Addictions

Reality Check, in India, the easiest possible drug available which gives a false high to the population here is tobacco. Tobacco addiction is so widespread, that you find a fifteen year old domestic servant chewing it, your driver chewing it, a 30 year old autorickshaw driver chewing it, a lady running a boutique chewing, fifty something mothers n grand mothers chewing it. There seems to be no end to this ubiquitously omnipresent drug. The person running a business chewing it and even professionals supposedly educated mass chewing it. When a person injects a drug to get a high, it’s a crime, however when a person chews tobacco all the time to continue in his false world of happiness there is no crime. The family is supposed to understand and accept that nicotine addiction is something the person cannot help himself with.  There are many addictions which people take up to get away from the real life, excessive TV watching, drinking, too much partying, loud music, face-booking, sun-worshipping, but nothing like tobacco, which you can do in the company of your children, your subordinates, your peers, your juniors, your parents, in short the whole world. Advertisements and statutory warnings are paid little heed. Or may be the addict just fails to see them. Every addict thinks that the possibility of getting the fatal disease Cancer due to tobacco addiction is something which cannot happen to him/her. Is it not enough to be able to call up your family or friends to de stress? Why potentially fatal addictions become stress busters and loving families are ignored in their favour? The human mind becomes a servant to the chemical reaction which gets triggered due to the nictotine content. The same mind which is supposed to be the biggest computer in the world and helps us see right from wrong. But to the addict, there is nothing wrong in his behavior. He/ She fails to see the impact the addiction is having not just in physical terms, which itself should be an adequate reason to quit it but in terms of emotional stakes involved. A drug addict needs immediate help and rehabilitation since, the effects can be seen on an immediate basis, however, a nicotine addict can continue with his irresponsible behavior for years till the time its too late for anybody to be able to help him/her. This substance is supposedly banned in Maharashtra, which again is a complete mockery of the legal system. It is as easily available as candy in shops. We have already lost a big percentage of population to this addiction and everyday the number keeps swelling but there is no urgency in the society to deal with the menace. Taking charge of your own and your family’s health and happiness should itself be a motivating factor in taking help in quitting any kind of harmful addictions.

Dubai 2012

January 6, 2012

Another year has started. People have predicted this year to be the end of the world…For me it’s a new beginning again…Tomorrow being the start of my 36^th yearJ)…..learning to be a wife, home maker, mother….everyday is like a new day in a classroom called LIFE.

Dubai Vacation- Mariott Hotel- Dubai Marina

Amazing view from the balcony of my hotel, - speedboats zooming on the oceans, human beings para gliding, helicopters and airplanes taking off and landing, cars and motor bikes zipping off at an amazing speed, and despite all modes of transportation all around me, hardly any hint of any kind of pollution around…Oh I forgot, there is even construction of a huge sky scraper happening right next to my Hotel building, but still the ocean looks blue and pure, untouched by all that is happening around it and so is the Sky overhead. Everything in this country looks brand new, nothing looks worn out or old, the veggies look fresh in the super market and there is an abundance of stuff, like its God’s own market, veggies, fruits, dry fruits, clothes, brands, gadgets, playthings, perfumes, stationery…Dubai simply has the best it seems!

In the past 3 days in this country I have not seen a single thing which looks even slightly ugly or which needs any kind of replacement. The huge malls are full of people and goodies, the women and the children are most fashionable dressed, shades, bags , jewellery, make up everything just perfect. And the Arab women are the most beautiful women in the world it seems, their sharp features and beautiful complexion can take your breath away, you can see only the face…the rest is all covered in their traditional dress called Abayas..black full drape, but there is a great deal of fashion statement made by the kind of abaya one is wearing.

But still something rankles me, despite so much material bounty around, could I feel   happiness around me? I don’t know the answer to that question….saw most of the parents hassled in the mall with their bundles of joy, observed beautiful and fashionably dressed women wiping away their tears softly, could make out people exchanging bitterness over phone. But wait, I also saw very very happy families…one such smiley happy family was at the Ski Resort..just cannot forget the smiles on the face of the Dad, mom and their two kids…enjoying the fun afternoon together!!

Imagine Snowskiing in the desert, must admit these Sheikhs are an enterprising lot!! What amazing wonders humans can create just out of initiative. Its like they have the power of GOD  to create snow even in the desert. I was shivering after just one hour within the ski resort and me and Kshitij had to beat a hasty retreat after our one hour of good fun!! Poor  Ritz, he was left baby sitting Siyona, coz they were both nursing a bad cold L

Saw another very happy father and his toddler son playing in the fountain water at the Dubai Marina at about 10 in the night, splashing water on each other and jumping over and inside the puddles of water. It was jus sooo beautiful seeing them have funJ)

How I managed to get time to pen down my thoughts in this hectic vacation of ours is itself a blessing. Kshitij and Ritesh have gone mall hopping to buy the much desired XBOX and IPAD etc; and Siyona is sleeping peacefully in her bedroom, and so I get to enjoy my own moments of solitude and peaceful writing, while soaking in this amazing view from the balcony of the hotel suiteJ)

The high point for me in this trip was the one  hour me and Ritz were able to catch up with each other while sipping a cup of Turkish coffee and sharing a cherry flavoured Sheesha. The evening was just awesome!! Too beautiful to describeJ) We put both the kids to sleep in the suite and went down at about 10 in the night and enjoyed a nice evening together. Dubai Marina has been one of the most beautiful places I have visited till date. So next time you go on a holiday, sit back and laze around the Marina, pick up some souvenirs from the Market, or simply soak in the atmosphere till your next holiday :)