Lav's Corner

Perceptions

2010-07-22T14:21:00.000+05:30

When a child is seen behaving badly and is going off the course beyond the norm, the question/response that is generally aired is

"The child has been brought up very badly. The parents are to blame. What were they doing?"

However, when a child is shaping up nicely with no major problems or issues, the response almost always is

"Such a nice, pleasant and good natured child". All compliments are for the child. And the poor parents who brought him/her to be what he/she is, is nowhere in the picture. In these instances,

How is it that it is very rare that one ever hears of

"That kid is great. The parents have done a great job raising him/her" ?

Kerala Trip Part 7 - Rajamalai, Munnar & then back home

2010-06-18T21:12:00.001+05:30

Day 6 (contd)

Links to Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4 ,Part5 and Part6

The first (and the last) stop was Rajamalai wild life sanctuary. The mountain covered with green grasslands is a sight to behold. A spectacular sight !

This park was established to protect the endangered Tahr (rare mountain goat). And also famous for the unique species of flower, Neelakurinji, that blooms once in 12 years.

The buses from the base take you only up to a certain point. And from there on, we need to walk up the hill for a couple of kilo meters before one can sight a Tahr. But Tahr, or no Tahr, the walk up the hill is fantastic and a real paradise :) Beautiful environment and the park surroundings were clean as well. I was very impressed with the maintenance of the park. No littering and no plastics. It was a welcome change :)

All these are shots from various vantage points from the hike !

And the Tahr...

We saw 2 of them actually, but at different spots

And then, it was time to return to Chennai. Our flight to Chennai was at 8:00PM from Coimbatore and we had ample time to reach Coimbatore from Munnar. The route again was scenic and here are some of the scenes! The only stop was for lunch at Udumalpet!

And Jillu again experimenting with her favorite new hat, albeit inside the car :). We had fun during the long drive : singing all her rhymes, songs, idle chit chat, games and what not:)

And then, it was time to board the plane and return to Chennai.

She had to do it ! Didn't let us touch the cart :)

I shall leave you with this image of the little cart pusher at the airport.

Kerala Trip Part 6 - Munnar

2010-06-17T13:12:00.001+05:30

Day 5 (contd)

Links to Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4 and Part5

The travel from Thekkady to Munnar was a great scenic route in the hilly region. The mountains look as though a beautiful green carpet has been laid meticulously on it :) However, it was the worst part of the tour for me as I was car/travel sick (in spite of the slow driving among the hair pin bends by the expert driver). It was a wonder that I had managed for so many days and it had to happen some time! But the good thing about was that the travel was slow with various small stops and hence we got some more time to enjoy the view as well. Here are some shots along the way

On the way to Munnar...

We stopped to have a look at the breathtaking scenery of Anayirangal Dam, surrounded by lush green carpet of tea, coffee plantations

Once we reached Munnar, we stopped for lunch. The driver was most helpful (he had made enquiries before hand for a good vegetarian hotel at every stop) and once again, the food was good. Jillu got her dose of yummy fresh curd as well :)

And, then we went to the Tea Museum. The package starts with a small movie showing the back ground/history of how tea plantations originated in Munnar and their evolution over the period till date. The movie was then followed by a quick explanation of how tea is made from start to finish and then a demo of the same. We were allowed to watch the whole process as well in the factory below :)

Car park outside the museum

View from the car park :

And then, the next stop was an interesting and thrilling stop:)

The Elephant ride : We had a nice half hour trip into the jungle, though it took some time to adjust to the awkward jostling movement every step. Jillu was alternately scared and thrilled during the entire trip. Once we were into the ride we (the adults) were engulfed with a feeling of guilt for burdening the animal. But we could not do anything else at that point. On a casual talk with the assistant, we got to know that these elephants were capable of and in fact were being used to carry much more weight on a daily basis for several other purposes as well ! We felt even more sorry for the elephant and this extra info, in no way eradicated our guilt.

Jillu loved feeding (corns and pine apples) the Appu :)

Our next stop was the famous Maatupatty dam. This again was a fantastic spot with lovely scenery. Aren't these lovely ?

The dam :

And look. What have we got here for Jillu ? How izz it ??? A nice pose ? :)

And then it was time to retire for the night with this beautiful sight overlooking from our balcony at the hotel

Day 6 :

And woke up to this view from the same balcony in the early morning

After breakfast, we checked out of the hotel and proceeded on our way to Rajamalai, the last stop in Munnar before starting the return trip to Chennai

Rajamalai and return trip to be covered in the next part...

We were shaken !!!

2010-06-14T15:22:00.005+05:30

In the early hours of Sun morning ! The feeling was like no other ! The ground actually shifted beneath us !

And this is how we realized it !

(Click the pic for an enlarged image)

We felt the tremor in 2 phases. The first was just about for 5 secs, but the second tremor (after 5 mins or so) lasted for 15-20 seconds.

I find it difficult to describe our feelings during the 5 minute span. "In awe" could be the best word to explain those moments.

For more details on the earthquake, you could visit here

How about you guys in Chennai ? did you feel it as well? I think i felt it only bcoz I was awake. I wouldn't have known if I had been asleep.

Originals, Adaptations, Remix - All for Tulika Blogathon-4

2010-06-11T13:15:00.003+05:30

Hi guys !!!

How have you all been?This blog is being revived from its dormant state, thanks to Tulika :)

I couldn't resist submitting an entry for Tulika's Blogathon-4

Our home resonates with several rhymes and songs in both English and Tamil, some very well known , some long forgotten and some new ones !

Apart from the common Tamil ones like

1. Kaakkaa kannukku mai kondaa

2. Annai Annai, Azhagar Annai

3. Nila, Nila, odi vaa

here are some others that are part of our daily routine

4. Ammaa inge vaa vaa

Aasai mutham thaa, thaa

ilaiyil soru pottu

eeyai dhoora ottu

Meaning :

Amma, please come here

Give me a loving kiss

Serve food in a plate and

whoosh/flick away the flies

~~~~~~~~~~~

5. I guess this one does not have any theme, just rhyming words

Adho paaru kaakaa

kadaiyila vikkudhu seeka

ponnu varaa shokkaa

yezhundu poda mookaa

Meaning :

See there's a crow

Shop sells seekai (herbal powder for washing hair)

A girl comes smartly dressed

Get up and go, you big nosed fella

~~~~~~~~~~~

6. This is about a tiger chasing goats

Changili bungili kadahava thara

naan maaten venga puli

aaattu kuttiya kandeengalaa?

kandom

Yenge?

Vettukulle

Varalaamaa ?

Vara koodadhu

Transliteration :

Changili bungili, please open the door

I will not, tiger

Did you see the goats?

yes, we did

Where?

Inside the home

Can I come in ?

No. You shall not.

~~~~~~~~~~~

And there are some cine songs (old is gold) which my dad sings to Jillu :). Jillu loves it and she demands us to sing these songs all the time. Not only that, now, she sings them as well (just missing a word here and there )! And it so lovely and cute to hear her sing these !

chinna paapaa yenga chella paapaa

sonna pechaa kaetta dhaan nalla paapaa

chinna paapaa yenga chella paapaa

thinna unakku cheeni mittai vaangi tharatumaa?

silk chattai, cheena bommai, balloon venumaa?

kanaaa moochi aattam unakku solli tharatumaa?

appo gala gala-nu sirichukitte yennai paarumaa

Meaning :

Oh, little baby, you are our cherished baby

Only if you obey, you are a good baby

Shall i buy you sweet chocies to eat?

Do you want silk shirts, China dolls and balloon?

Shall I teach you to play hide and seek?

Then, laugh aloud merrily (gala-gala-nu) and look at me !

~~~~~~~~~~~

once a pappa met a mammaa in a little tourist bus

yennadi paapaa, sonnadhu doopa ? kannam sivandhudhu, what is this ?

my dear paapa, thalaiyil topa, what about the hair oil?

evening duty, yennadi beauty ? meet me in the boat mail !

Meaning :

once a pappa met a mammaa in a little tourist bus

What baby? did you lie ? your cheeks are red, what is this ?

my dear paapa, there's a topi on yr head, what about the hair oil? (meaning he's bald :) and I just love the way Jillu says "whaaat-aboot-the-hairoil")

Hey beauty, What's your evening duty? meet me in the boat mail !

~~~~~~~~~~~

Apart from these, my dad is very well known for modifying lyrics, keeping the tune and the rhyme intact. I just love the way he does that sooo spontaneously with reference to the
context on the fly. The below are some that he came up with that stuck in our house hold and is sung as any other song or rhyme :). In fact, we sing only the new version :) and for some, we do not even know the original one. I had to do some research and grill my dad to get the original. Especially for the first entry below, I knew only the last line (4th line) before this post :)

Adaptations

---------------

Film : Karnan

Song :

Naani chivandhadhu, maadhalaar kangal

Naadu thorum, Nadandhu chivandhadhu paavalar kaalgal

Nar-porulai thedi chivandhadhu gnaaniyar nejam

Dhinam koduthu chivandhadhu karna maamannar thriru karame

Meaning :

Lady's eyes are red owing to shyness

Poet's feet are red owing to roaming the country by foot

Scholar's heart is red owing to the endless search for knowledge

And Raja Karnan's hands are red owing to lending people on a daily basis

My dad always chooses the last line's tune for his twists and turns

Adaptation for Jillu: "vaayil kaiyai pottu chivandhadhu kutti Jillu-vin kaatta virale"

Meaning : Little Jillu's thumb is red owing to the endless thumb sucking

I still remember his adaptation for me when I was a kid

Adaptation for me: "Appichi kaettu chivandhdhu kutti Lavan-in vaayaame"

Meaning: Little Lavan's mouth is red owing to mouthing endless demands of Appichi (home made snacks )

~~~~~~~~~~~

2. This is pretty simple and straight forward :) Still Jillu likes it, even though its pretty far fetched :)

Song : Gandhi yai pol oru, Shaantha saroobiyai Kaanbadhum yelidhaamo

Meaning : Its hard to find a soothing or calm soul other than Gandhi ji

Adaptation : Jillu vai pol oru shaantha saroobiyai kaanbadhum yelidhaamo

Transliteration: Its hard to find a soothing or calm soul other than Jillu

~~~~~~~~~~~

3. This is a rhyme with no meaning/theme again, just random words to get the tongue rolling. But my Fav:)

Oh, Onnara davara don

Often Koften Muski don

Kullan Kallan 21

Ahh, Ooh, May, Black

Black ka thooki mela potttaa chettiyaar veetula Nandu

Nanda thooki mela pottaa Nagarathna paambu

Paamba thooki mela potta, panjavarna Kili

And my dad added here for Jillu's sake

Kiliya thooki mela pottaa, Lavan vettula Jillu

Jillu thooki mela pottaa, thaathaa veetula paati and so on and on, we can say whatever we wish with various twists and turns :) Jillu loves this so much :)

Transliteration :

The first 4 lines are just jargons, no real meaning to the best of my knowledge

Line 5 onwards:

If the black is thrown upwards, then there's crab in chettiyar's house

If the crab is thrown upwards, then there's a poisonous snake

If the snake is thrown upwards, then there's a parrot

And my dad's addendum:

If the parrot is thrown upwards, then there's Jillu in Lavan's house

if Jillu is thrown upwards, there's grand mom in grand pa's house and

so on and on! keep making up and have fun !

