Did you know that March is National Nutrition Month?  Originally started in 1973 as a week long event, it became a month-long occurrence in 1980.  Started by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (formerly the American Dietetic Association), this campaign is all about making the right food choices and creating healthy habits.  I believe that it is important to raise our children with healthy eating practices since the food they grow up with influences their eating for a lifetime.  We as South Asians are at an advantage because our cultural food is generally healthy and unprocessed (unless you pour on the oil and routinely eat jalebis and gulab jamuns).  I also believe, like our first lady, Michele Obama, that gardening is a great way to get children started on healthy eating and combat childhood obesity and illnesses.

We are at the end of March and Spring has definitely and officially sprung, and so now may be a good time to start thinking about gardening for the summer.  Gardening is a wonderful, healthy way to teach kids about nutrition without beating it on their heads or lecturing to them (anyone with a “tween” or a “teen” knows that it doesn’t work!).  Getting them to plant vegetable seeds indoors that can be transplanted outdoors, and giving them a small space to garden in—be it a plot of land, or a part of the balcony for pots—will create a sense of ownership and pride.  Proposing exciting projects like how to grow a cucumber in a bottle or creating a bean tower will get them going and keep them interested.  Kids aged 9 and up can garden on their own without needing much help and younger ones will need supervision and guidance, but the benefits are well-worth the effort.  For example, parents can start and the young ones can help in the creation of a Pizza Garden with the goal of a summer garden, pizza party!  Even a child of 3 or 4 can be part of the gardening experience–nasturtium seeds are big enough for them to plant and once its grown they can even eat this edible flower.  They can dig, get muddy and enjoy it too!  I have known toddlers who started eating and enjoying tomatoes after having helped grow cherry tomatoes in a pot!  Methi seeds and dhaniya seeds grow with little effort and care and yield quick harvests—a good way to introduce kids to yummy daal with these healthy herbs and teach them about the different parts of the plant that can be eaten.  These are just a few ideas…so go ahead and get started and you will discover many, more ways of using gardening as a way of introducing good nutrition to your children and while you are it enjoy the bonding and gardening time with your kids!

Signing off until next time,

Brunda Moka Dias

Valentine’s Day is around the corner and most children may be making or handing out valentines to their friends at school, couples may be exchanging gifts usually chocolates and flowers….so while people get ready for this holiday, I find it interesting to look at this celebration with an Indian lens, but first its helpful to get the story behind it…

It is fascinating to look at the legends behind St. Valentine’s Day.  One legend is about a man named Valentine (or Valentinius), who was a Christian priest in third century Rome.  At that time, Claudius, the emperor of Rome, made it illegal for his soldiers to marry since he thought that it would take them away from defending Rome.  Valentinius though respected love and marriage greatly and began to marry the soldiers and their girlfriends in secret wedding ceremonies.  For this, and for practicing his religion, he was imprisoned and executed on February 14^th.  Since then, people honor the memory of Valentinius, by exchanging messages of love and friendship.  Another legend, refers to an early Christian named Valentine, in Roman times, who made friends with children and when he was put in prison for his religion, the kids tossed him loving notes through the bars of his cell window.

While educating our children about the original legends behind this celebration, we can also teach our children about love in ancient Indian mythology/literature.  Needless to say, the stories have to be age-appropriate.  We can tell them stories about Kamadeva the Hindu God of Love/Desire (performing a similar function to Cupid and often getting into trouble!)  Stories from the scriptures as the story of Savitri and Satyavan, a story about the love between a husband and a wife (this beloved tale is commemorated by  traditional married women in South India and other parts of India, on Vat poornima )or plays by Kalidasa about Malavika, Urvashi and Shakuntala are wonderful tales of love that also allow children to learn about ancient Indian culture and literature.  Amar Chitra Katha has many titles of such nature and would make lovely, off-beat gifts, for Valentine’s Day!

Of course, giving and receiving cards on Valentine’s Day is very exciting to people of all ages. Even the littlest children can make cards with supervision, and putting together a thumbprint heart card can be a fun activity for all involved.  Kids can also trace their hands on construction paper, cut it out, decorate it and write messages on it.  For the tween years, an afternoon party with Valentine’s Day crafts and some Valentine’s Day baking can be fun.  The teen crowd (and their parents) may enjoy a movie night with Bollywood/Hollywood romantic movies.  They can even write funny poems like this one called Antonio by American poet, Laura Elizabeth Richards.

