Wednesday, February 24, 2010

A journey ..

Questions that my three year old asked my sister, who is full term pregnant :
1. Did the baby go in through your nose? or mouth?
2. When you eat, does the food fall on the baby's head?
this one deserves something ....
3. How do i get in there???!!!!!

We were standing in the queue to embark on the 'Emirates' at the airport and each of us had our boarding pass at hand. My three year old wanted one for himself so i gave him a pamphlet from a nearby counter to pass as his 'ticket'. As he stood in great animation in the queue, a lady who was
ahead of him in the queue noticed him and asked, " Is that your ticket?

"He said, "Yes!".
"Where are you going?"
"To Dubai, where are you goving?"
"I am going to Dubai, too".
He immediately retorted, "I am going to Dubai, one."
She laughed and asked, "How many years are you?", when she did not get any reply to "How old are you?".
Without the slightest hesitation he pointed to his ears and said aloud "two ears!".
You bet, he made her journey and day!

Thursday, August 06, 2009

You asked for it!

Children keep reminding us that they are growing up, dont they? My daughter is no exception. I was getting ready to leave for work and was wearing an old saree. Being the romantic that i am, i mentioned to her that i was wearing the same saree when her dad first saw me. Being the practical that she is, she mused for a couple of seconds and pat came the question ..." So, ..... does he like it anymore?" !!!!

Wednesday, August 05, 2009

That bagged the prize

My daughter lost her lunch bag in the school bus. The bag in which she would carry two boxes for two breaks which i dutifully send everyday, and a water bottle. All these would make the lunch bag considerably heavy. Now, i am having to substitue the bag and the boxes. When i handed her lunch bag, which consisted of a very thin cloth bag which can fit only two small substiute plastic boxes, (her water bottle had to be tucked into her bagpack), she took the bag in her hand, considered it for a couple of seconds and then asked, "Mother bird, what have you packed for me today? feathers????!!"

9 months

Pregnancy: A period of nine months with a hundred stories. When observance is a celebration. Suspence is thirlling, yet imperturbable.When one marvels the work of the supernatural. When the body becomes a complex factory in production, totally autonomous and oblivious towards the mind. The magical consciousness of life within life. Sensitivity of touch and movement. Perhaps the only period in life when "i cannot survive without you" is more practical than emotional. The only period when it is the absolute truth.
The feeling that one has to stay alive for another beings being maybe termed egocentric, but is the most filling and energising emotion that perhaps only a woman can experience. " My life matters .... at least for now".

Monday, July 06, 2009

What does HE want from us?

I am sharing a conversation that i had with my 8 year old which makes interesting reading. We were both watching the National Geographic Channel, which was showing a documentary on India. The programme was showing a ritual in the north east where many animals were being sacrificed on a festival. She asked, "Amma, Why do they have to kill those animals?"I said "That is their way of pleasing the Gods." "Did God tell them that he is pleased? Have they found out? Tell me, what is the need to kill the animals and offer them to him? He is the one who created them in the first place and he can take any animal he wants whenever he wishes. Why do we have to kill and offer?" All i could manage to say was, "You are right.". A very interesting point of view. Any answers?

Sound or Silence ?

Words. A string of sound the human mind is trained to recognise. When they are uttered from the mouth, they are relatively harmless, with the least packet of energy assigned to them and absolutely unamusing. The words that are uttered from the brain through the mouth have a greater energy packet assigned than the one from the mouth in that, it causes the lips of the mouth that utters and the lips of those who can recognise the sound to break into a curve. Words that are uttered from the heart through the mouth seem to possess more energy than the other two methods as they have the potential to create an emotional outburst that is audible and animated. Words when uttered with all the three methods in concordance with absolute fellowship between the threesome, the individual energies adding up creates a stupefying effect. The word gets so stunned with the overlying layers of energy and is so overwhelmed that it remains muted while the energy takes over the task of conveying what the word is supposed to in an grand and spontaneous manner. The word itself would have to admit that it couldnt have done the job as best. The release of this energy is usually followed by an equally overwhelming reaction. Could be anything between a tornado to deep river running in silence.

conglomerate : Auto complaints !

