Growing up Anush

Self portrait by Anush

At the doctor's when the doc was prescribing medicine she asked if she preferred tablets or syrup , Ansuh said " I like only Crocin aunty- the pink one na- you know? Yummy! "

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We have a couple of cute regular visitors toour window - squirrels. They usually peep in and I am sure smile at us and scamper away.

Last week, the window was open and a baby squirrel entered the home. We did not see it come in , since this is one of the inner bedrooms. When the maid was sweeping she encountered it. We had a tough time guiding it out. The poor thing was very young and petrified and maybe blind as well.

Once we were successful, Anush asked me" So you took the "skewril" back to its amma appa? They were searching for it? It did not know how to go home?"

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We were channel surfing and stopped at a montage of actors in drag. I said" Wow he really looks pretty"
Anush corrected " Not he Amma- SHE looks pretty"
That was Ritesh Deshmukh and he does look gorgeous as a woman

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I was a little late coming home last evening. Anush, on the phone, asked me" You are stuck in traffic amma? Bad traffic? "

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Anush's favourite phrase nowadays " Okay, Sure" except to the query" Shall we go to school?"

Amma- Why baby?

Anush - " Amma I have cold and fever - I cannot go"

On probing" I don't like pouring grains, polishing / colouring/ building blocks again and again "

So I reason that there are many more activities to explore.

I am beginning to feel worried that she will be the youngest school drop out or the most bored student of the century. :-)

Friends forever

We met yesterday after a long gap.

A friend of eight yrs
Who bailed us out during the previous slump in 2001- he gave up his job so that at least a couple of us could keep ours ( he probably thinks we do not know)
Someone who is my mentor
Who is so concerned about my family
A brain with an IIT M / IIM A background
A con artist who still remembers my signature :-))
A recent blogger
A Satyam Employee

Read some of his latest posts for an insider perspective.

Refresh

The last couple of days, a movie shoot is underway in our building premises.

When I got home from work, I was puzzled to find my two large flower pots and a pair of black terracota horses missing. The latter is pretty high on the sentiment quotient even if they are not that expensive. I have preserved them for over 9 yrs now.

I found it adorning one of the unoccupied flats on the same floor. What the film guys are using for the shoot.

Just basic decency and courtesy wouldn't you say to seek our permission before taking our stuff, even if it is accessible ? And if they were so considerate that they did not wish to disturb us when we are at work ( read in sarcy tone) :
- Could they not have at least put it back in place after the day's work ?
- Would they replace it had they broken/ chipped it?

So in true artnavy style, I went and presented my arguments to our building coordinator. He said he would get the director to apologize. Of course I proclaimed it completely unnecessary and asked for an assurance that none of my stuff be taken/ given.

And to think I insist that Anush share her stuff !! ( except brush, comb, soap, towel and ....husband of course)

To make amends , I share some interesting links with you:

Aarohi's kadai

Have you seen the props in the Minto Fresh TVC/ ad? No? Then go here.
I would love to have a lot of those things- the cooker is fabulous.

Reminded me of Aarohi Singh's work and some corners of Ashwiny Iyer's home and even some of Dithi's art
Trust you will enjoy them as much as I do

Zabardast weekend

Had about 10 of Navy's colleagues for dinner on Saturday and not a single woman in the group!! And almost all of them were single. I had been apprehensive that Anush should not get in their way and kept telling her to stay with me or in her room.

But she turned out to be the light of the party and all the guests indulged her ( taking turns if they needed to do some serious talk) Piggy back, stitching, jigsaws, dance moves , dumb charades, naming the masks, naming the uncles . . . . .

I was really amused to see some of them wanting to be addressed Anna and not uncle - all over 25 yrs, then why the complex???

We were gifted a pair of round base papier-mache dolls from Thanjavur and a lovely rug from Fab India among other things.

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Some Anushims:
To her toy laptop which keeps asking her to key in the number, when she is slow-
" Don't keep saying the same thing again and again!! Wait okay"
Or if she does not follow what the voice in the laptop asks-
" Eh ?" or " Aanhh?"

Navy " Hang on, I will come"
Anush" I am hanging Appa. Please come."

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Could not go to the Mylapore festival nor could I make it to the Mahabs dance festival. Anush has again got a severe bout of cold- cough " I am in bad shape amma. So I cannot go to school." We wondered if she brought on the fever as well to avoid school. But poor baby!

