Summer Chronicles 2026

Day 1 : Sweet joy of “freedom”

It is after 12 years that I feel like writing and giving this blog, a second life. I wonder where to start. What can be a memory to keep, a memory to rekindle, a memory for my kids to read while I am long gone. 

Today is the first day of summer break. The last 2 months have been busy will be an understatement. With Zoe’s gymnastics season and Vir’s climbing competitions where both kids reached regionals, consumed most of the weekends. End of year finals and 4th grade graduation made the usual end of year activities more emotional, stressful and frantic.

Finally, the boy “graduated” 4th grade and Zoe’s exams finished and our summers started. SUMMER VACATION- as I think about it, most of our childhood memories are the stories of summer break. My memories go back to traveling by train to a small mountain town-Jammu with my mom and sister and spending the entire summers with cousins- the excitement of trying to find familiar faces amidst thousands of relatives waiting eagerly on the station is still palpable. Craning our necks over the windows as the train slowly chugged in the station, and frantically waving as soon as we spotted them. Long nights, walks, silly games, delicious home food, unlimited icecream and pampering of a month followed by sad goodbyes until we see each other again next summer. It was a rinse and repeat cycle. 

Now, almost 30 -35 years later, those are my core childhood memories which I try to recreate for my children giving them a summer break they will be talking fondly to their children about. A core memory. It is tough!!  

We will see how next 3 months progress, 3 months!! Did our parents feel overwhelmed and stressed how to engage us and keep us slightly productive during the break? 

That is a thought for another day. Today, we start with a smile and a little summer dance and yes, ofcourse getting our nails done! 

 

Memoirs of lower school -2022-2026

As we prepare for the last few days and transition into middle school, I reflect on our last 4 years of Greenhill journey. In 2022, we came from Iowa city, a small university town, from a public school district feeling anxious about settling in Dallas and private school environment. The joy and relief when we saw the welcome package on our doorstep and the peacock to welcome us in the school, has been one of the happiest memories of Vir.

Our firsthand experience with what to expect for the next 12 years was visit from Miss Prentiss- 1st grade teacher, in our home to interact with Vir and know him better before the school starts. I remember being impressed beyond words, which school does that! She spent good 1 hour with him, played with him and made him feel comforted. And then the cookie crumbled with Vir being out of school for the very first week with Covid. Poor boy was so stressed going to this big school and feeling lost. But in no time, with all the support of his teachers, it was as if he has always belonged here. On the pet day, he took his Greenhill peacock and talked about how happy he was to be here.

Second grade, with Miss Cook, was a change of pace from first grade. Slowly, the homework started and I remember him being open and friendly with Miss Cook. Miss Cook gave him space to grow, and his love of math became evident. The classroom was serious, but Vir always had so much fun with her.

Third grade was a step up. Vir was older now and exerted his independence. Miss Kim was his math teacher and homeroom teacher, what else could the boy ask for! It was my first year as a room parent too and that was when I truly appreciated what goes behind the scenes to make this experience so valuable for our kids. Vir embraced all the changes and the pace so beautifully and was always excited to do more.

Fourth grade is when all comes together and as a parent I see the growth. It’s the time for the butterfly to emerge out of cocoon , learning to flap its wings and slowly learning to fly. The very first assembly when microphones were introduced, I was impressed with how Vir spoke so eloquently. There are so many memories of fourth grade as leaders that it is hard to pin down. One that stands out for me where Vir was invited for live Q&A with parents for an admission event to provide an insight into GH life as a student. I was impressed at his wit and ability to think spontaneously. 

His homeroom teacher, Miss Ozanus, has always been his champion and nudged him to give his best and do better. Rocket day experience and his love for science grew in 4^th grade. The way that Greenhill teaches science made it more fun and got Vir excited about it. Though, his love story continues to be with math. Also, I observed tremendous growth is his writing and the descriptive essays and the writing projects that made his hand hurt but made me happy. 

A new talent that emerged in 4th grade was that we discovered that Vir can actually sing well. Considering, the singing talent, in our family, we were pleasantly surprised listening to his vocal cords. One year of choir, made him a hero in our family. 

