Excursion.

"Appa, please Pa!"
"No! You can’t go to the school excursion. "
"Appa please. Only this time. This is my last year in this school. I will never ever ask you again. Last time Pa. Please."
"I said No."
"I will take the money from my Undiyal (piggy bank) Pa."
"What? How much do you have in the Undiyal? Give me all the money now."
"No no. I will keep it safely. I will use it only for the excursion."
"Tell me how much money you want. I will give you. You can put it in the Undiyal but you can’t go for the excursion."

This was a regular conversation every year. He never let her go. She will cry for days. She will plan to run away from home, plan to kill her dad and then run away from home, plan to go to the excursion without telling her parents. But she did nothing. Until one year when he let her go after she pleaded a million times. She does nt have any fond memory of the trip. But she remembers clearly all the times he did nt let her go.

ps. My attempt to write a short one inspired by who else but Ammani! Laugh at me if its no good, kudos to her even if its just passable.

Poochi.

***Warning: Creepy Crawlies ahead. Not for the faint-hearted.***

We had a surprise visitor at our house yesterday. A “Pooraan”. (Centipede.) My mom found it in the bathroom and I went in with a broom and did the honours. Ashu was in the hall and the bathroom door had been open all this while and it gave me the shivers imagining the worst. My mom goes bonkers even if she finds a mosquito at home in the evenings afraid Ashu will get her allergy again if bitten. This made me thinking. I grew up in our native village and a small town, most of my childhood. Visitors like these and even more dangerous than these were very common. The nearest hospital was miles away and the adults took care of the children but were nt overly paranoid. We were always outdoors by day playing and if we had nt found at least one scorpion and a water snake, the day was nt made. Ants, spiders, centipedes, millipedes, rats, wild cats, etc. lived harmoniously with us. I think I was only once bitten by a tiny scorpion. It did nt hurt much but I made a big scene. (Now that I think of it, I am not sure if I was actually bitten or I was just looking for some attention.) Anyway, I was nt even taken to the Doctor. Some home remedy and in an hour I was out playing again. Scorpions have also bitten my dad and my cousin so I knew the drill.

My sister, a friend and I used to go to the "pump set" almost everyday and have a blast in the "thotti" (Concrete tub) bathing and playing in the water. We would see a water snake or imagine seeing one and in a jiffy, will be out of the water and laugh hysterically that we escaped death. We used to climb the "vaikol por" (hay stack) which I am sure was infested with every insect and possibly snakes too and slid down from there. It was our own slide. We would go home only to eat. We would go to our Mango grove and climb the low branches and pick a mango in spite of truckloads of mangoes waiting at home for us. The "kadukka erumbu" (Big Red Ant) residing in the mango trees will take their anger out on us for disturbing them and it will sting like hell and I would scream and run home to my grandma who will promptly put some "Viboodhi" (sacred ash) and out I ll run again. This time to the dark woods opposite our house where there were “Iluppai” trees. If I was by myself, I would play a game thinking that I was Masha or Dasha (the young girls’ names in the Russian folklore books we had at home!) lost in the woods and pick “Iluppakaai” and “gundumani”. The red and black small bead- like “Gundumani” was poisonous, I heard from my mother. So I would make sure I did not taste it however tempting it was. And to think I was 4 to 5 years old then. We used to collect them and used them while playing “Pallankuzhi” (something like a board game. Picture here.) to fill the “peechankuzhis”. (the vacant holes in the Pallankuzhi game.) We always wanted some cool stuff to put in the “peechankuzhis”.

