Adventure in the air

Blessed are those who can speak and understand different languages beyond their mother tongue!

Atleast the language spoken in places you visit more often. I've experienced this problem much earlier when I got married and joined the defence fraternity. But what we experienced recently with my sister's air travel was nothing less than a nightmare.

After a month long vacation with us, my sister was going back home to Coimbatore. It took a lot of convincing from us to make her agree to travel alone by air. She was insisting on train travel as she was not comfortable travelling alone by air for two reasons. One, she doesn't know the language and secondly the check in procedures.  She was very worried about how  she was going to communicate, in case required!

To cut short the long story... We thought we could circumvent the problem by booking a direct flight and wheelchair assistance , so that the assistant can do the check in things. So we did that.  Web check in and a wheel chair booking also done. All possible assistance given including meal and an empty water bottle (to fill water inside the airport - ensured she doesn't have ask anyone for anything).

The flight was supposed to go halt in Bengaluru for half an hour but onward passengers were not required to deboard the plane.

As the saying goes, Man proposes and God disposes.....

Her flight reaches Bengaluru and there was an announcement asking all onward passengers to get down and board another flight which was going to Coimbatore.  But... she didn't understand the announcements - which were in Hindi and English!! So, very sincerely, since we had told her not to get down, she refused to deboard when the flight staff asked her to!!  Finally, when they insisted, she called us and we spoke to the crew member and asked for a  wheelchair, which they didnt have. Then they had to be shown the ticket again which showed wheelchair assistance booking. Then  they ran and got a wheelchair. 

With a lot of high voltage drama, she finally made it to the coimbatore  flight! She couldn't have managed to go home but for the wheelchair!

PS: I've told her to watch some Hindi serials to learn Hindi.

Happiest day... Successful kitey day !!

Both the kids dread and feel happy about Sunday.

Dread because they have to recite the tables to Nanu, happy because papa will be home (sometimes mumma also).

Today began in a typical Sunday mode for kids.

Didn't want to get up from the bed, no breakfast and only reading a book in the bed. It was the usual for us. 

Nothing was planned for the rest of the day. By the time they finished their breakfast it was around 11 am.  After all the lazing around, Gannu went to dig his tunnel and 'Abhi (the elder one), reluctantly sat with his mother to do some school business.

Suddenly Gannu came running to us and said, let's fly a kite!! I sent him to Gaurav (who can never say no to kids). Gannu armed with kites and the roll (without the dangerous manja) reached the terrace with papa and bhaiya. 

After struggling for what looked like ages, they managed to FLY THE KITE!!!!! Abhi, mumma and me joined the mission. Abhi was flying the kite most of the time. This was the first time for Gannu and his joy knew no bounds!!!!

Just as they were getting comfortable and enjoying themselves, another kite crept up behind ours and tried to cut our kite! Without the manjha, everyone got worried about how to enter a kite fight.. but, with some natural talent, Abhi managed to veer the kite away and save it tactfully!  Most of the time Abhi was flying the kite with the help of Papa and Gannu was the cheer leader. Even though he could hardly fly the kite, he was so happy. He kept saying today is the happiest day.

Thank you mera Thanedaar

It's a chilly and windy morning. Children are attending their online classes thanks to the weather god and local administration. I too sat in my comfortable seat with a cup of hot tea and was scrolling down some old and gold album of the kids. It just took that one short video of my 'Gannu', (my younger grandson) to make me write this post. 

  It has been a few years since I last posted in my blog. I have been wanting to write but somehow I couldn't bring myself to do it. Thanks to my Gannu for giving me that much needed motivation or push to write again.

Back to the video:

It was covid time. All of us were under self-proclaimed house arrest and making videos and clicking photos of our little ones' activities. On one such evening, the conversation between Nanu and gannu goes like this ---

Nanu:   What do you want to become when you grow up?

Gannu: I want to become a thanedaar.

Nanu: What will you do if you become a 'thanedaar'?

Gannu: I'll catch the bad people, stop them from wrong doings and of course regulate the traffic.