~~~~~~~~~~~

4. And this one I love the most, because Jillu coined it herself spontaneously the first time my dad sang the titbit to her

Film: Maayaajal

Song :

Thathom thom thana, thom thom thana,

Thaali katta varuvaanaa?

Meaning : Will he come to tie the knot (thaali) amidst drums and music

Jillu immediately sang, "Thooli katta varuvaanaa?" the moment my dad finished singing.

Meaning : Will he come to tie the thooli (babies crib made out of cloth, that generally hangs from the ceiling) ?

And now its a habit for us to sing the original version and Jillu to complete her line and she says it with such glee :). She loves it :) and we love it too :)

~~~~~~~~~~~

Thank you, Tulika for giving me this wonderful opportunity to share these cherished moments:) It never struck me to write a post on these adaptations ! Now that I have, I wonder how I missed it !

And while writing this post, I realized how difficult it was to translate without compromising the meaning :) and brought home the truth of the wonderful job that Tulika is doing with the bi-lingual books !

Well done and Thank you Tulika !

Kerala Trip Part 5 - Thekkady

2010-05-28T16:35:00.000+05:30

Day 4 (contnd)

Links to Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4

From the houseboat, we headed for Thekkady. The journey was uphill and the scenery was beautiful with mountains, tress and tea estates as went along. The 3 1/2 journey was peaceful and non-eventful

Once we reached Thekkady, we checked in at our hotel and had a quick lunch there. Here, each room has been designed as a cottage and I loved the idea very much :). Here are some shots of the hotel that we stayed in

And they had Jhulaas and merry go rounds for the kids as well. Such a lovely thought, isn't it ? But we didn't have time to let Jillu play then as we had to hurry for the boat cruise in the Periyar Wild life sanctuary. We wanted to take the 2:00 PM boat trip but by the time we reached there, the booking was closed for the 2:00Pm slot. So we had to wait for the next trip at 4:00 Pm.

Inside the sanctuary near by the lake

And the boat we were about to take. We got a seat in the upper deck, fortunately

Jillu refused to wear the life jacket. No amount of persuasion and cajoling helped. In the end we let it be.

And then, once the cruise began, initially we didn't spot anything. And then, far away, we could spot lots of deer and wild buffalo. We were told that we would be very lucky if we saw elephants, but that didn't look like happening. And then just as the boat was about to start the return journey, the guide pointed to a direction and there far away into the jungle, there were exactly 5 elephants :)
I was glad we had paid the video camera fees and taken it with us,as without it we could not have spotted anything. The camera zoom was not sufficient and the video camera acted as a binocular for us. So i dont have any pics of any of the animals that we spotted. I am yet to download the videos from the disc :(.

And then, after the boating, we went to a Kalari show. To say, I was amazed is an understatement. The show was really superb and we marvelled at their skill. Here are some of the pics that I managed to click. They were so fast that its a wonder that i caught some of these...

And look at this guy trying to pick up the flower with his mouth

And there, he caught it

And a guy jumped through these fire hooks. I couldn't time the shot right

We came out zapped and amazed at the performance.

And then, after a mini shopping of spices and dinner, we went back to the hotel for the night.

Day 5 :

We got up early next morning and then Jillu was thrilled when we allowed her to play in the jhoola and merry go around in the hotel :)

And then after breakfast (Jillu didn't have much :( ) we packed our bags and left for Munnar

To be continued..

Kerala Trip Part 4 - The Sunset and the Rise

2010-05-21T09:15:00.005+05:30

Day 3 (contd)

Links to Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3

After the relaxing cruise, when the dusk dawned, we were all set to enjoy the view of the setting sun. The boat was anchored for the night and we got down to roam on a similar tiny stretch of land ( with a couple of houses) that we had been witnessing all day long (thats called a village by the way :) ) to enjoy an interrupted view from the trees. When the crew told us, we would stop in a village for the night, I was imagining at least a very very small town with a few or a couple of acres of land at least:). My mistake :). We didn't think of it much when the crew men didn't know the name of the village we would be stopping by for the night :) when we questioned them. Again, our slip :) But we were not at all disappointed, more amused and got an entirely different perspective :).

Initially, the sun was obscured by the clouds and I was hoping and praying that it would clear away !
I couldn't bear bad luck again (we could not enjoy sun rise from the Tiger hills due to bad weather when we had been to Darjeeling 3 years back :( )

But then, it slowly started to clear away and i was thanking my lucky stars now :)

And the view was superb :) The photography does not really do justice to the actual settings !

And I thought thats the end of it ! But Sriram differed and asked me to wait and watch some more ! And he was so right ! The best was yet to come !

And I love the next 2 pics :) the besstt acc to me !

And at last... and I loathed to see it go away :(

Then, we went back to our boat and passed the time playing with Jillu till dinner time. The only drawback was the presence of mosquito and other insects in the open deck(but we were safe from that in the closed confines of the bedroom). I felt much better after I put on full hand sleeves and pant for Jillu! She was so excited that she hadn't had her afnoon nap that day ! So dinner was fast and she was asleep as well in no time !

And then, just when we started our dinner, it started raining accompanied with strong wind. The atmosphere was amazing . A dark night with no artificial lighting, marooned on a small patch of land with endless stretch of water on all sides, with the sound of the wind and the rain slashing against the boat and the boat rocking under their influence!

And I went to bed with all these scenes playing over in my mind and looking forward to an equally good view of sun rise as well !

And here are the pics of the sunrise the next day !!!

Day 4

The beautiful Sun rise

And I so love this pic as well !

Through the glass from the boat's corridor !

After these glorious hours in the boat, it was time for breakfast and the next leg of our journey ! Needless to say, I hated to leave the boat.

The boat left us in Kumarakom and our trusted car driver who left us in Allepey had come to pick us up promptly !

The rest of Day 4 to be covered in the next part..

Upside Down !

2010-05-17T12:25:00.002+05:30

Have you ever tried hanging upside down ? Ever been in that position long enough to observe how the world would look upside down ? The answer may be "No" unless you are a Yoga specialist :). or some other such expert!

Kids love to do that, hang upside down! At least for a very short duration going by my minimal observation of the youth on monkey bars at the park and play grounds!

T.R Rajesh tries to do just that in the unique book - "Upside Down". He portrays the world upside down in a very clear and colorful manner. He brings to life the common, every day scenes from rural Kerala excellently. The illustrations are superb! Elephants, cows, boat, young girls/boys and many more are easily recognizable from an upside down position even to a toddler !

Edited to Add : At the outset, as you turn the pages, you get the impression that the book is all about images turned upside down ! But then, the twist in the tale is revealed in the last page turning it into a mini story book :)

This (twist in the tale, revealed in the last page) makes the book an interesting read along with the value addition to the kid's general knowledge!

A bilingual book from Tulika! Originally in Malayalam

Author (Story and Pics) : T.R Rajesh

Suitable for Age : 3+

Image Courtesy : Tulika

I received this book for participating in Tulika's first blogathon. My choice of language was Tamizh and hence I received the English- Tamizh combination of this bilingual book. The original version was in Malayalam.

The bilingual text needs a special mention here. The choice of words are so simple and concise yet completely adequate to describe the scene ! And this applies for both the languages! The translation is complete and simple yet again without compromising the meaning! Kids could learn one language through the other, however they choose to.

My experience of the book with my daughter :

I was excited when I received this book as I could try reading to my daughter immediately even though she is just 2+. She could easily identify some of the upside down pics quickly on her own, while others needed my intervention and help. She was fascinated when I explained to her about the upside-down concept :). However, she is yet to understand the final twist in the tale and the ultimate learning from the story. But that doesn't prevent her from wanting to read the book again :)

I am sure this book will be in use for more than a couple of years in our house hold as this book has a lot of offer :) - be it the ambience and culture of Kerala, the colorful world seen upside down and not to forget the so simple,yet powerful bi-lingual text.

Thank you Tulika :)

P.S:

This is my first book review. Would really appreciate if you could kindly take time to let me know your comments/feedback (+ve and -ve) about my review.

We made it at last !

2010-05-14T23:54:00.004+05:30

Me and my Buddy (right from school) C !

We had been talking about it for so long. For almost 3 or 4 months, we meant to get together and take our kids out somewhere and be together ! We were not too ambitious. We were not planning on spending the whole day together or something (though it would be wonderful to ). We just wanted to got out in the evening for a couple of hours. Me with Jillu and she with her 2 kids.

You might wonder what's the big deal ? I might have wondered too, if I had not been one of the affected parties! Getting 3 kids together is never easy, is the lesson learnt ! Why you ask ?

We talk about it and everything is set! what happens ? The youngest gets a diaper rash ! OK, lets plan another day ! The next turn is our own Jillu who develops a bad cold ! Now, I cant let Jillu infect the other two, right ? OK.So, lets drop the plan again ! By now, our enthu has waned off and life takes over again ! After some weeks, the eldest got to know about our plans and it was his turn next ! So off goes again !

And then ,with no planning, nothing, I just simply called her yesterday morning and checked up on her plans !And voila ! After a couple of hurried phone calls and checks, we made it !

We went to Abirami's mall and took the kids to KIDS WORLD ! Though it was not as good as I expected (they could have had more games for the kids), it was a pleasant change for the kids and less expensive when compared to other gaming zones ! The kids enjoyed themselves ! Its a half an hour slot with a fixed entry fee (Rs 50) ! Once in, all games are unlimited and one can spend as much or as little time as one wants on a particular game ! (The games being stuff like, merry go round, swing, slides, piggy ride, etc for small kids ! No video games and other games for older kids).
I liked this concept much better than other places where we have to shell out money every time for each ride !

And then, we also went to the dashing car, me with Jillu and C with her elder kid ! I was quite sure that my car would stay put where ever it was for the entire 4 or 5 mins duration, this being my first time and all. I was also skeptical with Jillu being beside me ! But surprise, surprise, the car did move and I even managed to DASH against others (well! others were trying to avoid me , but i still dashed! but lets forget that, ok ? :) ). But Jillu got scared and she wanted out !. With half my attention being with her, I did more than I expected to :)

After that, it was time for some chai and pop corns in the food court and then head back home ! All in all, a good evening well spent !

Now that the ice breaker is over, may be we will be able to get together more often mm? I really hope so !

Kerala Trip Part 3 - The Backwater cruise!

2010-05-12T16:31:00.003+05:30

Day 3 (contd) :

Links to Part 1 and Part 2

To say the backwater cruising was amazing would be a major understatement. We completely enjoyed the very novel experience (to us). We also had a very pleasing and attentive crew on board.

We were first welcomed with fresh tender coconut water. It was so gratifying after the heat :)

Soon after that, we gradually settled in and slowly started to unwind and needless to say, the atmosphere was absolutely wonderful and did exactly that.. helped us relax..

