Consultation

A couple of days ago:

Me to Anush " Would you like to have a baby sister or brother?"

Anush " Yes......No..... Paati ya kekalaam" ( Let us ask grandma)!! :-D

Before you jump to any conclusions, we still have not taken a call.

Why?

I like Imran , Irfan ...Why?
All pathans who begin with 'I' maybe? Last night I found Imran so articulate and graceful in defeat in the twenty20 analysis. Among other things, he mentioned that temperament, talent and technique get displayed in diff measure in tests versus this kind of series where only talent is on show. Debatable but good food for thought!

Eklavya India's official entry for Oscars- Why??
I am not sure that was even among the best movies of the year though it had a good bit of India thrown in!! Why not some good Bengali or other regional language film...

I love reading Film fare/ Stardust on train journeys- Why??
It is utter crap and inadvertently funny and soooo verbose that it helps kill time.

Prashant won Indian Idol - Why??
Beacause no Amit ever wins it ( recall Amit Sana- he was miles ahead of Abhijeet). Anyway I think Prashant is way more versatile as a singer than this rather handsome Amit. BTW, Indian Idol results made front page news in The Hindu!!


No one commented on my post yesterday- Why??
You answer that one.

Harried Dwar

I was at Haridwar on work and found just enough time to venture up to Rishikesh cross the Lakshman Jhoola and collect some beautiful stones. More on that at the travel blog in a while.

My journeys were really remarkable-
The flight from Chennai to Delhi was delayed numerous times and I was sure I would miss the train. The train was delayed as well ! Providence.

The special train from Nizzamudin to Haridwar-I was in a "coupe" and it was so old worldly beautiful but had a quaint musty odor about it.

The road journey from Haridwar to Rishikesh saw me chance upon a Madras tours and temple

My co passenger on the Shatabdi was an interesting young government official from the home ministry- I think this is the first really articulate person in my age group that I have met who works for the government

On the flight back from Delhi to Chennai I had a paediatric liver transplant expert next to me. What an accomplished and interesting lady- She had lectured in Romania and was on her way to Chennai for another one. She shared a video of a beautiful 4 year old dancing post a few days after the transplant!! How inspiring ......

Anush has been down with fever the last couple of days. She has never ever asked me not to go to office but today she cried a little and asked me to stay....it really broke my heart.

Wardrobbed

You would recollect that one of my prime fetishes is clothes. After Anush it has become a malady of sorts. Now Anush is threatening to enter my space literally.

This pic is just half the clothes she has.

There are nice hand me downs from older cousins which are waiting in a box and then of course there are her silks which are in the steel bureau



I really MUST stop.

My name is .....

Here is one tag I was dying to do. Thanks choxbox. Nick names we have for Anushka. . .

It reminded me of a list that my cousin cloudymusings was putting together possibly when Anush was a little over 3 months

Anush- the most commonly used abbreviation for Anushka
Chikki- my nick for her in the first few months... which I have more or less forgotten
Kankutty/ Simba- Her maternal paati seems to be unclear if she is a lion or a calf
Vella Deve Gowda- Ltd edition- her father called her that since Anush looked like a little old man in her infancy
Dhondu- her great grand ma calls her that
Laddoo- her paternal thaatha - paati call her that
Hi baby hello baby- her maternal thaathu possibly thought she will turn into vidhya balan
Anushaka babay- to rhyme with shakalaka baby and sung that way
Chilly chicken- don't ask me why- maybe because I often engage Anush with the Chicken Licken story and incorporate her as one of the characters in it
Bumchiks-i take a bow yet again
Drama Rani- The uncrowned queen of melodrama, she even says "oh my God!" with her hand against her lips and widening her eyes
Silly girl- when she is annoying - slowly gaining popularity
Dolly ma- Beauty ma - sweety ma - cutey ma - ROWDY ma- her Appa's and Anushka's current favourite

I tag the moms in the blogging world to take up this tag for themselves and reveal all.....

Ganesha comes calling

Navy surpirsed me with this yesterday

Pretty is it not? I told Navy I would let him use it, sometimes.

A rhodium and gold mix with a black enamel mooshika!! ( since the pic is not well taken)

So I managed a Ganesha this time as well for Vinayaka Chaturthi without going out to shop for it.

Nineteen to the dozen

Anush is very talkative compared to others her age. Well she has to take after me me in something ....

Apart from making up songs, she keeps reciting rhymes often to herself. Current favourites are Bits of paper and Are you sleeping....

There is a very sad rhyme on a homeless Butterfly ( who wrote such stuff for kids?)
Anush's verison is more palatable" Butterfly butterfly, where you come? HOME!!!!"