This has been such an important journey in Vir's foundation years. These years will build his personality, and every step has been important. As a parent, I see how beautifully he is growing and proud of him and know it is a village and a community that shapes my child.

If you know Vir, you know he thinks in bulleted points and his sense of humor. So, I asked him what is so exciting about 5^th grade. The bulleted points are below:

1. Panini everyday
2. Panini seconds allowed
3. Walk to different classroom without teachers
4. More homework- not so exciting
5. Take computer home- best part
6. Classes scattered around campus
7. Finally, no line walking
8. Go to STEM building

And lastly, I quote from one of our family favorite movies, Remember the Titans, “attitude reflects leadership”. All this happens, because of strong leadership that makes the environment of lower school, too good to be true experience for our children.

Now, the butterfly is ready to soar! We await middle school with anticipation but with a confidence. 

And I am excited!

Delhi Rape case

So what if  we have another incident of gang rape. Maybe the 500th one.
What so different about it that the whole nation and the social networks react with candle lights vigils and shout at the government demanding capital punishment for the rapist. How is this gang rape any different from the 12 gang rapes that happened in Haryana over a period of just one month and was termed as "conspiracy to malign the government". The underlying difference was what has always gripped India as Haryana rapes was of a Dalit women and this is of medical student in Delhi, the metropolitan and the capital of Incredible India. Why today we have Jaya Bahchan and Sushma Swaraj shouting there lungs for capital punishment and quick administration of justice? How are the 2 rape cases and the scars they inflicted on woman any different?

I do not mean to belittle the shocking incident that took place in Delhi recently, but being honest to myself has the similar incidents not been reported every month in national dailies about village gang rapes, the women exploitations, naked parade of woman and more. So this incident for me is yet another of similar degree. And this incident makes my belief stronger that India still lives and thrives in it's beliefs and ideologies in some medieval century. We are still in strong grips of the same evils that shaped our society in the past mainly being casteism , racism, religion and the underlying Manusmiti ( Girls are supposed to be in the custody of their father when they are children, women must be under the custody of their husband when married and under the custody of her son as widows. In no circumstances is she allowed to assert herself independently.)

Women in the history of India has always been subject to exploitation being a meeker member of society and always depicted as a sex symbol ( our Bollywood movies and Item dance numbers add perfect imagery to that notion). Woman are nothing but a subject of hour glass figure meant to be leered at. Today's Indian men cannot handle the sensuality of a woman and the changing image of her and in order to exert that control and influence he has to use power and his manhood to prove his superiority.

Who needs to change? Is it not for the entire society to accept the new face of Indian woman and in which I will like to include all Indian woman and not just living in cites like Delhi and Mumbai. Yes we need to react! We need to do something! We need to make an exemplary punishment for these rapists. Not only capital punishment but I will like them to be stoned in public and let them rot and die. I will not even think it's barbaric. That's what they deserve and should get for stripping  a woman of her pride, dignity and her existence. I hope someday in my life I am able to see a new face of "Incredible" India.

Yet another shooting..yet another outpour

As the nation reeks under the shock and tragedy of the elementary school shooting at Connecticut , I am forced to think about my safety as well. Today I was sitting in deli and having my breakfast and coffee, I suddenly felt unsafe. Being pregnant and carrying my little daughter, the mere thought of not being able to protect her, suddenly overpowers me.

I can't help but reaching a stage of paranoia where every place I go it grocery shop, mall, theater seems a place where someone can start the whole madness of shooting innocent lives.
What am I to do? It is almost 15 years since Columbine massacre happened and we are still wondering what is the right time to talk about the gun control.

The same day that Connecticut shooting happened,  another similar incident happened in a village of China where a man stabbed 20 school children. All of them are now recovering in the hospital. But what chance do you have against this mindless gun killings? Today the country is an argument that definitely gun control needs to be addressed and at the same time the mental illness and stigma associated with it. What is more disturbing is the pattern in all these shootings where the average age of killer is not more than 25. So we are not talking about a  frustrated, tired with life , alcoholic disgruntled man of 50 but youngsters who have barely started there independent lives. Dave Cullen author of the book Columbine said in his one of the interviews that we have to take out the word "snap" from dictionary when talking about these homicidal killers as there are enough events and warning signals that lead to the event and not just happen in spur of the moment.

