the pehla wehla phoren trip! :p

A lot has happened and yet not much! The Bub turned two, two months ago and I have STILL not written a post! Bwwwaaaaah! :( But it is there in my drafts and I intend to finish it one of these days. Enough whining and to the post I intend to write now! :p


This was my Facebook update a couple of days ago;

"We are back with bags full of dirty clothes, hearts full of happy memories and memory cards full of fun photus and of course wallets that are very empty! :) One week in Singapore was perfect to say the least! The weather gods played truant only after we had done major sightseeing! Cub got his wish of getting pics clicked with his favourite Shrek and Alex. There were animals, birds, roller coasters and boat rides. And most of all Cub and Bub got to know one more of their Buas and Uncles better! :) Thank you Kittu Bua and V uncle for being brilliant hosts and making out trip that much more memorable! We cannot wait to have you in Bengaluru now! Hugs!"


So, now you know we went to Singapore on a holiday. Couple of fellow bloggers on my friends list said that I should do a proper blog post and it was that push I needed. I do hope i finish writing this in a day or so!


We flew with Tiger Airways (the only airline we could afford) and were worried about the whole low cost experience, but we had a really good and comfortable flight - to and fro. Since we had a cousin living in Singapore, we spent a couple of days at hotel and stayed with family another few days who indulged us with some seriously good hospitality! :)


We tried to keep our schedules fairly easy considering we had two kids and one senior citizen with us and we are not great on stamina either. Since we were five us out of whom four needed tickets everywhere, we stuck to using cabs for most part. Cost us almost the same and saved us fair bit of time.


A friend asked me how was Singapore? Well, Singapore is Singapore i said! It is neat, clean, child and differently able friendly and full of surcharges and taxes of every kind! It is also hot and humid and bright sun makes for gorgeous photos, if you are looking for that weather silver line! :p


We managed to visit Jurong Bird park, Night Safari and Universal Studios in detail and did bit of Sentosa and some small shopping at the fun China Town and boating at Clarke Quay / Boat Quay.


The day we reached we stepped out only by late afternoon and had to skip the zoo and went straight for the Night Safari. It was a fabulous experience starting from getting to see some animals right outside (with their care takers) to the tram ride taking us through the whole gamut of nocturnal animals to the short walks one can take within the safari. 


Day 2 was Jurong Bird Park and we had a great time yet again. Cub fed the birds, we managed to catch some interesting shows about Birds of Prey, Penguins and birds trained to perform, like macaws and cockatoos. I loved the stunning colours on so many of these winged wonders and it is something to see over 50 flamingos together. 


Day 3 was the day Cub was excited about the whole Singapore trip - Universal Studios! :) He was looking forward to meeting Shrek and got the whole cast of Madagascar as a bonus as well. He did his first roller coaster ride and surprised us by not being scared of pretty much anything! :) That boy has some genes of mine then. Yayyy for that! I am a big roller coaster type thrills junkie and it is good to have company! :) The Shrek 4D show was good fun and so was Donkey Live. We were lucky to find very little wait time at almost all the rides and performances and could make most of the time we had there.


At Sentosa, we just went to the Underwater World and saw the Songs of the Sea show. And yeah! Did the cable car ride. There was an evening spent with friends at Marina Bay Sands' shopping mall and the lovely open area outside. I was meeting these M's friends for the first time and it just did not feel like that. Add to that some fabulous Italian food and we were very happy people. 

We also did the short boat ride at Clarke Quay and it was a pleasant way of spending 40mins. Relaxing and smooth and you get to see all the lovely sights of Singapore. Clarke Quay is also known for its clubbing scene, but with kids on tow we skipped that. The other side has a long line of restaurants that serve you every kind of food available. Seeing the huge, live crabs and lobsters in tanks all around is not for the fainthearted! :p Almost all the eateries offer some sort of discount or welcome drink etc. You can see folks from all over the world converge and enjoy their meals by the bay side. 


What we missed doing and wish could have was go on the Flyer and see the zoo. We also wanted to take kids to a big water park, but the last two days were pretty much washed out with constant rains. We did go to China Town - a market place for all things sasta, pretty, souvenirs and probably not very teekau. Actually not very sasta considering the exchange rate! :( But it is a really cool place and you should make a trip there if you go to Singapore. We just bought chhota chhota things to give Cub's and Ally's friends and some clothes. 