After an hour of cruising, the boat was anchored for lunch. I believe, it is a rule to stop and not to cruise while having food. The food was absolutely delicious. The preference for food (veg/ non veg) should be communicated in advance. We were ravenous and all of us including Jillu devoured the food :).

The menu:

3 kinds of veggie dishes each with combination of several vegetables

Sambar again with a lot of veggies

Rice

Pappad.

Fresh and thick Curd, just the way Jillu loves it :)

As all 3 of us are veggie lovers, the lunch was simple, but delicious :)

And then, with food induced drowsiness, it was heaven to just laze around and enjoy nature's beauty at its best ! The calm waters, the peaceful silence only interrupted now and then by chirping birds, the lovely greenery that is so soothing to the eyes and endless water everywhere all around you.. Need I go on ?

I will just allow it to seep into you through these images !

Get ready, Sit back, relax and enjoy the visual treat ! And better still, imagine you are in the boat and just sink it in!

See the Clothes line between the trees ? :)

And, oops ! sorry for the interruption ! But just wanted to say that this infinite endless tiny stretch of land with trees is totally man made ! Absolutely marvelous isn't it ? All the plantation in the midst of the back waters is man made !

And what you see above is a boat station ! Apparently, there are regular ferry services to carry people from one place to another !

And while we were taking in the serene beauty of the back waters, what else did we do ?

We waved "Hi" to several neighbors who happened to share our surroundings and who passed by us

I was so scared for the kiddo ! But they obviously weren't !

And then, Sriram thought of the lovely idea of making boats for Jillu. So, ahem, yours truly, (naane dhaan) rose to the occasion and made small paper boats!

We let the boats one by one into the water

and watched them whoosh away!

And guess what ? daughter and Dad got to drive the boat as well ! So lucky na !

And Jillu got to play with her fav puzzles a well !

And then it was time for the crew to find a place to anchor the boat for the night as the dusk was settling in slowly!

Continue to watch this space for the beautiful sun set in the next part !

Kerala Trip Part 2 - Introducing the HouseBoat

2010-05-08T01:28:00.003+05:30

Day 3 :

We planned to set out at 7:30 AM as we planned to reach Allepey (by car) by around 11:30 at the max, bearing in mind the delays and a stop for refreshments. Day 3's itinerary was to reach Allepey and take the house boat from Allepey and travel to Kumarakom. But, as is always the case, we were late and could start only by 8:00 AM.

My aunt, again pitched in, and in spite of my denials and the early hours packed "Fried Idlis", fresh curd and "Panagam" (a thirst quenching drink made out of Jaggery, lemon, cardamom and dry ginger).

The drive to Allepey was uneventful and Jillu happily napped for an hour on the way till we took a break. The poor girl was very co-operative throughout the trip, sleeping when she could in the car and nodding off early at nights due to tiredness. This suited us very well indeed :)

The traffic was heavy and as there were only 2 lanes, progress was slow and we could reach the jetty only by 12;15 or so. (Our check in time at the house boat was 11:45 to 12:00 noon). By the time we settled in and we could move on to the next leg of our journey, it was way past 12:30.

I had not seen the boat before booking and I was slightly anxious, even though I knew I could trust my aunt as she had made the reservations. But, there was absolutely no cause for worries and everything was wonderful and to our satisfaction !

In this post, I plan to take you through a virtual tour of the boat and all its facilities. But, before I do that, I wish to share the details of this package

The houseboat cruise took us from Allepey to Kuamrakom. So, check in at Allepey at 12:00 noon and check out the next day morning 9:00 AM at Kumarakom. The package comes with lunch, snacks, dinner and breakfast, in that order. After cruising along till 5:30 PM or 6:00 PM, the boat anchors at an isolated spot for the night. All meals will be provided on board. We can enjoy the lovely sight of sun set and sun rise :) from vantage points. In the morning, after breakfast, the boat leaves you at Kumarakom. And the A/C is switched on only at night and not during the day time.

More info on houseboats : The house boat comes equipped with a kitchen, living room and bedroom with attached toilet. There are single bedroom, 2,3,4 or even 5 bedroom houseboats with upper deck and all. We can book any of them based on our need. There are various travel agencies who flourish in this. As is the case for hotels and other facilities, from our side, it is always good to plan and do some ground work for verifying the quality and authenticity before signing up with one. I was lucky I skipped this part as my aunt took care of it :)

Note : The backwater cruise can also be taken from Kumarakom to Allepey. Other option is not to stay overnight in the houseboat. Only cruising packages without boarding are also available.

Now, without further ado, I shall show you the boat house which was our home for a day and a night.

The house boat that we traveled in !

What you see is actually a 2 bed room house boat ! I had booked for a single bedroom only! But we were given a 2 bedroom because I think they did not have a single free on that day! But we made sure to use only 1 bedroom.

The entrance to the boat is through the living room and the dining area. You can see the door open there!

The decor on the ceiling of the living room

And then on closer look,

There's a CFL inside the lantern :). How interesting ! Its a pity that I did not notice this while on the houseboat:( I noticed only after I uploaded the pics to my comp after coming home. Too soon eh ? :)

The driver seat on the deck :)

The corridor from the living area takes you to bedrooms and the kitchen. The orange life jackets are clearly visible there

Entrance to the bedroom on the right side of the corridor,

Inside the bedroom,

The view from the bedroom

Further down the corridor after our bedroom is a wash area

A closer look,

Further down is the second bedroom which we did not use. We shall peek in there. Shall we ?

And further down is the kitchen at the rear

And then the rear of the boat...

And this pic shows how the house boat looks cruising along in the back waters! This is a pic of another similar boat as we could not take a shot of our own :)

Hope you enjoyed this tour of the house boat. You can expect more and more pics of the scenery and what Jillu's family were up to in the up coming parts :)

Kerala Trip Part I - Trivandrum

2010-05-04T17:44:00.004+05:30

The Planning :

The whole trip was planned in a jiffy, a matter of 2 days. The initial plan was to have been in the last week of April or first week of May, but then we had to attend a couple of important functions (engagement/weddings) which could not be skipped. (Hey, newly engaged buddy, I hope you are reading this! If so, please make note :) ) And later part of May was not feasible for various reasons as well. So the trip was advanced and we just had a weekend to make all the arrangements and the bookings. Thankfully, my aunt (Athai) is in Kovalam and hence we could take her help as well. She was a great help :). She took care of booking the car for the whole tour, arranged a wonderful driver and also took care of charting the route for us :) Thank you, Athai, so much for all your help, in spite of your very busy and hectic schedule! But I wonder if you will ever have time to read this ! And then, it was left to us booking airline tickets to and fro and hotels online. I would have loved to travel by train, that would have been a wonderful experience for Jillu as well ! But that has to got to wait for the next time, as we cannot imagine getting train tickets in 2 days, that too in summer holidays, even in dreams.

As we had only short time, we could not think too much and there were a lot of firsts for Jillu in the upcoming days! I just hoped she would cope well with all that came ! And I was also fairly confident that between me and Sriram, somehow we would handle whatever came up !

The D Day:

Jillu, needless to say, was very excited about the BIGGGGGG taataa and was eagerly awaiting for it ! Our first leg of the journey was to Trivandrum by flight. This is a first for Jillu, the flying experience! Our flight was scheduled to depart at 2:30 in the afnoon and we planned to leave the house only at 12:00 noon or so.

On the day of the departure, she kept saying right from the morning till we started

"mani aachu...9:45 aachu... taataa ponum.. seekiram ". (Hurry up. Its late. Its 9:45 am, Need to go taataa)

The Bon Voyage (for Jillu):

On the way to the airport, we prepared her for the take off and the landing. Talked to her about loud noises, the seat belts and the need for cotton buds in the ear etc. (though I personally do not need them, I thought it is better for the kid).

Once we reached the airport and it was time for baggage screening and check-in, I pointed her to the machine for baggage screening - both as a distraction (as she was extremely worried that her dresses were being taken away) and to teach her new things :). She was completely taken in and was fascinated by the procedure.

And thus emerged her standard dialogue : "ulla poittu, velila vandhudhu...chhoiiiiinnnu vandhudhu" (In it went and came out !!!)

Take off : I needn't have worried at all ! It was a breeze for her and she enjoyed herself by playing with the cotton balls. In-->Out-->In-->Out of the ear. She alternately wanted them plugged in and the next minute wanted them out ! This became a game :)

After the take off, she dozed off on my lap for an hour :)

Landing : we woke her up for the landing and the same game with the cotton balls continued :). Once at the Trivadrum airport, we were waiting for our baggage and we could see that her fascination had not waned at all.. take a look at her eagerly waiting for her baggage and her dresses, of course !

Trivandrum :

We landed at Trivandrum and from there it was a 40minutes drive to Kovalam.My aunt stays there and we had a wonderful time in Kovalam. Where else ? at the beach...

First, look at the pics of Arabian sea taken in kovalam

Needless to say, we all had a wonderful time at the beach and the water :). Mom and daughter were fully drenched amidst loads of fun :)

Day 2 :

The next day, our first stop was the famous Padmanabhaswamy temple. The Lord is in a reclining position and is viewed through 3 different doors.The head and torso is visible through the first opening. The midriff and hands are visible through the second door and the feet are visible through the third door.The temple is huge and beautiful and is till date headed and maintained by the royal family of Travancore.

On the way to the temple, we saw this fantastic sight on the road and I was busy clicking from our car. I had just about half a sec really as the car was speeding away

I was completely taken in by my frenzy in clicking snaps and then only later realized that they were not real elephants. But were dummies! Sriram told me that they were all in sync when they were waving their trunks and hence they could not be real and then we saw the ad (Note the middle one)

Our next visit was to the Trivandrum Zoo. Jillu, when she first heard the term 'Zoo', kept linking it to 'zu-zu', the famous vodafone caricatures. We had to really instill in her that we will not be seeing zu-zu over there, but will be seeing a lot of animals and birds. I don't think she got it though, then :)

Now, on to the snaps ..

Most of the enclosures were heavily wired and the animals were too far for the camera's range. Hence we couldn't get good pics of many.

Apart from these, we saw hippopotamus, varieties of snakes, parrots, love birds, crocodiles, leopard, bats

The heat and humidity was more when compared to chennai and Jillu, quite understandably, got very tired and insisted on being lifted. The poor girl had walked quite a lot, already. Fortunately, we were nearing the exit and a tired family went back to the car to have a good lunch in the city. Post the lunch, Jillu slept in the car while we were on our way to another beach, Varkala.

The beach was splendid! Jillu, as is her habit, woke up just as soon as the car stopped in Varkala (the sound of the car engine is Thalaatu for her ). She was initially hesitant in getting into the water as she was still sleepy, but later on cheered up and joined the game :). But we restrained her this time and did not let go fully because we did not have alternate outfits in the car.

And then it is back home to my aunt's place for a wonderful dinner and sleep.

The next day was an early start and we had to be up and ready early..

To be continued ..

Vacation Time..

2010-04-21T09:54:00.000+05:30

