Celebrity on Parentune – Gauri Pradhan Tejwani

The beautiful Gauri Pradhan Tejwani, a model-turned-actress, is back on television after a long hiatus which she took to be around her twins, Katya and Neevan Tejwani. Parentune catches up with her.
I am a strict mother
I was very clear from the start itself that I wanted to spend at least four to five years with my children and did not want to compromise on that. And I am glad, I stuck to my decision. I didn’t take up any work but did not miss working either. There’s so much to do when you have two children to handle at one time.
I was very particular about their upbringing from day one. No one can interfere. Hiten is the chilled out parent. I pamper them a lot but at the same time I am very strict also, in fact, sometimes Hiten calls me a Hitler mother. Though they are sometimes scared of me, they are still very close to me and I love them a lot. From the beginning I have tried to instill values in them.
I read something nice the other day, ‘what you expect from your children, you have to be that first’, because they watch you 24-hours, they will learn what they see. You as a parent set an example for them.

I am very hands on with them
They started going to school when they were just one-and-a-half years old. So, I used to drop and pick them up. Now they are independent, travel to school in the bus, and also go to the evening classes for their extracurricular activities. This keeps them busy the whole day.

I find huge support in my family
Now I wanted to get back to work—I preferred an arrangement where I would have flexibility. And that’s why I chose not to do any lead roles because for that you have to work nine to nine and 25 days a month. I want to work, yes, but children are my priority. It feels nice to be able to strike a balance – handling the children as well as working at the same time. It was tough initially especially if in a nuclear family (my parents are in Pune). When the children fall sick, I call them in the morning but only manage to reach by noon. And then suddenly there are times when there are no maids suddenly!!! So there are so many things that go wrong. Though I have a good friend’s circle, who have children of the same age, I prefer to leave my children with my parents as family is family. And it is always on a short notice that I call them. But thankfully, they are always there when I need them.

On how Meri Aashiqui Tum Se Hi clicked
Offers were coming even when I did not want to work. But I was looking out for something where I can work on my own terms and conditions, something I have always done from the day I started my career. I was waiting for the right thing, good role, good money and also flexible timings and this clicked with Balaji. People ask me that you are playing a grown ups mother, but doesn’t bother me, I have been there, done that, and proved myself. Now what is important is to work, keep myself busy and be available for my family. So this was perfect for me.

My Day starts with…
I work from nine to six. I am an early riser and wake up by 5.30; I do my workouts, get my children ready for school and by eight I leave for work. By nine I have to reach the sets and then I come back almost at the same time as them. My office is two hours away from the home. I take a metro, as the studio is close to the station. So I can spend one and half hours with them, because they sleep early. Once I am back, I get into the routine where I can bathe them, read to them and then put them to bed. So that time is very crucial and I don’t want to miss out on that.

I read out to them, everyday
They have to sleep by 8.30 and wake up by 7.00 and I don’t really make them study because they are very young and they are doing too much anyways. They will be doing that the rest of their lives. What I really do is I read to them a lot. Since, they were six months old I have been reading to them and they love it. They can sit for hours when I read to them.

No to Ipad, cellphones or Television
Earlier, I did not allow my children to play with any gadgets or watch television. But since they have turned five I give them some TV time, just so that they get acquainted with the cartoon characters, because when they go to these themed- birthday parties, they are clueless about it and feel left out. So, I allow them to watch TV for 10 minutes or so. It’s very tough to keep them away from these things. Because it’s very tempting as a mother to plop the child in front of the TV so that she gets a bit free, but eventually that is how they then get hooked onto it. But am doing as much as I can.