Ponyo

A quick post - incredibly cute little animation that I stumbled across on Film4. Japanese Ghilbi studios always do fantastic animations - some cuter than others. Ponyo isn't exactly the cutest, but its nice to watch for a change.

Little K adores it. Some bits here and there are just plain silly, but the best part is Ponyo's interaction with Souske.
We role-play Ponyo ad Souske sometimes. Its so much fun!

A cup of tea

A lot can happen over a cup of tea.
A mind can think, and dwell, as the spoon swirls little circles in the tea cup - new ideas brew with the tea and worries dissolve with the sugar.

A lot can happen over a cup of tea.
Cold hands are warmed around the steaming hot cup, as hearts thaw with every sip.

A lot can happen over a cup of tea.
Storms in teacups. Fists banged on desks and spilled tea stains on tables. Minds fuming and steaming, as the tea sits untouched, tepid, lukewarm - insipid.

A lot can happen over a cup of tea.
Reams of gossips! Hush hush and giggle giggle - biscuits dipped and dipped again and a soggy residue at the bottom of the cup.

A lot can happen over a cup of tea.
Dripping rains. Glistening leaves. Sloshed up shoes and soaking wet clothes. Steaming hot tea, strong - nostrils seeking the steam and the heat. And a stolen glance over a cup of tea.

A lot can happen over a cup of tea.
Lets talk about you. No, lets talk about me. Another tea? With milk? No milk? I like mine with sugar - I like mine with lemon. Lets talk about 'we'.

A lot can happen over a cup of tea.
Tears brimming, teacups in hands - gently resting on the lap. Untouched.I can smell the tea - and your tears mixed with it.

A lot can happen over a cup of tea.
Tiered eyes, tiered limbs, tiered mind. Will you just sit, and let me make a cup of tea - for you and me?

A lot, really, A LOT can happen over a cup of tea.

Happy Diwali!

For me, Diwali is all about atmosphere. There is a slight winter nip in the air, the mornings have just started turning a bit foggy, delicious smells of savouries being fried waft in on lazy afternoons , earthen lamps (panatis), firecrackers, lanterns (akashkandil), small figurines (mavale) for the fort (killa) start making their appearances in all markets - and Diwali is in the air.

From the place where I come from, Diwali is celebrated for 4 days.
It starts with the ladies of the house taking a ritualistic oil bath - abhyanga snan.
Ladies apply scented oils and wash their hair. Little girls are given a good body massage. A special herbal paste called utana is used for bath. Call it a Spa Day for ladies!
Vasubaras - is celebrated by paying respect to cow and her calf. They are worshipped on this day and are fed specially prepared offerings.
Then comes Dhanatrayodashi or Dhanteras. Wealth is worshipped in this day, and is celebrated prominently by traders and businessmen. Buying gold, silver or even utensils is auspicious.
Next day is Narakachaturdashi. Its a Spa day for the family! People wake up before sunrise and take the elaborate abhyanga snan. Baths are elaborate - first a full body massage with perfumed oils, and then a bath with special herbal utnas.
The most popular day of Diwali is Laxmi Pooja. On this day, Goddess of Wealth is worshipped in the form of gold, silver, money, accounts, balance books, jewellery etc. Colourful rangolis adorn the courtyards of many houses.The lights and fireworks are the brightest on this day.
The next day is Padwa - signifying the bond between husband and wife. The lady of the house receives a generous gift from her husband, mostly an ornament or a piece of jewellery.
The last day is Bhaubij or Bhaiduj. It signifies the bond of love between siblings. Sisters receive gifts from their brothers.

Celebrations in our house were ritualistic. Like that special Moti soap - reserved strictly for Diwali bath times. It just didn't feel right to use this soap for the everyday bath! Same was the case with those perfumed almond oils. (Funnily enough, little K associates the smell of a certain perfumed oil with Diwali, and has coined it 'Happy Diwali Oil' !).
Family shopping trips were quintessential as Diwali approached. Those days, shopping - especially clothes shopping happened on occasions. Festivals, weddings, birthdays. It wasn't the norm to go shopping on the fly, definitely not as a pastime.
Ditto for fireworks. We used to be given a budget - within which we could fit our list. Small temporary stalls would be set up in a huge public ground, where people used to go in the evening to shop for firecrackers. More than the display fireworks, the loud ones that burst with a bang were preferred. While the chunkier items were used up under adult supervision, the harmless ones were used as afternoon pastimes - we used to get a good 10 days off from school. Talking of school, how could we forget the Diwali homework  Schools gave reams and and reams ( or so we felt) of homework to be completed - I remember filling several 400 paged notebooks with essays and sums and Q & As.
There used to big family lunches and dinners, where all uncles and aunts and cousins used to gather. After the meals, as elders indulged in general chit chat or a game of cards, kids would build killas - small fort replicas with bricks and mud. A robust arrangement of bricks would be covered with a thin hemp or jute cloth and then plastered with potting soil or mud.Mustard seeds would be sowed to grow 'farms' and foliage on the fort. Great creativity and imagination went into these - caves , wells, water moats, tunnels, steps - anything and everything was included in the structure. Little figurines of Shivaji and his soldiers (mavale) were put on a fort, along side farmers and their cattle, wild animals and ladies carrying water pots up the fort!

Diwali offered great opportunities for community gatherings, and many live performances of dance and music, lectures by dignitaries were arranged.
Diwali offered a special something for everybody - ladies had their pharal preparation afternoons, kids had their killa sessions, menfolk busied themselves setting up lanterns , driving the shopping trips and being at the beck and call for any after-work-hour help. Families visited neighbours for a quick cup of tea and samplings of the pharal. Even  domestic helpers were handed packets of home made goodies accompanied by hefty tips or an occasional new saree or dress.
Such were the festivities - that filled peoples' minds with generosity and well being. Diwali not just in the air, but in the minds and spirits.

What are you watching these days?

God bless Sky+. For a toddler's parents, getting a turn to watch there favourite TV programme is virtually impossible. Recording their favourite programme on the other hand, is just a few clicks away!