There were always lizards, ants, cockroaches and rats in the house. We also had a couple of cats, a dog and dozens of buffaloes and cows in our village farm. The large lizards were “marapalli”. Ants were categorized as “sitherumbu” (red ants), “katterumbu” (big black ants) and “pillayaar erumbu” (small black ants) which we never killed. I was very scared of flying cockroaches. If goaded enough, I would pick a cockroach by the whiskers and earn the gang's respect. Rats absolutely terrified me but I did nt like it when they were killed. Especially the “sundelis” (small mice), since I started watching Tom and Jerry and Mickey Mouse. (Once my mom killed a cornered small mouse and I did nt talk with her for days.) Another time, she was taking a bath and found a snake hanging in the clothesline. The snake could nt move because it had just swallowed a rat. It was a cobra so after killing it, we buried it in the "kollai" (backyard) with a 10 paise coin, some milk and rice, lit a lamp and prayed that we never get to kill another cobra. Then there were monkeys. Once when we were out, they entered the kitchen and had made such a mess that my mom started crying wondering where to start. And recently, a monkey started chasing me in Nandi hills and did nt stop until I threw my “Cornetto” ice cream at it. (Bloody ape! Nobody messes with my food. You owe me one Cornetto, chocolate flavour to be precise!) Then there were stray dogs everywhere. I remember while going to our village with my dad in his scooter, I had to keep my legs up as some dogs were really ferocious and did nt like two wheelers and would chase us for a mile! It was damn funny, I swear! And then there was this supposed to be ferocious creature called “Jalamandali”. According to my mom, it looks like a spider only with hundred more legs. It lives in water and a friend of her was in coma after being bitten by a “jalamandali”. Though I have nt seen it in my life, I used to be the most scared about this one. Everyday while taking a shower, I used to inspect the mug full of water closely for a second before pouring it on my head. I stopped doing it after a while. But I think I will start it again soon after finishing this post! Oh, what dangerous time we lived! And to think that I am worried about my daughter’s safety after a centipede-episode. Bah!

In our family, men were nt supposed to kill the centipedes (some curse which was okay for women but not for men!) and that’s when we girls got to show our true valour. Just like I did yesterday. Thank God HD was nt home. I am pretty sure he would have wanted to know if there were Exterminators in Bangalore and after booking a room in a hotel for us, would have sold the house to the guy who was brave enough to kill a centipede! The price I pay for marrying a city guy, I guess!

Street harassment and me.

(For Blank Noise Project Blog-a-thon 2006)

I don’t know to write essays on the topic of Street Harassment. I ll let my own experience speak.

The earliest experience that I can remember very clearly and has been haunting me forever was on a train. I was walking with my dad while my sis and mom were coming behind. We were walking on the train to get to our seats. A man who was walking towards us bumped on me, put his hand inside my top and groped my breasts. I was 13. I was wearing a white salwar with tiny pink flowers printed on them. I was too shocked to react and the man was gone by the time I came to my sense. Welcome to the world of perverts!

The three years I studied in Trichy was hell. I was groped, pinched, slapped behind, touched or the least teased almost everyday. I can write a book about it. I would say Coimbatore is a heaven compared to Trichy or Chennai. In my personal experience that is! To each to their own. I would really want to know why these men behave the way they do. Most definitely they have a mother and perhaps a sister at home. Or at least cousins. I can’t believe they will marry one day, have a family and be a responsible person. And lets not even get to the topic of old perverts. They just make me plain sick.

I went to the RK Hospital in Bangalore 4 years back for a medical check up. A chest x-ray was taken. There was a man in that big lab and while I stood with my chest pressed to the machine, he came behind me and told me he had to adjust a little. When I said ok, he put both his hands on my breasts and adjusted them! Whoa! I was shivering. I was wearing the skimpy hospital gown with nothing underneath. I did nt know what to do. I did nt even note down the assholes name. I am stupid, I know. I came out very angry and spoke to the girl who had her x-ray taken before me. She said she went in with her mom (smart move!) but even she felt a little scared about that guy. I have not felt that violated even when I got my first pap smear in a strange country by a strange man speaking a strange language. There’s always a female nurse with you all the time when a male doctor is examining you there. I can’t tell you how safe it makes you feel.

The worst thing about all this harassment is that it follows you home and screws up your life. I am in a bad mood for days; I pick up a fight on the drop of a hat with people at home. I want them to understand even without me telling them what happened. I am afraid they will call me stupid for not having reacted. I am angry with my parents for not keeping me safe from these animals. I want them to listen to every whim of mine because I think they owe me for making me go through this shit. I hate them for being irresponsible. I hate men. I am always suspicious about men. Now that I have a daughter, I am going to be paranoid all my life. Welcome to the world of perverts, kiddo.