So, no matter what you decide to do, make time to celebrate and cherish your loved ones! Wear red, eat chocolate, exchange valentines and enjoy your kids.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Signing off until next time!

Brunda Moka Dias

November 24^th of this month or the fourth Thursday of November is celebrated as Thanksgiving Day in the United States.  The historical Thanksgiving has its roots in US history and points to the interactions between the early settlers and the Native Americans. While this celebration on the last Thursday of November is unique to the US, the idea of thanksgiving itself is a universal one. 

Many countries in the world celebrate Thanksgiving and some people even equate the Indian festivals of Sankranthi/Pongal (South Indian) or Lohri (North Indian) as being the South Asian “Thanksgiving” due to its connection with the harvest.  Of course, many religious traditions have specific thanksgiving rituals meant specially to give thanks to the deities for blessings received. 

So, no matter how you choose to celebrate thanksgiving–whether or not, you cook a Turkey, get together with friends or watch football on Thanksgiving Day–I would recommend that children be given the guidance to cultivate, what can be called the “Attitude of Gratitude.”  I think that this goes a long way in promoting the idea of thanksgiving or in other words being grateful for what we have.

To deeply inculcate the idea of Thanksgiving, it is useful to give it importance not just on a specific day of the year, but maybe once a week or even every day.  Giving thanks or showing gratitude to one thing that happened during the day at bedtime each night is one example of emphasizing this idea with children.

Here are some ideas for your Thanksgiving table this year:

–Invite someone who you are especially grateful to and acknowledge them at the table.  Children in the family can help make these Indian corn place cards for the meal and as a party favor.

–If you are getting together with friends and cooking a traditional Indian meal, or stuffing a turkey with all the fixings, or stuffing a chicken, or making a tur-duc-hen (who knew that this is a chicken in a duck in a turkey!)  …or if all this is too much for your vegetarian sensibility and you just want to stuff a pumpkin….then do whatever your heart pleases but include a thanksgiving blessing at the start of your meal.  You could recite a familiar one or make one up for the occasion.

–You can go around the table and ask everyone to contribute whatever it is that they are grateful for. For children, this can become an activity in itself as they make a thanksgiving tree to commemorate the day. 

This reminds me of the story of a boy who was constantly being teased about wearing glasses by his classmates calling him names such as “four eyes.”  So, during a thanksgiving celebration, the teacher asked the children what they were thankful for, and she was surprised that the kid with the glasses answered, “My glasses.” He explained, “The glasses keep the boys from fighting me and the girls from kissing me.”  :)  Talk about turning a negative into a positive and being grateful for it!

–Finally, keeping this story in mind, it might be fun to ask each child to learn to say “thank you” in their mother tongue and any other languages that they might want to say it in.

So, enjoy your Thanksgiving Day…eat, drink, and let that attitude of gratitude show!

Signing off until next time,

Brunda Moka Dias

Here are some ways to raise consciousness and bring awareness to our children about nonviolence and peace:   

–Promoting values of compassion through role playing or creative play can be beneficial. The Institute for Peace and Justice has this wonderful list of activities on nonviolence for grade school kids which can help foster wholesome values.

–Teaching kids about compassion  to all living things and the environment is a great step to nonviolence.  Performing random acts of kindness, volunteering and most importantly modeling compassionate behavior goes a long way in inculcating this value.

–Story telling is a powerful tool of instruction because it is done creatively and not didactically.  Educators for Nonviolence is a group that has this great webpage on stories for children in grades K-8.

–Playing Cooperative games that emphasize fun, challenge and working together over defeating someone encourages empathy.  Cooperative Gym games can also emphasize team building.

–Informing children about the Nobel Peace Prize and its recipients who have worked hard for peace in different arenas of life can play a role in providing wonderful role models for our youngsters.

My hope is that October 2^nd becomes a much more popular day of celebration as the birth of Mahatma Gandhi and the day of Non-Violence and Peace all over the world.  In the meantime, let us do our part as parents to help our children lead a nonviolent and compassionate life and celebrate our shared heritage with Gandhi-ji.  As he once said:  “Be the change you wish to see in the world”

Peace Be With You!