Would like to make it to this- The Tree of Life festival. And here is this year's agenda.

Taking stock

I was trying to count all the bloggers I had met in person so far. I think timepass had asked me a while ago. Here goes:

1. Hiphopgmom
2. hastobeme
3. Kodi's mom
4. Lavs
5. Minka
6. Tharini
7. Kowsalya- thanks to Tharini
8. Subha
9. Sue- Thanks to Itchy
10. IBH
11. Original GB- now a mediumboss - thanks to Chandamama
12. Blogeswari
13. Madmomma
14. Boo
15. Choxbox- this meet was kind of jinxed till it actually happened. Just like trying to tie up with Rohini.

Not counting Asit, Itchy and Apu who I know from pre blogging days. Can you beat this number?

Edited to add the tag from howdoweknow:

Person on blog and blogger in person..
Tag1: Have you ever met a fellow blogger for the first time, and thought "Oh, I expected him/her to be different." What did you expect, and what did you see..

Answer: Purely physical differences -

I expected hiphopgmom to have a short crop like mine - well she had long hair
Boo was way more contemporary than I had visualised- God knows she writes that way but I had this image all the same- that she would be sort of like the actress Radha & in a sari
Tharini- She was completely different too than I had pictured

Personality/ chatter/ banter wise all met expectation - so I must be in very honest company

Tag 2: Suppose someone you know passess on the url of their blog, and you go visiting. Have you ever been surprised at the person who appears in that blog? What surprised you? How was it different from what you knew of the person already?

Answer: None at all. No surprises. I have only 3 people on this sub list and they are themselves on their blog.

Kids will be kids

All the kids get together in our old apartment to play each evening. The moms usually accompany them. Very rarely do I see any Dad( hmmmmm.)

We( Anush and I) try to join in when I am back on time from work.

There is a young boy X. He tends to be a little over enthu/ hyper but he is not violent and is affectionate to all.

One of my friends ( mom to another little boy) asked me to be cautious around X since he is a pervert!! ( she said he regularly hits her chest when he speaks to her.) I smiled and thanked her for the tip.

But I can never feel completely okay around X now. I am a little paranoid about watching over ANush when he is there.

And I wonder if that is being fair to him. I wonder if my friend should let others know ( like she did)?

Could she have informed the parent instead?
Should she speak to the child herself?
Would she mind so much if the child had been a girl?

Are there any easy answers?

Natural Contraception

I can cosy up to Navy now at night. It was tough getting used to the idea though. It HAS been over three years now. Let me explain, assuming you are really keen to know. . ..

Anush has begun sleeping in her own bed. By her own admission and ours- for half the night. At least it is a start.

Navy thinks it is too early, but he does not have little fingers and not so little feet poking him in odd places and at odd hours. And anyway we are doing it slowly.

She sleeps in our room but on a separate bed. I hope she accepts this change in her characteristic style- without fuss.

Rapunzel Dreams

Anush desires to grow her hair so long that it touches the ground. Her paati ( my mom) has promised to carry it like train for her. If you have seen my hair, you will know it is completely their idea.

Anush saw this at a supermarket and exclaimed" Amma this will make my hair grow very long !!"
I said "No baby it is a shampoo. You wash it off. "
She reasoned " No Amma, it will. See this girl. Her long hair. " And pointed to the graphic on it

What a sucker they make of us- these marketeers. And they catch us really young, don't they?

Busman's Holiday

Friday evening we went to the Grand Finale of Chennai Sangamam at Elliots Beach. My mother and I were as delighted as Anush by the folk artists and the fervor. The lad on the fake horse ( poi kal kudurai) was so friendly with Anush - I felt this fest was surely giving artists and spectators much needed exposure/ interaction.

The food stalls were full of variety but most of them smelt of non veg- and masala and hence I gave it a pass. The Kambar payasam ( kheer) was really interesting though. Anush had a frappe at the Tamil Food fest!!


We chanced upon a lovely kids clothes shop called Fashion Hut if I recollect . Bought a few things for Anush.


Next day we went for Chandni Chowk to China and was it a let down! Despite the bad reviews we went for it- have only ourselves to blame. Too much slapstick. Only Mithun was nice but his kicking Akshay was definitely not.