And this is the first time I am talking about the harassment loudly. Telling your mother/sister/friend that you were pinched in your inner thigh today by an asshole on the bus is not easy. Believe me, its not easy. Especially when you are 15 years old. So I welcome projects like Blank Noise. Heres to safer streets!

ps. The two years I lived in the UK and another two years in Switzerland, I did nt have one experience of street harassment.

pps. And all the nice men out there who are really hurt that women are always suspicious about every man, stop being a whiner! Would you rather get hurt by getting pinched in your non-existent breasts? Please! Don't make this "your" issue.

Linking.

The Blank Noise Project blog-a-thon is sure making waves in the blogosphere. I am posting some of the posts that really affected me in one way or the other.

Guptavati has written a fable against street harassment. Very imaginative. Ammani has reposted one of her quick tales. As always, short and shocking! Deepti has made an awesome collage and written her experiences. She has hit a nail with this paragrpah explaining the feelings of the victim-

You are not indignant.
You are not outraged.
Instead, you feel ashamed.
Humiliated and ashamed of YOURSELF.

Megha Krishnan has written some tips on how to handle and avoid street harassment and the comment box is a riot in there. Shoefiend has written on this issue and the last sentence of her post speaks volumes.

Ideasmith hides in the crowd and reading her contribution, I felt like my heart was being squeezed by some invisible hands.

I can't thank the Blank Noise people enough for giving all of us a chance to speak out and be heard. My post for the blog-a-thon is coming up next. But having read so many experiences, I would only be repeating what others have said. How ironic is that!

FIGHT!

What goes through your mind when you are fighting? I mean at the exact moment you are lashing out verbally and screaming and blaming, what goes in your mind? Especially when it's a fight with your husband/wife. I think "Hope the fight ends soon and we get back to normal" while I am fighting. All I have to do is shut up and there would nt even be a fight. But no! Why would a person in their right mind do that? Fighting and making up may be part of married life and some may even call it romantic and all that crap. But not to the person who started the fight and when the reasons are the silliest in the world. But it hurts nevertheless. So I start a fight. And want to end it too even while I am fighting. But the person who starts a fight can NEVER end it. Try how many sorries you can, but unless the other person makes his/her mind to forgive you, you are still fighting. And the few times when I don’t start the fight and the other party wants to end it, I don’t relent that easily either. I wait for just one more sorry. I wait for one more “I love you”. By the time, I decide to make up; the other party has enough of this bullshit and vows to never talk to me again. So it continues.

Sometimes, I wonder where it is going and feel that these are the fights which lead to big ones and why couples separate. I pray that that’s not the case here and sometimes secretly wish it is too! Ok, we met, we courted, we got engaged, we got married, and we have a baby, now what? Mission accomplished. Let’s call it quits! Or let’s just wait for one more baby perhaps? Sharing will be easier? No. Just kidding! Or am I? Why is that loving a person is so easy but letting them go is so damn impossible? I want to undo love. Can I?

I mentally do the math on how much work we have to put if we separate and feel that the work required to stay together is far less and since I am a lazy person by nature, decide to stick with the latter option and with a ready “I am very sorry” at the tip of my tongue, go and say it even if I don’t meant it. (That’s the longest sentence I ve ever written in my blog!) I just hope it works this time too.

DUI

Do you live in Bangalore? Can’t walk in the side of the road peacefully? Does a car sneak near to you and then honk and scares the bejeezes out of you? You can’t seem to overtake a very slow moving car in the middle of the road? Beware people! Your friendly neighborhood blogger Boo is taking driving lessons! Hoshiyaar!!

It’s not like I can’t drive. I can. I have a driving license. Ok, lemme rephrase that. I have a driving license. It’s not like I can drive. I can’t. Six years back when I was still in college, I took driving lessons for a month, took a test, passed and got myself a driving license. I was confident but my dad would never let me drive on my own. He borrowed our friend’s driver and their second hand dabba Maruthi car and let me drive it in the evenings. I got really upset. One evening, without telling anyone, I stole the key and the car and went out on my own. At home, when my dad could nt find me, he thought I have eloped with someone and sighed with relief that he did nt have to spend his entire life savings on another daughters wedding. But when he realized that the car was also gone, that’s when he panicked. He sent 4 people on my search and he stayed home and called the police about a stolen car. Unaware, I drove 10 kms to my college, picked up my friend from the hostel, continued the road trip with her for another 5 kms, took an U turn, dropped her and was coming back home with a BIG grin in my face when the car comes to an abrupt halt. I somehow manage to get to the side of the road and wondering what happened when 2 of the 4 men in search of me find me. They find out that the car is out of petrol and go to a gas station, buy petrol in a can and fill up the car. I drive home. My dad comes rushing out of the house and inspects the car! Takes the key from me and that was the last day I drove a car. It happened 6 years ago.