Jillu & Co are at last off to a vacation for a week. This is the first official vacation for Jillu and the first one for the family as well after Jillu 's birth.

So we are all off this afternoon. Its a vacation planned in a jiffy, so hopefully everything should go well and Jillu should enjoy herself !

See you all after a week and take care till then! :)

will come back and meet you all with updates and photos to share :)

Dear Jillu,

2010-04-16T22:31:00.011+05:30

A note of caution: This is a lengthy post and I have not made any effort to curb it! So go ahead only if you are game!

Kannamma, you are growing up so fast that it is totally unbelievable. Where have these past 2 1/4 years gone? Its gone by just like that before we could bat an eyelid.

You are acting so grown up these days,

Wanting to eat on your own and you do that as well, only its very messy and you got to learn the fine arts. But for now you are doing a great job and we are all proud of you. Ironically you don't want to eat dosa/chapathi by yrself. You want me to feed you that :)

Wanting to drink from a tumbler on your own. You have practised that so well by now. Only you still want to drink your Clompan (Complan) in your sipper. I donno why you want to do that, but I leave it at that and I am secretly happy about it. And the way you learnt is so unique! Our own water bottles were not safe from you ! Why, even our water can that we buy is not safe from you (yeah! you can very well reach it and we have no other higher place to keep it out of your reach)! You still take great delight in opening the water can tap yourself, fill the tumbler and then drink! Dont think we donno that you say you are thirsty only because you just want to open the tap!

Wanting to drink using a straw but could not ! It was so endearing to see you try and get frustrated in the restaurant that day because you were only blowing bubbles and nothing was coming in :). I thought this will take some time to crack but you disappointed me ! yes ! In BOTH ways ! One, you learnt how to, in the third attempt itself and crossed yet another milestone so soon and the second, I was not there when you learnt that :(. We were all in the hospital for your grandma and when I was with your paati in the room, you coolly decided to succeed, with yr dad and thaathaa looking on ! You were not being fair, Pattu.

Wanting to pick up every phone call that comes in, irrespective of the person or your familiarity with him/her. And you do it too, with such cool aplomb that the person at the other end is shell shocked and is rendered speechless for a moment at hearing you speak so boldly and ask so loudly "Nee yeppo vare?" (When are you coming?) . I think we should control this aspect of you, lest you invite trouble home :). And god forbid if any one else picks up the landline at home. (yeah!, we can kind of escape with the mobile) You see to it that we cannot complete even a simple exchange that we automatically ask (sorry, beg!) the caller to hang up and call again so that you can pick it up. Yeah this did happen! But you have a quick learner in yr mom and she knows how to behave from then on ! Only she won't think (or rather turn a blind eye, sorry blind ear, no no, deaf ear, ooopppsss atlast) of the plight of other callers who do not know of yr existence ! well, thats their fate, isn't it ?

Your memory power is increasing day by day and i see you co relating so many things that its amazing. You are able to recollect past events and re produce it as well. You understand a lot more things and you are also starting to get the bigger picture. For instance you understand that my mom and dad do not stay here always and that they have their own home. It pains me every time you show me that you understand more than we gave you credit for. (And it also really pains me when you start talking about some character in a serial with my mom and also say that "Adhu vera serial". Serious concern, this is ! )

You are completely potty trained( well, you have been for almost over a year now!) but still not susu trained ! I am still pondering whether I should be happy about it or not :) But you are so cute when you say "Nee varaadha yenna? bathroom ku ? ingeye wait pannu" (Do not come to the bath room. Wait here) at those times when we urge you to use the loo. This is one milestone that I wouldn't mind you crossing any sooner. Yeah, I know you are thinking that there's no pleasing me ! If you do, its bad and if you don't do also, its bad! But, what to do, thats your Amma and you got to live with that :)

And your communication ! its mind blowing ! the way you speak and communicate is so advanced ! (Or am i biased?) You have gone so far as to ask me
- when something dropped on the floor, "Nee dhoppi pottiyaa illa adhuvaa vizhundhudhaa?" (Did you drop it on the floor or did it fall on its own ?)
- when I browse the net "Ne jillu ku yenna panni tharalaam nu yosikiriyaa? (Are you thinking what to cook for Jillu ?)" (when you see some fancy pics with food stuffs - those are called recipes, dear)

I can go on and on.. about you wearing your sandals on your own, playing on the slide on your own, washing your hands on your own and so on and so forth. Every passing minute, every day, reinforces the fact that you are growing up fast, that I am not able to (dont want to) catch up with you.

SO what do i do for my own sanity?

I dont correct you when you say "vikkal varudhu" (I have hiccups) when in fact what you should be saying is "Dhaagam yedukkardhu" (I am thirsty)
I don't correct you when you say "Clompan" for "Complan"
I don't correct you when you say "tsaw" for "straw"
I don't correct you when you get your rhymes lyrics incorrect
I don't object when you say "Amma kitta, Ammma madila" (Amma's lap) and then you eat your chapathi sitting on my lap while I feed you
I don't object that you still drink your milk/Complan from your sipper but use tumbler for all others
I dont enlighten you when you say "Adhukku mela tsaw la varaadhu" (I cant use the straw beyond this) when the glass is 3/4 empty and you proceed to drink straight from the glass
I sometimes don't enlighten you when you ask your never ending set of questions! :(
I dont even attempt to change your bed time routine! I don't think I can withstand right now if you outgrow the habit of crawling and rolling all over me and finally settling down on me to sleep!

You are my baby and I have always looked at you as an extension of me and thats what I see when i look at you ! Yet, lately, I also see (force myslef to) you becoming your own person with your own individuality ! A person with your own mind ! And thats when it tears me apart !!! Because I have to let go ! I want to protect you from all the hurt, the disappointments, the ugliness in this world both now and for ever! But I know thats very selfish of me and I wouldn't be doing justice to you as well! I know that I have to let go, at all appropriate times, at each stage. I know that I have to grow up as well along with you and match you each step of the way!

And on a lighter note,

Just when these thoughts are running riots in my mind, and while I am valiantly trying to tell myself to learn to let go and lecturing myself, what do you do? you upset the whole proceedings by making me watch Yosada clinging to Krishna and refusing to let him go to Mathura!!! You are innocently lying on my lap with no worries, completely unaware of my internal thoughts and struggle, leaving me to deal with the one-on-one scene between Krishna and Yasoda, where Yasoda out pours and bestows all her maternal love on him and exactly echoes my own thoughts and feelings (Pal ooti, thaalaati, seeraati and all that mushy stuff). I didn't need that dosage right then, Jillu ! Any other time, I am sure I could have handled it !

And to cap it all, you suddenly turn, look at me and ask me "Nee azhariyaa Amma ?" (Are you crying, Amma?)

Award Time !

2010-04-13T22:31:00.001+05:30

Its been a long time since this blog got any attention from its owner, what with the owner being too occupied with 'n' number of things and also managing a highly active toddler !

But somethings cannot be ignored and this is one !

AJCL has awarded me the Blogger Buddy Award !!!! and this is my first Award :).

Thank you, AJCL. I am so glad to have known you and am just waiting to meet you guys :).

And I pass on the award to

CG, ssstoryteller, Varun's Mom, L_R, Pattu's Mom, Swetha

And what's more, Jillu has got an award as well ! The Beautiful Blogger Award !!! To know more abt it, view this page :)

Know "Me" Tag :)

2010-04-01T16:50:00.000+05:30

Uma has tagged me to write 7 things about me that you do not know about.

So here it is.....

1) I have traveled without, in bus, a couple of times - a long time back. There, I have said it. Admitted in public. My long time secret :)

2) I like to travel a lot, but i get sick immediately ( well, you might say an hour into the journey) if I travel by bus.

That very well takes care of my desire to travel, right? That said, yes, I still want to travel a lot, visit places that I have not been to.

3)I have always wanted to learn to play an instrument (mainly Veena, but something), but never got to do it :(

4) I hate milk, but love the by products of milk - curd, milk sweet, (esp the paalgoa ) very much. My dad always teases me about it. I never had plain milk even in my child hood days i believe. (And when I say milk, it includes Horlicks, complan , Boost and the likes.) My parents had to drink all the health drinks to complete the pack :). Yeah, they said so!

5) I wanted my baby to be a girl all through my pregnancy. But when I came to know that it was indeed a girl baby, (after I was brought to my room after C section under general anesthesia) my very first reaction was

"Oh, No. She is also bound to undergo the same agony that i did. It could have been a boy".

My MIL still teases me about it. But that was when i was under the influence of drugs at night. I over came it the very next day. :)

6)Am getting to be too absent minded. More like amnesia :(. Cant seem to remember what happened in the past. Even some important happenings. Its got to a stage where my dearest friend (right from school) reminded me of an incident from my past, from my life, that I had completely forgotten.

I think I should make better use of both of my blogs :) to compensate for this memory loss !

7) The biggest goof up of my life : I forgot to get my ECNR stamped in my passport before we left for our honeymoon. The result : We came back home from the airport to agreeably surprised/shocked parents & relatives.

All's well that ends well : We delayed the trip, postponed tickets, bookings et all, got a temporary stamping within a day and this time did manage to pass through the gates :)

Though it took some time to pin down the 7 points, I enjoyed doing it as it gave me the opportunity to reminisce about a lot of forgotten things and think about myself for a change :). Thank you Uma.

And I tag Anu, AJCL, Swaram, Swetha and CG, if you have not done it before.

And to anyone who wishes to take it up. :). Would love to read your list as well :)

Wow !!! Thank you Tulika !

2010-03-31T10:11:00.000+05:30

I am thrilled and I cant believe it !

I have won a prize book from Tulika for review !!! OK, OK. Winning is an exaggeration and the most in-appropriate word :). I participated in the first Tulika blogathon and Tulika has been extremely generous in deciding to give all the participants of the first blogathon a book for review !!! You can read my contribution to the blogathon here.

Thank you, Tulika ! :)

Its been a long time since I won any prize and even a participation award (esp if its a book) gives me a very warm feeling :)

I am excited and eagerly waiting for the book!

Watch this space for the upcoming review as well !

Kali Kaalam ! Kali Yug !

2010-03-25T00:27:00.001+05:30

I am not much of a temple going person. But I am not an atheist. I believe that there exists some super natural power that controls all of us and our lives. I just believe that you don't need to go to temple to pray to God. Praying and thinking about God can be done anywhere and everywhere. So my visits to the temple are less and they usually happen because my parents/MIL ask me to or during special occasions. But Thirumala is an exception here. Some how, that GOD, Venky as I call him , always manages to attract me and I seem to want to go there. But I digress here and this post is not about him.

However, as today happens to be "Sri Ram Navami" and also my dear husband's star (Tamizh) birthday and also that I am at home and not at work, I thought, why not ? Go to a temple today, take Jillu along and she will also find it a change.I checked with my mom and she was also ready to go.