Saw a cute movie on mistaken identity with Dustin Hoffman/ Geena Davis called Hero. Liked it (particularly the digs at media and their undying thirst for drama) but somehow it seemed a bit too simplistic.
Sunday we went yet again to the regional rail museum ( ICF) and since it was Navy's first visit , Anush and I spent more time at the play area and he went into the details of trains, rails, brakes and the mechanics of it. We also met an unsung hero- a gentleman who had restored an ancient engine called the Fairy Queen.

For more on the title go here. I must admit I did not know it till recently. Our friends were to join us to the rail musuem but dropped out when we suggested a Sunday morning. I realise we keep oursleves pretty busy even on holidays - unlike most who would use the time to rest and catch up on sleep.

Word of the day

laissez-faire \les-ey FAIR\, adjective:
1. the principle that business, industry, trade, etc. should operate with a minimum of regulation and interference by government
2. maintaining the principle of letting people do as they please
This came from Dictionary.com today

Today's situation ( the Satyam debacle) will make you rethink the above.

Hope things look up for the innocent ones. Uncertainity can get really unbearable. There must be many - sole earners of the family, people who have just opted for a home loan, those who have just switched jobs, just moved abroad and so on.

Caravan

Anush , like most kids, adapts well to this gypsy like existence of ours. There are times when she insists we stay at one of the two homes or that she would like to take the toy/game from one to the other with her but mostly she goes with the flow. She knows both homes have some thing to look forward to. She also has a couple of friends in each apartment now- that helps as well.

She enjoys her cycle and the terrace in home 1

She loves the slides, swings and park in home 2

Some Anushisms:

MATHS

While playing teacher- student with her father-
I want to do bionomial cube/ tower
Now what is that- we had to google it to find out

Amma you got me 3 new dresses? I wore one new dress now- so there are two more na?

When did she learn to subtract

PROFESSIONAL

I am a doctor- Open your mouth - show me your ears- it won't hurt you, don't worry. I am being very gentle.

LIFE

Whenever she does not want to run an errand

I am small na? How can I do it myself?

Anush keep the house tidy, we are having guests- I told you!

If someone is coming, we must keep the house clean.

If someone is not coming, we must not keep the house clean!

When any of us argue

Please be quiet. So I have to close my ears!

JOURNEY

Is this a long journey , a medium journey or short journey?
What will you do if it is a long journey
i will wait for us to reach amma
And if it is short?
I dont know. . .

TV

Can I watch this? This is not crap na?

Pongal Off

Celebrated Pongal with a new paavadai chattai for Anush and a movie. Anush was very excited to shout out Pongal O Pongal,helped fill in the colour in the small rangoli outside our home, was enchanted by the rangoli in the building entrance and enjoyed both Villu and the folk artists at Mayajaal . She was most happy with the crepe and ice cream at Lydies.

Villu- a Tamil Pongal relase. Old flame's sake- I adore Prabhu Deva who is the director. First half was good and the second half was a drag. Vadivelu's humour is annoying and Nayantara is obnoxious in reality and in her role as a nut- bimbo. This is the FIRST Vijay movie I am watching and must say that he is a wonderful dancer.

Watched a movie a night, Milk and Billy Elliot - both about breaking stereotypes- one on gays and one on boys doing ballet. Very good acting , though both were a bit disturbing and violent.

Stick and Post it

I saw a lovely blog on Fridge magnets and thought we could start one.

What you need to do: Take a shot of the magnets you possess and list out any fond/ funny anecdotes/ background about them.

I do not have a huge collection but just a few treasured ones:

The auto is from Srilanka, Anush was into autos then. The mask is from Thailand, Navy's first trip abroad was to Pattaya!! The hibiscus is from Spore, the tower and the tree from our Europe trip, the supermarket hamper with the broken wine bottle from France during the same trip .

The pineapple is from Srishti in Chennai, bought during a bloggers' meet, the Fruit train and the wine bottle hamper from Santacruz roadside Mumbai - a rather good copy of the original, the wooden dolls from an exhibition ( ettikopaka), the London bus like bar snap magnet- a gift from a friend .

You will also note that when it comes to refrigerators I am a Samsung buff.

I am looking for the western loo magnet that flushes. I once saw it at a friend''s house. From the US of A she told me.

I specifically tag-
Itchy
Choxbox
Alan
Blogeswari
Mama mia
Monika. Ansh
Rohini
Madmomma

Anyone else who is interested - pl continue this tag.