I don’t know what happened to that girl. It’s not like you can forget cycling. So how is that I forgot to drive? Steering is fine but the footwork is just horrible. I wanted to dig the BTM side roads a little deeper and bury myself. I slammed on the brakes so often that after an hour I had not moved a foot. I was honked at signals so much that the noise pollution level increased a record level yesterday. I have been a passenger seat driver for almost 20 years now. So suddenly being in the driver seat did nt feel so good. I can criticize movies nicely but that does nt mean I can direct a movie, right? Anyway, the second class today was nt so bad. I hope the instructor thought the same too! But just incase you are talking a walk in the wee hours of the morning in BTM, watch out for me!

ps. the DUI on the title is Driving Under an Instructor!

More than one reason to have a baby

Me: Amma wants to buy some gold bangles from Dubai through Aunty. She wants some money.
Dad: She promised me she would never buy gold jewellery again. What happened to that?
Me: They are not for her. She wants to buy them for me.
Dad: Why do you want gold bangles again?
Me: Actually Appa, they are not exactly for me. They are for Ashu.
Dad: How much does she want?

Now does this answer all the questions on why to have children?

Blank Noise Project.

I just came to know about the Blank Noise Project and their Blog-a-thon on the issue of street harassment. My whole teenage life would be a fitting entry for the same. I am planning to send the previous post. If you are interested too, send an email to blurtblanknoise@gmail.com. The last date for the entries is March 6th.

Kudos to the Blank Noise team for doing a commendable job. I had shivers while reading some of the posts in that blog as I had very similar experiences too. Hope I could do more than just write about it.

A page from my teenage...

I was asked which college I was in by people when I was 13 years old and studying in 8th standard at school. I hated it. I hated that I had breasts. I hated that the school belt I had to wear had to be set in the maximum for me to wear it. If not for Kavitha and Ratnamala, I would have been the fattest in my class. I was good at dancing and sports, so that was a relief. But in a small town, a girl going by bicycle to school which was 4 kms away was like asking for trouble. I asked for my share too. I had to cross a rickshaw stand amidst vulgar comments passed by the rickshaw wallas who dropped me at school when I was younger. I had to pass a cinema hall. The housing unit where sometimes my classmates joined me when I did nt have to go early for my Hindi class. Lots of puncture shops where I stood sometimes and waited for the guy to fix my cycle tyre amidst stares. A roundabout where I had to get down from the cycle, cross and then ride again as per my fathers instructions. Then at last the safety of my school compound. Safe only from the men, that is. Girls can be very cruel in their own way. I was always caught between two groups and used as a spy by both the groups. I never had the same best friend in the 3 years I studied in that school. I made it up later in high school and college. If not, I would have died of shame. Thanks Vee and Pam. Even then, my whole family says that my sis has such nice friends and poor Boo, who has nobody. The scoundrels!

So one day, a boy probably a year or two older than me, who I knew lived in my street, followed me in his cycle. He tried to talk to me but I always speeded up when he came near and almost peed in my pants in the process. This kept happening for a week and then I gathered courage and told my sis. She was quite surprised and asked at what time he followed me. I told her that it was mostly in the mornings and sometimes in the evenings. Then she confessed that the same guy has been following her mostly in the evenings. (She went to a different school.) Never the one to let me have my own limelight. We had to share even the stalking! This went for a few more days and I got paranoid and did nt go to school faking stomachaches. I am not sure what I was so scared about. Probably, girls-only-schools do this to you but I was terrified. So one rotten day, I blurted out to my dad. I regret it till this day. I plead temporary insanity. I was young. I did nt know what to do. My father was my hero. I did nt know being my hero, he has to be a villain to some poor, harmless guy. (I know that only now.) He and his friend beat the shit out of him and got a letter signed by him saying that he will never ever go near any girl ever again. I was guilt ridden for months after that episode and blamed my sister for everything and for not having warned me on what to expect. The worst thing is that I came across the poor guy a lot of times after that and felt really bad for him. If I had any filmy bone in my body, I would have even ended up loving him and ran away with him. But probably God was with him on this one and he escaped unscathed this time.