The temple was crowded this evening, as expected. What I did not expect was my purse to be looted. Yes, I had a small purse only for holding cash (Today, there was about 400 to 500 Rs) inside my larger hand bag and suddenly i find that the my bag is wide open, my inner zip where the purse usually is, is also wide open and the small purse has vanished, just when i try to take out some change to be put in the "pooja" tray. I had the purse before I entered the temple for sure because I bought the "archana thattu" before entering the temple. I noticed that my purse had gone, almost after 20 mins or so after 1 round of the temple and we were waiting for the "archana" to get over. Of course, needless to say, retracing our path did not produce any desired results ( in case it had fallen by mistake) and the purse remained lost.

I am not sure exactly when and how it got lost. It might have happened when there was a crowd in one narrow corner of the temple when Jillu got sandwiched between a few people and I was trying to pull her towards me. Or it could have happened when the "Archana" was being performed and Jillu was constantly demanding me to carry her. I think the crowd got to her and she was unusually cranky the whole time there. She insisted of being only with me and did not even go to my Mom and I had to carry her as well.

And then after I complain to the manager of the temple, the manager comes back and generally announces to the crowd to be careful and that there already has been 3 such incidents reported. My GOD !!! Which means that definitely my purse has been stolen and not dropped by me by mistake.

We cannot be safe in the temple also these days? People CHOOSE to STEAL in temples? The place where people come to pour out their problems, to find peace, solace, to pray.

I have traveled by bus and train for so many god damn years and have never been looted. And after all these years, to be looted like this leaves a very bitter feeling. I have been brooding over this the whole of this evening and cant seem to get over it. Its not just the money. But what is the world coming to, if people are ready to cheat and steal in temples and holy shrines as well ? Where are we headed to ?

I am really concerned for our next generation going by all that is happening right now (not just this, bit also the corruption, the crime, the injustice and the wrongs that seem to happen everywhere).

Is there any light at the end of the tunnel ? GOD only knows !

Forms of Language - Tulika Blogathon

2010-03-18T17:06:00.000+05:30

My 2 cents for the Tulika's blogathon topic

How different are the written and spoken forms of your first language? If you want children to become familiar with their first language, which form would you look for in children's books - formal or informal? Why?

(click on the topic to take you to the details)

How different are the written and spoken forms of your first language?

I speak Tamil. I read Tamil and I can write in Tamil as well. And yes, my mother tongue is Tamizh. The last time I wrote in Tamil was 6 months back, a letter to my MIL. This is after a gap of (cant count the number of years) very many long years. My MIL was very happy and she complemented me on my Tamil. I think she was surprised both by my letter and the fact that I wrote fairly good Tamil.

But can I claim to be an expert in Tamil ? No way. I cannot understand the classics in its purest form. I might need guidance to understand the same. Tamizh is a beautiful language with its own set of intricacies and complexity. The written/classical form is so much different from the spoken form. In fact the spoken form also varies based on several factors. The Tamizh language has so many dialects based on the

- Region - You should just compare the language spoken in Madurai, Tanjavur , Chennai, Tirunelveli etc. Each would have its own distinct flavor

- Caste - The chettinads, Brahmins, Goundar etc have their own way of speaking

- Immigrants - Telugu Naikars, Naidus, Palagat Brahmins etc

and then there might be many others which I am not aware of. A person arriving from down South to Chennai may take considerable time to even understand the "Madrasi" lingo. I am not even sure if an ordinary tamizh speaking teenager today watches movies of P. U. Chinnappa and M. K. Thyagaraja Bhagavathar , he/she can even understand the dialogues. Thats how far we have come from the original form of the language.

Which brings us to the point that none of these are exactly the same as the formal version of the language. Modernization has played a role in language development as well.

If you want children to become familiar with their first language, which form would you look for in children books - formal or informal? Why?

We speak only Tamizh at home and I definitely want my kid to learn tamizh and be fluent (in all forms) in it as well. In my opinion, the children books for beginners should be colloquial so that their interest is aroused in reading Tamizh books. Lots of kids and even adults these days stick to English only because the difference is not so marked between both the forms. Interest would wane if they see a completely different set of words from what is used in daily life. And then slowly start introducing the formal words along with the in formal with the help of picture illustrations so that kids can co-relate easily. Bilingual books also go a long way in improving the kids vocabulary.

Also, Audio -Visuals is another option because seeing first helps kids in registering and then co-relating with the audio becomes very easier.

I have several of Tulika books and others at home. The picture illustrations are brilliant in Tulika books making the kids easily co-relate and understand. The stories are also about everyday normal things that one would see at home and use instead of some far away happenings which the kids might not be able to relate.

I am yet to buy one of those famous bilingual Tulika books which I plan to do so very soon. Thank you Tulika and I hope we get more and more such fun filled, color filled books for our kids to read and enjoy.

Disclaimer : These are just my thoughts on the various forms the language has evolved and how it stands today. The intent is not to criticize or offend anyone.

Instant Idly - Oats Idly !

2010-03-04T14:34:00.001+05:30

I was on the search for an instant recipe for Idly for a very long time! The traditional or the regular idly has to be planned and the dough prepared the previous day which is not really to my convenience.

The recently found (actually recently tried- but found long long ago, so long ago....The oats packet cover had the recipe printed and I had safely stored it for so long. I got to try it only yesterday! ) Oats Idly is a god send and I was even more thrilled when my family liked the dish !

I am always on the search for quick and nutritious recipes and I think this is one that will stick in our house hold :) Not only is it an instant idly, but also fiber rich and nutritious! What more do I need for a breakfast ? So, without more ado, here's the original recipe !

Ingredients :

Oats powder - 1 Cup /azhak/ 200 gms

Rava /Suji - 1 cup

Curd - 2 cups

Salt to taste

Water - 1/4 to 1/2 cup

Fruit salt - Optional

Ghee : 1 tbsp for greasing

Method :

First Powder/Grind the oats.

Add oats powder, rava , curd and salt in a bowl and beat them well

Add 1/4 cup of water , mix well.

The dough is ready now. Allow to soak for 20 mins

After 20 mins, Add more water only if needed to bring the dough to a pouring consistency.

Grease the idly plates with ghee and make idlies out of the dough.

If you are adding fruits salt, do so just before making the Idly.

Serve hot with coconut chutney/Sambar.

My variation from the original recipe : You can grind some coconut, coriander leaves, ginger, green chillies and add to the dough before making Idlies. Also add some coriander leaves and mint leaves as is to the dough.

Note

1) This dish is best only when hot. So taste and enjoy while it is still hot !
2) The above quantity approximately makes 12 idlies.

3) I am yet to try my suggested variation, but I am sure it will be even more yummy:). Am definitely planning to try it the next time. In the meanwhile, If you do try it, please do write here and let me know how it goes:)

Got any more ideas for a quick, easy and nutritious breakfast ? Please do share.

A bizarre thought !

2010-02-16T13:43:00.003+05:30

But if only it could be true, then, it would be highly useful and avoid so much anxiety and stress! One, I think, every mother would agree :)

The thought is - "If only every mother could be a pediatrician"

It struck me last night when Jillu again fell sick, that I should have become a pediatrician (in spite of the fact that I chose Computer Science over Biology in my 11th std just so that I could avoid rat dissection - yeah I really hated it so much :( . You just need to ask my friends about it) just to avoid yet another trip to her Doc :( .

But then, I really wish there exists a shortened course which every mother could take. Similar to lots of First Aid courses that are available today. It would avoid so much of anxiety, tension, fear, pressure et all. A short one with just the basics, at least to the extent of determining whether a visit to the doc is needed or not, examining whether the chest is clear or is congested yet again. (I am sure cold and cough make up about 95% of Dr visits for every kid ).

Sometimes, it looks far worse than it actually is and we rush to the doc only for them to tell us that it is not serious and there is no severe congestion. And the reverse also happens to be true where some people leave it too late before visiting the doc ! :(

Understanding

2010-02-15T12:46:00.000+05:30

sometimes is a hindrance. For

- it prevents you from disciplining the kids at the appropriate time

- it prevents you from showing your anger/hurt to the person who hurt you in the first place

- it puts you under a disadvantageous position as everything gets cloaked under "hey, you understand right? how can you say/do this? "

My first Tag !!!

2010-02-03T15:49:00.001+05:30

Thank you Sat :) and here it goes!

And to read Jillu's version of it, click here

1. What is your current obsession?

Don't think I am obsessed with anything .

2. What are you wearing today?

My usual attire.. churidhaar

3. What’s for dinner?
Need to plan the menu. May be Dosa.

4. What’s the last thing you bought?
Coconut water

5. What are you listening to right now?
The hum, drum, sound eminating from my PC.. need to fix it. I think there's some problem

6. What do you think about the person who tagged you?
A very simple and humble human being with no "airs". I envy his sense of humor and timely cracks and retorts. A lovely guy and a great friend. It is very difficult to find such a person in today's world.

7. If you could have a house totally paid for, fully furnished anywhere in the world, where would you like it to be?
India, Chennai, Mandaveli...

8. What are your must-have pieces for summer?
Cotton clothes and coconut water

9. If you could go anywhere in the world for the next hour, where would you go?
Back in time, to when I met my hubby first

10. Which language do you want to learn?
I am thinking too much abt it, so nothing in particular. But I have always wanted to be fluent in several languages. So anything would do.

11. What’s your favourite quote?
Time and Tide waits for none

12. Who do you want to meet right now?
This is "my" exclusive time and I prefer it to be that way

13. What is your favourite colour?
Brown (The dark chocolate brown)

14. Give us 3 styling tips that work for you.
Style ?? me ?? Nope..wrong question :). I think we just need to be comfy with what we are

15. What is your dream job?
I quit my job remember ? Right now, its being a mother

16. What’s your favorite magazine?
Dont read magazines much. No favorites

17. If you had $100 now, what would you spend it on?
A grill sandwich maker and the rest splurge on books and CDs for jillu

18. What do you consider a fashion faux pas?
A wrong question to me again :)

19. Is exercise a part of your daily routine? If so, what kind of exercise is it?
Its part of my daily dream/wish list :(. I left my habbit of walking and yoga. Need to resume both.

20. What kind of haircut do you prefer?
A straight, no frills, haircut

21. What are you going to do after this?
Head to the store to buy some blank DVDs

22. What are your favourite movies?
Not much into movies these days. But favs are old timers - "Kadhalikka Neramillai", "Baama Vijayam", "ROja", "Annaamalai", "Mannan", "Mozhi"

23. What inspires you?
When I see people who manage their time well and manage to do quite a lot over and above the normal stuff, I really want to be like them.

24. What do your friends call you most commonly?
Lavanya, Lavs

25. Would you prefer coffee or tea?
Tea, anyday, but not dip tea, mind you

26. What do you do when you are feeling low or terribly depressed?
I tend to be quiet. Think about what can be done to resolve things. Or if its just normal stuff, then try to shrug it away as a one-off.

27. What makes you go wild?
When people are not fair minded, when people pinpoint mistakes but hardly think about whether they do the same themselves, when people are not principled but they think they can judge you.

