tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30896240686083619992024-03-20T02:41:41.115+05:30JustforkixMunchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03764495502869297675noreply@blogger.comBlogger55125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3089624068608361999.post-22452916932708333742013-05-04T14:27:00.000+05:302013-05-04T14:27:06.593+05:30Am Back!!!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Unbelievable but true :)<br />
This has been part of my plans for so many years now! to come back -- not sure whether I can say active blogging - but to revive the space and keep it live, yes!!! I owe myself that much. especially since the noble intention of the blog was to create space to capture the precious moments that my children can revisit and relive, when they are grown up and curious about how they were when they were young.<br />
But much water has flown since then, its been 3 years since even i visited the space!! But thanks to Google, I didnt have to address the issue of forgetting the password even, integrated account, yay!<br />
Achulde is 7 now and Mommolde is 5, we are in B'lore now , a lot of things have changed, the pace of life has become faster than ever! I'm still stuck with a job and not even thinking of a career, have thought about resigning atleast 3 dozen times and even initiated it a couple of times!Things haven't changed much that way ;)<br />
Will get into specifics in the coming posts and will upload the posts that I've typed and stored safely as well.I hope I can keep this space live and kicking<br />
Signing off for now <br />
<br /></div>
Munchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03764495502869297675noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3089624068608361999.post-27145323376377694132010-10-23T22:17:00.000+05:302010-10-23T22:17:49.119+05:30Dog StoriesWe had sniffer dogs sniffing up the whole 60 acres of campus, ie almost 80+ buildings in the campus, all thanks to the misdeeds of a wicked mind, who made an anonymous call about a possible bomb threat to our office campus.<br />
We’d got an email from the authorities mentioning that the campus was being combed , but I for one jumped off my skin when I heard a deep panting from behind and turned back to find a huge canine rite in front of me.<br />
But that was mild, when compared to my colleague’s reaction, when he came out of the rest room to find a huge police dog rite in front of him. And he had no clue about the combing operation also!!<br />
Soon, our project was abuzz with the team proclaiming either about their love for the animal or their fear!! And soon folks were sharing their experiences with canines.<br />
This had me rewinding to atleast 10 yrs back down the memory lane. One of funniest ever I've heard till date happened to my friend Asha,(P.S: she is a bigshot in TCS these days! ;), this happened, during the first summer of our posting in TCS,Chennai. Asha had this knack of starting and maintaining eye contact with any dog that she came across on the streets of Chennai- she would stare at it and murmur something to shoo it away and the dog , made curious by the unusual attention thats being bestowed upon it decides to reciprocate the same and to check the person out personally, decides to follow her.<br />
And one such time, when she was on her way back from work, she saw a dog on the road and started practicing her ‘ Art of hypnotizing a street dog’ immediately. This particular dog, as the case turned out to be, was a wee bit more curious than the ones from her previous encounters and kind of started chasing her in the beginning itself, rather than sniffing and soflty following, which is the unwritten rule, in most cases. It even managed to catch up with her and sniff her shoes , which scared the wits out of Asha who managed to jump into a Rickshaw that was whizzing by! <br />
Scared as she was, for a moment she forgot that she was in Chennai and that Chennai-ites did not understand what the mallu word ‘Patti’ meant. (Patti means dog, BTW). So instead of telling the driver where to go, she just exclaimed ‘ Patti, patti, patti’! to the driver. And that guy couldn’t fathom what she was telling him, could not link the word to any possible destinations that she mite want to go either. But I guess, he really wanted to help the lady in distress, and it looks like the closest word that came to mind his mind, was ‘theepetti’(matchbox), maybe coz of the rhyming of ‘patti’ and ‘petti’, and his brain would have prefixed the ‘thee’(fire ) to the word ‘petti’(box) in his urge to help. He dug his hands to his pockets , produced a matchbox and handed it over to a much shocked Asha!!! The expression on her face, I can easily envision. She herself couldn’t understand why the guy was offering her matches, obviously, she was not going to scare the dog by lighting fire there, but she was courteous enough to say No to the equally confused rickshaw wallah!<br />
It took an analysis session from us roomies, back home in Mullai for her to find out why the guy offered help with a matchbox!!Munchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03764495502869297675noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3089624068608361999.post-83092706602237733792010-10-18T20:50:00.000+05:302010-10-18T20:50:54.345+05:30Desiderata<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I realised how stressed I was when I caught myself searching for <a href="http://marilee.us/desiderata.html">Desiderata</a> in my laptop. The poem was my </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>must read everyday to keep myself sane while working in a couple of BT projects almost 8 yrs back while working in TCS. That was </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">the time during which I transitioned from a programmer to a module lead, how I despise myself for moving from tech to mgr zone then!!! It was indeed too early</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">It was for the first time then I started working in a really competitive environment, where your team whandles one module of the program and there are competitor </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>companies handling other modules. So a bug in the program was unacceptable and<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>mgrs were on top of you for figures and data and graphs and what nots!The most convenient thing to do was to give them </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">what they wanted and push down the prgramming to the TMs and thats what I had done too!!! Thats the single biggest mistake in my career, I believe. It was too early for me to give up programming.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">And I must confess ,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I never got back to the technology side at all and I missing that big time!!!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> Hey,I deviated from the actual topic ages back. Yeah, so during one of those BT pressure cooker days , when I came back to my desk after a<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>particularly heated squabble with onsite ,</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Desiderata was waiting for me in my inbox as an unread mail and the very first line just swept me in- first thing I did was to have a printout taken and placed rite in<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>front of me, nr my PC </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">and the comfort I drew everytime I read it was boundless.I moved on and multiple projects happened after that in TCS as well as in Infy, but though I've read Desiderata on and off, it was never on my cubicle after then</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">My current one is so stressful and I was neckdeep in it without realising that I was stressed to the core<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and then I caught myself searching for Desiderata.....</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Now I have it in my cubicle<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and I keep reading itevery now and then, and the effect is just the same. Magical</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I must confess, my TVM days project was also really really stressful especially the first one year, but then I had a magical cushion there --of wonderful friends, formed at a period in life where I thought I had grown too old for new friends and that too not one but a bunch of them-- will keep that for another time :)</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">PS : If and where the mind is without fear are two other poems that have a profound effect on me…</span></div>Munchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03764495502869297675noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3089624068608361999.post-31821079215819287302010-10-02T21:29:00.003+05:302010-10-02T21:29:51.078+05:30Maruti Suzuki<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Achu does have a good sense of humour , I believe! I mean for a four year old, hes doing quite well. The other<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>day, when Mommo who is yet to get full bladder control, did soosoo on his shorts,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Achulde was exclaiming. ‘ You know what Amma, Mommo is Maruti Suzuki’, I was confused for a moment- both of them love cars, but Maruti Suzuki is neither in their love list or hate list’ . Then he explained further, hes always<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Susu-ing in his pants, so we will call him Suzuki </span><span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The other day they were both so much into role play, Mommo was the doctor and he had the stethoscope on and was examining Achu patient, in a while they both were gone to the next room, and then Achulde comes running commenting’ Amma , amma , your son na, the Dr. he has done susu on his pants again!!!!</span></div>Munchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03764495502869297675noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3089624068608361999.post-35809530732705421742010-10-02T21:29:00.000+05:302010-10-02T21:29:20.523+05:30Jai Hanuman<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Achu is a big fan of Lord Hanuman, if I call home from my phone, if hes the one answering the call, it is never a hello, it is a Jai Sreeram, Jai Hanuman from him!!