I feel helpless and challenged at the same time as how to make this world a safer place for our future generations. I am forced to think and act as to what action do we take and after how many more massacres will we react than just sit and mourn about the unspeakable grief. Hopefully this incident will not be erased out of public memories for long before a new one shakes us again.

So till then, what do I do?
Maybe go and buy a gun to protect my offspring! A pure animal instinct.

Thanksgiving dinner menu

And yesterday was the thanksgiving. For the first time, I planned a thanksgiving feast with another friend and the glimpse of the menu is below for everyone to see. A day which involved huge planning, hiccups, constant flow of emails and trips to grocery stores, it was a huge success.


Lunch
Spinach artichoke dip with toasted baguettes
Mozzarella Al Caprese
Deviled eggs
Pita hummus
Sangria
Olives

Dinner Menu

1st course:
Crab meat puffs - Roohi
Apple Walnut Gorgonzola Turnovers
Baked Stuffed Jalapeños
Butternut squash soup

Main course
Turkey with cranberry sauce
Warm biscuits / dinner rolls.
Chicken Biryani

Side dishes:
Green bean casserole
Rosemary olive oil baked vegetables
Greek potatoes

Dessert:
Red wine dark chocolate cake
Pumpkin cheesecake
Icecream

Drinks: Wines and cheese

More to come by next week. Thanksgiving weekend is still on and lot many more activities of the weekend still to happen. Pictures to follow.

Roohi

Thanksgiving countdown

It's day 1 after my self imposed rule to write. When I made the blog, I always knew the difference between writing a blog, maintaining a journal or writing a personal diary. And now one year later maybe the fine line is slightly getting faded. So before writing anything,  I will like to apologize to my readers ( thanks for being loyal) that maybe you will be inflicted with very boring and mundane writing. This is being done as my husband will always say for larger scheme of things to come.

Thanksgiving is around the corner and  I am in the process of baking cakes for some of my dear friends in this city who have managed to make my life in this city so much more enriching than what the city by itself could offer. Till the next week I am going to be baking at least 5/ 6 cakes.  It's the most wonderful time of the year and a time to even express your feelings for the loved ones.
As I am writing this I am wondering why we do not have such a festival being celebrated in India. A festival to mark the togetherness of the family, meant only for the family to celebrate and making sure everyone flocks together on this day. I am guessing with new trends and culture and increase of nuclear families in India, in another decade we will have something on the lines of thanksgiving being celebrated in India as well.

Fun facts of thanksgiving :

1. It is said that on thanksgiving an average American consumes 5000 calories in 1 day!!!

2. The author of the nursery rhyme " Mary had a little lamb" Sarah  Hale,  was responsible for making Thanksgving a national holiday for Americans in 1863.

3. In the US, about 280 million turkeys are sold for the Thanksgiving celebrations.( maybe I consume 1/2). 280 million..can you believe that number and it translates into 3 billion in sales.

4.  Interesting Turkey fat : Due to the white meat being the most popular part of a turkey, turkeys have been bred to have huge breasts.  So much so that modern day domesticated turkeys are no longer typically able to mate, due to the breasts getting in the way of the male mounting the female.  As such, most hatcheries use artificial insemination to fertilize the eggs of the domestic turkey. ( such a sad life for poor turkey..I feel bad reading this)

In the end here is a quote for laughs.

"I love Thanksgiving turkey...it's the only time in Los Angeles that you see natural breasts."
Arnold Schwarzenegger


Hope you have enjoyed reading this. More to come before Thursday 24th November.

Roohi Ahuja

Pondering

When I started writing in 2010, few friends told me that it's hard to keep your blog alive. And looking at my number of entries of 2011, sure I agree that it's not been very easy. Is it important to write to keep the blog alive or wait for an inspiration to pen down your thoughts?

