She is all Grown up ...

... The other day D and her husband stopped by home to give us some Mysore bondas that she had made. They were taking one batch to R's place and said - We will take Maya there with us, if she will come. We said okay go ahead and see. This little lady cool-ly waved bye to me and the Mr. and off they went. The Mr. remarked "Parthuko rendu nimishathile amma amma koopitindu varuva" (In 2 mintues she will call "Amma amma" and come back). We peeped through the blinds on the french window to see them retreat and still no sign of crying from her. After a while we even dared to step onto the balcony and she turned back and kept waving to us. And that's it - she was gone .. 5 mins later I started to squirm - Maybe I should just go to R's house and check on how she is doing? Do You think I should call D to find out how she is? Do you think she is crying or asking for us? The Mr. seized the window of opportunity to experiment on a grasshopper that he chanced to see in his garden.

Every 5 minutes I would step out to check if I could see a tiny figure running towards home, but nope there was no call, no sign of the little imp! Finally curiousity gave way and I called D - who told me that Maya was having a GREAT time. She was playing with R's kids and was totally unaware that the Mr. or me were not around.

hmph! So much for my hoping that she would have atleast asked for me once! Then it so suddenly struck me that one day she will be gone - studies or marriage - leaving us behind to deal with our own lives ...

SIGH! My little one has already grown up?

Free (?)

Amma on the phone ..." ... she said she got 3/4 kg Lady-Finger free for purchasing 1000/- worth of clothing ... @ Pothy's ....". The Mr. and I had to ask her to repeat it again! Is there no limit to the things that they offer in free to lure people to come shopping?? Well, the Mr. says, given the rate at which vegetables and daal is being sold, I am sure people would not complain. After all who cares for "free" towels, bedsheets or even gold coins anymore???

Bunked Again ...

...9 years ago, one Thursday afternoon in the month of March, I bunked class for the first time in my life - to go to see a movie with - um, how do I put it - "the would-be Mr. in my life" (not very good, but chalta hain description) . And what movie would that be? "The Runaway Bride" (ROFL!). Couple of his friends we met at the theatre commented - " not the best choice for a movie with her".

... and Yesterday the Mr. & I did the same - "bunked" work (let me put that politically correct - took half day off) and went to see Mr. Potter as he battled the "half-blood Prince". Oooh! The very thought of the similar situation made me feel so "youthful" and all "girlish giggly" hee hee. There we were holding hands like teenagers and running towards the People Mover station (running - only because we were late for the movie) and my mind could rewind all the way back to that incident 9 years ago! Ah! to feel young again, if not "be"!

Okay enough mooning!

Well the fact that we 'SAW' a movie in the theatre is a big deal - because after Maya was born and my parents left for india, this was the first movie we could see in a theatre. It was a big loss , because the Mr. and I are ardent fans of animated movies and some nice "non-animated" movies too and would never miss the opportunity to watch one in a theatre. So, when Potter came along - die-hard potter fans that we are , and added to that the fact that we never missed a potter movie in a theatre, it was kinda getting difficult for us.

The Mr. said we need to give it a try and so there were went , last Saturday, taking the 'memsaab' together - and hoping she would settle into that one little nice afternoon nap of ours letting us to peace with our movie. But as luck would be, she choose just that afternoon to be absolutely bright and sprightly - measuring the length of the halls in the theatre, again and again, with her two little feet. Grumbling and mumbling - we came back - the battle was lost even before it could start! I should have atleast donated those 14$ - that would have brought more satisfaction.

While narrating this pathetic incident at lunch, my colleague R mentioned about the theatre inside the GM head office (no wonder GM was losing business!) and then we got the brilliant idea of how we could go to a movie and still not wonder where we would need to drop Maya off :).

Coming to the movie - well, let me talk of the Pros first. It is a well made movie. As the numbers are increasing on the potter movie count, the quality of the movie, the finesse of graphics and the "acting" of the actors is getting better. There is no question that this is probably the best of the potter movies so far.

But the biggest flaw has always remained the same, right from Movie #1 to Movie #6 - the incapibility of putting the entire book into the movie (mind you - i dont blame the director at all - it is not possible - just that it frustrates me to see them attempting it) ; and missing the most important part of the story, while concentrating on unwanted parts - just because they provide more "thrill" to the movie-goer.

