gaelikaa's diary

2016 closes As 2016 ends, people are saying things on social media like '2016, please end.' This year has seen some tragedies. For my generation, the 1960s born, it's been hard because several celebrities who defined our time have passed away. George Michael who died on Christmas day is one example. David Bowie is another. In India, just recently, our currency was demonetised. This initiative was part of a drive to root out the curse of black money, which has been crippling the economy. Millions of people were avoiding tax and hiding undeclared income at home. The shortage of cash has been difficult for everyone, though, especially the poor. The tragedy of terrorism in the world and war in Syria has ensured that the dream of world peace remains exactly that. Personal losses and gains My mother and her sister, a dear aunt of mine,  died in July, causing me huge personal loss. I'm neither blaming the year, nor begging it to end. I really dread the year ending because when

The cat..... Those who know me already might say that they didn't know I had a cat.  I didn't, you know! Our dog, Duggu is such a handful, I didn't think we could take on another pet. But a few months ago, a beautiful cat (whom we eventually named Puggle)  arrived. She's not really ours..... Nope! She's someone else's cat who just went on what the Aussies might call a walkabout. My younger daughter Riya found her on the roof of our house, a pretty calico (three-coloured) cat. Riya was instantly smitten. Some milk was fed to the little creature and the deal was sealed. Puggle has been a regular visitor to our house ever since. And two days after she arrived, in mid-May, she gave birth to four kittens. We'd had no idea the kitty was enceinte. So what did we do? What can you do? If a single mom landed on your doorstep and gave birth in your house, what would you do? Try to help, obviously. As the cat bore no identification and had been roaming the colony unst