God Bless BBC - for the pure, unadulterated joy of watching a very interesting programme on TV - uninterrupted. This, by far is the single most reason I so love BBC. And of course the quality of programmes.

Some of C's and mine combined favourites are from BBC - The Sherlock series, Dragon's Den, Top Gear, News, MasterChef, Andrew Marr's History Of the World ( and The Paradise- on my list only and the Great British Bake Off on C's list only) to name a few. Also on recording is Richard Hammond's Miracles Of Nature. But yet to establish a fan following. Homes Under The Hammer is a good change too. So is Flog It ( but only sometimes!)
BBC iPlayer is yet another blessing - never were the long journeys to work so appealing!

Sky too has some interesting stuff going on. We are enjoying Elementary , and Grey's Anatomy might come back as a favourite - but its too early to tell. Game Of Thrones series - really well made. Definite watch (for me).

Channel 4's Grand Designs is another of our picks. There were times when we would watch back to back episodes late into the night! Location Location Location and A Place in the Sun are on the list too.

Discovery's best picks for us are How Its Made and Myth Busters. Even little K enjoy's it.

The usual suspects - sitcoms - are my territory only. There have been on and off recordings of Desperate Housewives, How I Met Your Mother, Big Bang Theory, Scrubs - but I tire of them after sometime.

Movies - we enjoy our Hindi movies. But, they are a pain to watch when just as the hero takes a sideways look at the villain and... Sunrise Kitchens offer you a huge selection of designs and materials!!! Can't stand the adverts.
But once recorded, C sits readily armed with the remote, and whizzes past these annoyances in a fraction.

Now you would think, hmm.. that's a lot of TV these people can manage to watch.
Well, there are a few things we enjoy together - and watching TV is one of them. Thankfully, C n me mostly share the same viewing interest, so watching something together and then chatting and discussing it later gives us the much needed 'us' time after a day spent at work. That, and The Great British Weather, make watching TV our favourite pastime.

I can't wait to be King!

Little K's current favorite is The Lion King. He loves it - can watch it every day. He does watch it every weekend. And he does not just watch - he listens. He even shushes us when we are talking - he really wants to listen to what everyone in the film are saying.
And he understands - I recently over heard him explaining the entire plot to one of his friends. He knows Mufasa and Simba are good, and Scar and the hyenas aren't.
But best bit was at bath time one day. I generally leave him with his bath toys for about 5 mins towards the end, so that he can splash about till I get his stuff ready. I heard him singing the 'Oh I just can't wait to be King..' song. Ok, by song I mean that one line - but then it was in tune - and he filled rest of it with 'na na na..'.
And on another day, he wanted to help out in the kitchen - by ahem! cutting vegetables with the kitchen knife.
When I said he needs to wait till he is a grown-up to do that, he broke into this song !
Needless to say - I am thrilled! I can't wait to see my little Simba grow up !

This is the full lyrics of that song. Now I don't listen to Elton John very often, but Lion King definitely is some where in the top of charts for me!

Curiosity Killed the Cat

Curiosity Killed the Cat, is a proverb used to warn of the dangers (or foils) of unnecessary investigation or experimentation - says Wikipedia.

I have, of my own accord , experienced it first hand , most recently.
As I travel by underground rail ( or tube as Londoners fondly(!?) call it) to work every day, I notice several people reading either one of   'The Hunger Games' trilogy by Suzanne Collins, or 'A Song of Ice And Fire' series by George R R Martin.
I normally pick books based on impulse, recommendations, reviews, nostalgia or popularity - not necessarily in that order.
Having seen the above mentioned books so often, on a daily basis, it was not long before I made a trip to the library and asked for the first book of each series - and surprise surprise - there wasn't one available. There were 69 and 72 reservations respectively for the 20 'Hunger Games' and 17 'Games of Throne' copies   at the library!  I put my name on the list and waited for the email announcing my copy was ready to be picked.

If I like a book, I read it slowly, leisurely.  I want it to last as long as possible - I dread the disappointment of finishing that book. I get anxious as fewer and fewer pages are left to be read.

The Hunger Games is a trilogy. The Ice and Fire series has 7 books - of which sixth and seventh are yet to release! If these books appeal to my taste, and get me engrossed, I will have 10 books to savour - now that is something worth considering.
 I had a similar excited frenzy with Harry Potter and The Lord Of The Rings. ( Though, of all Harry Potter books, 'Prisoner of Azkaban' I liked best, and all those that came after it never lived up to the standard for me.  As for 'The Lord Of the Rings' - J R R Tolkien - take a bow! Never has been my reader's mind so encouraged and enthused into imagination , since the golden years of reading Enid Blyton's 'Adventures of Wishing Chair' ! )

There has been an increasing trend to make movies based on books.

Now, when you read a book, your imagination has no boundaries, no limits. Anything and everything is possible. Such is the power of the written word, that an infinite supply of thoughts can be drawn out from the depths of your mind. Your mind does wonders with spinning images and sounds and smells and feelings in your head from the words that you read.
But show that book as a movie - and your mind is fed with someone else's vision, someone else's interpretation! And mostly ( except for the noble exception of The Lord Of The Rings) the movie versions result into disappointment.

I prefer to read a book, than watch a movie made out of it.

Coming back to the cat that got killed - I read the first 'Hunger Games' and then happened to look it up on the net - just out of curiosity! And Wikipedia ruined it for me. 3 books summarized into a few pages - and I kind of had no more interest in reading the books any more.
I also happened to see the televised drama based on 'Games Of Throne' - its very well made, but now every time I read about Ned Stark, I will have Sean Bean in my head.

If only I had not looked these things up - I would have had 10 books to look forward to! Sigh! and Alas!


This month is (apparently) the National Blog Posting Month. The theme is blogging for blogging's sake!
Works for me, as it gives me a (much needed) boost to blog more regularly. I am going to try and post more often for this NaBloPoMo!

Redundancy is liberating..

A lot has happened between the last post and this.

