Cars and Preserve

The learner's license and the visit to the tax office for an NOC proved to be pleasant surprises. So professional contrary to the dreadful stereotypes I had in mind of such interactions

I have completed the theory sessions and have moved on to the simulator at the driving school Trow is the theory exam - hope i pass:-)) I took a mock one on the web and found I did pretty well. ( 8 on 10)


And yes i found lingenberry preserve here in Chennai at a place called Gourmet 5 off Cenotoph road- My mother makes brilliant cake with this as the magic ingredient in it.

Only thing i thought i was from Sweden but turns out it is from New york- so just not the same. I should have guessed when it was not priced that high.....this could explain it....

"The Swedish lingonberries are similar to but different from American cranberries. Swedish lingonberries are much smaller and deep red inside, not white inside like cranberries, creating a different preserve. Lingonberries are available fresh in North America only in the regions where they grow wild—Maine and Canada."

Get set go

Tanishq has opened a branch in Velachery! And to huge crowds yesterday.

Heavy duty scouting around for stuff for the new house has begun. More about that later. . .

Saw another play "Sangathi Arinyo" ( Have you heard) by Basheer put together by Under the Magosteen tree. The props and the sets were wonderfully used. The acting was a little loud in parts but the guy who played Basheer was uncannily similar. This time it was disrupted by Anush's impatience though- so Anush is not an angel after all : - ))

Anush had her first taste of ice cream ( Movenpick) and she fell in love- as soon as she got up this morning she said" Amma let us go - want to buy i cream"

Had a night out alone with Navy and friends since Anush slept off early and my mother stayed back with her. It was a good change.


Maruti Driving School has got a new fan in me - i had the first theory class on Momday- hi tech ppts with video demos and so on- really professional! Hope they keep their word and help turn me into a safe, confident driver as well.

Went to Palghat and Coimbatore on work and met some really enterprising rags to riches kind of people. Also shopped like crazy for Anush at Ctore and found fantastic bargains. Particularly recommend a place called Skin in the basement of Hotel Annapoorna( People's Park branch) Later realised there is a cheaper option called Gandhi puram- for next time..

Ate the most fantabulous rava dosa on earth at Gowri sankar. Discovered a lovely little shop "Rawa" which has all kinds of papads and to be frittered stuff- lotus stem/ chilly/ banana stem and so on.

Anushpeak

Anush is 2yrs and 5 months now. Some of her converstaion masterpieces:

We are "sildren" and we "finis" things
"Want to sit on my lap" " Want to eat yourself' .....( my and your are clearly interchangeable)
" O-kay , don't shout!" ( she excalims this in exasperation even if she is the one shouting)
" I am very busy"- every other day and if you ask her with what " shelling peas" or "peeling aloo"
"I am very tired- let me sleep" -we know who she is imitating- her father, who else?
If you warn against something she says " Dangerous- like fire!! "
She does some mischief and comes running and hides her face and says" Amma, I am feelign shy "
Any map is " Africa"
Directions are given unsolicited to the driver " left" and " right"- almost always correct as well

And she finally seems to be recognising colours by drawing comparison- jeans blue, chocoltae brown and so on

Pongal O Pongal

We are back after a really fun filled weekend.

Anush's paati left for Mumbai for a short break and Amma (yours truly) and Anush spent quantity and quality time together.

Friday evening we attended the Chennai Thiruvizha/ Kondattan at the Taramani venue and it was an engaging hour or so that we spent - watching the huge cut outs of conventional dancers and the real gusto of the performers. A lot of them compere very well in chaste Tamil and the energy is infectious. The arrangements were excellent in terms of seating and car park as well.

Saturday we went for a play at The Museum Theatre by Under the Mangosteen tree- " Moonshine and Skytoffee" - a very seamlessly merged 2 short stories by Basheer , the renowned Malayalee writer. It was very arty in terms of the sets and the ambiance and the actors did justice to the story. I loved the way the photo gallery had been set up.

On Sunday we finally made it to the Vandalur zoo and found it clean and the animals seem healthy. Anush had a lot of fun naming them and also learnt that deer do not bite and they lick ( accompanied by a slurpy noise). The drive is only about 30kms - really not what people will have you believe. They also have a Lion safari which we will do the next time we visit.

That evening we went to Besant Nagar beach for Radio One's Balloon fest and of course a dip in the water. We also bought Irutukadai Halwa and karasev and various traditional snacks. I had a chance to try Jigaradanda which is like a milk shake native of Madurai and reminds me of Mahalli in terms of odour but is made of seaweed and sugar from what i gathered. Anush had fun looking at the Durga and the other costumes at the Chennai Kondattam at the beach.

