God's plans

In case you did not know Chennai is the new Blore- for the wrong reason We have scheduled power cuts ranging from 90-120 minutes every day!!

Given that water and weather conditions are anyway almost unbearable in Chennai, it is a pity that we have a power crisis on our hand now.

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Eco friendly conventional clay Ganesha- ultra cool with the ac as the backdrop

Ganesh Chaturti was celebrated at my parents' place and Anush actually sang along in bits and pieces when I sang " Gaja Vadanaa"!! Wonder when she grasped it

In the new home, we sang all the Ganesha songs we knew and Anush was a very keen rasika.

Anush was gifted a Bal Ganesha key chain since we realised there was no ganesha in her room, She went about singing happy bday to you Ganesh for a while

Evening was spent like a usual holiday- watching - no no - Dark Knight continues to evade me- we saw Wall E. A really sweet and short animation romance between robots.

My picKs

On the eve of my favourite God's "b'day"- Ganesh Chaturthi here is an ultra cute pic from Gheehappy. They have a book and tees for kids for sale. Fantastic stuff.

Since I missed Krishnashtami this time on the blog, here is also one of this mischief monger.

The name board of a baker in Colombo-

Good word play ( unsure if intentional) of Movenpick- my favourite ice cream.

Mob fury and road rage

The scene was straight out of some pot boiler movie

On Friday on the way to office, there were huge number of school uniformed boys holding lathis and shouting and moving menacingly about the road.

Further down the policemen were just looking on!!

A Tata bus was on the wrong side of the OMR and I hear it had hurt one of the students from the school. Here is the write up in the paper

Unpardonable and yes the rage was warranted but to manifest itself so violently !!??

Not only did they damage the "culprit" bus but also vandalised a couple more stopping - innocent buses in which people like you and I may have been travelling to work

Where were the school authorities?
Why did the police not control the children? ( though the news report says otherwise)

They are still a few years short of being adults. What kind of citizens will these kids make?

Is it the movies which turn them into mini vendetta machines at such a tender age?

Catch 22

If you HAD to choose - God forbid- which would trouble you more- being the :
parent of one who has been bitten OR
parent of the one who bit

My colleague's kid was bitten by her classmate in school. Not a 2- 3 year old but a 7 yr old!

(Amma's) Sri Lankan Tour

So the Indian cricket team won at SL. I like surprises.

Here is a recap of Amma's Colombo trip

Day 1

I missed Amma and I cried when she called to speak to me

Appa and thaathu paati consoled me

Day 2

I was okay and told her to have fun and do well

Day 3

I welcomed her at the airport with Thaathu and demanded a surprise

Amma gave me a giraffe-I liked it and played with it for a while and then could not contain myself

" What just one animal surprise? " I exclaimed.

She waited till we got home and displayed all the stuff that she had got us- clothes, wall hangings, tea etc

Paati wondered if it had been a shopping trip or a business trip.

Amma said she managed to blow up a lot of money in about just the 2 hrs of shopping that she did

The SAARC summit had just happened and the air port and roads were in top condition. India won against Sri Lanka in cricket much to her clients' dismay.

She was disappointed about not having been able to see much of the culture or the country side' s beauty- Just like her previous trip

But I told her she could take Appa and me and go again sometime soon. She mumbled something about expenses and my passport- oh !

You could refer to photos on this site since Amma forgot to take her camera and all she has is shots like these taken on her cell.

And finally she says she fell in love with an old man there and got him for Appa!! ( refer first pic)

Amma adds- ( well she always wants to have the last word)

Geographically Sri Lanka resmbles Kerala and Goa.

They love Shah Rukh and Bollywood and Tamil cinema. But they do not wish to emulate India. They would rather look to the West.

The tension in Colombo, is palpable since they speak of having back up plans in foreign lands and the consulates are very crowded with requests from people to move over either for work or for studies. ( of course my sample size is very small)

Clothes- Odel (most stylish) , Fashion Bug ( most affordable for kids), Cotton Collection, House of Fashion ( good mix- great for men)
Home Decor- Odel ( funky), Paradise Road( auroville types) , Lakshila ( khadi types), Noritake ( fine ceramic ware)

All shops close by 7- 8pm latest. But they open early by 8.30- 9am

Move over Dora...and Amma

Last evening was entertaining (at my expense)

When I returned home, Anush said " Amma what are you wearing in your ears- so silly the ear rings look!!!" She was in splits at her own comment.
Me" You know H akka gave me these ear rings?" ( that is the truth btw)
Anush" Oh. H akka gave you??? They are so nice!!! Wow!"

Introducing H akka- the new hero( ine) in her life. Move over Dora. This lovely cousin of Navy in Blore is Anush's current craze, at least when it comes to looks.

She just adores her.
She wants long hair like her.
She wants to wear nail polish just as she does

She was surprised to note that akka had to brush her teeth like her "mere mortals" parents

She corrected me when I mentioned akka was wearing jeans- "she is wearing pants amma".
Anush is courageous enough to even face " strange thaathas" when this girl holds her

But she could not digest the fact that akka was a doctor- she kept quizzing if she was unwell and had to go to hospital.