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I guess R’s mother has a very prominent role in this development, when we go to Aluva, she shows this picture book of Hanuman and tells him stories. The lil fellow is yet to realize that people will make fun of him for proclaiming he is Hanuman,. I for one was very relieved when he had switched from Hanuman<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>for a short time, but now he’s back to Hanuman with full force.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sometimes hes carrying Rama and Lakshmana on his shoulders, sometimes bringing Sanjeevani for Lakshman. He transforms into some character or the other in Ramayana, worst is when the two of them are Bali and Sugreeva, they are always attacking with the Gada!!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">For a while, he was Narasimha, when he happened to hear the new story, and would tell the full story to anyone who would acknowledge his presence. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">And when he is Hanuman, I am Sita and R is Rama and poor Mommolde is Ravana and sometimes his Appuppa is Ravana and them Mommolde gets to become Lakshmana </span><span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The funniest part is he cannot say ‘Sri Rama’, he says ‘CRama’ and then I can’t help correcting him , no Achu he cannot be C Rama, he would be D Rama—the poor fellow wouldn’t understand at all and gets<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>confused to the core, no Amma it is C Rama only’ and I cant help but tease him more on the same lines :)</span></div>Munchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03764495502869297675noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3089624068608361999.post-22457506782465656792010-09-26T20:44:00.001+05:302010-09-26T20:45:27.244+05:30An update on my Snip Snip Snip!Donno, whether you guys remember an anecdote on my adventures/experiments with Achu's hair just 2 days before his birthday, well, that got published in the DC newsletter of Infy :)<br />
Had edited it a teeny weeny bit to remove 'too much of personal stuff'<br />
<br />
Here is the new version<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif';">A ‘Barber’ic Act </span></div><div align="right" class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: right;"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 13pt;">- Manju Malathy </span></div><div style="background: white; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">So there I was, sitting in the lounge of Ruby Salon, waiting for the hairdresser to make his appearance. Achu, my son was on my lap fast asleep. Time, I felt was tired of moving at the same pace always and had decided to take a break and go for a stroll. And time was what I didn’t have on me. If the lil’ fellow decides that he’s had enough of his afternoon siesta, then all my plans stand cancelled. My heartbeat had returned to normal, just half an hour back, when the receptionist at Ruby Arena told me over phone that indeed they do consider and attend to cases where, Moms’ attempts to cut their kids’ hair backfires! ”</span></div><div style="background: white;"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">It was just 2 days to go before my Achu’s 2nd birthday and that was when I decided that my little one badly needs a haircut. I just couldn’t refrain from<br />
getting into the act, though I very well knew , that all such experiments taken up previously by self also had not yielded good results.<br />
But I just had to, you know and there I go. He has just gone to sleep and wouldn’t get up for the next couple of hours, so goes my calculations. I have all the time- in fact more time than I would ever need and all instruments handy- the scissors, electric shaver, the combs- you name it, I have it. Should try out the mushroom cut this time, the coiffeuse in me whispered, the hair is lengthy enough to permit the style. The little fellow normally sleeps on his tummy, giving me all the freedom to execute the style in all its glory.<br />
Sniiiiiiip goes the scissors from near the right earlobe to the left- I make a straight cut - non-stop. Half my job is done, or so I think, I congratulate myself “well done Mama Bear, good job! Way to go!!.”<br />
Oh well, did I say, half the job is done? Do wait for a moment.<br />
There is this straight line, I agree but what do I do with the hair beneath the straight-line-cut? What do I do with that? Achu would surely wake up, if I use the noisy electric shaver. I will have to rely on the scissors and shorten the hair beneath the line. Maybe I’ll make it crew-cut like. Very clever!<br />
But the scissors had a mind of its own, apparently, ‘coz in no time, there appears a skin colored patch -rite there.<br />
Why is the skin showing up here? Now where did the hair go?<br />
And more importantly how do I correct this? And hey, most importantly, how do I turn Achu into presentable form, on his birthday?<br />
How can I do such a stupid thing?<br />
That’s precisely what brought us to Ruby Arena at half past two on a hot Friday afternoon!</span></div><div style="background: white; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">Now, you might be wondering why, I didn’t take him to the hair dressers directly, instead of committing such a crime? To be honest, empathy is the only<br />
reason I have. Why subject the poor hairdresser to Achu’s hate crimes? I don’t know what is it about that class (Hairdressers) as a whole, that<br />
brings out the worst in Achu. Not only does he cry non-stop, but somehow gets super human strength to practice all his kick boxing steps on them as well.</span></div><div style="background: white; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">While in Bangalore, all the salons that we’ve visited once have flatly refused to take us for a second session. The funniest was when we went to the beauty parlour run in our apartment complex itself. The lady was so glad to see us both. Looked like we were the only ones visiting her in a long long time. Achu didn’t have a clue that it was for a hair cut session and even had a song on his lips!</span></div><div style="background: white;"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">There were three trained staff in the parlour and one of them very enthusiastically brought out all the equipments and I noticed the big ‘Q’ forming on Achu’s face. I warned all of them, on what’s in store for them, but they all refused to take me seriously. I sat on the chair with him on my lap, and used the technique I learned from my peadiatrician on how to immobilise a child safely. Though I knew that I wouldn’t be able to hold like that for long. And Achu on his part had started his practice sessions too. The moment he saw the instruments, his energy appeared from nowhere and soon the other 2 girls offered to help and caught hold of his arms and legs respectively. In the next 10-15 minutes that followed, I cannot recollect what all I did, Achu was trying with all his might, the girls were clinging onto wherever they could hold and the main beautician, perhaps not knowing what else to do, had decided to join the lot who were already clinging on. At one point I caught a glimpse of the action on the huge mirror on the wall. I was standing by this time, tightly holding him, so that the scissors won’t hurt him. Achu was clinging onto me and wailing away to glory. The two girls were clinging onto Achu from two sides and one of them was holding me also tightly, I have no clue as to why! The girl who was cutting his hair could be seen once in a while, appearing and disappearing in and out of this formation. And the beautician lady was holding me tightly, with all her mite. Yup, I checked a second time, just to make sure! Apparently ‘coz she couldn’t get to hold Achu, she was standing behind me and had her arms around my shoulders, wrapping me tightly. Achu was so weak by this time, his crying had become a mere whimper, but still he was kicking! When the act got over finally, the much relieved Achu gave a weak ‘Byeeee’ ‘Byeeee’ to all of them; they all were too tired to even respond. I promised myself that I should use my cam-corder next time I visit a parlour, so that I can use the video to blackmail Achu later.</span></div><div style="background: white;"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">Well coming back to the ‘Birthday debacle’–this time around, I just want to save his face and save myself from some ‘kind words’ from everyone else. I had no excuse whatsoever, for doing such a thing.<br />
And the conversation going on inside the parlour, did not impart the much needed confidence in me either. I can make out from the accent that it’s a client from Maldives.<br />
‘No, no, not like, that, don’t make it short, no, NOOO, don’t DONTTT’.<br />
‘Is this okay?’- I hear a feeble second voice, that of the hairdresser (Let’s call him ‘H’), to which there was no reply for a long long time followed by a very disappointed ‘Anyway you’ve done exactly what I’d told you not to … ‘! Not very encouraging, huh!</span></div><div style="background: white; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">Oh well the poor poor guy, I thought to myself, he has no inkling of what is in store for him, in the shape of Achu, his client in waiting!<br />