Authorities in Bangalore have started a new drive to make auto travelling safer. They have set up cells to take complaints and have promised to do something about the complaints.
For complaints against misbehaving auto drivers in Bangalore Contact the following:
Bangalore Centre - Koramangala BDA complex - 25533525Bangalore West - Rajajinagar Corporation Complex - 23324388 Bangalore East - Indiranagar BDA complex - 25253726Bangalore North - Yeshwanthpur corporation Complex - 23376039Bangalore South - Jayanagar Corporation Complex - 26630989 Alternatively you can email the authorities at
transcom@kar.nic.in http://rto.kar.nic.in/help.htm
When you call them / email them mention the auto registration no., Date, time and place where the problem occurred and the problem.
Dunno how effective the system is but its a start, do not hesitate to complain. Because if the system does work, travelling bangalore could be actually hassle free for everyone.

Thursday, June 25, 2009

Teeth out !

Well, it was time for one more visit to the paedodontist with Smruthi , and again i had taken Samvit along. The doc had told me that the session would last for about thirty minutes. Samvit went berserk seeing all the equipement (especially the drill). I had to use all my energy to refrain him from touching any of the equipment.

The doc had a model of the jaw with teeth on her table. I let him play with it just to keep him occupied. After about a minute he asked me, " Whom does this belong to?" . Hoping that he would set it down back on the table, i answered "the doctor aunty". Everybody in the room burst into laughter when he questioned " How does the aunty eat??" !!!!

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Say Thanku!

During the recent visit to the paedodontist with Smruthi , I had taken Samvit along. After her sitting, I went with Samvit to pay the bill at the reception desk. The receptionist, a man with an expressionless face, announced the amount that I was to pay. I bleached to hear the amount while he continued to watch me without any colour. This irritated me along with the fat bill. I literally emptied my purse and made the payment. He took the payment without a word. An equally irritated Samvit, not because of the bill, but because of the temperature that he was running at that time, noticed the man's silence. As if to avenge for the cumulative irritation he retorted to him, "Say, thanku" !!!

Thursday, January 08, 2009

The Undonewear

I had left Samvit in his chitti's care while i went for work during my recent stay with my parents. My sister had braced herself with the preparedness of a student facing the examination of the board in order to handle the 'situation'. With frequent calls to and from, she would assure me and herself that everything was under control. It was. Well, she had her share of triumph and her share of amusement. One such day, on return from work, she had this drollery to share with me. Samvit had done his 'big job'. She had cleansed him and he ran around while she tried to clothe him back to decency. She finally managed to catch him and pull the undergarment up his legs. Can you imagine her amusement when he looked down on her doing and retored to her ' hey chitti ! Attey ulle podu ' !!!
He literally must have floored every one around with uncontrolled laughter!

Friday, October 17, 2008

What is a duppata for?

The instructions sheet that was given to us along with the prospectus of Child's Day Montessori clearly stated that a napkin is to be pinned to the dress of the child when he attends school. Well, Samvit hates any such embellishment; be it a badge or a napkin. He would tug it out of his dress with all the force a two year old can muster. Without much choice, I stuffed a napkin into his dungaree pocket and put a couple of paper napkins into his bag. The first two days at montessori, I was with him all the time. But the following day, I was asked to leave him to be by himself in school. After going through the gate, Samvit put his shoes and bag in their respective racks and ran towards the slide. I called out a quick 'bye. I will be back soon' and dashed out of the gate. Poor Samvit cried for one and a half hours. Tautness ! i had forgotten to mention to the teacher about the napkin stuffed into his pocket. When i went back to be with him an hour and a half later, the teacher slowly but sweetly remarked , " Please make sure you pin a napkin to his dress, 'cause when he cries, his nose starts to run. And today, he used my dupatta" !!

Thursday, April 10, 2008

My Own

The Sun,
Shines bright and brings cheer.
Everyday,
We look forward to and hold dear.
Our own, we don't own.
Your Smile,
Blissful and joy sheer.
Everyday,
I look forward to and see it clear.
My own, need i own?

Thursday, February 21, 2008

To Relate or Not to Relate

We humans learn to associate objects, people, situations to something that we are familiar with, half the time without actually realising it. This habit seems to start at a fairly young age, when the child is about an year old, making logical or casual connections in relation to what is seen or observed. My son is no exception. But some of them are truly imaginative. He was in the toilet carryig out his big job and silently observing, seemingly analysing what his body had created out of sheer necessity. Suddenly, his tiny brain is able to relate. He cries out to me, "Amma, nana" (banana)!!