Manipulative that we are we coached the Akka and told Anush to keep her room as neat as she does, wear jeans/ pants etc like she does and eat healthy and well and not be scared of new thaathas.

Analyse this

Does this pic say anything to you?

Wood Stock

Anushka says Green is the way for me ( Wilson Gardens Blore)

A reader looking for some wooden toys for her 7 months old son happened to view
my blog . This is for her and anyone else who may be on the look out for wooden toys:

Cottage on Temple towers

Chennapatna( karnataka) / Kondapalli ( andhra) and Pondicherry are the other sources- look out for these state exhibitions or govt owned shops

Khadi or Poompuhar and VTI ( victoria Technical Institute) may be other good sources.

Some of the exhibitions in sankara hall / the one in RA puram- i am not sure of the name- near Shilpi??

Dakshin Chitra on OMR stocks some handicrafts

Odyssey also keeps some branded wooden stuff

Hope this helps and other suggestions are welcome.

CAUTION: Not all wooden stuff is safe- ensure smooth edges, non toxic paint and also suitability for the age group

Well, what can I say?

Went for the John Britto dance show last evening called " Climax"

Anush was completely put off by the decibel levels. For this venue it was a far cry from the acoustics since our last experneice there. We had gone for a play with Nandita Das where the audience huddled in close to the stage irrespective of the ticket denomination to be able to catch the dialogues!!

I found the JB show mesmerising ( particularly the heady mix of dance with gymnastic like stances) and the audience was cheering wildly like it was a rock show.

Anush was okay only with the first little kiddys' dance. Navy helpfully volunteered to take her out to enjoy the glittering clock on the opposite building with the see through glass lifts on Mount road.

I would have thought with her exposure to 9Xm ( except for the gandhaa aunty songs, when she "close my eyes and just listen" ) she would enjoy this dance show. Well :-((

Then we met up for dinner with buddy K at New Yorker. The food has really deteriorated since the last time we were there. But it does feel like being in Mumbai with the young Gujrati parents you get to see there. Anush was beign shy and hardly spoke to K , whom she bonded with the last couple of times. Well Well :-((

Anyone who visits this space knows that Anush loves wearing paavadai- chattai . I found it cute too and encouraged her. This love is perilously brodering on an addiction.
I told her that I would give away all her other clothes and she could wear only paavdai chatti all the time and she said ...." Yes!!!" Cheeky monster.
Then I asked her again very threateningly and she said " No" Small mercies.

I give in anyway and let her wear them since I am supposed to be the adult here- let go the small issues and harp on the bigger, more important ones. Well Well Well:-((

Off to Blore- Cmani for the weekend.So wait for another weekend update.

God tussi great ho

Kalinga & Kebab Court are the new restaurants ( part of the Savera group?) recently opened in Velachery. Hot and happening Velachery!! ( my new rant- When will Pallikarnai-Medavakam follow suit?)

Kalinga( strange name - did they want it to be a war zone?) was a well appointed restaurant basic with nice touches like the black and white wall sketches depicting rural scenes with just a bit of colour for relief. We all had veg thali meals and found it good and with the expected and desirable pappu podi, avvakai and excellent gongura chutney. I wish they had interesting dessert items from Andhra and starters like ponnugulu( guntha panagalu) and maybe mini pesarettu. If it was indeed there, I did not notice.

Anush enjoyed her finger bowls and curd rice in that order and kept asking about the Telugu film music that was playing

I have been to the Kebab Court on ECR and find it above average but NOT in the league of Kebab Factory at Radisson. But of course the prices are also more affordable- you get as you pay at least in this case.

As for the movie, God tussi great ho will disappoint Amitabh fans and will delight Salman fans in the first half. The second half drags and drones on for all fans and non fans alike. For the first time I liked Priyanka and her look in this movie

This is Chennai's Bday week and lot of interesting things are planned...... take a look here

Thanks Sree for this. I am honoured and would like to pass it on to all those who have commented in the last 3 posts. ( They are my readers so they must be brilliant and I am so modest)

And yeah another thumbs up for Sushil Kumar's bronze in wrestlng.

Time and Again

She wondered why she invited this upon herself time and again.

Why could she not be less fickle?

She knew the perils and yet she went headlong into it.

Now there was no way out.

Because she has a reputation to live up to.

As usual 2 days after boasting about how long her hair had grown and how she had resisted the urge to chop it off!

Moving from The Dora cut I now have what is termed the Anush hair cut - utterly unmanageable and unruly. ( and I just saw this pic today and realised it looks really hot on someone else)

Pics of the weekend Galatta

See below for the post. . .

Weekend Bday Gala(tta)

3 years old , 3 celebrations- just worked out that way.

Preview

It began with a mini do at her school on her nakshatra (star) bday.

They are not supposed to "celebrate" with chocolates. Instead she took some healthy eats ( read dates- seedless of course) for her classmates and was super excited about her paavadai and that they sang her the bday song.

The Show begins

The second one, at the new home, the idea was more to meet up with the new neighbors and to also use the long weekend to get some friends including fellow bloggers to see the new place. But most of the latter category were going out of town for the weekend & hence missed the fun.