Few years after that, we had gone to Kodaikanal as a big group and as fate would have it, we had another cycle episode yet again. My sister and I were cycling around the lake and our dad and his friends were coming behind us at a distance. A boy without having done his homework on stalking started following my sis and me and asked our names. That’s all he did. Poor fellow, he did nt know what hit him next. My dad and the other goons pounced upon him. My sis and I did nt stay there to see what happened. But there was no confession letter this time, so it should nt ve been very bad. The goons shared their war stories and my sis and I went guilt ridden yet again. After we went to college, my sis and I warned our respective guy pals about their fate if they were to call/visit/write to us. Of course they all thought that we were exaggerating.

The Man fakes selective amnesia and with the father-of-all-denials that he has, it’s hard to talk to him. But last year I told HD these stories. On one occasion, the topic came up when my dad was present and HD asked my dad, "Was nt it wrong what you did to the poor boy in Kodaikanal?" My dad feigned ignorance. Then HD said something I am really, really proud of. He said, "Appa, I am the young boy whom you hit and I hunted down your family to marry your daughter for revenge". The expression on my dads face was absolutely priceless.

Bangalore Airport

There are always at least 6 people sending off my sis at the airport. At the most 12 people if my dad decides to have a meeting scheduled with his colleagues at the departure terminal. So far this was only at the Chennai airport. This time, it was Bangalore. Everything I have said against Chennai, its people, its weather, its autowallas, I take it back. It has the best airport. Definitely better than Mumbai and Bangalore in my personal experience. I mean Bangalore is not even fit to be in the comparison. The only thing which seems to working efficiently and planned flawlessly is the Rs.60 per person Airport Entrance Ticket counter and the checking at the entrance where they tear the ticket into half. You park the car and load the 4 huge suitcases, 2 pull-ons and 2 backpacks in 2 trolleys with faulty wheels and no brakes. You go in and see that there are 2 escalators to go up, one staircase, and one more luggage escalator going up where you have to put your suitcases. The visitors and the passengers have different escalators to go up and cant help the passengers unload the luggage or stand guard for them. While my BIL was loading the suitcases, my Sis went up and unloaded them. We had to stand away and watch them struggle and pay Rs.60 for this joke.

They both stood in the check-in line and took turns to come near the glass partition and talk to us by making gestures. Then we found a loophole. The left most corner had a small opening between the wall and the glass partition and we stood and spoke there. My sis put out her hand and touched Ashu and sang Rhymes to her. My mom and BILs mom said one hundred ‘byes’ and ‘take cares’ but did nt move from their places. Thankfully there were chairs and I sat there and watched the drama. This was the first time I saw my BIL and sis red-eyed while leaving. Because Ashu started crying when they said ta-ta to her. I have never cried at airports. I wait till I come home. The emptiness of the house just gets me. There were lots of people like us waving good byes to their dear ones. Another big crowd was waiting outside; the people who were smart enough to not buy the entry ticket. But I don’t know why they were standing though. Its not like they can see the passengers from there. Every time I think that I should nt go to the airports for send offs, but after a while, it becomes a ritual and you don’t want to jinx anything by not going. If everyone started buying entry tickets, I can’t imagine how the place can cope. But who cares about a bunch of fools coming to send off their loved ones?

Nine, Ten. A big fat hen!

Ashu is 10 months old today and I have posted a crybaby photo of her. Damn! Sorry Ashu. Like every month I say, I can’t believe she has grown up so much. Only 2 months short of a year! I wish I have a 10 months old Ashu always with me while another Ashu grows up to be 1, 2, 3...100!! :) I wish I become small again and grow up with her and be her best friend. I hate the fact that I am going to be the one laying out rules for her and she is going to hate me for that. I hate it that I have to put the nasal drops in her nose while she screams. I hate it that I am the one who uses most of the NOs already.

Anyhoo, Happy Birthday Kiddoo and here’s a laughing photo! Thanks for giving me so many cherishable photos! :)

Ps. Big Boo took this photo.

Pps. I just learnt that cherishable is nt a word. Did you know?