Achu decides to wake up at this point, leading to the much dreaded ‘worst -case ‘ scenario. Poor Achu and poor poor H that is all I could think.</span></div><div style="background: white; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">Soon we had the stage set- only the time and venue changes, the action and the reactions all remain the same — the scenes are much familiar to the lead artists i.e. Achu and self, those on supporting role though initially clueless, invariably jump into action with much vigour, remain stunned on seeing Achu’s actions and then recollect themselves and get into a ‘wrap it up somehow’ mode. And every single time, a couple of enthusiastic onlookers would join, thinking they can help -poor fellows! Once we even had a enthusiastic shopkeeper from the neighbouring vessel shop coming out to help his hairdresser friend.</span></div><div style="background: white; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">To cut a long story short, 25 minutes later, we all came out, flabbergasted, exhausted, relieved and glad that it’s over!</span></div><div style="background: white; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">Achu said his TM weak Byeeee Byeee this time also and the H was not at all amused. But it was indeed a win-win situation for all of us. Me, because the bald patch had finally disappeared - H had managed to make it a mushroom cut-crew cut mix, Achu ‘coz he had managed to gift the H a couple of dozen freekicks as return gift for favours received and H because we were out of the place finally!</span></div>Munchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03764495502869297675noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3089624068608361999.post-25940770738096106382010-05-07T15:27:00.000+05:302010-09-26T19:48:42.647+05:30All for this one moment<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span></div><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Have you seen the Lufthansa advt with the caption that goes ' All for this one moment'.The gist of the ad is that it has mulitple pics(an excited boy watching a flight take off, a traveller sleeping comfortable in the flight, a couple meeting each other in airport/flight) with this caption conveying that ' we dont mind all the hassles and hooplas in our business and are gratified if our customer gets this one special moment in his life , because of us.</span> <br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The power of this caption came to my mind strongly recently, when a very tiny little routine act that happens daily made me think ' All for this one moment'.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> Its so easy to get sucked into the fast pace of our daily lives and end up postponing 'n' no of things, not even thinking about 'n' other things that used to bring a smile to your eyes everytime and do even the most dearest of things that you cherish doing, mechanically. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Life for me had reached that point y'day and it was not just y'day, it had been going on like that for quite sometime. The one hour before you start to work is filled to the fullest that it overflows all the time!!!--- running from task to task, completing and tickmarking and then hoping to the next one, defines the hour. Its the most draining one hour , thank God, it comes in the morning. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">You will laugh, if I describe the activities.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Helping Achulde and Mommolde with their daily brushing,,making sure that they dont swallow the paste,helping them with daily Potty ,helping them with their bath, helping them dress up, packing their set of additional clothes and breakfast- - all look like deceptively simple tasks. But if the two of them have opinion of their own in each of these activities, then its a different ballgame altogether. Mommolde would run with the paste in his mouth to the sitting room, I need to run after him , but the fact that Achulde is alone in the bathroom and the bucket is full of water, would make me sprint back to the bathroom.They start running out of the bathroom ' at the drop of a ...hmmm waterdrop'!!!, I guess, as they know, that , I'll run after them. and invariably one would run and one would stay in the bathroom, making things complicated!! And they hate towel drying their hair, they start running and I just cant let go off them, as I dont want them to catch cold. Since I need to use both my hands to towel dry, I cant hold them and dry.so that gives them all the more freedom to run. And I would be in a slightly bent position for this as well, so I need to run after them in that position- Mommolder with the towel over his head and face and running forward, without seeing and me following , trying to dry his hair with the towel- i'd be panting by this time,as its more or less like a frog leaping excercise for me!!!and I need to get back as Achulde would be in the bathroom. You've no idea, how many situps I do in that one hour!!!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">But then, once I towel dry Achulde , I wrap the towel on him and I just gather him into my arms , and he'll give me s tight hug and close his eyes and remain there with his chin over my shoulder , without uttering a word and I just look into the mirror and watch his content face happily. Thats my ' All for this one moment'.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">And I got a blessing very recently. My lil Mommolde also has started doing the same thing. Ofcourse he has no clue , abt this tiny token of appreciation that’s shared by Amma and Achulde!! So he took my by surprise, when a couple of days back, when I towel wrapped him after the daily dose of frog leaping cum towel drying and gathered him to my arms, and the lil fellow like Achulde, gave me a hug and fell onto my shoulders, with his eyes closed and sucking his thumb, his face content. ‘ All for this one moment'!!!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div>Munchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03764495502869297675noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3089624068608361999.post-34107095909927140842010-03-10T22:22:00.000+05:302010-09-19T19:38:54.733+05:30Lorry or Glory ?!I recently came to know of one long running series in Asianet thats been entertaining the Mallu junta for over 3 yrs now.Its at 7 in the evening mon-fri.all the usual masala et al . And I for one am totally against these serial killers!!! And I had no clue that my Achan and Amma were addicted to this series as well.And how I came to know is funny. We'd reached home much earlier than usual by 6:30 that day. TV was playing in the backend as usual, and then suddenly when one of the lead female characters came onscreen, Achulde exclaimed ' Look Lorry, Lorry'. I couldn't find any HMV in the screen and was confussed.Following the serial for a minute explained it all. The lead character's name was Glory.I looked at Amma with disbelief and my amma was like" its ok, its coz he sees all these advertisementsabout this serial, he doesnt watch the serial, we dont watch the serial or anything, you dont worry kinds!!!' I would have believed her,but then in the next scene they showed a white swift car coming from adistance and Achulde was like' Look Amma , thats Prakash's car' and you know what Aakash drives a blue Zen Estillo' and my jaw dropped, surely my son wouldnt know all this from the advetisements for sure!!!My child has been following a serial at this age and that too a painkili one!!Munchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03764495502869297675noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3089624068608361999.post-49754404150605584162010-02-13T12:20:00.000+05:302010-09-19T19:38:14.475+05:30UpdatesA lot of things have changed, lots of water has flown through Thames as well as our Aluva puzha. Mommolde turned two and is much more naughtier than Achulde was at this age. And the favourite pastime for both has been to take on each other as if they are equals,they fight atleast 80% of their waking hours. At school, Achulde is more interested in keeping to his friends circle and Mommolde likes playing with himself.Hes not yet reached the age when they start playing with friends.But they both keep an eye on each other. But once they reach home, its as if they've entered the war zone. They play together for the first 10 mts and then they start the Big Fight. And I reach home, a good 4 hours after they reach, hats off to Achan and Amma for playing referree till then.Munchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03764495502869297675noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3089624068608361999.post-55889707392585898372010-02-13T11:32:00.000+05:302010-09-19T19:37:26.538+05:30Oh well!oh well, If my procrastination continues at this pace, I will soon defeat the purpose of this blog. when my boys come to this page, after the initial ecstasy of being able to see how they were when they were babies, they'll soon find what a lazy bum their mom is,not able to even key in a few words a week and that too when they are upto n thing every hour!!! certainly its not coz she cant find things to write about, shes spoilt for choice in that arena. then what is it thats keeping their mom from keeping her word!!!Well she had decided to start afresh from New Years, but then that would look too ordinary.every other resolution maker and keeper would be doing the same. And in any case the birthday is coming up soon, so why not be a lil' diffnt and start from the b'day onwards!!! the birthday came and went, birthday resolutions are better than New Yrs. Thoda hatke hain. but again it isn't that diffn't. So just take up another day, when no one would think, you'd be back in the act and then pretend, you were never out of the scene, its just that, your friend weren't visiting your page that often, you know.<br />
Last time I tried a diffnt trick altogether, I had not been active for almost 3-4months and then one fine day descended with half a dozen entries and adjusted the dates and my friends were baffled, " Oh we didn't know you were writing'!! comments poured in ;)<br />