But hastobeme and Lavs made it and I got to see the utterly cute Little Buddha is person who Anushka wanted to keep with us.

The theme was Teletubbies meets Jungle Book, among Anush's current favourite characters ( Did not know there was gay controversy over them in Poland, they are as sexless as a snail to my unlearned eye. : -) )

Menu-

Puffs, cornflakes mixture, potato chips, cake, laddoos- grape and orange squash

I actually found Teletubbies mould jellies which reminded me of that thoroughly unhygienic but most delightful sucking type ice lolly we called pepsi in my school days in Mumbai

Activities-

We had the generous Hannah Martin and her son do wonderful tattoos and the balloon sculpting . Though expensive they give almost all their earnings to charity.

I revisited the thermocol jigsaw concept I had made during Anush's first bday to engage the invitees.

My cousin was adept at juggling with 3 apples.

Music was a collection of Anushka's favourite songs in Hindi and English laced with Happy bday to you.

The final climax

The third get together at the old building that had been our home for the last 5 years and is now my parents' home.This was for old friends and neighbors and Anush's school friends. This had great attendance and itchy ( with her all new cool look and ek dum cool family ) made it as well. At the old place which has a lot more kids, some uninvited as usual.

We had a Dora mascot much to most kids' delight and some kids' fright

And the last minute incorporation was the Treasure hunt on a Jungle Safari played using the animal drawings from the previous party

Menu

Butter Corn, chips, vanilla ice cream, Blue curacao and lychee juice to add to the Dora colours

Credits

The theme cakes were from Cakes and Bakes with strict instructions in writing to avoid very dark colors and to keep the characters smiling

The snacks were a combo of the friendly Iyengar Bakery and home made stuff.

Anushka helped a lot with the prop making ( due credit to orchid and the www for inspiration).

Navy as usual was the balloon and music provider

My cousin made it from Kolkotta just for the weekend. So unlike the previous bdays, we

actually had a camera persons- he and my father! And he really juggled to the delightful chuckles of all our little guests.

My parents kept me sane, keeping people company and ensuring they had enough to drink/ eat

My ILs could not make it due to other family commitments.

The favours were etikoppaka tops/ sharpeners in animal shapes, sporty water bottles, some mandatory colour crayons/ pencils/ pens.

There were terracota key chains, chokers and ear rings for the older visitors ( why shld they always get ignored?)

Anushka's prime gifts this year apart from the various thoughtful and miscellaneous gifts she received, was a "laptop" from my cousin, an inflatable pool from her amma appa.

We have got her a piggy bank to let her learn the concept of saving (assuming it is not too early since it is never too late) Her indulgent appa took her for a drive after pasta and pizza late at night.

She also got to see lots of the huge light cutouts of Gods being Varalakshmi pooja on her bday eve and she loves those.

Review

Both parties left Anush excited and me exhaustedly satisfied with a smug grin.

Take out

Anush, I love you for being so perceptive and wise, so curious and caring , so naughty and so loving. And tell you a secret? I would love you even if you were not all or any of these.

Last year we wished that the year keeps you a happy, healthy and warm person- as you entered play school and made new friends. I must say that it was the terrific twos instead of terrible twos for most parts.

This year let us resolve to be a little more patient and listen more to each other and continue having lots of fun as we try and grow up together, okay?

Happy Star Bday baby!!

We always had a pretty interesting life .

After your birth, somehow life seems richer, brighter, lovelier, happier with you around

You take my breath away baby with your whys and whats and spontaneous bursts of angelic wisdom.
You also take my breath out sometimes with your naughtiness

Today, on your star bday ( you are poorvashadam and don't ask me why but here is what it seems to imply)

"The moon in Purva Ashadha indicates a person who is proud, independent, and invincible with strong influence and power over others. They are ambitious and fearless, with a strong urge to better themselves. They have deep emotions and are philosophical, but they can also be confrontational"

It amused us that you went so chirpily to school in your bright paavadai despite being low with a bad cold. Shows how spirited you are already.

Here is wishing you a bright, sparkling and sunshine filled year ( technically the Sun is also a star you see)

Indian Trail tales

As Rohini lamented the lack of a Mumbai Storytrails ( this is a link to the blog) , I did some checking..

What you do have are the following

Mumbai

Heritage Walk- guess the walk is not a WIP unlike the website

Nature Trail- sounds interesting and even has an authority figure to back it though targetting visitors from overseas

Time out trails - the first one is most "doe "able :-) though out of bounds for our little ones but I am sure at least some of these enterprising operators will be willing to customise

Kolkata

The Bengalis really do it instyle- they had a city treasure hunt in 2008. Calcutta Walks is a company owned by Iftekhar Ehsan and it organises walking tours of Kolkata, taking you through the city's inherent treasures...of course promoted on NDTV- anything Bengali will be right : - )

And another resource on suggested walks across India covering various city/ town trails ranging from Pondicherry to Jaipur . However I am not sure if there is an escort or a guide or a story teller involved in these trails.