Rarararara to Ballet

I like dancing and despite my bulk still manage to shake a leg. I enjoy watching dances too.

Among Indian folk dances, the Rajasthani dancers with their " Ra ra ra ra ra raaa" chant are awe inspiring particularly when they bend backwards to pick up a note resting on the floor.

Saw this and a lot more at the Dastkar fair in Kalakshetra. Also ended up buying too much as usual.

Chennai Sangamam had not yet started at 7.30pm at Besant Nagar beach so missed that.

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I also used to love watching ballet as a child/ teenager. They seemed so ethereal. So fluid in their movement. . . I used to giggle at some of the men's anatomy I admit.

Some Russian/ European folk dances such as the Kazak man who leapt into the air and continuously performed somersaults were very enchanting. I would fancy that I was a nimble dancer and lament that had I been born there I might have learnt some bit of ballet.

I remember in Bombay, watching with wonder the Ballet on Ice ( was it at NCPA or near it?) and the Ballet in Shanmukananda hall and a couple more that are not so clear in my mind anymore. Now no Bombay, no USSR and I have not given much thought to ballet either.

Ballet re entered my life this week- through the Navoi Bolshoi Ballet from Tashkent who staged shows over the weekend in Chennai. They had already finished in Delhi and Mumbai and are headed for Hyderabad today.

Day 1- Don Quixote vs Day 2- A medley of classics. Opted for the latter and was not disappointed. They had excerpts from Laila Majnu, Don Quixote, Swan lake ( awesome especially the quartet's synchronisation and the music) , Spartacus( gave me goose flesh), Romeo and Juliet, Raymonda ( ethereal), Nut cracker ( the stage was too small to accommodate the performers) .

The stage could have been better, since the stage was rather insufficient for the larger dances and also it had no sheen- looked like worn out cudappah- not befitting even the lighting and the costumes let alone the dances.

With my limited knowledge of Ballet I will give it 7 on 10. Most of the dancers seemed very competent but only a couple ( an Oriental looking dancer and one of the men) were outstanding.

The orchestra was fantastic though. Also came back home and learnt a bit more about the various instruments that typically form one.

Anushka behaved herself wonderfully ( possibly she identified with the land of her name's origin) and kept giving the dancers of her choice a thumbs up signal!! She got a little bored in the second half just as her father did. At home she has been trying to do her version of the ballet to hilarious effect.

The tickets cost a bomb - Rs 3k, and 2k and the cheapest one was priced Rs 500!! Yet there was a good turn out, mostly ballet class kids with their parents and grand parents I understand

And I promise I did not giggle at the men's anatomy- just took in their gorgeous bodies, especially Spartacus, rendered even more beautiful with their dancing.

Apna Haath Jagannath

Look what one of the most prolific bloggers in India had to say :

"A while ago a friend I haven’t known long or very well gave me something really pretty. I got barely a glimpse of it as I left her place and she only told me that she hopes I don’t mind her giving it to me, because it’s Hindu mythology. I glared at her for imagining I’d ever take offence at something like that, she grinned, we hugged, I rushed off. "


Everyone who visits this blog knows of the recent bloggers' meet at my place. I was not sure if I would be repeating what the kids already had. So I decided to get the moms something. After all, in all the celebration of the kids, we often forget to reward ourselves.


A lot of people liked the coconut ball painted with the Orissa style Jagannath in "Corners of our home." So what began as a gift for Blogeswari, who is doing up her home, ended up being the chosen one for the other ladies as well.

I had a Christian friend who had a Hindu name. She seemed secular enough till she rejected the vibhuti from a temple a colleague offered with a look of scorn ( no problems with the rejection- the scorn was unnecessary) . I have had Ganeshas returned by Hindus because they are Vaishnavites!! I have had a troll admonish me for celebrating Christmas despite being a Hindu.

A seemingly innocuous gift, you could just delight in its beauty, forget any religious significance. But Good intentions aside, a gift should bring joy to the recipient.

I had to be sure- so I asked the Mad momma- though I guessed that despite her trademark strong opinions about a lot of issues, this would be a non issue to her.

If it in music or books - I ask if the person already has that one and replace it if they do. And I gift money when in doubt or when I do not have the time.

Now a little more on the decorative coconuts as I gathered from the artist at Dakshin Chitra-

• The coconut flesh is scooped out , I had thought it was on a copra ball.