28. Which other blogs do you love visiting?
All those in my blogroll :)

29. Favorite Dessert/Sweet?
Ice cream / Thiratti pal (Milk halwa) and Son Papdi

30. How many tabs are turned on in ur browser right now?
3

31. Favorite Season?
Chennai la season ku option yedhu ?

32. If I come to your house now, what would u cook for me?
Since its afternoon time, Tiffin and coffee (or tea if you prefer)

33. What is the right way to avoid people who purposefully hurt you?
Why are they hurting me ? should try to find the root cause.

34. What are you afraid of the most?
Losing my loved ones (Oh, yaah, a horrible fear :( )

35. When you looked at yourself in the mirror today, what was the first thing you thought?
Where has my bindhi gone?

36. What brings a smile on your face instantly??
My darling little daughter, Jillu

37. A word that you say a lot?
Jillu..

38. What would you do if you were made President of India for one day?
Mudhalvan style aa ? I think I will go with Sat here...Sack all the politicians and then bring in KING's rule once again to see INDIA flourish

39. What is that one thing that keeps you going.
Hope and the anticipation of a better tomorrow

40. Whats one thing that you used to love that you left
Reading books. I can't say I have left it, but the frequency is just gone. Before, you cannot find me without a book. Now, its hardly 1 or 2 books in 3 or 4 months. pathetic :(

41. What would be your reaction, if you come to know that today is the last day of your life
Shock. Panic. Helplessness. Rush to the execute the "Long-term" to-do-list that i never seem to get around to.

42. What are your hobbies?

Reading books, listening to music

Rules for those who are tagged:

Respond and rework – answer these questions on your blog, replace one question that you dislike with a question of your own, and add one more question to the list. Then tag others :)

I tag
AJCL
Swetha
Lifeunderthesky
LIFE_REFACTORED

I am not sure if you have already been tagged on this. If not, pick it up when you find time friends...

Paneer Chilli Fry

2010-02-02T16:10:00.000+05:30

This dish is something that I very much like and is very easy to make. And it tastes wonderful on a rainy or a chill day or rather any other day for me :)

Thanks to all the cooking websites in the net and also recipes from several blogs, this recipe is a combination of several recipes and is my own version of it.

Ingredients :

Paneer - 200 gms

Capsicum - 1 big size

Onion - 2 Medium

Chilli paste - 1 tbsp

Soya sauce - 1 tbsp

Salt to taste

Ajino moto - a little pinch

Preparation time : 20 mins

Method:

Cut the Paneer into small sized cubes and fry them in oil till they are golden brown in color and keep them aside.

Cut the capsicum and onions into long thin stripes. Add a little oil to a tawa and add fry the onions till they turn a very light brown. Then add capsicum and saute for 2 to 3 mins. Then add chilli paste, soya sauce, ajino moto and salt to taste and saute for 3 mins. Now, add the paneer and saute for a minute so that all mixes well.

Serve hot.

The Madurai trip - Part II

2010-01-24T23:49:00.001+05:30

For Part-I, please click here.

The day of the wedding, Monday, saw less of activity when compared to Sunday.

We got ready for the wedding and reached just in time for the Muhurtham (delayed becoz we had decided to give Jillu her b'fast in the hotel itself).

About the wedding

It was a Saurashtrian wedding and I was surprised to learn their way of doing things. The bride and the groom apparently arrange for their own halls and the rituals happen in their own respective halls. When the ritual involves both the bride and groom to be to-gether, then it happens based on the significance of the ritual. For eg, the engagement and the actual wedding of tying Thali happened in the bride's hall, whereas the reception happened in the groom's hall. And each party arranges for their own food for their guests/invitees. Bride's relations and friends will be catered to by the bride's family and the groom's guests by the groom's side. On the day of the wedding, only the groom is allowed to eat along with the bride in the bride's hall after the wedding ceremony is over. So each party takes care of their own guests, food, hall, gift etc.
I found this interesting and a nice idea, as this gives each their own flexibility related to cost, lavishness etc and also a major plus as there is no serious scope for politics (between the 2 sides) as is seen in so many of our weddings.

Sa-Re-Ga-Ma

Jillu was in a jolly mood and she was singing aloud all kinds of songs (rhymes, songs) that she knew, much to the amusement of various passersby on the road (we were shuttling betwen the 2 halls. Fortunately both were within walking distance of each other). However, she surprised me by singing even "Sa-ri-ga-ma-pa-dha-ni-sa" :), though the "Sa-ni-dha-pa" did not come out correctly :).

Friends of all ages

She had made friends with a lot of her dad's friends. She started calling them by names and also, as is her habit came up with her own shortened versions of their names. Prem somehow became Priyammadha and then when we corrected her, it became PM :). Along with coming up with new names, she was also running behind every kid that she came across in the marriage hall and it became very difficult to keep track of her :). All kids were branded as either "Annaa" or "Akkaa" even if they were younger to her :) (we have not yet taught her "Thangai/Thambi"). Though, she called very small babies "Paapaa".

Sun evening

In the evening, we went to the "Thirumalai Nayakar" palace. Jillu was being troublesome before we started in the evening, So I told her we were going to see "The Maharaja" and just so that she could relate, I stupidly added "Kamsa Maharaja" paaka porom. (on the naive assumption/hope that there atleast will be 1 painting of some Maharaja there in the palace and any Maharaja could be called as "Kamsa" , Krishna's uncle). So she got that very well and my prayers were not answered as there was no painting miraculously hanging from the walls, though the palace itself was breathtaking and beautiful. I repeatedly had to divert her every time she asked me "Kamsa Maharaja yenga?" (vera yenna panna? as i said before, "Kai mel palan"). I felt very sad when I came to know that what has been preserved till date is only 1/4 of the original palace and the rest has vanished and become a part of the Madurai city :(.

We finished the tour of the palace and then we headed to "Koodalazhagar" temple. The temple was huge and awesome with separate prahaarams for Perumal, Thaayar and Andaal. In the Thaayaar sannidhi, Jillu again had the darshan of another elephant and this time she was watching the elephant with no fear but did not wish to go near it. After enjoying the peaceful serenity of the temple, it was time to head back to the hotel, for dinner and taking the train back to chennai.

Rayil Snegam -II

Yet again this time, one of our neighbors in the train was a kid and Jillu referred to him as "paapaa" even though he must have been nearer to Jillu's age. :). However, this time there was not much time for socializing as Jillu was very tired and the "paapaa" also looked to be worn out and was ready to sleep. However, still Jillu wanted to play with him, but the boy had already slept and I made Jillu sleep telling her that "paapaa" has already slept. (This did not change from the previous Rayil Snegam :) )

The 2 days just passed by in a blur too fast and was a welcome change of routine for me as well.

I hope 2010 continues to offer me more opportunities to travel :)

The Madurai trip - Part I

2010-01-22T14:21:00.005+05:30

The Madurai trip was lovely and a refreshing change for Jillu and me. For Jillu, it was a big taataa, lots of new people to meet and new experiences.

Rayil Snegam
We started on Sat night by train and as luck would have it, there was a boy, couple of years elder to her, in the adjacent seat. She immediately started "Anna, Annaa" and proceeded to sit next to him. We had to really restrain her as the family were having their dinner. The moment they finished, she immediately started chanting "Anna, Anna" and she went and sat next to him much to the amusement of all. The boy's shyness and reluctance to indulger her was no barrier to her and she kept asking him to wear his "kullaa" (the monkey cap that protects the ears from the chill) which he did not want to do at all. The boy fell asleep soon after and I put an excited Jillu to sleep quoting the "Annaa" as an example :). In the morning, the first thing that Jillu looked for was for her new found "Annaa" friend. Jillu's attempts continued from last night and the "Anna" chose to overcome his shyness and really start playing with her just when it was time to bid good bye and alight from the train

Rickshaw ride
Sun morning, after breakfast, we headed out to the Meenakshi Amman Temple. Our hotel was pretty close to the temple, so we started walking through the streets. Half way through, one of the rickshaw-wallas came to us and bargained for a ride to the rest of the distance to the temple. I think he saw us a fair chance as we had a toddler walking along with us. We were not really keen, but found it very hard to say No to the guy. So Jillu and me got in to the rickshaw with Jillu's dad walking along with the rickshaw fellow (Jillu's dad generally feels real bad about the rickshaw wallas pulling our weight, so didn't get in. I felt the same, but had no option as we could not leave Jillu alone).I forget the last time I ever was in a rickshaw. Must be those days when I was studying in 2nd or 3rd std, when I used to accompany my grand ma for the matinee show. This brings back a lot of lovely memories :)

The Elephant tale
Inside the temple, there was a surprise waiting for us ! Yes, none other than the elephant :). All of us were equally thrilled to see the big and gigantic elephant. Jillu's dad took her near to the elephant, and as is the custom, kept the change in the elephant's trunk to get his blessings. The elephant then placed his trunk gently on top of Jillu's head and blessed her. Jillu got scared by the encounter and started saying "Yanai venaam". The entire time that we were inside the temple, she kept saying "Yanai venaam" and then suddenly when we returned to the same spot, she wanted to see the elephant again. And that's when she noticed that there were a few drops of water (tears???) near to the elephant's eyes.

I hadn't noticed it. We then proceeded to the "Aayiram kaal mandapam" and were walking inside when
she told her dad "Yannai azhardhu" (The elephant is crying)

Jillu's dad : Yanai yen azhardhu ? (why is the elephant crying?)

Jillu : Jillu adichitaa (Jillu beat the elephant)
Jillu's dad : ???

Jillu : Sorry, Yanai sollanum. Yanai Paakanum (I have to say sorry to the elephant. Take me to the elephant) and this request went on and on and on till we again went inside the temple to show her the elephant.

And in front of the elephant, I told her (going along with her story :) ) , "Ok Jillu, ippo sorry sollu" (Ok, Now say sorry)

Jillu :"Sorry, Yanai" (Sorry, elephant)

Silence...
Me : "Yanai yenna sollithu? Its OK sollithaa?" (What did the elephant say? did it say Ok?)

Jillu : Its ok yanai sollalaama ? (Shall we say "Its okay" to the elephant)
Me : Yanai should say that, not you :)

And then back at the hotel, she was so excited that she actually spoke to both her grand mas over the phone (the current phone phase is aversion). With bright sparkling eyes wide open, she excitedly shouted over the phone "Yanai Jillu thalai mela 'dop' pannithu"

Me : Yedhaala 'dop' pannithu?

Jillu : thumbikkaiyaala

Dum Dum Dum - Kalyaanam
In the evening, it was time for the reception. We reached there well ahead of time for the engagement function that generally happens the day before the wedding. And she had a lovely time here as well. She was generally running behind any of the "kuttis" that she could spot and I in turn was running behind her to make sure that she was safe.

And then the "Nadhaswaram" started. From previous visits to the temple, I knew that Jillu was entralled by the "Molam" and "Pepe" (Nadhaswaram). The first time that she heard (and watched them playing) the music in a temple, she just froze then and there in front of them and after a couple of minutes, just simply sat down at the exact spot that she was standing on and refused to leave from the place. I was expecting the same thing to happen again and I was right. The only difference was that this time, after watching them from a distance for a while, she went and sat near to the guy playing the "molam". I almost called her back, but restrained myslef just to see what would happen. She sat there watching them play and they in turn watched her indulgently as they had been doing all along right from the beginning. And, much to my surprise and her delight, When there was a brief lull in the proceedings and there was no need for the music, the drummer actually gave Jillu the stick so that she could do "Dum Dum Dum". It was no nice of him to indulge the small girl. And she took it from him with no hesitation and drummed on..."Dum, DOOM, DOM, DUNG"..

