September 3rd, 2010 . Posted in Amara Kids, Go Green | No Comments »
Pick-it-up,
Clean-it-up,
Trash-it-off.
Plastic, Polythene,
Cans & Tin
Recycle that waste,
Don’t litter in haste.
Turn the light off,
Shut the computer down,
Close that tap,
Drip-drip is no rap,
Too much of anything is a trap.
Pick-it-up,
Clean it up,
Trash it right,
Not in the ocean,
Not in the sea,
Fish need to live, like you & me.
Start with yourself,
And then spread the word around,
Friends, family, neighbors,
Recycling makes the world go round.
Dont stash your trash,
It can make the world crash.
Contributed by : Aarushi Karandikar
August 29th, 2010 . Posted in Amara Moms and Dads | No Comments »
Tags: Art of Living foundation, Janmashtami, san francisco bay area, Santa Clara
The Art of Living Foundation is celebrating Janmashtami in the San Francisco Bay Area in Santa Clara on Thursday September 2nd from 7 – 8.30pm. Click here for registration information!
August 29th, 2010 . Posted in Festivals and Holidays | No Comments »
Tags: 2010, Janmashtami, Kansa, Krishna, Krisna, Rohini nakshatram, Sep 2, Sravana

Janmashtami this year falls on Thursday Sep 2nd. What is Janmashtami? It is the celebration of the birth of one of the most famous Hindu Gods, Krishna, on the eighth day (”Ashtami”) in the month of Sravana. Lord Krishna was born on the ‘Rohini’ nakshatram (which means star). This usually falls during the months of August – Septemeber. Legend has it that Krishna was born on a dark, stormy and windy night to end the evil rule and atrocities of his maternal uncle, Kansa.
Stay tuned for more posts on stories of this delightful ‘birthday’!
August 26th, 2010 . Posted in Amara Moms and Dads | 1 Comment »
Tags: parenting slow culture slow food silicon valley
Rushing around frenetically, as we Silicon Valley parents often tend to, I wonder if I can afford to take the time to stop and smell the roses. What if I took the time to actually listen to my kids patter and answer some of their endless questions, delve into the underlaying concerns, listening to music, reading a book, meet an old friend to catch up on gup-shup over masala chai, exercise 30 minutes a day, cook myself a healthy meal from scratch. More… »
April 14th, 2010 . Posted in Amara Kids, Amara Moms and Dads, Bollwood Hollywood - Jolly Good!, Home | No Comments »
Tags: Alice in Wonderland, Tim Burton
Alice in Wonderland, from a child’s perspective. Alice wakes up from a nightmare and walks to her father who is talking with some business men. Thirteen years later, she was invited to a party which turned out to be her engagement party, that she didn’t know about. More… »
April 12th, 2010 . Posted in Amara Kids, Amara Moms and Dads, Home | 4 Comments »
Tags: Girl Scouts, Harrell Remodeling, Ms.Fix It
Harrell Remodeling has been hosting the badge: Ms. Fix It for over ten years. Two days ago, I got to go for the badge. We learnt how to make a hole and dent in the wall and then fix it. More… »
April 6th, 2010 . Posted in Festivals and Holidays, Home | 1 Comment »
Tags: Baisakhi 2010, Sikh community, The Festival of Baisakhi, Vaisakhi

The Festival of Baisakhi 2010
The Festival of Baisakhi is a major event, particularly in Northern India, but is also celebrated across the country. This year, it is on April 13th, 2010. It is a religious festival, harvest festival and in April, is considered the beginning of the Hindu solar New Year. In fact, this day is celebrated all over India as New Year day, under different names. For the Sikh community, Baisakhi is very special, as it is thought that on this day, their tenth and last Guru – Guru Gobind Singh – organized the Sikhs into Khalsa or the ‘pure ones’. By doing this, he established that all human beings are born equal. More… »
March 31st, 2010 . Posted in Amara Moms and Dads, HIndi for Kids | 1 Comment »
Tags: Hindi for children, Hindi Kids, Hindi words for kids, Kids speak Hindi
Teaching Hindi to our Kids- easy and effective!
Following from the last post- teaching your kids to speak Hindi- I think parents should be on the same page in terms of their kids’ Hindi fluency level- do we want our kids to basically understand Hindi, or be conversant in it, or be able to write and read it as well… My husband and I agreed early on that we wanted our children to be able to understand Hindi very well, and be able to have a basic conversation. More… »
March 28th, 2010 . Posted in Amara Moms and Dads, HIndi for Kids | 2 Comments »
Tags: HIndi for Kids, Hindi Teaching, Hindi words
Our kids speak Hindi:

Well, not quite that well, but they are getting there. I wanted my kids to speak Hindi naturally and organically, without any formal classes or lessons, because they already have too much going on in terms of classes/activities etc. Plus, I can’t bear to drive them to one more class- and that too, on my precious weekends. Yes, we are very lazy parents…
Full disclosure: I did enroll my son in Hindi classes a few years ago, but discontinued after a year or so. Reason- the afore mentioned laziness.
The best way for children to pick up a language is to hear it being spoken around them on a regular basis. My husband and I are very fluent in Hindi, yet we find it difficult to conduct an entire day’s conversation in Hindi! So I have been doing a Hindi word/sentence of the week, and using those words/sentences consciously for a few days. I encourage them to use those words/phrases but don’t really push them. I find it has worked very effectively with my kids understanding every day phrases without any effort, and the older one is now speaking Hindi- well enough!
I am happy to share the words/phrases with other Amara Parents every week. Who knows, one of these days, your child may come to you one Sunday morning, and say the magic, unreal words in Hindi, “Maine apna kamra saaf kar diya’!! More… »
March 24th, 2010 . Posted in Amara Kids, Festivals and Holidays | 2 Comments »
Tags: Easter 2010 SF Bay Area, easter bunny, Union Street Spring Celebrations
Easter Celebrations in the SF Bay Area

San Francisco Easter events for kids
April 3rd and April 4th: Roaring Camp Railroads, Santa Cruz
Kids take the steam train to Bear Mountain, and hunt for lots of chocolate candy eggs hidden by the Easter Bunny in a redwood forest. There are prizes to be won, and Easter crafts and games for families and kids
April 3rd 10 am to 3pm : Easter Egg Hunt and Learning Festival, Berkeley
This free event is a fundraiser for underprivileged children and there will be booths filled with educational activities
April 4th, 10am to 4pm: San Francisco Union Street Spring Celebration and Easter Parade
This is known as the “Biggest Little Parade” in San Francisco, and according to KOFY TV20 Cable 13 is “wonderful, wacky, elegant and fabulous, with everything from roller-blading cows and creative self-propelled mini-floats to garden areas, sophisticated fashions and beautiful classic and art cars. It’s a special event for the entire family” More… »