I hate goodbyes.

In the middle of chaos...

I am so busy that I don’t even have time take a shower. Not that I take a shower if I am not busy. But you get my point.

We are 8 people living in this little flat for the past 2 weeks and as if we have more room, my 6' 3" cousin dropped in to see us and stayed for 2 days. He left yesterday and today another cousin (only 5 feet thankfully!) is arriving. Oops, did I say 8? Forgot Ashu who is taking as much room as all of us put together, what with her toys, books, walker, chair, etc... My mom and another woman who is my sister’s mom-in-law and whom I call aunty and planning to adopt as my mom-in-law are slogging in the kitchen 24/7. When there’s spare time, all of us play cards (gamble should be the right word), go out for dinners, shop and watch movies. I have never had so much fun in this little flat since we bought it 4 years ago. The kitchen has a miserable excuse of a sink, the bathroom faucets are not fancy enough to be called even as taps, the servant maid does nt have even a spare tile to clean as there’s stuff everywhere. At any given instant, we have 1 PC, 3 laptops, 8 giant suitcases, 8 medium sized suitcases, a bucket load of dirty laundry and a bucket load of fresh laundry, one baby getting everyone’s attention, one baby feeling ignored(!)... The list goes on. My sis and BIL are leaving on Saturday. We have only 48 hours more and we still have nt covered Painted Platters(a dessert shop), an Indo-Chinese restaurant, a Pizza joint, Roadside Pani Puris, family portrait... The list goes on. On Sunday, Aunty and Uncle will leave and my dad too. I know Ashu is going to feel miserable after everyone leaves especially her PEPI, that’s what she calls her Uncle, my BIL. Anyway, right now its fun and that’s all that matters.

Ps. HD got me a Calvin and Hobbes book for Val day and a big bouquet of red roses. But C&H was dimmed by the sparkling of Gili diamonds my BIL got for my sis. Damn! But mere paas Ashu hai! :)

Will you buy me gifts, Valentine?

Yesterday we 4 went out at 9 pm and in 15 minutes (since the shop was closing), I helped my BIL buy a dress for my sis while HD was helping my sis buy something for my BIL in another corner of the shop! How romantic, huh? HD and I did nt have time to buy anything for each other. Today I went out and bought yet another shirt for HD. Hope HD found some time from work and "bought" something for me from his office stationery shop at least! I can see we have stretched this Val day thing enough and will put an end to all this silliness next year. But I am not going to make any promise to HD. I want gifts!

Saw this card in Yahoo Greetings. Happy Valentine's Day Everybody!

Ashu - Dated today.

Since hundreds of readers (okay, just one. But you don’t need to know that.) requested some updates on Ashu, here are what she’s up to these days.

~> Ashu is 291 days old today.

~> When she smiles you can see 1 1/2 dimples, 1 1/2 lower teeth and a 1/2 upper tooth.

~> She did nt give any extra trouble while teething. It was the usual.

~> Crawls and cruises. Stands without support for a couple of seconds.

~> She has to be in the same room as I am, even in the bathroom.

~> She understands NO and listens to me most of the time and I am absolutely proud of her for that. Hope her Dad learns from her!

~> She sleeps through the night.

~> Loves baths, massages, milk and banana.

~> It has been two weeks since I stopped breast-feeding her. I did nt give my breast for a week and after that when I tried giving her the breast again, she would nt take it. Brought tears in my eyes and HD's.

~> She would go to anyone if they pick her up and walk, much to my disappointment.

~> She loves watching kids and hearing them talk. She tries to talk to them in her own way, but that just the scares the other kids away!

~> I was wondering how everyone in my apartment knew that I ve got a new Sony Digicam and then realized they are calling Ashu "Sony baby" and not my camera. She is not the chubby Farex baby.

~> She takes off her dirty, filthy socks from her feet and chews on them.

~> One night I woke up at 2 am and found the TV on and was terrified for a minute thinking that my mother-in-law has made a surprise visit and watching one of the mega serials! Or perhaps a bored burglar? I mustered enough courage and went to the living room, but no one was sitting on the sofa with a remote. Pulled my hair out trying to solve the mystery. Then it hit me. Ashu was playing with the remote earlier and had set the wake up timer for the TV! Probably she wanted to catch up on something. Now I know why my dad always insists on switching off the main power.