And so, it came as no surprise that she would go back to them every now and then to see if she could get a chance to go at it again :). And she got the chance twice :)
And then it was time to head back to the hotel.

To be continued...

Travel, Atlast !!!

2010-01-16T16:45:00.002+05:30

I am so excited :) because we are off to Madurai tonight to attend the wedding of my husband's friend. The excitement is not entirely due to the wedding but, this is Jillu's first ever trip (long distance travel) after Thirupathi (which was when she was 7 months old) and I am so looking forward to it. :).

It will be fun to see how she reacts to the travel. I am also aware of the challenges, but I think its high time that we start moving around now that she is 2 years old.

I think the last time even I traveled (excepting Thirupathi of course) was way back before my pregnancy days, some 3 years back, I guess and it will be a welcome change for me as well.

So, really looking forward to the trip :). Will meet you all once we are back.

Wonderful Mum

2010-01-15T08:29:00.005+05:30

I came across this article somewhere and found it so true..

Very well written. Unfortunately, I do not know the name of the author. Here it goes..

Before I was a Mum,
I never tripped over toys or forgot words to a lullaby.
I didn't worry whether or not my plants were poisonous.
I never thought about car seats.
Before I was a Mum,
I had never been puked on.
Pooped on.
Chewed on.
Peed on.

I had complete control of my mind and my thoughts.
I slept all night.
Before I was a Mum,
I never held down a screaming child so doctors could do tests, or give shots.
I never looked into teary eyes and cried.
I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin.
I never sat up late hours at night watching a baby sleep.

Before I was a Mum,
I never held a sleeping baby just because I didn't want to put her down.
I never felt my heart break into a million pieces when I couldn't stop the hurt.
I never knew that something so small could affect my life so much.
I never knew that I could love someone so much.
I never knew I would love being a Mum...

Before I was a Mum -
I didn't know the feeling of having my heart outside my body.
I didn't know how special it could feel to feed a hungry baby.
I didn't know that bond between a mother and her child.
I didn't know that something so small could make! me feel so important and happy.

Before I was a Mum -
I had never gotten up in the middle of the night every 10 minutes to make sure all was okay.
I had never known the warmth, the joy, the love, the heartache,
The wonderment or the satisfaction of being a Mum..
I didn't know I was capable of feeling so much, before I was a Mum.

My last day at work

2010-01-12T15:14:00.008+05:30

dawned as any other normal day. (It was the Friday of the previous week) -Only the climate seemed to be on the downside - the Sun god having decided not to show up at all.

Proceedings went on as usual and it was time for me to leave for work. I had not explained to Jillu about me not going to work any more as I thought that she was too young to understand. However, that morning I tried explaining to Jillu that Amma will not be going to office any more and will be with her totally from Monday. As expected, she did not respond much and did not understand (I think). Anyways, I bid her good bye and left from home.

On the way to office, my very dear friend (right from childhood ) who has tread the same path as me and along with me all these years, called up and asked "how do you feel? Do you recollect the first day at work? Flashback odudhaa?". Surprisingly, I was being very normal and it was like any other day for me and I conveyed the same to her as well.

I think I spoke too soon :). The moment I entered the premises, butterflies entered my stomach along with a slight lump in the throat. They continued to reside in their respective places, as I bade good bye to a never ending list of people, sent out the habitual good bye email to everyone, along with the last day formalities. However, I am glad that somehow I found the strength to handle myself with dignity and grace (read that as not bursting into tears and making everyone else feel embarrassed) through out the day. In fact, I even managed to joke to my lunch companion that "Even the rain god is crying today" when it started to slightly drizzle. The small farewell meet was a surprise and gave me a very nice and warm feeling.

(I do not regret the decision at all, but it was a very hard feeling to say good bye to a hard earned job and a place which has been after all like a home away from home, in-spite of all the cribbing that I do on its shortcomings. It seems like an era has come to an end, to use the words of another dear friend.)

Finally, all formalities over, and the last goodbyes done, it was time to leave the premises. On the way back to the station, it started to drizzle again. The walk back to railway station is something that will be in my mind for a very very long time. It brought back memories, buried deep inside, both good and bad, the highs and the lows, of dear friendships that happened for life and a deep introspection of self - how much I had changed both personally and professionally from the time I joined the company till date. It also brought the waiting tears brimming to the surface at last , but were washed away by the rain unseen by others. I deliberately slowed my walk and gave myself up to the moment totally.

And finally, as I neared the station, it was time for me to say goodbye mentally and to look forward to a better tomorrow, to better happenings in store, to look forward to being with my sweet heart Jillu.

And, as always, thinking of Jillu, brought a bright smile to my face and the familiar need to hurry and be home asap.

An interesting Proposition!

2010-01-03T23:36:00.002+05:30

My cousin bro called me a couple of weeks ago with an interesting proposition :).

Bro : hey, how would you like to model with Jillu?

Me : "What ?" I was swimming in numbers, hours and what not at that time at work and this guys calls me out of the blue with this very strange request. I was not even sure if I had heard right.

Bro : Yes, would you like to model ? Pose for a photo with Jillu ?

Me : ??? Really listening now.. What is it ? Tell me more.. (Though I really know this will come to nothing, my mind is already conjuring up flashy and glossy pictures of me and Jillu in all posh magazines :) )

Bro : A pediatrician that I know is about to publish an article in a local regional news paper and he needs a photograph of a mom and daughter to go along with it. Would you like to do it ? You wouldn't need to do anything. They will come home, take a couple of pics and leave.

Me : As simple as that ? (Still the glossy pics are running through my mind). But.. is it safe ? I find it both interesting and scary. (Well, one doesn't get such requests daily, do they ?)

Bro : Would i even approach you if it wasn't safe ?

Me : Actually trying to give it a thought now... "mmmm"..."Better check with your BIL first." (Now saying bye bye to all the glossy pics and thought that's the end of it now and I can forget it, for I know what my hubby would say and I was not even sure of it myself. Back to the numbers game now.. sigh.. It was nice while it (the virtual images) lasted though )

Bro :OK..will do

After 5 minutes, he calls up and says what I expected :)

That night, I learnt from my hubby that his objection was due to that particular newspaper in question. He was not really comfortable with that one.

This is as near as I would ever get to modeling and the likes :). Hence this post for later reading and remembrance :)

A lovely gift for the new year

2010-01-01T22:17:00.004+05:30

The new year 2010 dawned on a brilliant note for us :). Well, it was not meant to happen that way originally, but I am so glad that it did. Thanks to my dear cousin bro S and his wife L.

The "Anthakshari" session with Jillu was on at that time and it was already way past Jillu's bed time (owing to New Year Eve) and the bell rings.

Hubby, all innocence, says "Who could it be at this time ?" (For,I later came to know that he was totally aware!). So off we all go to open the door and our late night visitors happen to be none other than S & L. And what have they got with them for us ?

A big 20x30 lamination of collage of photos from Jillu's 1st birthday. Superb and Brilliant it was ! It is ! I just love it !

It was actually meant to be Jillu's birthday gift, but thanks to the delay from the studio, they could not present it then. But then, it made a wonderful New Year gift :). Though I had earlier got wind of (or rather anticipated) something like this happening when my hubby took a few snaps in the pen drive for S, I was unaware of the impending visit on the New Year eve and the end result is so magnificent and I am so thrilled.

I have to thank my SIL "L" for the idea and bro "S" for the implementation :)

Thank you so much, bro and SIL.

A start of another wonderful year !!!

2009-12-29T11:13:00.006+05:30

Jillu, you turned 2 yesterday :). Happy Birthday, sweet heart. I know, we have all told you nothing else but "Happy Birthday" for the whole of the long weekend that just passed away. And what a weekend it was! Especially Sunday and Monday. But more about that later.

The year has gone by so fast. It seems as though it were only a few months before that we celebrated your first birthday, why the day I held you for the first time in my arms seems as though it was only yesterday and now the second year is also gone. You have been such a wonderful delight to all of us. You have won all of our hearts over and all of our every waking moment is somehow or other filled of your thoughts. Your naughty smile, your mischievous look, your cheeky retorts (yeah, you have started that as well, recently), every single thing that you do amazes us and gives us so much pleasure. Now, I cannot even imagine how life was before you came in to my life.

You have turned my whole life upside down, made me weep with joy & anxiety. You have made me want to enjoy every moment of life, made me want to record all that you do. You gave life to this blog. You have made me look at myself hard and evaluate myself all over again. Now, everything I do or say, is looked at from your perspective first, for you learn and imitate all, the talking and the action, from us directly. You have made me take the alternate path in life, taking care of you full time, for which I am looking forward to with much pleasure.

Though I still wish that time would stand still and we can all enjoy you the way you are now, a cherubic little sweet angel that you are, we still look forward to the future.Your every progress & mile stone is much celebrated and shared with your grand parents on a day to day basis. No one conversation ends without speaking about you. You have made us all run behind you with a slightest twist of your little finger.

Life has indeed blessed us with you and I am grateful for it.

Happy Birthday da Kannaa (I am allowed to say this again for this is the "BIRTHDAY WEEK").

I Love You and God Bless You !

We all Love You :)

Wrong timing?

2009-12-20T01:21:00.002+05:30

I think I should have waited for a couple of months before submitting my resignation. Or I should have done it 2 months earlier. As it is, right now, I am caught in between and these 2 months have been real hectic. I am coming home late daily these days what with the transition going on one side and year end activities on the other end. It would have been easier if I had transitioned the whole thing before, then I wouldn't have been in this situation. Or if I had waited, then it would have been only me who was doing it and I would have been much faster on my own. Now, I have the over all responsibility, but I have to make them (who is taking the KT - Knowledge Transition) do it as they need to understand as well. So the whole process is taking much longer and resulting in late evenings daily for me :(. Late nights or even working through the nights is not new for me but from the time I rejoined work after my maternity leave, I re-aligned myself and made sure that I was home at a decent time (for IT standards) if not early. Of-course, there were exceptions, but for the most part, I always was home at the same time for Jillu. But these weeks have been really hectic, what with my boss being sick and going on long leave, me being all alone in the team as the one other team member was transferred to another team, then the new guys (2 of them) coming in, training them as well as meeting the deliverables single-handedly. To top it all, 1 of the new guys fell sick with viral infection and did not turn up for 4 days in this week. I am working more now in my notice period than ever before in the past 1 year. I have been unable to spend time with Jillu at all these past few weeks.