Signing off until next time,

Brunda Moka Dias

Today is Ganesh Chaturthi, the birthday of Lord Ganesha, the elephant-headed Hindu God.  He is prayed to at the start of worship and the beginning of any auspicious work as he is the deity who removes obstacles and ensures the smooth flow of events.  He is the Lord of Power and Wisdom.  He is the eldest son of Lord Shiva and the elder brother of Skanda or Kartikeya.

The story about Ganesha’s birth and how he came to have the head of an elephant is popular and interesting.  However, I would caution parents about telling this story to very young children who may not be ready for it.  I remember telling my child when she was about 3 or 4 years old and she was distressed about it (and ambivalent toward all dads) for quite a while afterward.  I have learnt my lesson since then about only narrating only age-appropriate stories (or creatively editing them as needed!) 

Once upon a time, the Goddess Gauri/Parvati, while bathing, appointed Nandi (Shiva’s attendant) the guard and told him not to allow anyone to enter while she went inside for a bath.  But Nandi let Shiva in and infuriated Parvati, who then decided to create a being for herself, someone who would obey her instructions.  So, Ganesha came into existence and became Parvati’s guardian.  Once, upon returning home, Lord Shiva was stopped by Ganesha at the gate. Shiva became angry and cut off Ganesha’s head. When the goddess came to know of this she was sorely grieved. To console her grief, Shiva ordered his servants to cut off and bring to him the head of any creature that might be sleeping with its head facing north. The servants went on their mission and found only an elephant in that position. The sacrifice was thus made and the elephant’s head was brought before Shiva. The Lord then joined the elephant’s head onto the body of Ganesha.  Lord Shiva made Ganesha worthy of worship at the beginning of all undertakings, marriages, expeditions, studies, etc.  He instituted that the annual worship of Ganesha should take place on the 4th day of the bright half of Bhadrapada.

This festival is celebrated with pomp in Maharashtra and the Southern part of India, but celebrations abound in many parts of the country.  Children enjoy the festivities and the sweets.  Activities for children can include making of the murti with clay or mud, doing the fun crossword, learning slokas and singing an Arti.   This festival also, interestingly, connects to a legend of Krishna and the Symantaka Gem.  It is believed that Lord Krishna worshipped Ganesha to rid himself of the false accusation of having stolen the gem.  I still read the Amar Chitra Katha version of this story to my children every year.  So, have fun and enjoy the birthday of this cute, round, elephant-headed deity with your kids.

May Ganesha bless us all!

Signing off until next time,

Brunda Moka Dias

The onset of the Hindu month of Shravana marks the beginning of the celebration of quite a few festivals.  Nag Panchami, or the festival that celebrates snakes and serpent deities is celebrated at the start of Shravana (the fifth day) and is observed in various parts of India.  I have fond memories of going to the ant hill (where snakes used to live) with my mother as a young girl to offer milk and say prayers to the Nagas.  The reverence that this festival created in me towards the presence of the divine in animals is still something that I cherish. 

I attempt to convey such feelings of reverence and celebration to children, growing up away from India, so that they see the snake in positive light and not just as an evil creature. The snake in Hindu mythology is a creature of divine powers.  The snake is a fertility symbol and a protector deity.  Images of Vishnu supine on SeshaNaga  or the image of Vasudeva carrying baby Krishna in the rain while the Naga acts as an umbrella, or the Naga as a protection over Lord Buddha are all important symbols that point to the relevance of the snake deities in South Asian cultures and traditions.

Legend has it that the Nagas had taken away the rains from earth and a king used his tantric powers to summon the rains back, but to show reverence to the Nagas, he instituted a day to celebrate the snake clan, and thus emerged Nag Panchami.  Another story describes a farmer who killed a snake while tilling his land.  The Nagas became enraged and destroyed his family except for a daughter who prayed to the Nagas.  So, it is said that people who worship the Naga on this day will never be bitten by a snake.  Then there is the story of Krishna and the snake Kalinga (or Kaaliya).  It is believed that Krishna tamed the snake that harassed the humans around it, on the day of Nag Panchami.  People in some parts of India also worship snake goddesses on Nag Panchami.  Nag Panchami is also the Raksha Bandhan of some parts of South India where siblings celebrate their bond and vow to protect each other.   It would be an interesting exercise to trace the regional celebrations of this ancient festival based on your family’s origins in India.