"The half-blood Prince" seems to be an answer to the latest Fad among teenagers - "Twilight" - it has more romance sprinkled in the story, than what was described by Rowling in the book. Well, as the Mr. says, you cannot blame the director for wanting some commercialism. Now there did that whole gimmick about the weasley's house burning come? I dont remember reading that in any page of the book - or should I re-read it to refresh my memory.

The most frustrating part was how the most imporant theme of this book - understanding "what" Voldemort is - was totally lost. None of the important memories were shown - no brainstorming as to what he would have done to the horcruxes - absolutely nothing. The Last scene - the killing of the dumbledore - really killed the beauty of the episode.

Sigh! I cannot help feeling so let down after seeing the movie, but then it is like an addiction. I cannot also stop myself from going and seeing the movie - so much is the Potter pull.

The kids have grown up to be very very handsome and beautiful teens. Though it would have been really really GREAT if Potter was the tallest of all, as opposed to be the shortest (snort!) of all.

As the Mr. remarked - they should have made a serial of Harry Potter series - not movies! But then they might not have raked in the moolah for all the effort spent!

Maya - the Toddler?

It is Maya's first day in Toddler class today.
Yes she has got her "Promotion".

The Mr. and I grumbled last Thursday that we had to spend most of our hard-up-for-time weekday evening shopping for this little tot - moving from one class to another - cupcakes and crackers for her "big party" (ah well - a "party" consisting of 2 infants who do not know the difference between a cup and a cupcake , another whose idea of eating a cupcake is squashing it between his chubby hands and smearing it all over his face, and the little missie (Maya madam) who would rather have the cup than the cake - can hardly be called a "party" right? - but yeah well she DID have one! - the big "Graduation" party), thank-you cards for the 3 teachers and getting prints of their photos with Maya!

And today finally dawns - and Missie is as usual bawling and wailing her head off the moment we step into her new class. Well! Hello - where is that little girl who was skipping steps and shouting in glee just 2 seconds ago ?? I always have a feeling she does this crying bit just to break my heart ... to punish me for waking her up from her deep slumber at 7:30 and dragging her to daycare. Hmm....

I am just as apprenehsive as the teacher Ms. Cathy looked. Wonder how her first day is going? Will she be fine? Will she eat and drink fine? Will she have fun? Let's see...

Motherhood

The Joys of Motherhood

• you wake up and on seeing your Appa, curl your hand and say "Amma" as if to ask "Where is amma?"
• seeing your little jaw move up and down as you chomp your idli or bread early in the morning.
• you come running and jump on me and give me a tight hug..
• you come and rub or lean against my leg while I am coming in the kitchen.
• when you give me a sudden wet kitchie on my cheek because you heard me saying to your appa "Chumma irunda bore adikaradhu" and you heard the "umma" in chumma and you know that means to kiss.
• when I enter the store and nearly everybody who crosses our path stops by to look and you and remark that she is "so cute", "so adorable", "precious".
• when you learn a new word everyday and try to repeat all that we ask you to in the sweetest voice I have ever heard.
• when I see you sitting on Appa's legs and swinging about, grinning and refuse to get down as if to indicate it is the best place to be.
• when early in the morning when I make you stand on the wash basin slab to brush your teeth and you look at your reflection and give the sweetest smile while saying "Maya"

... and many more ..

The tears of Motherhood

• when I have to drop you off at the day care with you wailing so loudly that you break my heart.
• when you want to go back to sleep and yet I have to wake you up at 7:45 in the morning to take you to day care.
• when at times you just wont leave my side at home and I cannot come to play with you because I have to cook for us.
• when I peek through the door in the day care and see you reading some books and playing and I want to come in and hug you tightly, but can't because you would cry your eyes out when I left again.

Masakali ....

It is ages since I blogged. Well I almost thought my blogging died.... Till yesterday night when I heard this song and I felt that I HAD to write about it somewhere.

I have been quite busy for a long long time now .. yeah you guessed the reason right - the 4 lettered inexhaustible bundle of energy that I have in my life now - MAYA! .. Well, not that I dont get any free time at all. When I do get some free time, there is already a big list of things to be done and the leisure of blogging, I am afraid, does not figure anywhere in the top 50 :( ... Well, that is "Family" life I guess....

Okay, as usual, the queen of diversion - I have diverted from what I wanted to write. It is long since a song captured my attention so completely - that all that roams inside this confused brain of mine is - Masakali ... Masakali ...

Trust ARR to come up one such gem song once a while, that captivates you completely ... The last one I remember was Marhaba from Jodha-Akbar. I would just listen to that song for days together. Before that it was 'Rang De Basanti' - the title song...