We welcomed the pongal festival with new clothes, a lovely large rangoli which Anush tried to recreate at home on paper and a visit to Mayajaal for the film " Bheema" with one of my favourite Tamil heroes- Vikram. I would say the movie is far from a must see and a not so well done Talapathi meets RGV's Sathya

Tuesday night Paati was back from Mumbai and Art is back at work and blogging.....

Nano 2008

2008 has surely begun as a year of promise. The much talked about TATA one lakh car for the common man was launched and aptly christened “Nano”.

Inevitably there will be parallels drawn against the Maruti 800 but let us be fair- those times were different.

Another very different reason to put India on the world map.

Hats off to Tata !

Why me??

Have you seen dustbins in animal shapes in public places?

A rabbit or a chimp usually and sometimes a penguin. . .

I can at least understand if they use a kangaroo but why these?

Possibly because children will notice them and use them?

Book Pulse

We went to the Dosa festival at Sanjeevanam. A let down since the more exotic ones( ragi dosa/ adai) were not available as early at 9.15pm. Had to make do with rava dosa and such.

Pulse polio was on 6th Jan, Sunday and I was surprised to see NO other baby/ child at the center we went to. I hope this was not the state at all centres... Anush willingly opened her mouth wide in imitation of the goldfish in the fish tank she was looking at when the drops were being administered!

The 31st (?) Chennai Annual Bookfair 2007-2008 is on at Ponnamalle High road in St George's school. It has really huge grounds.There is ample car park space and the entry fee is only Rs 5 per head. With multiple entry/ exits, the announcement system works just fine in case you lose friends or family in that maze of stalls, books and people. A good collection but not the best way to buy books if you ask me. I like to spend time, enjoy a little quiet, have the books neatly classified, etc etc. But Anush could not get enough of the atmosphere and yes, we found From Volga to Ganges by Rahul Sankritayan and The Essays by Bacon finally ! They also have a blood donation bank and readings by authors apart from soem contests to lure crowds.

Was sad to see India lose and sadder to see Australia win the cricket test. Winning is such a habit with them.

Saw Desperate Housewives without any guilt or distraction since Anush was asleep early. I wonder if there is a DVD collection I could hire somewhere. This is the only serial I really look forward to in terms of soaps. ( I know at least oneperson who will judge me for this:-)) )

Movie Masti

Taare Zameen Par
So much has been said about this movie. I LOVED IT. Have seen it twice so far. Here is the review which reflects my opinions exactly.

There should also be an adult version of it to remind us that raw ambition and standard definitions of success need not be the sole pursuit in life. Somewhat on those lines was Satyajit Ray's Seembadda aired on HBO or Zee Studio. Very thought provoking and surprisingly contemporary thought it was made before I was born. It talks of a go getter sales guy aspiring to be a board member.

Bas ek pal
An unheard of movie I found at the DVD library which I would rate more gripping that a lot of movies I have seen. That I am fond of Sanjay Suri and Juhi Chawla only helped. It has a rather morbid end but is reflective ( though somewhat over dramatised) of our times.Urmila looks stunning but she was better in Ek Hasina Thi.

Billa- version 2007
This is nothing but Don version 3. I really liked Ajith as Billa and the whole look and feel of the film was very international. Nayantara and Namita are really good lookign women but can lose a little weight. And what was that foot wear all about that Nayantara had worn !?!

Welcome 2008

We closed 2007 with an Aruna Sairam music concert at the "Chennai Broadway" and dinner at Parfait since that was closest to home in terms of beating the traffic. The new Billa was our first movie of 2008.

A Year end review along with what next in 2008 for posterity:

Family
I think I have been a good mom, daughter and wife in that order. Need to give equal weightage to the last one in 2008.
2007 was a time for reunions with both my maamas & a lot of cousins, after over 8 years SIL and family made a visit and Anush has bonded really well with her cousins.

Anushka
She has moved on to play( work) shool , is a tall, talkative, affectionate, imaginative child- Sample this
Me- " Anush finish that. Very little left over now."
Anush- " Right over amma?"
She enjoys all the family travel to exotic and not so exotic places and is pretty choosy about her clothes
She loves music, dance and painting
Continues to eat veggies and fruits but has taken a fancy for chocolates as well.

Home
It is almost in shape with most curios back on display and Anush turning out to be pretty methodical and neat with her stuff
We closed the loan on the first house and have narrowed down on another
We did at least 4-5 good long weekend trips

Professionally
I have moved to sales ( along held dream) after a very appreciated stint in marketing
Got a car from the company( Zen Estillo- my choice)
Did many overnighters and evene one trip abroad without Anush

Self
Here is where I have lagged behind- have only myself to blame on this
Need to control weight and temper both, want to relearn driving and swimming
Made some new friends in the blogging world- need to visit and comment more regularly

Finally, THANKS to all who made it possible- Anushka, Amma, Appa, Navy, uncle-aunty and all the friends and family

And yeah!! this is my 300th post.