As activities, mainly for older kids, finding out the names of the various snake deities in the Hindu tradition such as Manasa (the queen of snakes and the mother of Astika,) Astika (half-brahmin and half-snake) or Vasuki (the snake that was used as a rope to churn the ocean for amrita) can be fun. Older children can also explore some other cultures that celebrated snake deities (Aztecs, Greeks, for example) in the ancient world.  Legends and stories of Nagas can also be told to younger children to dispel their fears. 

Along with the legends and stories, in my opinion, this festival also indicates a way of bringing about harmony between the human and animal worlds.  The snake is a feared reptile and the festival is a positive way of featuring the Naga without fear or violence (of the human killing the snake or the snake biting the human).  Nag Panchami is also a reminder of the strong connection between the humans, snakes and Gods of the Hindu tradition. These various images of Nag Panchami can strengthen this understanding.

Happy Nag Panchami!

Signing off until next time,

Brunda Moka Dias

Now that most schools are closed and summer is upon us, I feel the need to blog about summer fun with the kids.  Isn’t it always a challenge as to what to do with the kids when they are home without resorting to constant media?  Turning to Mother Nature (we moms often have the answers!) can provide a good solution to this challenge and lead to a wealth of other benefits.  Research (old and new) shows that kids who spend time in nature are less stressed, more confident and healthier than kids who don’t, and anyway, summer is the time to be out and about, so why not enjoy the outdoors and maybe even bring it indoors, if need be!  Running bare feet, drinking cold home-made lemonade and playing in sprinklers can make for wholesome, summer fun, but here are other suggestions for enjoying some of Mother Nature’s gifts—the garden, the flowers and the birds.

Gardening can be a wonderful summer activity for children.  Just the sheer joy of watching something grow (not to mention the education that goes with such an activity) and harvesting it is a great sense of accomplishment for children.  The kids are also more willing to eat something they have grown so be it a sunflower or a herb, it can be a lot of fun.  Personally, I get my kids to sow dhaniya seeds and methi seeds so I can have fresh hara dhaniya and methi leaves to cook with. 

While gardening and enjoying the herbs and the beauty of flowers, children of a range of ages can also use them artistically by pressing flowers/leaves to make cards, coasters, or placemats.  Presenting these beautiful, floral artifacts to a favorite grandparent or aunt can create lasting memories too.  Flowers also make amazing dyes and older children can tie dye using flowers and berries.  Marigolds when boiled in water make a pleasant yellow/saffron color that can be used to dye scarves or clothes.  I cherish one such scarf given to me as a Mother’s Day gift.  Beets, purple cabbage and zinnias all produce nice shades of color.  Turmeric can also be added to flower dyes of similar shades (anyone into Indian cooking can attest to the staying power of haldi on clothes).  Kids will be surprised to realize that Dyeing with plants can be an exciting activity that is enjoyable and filled with learning.

Summer flowers are a feast for the eyes and the birds.  Once you have a garden, the birds show up. So, the kids may as well make an easy milk jug bird feeder at home and invite the birds with food.  It is fun to slather a pine cone with peanut butter, roll it in birdseed, tie a string and hang it on a tree.   The kids can then watch the feathered friends have a great dinner. 

All these activities can be fun for a mixed-age group of children and the supervising adults, but if it all gets to be too much then get the kids to make some cold nimbu paani–don’t forget that pinch of elaichi–put your feet up, and enjoy the drink.  If there is any left, the children can have a lemonade stand and everyone can enjoy the lazy days of summer.  Keep cool, folks!

Signing off until next time,

Brunda Moka Dias

The lull in the Hindu festival season prompts me to ponder about India–particularly the pursuit of trivia about India.  The “fun facts” I list are trivia, but I for one enjoy trivia and get a kick out of knowing that India has the most number of post offices in the world or that chess was invented in India, as was steel. 