Olympics and Paralympics were a great success.
The summer has been glorious.
We finally did a mini Europe tour, with family.

After over 6 years of working in the Western side of the world, I faced redundancy.

A work culture where redundancy isn't much of a taboo, when compared to the eastern side of things, its not much of a news.
Working in the City, in the investment banking circus, its no news.

I worked in a small firm, which was doing very well - so well that it attracted attention from the big fish in the US of A, and there was a buy out.
Inevitably, majority of the staff was slashed.
Losing job is not a happy affair, but when all are sailing in the same boat, the pain is dulled.
(And with a more than handsome redundancy package, the pain is numbed! ;-) )

The last month at office passed in a blur of discussions, team lunches, outings and leaving drinks.

Once there was nothing else to do, I realized there was so much to do!!

Late mornings.
Cooked breakfast and freshly brewed coffee.
Morning playtime with little K.
Walks with friends.
TV lunches.
Window shopping.
Wardrobes to be cleared.
Furniture to be dusted.
Kitchen to be tidied.
Plants to be watered.
New recipes to try.
Afternoon naps.
Swimming on a week day!
More relaxed weekends - more family outings!
Hanging out with friends over tea.
Going to the park, library, mall , swimming pool with little K.
Pre and post dinner chats with C.
Late night movies.
Long phone calls with mom and sis.
Tine for evening prayers and lighting a lamp.


And books - lots and lots of books.
With train to catch and office to reach - Kindle was the saving grace to reading books.
But the joy of reading a book is like sipping wine.
You can't finish it in one go, neither can you leave it untouched for long.
Its best enjoyed leisurely.
This break has rekindled, renewed the bond with books.

I dreaded the time when there would be no office to go to, no routine, no schedule to a day.
How wrong I was!
I have discovered that household chores have their own charm.
Baking a cake provides just the right amount of distraction when you need one.
Arranging a bookshelf helps you organize your thoughts.
Hoovering, ironing, folding clothes becomes a form of meditation.

Small precious moments, which slip by unnoticed in a busy day - little K wearing shoes all by himself, C asking help with his cuff links - now become the high notes of a good day.

Having more time for myself, has helped me give more time to my loved ones.

Redundancy has helped me slow down, and take a good look at things that matter, things that really make a difference.
I liked my job and enjoyed it. But what I have found by losing it, is more precious.
Time will come when this relaxed routine will make me restless, and I would want to go back to a full time job. But for now, this redundancy suits me just fine!

Be a Sport!

The UK has been preparing for this event for 8 years. They are hosting it for the 3rd time. They'ev had 70,000 Game Makers ( volunteers for you and me) toiling away for this grand event. There are 10,500 competitors from 206 countries taking part in 26 sports.  20,000 broadcasters, photographers and journalists with be bringing the Games to 4 billion people worldwide.
Such is the event, THE event - the 30th Olympiad - the London 2012 Olympics!

I am a big fan of the BBC. ( may be a separate post for this later). Over the past 18 months BBC has been running a series called Olympic Dreams, featuring British athletes from across the country and their stories of hope and struggle, to win the coveted gold.
There has been a similar series featuring Olympic hopefuls from over the world.
A feature on Britain's golden girl Victoria Pendleton - a unique insight into the struggles and sacrifices made for the sake of the sport.
Another one on Usain Bolt, the fastest man alive. And another on Tom Daley, the poster boy of Britain.

All through this, the Olympic fever has been slowly building up. And so has this thought in mind.
What amazed me was the sheer dedication, hard work - inhuman at it I would say, and the single minded pursuit of one burning passion in the sports person's mind towards her sport.
Apart from that one person's life investment in the sport, there is so much, just so so much that the country is doing to nurture and encourage this sports involvement.
The facilities, infrastructure, training, opportunities, grants, subsidies  - numerous forms of tangible and intangible efforts from the government to encourage its talented people to take up sport as a career and excel at it.
After all, it was England that first made Physical Education (PE) compulsory in state schools till the age of 16.
The importance and allocation of efforts and funds that is given to sports along side education, technology and industrial development is just amazing.

Fair or unfair, I don't know, but I could not help compare the (disparate) sports scenes in India and the UK.
The passion, dedication and struggle at personal level is still the same, or even more in India - so many talented people have made it or are trying to make it big in spite the adversities.
But the investment coming from the country - leaves so much to be desired.
The condition of stadiums and sports villages is unfathomable.All that drives the initiatives seems to be money and more money.  Indian sports scene reminds us more of mishaps like the recent Commonwealth Games , than the glories and victories. Petty politics, group-ism, unfair, uncalled competition - why and how are these things connected to national sports? All the good schemes, grants and subsidies by the government ( if any)  get lost, misused or abused by the middlemen before reaching the deserving candidate.

If nothing, sports seems to be spelt as c-r-i-c-k-e-t in India. All other sports are step children, and very badly treated ones at that.

The Olympic scene is not entirely glum ( but lets not even talk about Paralympics -  the dignity of disabled people in India is a topic that demands a full fledged discussion!), we do have some hopes in tennis, badminton, weightlifting, sharp shooting, boxing, wrestling - and am glad we do have some bright sparks - though far and apart.
We Indians are habituated to living in past glories.The Milkhas and P T Ushas are still revered, but hardly new names rise on the scene. Sports persons who try to make it big , are hobbled by numerous hurdles - the performances are inconsistent, selection committees are riddled,  international participation is marred by controversies.
The problems are numerous, and it just boils down to the apathy of the system towards the importance of sports and its nourishment  Very few dare to make sports their career - because sadly, neither does it lead to fame and glory, nor to financial stability.

Not even 24 hrs into the 2012 Olympic, the mystery lady who made an appearance during the march past is already making news in India.

I hope Olympics 2012 has a few surprises - very pleasant ones - in store for India.
C'mon India - Be A Sport!