This time, let me hope, I stay active as a regular for long time, making frends, visiting frens and most importantly , sustaining the same...Munchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03764495502869297675noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3089624068608361999.post-32293812341653124242009-09-12T22:21:00.001+05:302009-10-02T14:41:29.086+05:30Boys are fun<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGshohlL-YVbpPO7X6hkAP554tuNvENrPf061pb232jFmHiMVFD9k6fjMJ0KLKxY_6zfIb9mig1BDLPog-s7z-Vbrmp0j97BjOgc5WzPuYddBPOT8FZIBbjK7PIHW_ZfLsPIQwXsgBrgI/s1600-h/2boys2.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5387927693876461714" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 91px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGshohlL-YVbpPO7X6hkAP554tuNvENrPf061pb232jFmHiMVFD9k6fjMJ0KLKxY_6zfIb9mig1BDLPog-s7z-Vbrmp0j97BjOgc5WzPuYddBPOT8FZIBbjK7PIHW_ZfLsPIQwXsgBrgI/s200/2boys2.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><p>People often ask me about how I've been able to manage work and home without much hassles with 2 boys around?! Until recently, I used to think that this whole stuff they talk abt managing two boys is a much hyped up non- issue. But slowly, it has started to sink in.Now the sitution some of the time atleast makes me move into ' I couldn't agree more agree more to it ' lines.</p><br /><p>Especially after my chetts and family came for vacation(they have two girls), I am forced to accept the theory or fact that, bringing up boys is a different ball game altogether. Girls(at this age atleast) , I think listen and think more. With boys ,the acting comes first and thinking comes later at leisure time, if you have the patience to explain it to them then.Or is just with my boys?!!! I wonder.</p><br /><p>Boys resort to fighting physically at the drop of a hat. With Achu, pushing /pulling/beating/pinching Mommo is like second nature. I think girls cry more than boys do, but my lil ones offer competition in that arena too, they can beat any girl in wailing/crying non-stop.</p><br /><p>On days when I feel esp bad for scolding them or punishing Achu, I feel miserable and take resolutions on how I would behave from that day onwards. But once back home, resolutiosn fly out of the window, mostly in the first 10 mts - latest within the first 30mts itself.I must admit that this must have something to do with the long hours at work as well, cannot deny that. But the credit due to the boys- they must get that, rite ;)</p><br /><p>I dont know why both of them need the same thing at the same point in time and have not qualms abt laying hands on each other to get possession.We made it a point to point to buy anything and everything in twos so that such fights dont occur.But then for certain toys, you just cannot buy two of them like the mini toy car- how can you have two ofthe kind in one home. I think you should not have it at all, if you cannot have two of a kind!!! And guess what, it doesnt stop there, even if you buy two of anything. Theres a competition on to dismantle anything that they can get hold of and its a matter of an hour or two, before the parts are seen lying all over the place. Once this is achieved, both of them would want the better toy all to themselves!!!And the latest trend in this industry is that they mostly want only the thing that the other one is playing with currently and not anythingelse!!!And Achulde, who is quite popular in the class for his penchant for prophesing the joys of sharing with his Kuttaaaar( kuttukaar for friends),is no role model when at home. He is the one who needs anything and everything that Mommolde is playing with. Mommolde on the other hand lets go most of the time (in comparison), but if its something, then he must have, then theres no stopping him either.And mind you, you can't take sides, you need to be impartial- but in my case, one of them is still a baby and not a boy yet, so Achulde gets the advantage most of the times., when the two take in each other.And the moment, I take Mommolde's side, this fellow throws tantrums!!! I'm just waiting for the time, they can take on each other as equals. I'll atleast be spared from taking sides then!!</p><br /><p>Another thing I noticed is that the boys speak louder than girls and if you have to make yourself heard, your volume needs to be even higher. Then as the TV would be playing in the background atleast 16/7, your voice needs to be on a higher decibel than the boys and the tv's!!! And I think boys are fuzzy eaters as well. My boys had not had much of an issue in terms of being very selective on food, but post the cousins' visit they've been introduced to the worldly vices of maggi and black juice-'pepsi'. And of course ice creams!!!<br />All said and done, I realise how much of a challenging task this is. To bring them up well, without any partiality or prejudice and giving them no reason to complain, being there for them, not letting them down - thus paving the way to bring them up as confident , responsible caring and compassionate individuals- thats the bare minimum that we as parents should be able to do for them.(Touchwood, I hope they turn out so!!!)</p>Munchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03764495502869297675noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3089624068608361999.post-81577792805596206772009-08-22T22:12:00.001+05:302009-10-02T14:58:45.788+05:30Certification time yet again<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieVjNeysZbkvc8mT2tO9Le6QptQnf5ODnGPRzQflitsPoSRHaRu9xghgXCGPaOJCxe1ufm2G-bNTyEkXb-f65c6TnwGDnNFu6upVVPgYt7iLkgT-3JurP-NR5FSQwDSpKHsg_qyvx5sRQ/s1600-h/girls.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5387932161317437954" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 96px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 96px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieVjNeysZbkvc8mT2tO9Le6QptQnf5ODnGPRzQflitsPoSRHaRu9xghgXCGPaOJCxe1ufm2G-bNTyEkXb-f65c6TnwGDnNFu6upVVPgYt7iLkgT-3JurP-NR5FSQwDSpKHsg_qyvx5sRQ/s200/girls.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><p>Those who have been regularly following me on my blog would know already, how I've been faring on the certification side, that my company has mandated. Now they have slightly modified the rules. 2 certs in an year has been changed to one cert every 6 months!! So it requires you to take the certification every 6 months, you cannot postpone till the year end :( And I had to take one before Sept end. And since my <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">chetts</span> and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">fmly</span> are coming over for <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Onam</span> which falls on the first week of Sept. I just thought it would be best to take it before <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Onam</span>. And I was feeling quite confident on taking this exam, as I was also involved in preparing the training material for this certification sometime last year, I hoped it would all come to me, while in the certification hall.I just needed sometime to read the material once.I had registered for the exam on 20<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">th</span> and on 18<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">th</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">nite</span>, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">Achulde</span> started showing symptoms of fever!!!Now , how many times I've warned myself against procrastinating- and I <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">dont</span> understand how I end up doing that all the time. And I had kept most of the material untouched, saving it for a last time read on the eve of the exam!!! I ended up touching the material only by 8 in the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">nite</span>, after taking <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">Achulde</span> to hospital <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">et</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12">al</span>.Ended burning midnight oil and somehow managed to read it all once.</p><br /><p>Managed to scrape through, which is more than enough for me. Couldn't ask for more. :)</p>Munchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03764495502869297675noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3089624068608361999.post-13440918652883116752009-07-22T20:06:00.000+05:302009-10-02T11:36:02.913+05:30On Sabarimala and grand parents<p>Last time the husband went to <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Sabarimala</span> was before our <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">kalyanam</span>, and he'd been planning to go <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">eversince</span>. So when his cousin called up , informing his plans to go during July, he decided to go <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">alongwith</span> them. So we all went to <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Aluva</span> and from there they did the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">Kettunirakkal</span> and proceeded to <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">Sabarimala</span>. It has been raining cats and dogs this monsoon and the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">Manalppuram</span> temple is already submerged.</p><p>You know what, every year, during the monsoon, the river overflows and the temple submerges completely, during which time they move the <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">Deity</span> to another place in the vicinity and perform <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">pooja</span> there. And where the area allotted for regular car park <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">et</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">al</span> during the normal times, the river would be just ankle deep when it overflows - making it an ideal place for recreation-the whole town would be present there on such <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12">occasions</span> . That evening me and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13">Amma</span> took <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_14">Achulde</span> and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_15">Mommolde</span> to <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_16">Manalppuram</span>, and both of them were scared in the beginning, but I somehow tricked <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_17">Achulde</span> into entering into the waters, after which we had a nice time there. He just refused to come out later on. </p><p>The husband and cousins had a nice <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_18">Darshan</span> at <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_19">Sabarimala</span> and came back by evening of the next day.</p><p>After coming over to <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_20">Tvpm</span>, we've been frequenting <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_21">Aluva</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_22">atleast</span> once a month, I guess.My children have been getting to meet both set of grand parent quite frequently. And they are quite attached to them as well.That I think is a very rare thing to happen these times. </p>Munchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03764495502869297675noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3089624068608361999.post-36238875715120760982009-07-17T22:05:00.001+05:302009-10-02T15:07:49.961+05:30Aerobics<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwccJk-FqKvR3W_euamUz2QgXmzpT31IT_-ml-_CWoXWRGyr4TT4c_KwiypxZ4wHzu1sQs453YOECNefb31qvaBcLJ0laZgdTTP7tnqthMTnTOtf1PFUBMLzPzy7iiE8CIbz2wE1zQK34/s1600-h/workout.