Petrified as she is about flies, she sings "Shoo fly bother me !!" ( omits the don't)

Yesterday we took her when we went to see Dhamaal. She kept saying "Chak de" as we were entering ( the last movie we took her to at the same theatre)

When Prem Chopra spoke haltingly, she was concerned " Uncle sleeping- oova ( hurt) - crying" and when I said " No baby- Uncle joking" she looked reassured.

Made a mental note to distract her when the movie scenes are sad/ tough.

Anyway, overall the movie was funny and "slapsticky"

Mouriya Ray

Ganapathi, Vinayaka, Vigneshwara, Ganesha, Moriya, Gajanana.... so many names

Among the most versatile of Gods in terms of depiction as well- some bordering on the gaudy, others innovative and cute.

A few years ago, I had featured in a newspaper for my Ganesha collection. Now I will also be on air on radio.

Hope Anush grows as fond of Ganesha as her parents. . .and hope He is fond of her and keeps trouble at bay.

Wishing all of you a happy Ganesh Chaturthi!

Here is a nice explanation albeit a little overdone from paavani's blog.

Toy Story

Any flower- be it real or in a book, Anush immediately crinkles her nose and takes a deep breath!

Madurai was a hectic trip and it was really hot. But I got to buy some really cute wooden cookery set with a grinding stone etc , packed in a woven palm leaf box. Plan to give it to Anushka a little later.

But the price appalled me- just Rs 40 for over 40 pieces!! Why do we under-price ourselves so much- when a horridly proportioned Barbie doll that is machine made costs so much?

The Pilgrim's progress

Am again doing a fair bit of travelling - to Madurai this week and to Haridwar next week- no not as a pilgrim but on work.


Anushka's favourite line now is " Amma, what ease( is) this??"
Even people get this treatment. Difficult to explain to a little kid - when to use "who" and when to use "what". . .

And she loves to pose this question and provide the answer herself.

Hai the Bad

What is up with Hyderabad?

First the brutality towards Taslima
Then the bomb blast
Soon after, the kidnapping of a little child
Followed by the attempted bombing of a minister
Today the flyover construction grid falling on a car and killing a few

Hope Hyderabad's BAD phase comes to an end.

I love this mini city and would not want to be afraid to visit it.

Wired wiered again

Namvor( choxbox) tagged me for the first time. Here I go...

- I never could hook clothing from the back…so I still do it in the front and turn it around.

- I love most fried stuff but cannot stand urad daal wadas at all- I think the batter smells and so does the end product. I am also not fond of chocolates( except ones with wafers), ice cream, ( except MovenPick), creamy cakes and aerated drinks

- I read magazines back to front- be it Outlook or India Today or even a Jet Wings

- I avoid long distance travel by bus since I am afraid there will not be any clean loo breaks

- I cannot use lipstick- really! It makes me so uncomfortable that I feel I am pouting and talking like I have just been to the dentist.

- I check my blog at least 10 times a day for comments and then say I write for myself!!

Given that I have done this tag a couple of times before…I must be pretty weird.

Lifes teachings

My maama-maternal uncle- Dr K ( whom I thought i would grow up to marry) is very witty and versatile- a near genius. Though his subject is Bio Chemistry, he has been a thesis guide to literature students unofficially. He also happens to be a Dean in a University in the States.

At one time, decades ago, he returned to India and tried doing his bit for the country but could not really fit in. His son is back in India trying to do the same now.

K Maama is 55 yrs old. He had been smoking and had also put on a lot of flab. However the last 1 year or so he had toned down on both.

He suffered a heart attack on Monday.

I have not met him in eight years. And was worried that I may never again do so. But God has been kind.

Last heard, he has been joking with everyone at the hospital. When a nurse introduced herself as a nurse at the hospital, K said nice to meet you, I'm K, a patient at the hospital.

And he's been telling everyone about the lecture he gave last Friday where he presented the case of a heart attack victim, and then says that he should have chosen a different topic!!

My other maama was born on Teacher's Day. My amma is a gifted woman who happened to be a professor of English, before she gave it up for Anushka. My appa is among the greatest coaches who also leads by example. And Anush of course is my favourite teacher of late.

Here is to all of you and the more typical ones by definition- school and college teachers- who taught me a thing or more in the subject called LIFE!!

Doll in a Doll House

Anush usually does not play with her soft toys. But after our VIP twins' visit on her birthday, she seems to like sitting among them. How she makes space - only she knows!!

The Blue Umbrella

An engaging execution of a heart warming story by Ruskin Bond - The Blue Umbrella. The neeli chattri song is so addictive that Anush listened to it a zillion times.

Pic courtesy 123musiq.com

Reminding one of the hills in Sound of Music and the simplicity of Malgudi Days, the chirpy Shreya delivers a superb performance. What a contrast to the kids in KKHH and so on.


The story is about greed and selflessness, about loss and discovery. It centres around the little girl Biniya and her much coveted blue umbrella and what happens to both.

A MUST SEE, especially for the kids, for the songs at least.

Caption contest 2