MADNESS AT ITS BEST!

     Once in a blue moon my daughter gets this bout for creating something new especially when she falls sick!. Last week as she lay in bed on doctors advise, I saw her tearing the pages of a magazine. I touched her forehead to see the temperature as it touched  103 on and off. She gave me a nice broad smile when I asked her, is everything fine? 'I'm so bored maa', she said, still continued tearing the pages. I noticed the torn pages were mostly ads and were colourful. So I understood that she is up to something, so I let her tear more pages and together we started folding them in a particular way (she taught me how to fold). Then she placed them in such a way (weaving) that it looked like woven thatch. Finally she applied some glue to finish the edges. When she finished it, I could not believe that it was small tray/plate to hold weightless things. A smaller one can be used as coasters.  It really is one of the ' BEST OUT OF WASTE ' items. Not to forget, it lifted up my daughter's spirit. Me,the proud mother is displaying it for all you to see it.

Tamil Nadu Travel Series -The Long Trip Home

Kanyakumari Sunrise

It has been a couple of months since I blogged.  When I opened my blog and the last published post's date stared at me did I realise how much time has gone by. Much has gone down the river in the meanwhile. Abi and I had gone home (south) for the summer vacation much against his mother's will (against the long duration only - 35 days). I too felt it was too long for the child to stay away from his mother and I remembered last when he was away from his mother and he saw her on the net while chatting he cried so much. But somehow the tickets worked out to be available only at a  35 days gap. So this time we decided that he will not see or hear his mother, only she will see and hear him. I promised his mother that the day he cries for his mother, I'll catch the next flight and bring him back to her.Thankfully he did not give me any problem and we enjoyed our full holiday without having to break it halfway. Such an angel!

Barring some eye problem towards the end, he thoroughly enjoyed his stay with his great grand parents and other relatives. We travelled to many cities down south like Tuticorin, Tiruchendur, Kanyakumari,Suseendram, Kutralam and Thirunelveli. Abi enjoyed the trip so much and not once let us feel that a small kid is travelling with us. In fact, Abi only added to our enjoyment. Its unbelievable to see how much energy these little kids have in them. During this trip I realised that children are power packed and we do not let them use that energy to their satisfaction. So in turn they trouble us by behaving crankily. The lesson learnt is travel more and that too with kids. HAPPY JOURNEY....!  

TRIBUTE TO THE UNDEMANDING SOUL

Note: This post is belated by about 3 months. After writing it, I got busy with so many new activities that I forgot to post it! 

Abi seems to have learnt the first lesson on 'adjustment'. Slowly things are falling in their place and all of us are getting used to our new environment. Due to the on going chaos in the house and preparing to go 'home', I forgot about making Abi's favourite 'murukku'. After keeping his appointments with his new friends - the rabbits and various birds out in the garden -, Abi came to me and said, "Naani Abikku murukku kudukkave illai"(meaning, naani you didn't give murukku to Abi). I was taken aback with his sudden demand of asking something to eat (except the chocolates). So I had to make it.

This 'murukku' has a special place in our life.These snacks are not only very tasty, they also have some emotional value attached to them. It goes back to some 20 or 25 years. Those days not many ready made snacks were available in the market. Mostly they were made at home. Whenever we went home to my parents' house (once in a year) 'murukku' was made for us to eat and also to carry back with us. The making of these snacks were an event in itself as it involved a lot of work (grinding was done manually) and was made in bulk. As we would be busy with our packing, last minute visits to people and visitors at home, we hardly helped my mom in the preparation.

 We had a lady who was working for my mother. She was there ever since my mother got  newly married.It was not like a master-servant relationship.It was something so different that  we do not get to experience these days. She was like a mother to all three of us (me and my siblings), very dedicated and loyal.The task of sending off me and my hubby with 'goodies' was entrusted with her. It became a ritual that every time I went back from our holiday, these snacks and other items were made without fail. Even when she became old she would insist on making them. She was a  specialist at hand-made murukku.

 As they say all good thing come to an end, she left us one day about 3 years back. After that we stopped the ritual of making them on my return from home - after a long run of over 30 years.. Though I started making them myself now, I miss what our dear 'Arukkani amma' used to make. Some time back my brother had come to my daughter's place for the first time to Bundi. I packed some murukku for him for the train journey back home and for my parents. It was the first time these snacks were made at my place and sent to my parents. I felt so nice and proud. Life has come full circle. I wish dear 'Arukkani 'was here to taste the murukkus made by me. By making them myself, I want to say "thank you" to her. I know she's very proud of me.

Learning to adjust

It's been awhile since we came to the new city and are still settling down. We elders are busy unpacking and getting some repair work done, while my daughter is busy with  her work and VVIP's visits, Abi seems to be lost in this utter confusion going around him. He has become more irritable and his eating habit has hit the rock bottom.Before leaving Bundi, he was very excited and went around telling people"naan vere oorukku pohiren" (we are going to a new place). He even helped in packing by bringing anything and everything he could lay his tiny hands on to pack! But after reaching here, he isnt liking it one bit..

I fail to understand what he does not like here. It's more spacious, he has rabbits to keep him company. He enjoys feeding them and playing with them. He gets to see so many birds and their nests. He loves watching them drink water and fills their water pots every morning. But once inside the house, he clings on to me or naanu more than usual and says "yeh hamara ghar nahi hai, babu wala ghar me chalo" (this is not our house, let us go to our house. People in Bundi used to call him babu, hence babu wala house). I told him that a new aunty has come to that house and we can not go there any more to stay, The smart little angel that he is, he says let us go to that aunty's house. Maybe it is the new faces that are around him are making him alien to this place or maybe he is missing the familiar ones he is so used to playing with everyday.. 