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5387934489538633138" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 138px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 114px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwccJk-FqKvR3W_euamUz2QgXmzpT31IT_-ml-_CWoXWRGyr4TT4c_KwiypxZ4wHzu1sQs453YOECNefb31qvaBcLJ0laZgdTTP7tnqthMTnTOtf1PFUBMLzPzy7iiE8CIbz2wE1zQK34/s200/workout.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div>Though I'd not put on much weight during my second pregnancy, whatever I've put on has been on the wrong places,and its just refusing to go way. And since you could call me a foodie, there's no way I could diet my way into my good ole' clothes, that have been waiting patiently in the wardrobe all these years. I just had to shape up to get into those , I kept on telling myself, but couldn't bring myself to start attending any session - there was nothing in the vicinity and I was <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">way too</span> lazy to start practising on my own. It was then that the HR team of my org announced a week o<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">f</span> activities based on themes. One of the sessions was <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Aerobics</span>, High speed <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">exercises</span> were never my cup of tea. I preferred the Yoga <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">any day</span>. But in this session, that lasted for barely 40 <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">mts</span></span>, we were made to do a workout for 15 <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">mts</span></span>, that left us all out of breath and panting and excited as well. I never thought I could move fast and I thought I needed a long time to grasp the steps. But I guess, I was just imagining thing up maybe. So when this hoarding ' Learn Aerobics' popped up in my neighbourhood, I decided to give it a try. yeah true, it takes me more time to master the steps, but I've been improving and I've not called it quits yet as well(<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">touchwood</span></span>!!!). Though the results on the weighing scale are not encouraging, I am determined to continue. I would love to wear those dresses before the new year!! No high hopes, as I am fully aware of binging habits and weakness for good food!!!</div>Munchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03764495502869297675noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3089624068608361999.post-79712013995449547312009-06-21T22:03:00.003+05:302009-10-02T15:13:49.105+05:30Roller skating<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX4Buujas5EhikUvlJFk_vGmQlNXxFfMPT5iiXHSnNeajoB0H7lmCaTjB5-Ed3s_1r6vZ5t2TovXhyczHOuH9IMiovm8GcK445U9TRu4iJNbXE08daqCXcvASFjEVSTzp61Rpx7FJOHnU/s1600-h/rs.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5387935539505586114" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 114px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 127px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX4Buujas5EhikUvlJFk_vGmQlNXxFfMPT5iiXHSnNeajoB0H7lmCaTjB5-Ed3s_1r6vZ5t2TovXhyczHOuH9IMiovm8GcK445U9TRu4iJNbXE08daqCXcvASFjEVSTzp61Rpx7FJOHnU/s200/rs.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiYtoRwaoJdDj4ESUx_iLmhd1MHs1uxkoA5B2AiRGbAmMZJSMfzCOYoyhxZCl0YRY6qUDcqHPKwiAo4oWb-uJzfcicZ4q1qSaLbhCMEEoJdJmjDezU3LFzTC6xem_Rqp23OPzCz_JOyGo/s1600-h/rollerskating.gif"></a><br /><br /><div>Now that the summer holidays have started, all you can see all over the city are advertisements for summer classes for kids for Yoga, aerobics,painting, musicals- vocal and instrumental and dance.And my excitement hit the roof when I saw advt for skating classes put up all over the city. that is one skill I'd always wanted to master. We'd tried to find out coaching classes while in <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">B'lore</span></span>, but were quite <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1"><span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">unsuccessful</span></span>. One more thing to add to the list of good things that happened after moving to <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Tvpm</span></span>, I already told myself, as if I'd already joined and mastered the art. I called up the phone no that was given in the advt and the guy who answered was amused to find that I was not in the age range of 3- 18. he <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3"><span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">couldn't</span></span> believe his ears when I told him my profile, I think he just <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4"><span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">didn't</span></span> tell me that he thought I'm nuts to attempt at this age. So he told me to call him after the ' Peak season'. So I waited <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5"><span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">patiently</span></span> for 2 <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">months</span></span> and called him up in June, He refused to answer. And finally when he picked up, he said, he cannot spare any time for me. I felt so let down. I <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">was not</span></span> asking for exclusive time, I was ready to learn along with the others, i <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8"><span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">couldn't</span></span> possible understand why he wouldn't teach me and the hubby. So when we saw this write up on The Hindu about one <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9"><span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">skating</span></span> academy near <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">Chaaka</span></span>, which is almost 30<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">kms</span></span> plus <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12"><span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12">from</span></span> where we stay, we decided to enquire there. They sounded okay, when I spoke to them over phone, so early <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13"><span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13">morning</span></span> on <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_14"><span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_14">Saturday</span></span> we both went all the way to <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_15"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_15">Chaaka</span></span> and while passing by the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_16"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_16">Kowdiar</span></span> palace, we saw this group skating right in front of the palace and assumed that it must be the guy whom we'd spoken to earlier , who;d refused to teach us . Though we went all the way there, we just ended up watching the trainer and the students from inside our car, as we knew it was not going to work out,the distance was way too much.So reluctantly we came back and on our way back, we spotted the same group still practising in front of the palace.This time, we decided to give it a try and <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_17">convinced</span> ourselves that if the instructor talks to us, he mite realise how <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_18">enthusiastic</span> we are about the whole thing and mite decide to teach us. This person turned out to be yet another instructor and he was more than glad to take us in as students. And so we've begun our skating sessions. I just hope, I'll get rolling sometime in the near future.</div></div>Munchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03764495502869297675noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3089624068608361999.post-44085916261266890342009-05-30T20:32:00.001+05:302009-10-02T12:08:10.293+05:30Achulde turns 3<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu7WmhA-hiTkIyqtGWu5Of3tv0RqdsB-yKmJD_d_piD_jfuUmRbMJ2lZm58JsqwVvzODRMVopaxwuidngynW8SHvusxQpZ9cXN2ndKhMtCrFzmdInNA_Hn2q4UzK8oX-1v1v-fZdCJo3g/s1600-h/little_monkey_3rd_birthday_boy_sticker-p217653363637273735qjcl_400.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5387888207532552914" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu7WmhA-hiTkIyqtGWu5Of3tv0RqdsB-yKmJD_d_piD_jfuUmRbMJ2lZm58JsqwVvzODRMVopaxwuidngynW8SHvusxQpZ9cXN2ndKhMtCrFzmdInNA_Hn2q4UzK8oX-1v1v-fZdCJo3g/s200/little_monkey_3rd_birthday_boy_sticker-p217653363637273735qjcl_400.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><p><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Achulde</span> turned 3 years old on 28<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">th</span>. Man, time flies!!! He wanted Mickey Mouse cake for his <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">b'day</span>. We'd placed the order at <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Ambrosia</span> and they were okay with delivering on the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">b'day</span> morning directly at school. But on the previous <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">nite</span>, we heard rumours <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">about</span> a <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">hartal</span> in the offing. Well this is the land of <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">bandhs</span> and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">hartals</span> , that too lightning ones, that just gets called on and off at some <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">political</span> party's whim and fancy!!!So we thought it would be a good idea to bring and keep the cake in our refrigerator itself , so that we can avoid unnecessary worries. So we went and brought the came from there and guess what, very soon found that the cake was too huge to fit into our refrigerator, We took it out of the cardboard case and tried to place it inside, but still it refused to go in. Do I need anything more to worry <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">abt</span> and in the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12">huzzle</span><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13">buzzle</span> that