~> Picks up even the tiniest dirt from the floor and does research on it and only if its determined as paper, it goes into her mouth.

~> Loves plastic bags just liker her grand mom!

~> Likes books! (Thank you, God!) "Noddy's squeaky shoes" is her current favorite.

~> If she falls down and no one is in the room, she does nt cry. But transforms into a drama queen in front of audience.

~> No one within a 1 km radius of her vicinity can read newspaper in pie(a)ce!

~> Tore the cover of my recipe book, first page of her ABC book and the 2 batteries in the TV remote will lose their privacy very soon as their bedroom door is hanging by a thread!

~> She has made a call to my friend in UK and talked for 3 mins. I did nt know that until I saw this months phone bill and realized that that friends number is the first entry in my phone book.

~> She likes my dad more than my sis (who arrived here yesterday from California) and it’s pissing her off. Hope she does nt ask me money for all the goodies she has brought for Ashu!

Thanks A for pointing out that I have been neglecting my daughter and for all the goodies too! :)

Not my gullible "baby" anymore.

Me: Can you wash the feeding bottles? I will make Ashu sleep. Or do you want to make her sleep? I will wash the bottles.

HD: How many bottles?

Mughal-e-Azam

I watched this classic on Sunday after a very long time. This time I could understand the dialogues a lot more. (Lot of Urdu.) Thoroughly enjoyed the movie. I was not bored even for a minute and that’s the highest praise I can give for a movie. I can’t remember saying that about any another movie in the recent past. I could see the passion the director had for this movie in every scene. I fell in love with the sets, the costume, the songs, the lyrics, the dance and last but not least, Madhubala. The expression she has while singing "Pyar kiya to darna kya" is priceless. Prithviraj Kapoor is absolutely fantastic. He does go overboard with his acting at times but the anger he shows in his face during that song is amazing. Dilip Kumar is just there in the movie. He did nt impress me much but for the one scene where he begs his mother with tears in his eyes asking for his love. It was very touching. "Teri Mehfil Mein Qismat Aazmakar" song was just awesome. Listening to this part

"Mohabbat Hamne Maanaa Zindagi Barbaad Karthi Hai
Ye Kya Kam Hai Ke Mar Jaane Se Duniya Yaad Karthi Hai
Kisi Ke Ishq Mein Duniya Lutaakar Hum Bhi Dekhenge
Tere Kadhmon Pe Sar Apna Jhukaakar Hum Bhi Dekhenge"

made me go crazy with weird thoughts. I wanted to be born in that period and die for my love. Then comes "Mohabbat Ki Jhooti Kahani Pe Roye" and after that "Pyar kiya tho Darna kya". I guess these 3 songs just sum up the movie. What awesome lyrics. I still can’t get over the warm feeling when I saw these songs three days ago. And the absolutely sensuous love scene between Anarkali and Salim with "Prem Jogan Ban Ke" song in the background sung by Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan is, for lack of a better word, AWESOME. I think this movie would be the first Hindi DVD I would be buying. Very soon. Somehow Valentines Day does nt mean so silly to me now! :)
"Ishq mein jeenaa ishq mein marnaa
Aur humei ab karnaa kyaa"

Travelogue - Part 3.

Click for Part 1 & Part 2.

In October 2003, we leave UK again and come back to India where I learn German in the Goethe Institute for 6 weeks before going to Basel, Swiss with HD. Parents, in-laws, sister, friends,... the works! 2 years and we travel every weekend to some place or the other. The month of May seems to be our lucky month for travelling as in 2004, we went to Greece. Athens, Crete and Santorini. I wish I had just gone to Santorini for a week and lounged there sunrise after sunrise, sunset after sunset. But Acropolis beckons everyone to Athens. Awesome.
Tip - Don’t ask anyone how many islands are there in Greece and where to go? There are hazaar (Yes! approx. 3000) islands. Just close your eyes, point a finger on the map and go there. You will love it.

