January 18, 2007

Montage



My weekend that was.

A visit to Casa Piccola ( yes in Chennai now ) - lovely to relive old memories of the one near Residency road Blore, not as cosy as I recall, more posh and new age. With a good terrace sit out facility. It also resulted in an impulsive but much needed( is it not so always : - ) ) shopping spree at Clothes encounters and Cotton World on Khader Nawaz Khan road.

Then came a trip down Mount Road to VTI (Victoria Technical Institute). Do not let the name fool you. This is a great place for intricately done crochet and exquisite murals, artifacts, handbags, smocked stuff and jhoolas. Really good Indian carft place at affordable rates. Not a great ambience but you would not go there for that anyway. Also seems to attract a lot of foreigners here. The place to shop for Indian flavour in decor. Nothing new age or " fusion " like - mostly traditional stuff here.

Saw Autograph finally and was surprised to find it a lot like Mera Naam Joker with a hero who liked like a joke without his beard but looked groovy and sensitive with one. Also caught up with Irma Ladouce which rekindled fond memories of a movie called Manoranjan with Sanjeev Kumar (where are actor like him nowadays) and Zeenat at her sexiest best.

Read The Hungry Tide by Amitav Ghosh set in the Sundarbans encompassing local deities, marine life and very real characters ranging from fisher folk to translators. A little too detailed at times, the book takes you on a journey with the main characters and has a stormy end. Over all a very interesting read.

We took Ansuh to the zoo or to be precise" Guindy Children's park" Avoided the snake park since Anush's mother is sacred of them. Saw otters, deer, monkeys, crocodiles, a lot of birds from Vandalur that have come in. Pretty decent and the entry fee is too low. If they hike it up then maybe they could maintain it better.

Seams Natural had announced a sale for a particular duration. Sounded like a less common Fab India.They mentioned open on Sundays. But they had forgotten to mention they are shut for 2 days during Pongal. I gave their contact person a piece of my mind on the phone. Surprise, surprise they sent me an sms apologizing and saying they would take care in future.Not bad. I had to stop ranting.

So went in to Surya Greens next door and bought some good veggies and pre cut avarakkai. Really time saving when you have guests. They have an assortment of differently chopped pre- cuts for poriyals, sambar, noodles, saagu & for salads. Best of all they have peeled small onions( shallots) as well.

Anush turned 17 months on 16th.
She runs, jumps ( actually thumps one foot), plays chuk chuk train and talks a lot.
She doodles with chalk ( only a designated wardrobe door or her book ) and takes great pains to rub off witha little shoeshine duster that I have given her.
She no longer says "baba" but hums "Jaidev Jaidev" when she means God.
Anush has been dreaming in her sleep these last few days, she speaks, sometimes cries. It is a little heart breaking. Hope it is just a phase.
She manages to eat things with her hand but loves to crush stuff that is squishy or crumbles.
She is a Diva in the making and sulks/ shouts if she wants something her way
She brings her shoes ( "eee" or "chapp")to you if she feels she wants to go "taata"
She complete the last word of a couple of rhymes and is so eager to do it she rushes the word before you complete the sentence.
She talks a lot to herself and hands over money to sales guys( pizza/ water/ dhobi etc) who come home and says "Take" and "Thankoo" once they take it. They do not know how to react but leave with a smile.

16 comments:

iz said...

Amitav Ghosh does seem to get too detailed sometimes even though he is one of my favourite writers. Reading In an Antique Land right now.

Itchingtowrite said...

i went to seams naturals abt 4 yrs back and found it lousy and overpriced. and yes i also found it shut for 2-3 visits until i managed to find it open

Noodlehead said...

looks like you had a hectic but fun weekend! your lil girl is so adorable....i especially like that she cleans up with a duster and says thanku....wondering how long it took you to get her to do that?!! :)

Artnavy said...

noddle- no time at all-u will be amazed- kids just pick up things-no need to teach
also pick up unwanted ones- like she says BUM!! - I use it when i change diapers- I tell her "lift your bum baby" :-)

itchy- seems like i shld avoid seams then

iz- still the pluses are more than the minuses

The Kid said...

Anush is all grown up already! She has a beaming smile and is actually posing for a photo!

I think she could become a very successful kollywood heroine. :)

karmic said...

Nice post. Yay at your daughter turning 17 months. She is a sweetheart and yes nothing like a Diva in the family. :)

Sree said...

Anush is really cool.. i love that Thankooo thing it is so nice.. I myself would love to hear it once in person that is.. lots of mmmmmuuuahhs for her.

Something to Say said...

hey, dont worry about the nightime crying. My 19 month old does it too - and most of the time - his eyes are shut, he sits up and bawls his heart out - no amount of reassuring, back patting, hugging or kissing help. Guess its just a stage. And it gets offset by the fact that he also laughs like crazy in his sleep...And the tantrums are something else too... Terrible Twos here we come :)

Praba Ram said...

Love your blog!Hmm, The Hungry Tide..Will definitely go on my to-read list!

Cute, Anush!

praba

By Deepa and Supriya said...

Art,
U've been busy. You make me wanna go shopping (in India), sigh! can't do that anytime soon ;(
Art and STS,
woohoo...I am so done with the terrible two's stage, sorry girls but it is worse than what they say....I am so glad I am done with that for now...:)
Art,
I did the tag...waiting for your critique.

Anusha said...

She doodles with chalk ( only a designated wardrobe door or her book ) and takes great pains to rub off witha little shoeshine duster that I have given her.

How sweet! Neat and tidy! :)

Anonymous said...

anushka is going to be so proud of u for all these photographs and blogposts about her when she grows up. :) i can already imagine her boyfriend grinning away at ur posts. :))

Fuzzylogic said...

You certainly have been busy!Anushka is adorable and kids do grow up so fast,I am still marvelling how my little one will soon turn one year old.She truly seems like a diva in making!

Artnavy said...

hey all

thank u for indulging me on my personal rendevous

kid- well never thought about that

sts- thanks for the reassurance

orchid- i visited u

the mad momma said...

yeah i like the stuff at cotton world and clothes encounters.. but after coming from delhi and bombay where you can pick up decent cotton stuff off the road side i find them very over priced.. used to shop at lot at VTI. Still have some bedspreads and table cloths from there...
Read the Hungry Tide and yes, felt bogged down reading it...

anush sounds adorable.. its so sad that all the babies i know now are so far away from delhi!!!

yeah.. even my son insists on carrying tea cups etc to the kitchen when we are done with them. i am not ready for such helpfulness!

mommyof2 said...

nice to read about Anush:-)can't stop smiling while reading.. so cute:-)