Nnnte!!!

Achulde has been having the time of his life, hes not been going to the day care for the last two weeks. The first week, his day care had closed for Onam vacation. And the next week, his cousins had come visiting from Mumbai and were here for a week.  Though he was not exactly on friendly  terms with his cousins, especially the younger one Kavya(whom he calls Kaayi)- who is his age(jus 6 months elder to him). They were always fighting, pulling , pushing, crying and keeping guard on each other!!! And the moment one of them does something, the other one would sound the alarm(Amma,” Kaayi,Kaayi, kaayi”) or Appacha “ Achu,Achu,Achu”!!!(Kaavu and Devu calls me Appacha , for Appachi!!!) The moment one takes a toy, the other one would jump  upon  her/him shouting “ Achu-lde “ or “Ente”. Now Achulde has given up his  ™ word “ Achu-lde “ and  has started using Kaayi’s  “ Ente”, only that he pronounces it as      “ Nnnte”.

After the girls left, he's quite bored with no one to fight with, around. So he has chosen lil Mommolde. Anything that Mommolde picks up for playing is “ Achu-lde” and he pounces  on Mommolde shouting “ Achu-lde” and then stops mid-way  and  nods his head--correcting himself and shouts “NNNnnte”!!!

I'm sure, I am gonna miss his  "Achulde" for sure!!!

Of Client Visits and Elephants!!

Client visit in Technopark is a very colorful affair. Its not just business, its a celebration.A couple of companies go all out to showcase not just their business, the extent to which they go makes one wonder whether, its a Kerala Tourism package that they are offering their clients. Technopark houses multiple companies in the same building , and there are more than a couple of such buildings in the campus.Ground Floor of the building, that we have our office in, is used UsT and when it comes to client entertainment,they top the list. On my first day at work after the long leave, I was confused when I saw the large Pookkalam on the reception, Onam was atleast 3 months away!!! But my doubts were cleared immediately, when a Limo arrived in front of the building and 2 clients stepped out and were immediately surrounded by a volley of ppl. Two huge garlands were brought and they were garlanded. The clients were thin framed and everyone could see that they were not at all confortable, but on the whole looked they looked amused with the reception. Then they all moved in to see the Pookkalam, which was done in the form of Theyyam(I had come to the first floor by then and was watching the whole episode from the portico.)Then the photo session of the clients alone and with UST crew and with and without the garlands followed.Once the official photo session was over, the clients took their camera and started clicking away!!!
Later in the day, I was talking to one of my colleagues , who mentioned that stuff like these are nothing new and that the day's show was not upto the mark, it seems. The procession with elephants was missing and there was no Vadyamelam as well. Now I was the surprised one.And that it seems is the measuring scale for 'How important the client is to your organisation.?" The no. of elephants go up,when the visiting party is somone higher up in the coporate ladder of the client organisation!!!
To each his own,thought I initially, Nice time pass, i tried to think of it. But mind didn't agree.How important is such a welcome to your client? How much does it impact your chances in the clients books? Is it really worth the effort? What is it that we are trying to prove in here?How safe is it? You have multiple companies in the same campus and thousands of employees from different parts of India and even the world, here to earn their daily bread - who have nothing to do with your company's eagerness to showcase the tourism package to your client. Why am I being so serious here, you mite wonder.After all, is this only time and place that you would encounter elephants being used for such purposes in Kerala, you mite think! The point to be noted here is that its not in any 'Ground' ,as in, a place where people interested in such activities can assemble , that you are bringing in the elephant and the procession.What if the elephant decides to play naughty, for reasons beyond its control.How prepared are the authorities , in case of such an eventuality? Its not even a place, where only interested parties need attend and others can stay off the premises , kind of rule can work. I am surprised the Park management has no issues whatsoever with such activities.Thank God, my company doesn't indulge in such extravaganzas is all I can say, but am not sure, the elephant when in fury would attack after validating the identity!!!
On a lighter note, there is this fwded mail that is on circulation.A typical mallu forward mail that makes fun of everything 'Mallu', this one caters specifically to Technopark. One of the questions is " How do you know , if there is a client visit in UST, Technopark?". Ans : "If you can spot elephant dung in the Sreekaryom- Karyavattom road, you know that there is client visit in UST!!!!" Hows that?!!!

Achulde and Mommolde

Lots of folks have been asking, why I've named my kids Achulde and Mommolde!! The answer is I was hesitant about using the real names or pet names in the blog initially.(Though I am kind of comfortable now, I've got used to calling them Achulde and Mommolde in the blog) And I was searching for good names. Achu at that time, was not able to say 'Achu-inte' (malayalam equivalent of Achu's-meaning something that belong to Achu) and he used to say 'Achu-lde.' And for something that belongs to Aadi, he would say ' Momm-lde'( Mommo is what he calls Aadi).
Thats how I got those two cute names Achulde and Mommolde.