Maybe you can add on what is available in your city or refine this info based on your experience?

Bangalore

This link in added courtesy 'd'

Truly the best of the lot in terms of online portrayal, have you tried it 'd'? Again children below 7 not allowed:-((

And if we do not find too many like the London tour which I loved or the other tours that you read of in blogs of those in the UK or the US( choxbox / mom of 2), maybe we have a good business opportunity here.

Anushpeak

I was locking the door and Anush was getting impatient to start on her walk

So i told her " Call the lift"

She said" Lift !"

Me: " Lift won't come like that Anush"

She: " LllllliiiiiiFT!!!!"

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I asked Anush "Baby, say one to ten " to demonstrate to Navy how Brit she pronounces four

She : "One to ten"

I know, I know I should have just aksed her to say four.

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This morning I got up a little late and so had left her with her squeeze bath toys and he tub filled with warm water

i come back in less than a minute to find a huge mass of bubbles in the bath

She had emptied half the handwash liquid bottle into the tub and worked up a lather!!

Potentially Wild weekend

We ( Anush and I) finally took the Storytrails' Animal Trail for 3-5 yr olds

Well thought out and executed by a group of 4 ladies, the Blue Cross seemed to be a good venue for the kids ( and us) to start being aware of animal rights and the pathetic plight of some of them

The trail itself was a good mix of fact, petting rules, feeding tips, concern on the animal health and of course, interspersed with stories & summed up with a good wash and a bit of colouring little animal cartoons.

Actual handling and feeding of the animals- carrots for the rabbits, bananas for the goats, biscuits for the pups and grains for the roosters took place and Anush was game with everything except the grains for the turkeys and roosters. She wanted to visit the pigs and the ponies which she spotted up close but that was not on the trail.

While I would recco the trail to all parents with kids, I was unnerved by the incessant barking and the wailing of the dogs and the overpowering stench. Possibly because I do not like dogs much myself, I felt that after half the time at the Blue cross , the rest of the trail could have moved to a more open, happier healthier environ like a farm or some such. But to be fair, I guess no one will want to put up with little kids and their extra curious set of wards.

Anush noted and repeated much later to me that dogs cannot eat cookies- their tummies will ache and that only biscuits for them!

And then she said she liked kutty( small) dogs and kittens and wished to also see a kangaroo and bring it home. I told her we would need to go to Australia for that and since then it has been "Shall we go to Australia now" despite all explanations to the contrary.
Maybe we should. :- ))

To keep up another promise, I also took her on a short local bus trip where in I was surprised to see her stand comfortably holding on firmly to the long pole with one hand. I recollect asking for the very occasional car ride when I was little but now kids ask for bus and train rides!!

Thanks to my father, Anush went on her first local train ride and had so much fun !! We boarded at Velachery and were at Triplicane station, in a jiffy.

It also was her first time to Marina beach- we have only done Elliots a few times in Chennai and Mahabs, Pondy and Vizag with her so far
Anush UNLIKE the previous times did not enjoy the water - she was pretty intimidated. Anyway I did not force her though I was certainly tempted to.
My father said it was a phase, I sure hope so. Possibly the rough roaring noise of the waves which had been missing in her previous experiences?
She had fun doing all else that kids do at the beach- ran around, collect shells, drew circles in the sand, shot balloons (under supervision of course), ate corn and so on.

Last evening Navy inflated an Anush sized Floppy- a dog- the kind that bounces back when you try to make it topple- ( gifted around her first bday) and she loved it. So we left her room to herself for a while.

We had not been to the new place for a couple of days - nights and had gone back on Sunday. I overheard Anush telling her Nemo sticker and her rocking pony that " Please don't be sad okay? I had just gone to the Heritage house. I will take care of you okay?" Cute, huh?

What a wonderful start to Monday - India strikes gold at the Olympics- this guy earns his place in history books and this blog .

Long ago

A few years back we did it all the time, any time.
Focussed, spontaneous and never tired
Grabbed every moment that we could, as if there was no tomorrow
Then it reduced to the weekends
Then once in a while
Now once in a loooooong while and on occasion
Are you with me?

Whale of a time

My father and I went together last night for the play- THE WHALE - part of the Hindu Metro Plus Theatre Festival - poor Navy had to opt out. Here is my father's review of it- echoes my sentiments as well

Ragamalika could perhaps be a single word to describe the performance of Mr. Adinolfi in 'The Whale'. Supported by an able (& intriguing) 'cast' of handcrafted props the solo performer brings out the fury of the whale, the awesomeness of the ocean, fatalism inherent in man's relationship with God and the desire of men to go beyond human capabilities. Based on 'Moby Dick', the play is all about imagery. Many of us could not grasp the words but that did not matter. On the flip side, this format did not call for the biology lesson on whales as well as a primer on whaling. Perhaps this was an attempt on the part of the director to remain true to the original.

The compere, a middle aged gentle man from Hyderabad, is my new role model. He also had a quirky explanation for 'Moby Dick' which kept mobiles off during the show.

To sum up The Whale is a really interesting solo act with a nimble actor who provokes you and stirs you.