followed, the side of the cake that I was holding , slipped from my hand and while trying to catch, my fingers wen right into Mickey's throat!!! I was in tears. There was only minimal damage, but that was enough. How would Ac<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_14">hulde</span> take a <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_15">damaged</span> one to school?! I mustered all my courage and called the cake guys up. Although it was closing time, they were good enough to wait till I took the cake back and then corrected the damage and offered to <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_16">safekeep</span> for me and deliver the next day despite the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_17">hartaal</span>!!! We have the baddie, the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_18">bandh</span> and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_19">hartaal</span> guys and then we have such nice <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_20">ppl</span> also around too, for a change :)</p><br /><p><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_21">PN</span>: <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_22">Achulde's</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_23">b'day</span> celebrations went well too :)</p>Munchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03764495502869297675noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3089624068608361999.post-27553398786451126822009-05-25T07:58:00.001+05:302009-10-02T15:17:38.702+05:30Hospital time<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglQpiAHua38PIOGkejYWT7hFZOl6TCXbbNsl3QW1L9QNTFzJhb-V0bczQ8wU80rs0vrErSmVKUQnNHWUP5EZEF-Bj52Y8gCial1oiwUGr9RjFB3ZstoZw6LBNlYFxVNmay1_Cqll2WHsI/s1600-h/bed.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5387937019162440002" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 135px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 102px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglQpiAHua38PIOGkejYWT7hFZOl6TCXbbNsl3QW1L9QNTFzJhb-V0bczQ8wU80rs0vrErSmVKUQnNHWUP5EZEF-Bj52Y8gCial1oiwUGr9RjFB3ZstoZw6LBNlYFxVNmay1_Cqll2WHsI/s200/bed.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div>Normally its <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Mommolde</span> who marks his calendar regularly <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">every month</span> for a hospital visit.<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Achulde</span> would be the culprit though, bringing in the cold n' cough without fail <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">every month</span>. But he <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">doesn't</span> fall sick really. He gets just a minor version of it, but he loyally passes it onto <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">Mommolde</span> who ends up in hospital most of the time.Once we switched the doctor, we were able to contain with just visits and no admissions. So this time around, when <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">Achulde</span> fell sick,I thought it would be like every other time. But his fever spiked by <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">Friday</span> evening and it was well past the Doc's private consultation hours,so we had to take him to the OP.And I knew what was on store for me. They almost invariably manage to get the child admitted, based on my previous <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">experience</span>, but when your child has fever around 103-104, you stop worrying <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">about</span> all that, <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">don't</span> you. My main concern was that, I was so sure, I wouldn't be able to make <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">Achulde</span> stay in the hospital, he would be scared and restless for sure and he would cry out so loud that he would turn the whole place upside down. I was hoping that we'd get a single room.But like I knew already, there were no rooms available and they admitted him in the <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12">Paediatric</span> ICU. He placed himself in their hall of fame, when they attempted to have the <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13">cannula</span> on his wrist for giving antibiotics, by producing the highest decibel voice in the known history of the hospital!!!I was there in the room, so the Nurse aunties asked me to wait <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_14">outside</span> and 3 of them managed to hold him and took the blood for all the tests and inserted the needle for the <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_15">cannula</span> as well. Inside the ICU also, only one of us could be with him and he created quite a tantrum by calling out for Me when I was outside and for the hubby when he was outside. We both knew he just had a fever out of this chest infection , but that was not the case with some other children who were admitted there. Some of them were really unwell and the last thing those parents would want in the vicinity would be an impatient toddler crying away to glory and showing tantrums.He just refused to sleep on the bed and wanted the <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_16">cannula</span> to be removed and wanted to go home. After a couple of hours he fell asleep on my shoulders and <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_17">that's</span> when I finally managed to put him on the bed after so many hours.In the morning, he was running all over the place with a couple of balloons and trying to make friends with the other kids prompting one doctor to think loudly ' whether the hosp admits healthy kids also these days?!!!' I was worried for him ,as he mite catch infections from other kids and worried for the other kids due to the kinds of disturbance that he was causing. We were just waiting for our doc to come, so that we would be discharged from the hosp, but that was not to be. Since the fever was persisting, they decided to discharge him only on <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_18">Sunday</span>. But luckily for us we got a room just in time, so the next 24 hours were much better.I was just hoping that fever would be completely gone by <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_19">Sunday</span>, the last thing I wanted was <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_20">Mommolde</span> catching this infection.<span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_21">Moreover</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_22">Mommolde</span> was pretty upset that all 3 of us were missing from <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_23">home</span> all on a sudden.Reached back home by <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_24">Sunday</span> evening, and by <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_25">Monday</span> morning, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_26">lil</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_27">Mommolde</span> was running a high temperature!!!But luckily it subsided well in 2 days time and we <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_28">didn't</span> have to get him admitted. I was esp worried as it was <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_29">Achulde</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_30">b'day</span> on 28<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_31">th</span>.<br />But these hospital visits are humbling experiences indeed.</div>Munchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03764495502869297675noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3089624068608361999.post-83636457924198757102009-05-01T08:10:00.000+05:302009-10-02T11:26:48.482+05:30The City of school seasons<p>I think Trivandrum is one city that revolves around school and academics year round. While you know places,where you see activities/happenings based on seasons or events or maybe festivals etc, i think I can rightly state that this city has everything running based on school activites and timings alone.Maybe this has something to do with the fact, that majority of the population would have moved in and settled here 'coz of the govt jobs and the sole focus of the middle class has always been education of their children.But they get way too focussed and I think, most of the parents dont have anythingelse in their mind other than the education of kids till 12th and professional degree course after that.Its all about school classes and then the tuition classes before school hours and then tuition classes after school hours. You often see huge crowds gathered in front of houses at odd times- 7:30 - 8:00 in the morning or 7:300- 8:00 in the nite, which would be anxious parents waiting to pick their kids after the tuitions.Am indeed skeptical about being sucked into this vacuum. </p><p>Every person I meet has this standard question to ask me already ' Are you trying for Loyola admission?'I think its a tmatter of time before I succumb to the pressure , maybe. Cant help wondering how tough it would be on the kids as well.Can't help feeling sorry for them. I dont know whether I'd want my kids to join Loyola. No doubts abt the fact that its one of the best schools. But then you are getting the best of the best, you are just bound to do well. But I dont know really whether they aim at developing all facets of the childs personality, finding out what he is good at and encouraging that, I dont really know abt that. And here you cant ask any directly either, am not sure whether they would understand what I mean to ask. I've heard that Loyola takes admission during UKG and in 2nd standard, and if you dont qualify in their UKG exam, you cannot attempt the 2nd standard entrance exam. And that based on the academic performance they move kids to ICSE , CBSE and state syllabus etc. I dont know how the kids can take this sort of pressure at this young age. I heard that there are people who even conduct coaching classes for the Loyola entrance!!! But the school must be really good, 'coz I've not seen a single loyoloitw who doesnt beam with pride while mentioning abt their school.The one that Achulde goes to currenty is the Early Learning Center of Trivandrum International School. Achulde loves going there and I must admit, if there is one thing that I dont regret on for moving to Trivandrum, it is the school that Achulde has been going to.From whatever I have seen, its based on how they do schooling abroad, its all theme based and the kids get to actually try their hands on the things that they are learning. The cute pieces of work that Achulde brings from his arts classes , the joy and pride on his face , as he shows off all these to us. The other day, he brought this cute cutting of a boy in blue sleeping on a hay stack. They were learning the rhyme ' Little Boy Blue'. But they say, this kind of schooling would not help the child in this competitive world. They quote the results of this school with the results of the city's best schools.So the experts think its best to have the kids in this school for their overall grooming and then move them to where they'd be ready to face this competitive world!!!The sad part is that they have only the ELC in the city, and from LKG onwards, if you plan to continue in this school, my kids would have to travel a good 40 kms every dayby bus.