Housekeeping

Today was housekeeping day in office. My boss unknowingly shares a cleanliness fetish with me

I am so glad the office is rid of garbage and a lot of unnecessary paper and other stuff. Wish it was as easy to get rid of unwanted homosapiens.

My angst stems from this- most of the new joinees seem to think it is below their dignity to chip in. They just stood around and instructed housekeeping. O worse acted like they did not hear when asked to help. I wonder how they keep their homes..if they would ever help their parents...and did they even come across concept of dignity of labour.

My boss on the other hand was charged and set an example that was largely left unfollowed. But the most mystifying thing is that these unenthusiastic excuses are most excited and animated about the treat in the evening to celebrate the cleaning spree and the wonderful performance this month. Talk about selective ownership!

Oh I sound preachy- i know but that is how i feel about it. And I am unable to muster the guts to tell them on the face. So you get to read it instead. Sorry!

Doctor Art

What does this look like to you ?

Delivered

SM tagged me . I have done this before- one, two, three, four, five times.

This was tough( being very unremarkable) but here are some more:
I retained my maiden name post marriage.
I watch at least one new movie a week
When in college, I was asked to model for Satinelle - only my legs they wanted- i chickened out
I still want to be a newsreader or a travel show host.
I am learning music again- the teacher comes home once a week
Apart from this blog, I guest write at the travel one. I really wish to be a part of the CityDailyPhotoBlog
I am nearly blind without my specs/ lenses
I complete 9 months of blogging today- and also hence the title
I am contemplating liposuction- seriously!

Narrow Escape

Screech, swerve, swing, rush, zig, zag, drag, bump, thud...STOP.

We were on the Chennai Blore highway. We have been doing this for over five years now and have come to enjoy the journey a lot. This time, it almost turned out our Highway to Heaven near Ranipet.

We were to attend Navy's cousin's wedding. Very excited since I had got loads of costume jewellery and colour coordinated it for Anushka.

Suddenly out of no where, there was this truck with sharp iron rods jutting out which reversed on to the road. Navy tried to avoid it, the brakes did not respond quick enough and we swung wildly on the road before jumping half way on to the divider.

Anush was with my mother on the back seat. She slept through almost all of it.
Thank God for BIG mercies. We were fortunate.

Funny thing is I am not shocked and was hardly shaken except for a few minutes. I had my eyes open through out. My only concern was that I should not be a sole survivor.

Not a scratch on any of us or the car paint. But the car is more or less kaput on its belly.

Petrol on the the road and a crowd gathered to be a part of the " excitement'. Lot of unsolicited advice and some welcome help followed. A leather factory manager was very benevolent and arranged water, space for amma and anush to relax for a while and a taxi for our trip back to Chennai. The Highway patrol was also pretty efficient. Cannot say the same of the Ford tow vehicle.

So I lived to tell the tale of my FIRST road mishap. But there are a lot of things I need to do:

• Fill in that eye donation form
• Write in neatly all the insurance policies I have
• Arrange all the property docs
• Maybe even draw up a will or authorise some one to act on my behalf in case of need
• Find ocassions to dress Anush up in all those new outfits and jewellery
• Live and love life as if there is no tomorrow

Kalyana Kondattam

Yipeee.. Got the marriage certificate!!

And the witnessses- amar akbar & anthony- guys from navy's office - each from a different faith- cool na?

Am officially married , seven years post my marriage and almost 2 yrs post a baby....

Asterix- What Gaul!!

I am sure all of you are familiar with Asterix. An essentially French comic ( probably as popular as Mickey Mouse in the USA) It has many patrons , in over 50 languages.

And while it takes digs galore at the Romans, my copies are printed in Italy. Some of it does seem sexist when I read it now. ( read: Asterix and the Secret Weapon) But you let that go, Because deep down the humour is rather harmless.

We often lament that puns and the jokes are lost in translation. Not in Asterix. (Though someone who has read it in French and English is in a better capacity to comment.)

What a tough job it must be for Anthea Bell the translator. I wonder how R Goscinny, the writer & Albert Underzo, the illustrator, recruited her? His English must have been pretty good to know that the humour was not lost.

And when the joke was on the British, how did she cope and make it palatable?
But what about all the other languages? Is punning that easy?

And all that word play ( Almost like cryptic cross word clues) when removed from the cultural context would it make sense?

And does anyone know how the Romans rate this work?

Life is simple, not easy

My mother's friend is a divorcee. For that generation, they were rare. She depended heavily on her parents for support. Her father was near immobile and her mother had suffered cancer. I often wondered what she would do once they were gone.

This morning aunty called. Her mother had passed away. Her father was inconsolable.

She would have to grow up and take care of him and herself.

I hope they find the strength to cope.