In a week's time things will be settled and  the house will start looking familiar to him. May be then  he can relate to things and get used to the new set up. Hope he settles down soon and befriends the people around him. Even though my li'l one does not speak out about "adjustment", I can see it very clearly that he is finding it very difficult to "adjust" to the new environment and more so, letting go of his very first friends in Bundi.. but this is only the beginning.. hope he becomes strong enough to cope with the many such changes which he will face in future as well.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

26th May! 3 beautiful years have passed in a wink! Its thank you time for me - first to the Almighty, then my li'l angel, my daughter & dear SIL. I consider myself very lucky to have spent these three years with my loved ones. My own parents have hardly seen my daughter growing up, in fact very few grand parents get this opportunity. I've seen and grown with my darling from the day one (after all, I'm also a 3 year old grandmother!).  

I've witnessed every milestone / achievement of Abhi, be it crawling, teething, walking, cycling, running singing, dancing...... I've laughed and cried with him. The process of growing up with him has taught me to be more patient, to enjoy small little things in life which we normally take it for granted, to laugh with open heart, to forgive and forget unhappy moments quickly. To put it in a nutshell, he has taught me to LIVE life. I'm going to cherish these invaluable moments all my life. I pray and hope to ride this joyous ride with Abhi for ever.... HAPPY BIRTHDAY MY DARLING!

My birthday boys!!!! 

P.S: I forgot to mention that Abi and my husband share their birthdays! Here's a picture of them celebrating together!

Never ending wait has ended!

       Coming...coming.... and finally the list has come. We had been waiting for the transfer order of our daughter since long. On every weekend there was this rumour that the list was coming. Knowing the uncertain nature of the job, we did not even bother to open our luggage completely. We kept telling our near and dear ones to visit us before we leave Bundi for it is a beautiful place full of greenery (little known fact is that it is the veritable rice bowl of Rajasthan) and quaint historical structures though many of the old beautiful buildings are in a dilapidated condition..

         After some time it became a joke. We too stopped listening to such rumours and happily immersed our self in planning for summer season gardening. LO...! Suddenly on a Thursday night my daughter woke me up (I go to bed early) to inform me that she has been transferred. It took me a few minutes to understand  the word 'transfer' as I thought it may be one of those pranks she plays with me. Finally the word sunk in and all the excitement caught on with me. I kept asking her so many questions in between the numerous calls she was receiving about the new place.

        

           After the initial excitement died down, the thought of packing and shifting began to haunt me. I've been doing this for umpteen number of years now. I must say that there were times I used to enjoy these shiftings but with time, how I wished to settle down in one place after retiring. I guess age is catching up with me! But with my daughter in a transferable job like my husband, that is not to be. Soon we busied ourselves with packing. It is only when you have to pack up your entire household does one realise how smart or foolish you have been in shopping.. do not ask me which category we fall into!! The Himalayan task was completed  in a week and it was time to move on.

        

          The most difficult part was saying good bye to all. The thought of leaving the house and the people in our lives made me very sad. I'm going to miss all those people, the beautiful, colourful tiny flying visitors, the menace of monkeys, the chirping of different birds and the ever daring and running squirrels. Even though it is a part of one's job, it is really hard to move away from people (and place) whom you have considered as your own and to a new place to make it your own once again. It is an emotional drain out. With great difficulty all of us put up a very brave face to say bye to the loved ones in Bundi. We have reached our new destination and now the second part of the show begins. The unpacking.....!

Expression of love

     Expression of love. The feeling of missing someone. Abi is yet to learn the normal way of showing his love to us. He is on a beating spree and crying mode these days. I'm the easiest target for him. He cries at the drop of a hat. Hits me without any provocation. Loves to throwing things which shouldnt be thrown. Milk no, food no, only chocolates are welcome. If you give him one and he wants more, he will first eat the one in his hand and then start crying and say,"mujhe yeh wala nahin khana tha, woh dusra chahiye!" (I didnt want to eat this one, it is the other one that I want). He has somehow made up his mind that there is no way he will get more chocolates otherwise.

     Going to school is better than what it used to be. But he still tries his best to resist going. Just to surprise him, one day I went to pick him up after school. He was so surprised and happy to see me that he jumped into the car and hugged me and my joy knew no bound!.On our way back, I bought some chocolates, ice cream and biscuits for him. The next day I did not go to pick him up and he was so upset. As soon as he reached home and saw me, he hugged me tightly and cried saying,"naani ko gaadi me hona chahiye tha". It took me quite some time to pacify him!

     At first I thought the change in weather is the culprit. But as things didn't improve even after a few days my daughter and I had a long discussion and web searching session. That's when we understood the reason (or at least one of the reasons) for this behaviour. His 'naanu' has been away for a few days now and Abi seems to be missing his 'naanu' a lot and he does not know how to express that. Naanu loves to spoil him, especially when we are trying to restrict him from watching the rhymes on youtube or discipline him. Now, every few hours he enters naanu's room and I suppose feels his absence. Slowly I made him understand that naanu is out and he 'll be back soon. Then I made him speak to 'naanu' on the phone, which he did nicely for the first time (earlier he would keep the phone to his ears to listen but not speak). He told naanu,"Abi nannu  ko dhoond raha tha". After speaking to him Abi has calmed down a bit.. at least I'm not getting anymore thrashing! My cute l'il angel is waiting for his 'naanu' to come back.. it is so sad to see him miss someone he loves at this age when he can't even express himself properly...