Regardless of your position on trivia though, such information can lead to interesting conversations and shed some light about India on a variety of topics.  One thing to keep in mind is that just because of the sheer number of people in India, adjectives such as biggest, or largest, get used often reflecting the population of the country more than anything else.  Nevertheless, here goes:

DID YOU KNOW THAT:

• The first university ever to be established was in a place called Takshashila in India in around 700-800 BC?  While oral history informs us about Takshashila, it is recorded (in a book titled Education in Ancient India ) that Nalanda University in Bihar was the first modern university to be established in the 5^th century AD.
• The Indian Railways is the world’s largest employer with over a million employees?
• India is the world’s largest democracy?
• Indians excelled in Math? 

The inventions of the number system (once known as the Hindu numeral), the decimal system, contributions to Algebra, Trigonometry, Calculus and the value of “pi” are all attributed to Indian mathematicians of yore. 

This puts the Indian obsession with Math into new perspective!!!

• India is the largest English speaking nation in the world?
• The game of Snakes and Ladders was invented in India as a game of morality?
• Despite the popularity of cricket, India’s national sport is field hockey?  India won its first gold medal in field hockey at the 1928 Olympics.
• Tirupathi (with a temple dedicated to Lord Venkateshwara) is the most visited place of worship in the world?
• Jews have been living in India since the 11^th century mainly in the South Indian city of Kochi (formerly Cochin)?
• Dance (classical) is the most prominent and developed of art forms of India?

 While the facts listed above may be interesting, the most fun may be in coming up with your own list of “fun facts” of India.  When I asked my kid about a fun fact about India, she recounted how much fun she had walking down the street from her grandparents’ apartment in Mumbai and stopping to drink “nariyal paani” whenever she chose. 

Based on your travels in India, it might be a creative exercise to get your kids to compile a list of “fun facts” of their own.  You might be surprised at what they come up with! 

Signing off until next time,

Brunda Moka Dias

My impromptu field work took place today during a trip to Pune, but proved to be somewhat fruitless. I was visiting my first cousin, who has a school going daughter in Class 1. I asked my niece casually how her school was, and her grandmother (my aunt) explained to me that she was still on vacation for Diwali. Then her mother added that had she been in school, she would have participated in Children’s Day festivities, but that they weren’t doing it this year. Yikes! I was supposed to write an article for the blog! Quick! Ask some questions. My aunt helped me by offering some more information, saying that during her childhood, Children’s Day was a rather large and elaborate event at school. However, our visit was a social one, and turning the discussion into an interview seemed a little inappropriate so I left it at that.

I wondered what sort of elaborate activities might happen on Children’s Day in India. On our drive back, I noticed a small ferris wheel set up downstairs from the flat. Normally the ferris wheel isn’t there. Maybe it was a Children’s Day event. I’m grasping, I thought. I better hit the ‘net.

Some quick searches on daily news in India (remember, I’m in India, so my Google News page is India first) give me some better insight. The Times of India reports that in Ludhiana, one school’s “main attractions were movie shows and picnic on the school premises.”, while another school organized “various competitions for student including musical chairs, spoon race.” In the typical Desi spirit of obsessive competitiveness one school “organized on-the-spot poster making competition and quiz.” Gee, I am sure glad I don’t attend that school!

Finally, at one school, perhaps most appropriately, “The students were taken for a picnic to Jawaharlal Nehru Rose Garden.” I think I’d rather go to that school.

The mention of the Rose Garden reminded me why Children’s Day in India is unique. In other nations, it is celebrated on November 20. However in India the holiday is held on November 14, because the date marks the birth anniversary of legendary freedom fighter and independent India’s first Prime Minister – Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru. This may explain why my aunt, who was born just after Indian independence, had vivid memories of Children’s Day during her youth.

Nehru’s contribution to India’s education system is notable. He was fond of children and thus became popular as “Chacha Nehru” (Uncle Nehru) among many young kids. Chacha Nehru was a leader in establishing public education for India’s children and also brought forth the idea of distributing free meals and milk to school children in India to prevent malnutrition.

While Nehru’s contribution is notable, I am seeing that today’s India is one that is vastly different than the one I saw during childhood visits in the late 70′s and 1980′s. While many children have considerable opportunities and are at times more privileged than children in the US now, there remains a segment of the children who have been excluded from these privileges. They are working in factories, tea shops or caring for younger siblings in slums. I hope that eventually these children will also be able to attend school and graduate, and of course participate in this thoughtful celebration. I propose that for this Children’s Day, you do something both enjoyable AND educational with your child. Perhaps something as simple as reading them some new books, or perhaps more adventurous, like a trip to the zoo or museum. But please, don’t give them a quiz about it if you can help it! Just enjoy!