Now, 4 years later, thinking about it, the third point made me laugh because just yesterday, the traffic here was so bad that their usual 35 minutes drive from school took about an hour and a half to reach home and they missed half the time of their hobby classes. As the memory of that time popped into my head, I had to write about this today itself! 

As each one of us experiences the growing traffic menace everyday,  in today's progressive times, why the little one mentioned about the traffic at that time, I don't know. 

So much forethought!!!!!

Wish we had more Thanedaars like mine!

Reliving mera bachpan

     The rainy season, the most awaited season of the year. Everyone enjoys rain, from kids to adults and the elderly. Children and the elders enjoy it the most as both have time on their hand to revel in these pleasures of nature.When it rains it brings not only the rain but also a lot of memories (good and bad). The paper boats which we used to play with, the ragi vadas (kind of pakoras) we used eat, the rain coat we used make with gunny bags, the idlis we used make with sand, especially after the rain water recedes and not to forget the rain dance! Children of this generation may not know many things that we did in our times but playing in the rain is every child's dream even today.

     My little angels too love to play in the rain. They dance, play and make paper boats. After the rain they go out to play in the mud. They love to build their own mud house and garage for their cars. They have a small patch of garden where they can dig the mud to their hearts content. A few days ago, they made their house, a simple one : double storey house with roof top garden, mud table chairs and the toy cars parked neatly in the portico. I missed clicking some of their creations (particularly the one with garage and cars).

     The rainy season, the most awaited season of the year. Everyone enjoys rain, from kids to adults and the elderly. Children and the elders enjoy it the most as both have time on their hand to revel in these pleasures of nature.When it rains it brings not only the rain but also a lot of memories (good and bad). The paper boats which we used to play with, the ragi vadas (kind of pakoras) we used eat, the rain coat we used make with gunny bags, the idlis we used make with sand, especially after the rain water recedes and not to forget the rain dance! Children of this generation may not know many things that we did in our times but playing in the rain is every child's dream even today.

     My little angels too love to play in the rain. They dance, play and make paper boats. After the rain they go out to play in the mud. They love to build their own mud house and garage for their cars. They have a small patch of garden where they can dig the mud to their hearts content. A few days ago, they made their house, a simple one : double storey house with roof top garden, mud table chairs and the toy cars parked neatly in the portico. I missed clicking some of their creations (particularly the one with garage and cars).

     Children are at their best when left alone without any teaching. Left to themselves they are masters in whatever they do. Each one is a MF Hussain, Michelangelo, Laurie Baker.....

First day... First step.

The house was buzzing with activities. Waking up the little ones, packing their tiffin boxes, feeding and getting them ready in time for school....

   Today is the first day of school for our little Gannu. Yesterday, on Vijaydasami he was initiated to formal schooling/writing as it is considered to be a good beginning. After a small prayer, a plate of rice is placed in front of the child and he is made to write the first letter 'a'. 

   Unlike Abi, Gannu was as cool as a cucumber about going to school. His "anna" is going everyday, so will he. Abi had given us nightmares to go to school. Those days are clearly ingrained in our minds even now. So in anticipation of a similar backlash, instead of preparing him, we were preparing ourselves mentally to send him to school. Each member comforting the other rather than comforting the little one.

   We reached the school on time. Gannu carried his bag on his shoulder like anna. He took blessings from 'baaji' (Ganesh) and all the elders and happily waved his hand to everyone else. We were all simply standing and watching all this like it was all destined to happen.

   Instead of the tears and screaming we were preparing ourselves to cope with, Anna proudly took Gannu's hand and walked through the school gate. After anna left him with his teacher, Gannu wished the teacher and happily entered the class room with her. Watching him sit comfortably in his new class, I did not know what to do and came back home in a bewildered manner.

   This also brought in a lot old memories of us leaving our daughter in a boarding school. She had happily walked into her dormitory with her new friends without a complaint. 

Here I am, sitting and sharing this confused emotions with you all. On the one side I am happy that he is going to school happily and on the other side I am feeling so empty inside. My little Gannu is all grown up now and raring go.

First day... first step. What a way to start....

My most beautiful penstand!