(The main school is almost in Attingal, you could say!!!)</p><p>I guess it would be the same scenario everywhere, be it Bangalore or Cochin!!!Maybe not to this extent, I hope.</p>Munchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03764495502869297675noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3089624068608361999.post-73668096208190767212009-04-20T07:59:00.000+05:302009-10-02T11:18:33.168+05:30Coorg BeckonsWe had not gone on any pleasure trips since Achulde and Mommolde happened, as in no trips to any locale, - just us et al. So decided to go to Coorg, which has been on the top of our lists from our Bangalore days. We decided to drive all the way to Coorg and though both the set of parents didnt voice any concern, I am sure, they were not comfortable with the idea of us travelling alone with kids. In India, I guess you bring up your kids, even while they are bringing up theirs !!!! :)<br />Since our <a href="http://www.clubmahindra.com/">Club Mahindra holidays</a> were due for a long long time, we didnt have any issues with finding a resort etc and were spared any confusions arising from that front. I think one of the wisest things that we've done is taking the ClubM membership. You dont have to plan much for a holiday in terms of where to stay etc- you are spared all the confusion from ahving to choose. Plus you automatically plan for your holidays every year when the days are credited to your account.So basically you dont keep postponing your vacation plans.We stuffed in quite a no. of places to visit in between.<br />Guruvayur was the first point. despite standing in the queue for 2 hours, could not make it toa darshan as the kids got really cranky by then, and the ppl in the queue also started showing signs of intolerance and some even started advising /giving tips etc. Had to pull out of the queue with reluctance , we drove till Kozhikode that nite and resumed our 6 hour journey from Calicut to Coorg in the morning. We were there for jus 2 days and most of the time was spent in the resort itself, where the kids thoroughly enjoyed. We visited the Tibetan monastery as well too, but the kids couldn't care less and were really tired, so had to call off most of what we had planned for, initially.I think the one mistake that we made was that we didnt plan for a couple of days more in the resort , but that can be excused (I guess)as we had not done any planning or travelling since ages!!! Lessons learnt for the next trip!!!And know what, though I had taken swimwear, we did not spend any time in the pool, as Mommolde was not really well and Achulde was way too scared to get in!! Besides the water was very cold too.<br />But all in all, had a gala time there :)Munchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03764495502869297675noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3089624068608361999.post-923974111653633452009-04-18T16:28:00.001+05:302009-04-18T16:29:39.816+05:30Of 'Hanuman Pandaram', 'Mahishi', 'Poochandi' and 'Jose'When I was small and even when I was not that small, I remember being scared of the dark, of Ghosts, of entering into any unlit room, once dusk had fallen. And it took me a long long time to start sleeping in my own room. I remember being jealous of UL, when she proudly used to mention, that she sleeps alone in a room. We used to discuss then, of how unfair it was of adults to scare us children by mentioning about ghosts and all such stuff. My folks used to use words like ' Hanuman Pandaram', 'Mahishi', ' Poochandi' etc, to scare me , when I wouldn't listen or obey and having never seen one, I used to associate these names with the scariest figure, I could imagine then. I remember declaring to UL then, that I wouldn't do such a thing to my children(All this happened, when we were probably 8-10 yrs old).Now I see myself using these very words to scare Achulde, when he is naughty. His response varies. Sometimes its a ' Achulde pedi', but most of the time he just ignores and carries on with his activities.I try and promise myself not to do that anymore, but most of the times, i cant control.I am happy that he ignores it most of the time. Recently, I noticed that, hes pretty scared of the guy who comes to clean the windows and fans etc. He sports a Big moustache and looks pretty scary, so I started using his name to get things done.Whenever I say' Jose is coming', the lil fellow, would go and sit in the chair and say ' Achulde Goo Boy' and then sit there for anothe 2 mts. Now that has also waned after a while. The funniest moment was when I overheard Achulde telling Mommolde ' Mommo, NO, Achu chetta Jose-ne vilichi. No No' :)Munchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03764495502869297675noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3089624068608361999.post-66365020432880561722009-04-18T16:09:00.000+05:302009-04-18T16:10:30.273+05:30VidyarambhamOn the 2nd week of Mar, we all went to Mookambika for Achulde's Vidyarambham. We'd been plannning this from quite sometime. It has to be done before the lil one turns 3 and this is next month.And long weekends and holidays, it would be so crowded, so we decided to go during march, when we calculated it would be least crowded as, it would be exam time for all the kids.Though we heard , at the last mt, that it was the utsavam time there, the temple authorities informed that, it would be crowded only during the Rathotsava time, so we decided to goahead with our plans. We went by train from Tvm to Mangalore and from there, took a cab to Kollur.The last and only time, i'd gone there before was over 12 yrs back and I'd loved the place then. Right in the middle of the forest, small township, lush green and all peace and quite and just being in the temple, calms you down and makes you feel blessed .Last time we could spot Pea-cocks and deers even on the road sides, they were not scared as they were not harmed by humans.<br />This time around, I noticed that its become more of a large township, but still the sleepy one only still, luckily :) But the pea-cocks and deers were not there, though.Offlate Guruvayur has been so crowded, that Darsan takes a min of 6 to 8 hours. We were glad to see that , it was not much crowded in Mookambika.Came morning and Achulde declared that " Innu Achulde HariSree Venda". But by the time we reached the temple, he was not protesting, and when the priest started chanting the mantra, he looked interested and sat quietly on his father's lap and did whatever he was told to. The function went off well and even lil Mommolde didnt cry thoughout the ceremony and was watching curiously.Munchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03764495502869297675noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3089624068608361999.post-67544184359057097812009-04-05T00:41:00.002+05:302009-04-05T00:55:43.689+05:30issha shada dattadaThat was the new tune, Achulde had been humming for the last couple of days and neither self nor the husband could make heads or tails on which song it was.Normally we make out the song from its tune and then the words would make sensei.e, the resemblance would gently appear. But this time around we had no clue.But next morning, when I went to drop him at ELC, his teecha there, tells me that they are practising an action song for the School Founder's day, based on Disney's theme song ' Its a small world after all'.Over the course of next couple ofweeks, issha shada dattada became issa shollel attada :)we found ourselves singing 'issha shada dattada' all the time.Once when the husband sang it aloud in Achulde's words, the lil singer corrected his father with ' Damesha, angane alla, say ' Mole', mole, mole(for small) with his hands cupped like a ball to show 'small'.April 1st was the D- day, and he was to perform to a packed audience in Tagor theatre'. Already i was thrilled and tensed for him.We all were seated an hour in advance and the stage was all set. The tiny tots' group action song was the first item. All of them walked in and was forming two rows from either side of the stage.Achulde walks in and his attention gets diverted to some prop on the stage and he stops right there, deciding to watch it furhter. His teecha comes to the rescue and carries him to where he should be standing . His is not the only case we find, as the ' teecha's have to run here and there on the stage to bring back toddlers who have chosen different spots than the ones intended for them.The songs starts on the background and the all the lil one are looking to either side of the stage at the teachers and imitating what the teachers are showing them from either side. From where we sit, we can see the teecha raising her hands, turning around etc.And on the screen set at the back, they were screening photos taken during the last one yr during the various functions/activities in the school.Halfway thru the dance , while doing a turn around step, Achulde notices the photos on the screen and he decides to dance while watching the photos !!! From then on , he's 90 deg turned , ie., hes standing sidewise on the stage, but hes dancing nonetheless, doing all the steps, just that he almost had his back to the crowd :) It was so much fun to watch the show.In between, the lil one standing next to him decided that enough is enough and did a ramp walk across the stage,towards where her favourite teecha was standing!!! and then there were many faces, who were on the verge of breaking down into tears, seeing the huge crowd in front