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Meanwhile this movie review made me wonder if we were talking of the same movie or had I been to one that was masquerading as Kuselan. Here is my take ( para 5) in case you missed it.

Doodles and Oodles

Anush has begun sketching /drawing in school as well.

So each day when I get back from work, I get a little chit with some doodles and oodles of eagerness " Amma, I made this for you."

As you know she has been colouring at home for a while now.

She has enrolled with a formal class this month along with the multitude of kids who go for the art class on the terrace. Let us see if she enjoys it.

Whirlwind Weekend

Anush seems to have mastered the 4 main petrol bunk logos ( BP/ HP/ Indian Oil, Shell) or gets it right by fluke all the time. She loves to try and identify them and keeps looking out for more as we drive. We have all four in our daily drive between Velachery and Pallikarnai.
She confused one bank logo for a petrol bunk ( BP) and I explained to her that the bank was large piggy bank which seems to have got her fancy. So now she wants me to help identify the bank names. I need to learn them first!

We went to Thiruvallur for a ear piercing of Navy's friend's child. A most scenic drive after you cross Motel Highway and hit the right. It is about 20 kms from the highway. And what a palatial mansion the hosts lived in. Anush enjoyed it though she missed balloons- our fault since we had called it a b'day party. We also were thoroughly at a loss to explain an Indian oil kind of station with an orange and grey logo?

We had the more or less final builder meeting to settle ( scores) Went off better than expected and he has promised to take care of our concerns.

The gardener came in with the water lily for planting and we hope it thrives. Anush was rather busy quizzing him." Uncle, shall I water the plants"..... " Uncle it is dirty here" ......." Uncle shall I smell the flower" :- )

Saw Kuselan ( 11.30 pm show at Mayajaal!!) and it is not a patch on the Malayalam original. It also has a very cheap look barring a few beautiful shots. Some graphics / effects such as the dolphins were really tacky and looked straight out of a gaudy marriage album. The flaw I think was to give undue time to Rajni and not to the main protagonist. It ended up being neither an arty thoughtful movie nor an out and out Rajni entertainer with one liners. Also somebody must explain to Vadivelu that shouting s not equal to comedy.

Given the late night show, we went to GRT Temple Bay- Mahabalipuram for dinner- much like the old times pre Anushka. But Anush was a very cooperative bunny and enjoyed her pasta and carrots at 10.30 at night.

My cousin from the US is back for a stint in Kolkotta for an NGO . He came by for the weekend. Anush could not have enough of him and it helps that he is so patient with her and showers her with gifts (his technique for gift giving is slow release - one every two hours or so) This ways he savours each gift and then awaits the next.

See the purple room featured in "Corners of my home"- well Anush believes that it is only for guests and does not like using it!!

Anush and I invited all the new building residents for a small get together - at least we will know who are our neighbours- given that there is only 10% occupancy till now. The response was enthusiastic verbally- time will tell if they really turn up.

We also saw the play " Electronic City" as part of the Metro Plus theatre festival. I would not recommend it unless you like feeling puzzled and bored. The theme is an old one- man at the mercy of technology and wanting to discover himself again, rebels. The execution started off very interesting- a painter doing a back drop on stage all through, the characters seemingly coming from the audience, a drama within the drama , the wonderful use of ghattam ( likened aptly to a heart beat) , use of a video from a German / American actor- director combo to establish the theme. Yet it was very hard to follow and tested one's endurance despite being endearing in rare parts.

While on the festival- The venue this time is superb and the props beautiful . . .and we want to see this play "The whale" - a solo act with lots of props by an actor- dancer.

August Ahoy

Reasons I love this August

Independence day weekend is a long one
The Hindu Metro Plus theatre festival is just beginning
There are some fantastic dance recitals on at Narada Gana sabhba with rivers as the theme
I might finally do my official Sri Lanka trip
And Anush's bday is mid month.....

Plan so far - I used my lucky draw money from our Family Day to get Little Kangaroo dresses for Anush. Unlike her usual staple Paavadai chattai... which we may still get for her star bday.

400

This is my 400th post here and I have some news... no... no... before you jump the gun.....

Finally after 2 unsuccessful attempts, we have Anush's ears pierced by the local neighbourhood "achaari"- who was so expert and did it with his bare hands and a small thorn like piece

His placement was perfect ( unlike the first time and ear wring also did not happen.)

Anush explains to all who care to hear (or not) " uncle pierced ears in shop/ Kaadu kuthitaar uncle. I cried only little."

She is taken up with everyone gushing and calling it pretty and hopefully she will not pull it off this time or develop any infection. ( unlike the second time)

We have also warned her that she would need to go to " uncle" to get it removed whenever she asks us to remove the ear studs. That seems enough to keep her from fidgeting with her ears.

Fingers crossed, I hope the kiddo will be comfortable and enjoy all the ear rings gifted by loving friends and relatives, that are lying in the locker for her since her birth.

My mother is of the opinion that we could have waited for her to grow up and then do it. I guess no right or wrong in all this as the comments in the last post on this subject show.

