would be when the child is 6 months of age, started solids and has formed a feeding schedule of its own.

Myth#2:Children belonging to working mothers are not well attached to the family circle
Truth:
The upbringing of a child is a responsibility of both the parents.Staying away from the child for 8 hours a day will not detach it from the family.However it is important that parents retain a certain amount of energy to come back home and spend quality time with children.
On the other hand, having spent quite sometime in the daycare, children would tend to be more social and open to make new friends.

Myth#3:Caring for a baby Vs Career break
Truth:
Most of the people believe that taking a break to look after the little one will cost them their career.The fact is that career is built over a period of time and a tiny break in between should not affect you as long as your goals are clear and you know what you would want to achieve in life.Don't blame it on the baby.It is your initiative skills that have to be rekindled in order to get back to form.

Myth#4:Leaving the baby with grandparents
Truth:
A very debatable topic.There are various angles to look at it.Instead of a not so good day care and day care expenses involved , the current trend in many working US couples is to leave the baby with grandparents and pick them up when they are toddlers!
You would miss on their growing up years.But as I mentioned earlier it is debatable.My advice is that you should try to bring up your own child, though it is a challenging task, it is nature's way of teaching us how to be good parents.

More laterz when I start working......................Keep you posted.