     "Abi's real schooling has started", I said when he was asked  to bring an old CD and an invitation card. We were skeptical about Abi doing any art work except for colouring (he can mess with colours as much as he wants). He cannot sit and listen or follow any instruction/ guidance for more than 10 seconds, for he thinks he knows everything!! In fact within minutes of you trying to teach him something, he will turn around start trying to teach the same thing to YOU!

    We sent the CD and the card and waited to see what are they going make out of them. Meanwhile raksha bandhan came. He did not bring any craft work home, which surprised us because we thought those things were for making rakhi. We tried asking Abi what did they do with the CD and card. But as is his habit, he wouldn't say a word!

     Then PTM happened and we came to know that they are going to make something for janmashtami with that. Then the day before janmashtami, Abi brought a pen-stand made in school and said, "Happy janmashtami naani, I made this for keeping my pencils"! Kudos to his ma'am who has made them all and could make children like Abi do craft work. We tried to find out which part of the work Abi did in making the stand without much success. 

I am sure it is a lot more of ma'am's effort and less of the children. But in the process Abi has learnt so many things like using old things, following instructions, keeping pencils in a stand and most of all he was so happy to show us something that he made. This is the first time he has made something with the help of his teacher and brought it home. So precious. Now is the time I think that even I can sit and have fun doing these craft works with him.

Bravo !!!!

    We must warn the class teacher about his shyness on stage, I said. So that she can leave him out and choose somebody else. One fine day after coming back from school Abi sang something. I think he did that by mistake because he does not like to discuss his school activities at home. It really takes a lot of effort to find out how he spends his day there. After a lot of coaxing he said, they were taught  some song and dance steps. When I asked him which song, after much pondering he came out with half a sentence of the song, " mere pyareeeee......!".

    Since raksha bandhan was nearing, we thought that children may be doing some activity for the festival in the school and  this song may be connected to that. Next day we pestered him more and he reluctantly showed us a dance move, blushing and feeling so shy the whole time. So it was confirmed that Abi is taking part in some dance programme. This made us all nervous, because in his last 2 stage appearances, he looked so frightened and pretty much cried through the whole song, without moving one step! So I said we must warn the concerned teacher just to save her from disappointment.

     Meanwhile we received a note from the school that Abi is taking part in a dance item and it is only in house affair and they are not inviting anyone. After discussing all the pros and cons we decided not to tell the teacher anything and let Abi take part in the function and see if there is any change in him as this is only for kids. The D-day arrived. Abi was sent in home dress (jeans and t-shirt) as per the school's instructions. We waited for his school time to be over like over eager parents waiting for some entrance exam result.

    Finally the result was out.....Yes!!! He did it!!! That too on a stage without crying (though we could not see). His ma'am explained that he did hesitate a bit in the middle, and stopped. But with a bit of coaxing, he took his time and completed the song. Our joy knew no bounds.We congratulated the teacher for her effort and told her about Abi's previous performances. 

Bravo..... my child. Slowly but surely you are getting rid of your fear/ shyness. So proud of you!

Umpteenth Time...

   Planning, packing, moving to a new place, hunting for a house, unpacking, finding a good school, applying for admission, buying new uniform and books, preparing abi for the new environment, settling down and adjusting to everything new around you... phew! Have I left out anything?  This is what is happening with us right now. Our daughter has been transferred. Although, this is not something new for us as we have been doing this since 1979! With so much experience, one might think we should be able to move easily (as a few of my civilian friends used to say).  But believe me, we still find it difficult and tiring (apart from getting emotionally drained out) more so with age catching on. This, by the way, is the reason for the long gap since my last entry.

   I look back at the golden days (when I was much younger). Whenever hubby was posted to a new place, I used to be excited and look forward to meeting new people and making a new place our home. No school hunting was involved then as my daughter was in a boarding school. Of course parting with old friends was always difficult but we part with the hope of meeting again somewhere as Army is a small world.  But with time the excitement is all gone. I cannot figure out any single reason for that. 