For khaana, we ate some local food, some ghar ka khaana and some Indian food outside as well esp since ma in law got kinda sick of the seafood smell from everywhere! The kids survived on chips, biscuits, juice and an occasional nutritional meal. Bub had a few yogurt dinners as well! :p


The Cub and Bub were quite well behaved unless hunger or fatigue hit them! The Cub enjoyed most of the stuff and after ages we got some really cute photos! :) The Bub on the other hand spent most of her time greying our hair by running amok all over in crowded places. It was one person's full time duty to just keep track where she was. Phew! Oh and must mention how she kept taking off her shoes just about a thousand times a day and sitting on the ground pretty much everywhere! Oh well!


Here are some photos! :)

well past bed time! At Bengaluru Airport! :)

The Croc-Hunter?! :p

My tail who refused to leave my side! I am talking about the Bub! :p

Yes! That Owl is real! :)

We are same same but different! :) (Idea credit to M)

The very tired Bub after a late night flight, a full day and a night safari!

Errr... self explanatory?! :p

At the Jurong bird park! :)

in the Tram that takes you around the Bird Park.

Cub feeding the birds. He was little scared but soon quite amazed! :)

Then it was the Bub's turn!

But no birds came along!

Till one came and sat next to her to finish off the worms! :)

The Cub and the Flamingos! :)

Some jumping around is always good! :)

Who knew that Karate was a water sport?! :p  (Thanks Richa for the water park tip!)

At the Marina Bay Sands shopping arcade!

Kids loved running around the huge open space! :)

The yogurt dinner!

The tired Cub pretending to sleep Bub style with a Tauiya! :)



Phew! I am tired of adding so many photos. So, the rest of the pics in next post! :) 

Hope you guys are having a fabulous new year. Cheers!

on a rainy day! :)

When Cyclone Nilam was ravaging Tamilnadu, Bangalore saw it's side effects with two days of incessant rains, crazy winds and sudden drop in temperature turning Bangalore into a veritable hill station all of a sudden. Considering there was hardly any rain during the entire rainy season, everyone welcomed these showers (atleast for the first day before the roads got worse, traffic turned for worst and damp clothes occupied every available surface in the house!;)


All said and done, the weather was gorgeous - the kind where you either cuddle under a razaai all day long or step out and enjoy the rains. We decided to do the later! We left thinking of having lunch at some new place in the city. But both the places we shortlisted were typically enclosed spaces and how does one enjoy the weather there, really?


So, we just turned the car around and decided to go to another new place we had just heard about called Cafe Buzzinga in Whitefield, Bangalore. Found the phone number, called and found exactly where it was and reached. It is lovely open space @ Lakeview Farms (which in itself is a private property - a part of which the owners have given for commercial purposes).


Cafe Buzzinga is as casual as it's name makes it sound. Run by two young partners, it is a simple place with daily fresh menu on a white board and comfortable cane chairs on pebbled ground. The kids felt at home instantly. Add to that the huge lawn (belonging to the owners) where they had a free run (till the owners came along) and indulgent service - we ended up having an absolutely fabulous afternoon!


What made the whole experience superlative was customer delight offered by the cafe! We absolutely LOVED the bacon in their all day breakfast combo. Since we wanted to have more of the said bacon, we asked them if they could make us a bacon/cheese sandwich which was not on the menu. There wasn't a moment of hesitation and a perfectly grilled sandwich was at our table soon enough! :)


Here are some pictures that should give you an idea! :)

On our way out! Cub holding Bub's hand to keep her under the umbrella, while Bub has plans of her own! ;)

In the middle of the huge lawn of Lakeview Farms! :)

Cub trying to channelize his inner Hulk! But he was too happy to get it right! :)

Arre Bhaiyya! Let me pose by myself! :)

Doing a round of the lawn while the food gets ready! :)

and Bub chose to take a walk with her Papa! :)

Time for some hot chocolate?! :) Served very thoughtfully in a little Espresso cup for a little girl! :)

Content smiles post a great meal and a good time! :)  

The lake and wet roads on our way back! 

name a name?

If you know me on facebook, chances are you know that I LOVE online shopping... most of it window shopping, I promise. But, I love finding new things, cool stuff people are making - slowly becoming a veritable guide to everything nice and new. Not everything, but a lot of it. And I love sharing it!