of them.All in all, it was such a nice experience, all the proud parents assembled and enjoying.I can imagine the effort that has gone into putting this up. To get them all to stand and perform is such a major acheivement I must sayMunchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03764495502869297675noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3089624068608361999.post-39429615213347772162009-03-23T21:44:00.004+05:302009-03-23T22:10:02.883+05:30Unaccustomed Earth<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhckW2wRmCAVGE8zcWP-gmIzJH8I-OMhIqR6UFa7gX2v2fhYLGw-LA2Xmu_WaoDkdtvsMxrPWeHEbmqOoUoTwKypuBzq1MixGvOQrwxY-K_xQvW9l-p2BNKQQ87q5GPhzl48U5sAjx8cdE/s1600-h/uu.bmp"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5316423874170526594" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 139px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 137px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhckW2wRmCAVGE8zcWP-gmIzJH8I-OMhIqR6UFa7gX2v2fhYLGw-LA2Xmu_WaoDkdtvsMxrPWeHEbmqOoUoTwKypuBzq1MixGvOQrwxY-K_xQvW9l-p2BNKQQ87q5GPhzl48U5sAjx8cdE/s200/uu.bmp" border="0" /></a><br /><div>Everytime I read a work of Jhumpa Lahiri, I end up sad and depressed for days on end. I thought this plethora of feelings that I go through, had something to do perhaps with my ageing process ;) or to the fact that I empathise a lot and thus create all such trouble for self.But I was kind of relieved on browsing the net for her works, almost all the reviewers admitted to being haunted /daunted on reading her works. I read The Namesake when I was pregnant with Achulde, it did not leave a nice feeling and I decided not too read her work again, atleast for a long time, then.<br />So when one of my closest buddies, gave 'The Unaccustomed Earth', her latest work, as a gift, I was initially reluctant to even start reading it. But I soon found myself, sitting late into the nite, such a page turner effect the book had.Its a collection of short stories and what is common across the stories is that in each of the story, one of the characters , mostly, the protagonist would have a secret to reveal that would turn out to be the crux of the whole story.And in each story, the secret is brought beautifully , in a unique way, mesmerizing style of writing.She is a skilled writer, enviable indeed, engaging , confident and completely in control.I loved the first one on Ruma and then 'Hema and Kaushik' the best.The latter haunted me for days on end. The only glitch was that , the moment the venue shifted to Thailand and clue was given on the timeline(2004), it suddenly crossed my mind that , Tsunami would become part of the backdrop and it turned out to be right. That was the only time, I found myself out of the book and not engaged/engrossed, the surprise element (if she intended any) was lost.But that didnt reduce the impact of the grief by an iota even. I was saddened and disappointed by the decisions taken by the protagonist(Hema), and somehow I wanted to shake her into making the right decision, all the time knowing and to be honest ,consoling self saying its just a work of fiction!!!<br />Maybe it was reminding me of one of my best friends, who is now in a very difficult situation in her personal life, and has not been doing anything abt it, I just dont want her to be another Hema. I want her to take control of her life and make things easy for her and others in her life. This is to you girl, hope you reach where you ought to be, where you belong to, pretty pretty soon, touchwood.</div>Munchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03764495502869297675noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3089624068608361999.post-88785419862049997192009-03-23T21:28:00.003+05:302009-03-23T22:05:55.164+05:30Bhakti Margam<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBWA8nWZwre8JYfOnbpQxJb-RNuYhGInVLU8g4M1KE9kpiNLpSZAkBAAZw84fC00-OWsXWyHF1sNg0gxFoxc83UyEWwd1g_y86IIhZZ3MMMCBpatXVvuaf5Ni-u5Xw_BJ3CZhELTr3_tw/s1600-h/rr.bmp"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5316422807986556690" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 131px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 151px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBWA8nWZwre8JYfOnbpQxJb-RNuYhGInVLU8g4M1KE9kpiNLpSZAkBAAZw84fC00-OWsXWyHF1sNg0gxFoxc83UyEWwd1g_y86IIhZZ3MMMCBpatXVvuaf5Ni-u5Xw_BJ3CZhELTr3_tw/s200/rr.bmp" border="0" /></a><br /><div>Nowadays Bhakti is the flavour of the season and the TV channels are loaded with Bhakti serials, atleast the malayalam channels. My Achan was an ardent fan of Swamy Ayyappan which ran for almost 2 yrs and , when they started running short of original stories on the diety, they introduced stories on experiences of Devotees and in no time, it got so boring that even Achan gave up after sometime. But even now I see a torrent of such serials like Devi Mahatmyam, Krishna Guruvayurppa, etc etc.Since Achulde and Mommolde play with the remote quite often, the TV would be running in the background, most of the evenings in our home though no one would be watching as such. One such day, it was showing a story on the Goddess killing an Asura and most of us sitting in the family room were passive viewers. The Asura entered the scene,the make up was intended to be scary, the blackpaint on the face, the Jada , the big moustache etc, he was doing the roaring laughter coninuously for 5 mts on entry, the tyical demon laughter and I was beginning to wonder whether Achulde would appreciate this act at all. I didnt want my child to have a disturbed sleep and was abt to reach out for the remote to turn it off, when the monster on TV decided to do the Attahaasam once more and immediately from behind my chair , I hear a meek 'return' ' Hee haa haa haa'. That was Achulde standing there and imitating the Asura's laugh. He was enjoying the show. Apparently, he had not even realised that , it was something that was designed to scare the viewers!!! He was enjoying it thoroughly thinking its a joke :)</div>Munchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03764495502869297675noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3089624068608361999.post-9446572059771668742009-02-24T20:34:00.004+05:302009-02-24T21:35:04.833+05:30Happy First Brithday to you Mommolde :)Its been a long time indeed and what better excuse do you need - it was Mommolde's first birthday . The star birthday was on 31st, but I had to be at work on that day, eventhough it was a saturday!!<br />And on his DOB, the husband was away in Beijing, on a 5 day tour!!! So we decided to celebrate on 14th , Valentines' day.<br />Achulde's First b'day was a gala affair, we'd even roped in an event manager, who managed the whole show for us including getting the return gifts, caps and blowers and all things nice. We had asked for a live cartoon character(in attire ofcourse) (Winnie the Pooh, as that was the theme for the party)- that was the anti-climax of the whole show, the guy was so thin, he looked awfully thin even in the Pooh attire :), now all that brings a smile to one's face.<br />We wanted Mommolde's b'rthday to be equally good.We had Pooh as the theme, this time too. Out here in TVM, they've event managers doing weddings etc on a large scale, but nothing on a small scale. We'd booked Travancore Hall of South Park, we but we had to do most of the arrangements ourselves, with the help of the Hotel boys. This time we were not planning on a large scale anyways, just family . And we didnt have much of friends in TVM anyways.<br />We'd purchased party poppers and snowflake spray, when we went shopping for the return gifts , and I gave clear instructions to a couple of hotel boys on how to just twist it to pop it and to spray on a certain height so that it would snow down beautifully. All was set. The cake cutting was set for 7 in the evening and all the folks arrived on time. Though we had party caps and eye masks, most of the kids refused the eye masks and opted for the cap only.<br />Achu and Mommo were sporting Offwhite Sherwani'is and both the kids for a change, didnt resist self''s attempt to dress them up in this attire, that by itself was a major achievement for self. :)<br />And at 7, we 4 got together to this side of the table and the crowd assembled on the other side and all started singing the Happy Birthday song.I was trying hard to get Mommolde to touch the knife atleast. Achulde was already blowing the candle and then suddenly the Hotel boys made their way into the crowd . The one with the spray had atleast forgotten half my instructions, for he was spraying the snow at just his level, the spray didnt have time to turn to snowflake, so it decided to just stay as lather on the guests' head. Same is the case with the popper man - he was miles away from the party scene, pop goes the contents into air!!!:) My attention wandered from the cake cutting and I couldn't control my laughter and I noticed that the whole crowd 's attention was in that direction, all laughing loud and running away from the scene. Then the "Snow Man", decided to focus on us and all of us were like ' Run for your lives'. The husband was like' M, focus here, we should be cutting the cake, not looking elsewhere!!!' etc.<br />Finally off went the boy and we returned to our second attempt at cake cutting. By then a naughty lil friend of Achu's(Kanna Baby) decided to join our side of the table. Kanna baby for a change had decided to wear the eye mask!!! He walked over from the other side in style sporting the Cap and eye masks and Mommolde got all curious as well a lil worried at the same time( He was seeing someone in a mask for the first time in his life).This lil fellow decided to position himself by my right side, a lil behind me and Mommolde who was on my left arm took a sprint and landed on my right arm and started climbing over my shoulder, trying to take a good look at Kanna Baby,with his back towards the cake and the crowd, there was no way we could get him to look at the cake , let alone making him cut the cake!!!<br />It was so funny, this time for a change, we were quiet relaxed and laughed our hearts out.<br />Finally, the husband somehow managed to get Mommolde to look our way and all of us cut the cake together :)<br />Achulde was really happy as he got to play for a long long time with all his friends. And we had a nice time with family and very close friends.<br />Man, Mommolde is already One, one year just whizzed by!!!Munchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03764495502869297675noreply@blogger.com3