   We are temporarily settled now, quite comfortably. The place is a little away from the city and Abi has to travel for about 25 minutes (one way) to school, which is the biggest disadvantage. The place has its own beauty, quiet, charm with hardly any noise pollution away from all the chaotic activities which one goes through in a city (typically old people' mentality!).The surrounding hillocks staring back at us when we stand in the balcony makes one realise how small is mankind in front nature's majestic beauty. Equally strong are the plants and trees trying to survive in the rocky terrain proves that they are the real fighters / survivors.. 

 For the time being, we are enjoying our stay in the campus surrounded by greenery and waiting, albeit halfheartedly, to move soon ... yet again.

View from our balcony

Vegetable kurma

When Srivalli posted about BM#65 in the month of May, I was super excited. It was summer vacation and my father, sister and nephew were coming and a lot of cooking will be happening. My nephew, especially, is very fond of chapati and paranthas and will be cooking different types of curries(side dish) to go with it. So I thought I will be having many recipes to upload on my page and the BM. But to tell you the truth, it was not  that easy. Though I had prepared  many dishes, clicking photos was a problem for me. Many times I forgot to click pictures or in a hurry to serve food,  the pictures did not turn out good (lighting) etc. Thankfully, I managed to at least write my posts on time. This kurma is my nephew's favourite one. I was more than happy to make this as one can add as many vegetables as possible. Moreover, my li'l one also enjoyed eating in competition with my nephew.  Now for the recipe.

INGREDIENTS:

• Mixed vegetables like potato, carrot, peas, cauliflower (peeled & cubed)- 1 to 1-1/2cup 

TO MAKE PASTE:

• Grated coconut - 3 tablespoons
• Cinnamon - 1" long
• Cardamom - 2
• Clove - 4
• Ginger -1" piece
• Poppy seeds - 1/2 teaspoon
• Saunf /fennel seeds- 1 teaspoon
• Roasted chana - 2 teaspoons
• Salt to taste

FOR SEASONING:

•  Oil - 1 teaspoon
• Bay leaf -1
• Black pepper  -5
• Onion sliced- 1 
• Tomato chopped -1
• Green chillies- 3 (slit)
• Turmeric powder - A pinch
• Whole garam masala- as per choice

METHOD:

• Cook the vegetables with salt and just enough water till they are soft.
• Grind all the ingredients under to make paste into a fine paste.
• Heat oil in a pan, add bay leaf and the whole garam masala and saute for a few seconds.
• Add onion and green chillies fry till the onion turns pink in colour.
• Add tomato and let it cook well. Now add the cooked vegetables, ground masala paste, turmeric powder. Mix them well adding enough water. Adjust salt and cook on a slow heat for 5 minutes.
• Remove and serve  hot with paranthas.

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing this BM#65

Miss you baby.....

      Just a few minutes back, the train left and we said bye to our li'l angel with a heavy heart. Back home, I find the house totally empty and deserted without my li'l one around. It's all soooo quiet that one can hear one's own breathing.

     When my daughter planned to go out for three days, I thought I will complete my pending household work without any disturbance. My woollens are not yet packed as we had lots of guests back to back (the long weekends). Saturdays are working for me and of course, the li'l one always wanting to help me in all my work. But I was wrong. I just do not feel like doing anything without him. Kuch bhi achha nahi lag raha hai. I do not know how to spend time without him.

     But I'm also happy for him because he is going to meet his 'dadu and dadi'. He just loves to travel. The news of him going to meet his grandparents was told to him yesterday. Since then he is so excited to go. We could make him do all his routine work saying, 'do this quickly otherwise you will get late for your journey' and he was so prompt in doing everything.

    As soon as he reached school, he went on announcing this news to one and all. The train was in the evening. So the whole day he kept asking, 'has the train come?' (train vandachha?) Even though he was excited the whole day, just before leaving he started saying 'you both also come with me' (neenga rendu perum vanga). We assured him that we will  join him next time. He happily hugged us and waved his tiny li'l hands and went. I'm sure he will enjoy his stay with his dadu and dadi and spread immense happiness there also. Already missing you baby.... Love you.

Future Guiness Record Holder for Imagination!