June comes. It’s our anniversary. Rather than staying in boring Switzerland (I know! It was deliberate!), we go to Vienna, Austria for the weekend. Wow is the word. It seems I can’t hate any city! Paris comes very close though but whoever said familiarity breeds contempt hit the nail and was probably married to Aishwarya Rai! We go to the famous Musikverein to see the Orchestra performing Mozart. Though we decided to go just to tell folks back home that we went to a music performance, we enjoyed it immensely. Especially when HD recognized a tune from his Mobile phone ring tone!
Tip - Two days are just enough for Vienna so combine a trip to Salzburg too. We missed it.

Aug 2004 - We are pregnant. One hell of a trip to the moon and back!
Tip - Just do it!

Sep 2004 - We decide we ll go to one more country and then retire. We go to Barcelona. Hola! Do you remember the story Joey says on Friends, "I was just outside of Barcelona hiking in the foothills of Mount Tibidabo"? to impress girls and then teaches Ross this story? Well, I did nt think there was actually a place called Tibidabo. But it is very much here in Barcelona and it is a lovely place. Antonio Gaudi, the architect has played around in the city. (We use the word "Gaadi" in Tamil to describe something bright , shiny and 'in your face'. The word was probably derived from Gaudi's name!) Cool dude, though! Pure Genius! Have to give it to him!
Tip - Don’t miss the Casa Mila and buy me a flat there for this tip! :) Also if you want to drink Sangria, don’t be pregnant.

Nov 2004 - We decide not to ignore Poor little Liechtenstein bordering Switzerland and go there. It’s the 6th smallest country in the world. The touristy custom is to get a pretty stamping in your passport, buy the cute postage stamps and coins! So we did exactly that! Another country to add in our kitty.
Tip - Just a day trip will do for this country which is 25kms North to South and 6km East to West.
This photo courtesy of www.picturesofplaces.com as my Liechtenstein Photos are missing! :(

April 2005 - Delivered a baby girl. A trip to hell and back!
Tip - EPIDURAL!

After 4 continents, 13 countries (Can I include the brief stop-over in Ethiopia and say 14) and more than 2 dozen cities in 4 years, a saga ends. But I can see a cloud of dust, some camels and a huge pyramid in the distance. Just how far away it is, I’m not able to tell. Can you, HD?


~ The End ~

To all the near and dear ones!

Ok. Boo has been neglecting the baby talk. It has been a while since I talked about my pregnancy. I don’t want to forget those 9 months and the Grand Finale anytime soon. I started writing a pregnancy journal for 6 months and then quit because it became so boring. I guess I need audience to keep myself going! Anyway, I had told the news only to immediate family after becoming pregnant and did nt know when and how to break the news to the rest. 3 of my friends were also pregnant then and when everyone was comparing notes, I had to try really hard to keep my mouth shut. The reason being that I did nt want to jinx it by telling the news very early. I don’t know if everyone has this fear but I was terrified of the word "miscarriage" and the pity I will get from people afterwards. So I did nt tell anyone until the 12th week when the Doctor did an ultrasound and everything seemed good. (One other pregnant couple were there in the hospital for a check-up and seeing us, they assumed. Small world!) Anyway, now to tell the news to friends and family. A "We-are-pregnant" mail seemed so boring. (Yes, "We" are pregnant. Anyway, "I" was going to deliver. So including the husband at least here and giving him some credit!) So I went to someone I always go for advice. Google! After a thorough search, hit on a very "original" idea and composed this and sent to everyone.

To all the near and dear ones:

Forgot where I got the inspiration. People who have seen this before can enlighten me! Another way of saying, "Yes. I stole the idea and forgot the source". I know, shame on me! But I did get lots of compliments for my original(!) idea. Duh! :)

Penty & Sonu.

I am in love with my new camera. My 4 years old charming little Pentax Optio 330 started dying a slow death and when I could nt take photos of my little girl when she was doing something cute, Penty had to be replaced. After a detailed research, went with my BIL's suggestion and asked him to get me Sony Cybershot DSC-P200. (Jee, its now in print that it was your suggestion. Beware!) I knew it was a compact camera but this is ultra compact. It is unbelievably small and so cute. (Penty is out of earshot so he won’t mind!) When it took almost 10 seconds to take a picture with my Pentax, it takes only like a second with the Sony. Very helpful if you have a baby who does nt hold a pose for more than a second. I am clicking away to glory and life seems so colorful and interesting all of a sudden.

Check out some of the photos taken with Sonu(!) in my photo blog.
And this is Sonu.