The title is courtesy a forward from hastobeme.

Bheja Fried and Provoked

Bheja Fry

Being a veggie, I am not sure how delectable Bheja Fry( goat brain fry) is . But it is also the slang for "irritant".... "Blade" in the south. Here it is a movie that I found thoroughly enjoyable, short film with a great cast. So what if it is a copy of some french movie.

There is a serious undercurrent -the equaliser- infidelity- how it can affect anyone at the least expected moment. A rather simple fellow (Vinay Pathak deserves an award for this role) is to be a butt of jokes at a " Friday Dinner" hosted by a condescending Music Mogul ( Rajat Kapur). The innocent aspiring singer has a song for every moment and in his effort to help causes more chaos for the smug host. Ranbir is fantastic as a cricket crazy IT man. Milind is good and makes you wonder why he does not act more often....

Provoked

Did not want to see it despite the inspiring true story of Kiran Alhuwalia, which has been written about/ featured at great length. But finally I did, on DVD. Well done. I wonder if Nandita Das ( who plays an activist) would have been more suited to Ash's role. A good attempt by Ash but her beauty gets in the way and makes her seem plastic at times. Naveen Andrews is terrifying as the abusive husband. The best scene - when the activists stick a bill on the cop's car while appeasing him.

Odds and Ends

As a traveller, one develops the habit of picking up souvenirs. A tiny bit of the place to bring back home. ............ Read on at the travel blog

And here is my favourite picture from the same trip......

Potters Road

On the Chennai- Bangalore road at Palamner, you will be greeted by a multitude of terracota potters.

They line the road on either side and you cannot but feel tempted.

To suit every budget and taste, there are miniatures to mammoth pots , chimes, animals and urns.

Be it functional or decorative , you will find what you want at half the price as in the city.

Anush turns adult!!

She is 21 today- 21 months.

So what is new:
She does not mind being with kids her age, without us around
She can occupy herself without any help for at least half an hour
She identifies a lot of pictures by their name
She sings the first few notes of her lullaby when she is ready to sleep
She fears only earrings and squirrels now- the former I can understand, the latter I have no clue why
She can kill flies with her bare hands ( she did it twice at my friend's place)
She continues to like veggies and fruits with mango, taadgola ( palm fruit?) and oranges topping the list
She has a thirst for Minute Maid and has graduated to a glass with a straw, from a sipper ( she never used a bottle anyway)
When you say "DONT" she completes it saying " touch" ( guarantee of compliance though)
When she knows she has annoyed us, she comes and hugs and says " I love you" and expects you to forgive immediately

She surely has a vote- in what she eats, when she ( and we) sleep, what she wears, when she needs an outing and how we live.

After the next 3 months, I will no longer be keeping track of her monthly birthdays. It will be only annual celebrations then. Enjoy the attention baby.

Extended Weekend

Woman power- Mayawati won hands down
Enchanted by some of the junior singers on Vijay TV
Envied Navy for his trip to Fort Malabar ( a Heritage Hotel in Cochin)
Kudos to Anushka who can sing sa-re-ga-ma in tune
Enjoyed mangoes as you can see from the post below
No-do not watch Tara rum pum - I wished I had not
Dayanidi Maran was ousted

Mango Succour

I have done it on gymmers, on heights, on saris , on trousers...
Now it is the turn and time of mangoes.

I quote from a Karadi Tales song -
Mangoes, ripe mangoes,
Green and sour raw mangoes
Golden yellow round mangoes
Juicy plum and sweet mangoes
Fat and short, thin and long Mangoes to eat all day long.....

As a child I did not relish this fruit much- being much fonder of the watery genre such as water melon, orange and pear. But with time I was drawn into the family tradition of savouring each variety of mango. So you can say I have a cultivated taste when it comes to this fruit. Of course this affinity comes with small repercussion on your wallet and your face and stomach ( excess can lead to pimples/ loosies)

With April comes tantalizing raw mango laden trees. Small marble sized mangoes beckon to be pickled into " maavadu or vadu maangai" As May comes in and the temperature skyrockets (with Agni Nakshatram in Chennai it was at 43 degrees yesterday) the time is right for seduction- by ripe juicy mangoes.