• Then the shell is smoothed.


• A fine fabric is stretched and glued onto the shell


• Then some kind of paste is applied and dried


• Usually a Jagannath, a form of Lord Krishna native of Puri in Orissa, is painted on, along with floral patterns


• Since the painting is done with veg-natural dyes which are NOT water proof, for cleaning them only dust off, do not wipe with a damp cloth.


• The coconut balls are available in Orissa handicrafts and at Dakshin Chitra in Chennai.

To Tumkur, Heaven and back

Was in the affluent town of Tumkur on work yesterday and enjoyed the drive from Bangalore on an NH

Also went to a temple called Siddhaganga- " This place is supposed to be where Lakshmana shot an arrow to get water for Sita when she was thirsty during their walk from Ayodya during the exile.

it is believed that on Vaikunta Ekadasi (yesterday) if you go to certain temples you will attain a non stop ticket to heaven! I am force fitting this chance visit under that.

An aging sadhu was lying there in the temple premises and people were thronging him for blessings. No offense but he looked more in need of help than them, at least to me.....

Back at the Bangalore airport, met my father for an exact 3 minutes after the final boarding call was announced for my flight!! That was heavenly bliss.

And then the cherry on the icing on the cake was that I finally got to meet choxbox!

Anush knows her as the giver of the mesmerising "Handa's surprise" and now "A Squash and a Squeeze" and to me she is a soul sister if there ever can be one...

500!!

Could not wait to declare that I have completed 500 posts

So keying this in from the Bangalore airport ( on my way back from Tumkur)

I am waiting here to meet my Dad who is proceeding elsewhere from elsewhere but I can still catch up with him.....

Believe it or not

This is how our building looked on New Year's Eve. Even I have difficulty believing it !!

!!!!

Pic Courtesy google


She saw an Amul ad and said" This is like Gajini- bad man or good man amma?"
Kudos to Amul and to Anushka!!
BTW I saw the movie and found Aamir great, Murgadoss excellent, AR Rahman bang on, Asin pretty and Jiah khan- bad.

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How many of you (above 30 yrs) recall the National pledge?
I got stuck at rich and varied Heritage....
Anushka was to repeat after me and the moment I said Heritage she said ". . . like C**** Heritage??" ( as in our apartment name)

Presenting the Biking Sensation

On Elliots Beach outside Planet Yumm

Anush thoroughly enjoyed "biking" and "driving" She even gave up her favourite CORN SOUP and fancied herself a cool driver. She wants a car of her own now!!

This pic is of the most appalling masks I have seen even for a beach. May be interesting for a kitsch collection on my mask wall......

Zoom in on the Vandalur Zoo

Anush had a great time at the Vandalur zoo and this time we went to the Lion safari as well

Anush, terrified initially, began enjoying "Simba" and " Madagascar" Lion and does her version of how Lions do pyaar/ konji- A mock growl and nuzzling of the necks. . .

She was very animated and discussed the animals and seemed to have a never ending flow of energy at the zoo.

A new question in her mind nowadays- is it a good animal or a bad animal? While I try to explain as best as i can, I think possibly it is the influence of Panchatantra and the like.

Blogger Shower

Blogeswari on Tuesday
Madmomma, Boo, Minka, Lavs, IBH, Itchy, Koushalya on Thursday
Apu on Friday
Choxbox on ???

Mommy bloggers- eight of us with a generous helping of our little ones and a sprinkling of hubbies met up on Jan 1st at my place. A wonderful way to begin the year.

All the kids were adorable and must have wondered how we all knew their names and were so familiar with them.

Anush I think and hope was gracious enough to share her toys. I did not pay her attention ( I was fluttering about between the kitchen and the men and the gang)

Must mention that I missed Sandhya due to a mysterious email mishap.

Go here , here and here to see a fairly comprehensive update on the madness where in time flew even before I could say a few words to each of the Mommy bloggers. Do I know them even better now? - I am not sure. But now I know the faces and voices that go with them.

Kaftan the doll gifted by Blogeswari

Met Blogeswari at Anokhi, Chamiers and hit it off. She is so easy and amiable. And I find we have a common friend too.

I caught up with good friend and blogger Apu in Bangalore on work, at her place finally. I managed to squeeze it in en route to the airport . I am so glad I could.