daughterdiaries

Handcrafted

October 3, 2018ByteSizebeliefs, blogger, Blogging, dad, daughter, daughterdiaries, destinations, effort, energy, entrepreneur, Food, friends, gandhi, handcart, History, hope, India, instapassport, instatravel, Love, Mumbai, music, traveladdict, travelblogger, travelinsights, traveller, traveltheworld, wanderlust, wonder

When effort surpasses reality, the picture isn’t one of suffering—it’s one of progress.

Look closely, and life isn’t just about enduring; it’s about adapting, creating, pushing forward. The human spirit isn’t wired for defeat—it is built to survive and overcome.

Seen this way, suffering takes a backseat to resilience, and struggle reveals itself as transformation.

In markets, “handcrafted” is a premium label, reserved for the unique and the carefully made. But for millions, handcrafting life is not a choice—it’s everyday survival.

Effort, persistence, and the refusal to give in—that’s the real handmade story.

A Sense of Play: The Secret to Joy and Creativity

December 25, 2017ByteSizealibaug, Architecture, beach, blogger, Blogging, building, culture, daughterdiaries, Ideas, instapassport, instatravel, lessons, Life, Love, Metaphor, ordinary, purpose, Reflection, roadside, season, story, traveladdict, travelblogger, traveller, traveltheworld, wanderlust

All you need is a sense of play. A little ease. And suddenly, laughter and joy follow.

Play isn’t just for kids. It’s what makes things work—at work, at home, and everywhere in between. Experiment. Try. Run. Jump. Do something silly.

It works. Every single time.

If you need proof, look at kids. They don’t overthink. They don’t worry about failing. They just play. And in that play, they create, explore, and discover—things, and themselves.

What if we could bring just a little of that into our daily lives? A playful mindset might just be the secret to more joy, less stress, and surprising new ideas.

So today, try it. Play. Not for a result, but for the fun of it. Let the laughter find you.

Kids do it all the time. Why shouldn’t we?

(at Alibaug Beach)

A Bird in Hand—And the Joy of Watching It Appear

January 10, 2017ByteSizeblogger, Blogging, commerce, culture, dad, daddy, daughter, daughterdiaries, fun, instapassport, instatravel, kids, lessons, Life, Love, mehndi, Metaphor, ordinary, Parenting, parentlife, Play, Stories, trade, traveladdict, travelblogger, traveller, traveltheworld, wanderlust

They say a bird in hand is worth two in the bush. But what about a bird drawn on a hand?

For a child, it’s magic. A few careful strokes, a little waiting, and suddenly, a bird appears—etched in Mehendi, alive in her imagination. The flutter in her eyes, the quiet twitch at the corner of her mouth—it’s a joy no real bird could match.

It’s not the big toys that bring the deepest happiness. Sure, they shine. But the small moments, the ones spent laughing, waiting, watching something take shape—those stay green in the mind.

Because joy isn’t just in what we hold. It’s in what we create.

Borrowed Wheels, Big Dreams: A Reflection from Delhi’s Roads

May 24, 2016ByteSizeblogger, Blogging, Children, cocktail, daughterdiaries, destinations, disrupt, entrepreneur, fun, Happiness, India, instapassport, instatravel, latergram, Love, Metaphor, newdelhi, parents, principles, simplestuff, sit, startup, thirdworld, traveladdict, travelblogger, travelinsights, traveller, traveltheworld, wanderlust

Where you stand depends on where you sit. And where you sit? That depends on how much of a foothold you have in the world.

In many places, life isn’t about luxury or choice—it’s about making the most of what’s available. It’s about hanging on, navigating bridges with borrowed wheels, hoping for the best, and moving forward anyway.

But let’s be clear—this does not mean fewer aspirations.
This does not mean fewer dreams of change.
This does not mean fewer smiles, joys, or moments of triumph.

For many, life is neither happiness nor sadness—it simply is. And there’s a quiet resilience in that truth.

Cotton, Clips, and Colours: A Lesson in Childlike Creativity

May 13, 2016ByteSize, Travel TalesArt, artandculture, Bangkok, blogger, Blogging, Children, dad, daughterdiaries, destinations, digital, digitaldetox, fun, instapassport, instatravel, kids, kidstories, Love, Metaphor, Parenting, parents, People, story, storytelling, Thailand, traveladdict, travelblogger, travelinsights, traveller, traveltheworld, wanderlust

Swabs of cotton, clothesline clips, and a splash of colours. In the hands of kids, that’s all it took for magic to unfold.

No TVs, no tablets, no digital distractions—just pure imagination at play. The kind that turns ordinary objects into extraordinary stories. The kind that reminds us that creativity doesn’t need a screen, just space to roam free.

