Yes, we are late, but that's because my family decided to stage a coup. They didn’t want a newsletter this year, but I persisted, and I climbed my hill. “While the (newsletter) can be periodically delayed, it can never be permanently defeated.”
So let's begin…. Happy new year from our home to yours.
This has been a crazy year for everyone. We had our share of crazy. For beginners, we aced social distancing. We socially distanced from each other for several months, and yet the family gave me so much fodder. In our house, the policing was done by the youngest generation. The oldies tried to snuck out a few times, but were caught red-handed by the in-house Corona police.
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| Wear dark clothes, hold your breath, and pose! |
Two new things happened in our lives consecutively. Even as the boys sat rather comfortably ensconced at the driving wheel, with the knowledge that the highway was now their new chess board, the dad sat at the edge of his seat, frantically chanting the newly memorized Hanuman Chalisa.
The family also spent a lot of time playing board games. Nidhi was always clueless in Clue. Roshan took the maximum risk in Risk. Taran, truly appreciating the spirit of capitalism, built his empire in Monopoly. While Ritesh, on account of the extra time that he takes on his turn, has now been deemed taboo to play Taboo.
Taran and Roshan are now 16. They are seniors in high school. Virtual classes were such a blessing. While still waiting to finish high school, they are both now a PhD in Netflix. And very soon, they used their learnings from their online course on negotiation by downsizing their chores to 30%. We are so impressed with the thought, methodology, and the gravitas they apply in dividing their chores. They play ping pong or rock paper scissors to determine who will do the laundry, vacuuming, and the dishes.
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| Taran (and Roshan are ready to fly the coop) |
Incidentally, they have now expanded Idnani Chess, their chess tutoring business (students in 5 countries). We are also proud that they continued to earn some accolades. Roshan became the National Showdown Chess champion for 12th grade; Taran stood 3rd. The boys also led their school to win the National Team Championship. We are delighted that the boys initiated a pro bono chess camp for the students of their alma mater, The Albrook School.
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| Roshan - cutting fabric for masks |
For Ritesh staying at home meant getting pampered by his mother in law’s spicy, rich, and flavorful Indian cooking. Soon enough, Taran and Roshan realized that the only exercise their father was getting was moving his jaw. So appalled were the boys, they decided to be his fitness instructor. Poor Ritesh would emerge from the basement injured like a bruised rodent (he prefers a “bruised tiger”). He now checks T & R’s exercise schedule and plans his conference calls at the same time.
Ritesh started a podcast this year - “Future of work”. Please check it out and increase the number of views. At least then we will know that the future of his podcast is certain.
Nidhi had made a vision board in the first week of January 2020. “Organize your home” was emblazoned in the center. She failed miserably at it. Her basement and garage remains an inscrutable maze of disarray, in contrast to the perfectly streamlined kitchen cabinets and impeccably labelled pantry. Nidhi seems to have skipped the “organizing” gene from her mother.
However, the one thing she organized successfully was a trip to “Mexico”. Along with her brother, Amit, (who flew down from Canada), they flew their parents to Mexico in January 2020 to celebrate their anniversary. A much cherished dream came true with that. It was a beautiful time travel into childhood, for both Nidhi and her sibling.
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| Nidhi, with her brother and parents in Mexico |
Nidhi’s practice, iReikiNow, continues to grow. She now does virtual Reiki sessions, and has led meditation sessions for schools, corporates, and many non-profit organizations. This year, she felt even more grateful for the journey that she is on.
This truly was a year when gratitude was the dominant emotion. We are so grateful to those on the frontline. Thank you to Newark Academy for taking safety and precautions of the highest level and ensuring that quality education for our children continues. And a big thank you to all those community organizers who went over and beyond in their commitment to serve. (KCWL, it was an honor to be a part of your mask making team). We are also grateful for all the blessings that we have, that we usually take for granted - our home, family, and friends, and technology that kept us connected (thank you Zoom and WhatsApp).
We wrap this newsletter with a prayer for those who we have lost this year.
Wishing everyone strength, love, and light in 2021 and beyond.
Ritesh, Nidhi, Taran, and Roshan
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