Of the dozen or so songs we 'karaoke danced' to, I was deeply touched when SareenaВ choseВ 'O Paalanhare' from Lagaan which also happened to be my mother's favorite song in her passing years, a song we both often sang together during long car drives through the country-side. One of their exercises is 'Karaoke Dance', asking the kids to play aВ video of your favorite song whose lyrics you know, and then imitating the dance moves as you sing along. That said, not all is 'work and pray' for this family, which finds innovative fun ways to spend family time. She once asked SatishВ Kumar 'How do I inculcate healthy values and practices in my kids?' to which he promptly responded 'Walk the talk.' This in turn led to the the practice of quiet time as a family, reminding her that 'Values cannot be taught, only caught.'ДЄnother beautiful practice they have inculcated in their kids is that every year when extended family and friends want to bring them birthday gifts, they gently request: 'Instead of a material gift, could you please dedicate an act of kindness to someone else and share the story with us as our birthday gift.' This small gesture, in turn ends us galvanizing entire communities to do random acts of kindness like the 'Baked with Love drive'. No stranger to having world respected pilgrimsВ such as Satish Kumar and Masami-sanВ pass though her home, TrishnaВ appliesВ wisdom she gleans effortlessly into her daily life. So sacred is this family time, that when Deep (Trishna's husband)В had to look for a new office space, he made sure it was within a short distance so that he could be home early in time for the daily circle of sharing. One of the daily practices that I was deeply touched to witness was that every evening just before the kid's bed time, the entire family has a circle of sharingВ with prayers and songs from diverse wisdom traditions, and a reflection on the blessings encountered, acts of kindness received or done by you that day. We also got a wonderful glimpse into how this talented editor of Kindful Kids, was planting beautiful seeds of transformation in her own kids everyday.

This summer, life blessed Khushmita and meВ withВ the gift of being her guests, and we marvelled atВ how she was effortlessly juggling being a committed home-maker, a devoted mother of two incredibly sweet daughters Sareena (age 7) and Ariyana (age 4), alongside contributing all her spare waking hours to service work, often staying up late hours in the night after putting her kids to sleep.

Trishna's stories which show her invaluable heart of service since the early days of Service Space in the Bay Area are truly legendary. This week's MaitriВ Tunes is dedicated to Trishna, aВ dear sister to many in our eco-system who has been dedicatedly planting seeds of loving kindness (Maitri) which has led to the blossoming of anВ incredible community in London.

O palan hare karaoke