Yes! There is a point to this rambling! :) I am thinking of doing once a week post featuring these people / pages. Probably a middle of the week Wednesday. Wondering what I should call it though. Any ideas?! Suggestions are welcome! :)


Right now I am drawing a complete blank.


That said, how went navaratri? Did you guys do anything special? Dandia raas? Pandal hopping? Quiet puja? We did not do much except go to the Pujo pandal near our house and feast on the awesome fish being served there! :p Yes yes! Pehle pet puja and then Durga puja.


Now we are looking forward to Diwali. My parents and uncles and aunts descend upon Bangalore this year and need I say we are SUPER EXCITED! :)


Here are a couple of pictures for the road! :)

The Pujo hogging! :)

Dressed for Dassera! :) 

Mera haath pakdo bhaiyya! :)

You better read this letter - 2

Dearest Cub and Bub,


I am not sure you cared much for my previous letter, but then that is no reason to stop me from writing you another one. This time lets talk about beauty perhaps? The inner and outer variety? What really matters? Or let us just play by the ear and see what this chitthi says, eh?


Wear comfortable shoes. Most of the time. Especially you, Bub. You are the one who is going to have all the  temptation in the world. Yes, wear those impossible heels once in a while. Be a fashion victim sometimes. Sometimes, being the key word in this case. Nothing is worth a broken back and painful knees and bad posture! :)


Same goes for clothes. Wear clothes that are clean, ironed and comfortable. Wear ones that add to the feel good factor about yourself, but do not let That be he deciding factor for how you feel about yourself! Ever! :) Taking this a little forward, do not judge people by what they wear. In most cases, it just will not matter or even give you an idea about who they really are.


Ever noticed how the word Make-up screams that what you have is not enough? That you need something more to Make-up for what you do not have. Do not use it as far as possible. It is just a lot of chemicals that you can easily do without. Save it for special occasions if you will? And wait till you are old enough to use it? As for me, I have liked my lipsticks and in recent past nail polish. But, I have never felt the need to have those on every time I step out and find myself being more comfortable in my skin as is. I don't expect you to get there young, but least you know you can try! :)


Instead, concentrate on staying healthy. Eat well. Eat fresh as much as possible. Both of you love fruits (most of them) - keep that love going strong. Drink lots of water. Try and not be fussy about food. It is meant to give you nourishment. If it is tasty as well, that is a bonus. (See, how I covered my not being a good cook!;)


Get exercise. Especially the fresh air kind. Or even the gym, if that is what works for you. Stay fit and keep up stamina. Do not let yourself go, the way your parents did. Take up a sport if you can. Just for fun really. You know your AAji always told me, that whatever you see outside is a sign of what is going on inside your body. If you are not taking care of that, even best shampoos in the world cannot save your hair or best lotions your skin! :) I did not listen to her, but you can and should! :)


Maintain basic hygiene at all times. Bath, teeth, nails - yes that kind of basic stuff. It is hugely underrated this commonsense funda. Oh and let us not forget basic bathroom manners as well. Especially no dirty and wet seats, PLEASE! :)


Edited to add - This suggestion by my friend Swapna! Use sun screen! And umbrella or a hat as well! Yes!


You know all that talk about 'Beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder" - true that! :) And, I do sincerely hope that both of you will find that for yourself - sooner than later.


Repeat after me - Colour does not matter. Nor the size. Fair does not equal to beautiful. More importantly, Dark does NOT equal to ugly or any less beautiful. People come in all colours, shapes and sizes and none of it really matters except for differentiating one person from another. Really. :) I know there will be times, when it will all seem balderdash - the inner beauty thing - particularly. But keep the faith. Your natural kindness and genuineness will always shine through. So will a true smile that reaches your eyes. That is the time when you do not need to use so called regular parameters to decide if someone is beautiful - physically.


Most importantly, LOVE YOURSELF. There will be moments of self doubt - a desire to be someone you are not naturally. But it will pass quick enough if you believe in yourself. Just stay healthy and happy and the rest will follow.


And if you are ever worried about not being good enough - look at yourself through our eyes! :)


All my love and kisses
Mumma

The Pratham Experience!