It is time to celebrate again!  Not too long after the end of Dasara, we enter the month of Karthik in the Hindu calendar to celebrate Deepavali (“Deepa” meaning lights and “avali” meaning row, in Sanskrit) or Divali, one of the biggest and most well-known of Hindu festivals. 

In North India, Divali commemorates the slaying of the demon, Ravana, and the end of Rama and Sita’s 14 year exile in the forest and is thus a celebration of victorious homecoming.  Legends of Narakasura, Yama and Bali are also associated with Deepavali, and of course, Goddess Lakshmi features prominently in this season.  Given all these legends, it is no wonder that Divali is celebrated over a period of five days.  What day is most important and how it is celebrated depends on the part of India that one comes from.

The first day of Divali is called Dhanvantari Triodasi or Dhan Teras.  It is said that on this day, Lord Dhanvantari came out of the ocean with Ayurvedic medicine for the world.  Many people mark this day by cleaning the house and lighting a lamp to Yama (the God of Death) to pray for protection from untimely death.

The second day is Naraka Chaturdasi (also called Choti Divali, in parts of North India) and on this day Lord Krishna is said to have destroyed the demon Narakasura and made the world free from fear. Many people consider this to be the actual day of festivities In South India.  

The third day is the actual day of Divali and this is the day that people worship Goddess Lakshmi.  Lakshmi pooja is especially important for shopkeepers and business people.  People buy gold and silver and pray to Lakshmi for wealth and prosperity.

The fourth day is celebrated in the northern part of India as Goverdhan pooja and in the southern part of India as Bali Padyami.  Goverdhan pooja is celebrated as the day Krishna defeated Indra and by lifting of the Goverdhan hill to save his kinsmen and cattle from rain and floods.  Bali Padyami commemorates the victory of Vishnu, in his dwarf incarnation Vamana, over the demon-king Bali.  Bali was allowed to return to earth once a year, to light millions of lamps to dispel the darkness and ignorance, and spread the radiance of love and wisdom.  This is also considered to be New Year’s Day in some parts of India.

The fifth and final day known as Bhai Dooj (there are many other names for this day) celebrates the love and caring between brothers and sisters based on the story of Yama (the God of Death) who is said to have visited his sister on this day and bestowed a boon upon her.

Despite the diversity of legends, the common theme is the victory of good over evil.  It is the welcoming of light (righteousness, immortality, knowledge enlightenment) over darkness (demons, death, ignorance, false values) that all the legends highlight and this is an important aspect of the festival that can be brought to the children. 

While it is important to celebrate based on your family traditions, it is also useful to create new ones.  I especially love Divali because its universal message of good over evil can fit into any set up or culture.  So, here are some ways to celebrate with the children: 

• Making Diyas/Deepas with any material is a lot of fun for any age. I have used clay because it works well to put oil and a wick, or a tea light.  You can make new diyas every year, decorate it and create a famiy collection.  Making a lantern is also a good alternative to a diya.
• As you get ready for the Divali Lakshmi pooja, have the children make this welcoming toran/door hanging for the main entrance to the house or the pooja area.
• Pick a favorite recipe and make it with the kids or pick a new recipe like Divali pudding –it may be an interesting dessert to add to your list of sweets.
• If you live in a state where fireworks are legal, go ahead and re-live your childhood by lighting firecrackers with your children. 
• Teach your children a mantra and explain its meaning.  My favorite for Divali is this one from the Upanishads –Asatoma sad gamaya
• At a Divali party, find a good storyteller to gather all the kids and tell them stories/legends associated with the festival.  A puppet show about Divali during a celebration can be fun for the little ones.  Older children can take a quiz to learn more about the festival.
• Getting dressed up and exchanging sweets or nuts with friends and neighbors is fun and can create a sense of community and sharing. 

May your Divali be filled with love, light and laughter!  Happy Deepavali to you all!

Signing off until next time, 

Brunda Moka Dias