      My li'l one is so innovative and quick in his thinking that I have almost stopped getting surprised. I really wonder, how, without even opening his eyes, he can keep fooling me like he is reading a story or something. After what seems like an eternity, he will oblige me by getting up and somewhat sitting in the bed. Then the next step towards my goal-making him drink his milk. I offer him the milk in his blue cup. Then the scene goes like this-

Abi: I will drink in the coffee bean cup (mein coffee bean wale cup se piyunga).

I get that cup and transfer it in that.

Abi: I want in the lined-glass (mein woh line-line wake glass se piyunga).

I give him that and ask him to hurry up.

Abi: No,no. I asked for the pink, kitchen set cup (mujhe toh kitchen set wala pink cup chahiye).

Controlling my anger and not wanting to create a scene in the morning hours, I get that cup . Then he will insist on transferring the milk from one cup to another himself. Finally, he will spill half and drink half and proceed to the next scene of action.

After experiencing this once, I thought I will outsmart him by bringing all his choice of cups and glass. So the next day, I went armed with everything in a tray and with a winning smile I woke him up. He half opened his eyes and saw the tray. Can you even guess what he said? I do not want any of these things. I will pour it my hand and drink (inmein se nahi piyunga, mein tho haath mein dalkar piyunga)!!! I was literally dumbfounded! It seems he has seen some people drinking water like that in school and used this as an excuse! I could not stop praising him for his timing.

In spite of all the anger and frustration at times, I look forward to his new inventions. I think that is what grand-parenthood is all about. I doubt, whether I would have enjoyed all these tantrums as a parent.

What my legs say..!

   It was another morning, the same mundane routine of me waking up Abi and his best efforts to try and avoid getting up from the bed, try skipping milk, yet another effort not to wear his uniform. Neither of us get tired of doing this. Most of the time he tries the same excuses but sometimes he comes up with such fantastic ideas to escape going to school. After I joined school and started going with him, he did show some improvement and we went to school without much fuss. But of late he has started the same old process of endless excuses again.

   Two days back what he said made me laugh till my stomach pained. With a lot of effort I woke him, took him to the bathroom. After brushing he tells me, "naani, I will drink milk and go back to sleep"(main doodh pee kar so jaoonga). I asked him why. Keeping a straight face he tells me, "mere pair bol rahe hai ki aaj school mat jao kyunki unko dard ho raha hai"(my legs are telling me not to go to school because they are paining)! 

   Somehow regaining myself, I explained to him that he does not have to walk, I will carry him to the vehicle and to the class also. Very reluctantly he agreed, but with a condition that he will sit on my lap even in the car.

Flashback....

The year 1986. The alarm rings at 5:45. The working mother gets up and rushes through the usual morning chores from waking up all the other members of the family to making their breakfast and packing lunch for everyone. But all of them put together are not half as difficult as the single task of waking up an youngster! In the middle of rushing around to finish cooking and getting ready, I would try to wake my daughter up to get ready but each time I called out to her, she would say, 5 minutes ma, please! This would go on till the time I left.  Most of you can rewind your memory, I'm sure most mothers would agree with me.

The year 2016. The alarm rings at 6:45. I get up and do my morning chores much more leisurely as I have more helping hands now and my school is just 5 minutes walk from my house. But even 30 years later, when I wake up my li'l one for school at 7:30, PAT comes the reply - "5 minutes, naani please, paanch minute aur sojaun naani" and after 5 minutes, another 5 minutes and on and on it goes till I lose my patience.

We all believe that with time, everything changes and it is true to some extent, but this one aspect of children does not seem to ever change.  Should I blame it on genes? Three decades down the line, the morning scene in my house has not changed even a bit!

 How I wake him up and get him ready for school is another story- all the tricks he tries to escape from going to school is something truly unbelievable!

And this is his style of sleeping!

The Storm Over A Plate of Samosa

   I am participating in food blogging marathon and I was preparing samosa as my entry for the same event. Suddenly out of the blue, this incident came to my mind and I could not restrain myself from sharing this small incident which happened years back.

   It was one and a half years after our marriage. My husband was doing his engineering in Pune at that time. Just the two of us.There is an open air theatre in the army campus. We used to go there to see movies and during intervals people used to buy samosas from the canteen there. My dear hubby would ask me, if I want to eat samosa? I would say no and he will not buy any as he never liked to eat out. ( It's our daughter who made him taste street food later on). It happened a few times.