All it takes is a little belief—in kids, in their boundless curiosity, in their ability to turn the simplest things into something wonderful.

Yes, magic. That’s the word. And kids own it.

(at Bangkok, Thailand)

Splash for Fun, Swim for Distance: A Lesson from the Pool

May 10, 2016ByteSize, Travel TalesChildren, daddy, dads, dadsndaughters, daughter, daughterdiaries, destinations, energy, Growth, imagine, instapassport, kids, Learning, Love, Metaphor, mindset, pool, startup, swim, Travel, traveladdict, travelblogger, travelinsights, traveller, traveltheworld, wanderlust, work, workethic

To splash around is pure joy. Water flying, laughter echoing—no real destination, just the thrill of movement.

But splashing doesn’t take you far. To cross the pool, it takes strokes, rhythm, glides, and quiet effort beneath the surface.

Some live life in a series of splashes—all energy, no direction. Others move smoothly, silently, covering distance with precision.

The little miss in the pool isn’t interested in all that. She just wants to splash. And that’s okay.

Because in a kid’s world, the fun is in the splash.

And maybe, just maybe, we should let them have that—before the swimming begins.

(at Bangkok, Thailand)

“Papa, My Legs Are Touching the Sky!”

May 7, 2016ByteSize, Travel Talesairplane, blogger, Blogging, Children, compassion, dadsanddaughters, daughter, daughterdiaries, destinations, empathy, family, flight, heights, imagination, imagine, instapassport, instatravel, kids, kindness, Love, mankind, oneness, socks, Travel, traveladdict, travelblogger, travelinsights, traveller, traveltheworld, wanderlust

The little miss and her imagination take flight long before the plane does.

She plants her legs on the airplane window, eyes wide with wonder.
“Papa, my legs are touching the sky!” she shrieks, her joy lighting up the cabin—or at least our corner of it.

I smile. Because, really, why not?

We spend lifetimes chasing the sky, claiming its vastness for ourselves. But if you ever do, remember this young dreamer who got there first—feet up, heart soaring.

A Picture, An Anklet, and the Sounds of Yesterday

April 11, 2016ByteSize, Daughter Diariesanklet, anklets, Children, daughter, daughterdiaries, daughterlove, daughters, fathers, Jewellery, kids, Love, music, naughty, noise, parents, silence

Some pictures don’t just capture a moment—they bring back a world.

There was a time when our home echoed with the soft chime of an anklet. The little miss loved it, and so did we. It was more than an ornament; it was our personal GPS—a subtle tracker of her movements, her mischief, her presence.

And then, time did what it always does.

I don’t even know where the anklet is now. But this picture? It took me straight back. To a time when tiny feet ran around, when silence was more alarming than noise, when aspirations and dreams had a different shape, a different urgency.

Some pictures do that—they remind you, they whisper, they nudge.

And for a brief moment, you’re not just looking at the past. You’re feeling it.

Tell a Story, Create a World: Lessons from a Child’s Imagination

March 29, 2016ByteSize, Daughter DiariesChildren, dad, daughter, daughterdiaries, entrepreneurship, father, imagination, kids, kidsatheart, kids_of_ourworld, Love, reality, startup, storyboard, storypeople, storypromoter, storys, storytelling, storytime

The lion lends a ride to the monkey. The same monkey who can leap across three trees in a flash. But today, he needs a ride—because a buffalo with big horns is troubling him.

If you don’t make up stories on the go to enthrall your kids, you’re missing something magical.

Go on, tell them a story. Watch them react, imagine, create. Their minds will jump all over the place—and in those leaps, they’ll teach you something new.

The little miss reminds me daily that reality is shaped by the stories we tell ourselves. A different narrative can rewrite an old tune and make the world fresh again.

So, tell a good story. And more importantly, listen to the ones kids tell you.

Because when you give yourself to a story, the world changes with it.

March 18, 2016Uncategorizedblogger, Blogging, daughterdiaries, destinations, instapassport, instatravel, kerala, Love, miss, missus, time, Travel, traveladdict, travelblogger, travelinsights, traveller, traveltheworld, vagamon, wanderlust

What does love mean if not time. The time that we give to make relationships special, make them special. Relationships are special in their tiny moments. Wrapped in love, kindness, discovery. All a function of time!

What are the best moments of your life? I wonder how it is with you, but I love the moments that I spent shooting the breeze. With mom. With dad. With the missus. With the little miss. With friends. It makes us who we are. At least, I think it does that with me.

It is a different matter though that we don’t give such moments their due. It is when we do, that we begin living our lives.

Today, go shoot the breeze with someone you love!

(at Vagamon)