BBC In MomVersation with MomStar Gayatri Rao Part-2

Here is part 2 of the candid Momversation between BabyChakra’s Asha Chaudhry and Gayatri Rao. Read on as she spills the beans on how she manages work, home and her boys…

AC: What is the one activity you love doing with your boys?

GR: We all love to read books and my older one has developed an interest in gardening like me. With him I enjoy playing a game of badminton and with the younger one it is reading out to him.

AC: Tell us about the dad-boys activities. What do they do as a threesome and what do you do then? 🙂

GR: The dad-boys activities are playing cricket indoors and outdoors, going to the market to get the groceries, cooking on the weekends and watching war movies. I can’t imagine how someone can watch the same movie again and again (of course, Notting Hill and Pretty Woman are not on that list!). They rattle dialogues off together and laugh over it, the younger one has joined their bandwagon lately and even he has watched movies like Black Hawk Down and 13 hours (Secret Soldiers of Benghazi). Actually, I am very glad they get along so well and don’t need me for a while. So while they are at it, it is me spending ‘me time’ books and chocolates or on the phone catching up with friends.

AC:  What key values do you want your boys to grow up with?

GR: Perseverance, compassion and the sense of responsibility is what I work with them all the time and these are the qualities I want them to have as adults.

AC: Have you ever had to deal with the conflict between kids at the school or at the park?

GR: Part of dealing with boys is dealing with physical energy that transforms into fist fights, punches and trouble. As adults we must remember that their quarrels are not like adult fights and don’t come with a vengeance. It is a way boys play and is safe to some extent. They will be enemies for a moment and best buddies the next. However, not much can be said of mothers who strain relationships with each other because one kid hit the other. There have been many incidents where I had to talk to the other mother to explain this fact but sadly some do not reason.

AC: What keeps you sane?

GR: My books.

AC: Your secret sauce of looking so young & energetic and staying positive?

GR: Setting realistic exercise goals and effective exercise routine keeps my skin and head in great health.

AC: How important is “me time” to you? And what do you do?

GR: ‘Me time’ is very sacred and it is always the hubby who pushes me to have a little more of it. In my ‘me time’ I either go out with my girl friends, play a game of badminton with buddies or read a book.

AC: What book is at your bedside right now? And what are your boys reading?

GR: I am reading a psychological suspense thriller called ‘The Guilty One’ by Lisa Ballantyne. My older boy is currently reading ‘Beedle the Bard’ by JK Rowling and the younger one is being read, ‘Up and Down’ by Oliver Jeffers.

AC: Since you are a traveler, name three places in India every family should visit?

GR: First on my list in India with kids would be Dubare Elephant Camp in Karnataka. Second would be a houseboat ride experience in Kerala backwaters and third would be some of the untouched beaches of Alibaug, Maharashtra.

AC: One place in the world that’s on your bucket list.

GR: Machu Picchu in Peru.

AC: One thing you always carry in your purse since you’ve become a mom.

GR: An emergency snack for the kids. I never step out without it.

AC:  One thing you miss from before mommy hood?

GR: I miss the fact that I could read a book or two in a day. Now the same book takes me at least a week to finish.

AC:  One piece of advice each to expecting moms, new moms and toddler moms

GR: To Expecting Moms: You are in the special period of your life so enjoy every bit of the beautiful transformation your body goes through. After all it is not every other day a woman gets pregnant.

To New Moms: Eat healthy and take care of your body well. You need to be strong to take care of your babies.

To Toddler Moms: Let go of things that don’t matter much. It is okay if the house is not spic and span, it is okay to not be able to cook a full course meal, it is okay if the kids don’t turn out like you want them to. Your house will still be a warm place to live, you will still cook up a simple, wholesome meal for your loved ones and your kids will turn out just fine.

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