   One Sunday morning, we had gone to see a Tamil movie (I still remember the name of the movie-Thillana Mohanambal) outside the army campus. It was something very rare that they showed Tamil movie. As I was new and missing my hometown, we rushed to watch the movie. During the interval my hubby asked  me if I want to eat samosa or something else. I said no. That's it. When we returned home I broke down like a child (I could not cry in the theatre openly because it was a public place). My hubby was puzzled and kept asking me as to why I was crying. Finally I told him that he should not ask me whether I want to eat samosa or not,and even if he asks and I say no, he should just go and get it. That was my expectation from him! (of course, it was just one such numerous expectations). Till today, he never understood why such a big fuss about samosa! You want to eat, say so otherwise say no. But of course, he does not ask that question any more. We do not come back home without having my samosa or chat ....(now the list is a long one).

   After her marriage, my daughter has warned her husband about my samosa incident. Whenever we go out together with him, he does not take the risk of asking me or my daughter.He simply orders or brings them!

Moment of Pride!

   There was too much hullabaloo all over the school and in the playground. All of us were busy getting the children assemble house-wise. It was Sports Day. Children were excited. Noise all over, PTI's whistle blowing and blaring sound of the loudspeaker. Suddenly,I felt a hand on my shoulder and... I saw Abi with a red, swollen face, crying uncontrollably in his teacher's lap and wanting to come to me. I understood the problem immediately.

  Abi is not comfortable with too many people around him or too much noise. It took a while to bring him back to normalcy. For the next two days he refused to go to his class or his teacher. He stuck to me all the while, even though we were in different houses. It took a lot of persuasion to make him participate in different events meant for nursery kids. On the first day, he participated in frog race, toffee collection and throwing a ball competition. After participating in the event, he would rush back to me. To my surprise, he came first in throwing a ball and second in frog race. I later found out from his teachers that he is good in frog jump and should have come first. The second day, he took part in running race and bagged third prize. Whether first or third, it really did not matter to us. Our happiness knew no bounds. As far as I'm concerned it was no less than the Arjuna award!

He, of course, was least bothered whether he got a prize or not. All he wanted was his naani by his side (and some peace!) When the results were announced and his name was called, he simply refused to go up the stage to collect his prize!. With great difficulty, we made him to take his position on the stand but then he refused to take the medal around his neck and hesitantly took them in his hand. It was much later, after coming home I made him wear the medals and clicked a few precious snaps and the medals have taken a central place in our living hall. Congratulations!!!  Bless you my darling.

Vaapas kaise Jaaye??

 It has been more than a week since we stepped out of our gate (not even to school ) as Abi has not been well. One day, he was feeling a bit better and the sun was very kind, so we ventured out. I told Abi that after he has his breakfast we will go out today (which he calls ghoomi-ghoomi). He was quite excited as we live in this small town and we hardly go out. If at all we do then it is to buy something which cannot be delayed. Otherwise we do our shopping only when we go to Jaipur or Delhi as we hardly get anything of our choice here.

We went to a temple which is about 30 km from our place and the road is bad. I was not aware of both these facts and I did not ask my daughter as I had an agenda in going to this temple and I knew she will not like it. Someone told me that praying to this 'mata' will cure any body of cough. I'm not superstitious, but seeing Abi suffer for such a long time, in spite of the medication, I decided to go to the temple.

After about 45 minutes drive from our place we reached there. It was a small temple. Nobody was there (thankfully). It took us 5 minutes to pray  and we were back in the vehicle. Abi asked me,'where are we going?' I said we are going back home. To my surprise, he started crying, saying 'abhi toh ghoomi ghoomi nahi gaye hai hum aur kuch kharida bhi nahi, vapas kaise jayenge?'! 

It totally slipped my mind that for Abi "ghoomne jaana" has become synonymous with buying toys or chocolates! We had a tough time in explaining to him that there are no shops here so how we can buy anything? We went around the village showing him that there are no shops where he can buy something for himself. Very reluctantly he sat in the car pressing his face on the window to keep a look out.. unfortunately he could not find any and he gave. By then he was tired and slept off. Vaapas aise hi aa gaye!