Satyamev Jayate - Truth, Alone Prevails

Satyamev Jayate is a new show on Indian television, which is the talk of the town these days. Hosted by popular Indian cinema (more so - Bollywood) actor Aamir Khan, its already making ripples, if not waves , on millions of Indian minds.
This is Aamir Khan's first venture on small screen. Bollywood industry big-wigs like Amitabh Bacchan, Salman Khan, Shahrukh Khan have already wowed the small screen audience by anchoring hugely popular Indian- version-shows like Kaun Banega Crorepati (Who wants to be a Millionaire) and Kya aap panchvi pass se tez hain ( Are you smarter than a 5th grader). But what Aamir Khan has chosen as his television début is quite commendable.
Aamir Khan is known to be a perfectionist, and has made quite an impact on classes and masses alike with his carefully chosen films - e.g. Raang De Basanti, Lagaan, Tare Zameer Paar, 3 Idiots - which are commercial successes with a social conscience.

Satyamev Jayate - which means Truth, Alone, Prevails - and is the national motto of India, and features on India's national emblem -is not about Aamir Khan. Though Aamir's stardom and screen presence lends itself heavily to the popularity of the show, the show itself addresses pressing social issues in India.
Hosted by Aamir Khan, each episode focuses on one issue, and brings on the screen the realities about it, bitter- sweet as they are.
I think its quite an intelligent choice by Aamir Khan.Television is a very powerful medium to reach millions across urban and rural India - the show airs prime-time on national as well as private channels, in multiple Indian languages. Aamir Khan alone is a strong enough force to attract top TRP. By lending himself to voice the social issues, he has ensured that he can get a huge majority of Indian audience to watch him.

Coming back to the show, its just 5 episodes old, and already has Indians talking. Issues addressed so far are female foeticide, dowry, honour killings, child abuse,medical malpractices and disability in India. The format of the show is simple. Aamir Khan hosts a live audience.( as a side note though, looking at how well behaved, obedient and precise they are in their comments - and this being Aamir Khan's show, it definitely must be scripted. No one speaks out of turn, no one fights for the mic and all are in rapt attention.) That aside, Aamir invites relevant people to speak up and speak about the issue in question and also shows clips of researched cases on AV. Facts and figures, laws and regulations about the issue are discussed. Audience participate in voicing their concerns or opinions about the issue. The spectrum of emotions ranges from the bleakest, darkest , most shameful aspects to the bright and very positive notes of it. Show always ends on a very positive note.
Aamir Khan's dedication and concern is evident in the show. The purpose of the show is to talk and address issues, and spill out the facts. No tear jerkiness, slow motion weeping, gut-wrenching sound tracks at the background.This could have been another cringe-worthy show, where we just shy away from seeing the issue in the eye, but this hurdle has been skilfully manoeuvred,  making the show credible and realistic.  Above all, people are speaking about the issues, and that itself is something.

One show can't bring about a change, but it at least is making an effort. Hats off to that!

Vicky Cristina Barcelona

Image from here

I stumbled upon this film as I browsed Sky channels to find something worthwhile to record. I had heard about it sometime back, and it was stuck in some obscure corner of memory, partly due to its quirky name (makes no sense at all!) and partly due to Woody Allen.
Woody Allen for me is an enigma. Comedian? Writer? Director? Actor?
Well the list of his skills falls in the 'artist' category for sure, because I feel an artist at heart just expresses himself in one medium or another words, pictures, music, sculptures - and sometimes it all goes hand in hand.
His persona is all quirk, from those framed glasses and tiny stature. He seems to think at an oblique to what normal people think, and is a non conformist according to me. There is no right or wrong to what he says, and it all seems to fit for the given situation. And does come up with situations in his writing that can't be judged with a standard , traditional approach.
I have put his film 'A midnight in Paris' on my to-watch list for long, just because I find the plot amazing!
The comedian part of Woody Allen is most baffling - I feel like I fail to understand his sense of humour, or I see humour in places where he doesn't really intend to use humour. He is profound and frivolous at the same time. And he is profound without being complex, yet when things cease to be complex, they start seeming shallow. Yet all his comedies have a philosophy. At least that's how I felt watching Vicky Christina Barcelona. I din't think it to be comedy at all, though the handling of a complex subject was done with such lightness, that it made you smile.

I like to take something from a film, be it a moment of gay abandon, a perspective, or a new widget of knowledge or self-realisation.I like films that make you think, and Woody Allen films do that.

Two friends, Vicky and Christina are on a holiday in Barcelona.Christina knows what she doesn't want, but doesn't know what she wants. She goes by instinct and impulse and finds normal to be boring.
Vicky on the other hand, knows what she wants. At least she thinks she knows what she wants. She is more traditional and practical in her approach to life, love and commitments. She is already engaged.
Then they meet this broody eyed painter Juan with a past.
There is Maria Elena , the ex wife of Juan - who is multi faceted, a genius in art and as intense geniuses normally are,she is emotionally and psychologically fragile. Juan and Maria Elena love each other, but have separated because love alone isn't enough for them, and they feel there is 'something missing' that  keeps them apart in spite of love.
Emotional doldrums follow as Vicky and Christina get involved with Juan and in the process find themselves facing the same questions about love , life and relationships - and try to reach their own answers.

The film was interesting without being preachy and boring, and what helped greatly were the absolutely stunning locales of Spain. I don't think much of Bardem, but the three ladies(Penelope Cruz, Scarlett Johansson, Rebecca Hall) are gorgeous and very pleasant on eye.
Coming back to locales, Spain has that broody, balmy air of a sunny place that wants you to go on a holiday. Winding lanes, old world charm and almost a sepia tint to everything - the cute courtyards, lovely balconies, colourful market places - it was a treat to watch. Throw in the Spanish guitar and beautiful wines, and you feel you are drunk on Spain just by looking and hearing to it. What better place could there be to ponder over ones wishes and thoughts - only when you lose yourself to something can you find what you really are!