Lounge around -baitak style

Always wanted floor level seating- like a baitakh. I have never been too taken up with sofas though one cannot deny the comfort factor of sinking into one of those giant leather ones

Anyway went ahead with my thoughts and the result is the above.

Even those with knee issues can sit at the periphary and drop their feet on the tiled floor for adequate height since the gaddas( mattresses) are pretty thick.

Anush thinks we have beds in the hall and loves lolling on them.
And here is the inspiration, courtesy rang-decor, when I went about breifing the carpentar.

Edited to add- How we did it:
We raised the flooring with bricks itself. Solid, tree friendly and much cheaper too.
We used the same Marbonite flooring and then laid Prego "wooden" flooring- thin ( 2 mm) strips of wood like planks which interlock. As easy as that!

We also finally have a TV in the drawing room contraray to all these years!!

Wonder Why?

We finally had our orientation toward the Montessori system & the way it is used in practise on Saturday at Anush's school. My mother and I went for it. We were the curious ones after all.

We gathered there are 30 students in the mixed age ( 3- 6y rs ) environ that Anush is in now. More than we thought.

The adult in charge is from the US and seems as nice a R chithi who also looks up the kids once in a while.

Anush warned me against sitting on the red circle on the floor mat.

We were way back in the audience but the teacher heard her & used it later to illustrate how rules can be laid and absorbed and internalized.
That attention to detail was enough for me to reinforce confidence in the rather secretive school that Anush goes to
And they also promised to give us some " observation" sessions

The class is equipped with a lot more aids/ props/ stuff than the earlier reception class and explains her need to " I will do it- just me-- pl don't help"

It was amusing to see some parents ask questions which indicate their desire to turn their kids into geniuses or some who think they already are.

Since when has being normal gone out of fashion?

Royalty first but second

Our team - Royal Kings- stood second in the group performance, just as in sports - Silympics.
Overall, we were the number one team but there were no prizes for combined scores.

Ours was a musical "extravaganza" with most of Navy's funky clothes put to good use
A lot of props were innovative by yours truly.
The cliched theme was a swayamvaram with a twist in the tale.
The entire team participated which is what was fantastic.

I played a man( SRK in Om Shanti Om - luckily not Dard e Disco ) since one of the team suddenly could not make it. I loved wearing the huge rowdy moustache though Anush had a tough time accepting it. She is not used to a mush even on Navy.

Our group's prize money goes to a group lunch and hopefully some charity as well.
I also won a gift voucher which will be well spent on who else but Anushka.

Gentle reminders

Anush says on the morning drive to her school" Appa- Just Chill" and smiles as if she knows the stir this comment will cause

She turns to me and says " Must not chew nails. Ve-ry grosss" Exactly in the tone I thought I had stopped using

They are painting the exteriors of our old building and as we step out of home she exclaims- " Wow Nice smell of paint" my occupational hazard has moved on to her.

Chennai Chudaamani

Where does one get props costumes for amateur dramas in Chennai?

There are some seedy looking shops in Vadapalani and a couple in Mylapore.

But so uninspiring and only period drama or extra types! At least what I saw.

Why do I ask- it is family and fun day this weekend and we have skits to perform and it is cut throat competition out there- we are going for the kill as well.

Second in our version of the Olympics, my team is thirsting for first place in the culturals....the prize- we will get talked about till the function next year.

Storytrails- Mango on the Beach

Remember? Not so long ago, I mentioned this outfit called story trails.....

Here is one more intersting initiative from them .

Blog meet and some more

This Blogger meet I was the first to get to with Anush- who was enthusiastic to come -cold, cough and all.

Then Sue who infact got this meet going, joined in with her adorable package of fun and pranks . He gave a couple of clues as to why Sue has such a fantastic body. ( keeping her on her toes)

Resourceful Minka made it after a smart parking move :-)

While we started out at the last blog meet venue at the Isphani centre- Coffee day- the din- oops - the music & conversation levels left a rather cramped feeling and quickly made us switch allegiance to the near by place- I do not even recollect the name- a Pasta and Gelato place with a kids corner and very considerate staff as it turned out ( since we created quite a mess)

Tharini came in with both the kids this time and they were a delight as her blogs indicate. I was amazed at how unruffled and calm she seems always.

Nisha brought her daughter along. The little one was so cute and a silent observer but completely surprised me when she ate the spicy chips.

Anush and Akhil seemed to enjoy the pasta and so did I.

When bubbly IBH made her entry I was delighted since I had been feeling like a giant among all these petite bloggers in Chennai - here was someone who was an equal in height. I wish I could have spent more time with her daughter and got to know her better as well.

Sue observed my footwear and my" corporate" handshake- more on those later.

Sue's father spoiled us by footing the bill and indulged us with questions on blogging and summed it up by saying it was a modern version of pen pals.

This blog meet also left me feeling I had not had much adult conversation. The kids remained the focus as expected and as is right. Maybe next time we shld go to a place with a play area- Vanilla place or Pizza Hut so that we have more sane conversation. But I wonder if that will be as much fun!!

Other highlights
I played Tug of War at our Corporate Sports Day on Saturday and as expected we won!! Could not take Anush along since she had a severe cough.