Here is a list of all the mango varieties I know:
Baganapalli- My favourite from my Andhra days, it has lovely firm texture, is luscious in taste and a rich creamy yellow hue
Aapus/ Alphonso- The debatable King of Mangoes , native of Maharashtra , but introduced to us by the Portuguese. You also find the Salem variety now. Succulent, sunny orange and delicious it is best eaten just so or as aam ras.
Rasaalu- Great for Aavakkai pickles in the raw form, and should be sucked whole if eaten ripe. ( beware of worms though which you may not be able to tell from the outside) Very fibrous with a lot of juice, you can make mango juice concentrate with it. Also good for making mango jellies
Malgova- The bulkiest of mangoes, cream in colour, tiny seeded it is yummy and a favourite with a lot of Tamilians
Himayat- Rather expensive and exclusive. Slightly long and smooth textured
Dusheri- From Lucknow, it is often in contest with the next one.
Langda- A variety from Benaras,. Green in colour . It is yummy . The name means of ‘handicapped of the leg’ in Hindi- do not know the connection though
Kesar- As the name suggests it is orangish in colour and has a unique flavour of saffron.
Rumani- Often sour, it has a rounder appearance and is thin skinned. It follows later in the season and as per me a poorer variety
Neelam- Considered the poor man’s aapus. It shows up later in the season has a better shelf life. Though thick skinned creamy in texture, sweet in taste. Often the added bonus is the beetle inside.
Himampasand- A paler yellow inside, I love its flavour which just envelops you like a rich melody. As the name indicates, legend has it that a maiden was wooed/ wowed by this mango by a clever King who was besotted with her
Mallika- This longish variety is rather new to me and was a gift during pregnancy from Bangalore. It is incredibly sweet if you get the right batch, with a strange camphor like scent that leaves you smitten. Problem is if it is bad, it is truly insipid.
Pairi- Reddish green and yellow , relatively small sized- it is fairly interesting in flavour, favoured for its juice/pulp
Chausa- If I recollect green skinned but sweet and juicy variety
Killimuuku/ Tothapuri is now a perennial variety in Chennai. Crunchy, it is often eaten raw with salt and chilly powder. Also great for the refreshing kairi lassi (with yogurt with ginger, green chilly, sugar & salt) . Good for quick fix pickles for immediate consumption and biseeupanikai ( a Kannadiga style pickle with copra and jaggery- like a hot and sweet morabba) .

There are debates not just on which is the best mango but also on how it is to be eaten.
The choices are many:

• slice and eat with skin


• slice and suck on them and discard the skin


• peel the skin off and cut into cubes and eat with fork


• cut in half, scoop out with a spoon 
• cut in half, cube unfurl , pretty style


• suck straight out- an art that comes with the danger of worms and squirting juice on your clothes


• eat cold, post refrigeration/ eat at room temperature


• as a milk shake/ Juice/ aamras/ aam panna


• as pacchadi ( cooked with chillie sand jaggery)


• as mango jelly


• with ice-cream/ souffles/pastries and of course


• for the raw ones you have a variety of lassi, chutneys, preserves and pickles

The Ambrosial fruit has found favour with a lot of Royals from Jehangir to Alexander and yet is known as aam (meaning mass/ common) The global name-mango- probable connects back to the Tamil equivalent- mangai. And the mango has been in art for ever with the mango print design in Moghul paintings and the block print of native India and even jewelry - the manga maalai of Kerala.

It is also an important item in Vishukani on Malayalam new year. In Maharashtra raw mango is used with channa dal in chutney form on Gudipadva (New Year). The Telugu New year Ugadi begins with the Ugadi Pachadi of raw mango.

Why don't you contribute your favourite experience relating to mangoes, take it up as a tag if you like? Also do refine any of the above if you are better informed....I do not claim accuracy. It is a just a Mango Maniac's account....

Minority Report

Here is my two bit ( or should I say one bit) on rohini's singled out. I am used to agreeing with her- so this is a first time for me.

Only children are often presumed to be lonely and lost. Deprived even. My father is a single child. If you have not already guessed it- I am a single child. Why don't you hear it from a horse's mouth.....

MYTHS- 1,2,3- I speak from experience:
A single child must be so lonely-I have never been lonely.And I would not have problems admitting it if I were so. I had a lot of hobbies and ended up being more adventurous and outgoing. I also feel I was closer to my parents and was more helpful and self sufficient than most other kids my age.

I must admit I have a very romanticised view of siblings, led by Hindi movies and wondered how it would have been to have a very protective older brother.

A single child is not as fit or intelligent as those with siblings. Rohini's disclaimer helps me cope with this statement. And if studies are to be believed then it is single children who are more academically brilliant. I do not subscribe to either theory.

Where children with siblings score, if clever, are in their negotiation skills- since they must always be healthily competitive- be it affection, attention or material stuff that they are after.

Sibling share your history- But not necessary that she/he shares your life with you. I have seen many siblings who hardly keep in touch. My friends have been more than a pillar of strength for me. And yes, some history is better left unshared.

Single children lose their childhood and grow up faster than others. One could also argue that if you have siblings you start taking responsibility for the younger one(s) and therefore lose your childhood faster.