Pick Your Food

image from here

Toddlers fussing over food is no news for anyone. As they enter the wonderland of solid foods, they are bound to get lost. They will be picking some as favourites and will be turning up their tiny noses at others.
Little K has not been very different, but I must say he made weaning more easy than tough.
Neither C nor me are fussy eaters - we eat what we reasonably can from our plate; so probably K took it from us. And I would like to brag that I do care to cook fresh meals everyday, so may be that helps too. All proud mums can raise an eyebrow,  and say "Big Deal! every mum does, and should!".

K hasn't been a difficult child on food front (well, on any front really, says the very proud mommy in me). He has slowly built a respectable list of veggies, fruits and other stuff that he readily eats, which as most mums-to-toddlers will agree, is something worth a pat on back. His, and mine.

Over the last month I have noticed that he happily and willingly eats most veggies like cabbage (!),beans, beet root(!),peas, parsnips (!), sweet potato, potato,cauliflower(!),spinach (!), methi ( fenugreek greens) (!), gourds, pumpkins and also raw ones like tomatoes, carrot, cucumber sticks even lettuce!.
I haven't seen much liking for eggplant ( unless well disguised), bhendi (okra)( again, should be accompanied with potato) , bell peppers and mushrooms ( unless on pizza).

He likes Indian food so can eat these in his daily meal -all daals ( lentils)  like toor (split pigeon peas), urad (black gram), moong (green gram), masoor ( red lentils) ; all usals (chickpeas, black eyed beans, kidney beans, moth beans etc) ; roti / chapati, bread, rice, semolina upma, broken wheat porridge / upma.


He also eats a variety of dry powdered chutneys very common to andhra and marathi cuisine. Loves metkut.
He is happy to eat regional dishes like poha (beaten rice), thalipeeth (a kind of bread made by mixing a variety of flours like wheat, sorghum, rice etc) and idli ( steamed rice cakes), dosa (pancakes with a fermented batter).
He eats fruits happily too, and if he is in no mood to eat anything else fruits always come handy.He is OK with most of the common fruits here - bananas, apples, pineapple, strawberries, raspberries, kiwis, oranges, grapes, pears, watermelon. Some exotics like papaya, guava aren't very well received. I have tried mango here a couple of times and he didn't seem keen. But a proper Alphonso mango is still elusive, and I have my hopes pinned on it, that one day K will have his own moment of epiphany.

We cook vegetarian food at home, but he has happily tried chicken and fish elsewhere.
Though he is still not keen on drinking milk, he eats his breakfast cereal well with milk.
He does love eating cupfuls of honey-yoghurt or paneer (cottage cheese), butter and he adores ghee ( clarified butter).
He likes his eggs boiled or fried. Even omelettes work well.

Every time I make a trip to India, I look around just to see what snack or tea-time stuff kids eat around me. I take a trip down memory lane to remember what we ate as kids during those 'neither lunch nor dinner' hunger pangs.
And then I bring it here so that little K can eat it here in London.
Some favourites are rolls - tup-sakhar-poli or gul-tup-poli ( flat bread smeared with ghee, sprinkled with sugar or crushed palm sugar), lahya cha peeth , nachnichi kheer, ravyachi kheer,  bhadang, different types of wadis, ladoos, chivdas.
Biscuits, bars, munchies like crisps weren't very omnipresent then, and snacking would mean eating phutane, or peanuts and a piece of jaggery, sprouts etc.
K is OK with it. He likes chikki, peanuts, soaked almonds, cashews etc.

As happy as I am with his eating habits, he is still my little baby, and I don't mind spoiling him once in a while with treats. Biscuits (cream biscuits please), pastries, chocolates, ice-lollies are firm favourites and greatly relished. The trick is to keep them just as a once-in-a-while treat; if he can have it easily,it loses the appeal.

There are some simple rules that both C and me follow. We don't eat so called junk food in front of K ( well you can't just give it up in a night, can you?) , at least at meal times. We hardly buy crisps any more. Or all the deep fried goodies we were used to, to go with our tea. Or the lovely cakes that you can eat with a scoop of ice cream. No frozen meals, no heat-and-eats. Heck, C even gave up jams on his toast, lest K gets hooked to the sugar-high it brings!

But we are no food police, and we do give in to our temptations once in a while. Just that eating has been consciously more healthy since little K has started joining us at the dinner table.
And no one is complaining!

Never too late, to be a bit better!

The blog needed some TLC - and a revamp. The millionth in a month if you may - but as the philosophy of the blog has been, its never too late.
And since its never too late, there are currently new philosophies on-boarding.
First, the blog needed a good url, so now its a bit better - belittlebetter.blogspot.com
Secondly, it needed a connect, between me, the blog and its title.
As I am trying a little bit harder, to make this blog better, Voilà! new title, new description, but same blog and same (ole) me!

There is much more to do and what needs to be done,  should be done.
Try a little harder, and be a little better.

Keep Calm and Carry On..

Lil K soon turns three.

He is quite a handful.. and born to a temperamental ( C would rather just say MENTAL ;-) ) mother, we clash often :)

He has gotten into terrible twos ( that's the only sane justification for the tantrums these days) a year late , and I am driven to the edge of hysterics when C isn't around us to keep peace.

The other day K insisted on walking to the supermarket instead of a ride in the buggy, to which I happily agreed ( on after thought , I don't know why).

A short walk further to the supermarket is a small bridge, which runs over a train track. K knows these routes by heart. He hears the train whistle from miles away.

I keep supermarket shopping to bare minimum when K is with me. So that I have a hand free to grab his and keep him from straying away. But, that fateful day, though I just shopped 1 bagful, the bag was a tad heavy.

We finished with the shopping, K being unbelievably cooperative.

As a thank you gesture, instead of just giving him a few hugs and kisses, I agreed to walk him to the bridge to see the trains - he loves to run from one side of the bridge to other, and wave to the trains till they disappear.

He did his routine 30 mile run on that small bridge waving to a million trains. ( these are daily commute local trains fondly called the tube, which run every few minutes)

Then after a couple of pleads, bribes and threats on my part, I was able to head back home, with the bagful and the handful.

House is a short walk away - 5 mins on my own, an hour with K - OK , not being OTT its half an hour with K.