Well considering that I have waited for inspiration, 2011 has not been a very productive year as the year itself has been very hard with lot of professional and personal issues. Going through the blog today, I feel I should have continued to write even if managing few lines. I think writing without inspiration is harder because you do not know what you want to write about. But not writing at all is lethal because you loose the habit of it completely which I have now and feel very upset about.

It's the year end and festive spirit is in the air. I need to let my hair down, tap my feet , take the camera and walk the streets to enjoy the ending of 2011.
Let's see how much of this resolution is kept alive.

Roohi
(the dead writer trying to bounce back)

For Renee:

My dearest darling
as you are getting used
to the new surroundings
No longer in the warmth of the womb.
I want to thank you
for the hopes
you brought in this household.

Your footsteps
marks a beginning of
a spring full of joy
blossoming of flowers
Memories
of past rekindled
as sweet perfume
in the air.

How I wish
You could have come a little earlier
for the happiness
to have been complete.
But I thank god
for sending me
a pretty angel
to remind me
that life never
stops running.

Move on and look ahead
for the very next turn you might
get hit by as pleasant surprise
as you Renee!

Welcome to Kapur family!

Happy Birthday Roohi

Oh! How I recall
My nightly walks
to my parents room
waking them up
at 12.00 in the night
asking them to wish me
Happy birthday.


It was a ritual
followed for twenty five years
until I got married
and moved out of that life.

Its that time of year again
and the clock is ticking
telling me that I am
just an year older.

And I recall
my nightly walks
no longer possible
no longer waking them
asking them to wish me again.

Happy Birthday Roohi!

Happy 2011

It's one year anniversary of my blog.

I started writing at the end of last year and 2010 resolve was to write. Output : 64 blog writings which by itself is not really commendable but definitely appreciable by my standards.

Again I think back and ponder of happenings of 2010. What was good, what went wrong, how could I have made it better. 2010 will actually be one of the memorable years of my life wherein again third time in my life I came face to face in the situation of seeing my loved ones fight death and this time they came out victorious much to joy of the entire family. That was the highlight event of this year.

I wish everyone a very Happy 2011. Health and happiness for all my readers. Wish that 2011 brings a lot of freshness and lot of travel. New places to explore, wander and happenings.

As the year passes
and the next year knocks
ready to bring
its hopes and fears.
Nothing comes without a price
I let this year go by
and embark on the journey
of the next year.

Hola 2011.

Roohi

Escape

Anonymity of city
Cacophony of traffic
Infinite weekend public.
I am lost
walking down the London streets.

Merry Christmas

The bell rings
letting me know
the party has began
Christmas is here!
and Santa waits to
give me gifts.

Every year I decorate the tree
with ornaments hanging from each leaf
A new ornament to keep
for all the years to pass by.

As the years pass
increasing my collection
of cherish pieces
reminding me that
each Christmas year was Merry Christmas.


Enjoy this time of the year with friends and family supplemented by food and wine.
Wishing everyone Merry Christmas!

And then I came

Lot of jostling
Lot of trying
Lot of positions
Lot of pushing
And then I
decided to come.

I was made on
the day of thanksgiving
when it was unknown
to even my folks
that I had arrived
in there lives.

I lived in her shadows
for close to 250 days
Felt her emotions
and her love for me
already blossoming
from a bud to being a
spring rose.

Living a life
in a sheltered cocoon
I thought
time has come
to venture out
to see my creators
with my own eyes.

Lot of jostling
Lot of trying
lot of positions
Lot of pushing
And then I finally
decided to come
to welcome them
into a world of mine.

Happy Diwali

Feeling the blessings
of God
being showered on me today.
Being able to
light the lamps
to ward off
the evil spirits
and welcome
the happiness
the year will bring
along. 

Knocking on my door
is the goddess of prosperity
And being my selfish self
I clean the house
mop the floor
so that she feels invited
and decides to stay longer.

I wish everyone a very Happy Diwali and hope that you have fantastic celebrations.

The demons are back

The demons are back
haunting and scaring me.
I try to fight
the thoughts and fears
yet it manages to
show its ugly face to me.