Monday, August 06, 2007

A mind and tongue of my own

Being twelve months old, i had an intuition that articulation is necessary. After some meditation i decided to attempt to utter my first humanly comprehend able word "aammma" , bearing in my tiny mind the tribute due to my mother and to bring elephantine happiness to her. And to make my little life simple, a universal addressing system, a method people would not mind in the least being addressed as. But these adults! They were all excited and one could easily be led to believe
that they were all instrumental in delivering sight to a blind man. What is worse, each one of them, in their fit of animated joy, decided to teach me to utter at least five different words of their choice. Not to mention, they were all names of what they wanted me to address them as. But of course, i have a mind of my own. So what if it is still developing? It is functional and thinks. I decided chose the word that i attempt to utter. My second word ? "tractor" which i uttered with full glee, much to the surprised disappointment of all the determined adults.

Wednesday, March 07, 2007

Srivaishnava symbols

For anybody else who browsed the net for the srivaishnava symbols and couldnt find a decent one ... please feel free to use this.

What is in the name?


Football, should not be far from being classified as a disease. During world cup, it becomes an epidemic or even a pandemic that nobody would want a cure for. To make it sound less alarming, lets stick to 'epidemic'. When the epidemic is at its peak, the behaviour of human kind reaches proportions that becomes difficult to explain when the phase finally passes, well, temporarily. But it does leave residue. Sometimes, for a lifetime. I am sure, like me, there are many who are painted for life by the color of this residue.




It was during those times, when the epidemic was spreading through all strata of the society, transcontinent, unstoppably. Those times, when i was safe in my mothers womb. Those times, when i was not even aware of myself. Those times, when nobody knew if i am male or female. Those times, when the excitement of the infecting epidemic had clearly ruled over the excitement of the nearness of my arrival into the world. Precisely during this time, during the heat of the pre-quarter finals, an uncle of mine, about whom i was clearly unaware of, who was consumed by the delirious infection, decided to give me a name, a tag, even befire my parents had even given it a thought.

At that point in my life and his, he decided to label me with the pet name of a popular epidemic causing footballer!

Even before i could see what the world outside loods like, i had to shoulder the burden of the thought that i would have to carry the name of a celibrity in the outside world! You can well imagine that, being safe inside the womb, I had neither resources nor the chance to either react or protest. I closed my eyes and tried to teach myself to accept what was being pushed on me. Even my mother was clueless on what the tag would be!

On the day i arrived, it was imeperatively pronounced by him, proudly, as though i were a child of his imagination , "zizou"!

Oh! the burden of that name. I have just about learned to sit down and i make all efforts to kick the ball whenever one is given to me. An effort which is sincerely hope will bring joy to the one who chose to give me a name and make him proud of his judgmental abilities. (not to mention that i was also physically resembling the star in that i was almost bald at birth) while i could not care less that the Star himself is unaware of my existence.



Saturday, February 03, 2007

A Wait

I await.

Like the dry parched earth that awaits the downpour of monsoon,
Like the cold winter air that waits for the warmth of the sun,
Like the lonely sailing ship that longs for the sight of land,
Like the heavy dark evening sky that waits for relieving moonlight,

I await.

Like the old brass lamp that again longs to smell of oil,
Like the hinge of the squeaking gate that aches for good grease,
Like the cracked cup that yearns to hold water again,
Like the forgotten easel that hopes for a creative canvas,

I await, to hold the hand that has left me.

Saturday, December 30, 2006

shoonya

shoonya
nishabda
inchara
aankura
samyukta
sampoorna

paripoorna
vispota

bheekara
rodana
nishabda
shoonya

Monday, November 27, 2006

kya aisa bhi sambhav hain?

kya aisa bhi sambhav hain?

ke geet hum gaaye
to awaaz aaye unke bhi

ke hum baarish mein bheege
to sardi lage unko bhi

kavita hum likhe
to ho shabd shaamil unke bhi

pareshaan hum rahe
to bebasi ho unko bhi

to kya aisa bhi sambhav hain?

ke hamari kushi paagalpan kehlaye
aur dard unka bhi?

ke hamari waqt khatam hota jaaye
aur samveedana unke bhi?

Wednesday, November 22, 2006

Ladder

There exists a ladder of life. Some people climb up the ladder and some climb down. There are some who are just standing around the ladder and some far away from it. People climbing down the ladder hold the hand of the one standing beside the ladder so as to check their fall. Those climbing up the ladder hold the hand of the one standing beside so that the climb is made easier. I am like the one who stands beside the ladder. Neither moving up nor down. Life goes on. People move up and people move down. I am going no where ....