After about 10 mins, when the house was a few blocks away, K realised he was tiered.

As is the rule, he stood in front of me, and lifted both his hands up.

So did I ( in my mind ,I threw them up in defeat!) The bag was heavy, almost bursting at its seams, and I was flustered and crabby with the infinite amount of babbling and ( pretend on my part and genuine on K's ) excitement at each passing train. ( Seriously, how can kids jump in joy for the same thing a 1000 times in quick succession?)

I said NO. I can't lift you K. We are near to the house, the bag is heavy and YOU wanted to walk ( this I will use in my defence once he is old enough to understand)

He realised that being cute and small isn't helping.

So he started to cry and clung to my legs. I kept walking with the bagful, and lil K trying to climb up his way into my arms.

He realised that this isn't working.

He let go, and started to call me names. ( lil K has a vast vocab of 'naughty mommy' and 'I don't like you')

Ears burning with shame (thankfully no British passer-bys to nod in disarrangement) , I inched towards house, still a painful few blocks away.

Now K had had enough ( gahh!) - his lil hands balled up in fists he screamed his face red, tears streaming down his face. To add insult to injury - he interspersed it with a pitiful ' Daaadddddyyyy'

I was witnessing lil K's début performance of throwing a tantrum.

Don't ask me how I controlled the rising urge to smack him. I almost smacked him.

I held his hand with my free one, and dragged him all angry and red and teary eyed the last few steps into the house.

Keep Calm and Carry On - was what I was reminding myself through all this.

At home, with K fed and tucked in with a lot of extra hugs and kisses and heartfelt apologies, I went on a guilt trip. Atonement would only come after narrating this to C in the evening and make him say what I did was right.

yes, parenting is not easy. It does push you to the very end.

At times like this, I seek solace in Google search. And it comes to me in more ways than one. I am not alone, I am not the only wicked mom in the whole world wide web.

Finds like this help me keep calm and carry on!

You Are Awful..

Sweetest , sweetest song ever!

(Frank Sinatra, Betty Garrett)

HE:

You're awful,

Awful good to look at,

Awful nice to be with,

Awful sweet to have and hold.

You're nothing,

Nothing if not lovely,

Nothing if not dazzling,

Nothing but pure gold!

You're frightening,

Frightening when you say that you might go away;

You're boring,

Boring into my heart to stay.

You're cheap, dear,

Chap at any price dear,

Cheap for such a diamond,

Cheap for such a pearl.

What I said before I'll say again:

You're awful,

Awful nice to be my girl.

SHE:

You're old, dear,

Old with worldly wisdom,

Old like Gorgonzola,

Old like vintage France champagne,

You're so-so,

So-so kinda charming,

So-so kind of witty,

So I can't explain!

HE:

Can't stand you,

I can't stand you to give some fellow the eye;

Can't see you

In the arms of another guy

Who needs you

Needs you to distraction,

Needs you till he's crazy,

Needs you rain or shine.

BOTH:

I'm the one who needs you and I think you're awful,

Awful nice to say you're mine!

lyrics courtesy http://www.metrolyrics.com

Confession

My up bringing imbibed on me to not ask for anything from anyone. If you don't have it, deal with it. [ I did deal with it, and sometimes not in a very ladylike way, I must confess.]

Enjoy what you have, don't fret for things you don't have. [But fret I did, I must confess].

If you want something, don't borrow it, don't beg for it. Be patient [ha! me? patient? whats that now?], and it will come to you.

And if you want something badly, then work hard and earn it!

I try and follow it even today.

And there is another side to this.

This is something am not proud of, but its there. hence the confession.

The way I don't ask for things from people, I don't like it when people ask for things from me.

People I barely know, or have just known or the few whom I don't know very well. I feel as if I can't trust them enough to take care of stuff they are borrowing, or even return it at all.

I have worked and earned my things, let others do it too!

Well, I think I can't trust people very freely.

Unlike C. He is, as I call him ' Santa Claus on Prozac'. ( quoting Phoebe from Friends )

Ever cheerful, positive, warm and friendly - as if on a drug induced stupor which compels him to be good all the time!

He sees everything that is good, and ignores whatever is bad. He is like that .. no really, he is like that!

Well being his better(!) half, I somehow can't appreciate - or I can only begrudgingly appreciate and approve of it.

You see, he is the good cop, and am left to be the bad cop. Always.

Anyway, I digress.

It so happened that C lent someone money, and we both very well knew that it won't be coming back. But still he did it. His philosophy being, 'if we can, we should.' And also, 'if we give, we will get back in more forms than one'.

But I could not take such a holistic approach to it, and we had a fight.

Not because he lent the money ..how much ever I like to stick to my 'never ask for anything, and stay away from askers' motto, I always relent and join him on his charitable pursuits.

We fought because he didn't tell me about it. Again, the good cop that he is, he thought that a few grand spent thus should not cause any distress to me or to him, or to both, thus preserving the calm and peace of our days.

But I found out , and hell broke loose.

After numerous arguments, counter-arguments [ but, My Lord, he didn't tell me!] and a burnt dinner later, the storm died down, and things returned to normal. [Though the money didn't, and won't return. That's all My Lord.]

On introspection, I know I come out looking that bad cop again, but may be he was not wrong.

I read a sermon by Osho in a news paper few days ago. It narrated a story in one of Rabindranath Tagore's poems..

A beggar sets out for his daily alms. As is the routine, he puts a few grains of rice in his bag, just so that people will see those, and be compelled to give, thinking 'Someone has given alms to this beggar, may be I should give too' .

No sooner has he set out, a King's chariot comes galloping by. The King alights, and to the beggar's surprise, asks for alms from the beggar! The King says that a holy man has advised him to do so, and in doing so a great calamity on the kingdom can be averted.

The beggar, who till now was anticipating generous alms from the King, is bitterly disappointed. Very reluctantly, he takes just 2 grains of rice and gives it to the King. The King thanks him and gallops away.