The demons are back
haunting and scaring me.
Knocking on my head
slowly crawling in my sleep
making sure
that I can't rest in peace .

The demons are back
haunting and scaring me.
With its cankerous walk
slowly gnawing it teeth
having its poison fangs
all pointed at me.

I imagined I conquered
long time back.
Just when I think
its a thing of past
it manages to resurface.
I face it each time
more tired than before
hoping this is the end.

And again
the demons are back
haunting and scaring me.

I am here. Did you notice me.

This is what seems to be happening in the new age of social networking. You get up in the morning, open your in box, waiting to read what comments did your status message and photos got which you uploaded like 3 hour before or even 9 minutes before. Whether you had your first kiss, honeymoon, anniversary celebrations , friends get together, drinking night out, game night or even a drive back from office, you feel compelled to report your day to day activities on social networking sites. Was social networking meant to be daily journal writing?

In this age when so many privacy policies are being designed , minutely scrutinized and governed by regulations, without realizing we ourselves no longer want to maintain any privacy. I have as ridiculous 500 " friends" on any site and am willing to share all my happenings of everyday life with them. What so-called privacy I can maintain and try to fight for? All that we seem to be doing or in fact are compelled to do is to maintain a social identity for ourselves and we strive to maintain that everyday of our lives. It's an image to protect for. Even if I want to communicate to 5 people of my 500 friend list, I update my status/ post pictures for the world to see. It's a world of over-sharing.

Have you ever thought how much of your time we spend on sites checking for updates of people or photos of the people we are never gonna cross paths in life. As per the statistics face book has over 500 million active users and on an average we spend over 700 billion minutes per month on Face book.

I wonder where are we headed for. Is my life becoming so governed by the social identity I maintain for myself. If I do not post any news feed for 1 week, do I fear for being out of happening cool circles. We are in a world where everyday definitions are changing. We are changing our notions of privacy, revelation and self-display. In present times, we are in the process of evolution and beginning of a of a new social norm. Either we upgrade ourselves or die a natural social death.

Trip to Grand Canyon

As we sat round the fire
grilling chicken
gazing stars
talking about the moments
going into the past
Opening our
thoughts for inspection
of each other.

No pretense
nothing to hide
as naked
as a moonless night.

We hiked the Grand Canyon
gaining strength from each other.
No one was better
No one was weaker
We conquered
the hike
together.

As the trip
came to an end
we had moved ahead.
Walked a few miles
in our
bonds of togetherness
and
burgeoning
of a relationship.

Let me be home

I was scared

It was my fist day at play school
All I knew was
I am going to be away
from the warmth of home
and company of my toys
for eight hours
in a day.

No one had time
to play with me
Mommy had a day job
Daddy had a night job
Everyone seems
to be busy running
but no one runs
behind me
playing
catch me if you can.

When I complained
fought and cried
threw my legs in air
I heard them say
what a thankless child
cant see their hard life.

I didn't ask for toys
I didn't ask for candy
All I asked was
read me a story in the night
play ball with me
listen to my tales
cuddle me while I sleep.
Maybe I did ask for too much.
Maybe I should thank them
for running so much
all for me.

Twists & Turns

Was trying to remember
sex
in the way you liked
the best
my memories failed me
my dreams betrayed me
my thoughts killed me
I had no recollection left of you
in bed.

How did that happen
Did time erase the past?
I thought
I was married to those
memories
Did I get separated somewhere
in the journey
of whose done what.

I built my life
on those days
all that's left
is not even memories.
Should I be happy
Should I be exhilarated
I should be?
I did what was impossible.

I should raise
a toast to myself
yet somewhere
that little squeak
the little knot
yearns to open
the Pandora box.
How easy will that be?

Invictus by William Ernest Henley

Got this from the movie" Invictus" and found it really inspirational. This was written by the poet on hospital bed when his leg had to be amputated below the knee.

Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds and shall find me unafraid.

I am my own host,and faithful witness
Or shall the shadows of hell learey me through the night,
So I will take this sword, and banish it in the afterlife

It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.