The credit for Masakali does not go just to ARR - but to the singer Mohit to ... For the casual way in which he has sung, as if the song just sprouted from his own being and he is actually FEELING what he is singing. It gives an exhilarating feeling to listen him skimming thru the lyrics in great pleasure, giving my feet a small pair of wings and taking me up and up as I go from the beginning to the end of the song.

And inevitably when the song ends, I stopped all that I am doing only to scramble for the back button on my Windows Media Player - once again to be enthralled.

Masakali ... Masakali .....

Miracle...

Miracles rarely happen in life, and when they do - they leave you with a feeling of ever-lasting gratitude and happiness.

I have been lucky to have miracles happen twice and that too with the same object - my purse. I lost it twice, with absolutely no clue as to where I could have lost it and both the times I have got it back in the most strangest of circumstances. And when I sit to analyze the process of how I got it back, it makes me feel that it is nothing but a miracle that happened to me...

Two weekends ago, on a saturday morning, the Mr. casually asked me where my purse was. I casually said, it should be in my bag. We looked for it there and it was not to be found. Then began a search for it in the house and I could not find it in any of the usual spots. Finally half heartedly we agreed that it might be at my work place. I could not even remember the last time I used it. For about a year now, I have been going to work with the Mr., so I rarely have to use my purse anywhere. I never go shopping on my own, so no chance of operating with money on my own. In short, it is on rare occasions that this black jewel of mine comes out. And after my lil princess has been born, my memory has gone off on a long long break. There was a time, when I would speak in pride about my memory - i could remember every small thing that happened a week ago - the meal that was cooked last monday, the major conversations we had and so on. But now, alas, I cannot even remember what happened last evening!

Monday came, we came to office - and there was no purse. I searched all sorts of places, asked all sorts of people and nope - it was not to be found. The worst fact was not knowing where I could have lost it too. With great difficulty I traced back my mind to think of all possible shops/places I had been to the last week - but no luck. It seemed that I had not been anywhere at all. The Mr. checked online to see if any suspicious transactions happened with my credit card and he noticed a posting of about 4$ from a shop called Bellaccino's and then it all came back to me, like pieces of jigsaw puzzle fitting together.

On Thursday the previous week, I was feeling hungry in the evening and went to get some stuff from this shop. After buying the things, as is my habit, i dropped my purse into the bag from the shop. On reaching home and seeing Maya, I forgot everything and started to play with her. After the in-laws and Mr. had finished eating, the Mr. without looking to see the other contents in the cover just threw the bag out into the trash bin.

Okay now we knew where the purse was - but the problem was that in our apartment complex monday was the day the trash can was emptied. We asked the in-laws to keep a look out for the big trash van and asked him to not empty the trash can if it came. It was a strange miracle that the usually prompt van did not come that day. As soon as we rushed home, we ran to search in the huge 6ft by 5 ft bin. As luck would have, it was full till the brim. With a small hook like stick, the Mr. searched and searched. After gaining a full blown knowledge of what are all the possible sort of things people would throw into the trash, we found this bag at the very bottom of the trash bin... The Mr. just had to put his hand in the bag and lo! there it was - my sentimental purse :) ....

3 years ago .. about the same time(I wont be surprised if the dates too matched, unfortunately i dont remember them now), we had been to Guruvayoor. The in-laws, Mr and me. We reached there one evening, did dharshan and stayed over at a hotel. The next day, we woke up early at about 4 and got ready to leave for the temple. The hotel owner said they provided free compliment drop-off at the temple and that a taxi was waiting right at that moment. I asked the Mr. to hold my purse while I got into the car and forgot to take it back from him. We reached the temple, got off the car and started walking towards the sanidanam. We stopped to drink tea from a shop nearby and then I realised my purse was missing. All of us got panicky for we could not remember what happened after I handed the purse to the Mr. My FIL and the Mr. went back to all the way that we came walking, in search of it. MIL and me were standing there, chanting all sorts of prayers and hoping we would get it back. About half an hour later, the car we came in came back in search of us. The driver told us that he had gone back to the hotel, taken some other passengers to another temple (Mamiyoor - for those of u familiar with guruvayoor)- about 1/2 hour drive from there- as those passengers were getting off, they noticed this purse on the floor of the car and gave it to the driver. The driver came in search of us to give us the purse. I could not thank him enough for his honesty. That was also something miraculous to happen.

Guess this purse is indeed a lucky one for me then :) ... I hope there wont be another post to report a 3rd miracle anymore... ;)