That day, the beggar receives a lot of alms from various people. But, he is still grudging those 2 grains he had to part with for the King. At the end of the day, his wife is delighted to see her husband's daily earnings. He bitterly tells her that she does not know what they had lost.As they empty the last of the grains from his bag, they find 2 grains of rice made of gold. He is now even more bitter, thinking had he given more to the King, he would have had more golden grains of rice!

What you give, turns into gold, what you guard, turns into dust! If one gives away everything, everything turns to gold.

Now , again, am not the one to take a holistic approach - but for all things intangible, I confess that there is a lesson to be learnt here.

Rumi

The Guest House

This being human is a guest house.

Every morning a new arrival.

A joy, a depression, a meanness,

some momentary awareness comes

As an unexpected visitor.

Welcome and entertain them all!

Even if they're a crowd of sorrows,

who violently sweep your house

empty of its furniture,

still treat each guest honorably.

He may be clearing you out

for some new delight.

The dark thought, the shame, the malice,

meet them at the door laughing,

and invite them in.

Be grateful for whoever comes,

because each has been sent

as a guide from beyond.

From Essential Rumi

by Coleman Barks

Knock, And He'll open the door

Vanish, And He'll make you shine like the sun

Fall, And He'll raise you to the heavens

Become nothing, And He'll turn you into everything.

― Rumi

silence is the language of god,

all else is poor translation.

― Rumi

Everything in the universe is within you. Ask all from yourself.

― Rumi

Raise your words, not voice. It is rain that grows flowers, not thunder.

― Rumi

Losing Oneself..

Losing oneself is defined as 'Become deeply absorbed or involved in. This expression alludes to becoming so absorbed as to forget oneself'.

Recently, I came across an article in a regional newspaper, where the author, a lady, looked back on her past and rued.

It got me thinking.

Times have been innumerous, when I lost the sense of time and place , so engrossed I was with what I was doing.

Repeated calls by mom, unanswered , as I drown in the plight of poor Oliver Twist ..

The lost track of time while listening to Sanjeev Abhyankar rendering a splending Kalyan..

The most unladylike screaming and pumping of fists as the cricket match inched towards a nail biting finish..

Dinner time, long forgotten amongst the hours spent chatting with friends outside our school-gate, holding our bicycles by the handles and shifting weight from this leg to that to relieve the stiffness building up for standing too long..

Such were the pleasures of being a much doted upon girl of the family - a carefree girl, with no weight of responsibilities bearing on my shoulders.

My head used to be filled with things like school and studies, friends and picnics, songs and books..

Free abandon, recklessness came easily, well , I never noticed that it was there in first place..

So was I lost in these happy pursuits - ignorance was bliss in the truest sense!

And then, this girl grew up, got married, became a mother.

The girl who used to wake up from bed and walk straight to the table for breakfast now plans all three meals in her head as she brushes her teeth?

The girl whose weekends were one slumber fest to another now spends the good part of a weekend on household chores, to be ready for the working week?

The girl who spent late nights reading, talking or watching movies, now tucks in often while reading a bedtime a story to her little one?

Who would have known?

The old me is lost in myself, and I've become a new me..

Somehow, the free mind is reigned in..

Now between the notes of the favourite song in my ear, floats the sound of the hissing cooker ..'remember to turn off the heat after third..'

As the IPL match draws claps and cheers in the living room, I hover on the boundary of the kitchen - half mind tuned to the TV, half on the simmering sauce on stove..

As I skip a meal on a lazy day, to wolf down few more chapters of the un-put-downable book, the return of a hungry toddler from school looms large on mind..

Thus has become the way of life - measured, calculated, always planned and safe.

Noone asks you to be this way - but you just mould your life around these daily things.

I think about that girl I used to be, and the woman that I have become.

And I silently thank my parents and friends and teachers for giving me a childhood that I can very fondly look back upon - a place where I indeed lost myself and became a new me.

Food Blogs and Fund raisers..

I love reading about food. Thats how I got hooked to bloggers and blogging in first place.

The very first blog I read, was a food blog, One Hot Stove, by Nupur.

Its a delightful read, and I have been following it quite regularly.

Though primarily its a food blog, Nupur also posts on lot of other activities and awareness about food wastage, composting etc in some of her posts, not to forget updates of her mutt Dale, and a cute little recent addition - her lovely daughter Lila.

The last time I visited Nupur's blog, she had linked to Cooking with Siri , to share the fund raising appeal Siri has made to raise a donation to Vaidehi Ashram, a refuge looking after little girls in Hyderabad, India. Its an earnest appeal to raise funds for the food, clothing and education of these girls, and you can see for yourself the generous contributions being made from the blogging community world wide, predominantly the food bloggers' community, in the form of raffle prizes and donations.

Siri herself has visited the ashram a couple of times, and one can be assured that the donations will reach the cause - through safe hands. The appeal is open till 25th of Feb for you to buy a raffle ticket for some lovely prizes, and earn some good karma on the way!

Awesome..

Today is jackpot day or what!!!???

Another lovely blog I stumbled upon. What a brilliant idea for a blog ..1000 Awesome Things ..

just list all things awesome..

the posts can just keep flowing..

Simplicity is just so profound! ( if no-one's said this before, I call it first to be mine..)

What a truely awesome thing to do .. you will definitely have at least one awesome thing a day..

And even that is not there, well the day indeed is a bummer ..

Today's awesome things for me are - 2 posts back to back and a lovely blog to visit !!

PS: this stuff above is too short for a blog post, and too long for a tweet!

Keep Writing..

As I have said time and again on the blog, I love to read, I love to write. I want to write. I try to keep my self going on the writing front with different exercises. Some more successful than others. Or I just hunt around and find out how other people keep their creative juices flowing. And then try to bring that into practice.

The idea of being a writer, an author perhaps is very romantic. But it does not just happen. Many people who are successful writers have made it happen. Here is how.

The famous blogger turned bestseller of The Happiness Project has this to say about her writing practice.

How I wish these tips would work for me. A few would I guess ,

like #9 Have something to say!