I have been a BIG fan of Pratham Books since the first time Starry Eyed gifted Cub a couple of them - The Monsoon Concert being one of them. I have a whole lot of them at home and Cub loves them as much. I also keep a stock for gifting and gave them as return gifts for Cub's birthday last year.

Last year, a couple of friends had done book reading for them on World Literacy Day and it sounded like a fun thing to do. So, when the chance came up again this year, I jumped at it... okay I was little hesitant, but I really wanted to do it So off went a mail to folks at Pratham and got an enthusiastic response from Maya, one of their team members. Soon, I had in my hands an envelope that had the book they had picked for this years reading (Susheela's Kolam), a couple of more books and a banner saying "Pratham Books Champion". Need I say, I was super excited.

the story telling starts! :)


M and me thought it would be best to do the reading in colony itself which is full of kids around Cub's age. We shot out a mail and kept it open for kids ideally aged between 4 - 7 years. Of course younger and older children were welcome. Around a dozen parents responded that they would send their kids over and we were set.

Kids also getting warmed up!



The D-day arrived and I would be kidding if I say, there were no butterflies! :) The kids arrived on time and some mothers stayed around too. I decided to start with one of our favourite Pratham Stories - The Annual haircut Day - a hilarious story about Sringeri Srinivas who cuts his hair only once a year. The kids responded to the narration and fun elements in the story and by now I was quite comfortable with this whole story telling business! :)

The picture always makes me smile! :)

I am also lot more at ease now! :)


Once the kids were in the groove, I started with Susheela's Kolam - a story about a little girl who loves drawing Kolams everywhere and how she gets them in sky! It was a short story and the kids were mighty excited answering questions about where else could she draw kolams. Since Kolam means rangoli and it also involved aerial acrobatics done by the Air Force, after the story was done, we showed the kids a video of an Aero-show - coloured smoke and all! :)

Watching the aerobatics video! 


Once that was done, two of the mothers did a Rangoli demo for the kids - one with stencil and another the join the dots variety. The kids filled colour in those and tried their hand at using stencils. The messing around done, kids got in and coloured printed rangoli designs with crayons. I loved seeing how beautifully they all coloured and with so much enthusiasm.

The talented l.adies! I cannot draw three dots in a line even. So, these women were my lifesavers! :)

The kids adding colour!

Cub looking at his stencil Rangoli!



Before we knew it, the time was up. Kids took their coloured sheets back home (some asked for extras to go home and colour). The mothers thanked us for an hour plus well spent. And me, I was happy to do something new and different from the usual. It was so much fun seeing kids have a good time and participating enthusiastically in every activity.

Sincerely colouring their paper rangolis! :)

Showing off finished work!

Here are a couple of video links of the story telling;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y2yUuHXlWwU&feature=context-gfa

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d9hTiU286yY&feature=relmfu


Thank you Pratham Books for giving me this opportunity! May your tribe grow! :)

Ps: there are a whole lot of interesting things happening in Bangalore this Saturday, 13th Oct.

A story telling by Geeta Ramanujam with Tulika (An evening with your Myths) at Aata Galata, Koramangala. 4pm onwards. See this https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=362220400529068&set=a.279171128833996.66834.274368322647610&type=1&theater


Our very own Arthi Anand is doing story telling at Orion Mall at the same time. The picks are ever popular The Mixed-up Chameleon by Eric Carle and few other stories. Art is an awesome story teller, so go! https://www.facebook.com/events/119266278224920/


The Flea Market arranged by the Second to None group on Facebook called Shanivara Santhe happens till 7pm at Fraser Town this time. You can find all the details here - https://www.facebook.com/events/108467272642070/


And there there is the Gourmet Bazaar at Olive Beach which has some of cities best bakers and chefs selling best of their wares between 11am - 4pm. You can find the details here https://www.facebook.com/events/283053198471079/


I seriously wish I could make copies of myself and go everywhere! Sigh!

Her Bub-ness! :)

I keep saying that a Bub update is pending and ab toh paani sar ke upar se jaa chuka hai! The title is so because The Bub thinks she is some kinda princess / Queen Bee and expects to be treated so much to her disappointment most of the times! ;) But she also does get a lot of attention in general is quite happy with it as long as you don't try to pick her up or touch her in any way till She lets you! :)

What? I thought you wear new White clothes and then roll on the floor! No. you say?!