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....!  

Beautiful future in present

   Reposting this one because it seems to have vanished from my published posts!

The D-day  was on 27-02-2015. I had done the reservation 2 months in advance. Finished my packing much in advance. It was my best friend's son's wedding in which the girl is a south-indian(my country cousin). I myself have not seen a south-indian-brahmin wedding (the rituals) except in 2 States. So the excitement was double. The only hitch was I have travel sickness. But never mind the sickness, after all it is my best friend's son's wedding.. Finally the D-day arrived. We reached the station in time.

  As the train arrived (only 15 min late) my heart sank. The train looked so very dirty from outside. From my 35 years of travelling experience, I knew what to expect inside. Anyhow, I entered the bogey, (bogey no. was not written outside, confirmed it with occupants) looking for seat no-3. Lol! Seat was already occupied by an elderly couple. I had knots in my stomach. Another passenger was also a lady. The elderly couple was not able to explain properly so the other lady told me that they are travelling with their grand son and I should talk to him. As I waited for him to return from the pantry, my husband ran to find the TTE. He was worried as I was travelling alone. 

  By then the grand son came back and I told him they are occupying my seat. He said his grand mother can't climb up to the upper birth (the other lower birth belonged to another lady) and he had exchanged seats with some other people and they in turn with some body else(it was a little complicated). I didn't have the heart to claim my own seat and settled for the side birth as per their arrangement. It was time for the train to leave, my husband came with the TTE. I told them everything is fine and settled. 

   As we tried to strike up a conversation, the boy made some black tea for his grand parents and offered a cup to me also. Without even the customary 'no thank you' I had the tea and biscuits because I had already started feeling sick. It felt so nice after that and I slept off for 2-3 hours. It was only when I woke up and started chatting with them that I learnt that the old couple are the boy's nana-nani and he is accompanying them to their other daughter's place. I instantly thought of Abi. Throughout the journey the boy looked after his grandparents so well (not only them, but me also). It was a pleasure watching them and the 3 were a great company. It took me to another world where I could see Abi doing all that for us when he grows up. Throughout the journey I visualised the 3 of us (my husband,me and Abi) travelling to all sorts of places. I was so engrossed in my dream that I didn't realise when the train reached my destination (12 hrs journey). 

   Of course, he helped me to get down at the station and stood with me till my friend caught up with me. I said good-bye to three of them and even though I can't remember the boy's name , this is  one experience I'll cherish for ever. Its because of them that all my travelling fear and discomfort vanished and I call it as a Beautiful Future / Journey.

End of the season

   Suddenly, winter is vanishing. The days are becoming very warm and the use of woollens is becoming difficult. My winter veggies seem to be shrinking and some are shedding their leaves in  my garden. Some patches are lying empty after the harvest, waiting to be ploughed / tilled / readied for the up coming season. 

   The summer has almost announced its arrival but I still had some urge to do knitting. So I thought I 'd make a half-sleeve sweater for Abi before I pack my knitting kit till the next season. Half-sleeve sweater because it has become too hot to hold the knitting yarn. With the help of the internet, I zeroed in on this design and lo! Its ready for my Abi!

Morning scene

   Every day is an amazing day with my li'l one.He keeps us in very good spirits with his innocent talks or activities. But today he sprang a surprise on me early in the morning in the bed itself. As usual, after I finished my routine work, I came to wake him up. With all the usual talk and play, I tried to make some noise with which to stir him out of bed. In a very matter of fact way, he said, "yeh awaz bandh karo"(stop this noise). Without realising what he is talking about, I asked which noise? Without even opening his eyes he said, "naani ki awaz bandh karo, sona hai" (stop nani's noise, I want to sleep). It took me a second to realise and I burst out laughing so loudly that others in the house came running to find out what had happened...!

   He hates going to school like many children.He does not mind getting up early but going to school... a big no. And he knows once he gets up nani will pack him off to school. Hence all the fuss. Here's a picture of him on a happy day playing cricket with his friend in our garden.

Abi is on the left with a bat in his hand

and that's him in school!