That's very clever I think, what you want to say, you write. And there is always something you have to say. About a news article you read, about a film you watched, about the argument you had, about the new restaurant you tried, the new dish you cooked.

Or sometimes its just those really smart retorts you wished you should have given, but swallowed them up to avoid an argument blowing up into a fight!

Well, there you see, I already have skeletons of 5-10 posts ready. That's inspiring.

And, as I type this, another rule comes to my mind .. 'Think Loud! '

I have noticed this, say when I am reading a book - there is this parallel stream of thought running along in the mind, which is like a reviewer - a real time reviewer of the stuff you are reading - and you sometimes go 'Oh shut up you ( the other me that is) , let me ( the first me ) read!!' . These are the times when I wish I had a notebook handy, so that I can jot down these thoughts, and then flesh them out to make a writeable post. ( wait , didn't rule #5 say the same?)

May be I should try that.

PS: I have managed myself another post - yeeeee hay!

Konkan - at long last again!

I have visited Konkan quite a few times since childhood.

Its been a much cherished holiday every single time I've been there.

The earliest memory is of visiting Ganapatipule with my parents. I was barely four at that time , and still recall my first rendezvous with the sea. Not very pleasant. I was scared by the incessant rumble of the waves - building into a crescendo and then crashing at our feet. I feared that if we didn't step away from the waters, we would glide all the way to the horizon and coming back would be quite some task!

I also recall mum n dad sitting in the sand, or walking bare feet by the beach.

And the pooja my dad did at the temple, sitting right in front of the ganesha idol. I remember watching the waves from the safe sanctuary of the temple - from a distance they looked quite harmless and even beautiful - small frothy rows rushing towards the shore, all neatly framed by the pillars of the temple verandah.

The beach as I remember was isolated - hardly anyone on the beach, miles and miles of soft fine sand, and tiny white crabs scampering sideways. The joy of finding shells of all shapes and sizes that the sea left behind, and watching the sun turn everything pink at sunset!

The next trip I remember was with my grandmom, aunt and cousins. I was the youngest of the lot, and had a great time with everyone fussing over me. But of the beach, I remember not much. Though I do remember collecting red seeds called goonja under the trees that lined the far end of the beach.

Another trip was with my classmates, soon after our 10th grade exams got over. It as a school excursion. We all travelled together in a big bus, and it was one joyride. Few places we visited were Lote-parshuram ( remember visiting a factory there - I think of Kokam products), then Guhagar, Dhabhol, Pawas, Chiplun. All these were in the proximity of the Dabhol area. The purpose of the trip was to meet the activists who were concerned about the environmental impact of the Enron power project coming there, and were working with the locals towards a possible solution.

In Pawas we visited the swarupananda math. Me and my dear friend V were in charge of the breakfasts I think, and we had good fun going about the arrangements. A few vivid memories are of early morning prayers (upasana) and moonlight walks by the beach - it was surreal! By this time, I had grown fond of the rumble of the sea, and found it rather soothing to ears - no longer an incessant noise.

Next trip was with my girlfriends, just before we started college. We all had booked with a homestay by Mr. Paladhe in Shrivardhan , all arrangements being made by my friend S. We travelled to Shrivardhan by state transport, and camped at Mr. Paldhe's place. It was a beautiful house, with a big front porch, ample trees and coconut and beetlenut plantations (wadi) in the back yard. Food was awesome, accommodation modest but comfortable and the beach hardly a couple of minutes away. We loved the waters, spent plenty of time on the beach, had great fun. We hired a tum-tum ( a six seater auto-rickshaw) and visited Harihareshwar.

When spend times like these with friends, you know you have friendships lasting for life.

Another encounter with Konkan came when I was studying Engineering. Again, it was an excursion. Being from the electrical engineering stream, we had a study trip planned to visit the Koyna nagar dam. The work for Koyna Hydroelectric project was under way. The ambitious project consists of 4 stages of power generation , with all generators located underground, in powerhouses excavated deep inside the mountains of the Western Ghats. I feel privileged to have been able to visit the project site! (thanks COEP!).

Well after the study of the trip, we had an over night halt , and visited Guhagar on our way back. This again is a much cherished trip, and brings back fond memories of the college years.

Over the years, I moved to the UK with my husband. I must say, I did not find much glory in the English seaside. They are rugged and breathtakingly beautiful ( only in summer!), but for me a beach is where you can walk into the sea, feel the soft sand between your toes, and plunge into the crashing waves - if you can't do this, well what else would you do on the beach then??!! I sorely missed the beautiful beautiful beaches of India and especially Konkan.

And, again after a long-11 year-last, we visited Konkan yet again. This time with my hubby C and our son K. And for the very first time, with my sis N and brother A too! Looking back, am really surprised that we 3 siblings never travelled together to Konkan before, though its one of our most favourite destinations and all three have visited it a couple of times before on our own!

Of course, mum and dad were with us too. The trip was a treat. We had fantastic stay arrangements in Diveagar with Mr. Limaye - again a home stay. They served wonderful home cooked veg food, had modest but nice,big and clean self-content rooms and very prompt and attentive service. Lil K just loved being on the beach and had a field day! Diveagar is quiet and quaint and still untouched by the mad tourist crowd. Its really a tiny village with small dim lit lanes and modest houses with big wadis. No hotels, only messes. Claim to fame is a ganesha temple, the idol being of gold and discovered in one of the natives' field. And of course the beach. Lovely silky-soft sand beach. We ate awesome food - sea food that is, visited the beach quite a few times, also did small trips along a picturesque route along the beach to Shrivardhan and Harihareshwar. We spotted dolphins leaping out of water as we gazed at the sea from the rocky shores of Harihareshwar. It was a very relaxing trip - far from the maddening crowd. we left Konkan refreshed and relaxed, with a promise to visit again soon!

There are still a lot of hidden gems of Konkan to visit - Kelshi, Hedavi, Nagaon, Alibaug, Murud Janjeera - and the whole Malvan region. Am already planning my next trip!