We had our first guests last night at the new house and we found it is a good place to entertain visitors. But we could not use the large sit out since the swing had just been polished that day.

More supermarket in Pallikarnai needs better service desperately. They have only one operational billing counter!! We saw a couple of non Tamil guys posing with cauliflowers and taking snaps- possibly to send home - to show they have been shopping and cooking!! Cute.

I wish I had attended this- a whistling competition- as a spectator- must have been fun.

Anush's cough is finally on its way out- it really has been troubling her a lot.

I got the new local registration number for the car finally - after 6 months and a few thousands more since the tax has gone up to 8% from 6% since June 2008. Irrespective of when you applied for the new number, if your registration is post June you need to apply the new interest rate!! If the RTO is negligent and causes delay, it still remains your problem .

Anush says

. . .Amma if you water the plants they will feel so excited
she likes word dropping

. . .It is so dark- the sun and moon have gone to sleep- they are very tired- after cooking full day
must have picked that one up from my mom

. . .Amma i open cupboard and put on chocolate brown lip balm
That was my lipstick that she had smeared on!!

. . . Appa, why i am not there in photo in amma appa's college? ? why? WHY?
because baby then they would have expelled us!!

Aasa Dosai Appalam

Here is a very spiritual song inspired by the Golden discs of delight - appalam song and here is Appalam Chappalam and here I give you mine-

This Crunchy munchy treat,
Lifts your spirits when you are beat,
Like a snack some eat,
I think this rhyme should stop and retreat.

Appalams-
Source
Ambika and the local Brahmin street / area contact ( I have one) are the best. Bindu, Dots and Maanmark are the other known brands but i avoid them.
For poppadam go to the friendly Kerala Chips guy nearby or the Malayallee shop in your vicinity

Formats
You have the regular appalam ( which can roasted or fried or microwaved) rettai appalam, appla poo ( flowers)
Popadamas have a low shelf life both raw and fried . They cannot be roasted and are just fantastic with sevai/ avial/ Kerala cuisine

Flavours
You do not find too many variations in flavour in the south relative to the north Indian Papad. You can have a generous heaping of jeera or not.
But you do have alternatives such as the maracheeni ( tapioca/ kappa) appalam ( sometimes tempered with mud!! ) , jackfruit applam and pure rice applam ( neither can be roasted as i know)
Check this very moving blog out while it also brings the magic of poppadam alive

Papad
Any super market sells it. Synonymous with Lijjat for a long time you have other brands now and even the South Indian Ambika makes its Lijjat style papad
Flavours galore- With or without garlic, with pepper, methi, punjabi masala, jeera etc etc
Thanks Alan I visited this site and learnt more- and do NOT miss the jingle of yester years

Vadaam/ Vethal
Cousins of Appalam/ papads, it comes in smaller fritter size protions and eaten usually like wafers or with food.
Made in an assortment of vegetables( okra/ and/ or rice - gram flour. Some can also be fried and used in gravies such as " menthiya kozhambu"

Pots Post

Pots to me have always meant conventional ghamlas - the terracotta- mann thotti kind
I have seen some poorer families use Vanspati tins and some rich ones use Cognac bottles as planters.

Now we have a couple of new options:
- In Chennai at least you see these garish cement ones- supposedly more durable , definitely more colorful but am really unsure if they will let the soil breathe and so on
- The other is this a lovely glazed ceramic one- the paisley Jaipur style motif on it- surely not suited for direct planting given the amount one spends on it but interesting if one were to keep theplant indoors

And now introducing my idea- a discarded vegetable crate....the kind they transport tomatos in- if you paint it - would it not recreate a quanit European window sill flower planter kind of appeal? What do you think?

BTW Anush is one month short of being three and I actually forgot all about it till around an hour back. I am certainly making headway on the monthly b'day thingie- I told you.

Jaane tu ya jaane na

Anush enjoyed Guindy Zoo/ park a lot this time as well. An impulse visit on Saturday lasted a good hour and a half !!

She has for the first time been missing her father who was off to Chintmani and Blore for a few days.

Her father, Navy has been missing luggage. He is truly " the absent minded professor" if there was one. Historically, he has forgotten his wallet at a mall once and his suitcase at the airport. This time he left behind his own bag in Chintamani and realised only on reaching Blore!!

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Jaane Tu - The movie
I was sure I would enjoy this movie despite the average rating it had got from critics. It was more like I wanted to enjoy the movie- so I did.
This movie is better seen with your buddy/ flame from college ( to give it an edge) than the current love of your life- great if he happens to be the same individual.
I find Imraan a young and upgraded version of Joey in terms of looks. Like most women who have had a college romance, I could identify with it. Even the gang was akin to one of my many gangs.
I am waiting to see more of my favorite actress ever Smita Patil's son. I thought the older gen of actors were aptly casted.
And I could not get over the talking portrait scenes. They were a scream.
The girl who lived in the make believe world to get over her parent's differences- very poignant.