Single children, if well brought up, are adaptable and understanding. I was so proud to be seen as a role model by so many of my friends' moms. I never considered my friends immature, they were just different and I loved that about them and having that kind of fun as well. Also parents of a single child, possibly retain their youth longer, as they try their best to not let us lose our childhood too soon.(Almost all my friends exclaim that my parents come across as so cool and young)

Being intelligent, responsible, acting your age, being secure- it comes from your genes, the environ at home and your exposure. Irrespective of whether you have siblings or not you may end up a dud or a stud.

AS A PARENT

I do not think it is necessary for a child to have a sibling. It is not in the least bit selfish of the parents. I am NOT saying you MUST have only one kid. Have as many as you think you want to and if the number happens to be one or zero, then just as well.

Do not have a second child for the sake of your first kid. You maybe in for disappointment if they do not take to each other or at a later stage do not get along.
Do not have a second child just because your first was a girl and you want a son to continue the "family name" . You may have another gem of a girl whom you resent for no fault of hers

In India, having a second child is made to seem almost mandatory-like having to get married. It is your decision. Go ahead and choose. Have a baby because you want to. Because you know you have enough love to give him/ her.Remember, none of those who advice you to have a baby( first or second) are really involved in bringing them up. So do what you think you can handle. That is what will suit you and your baby.

And if you do not believe horses and prefer to trust research then please read this

Having said all the above, rather more vehemently than my usual style, we have carefully preserved Anush's crib, play pen, kangaroo punch, some good infant clothes even.....

Simply Singapore

Am back from a very hectic official trip to Singapore. It was not as bad as I expected on the personal front. Anush and me managed well without each other. My baby is growing up and so is her momma.

I was put up on the ninth floor of The Regent. I do feel that Indian hotels are a lot plusher for the same money. Maybe the luxury of space or Athihti Devo Bhava?

Had the most wonderful seedless guavas and hugest grapes.
Avoided the tastes like heaven, smells like hell- Durian.
Tried a lot of Thai desserts and Ice kachang at the Hyatt's "Street Food" restaurant.
Had a Mc Flurry ( not available in Indian Mc outlets) and relived our tour of Europe.
Had vegetarian Mediterranean fare at Holland Village-Original Sin or First Sin...owned by a guy conveniently called Michael Angelo- Fantastico!!

This reads like I went to Singapore to eat .....

This was the first time I did not buy clothes for Anush. Just got loads of showergel and diapers from Carrefour.

Another high point, I got to have lazy long baths( in a tub) and leisurely loobreaks.

A short break

Thanks for all the wishes. Now I need your wishes for my three nights away from Anush.

Will be back by next weekend. Miss me!!

While I am away, make sure you visit here for some very interesting legends on another short break that I had a while back. And do leave your comments....

A night with the stars

Yesterday was my birthday- am all of 31 years young ( do I need to change my blogger profile?). Feel just as I did when I was 25. ( just a little extra weight to ensure I do not give the 20 somethings a complex) Wonder what I will say at 40.

Apart from the loot I mentioned in the previous post I finally got an ipod from Navy , some cash and a lovely pendant from my mom. Had to do a quick dinner at Saravana Bhavan( not Marriot- somehow this one keeps evading me) since Navy had planned the final surprise of the day.

A red carpet welcome, photographers clicking away. Lemon- mint coolers welcomed us.We had potatao keivs as well. TV stars , movie stars, wannabes, all were there. At my birthnight. I felt like a star myself. And Spiderman returned for the third time.

The movie was the usual Spidee fare but with a lot more Bollywoodised melodrama. Great mindless fun all in all.

And yes, thanks all for all the wishes on line and off. And wish all you Taureans out there a great year.

Welcome May

Anush never ceases to amaze me-
She saw me holding a business card and dialing a number. Later in the day she got hold of a card, lifted the phone and mimicked my actions to the T!!
She does a good sneeze and burp imitation as well ( yeah yeah- bad mom)
She does a number of yoga poses like most kids would.
She walks like a ballerina if I say “Anush tip toe”

She loves being among kids and had a whale of a time with her cousins in Chintamani, this weekend. She has taken to bhel in a big way. The bhel there is more like a salad with very light puffed rice thrown in with ghee, powdered sugar, dessicated coconut and if you a garlic based masala called RR.

We had a small picnic to Nandi Hills termed the Ooty of Karnataka and by no stretch is cool.
Interesting were the grape bunches hanging from the creepers all through the journey, the mango trees which are a wonder how they hold up under such weight and a set of parachutists who were having a ball.

On our way back stopped at Palamner in AP- more on this later at the travel blog.

How come some offices were open on May Day? I thought it was a mandatory leave.

Saw Meet the Robinsons and did most of the shopping for my birthday.