It will be almost 2 years since Bub came into our lives and one thing I can say without thinking twice - it has been interesting! (One of our friends' told me recently that Interesting can mean many things, when I pointed out that he uses the word way too often!;) So, going by that definition/s here folks.

Run baby, run! :)



We have not even been paying too much attention to her physical milestones. Call it the second born syndrome, if you will. She has been walking and running for a while now. She is also adept at going up and down the steps - both feet on the same step stage right now. She refuses to take our help if there is a railing / wall that she can hold on to and seems to be gaining mastery in getting on to escalators now!

Pretending to eat the Onam sadya! 



She is talking nineteen to a dozen and then some more. Tries to repeat pretty much everything we say. Is forming her own short sentences and is pretty much able to tell what she wants. Of course not everyone understands what she is saying (even though as proud parents we think she speaks quite clearly;), but we get it mostly.

The biker girl! ;)



Unlike Cub, who always spoke very clearly, Bub does not get quite a few sounds right - typically K and L etc. So her best friend Paakhi is Paathi! :D It is cute and am sure she will be crystal clear within no time, so might as well enjoy this phase.


Having been to fair amount of birthday parties already, she loves singing Happy Birthday in her own tune. She recognizes a birthday scene in any book she sees. She loves balloons though she was quite traumatized when she had to see three of them burst within a span of few minutes one of the days. For the longest time she would look at one - real / printed and go - "Baoon - Phoott gaya! Dhamm!" Need I say it was hilarious. She seems to have gotten over that bit now.


She has started recognizing fair number of animals from books she has and the zoo trip was fun. With Cub, we showed him stuff and sang rhymes to him etc ever so often. Poor Bub just does not get that kind of obsessive attention, but still keeps learning whatever she is told.


As she approaches the terrible twos, she is already doing practice runs. The worst bit is eating of course. She still LOVES junk and getting normal khaana in is a major task! Every time she sees my face, she says "Mumma Bitti de do, chottet de do" and when she gets none of these she says "Chyanpaash de do" which is Bub speak for Chyavanprash! Yes, it is quite a favourite with her. She has this horrid habit of stuffing her mouth and refusing to chew her food. The healthy variety obviously. She loves to ruminate like a cow. Sigh! It is very annoying to say the least.

Creating her own messy art out of rangoli! :p



She still has a delightfully wicked and naughty smile and it is difficult to stay angry with her - esp for the father who find pretty much everything she does very funny and amusing! :p She loves dancing and does hand and hip shaking routine at any fun music she gets to hear.

Rockstar - one shoe (brother's), no pajamas and cheap guitar! What else do you need?!



We have not even started potty training her. I have been seriously wondering what happens if you do not train them? They will figure it out once they reach a certain age, isn't it? Any theories? Yes, I am obviously feeling very lazy and bored with this whole business. But, when she does agree to sit on the pot, it is for a book and expects to be shown pictures for the entire duration.

The BFFs! :)


This update possibly cannot be complete without mentioning her absolute love for her BFF Paakhi! :) She lives right next door and is just 2 months older than Bub. Right now they want to spend every waking hour with each other. It starts from 8am and goes on till 8pm. They spend hours at each others' homes and still cry and throw tantrums when they are taken to their own homes. Every single day. It is crazy. They raise hell and wreak havoc with double the mischief and M thinks he has lost a few years since! ;) But seriously, knock on the wood! It is lovely to see them together and Bub starting to make friends at such young age. Cub has no avenues when he was at this age.

Turning the charm on!


She is also VERY loud! God! That girl can shout a house down. She is also a major drama queen and is extremely quick on take when you are doing something funny or silly. She gets the joke quickly and will try to turn it on you pretty much immediately.


Just yesterday she actually tried to have a proper conversation on phone with her grand parents and what a delight that was. Not that they could understand much, but it was priceless anyway.

eating a little bit of black poster colour is all you need to get a perfect Goth look!



She is also very naughty and if you do not hear her for a while you can safely assume that something bad is happening in some corner of the house. She has been known to flood the kitchen, draw on walls and eat paint and crayons when not paid attention to for few minutes!

So that is the Bub for you! A little bit of everything and huge dollops of cuteness! And a very smart little mind of her own. 


God bless you our darling little girl. You are an absolute delight! :)