Jus for Kids!!

The husband thinks I should rename my blog as 'Jus for Kids' :) So what, atleast my kids can enjoy reading the posts, once they are grown ups - a journal on their mischiefs, what an idea Sirji :)

Photosession

How much time do you think it would take for a family of four to get a Family Photo taken at a Photo studio, specialising in the job? Half an hour, one hour ???
It took us 3 whole hours(Residence time, not just Service Delivery time, in purely S/w architecture terms)
The husband and self did kind of know what to expect, and we think we are very well prepared for whats in store. Going by the 'Barbar Balan 'experience and the kind of fuss that he puts in while just cutting his nail, we know that Achulde would be a star performer this time also. What we didnt expect though was that lil Mommolde will put in tough competition for his brother!!!
We reach Paramount Studion by 6 in the evening and their Ace photographer takes us to their model studio, which looks real grand and inviting. Main idea is to take ' typical Family photo and Photo of Mommolde in his Rolled Over state - a photo that you can find in any kerala home, would be a studio photo taken after the baby has rolled over.
Both the kiddos are in good mood, it can't get better than this!!!
I tell the photographer that we would like to get these 2 photos taken ASAP, before their mood changes. But the photographer has other ideas. He wants a photo of jus the kids and as expected the husband and self get carried away. We place Mommolde on the mat, he rolls over immediately and gives a smile. Now the P asks Achulde to lie down just like Mommolde, but the lil fella flatly refuses.In an act of convincing,the husband and self lay on our tummy , thank god
the P didnt take a snap then.Achulde agrees reluctantly initially, but the P does the mistake of coming closer to the venue and immediately Achulde changes his mind and walks away.P does a wise thing by taking solo picutres of Mommolde on a Bean bag.By then somehow, we make Achulde come back, but he wont lie down, he prefers sitting. So we try taking photo with one sitting and the other on his tummy, but there is a big gap between them and Achulde refuses to
budge.so we decide that we can make Mommolde sit next to Achulde and get a snap taken. The lil fellow is yet to sit by himself. So a new strategy is devised.
The husband would support Mommolde with his palm and once the P says 'ready', he would take his hand away and once the shot is taken, he would catch Mommolde before he falls down.And this we have to do in the next 10 seconds, before Achulde decides to walk away again. Shot is called, supporting hand moved away, snap taken --yes, yes, yes --But predictably the husband fails to support the lil one from behind and lil Mommolde falls straight on his back. He starts
wailing away to glory. So I take him out,soothe him and after a good 15 mts, he calms down, by the time we reach the venue, Achulde's solo session is going on. P has pulled out a chair and Achulde is posing solo. The husband is laughing out loud and narrating funny things to Achulde to make him smile and everytime the husband says, ' Smile', there's this weak giggle that we hear from Achulde, but no sign of smile in his face. Poor fellow, he thinks he has to
make giggling sound when asked to smile.And the real smile appears only after the flash goes blink!!! After 3-4 trials, the P says, its best to take natural snaps than making the kids smile !!!
Now is the time for the family phots. the husband, self and Mommolde sit on the chairs, but achulde decides to go and sit in a banana shaped chair, which lies in the corner of the room.We try to lure him, but he refuses to budge. Then its decided to pull the banana chair
in, so that we can get all of us in one place. But the moment , its pulled in, Achulde gets tired of sitting on it.Mommolde gets really cranky by now and we have no option other than calling it quits. P advises us to go for a round in the car and then come back. We decide to buy a couple of KitKats, and pass it onto the P, so that he can use the same to make Achulde pose!!! we get back in another half an hour and strategy is planned once again. Mommolde refuses to
pose solo, so the rolling over photo yet is out of question. We all pose and then Achulde starts whimpering. P shows the Kitkit in an attempt to lure him, Achulde's hand goes up and the whining turns to crying. We decide to give him one kit kit to hold, but he starts crying as he wants it opened. So finally one is unwrapped and given to him that makes him busy for a while.By then Mommolde is fussy, by the time he is comforted, Achulde has finished his chocolate and starts crying again. So the second one is given and meanwhile , the husband and self have been exchanging M and A, whoever needs comforting , is handed over to self- need based. Amidst all these scenes,the photographer manages to click a no. of family photos. Surprisingly, P's complaints are majorly against the parents. Sir is not smiling, Madam,is not looking this way etc etc!!
I got so irritated with Achulde's show , that the moment the P said 'Done', I could not resist giving A a good fat pinch!!! And he started his Raaga vistharam!! If you see the photos, you won't believe, all these happened!!!
All said and done,it indeed was worth the effort, no doubt about it :)