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Last couple of days, Anush has fever and seems to be enjoying it!! While she sleeps a little, she keeps jabbering away most of the time about how she will eat kulfi and cold water once she is well ....She also chose mid night to update me on her plans!! But seriously, kids just do not seem to know the meaning of the word rest- be it for themselves or for others.

New pastures

1 minute mehendi - worse than 2 minute noodles

Migrant workers I find a lot at the building site- in particular from Orissa and Andhra and at restaurants and parlours ( Nepal/ Darjeeling- passing off as Chinese)

Now on a recent visit to Panagal Park I saw lots of Mehendi ( henna) "appliers" from Delhi/ Rajasthan - at least 8 of them opposite the old Nallis- on the footpath. Women were flocking to them to get their hands adorned-though how they will manage to shop with that on beats me!

Also came across "toran" vendors for the doorways and pooja areas- with mirrors and rudraksh beads etc - willing to cheat the Tamil consumer and offer huge discounts to the Hindi speaking one : - ))

Chennai is truly becoming cosmopolitan!!

Wonder if I qualify as a migrant worker- but I belong no where- a Tamilian in Mumbai - a Mumbaikar in TN !!

Missing Humour

I am not sure if I have a sense of humour.

I do not relish mother in law jokes- I will be one some day and do not wish to seen as a caricature / a banshee. As if arguments are only with MILs- we disagree with our mothers too, don't we? And still love them....Also when you do not ( and often cannot) treat them as your mother, how can you expect to be treated as a daughter? These jokes doom the relationship even before it begins. Why not confront and sort issues , why resent and keep quiet? And where are FILs in all this?

Marriage jokes- find them sexist often and rather cynical too- why would the institution thrive, if it sucked so much as the "jokes" would have you believe

or Anti- Men/ Anti women jokes- very sad and sexist. Why box in millions of people?

I just wish there were as many nice things being said about these relationships as there are negatives being highlighted. It would even things out. Then I would not mind.

A big cheers to all the great Mothers-in- law ( mine and Navy's included), wonderful Daughters In Law( me leading the pack) , fantastic couples, gorgeous men and women ( all of us) - my heart goes out to you. You do a great job and keep it up.

In the meanwhile, let me go try and find my funny bone.

Law on laundry

There should be a law that bans clothes being dried on balconies...

Why can't some safe and roofed place be provided for each flat on the terrace or the basement for this?

Have you noticed how in Chennai and Mumbai gorgeous buildings look awful with the line of clothes drying in the balcony....Roofed because it might rain and if the couple is working then the clothes cannot be gathered fast, Safe because you do not wish to be rendered clothe- less

But sometimes ( very rarely) laundry hung out looks attractive as well- in photos.

At home in so many homes

Navy's parents returned from the US- Boston last night, after a trip that should have happened a long time ago, when they were healthier and a lot younger. But they seem to have gotten rosier and look fresher after the break.

Anush was so excited . She even wanted to accompany Navy to pick them up at mid night. The cheeky little thing asked her thaatha" What did you get from Boston for me?" ( lots of clothes and a bubble maker)

She was reluctant to go to school given all the attention she received from both sets of grand parents since we had gone to my parents place that night.

But she did ask a couple of times to go to our new place too- children adapt so fast to new places- it is incredible!! I am very glad my little doll is happy in and with all her homes...

Corner Highlight

This corner had to come into the main body text since I needed your input on what you think is on display. . .

Go on take a guess. . .

Pottering about

Yesterday, we began our little garden ( note the adjective)

Anush volunteered to pour water and promptly went up to the kitchen and fetched mineral water in her little glass saying "water for plants to drink, amma"

I explained that they did not need mineral water just normal tap water would do ! ( in India tap water is not always potable) Then she used the mug and very " gently" watered the plants.

Ode gallery was the discovery of this weekend- tucked inside Neelankarai off ECR ( behind Mars software I think) rather expensive and VERY poor on service in the food section, especially with a hungry hubby and impatient kiddo in tow. It is lovely in terms of the collection of paintings, curios, home decor etc from South India, Indonesia and maybe Sri Lanka. A must visit if you wish to splurge on your home. I picked up a buddha face and Salem/ Thanjavur stretched leather picture frames. If interested, pics later in corners of my home.

Nostalgia

I met K thaatha, over 85 yrs now- he knew me when I was Anushka's age and even younger.
He had been my parents' landlord.

It was very warm meeting him after almost 30 yrs. I hope to visit the old house in Thanjavur with him some day. The same house where he had caught me when I fell off the balcony from the first floor and gave my mom a near heart attack.

He told me in 5 minutes flat that I am just as I was and that all "Art.." are naughty and his grand daughter was named after me!!

Queues cues

Went to Barbeque Nation and enjoyed the food. It was unbelievably crowded for a Monday. Anush was very excited despite a cold and asked guitar uncle to play" When I am feeling blue"!!

And the Most apt Anniv present for a couple who loves to travel - Got our new passports after this harrowing experience and another day's wait at the passport office

I thought I would not see queues like that too soon but I have been the last couple of days at all petrol/ diesel stations!! Hope emergency services do not come to a stand still in all this.

P.S. Do check out the little corners of my home and tell me if you have something nice to say.