I console myself saying that this is only for a few more weeks and not for much longer.

The beginning of a new chapter in my life

2009-12-07T06:14:00.005+05:30

Note : This post is purely a reflection of my own personal thoughts and feelings and is in no way meant to offend anyone or to preach to anyone.

At last, I have found some peace of mind. I am able to go about my daily business calmly knowing what is in store for me in the future. No more restlessness. No more non-stop thinking about the same thing over and over again from varying perspectives. As I wrote earlier in this post, there was a decision, a choice to be made and at last I have made my mind. I listened to my heart and immediately, I felt lighter and am at peace with myself.

The choice or the decision to be made is with respect to the age-old, much talked about, much debated issue, causing mental and emotional turmoil, and not to mention the guilt, in every working mother's (or a stay at home mother who wants to work) mind.

Yes, whether to work or not.

Whether to pursue my career or not.

Do I go out there, face the world, do what I like and revel in or Do I take care of my baby? Do I work now when I can,contribute to the family's financial welfare for the rainy days or

Do I think about now, the immediate need to attend to the tiny being who knows only us and looks upon us to guide her in every way possible?

This struggle has been going on within me for the past 8 months or may be even longer. While I could have had no one better than my mom to take care of my daughter, it was a daily struggle for me personally to leave her and start for work. She, being a kid, got adjusted soon and establishing a daily routine saw to it that she was well settled. But not me. I could not be with her to enjoy her talk, I could only be there to put her to bed at nights. And I could not bring her up the way I wanted to. Don't get me wrong. As I said before, I cannot have a better care taker than my mom. She in fact looks after Jillu better than I do. But, I cannot expect my mom to do everything that I would want to.

I want to take her for long walks, take her to the park, for her to roam around, run, play, enjoy with other kids, take her out everywhere to give her more exposure to the world, give her different variety of food daily, read to her, hear her school stories when she comes back from school, the list goes on and on, and be with her generally. There is nothing like enjoying life while being with her, looking at life from her perspective and learning from her as well.

Also, my mom is not getting any younger and I want her to have a break, enjoy life at least now, after all that she has done for me, go to temples (or wherever it is that she wants to) when she wants to and not when I have leave and can takeoff. And, I am not at all comfortable with leaving my daughter in a day care and neither am I comfortable with arranging a baby sitter/ maid to look after her while I am away at work.

On the other side, I am also slowly getting tired of being in the rat race always, running from pillar to post, managing home, daughter, work all at the same time, with no pause for thought and peace. However, all said and done, this is a well earned and highly rewarding, lucrative job and loads of (read years of, in fact more than a decade of) hard work has been put in, to be where I am today. Leaving aside the career perspective, saying good bye to this job (or any other job, in the sense to take a break) when there is the ever present demon called EMI needs a lot of consideration. Also, schools are not getting any less expensive these days. My dad did not spend so much for my entire education as to what is needed today for an enrollment into a Pre-KG or LKG.

All these have been doing a merry go round in my mind over the months - Jillu's cherubic smile, her sweet talks, her innocence, my mom, my career, my job, EMI, schooling, my need to be with Jillu, round and round and round, they come and go one by one non-stop. The merry go round continued for a long time and suddenly it started picking up people to see how they were faring, sometimes picking up people who chose to work while managing the home with 2 kids, while at other times picking up people who were enjoying life at home with the kid(s).

And finally one day, the merry go round stopped, realizing the futility of comparison. There is only one life to be led and it has to be based on what I want and need and what others do and how they manage (or do not) simply does not pertain to me. Ultimately, I reasoned out that career would always be there to be taken up after Jillu grows up. If not this job, some thing else, may be even in a different industry, in a different terrain, something would always be there, if one looks around properly. The EMI, too, is not bound to go away any soon, either. The EMI and schooling could be managed if one is alert,conscious,wise and makes a few compromises along the way. Probably look towards wisely investing somewhere and grow the money. Not impossible.

What will go away is Jillu's childhood, her growing up years and this cannot be recovered. What cannot be compromised is the precious time with my little bundle of joy. When she gets older and has her own set of friends, she is not going to look out for me always. Now is the time when she needs me most. I would have more time on my hands when she goes full time school and that would be a good time for me to resume my career. I could always try out other things that I always wanted to during this sabbatical period and may be find out if I have other talents as well.
But the last thought that was still lingering on my mind that made me hesitate a little was the financial independence that I have always been used to and the thought of "What would I do ?" if some unforeseen circumstances force me to look out for a job after I quit? But then, I also realized that there is no guarantee in life and we never know what is in store for us tomorrow. We cannot always plan for the inevitable and can only work along with life's ups and downs. The best one can do is get equipped to handle life's surprises, be aware and then leave the rest to unfold and enjoy life as
"Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. Today is a gift. That's why we call it 'The Present'."

The Ultimate bottom line - I want to be with my daughter.

So, in the end, my heart won and the need to be with Jillu and bringing her up in all the ways I wanted to prevailed and thus it is that I am right now serving my notice period and would be a stay at home mom, come January 2010. Now that I have taken the decision and know my mind, I only wish that I had done this sooner, but as they say, better late than never.

I have to be thankful that today, I am able to make this choice, now that I know what I want. For, I would not have been able to proceed with my decision without the support of my husband and of course my family. I know of so many people, who are unable to do whatever they want to do because of lack of support and also due to other unavoidable circumstances in their life. I know of working women who need to work but do not want to work and also of women who want to work but are not.

I am extremely grateful that I have such a loving family, a lovely kid and that life has blessed me with these most important aspects and I realize that I am one of the fortunate few.

It is endearing

2009-11-30T08:53:00.003+05:30

to see a person nearing age 60, learning children rhymes from a 55+ old person.

-That's none but my dad learning rhymes from my mom to cater to Jillu's demands

to see a 30+ yrs no-nonsense adult, who has never turned towards Carnatic songs, singing Baja Govindam and the likes

-That's Jillu's dad singing carnatic songs, again to cater to Jillu's demands

At a loss for words

2009-11-26T00:27:00.004+05:30

Well, I am having trouble blogging non-Jillu stuff. It cannot be called as a writer's block, for I absolutely am no writer :). Just a beginner struggling to find my way, or rather my words.

What to blog about? I know there are thousand and one things to blog about, but nothing comes to my mind yet. Even if I think of something to write, (having a couple of drafts is proof enough for that), I am not able to work around the topic and get it into any presentable shape. When I read it, it seemed so bad and nothing like the other so nice, lovely, so well written blogs that I read.

Some weeks back, in my car driving class, a fellow student was a 80+ years old woman and she was doing a wonderful job. I was really admiring her and her commitment at this age of wanting to learn and having the energy to enroll into a class and going through with it as well. What a way to live and how much she loves life to do that. I should learn from her, for due to various reasons, I am yet to complete the learning and still cannot drive on my own. I wanted to make this a blog post but could not go beyond a few words.

And, I was searching for my specs the other day and could not find it. I was desperately searching for it, for I cannot go to work without that and was calling my MIL as well to find out if I had left it there when I had been there the previous day. When I was searching, the immediate thought that struck me was that how nice it would be if we had a CTRL+F (Find) feature in real life so as to easily locate anything. I really missed the CTRL+F feature then. You won't believe me, but I have been thinking of ways of writing this for the past 2 days, but somehow it never happened. My first thought was to pen it as it is. Then, I thought, no, let me try out a 55 fiction out of this topic. I thought and thought and thought, I thought on the train journey to office, thought whenever my mind was idle, but nothing came out of it. Then I thought, OK, let me try out a 55 fiction on some other topic. Again,with the same results.

So here I am, having decided to write something, writing about what to write. Hahaha..

One minute please

2009-11-17T23:52:00.000+05:30

The value/longevity of a minute (60 secs) is well appreciated only

When we are impatiently waiting for the milk to boil and you dare not attend to anything else for fear of it getting the better of you
When we need to check an important email and the computer takes that full minute to boot and start up
When we can see the train arriving at a far distance and just cannot wait for the train to pull up in the platform lest we be late for a not so important meeting
When we impatiently wait for the red to turn green at a busy junction and keep glancing at the lights every other second
When we just missed the lift and keep jabbing the button as though just that act would immediately make the lift materialize before us.

Change for life

2009-11-07T14:47:00.000+05:30

People always say that you are never the same after marriage and that wedding is the one important event which changes you for life. This might sound true (especially for the ladies who step out of their home of 25 odd years or so) at that time of transition.

But I have discovered that not marriage, but having kids is what changes you for ever.

Having a baby changes your priorities, your timings, your lifestyle, your outlook towards life, your behavior, your talk, your thoughts and the list goes on. In short it changes you.

At a loss

2009-11-05T00:48:00.001+05:30

How would one feel with one of their arms severed? Thats how I have been feeling for the past 1 week since our PC crashed. Yes, my left hand, our home PC crashed and I am severely pained and distraught and disconnected from people. Imagine !! I can't do a post in JilluYennaPan. That is unimagineable to me !!!

Which is the right hand , you ask? Of course, its my mobile !

Technology has done us and these days it is so difficult to survive without a mobile or a computer. This post is a result of my beg and borrow of my hubby's official laptop.

A couple of weeks back, my mobile conked off and I was left without my right hand. We have become so lazy that it is a wonder to remember the numbers of even our very close circle. I know some people who don't even know their own numbers. Thats how lazy we have become

They always say, "everything comes in threes". First, it was my mobile, then PC (which is still under repair). What next I wonder and dread?

Equipped for Emergency ?

2009-10-28T08:25:00.004+05:30

How many of us are equipped to act instantaneously in case of any emergencies? Be it may for us or others?

In today's fast moving and unpredictable world, anything could happen any time. The bus, the lorry and the auto drivers drive so rashly. There is absolutely no thought or value for life.

The sad truth is that many would be just bystanders watching the proceedings (if one indeed had the time to even notice what was happening around them). Sometimes, people would want to help but would not know whom and which number to call.

I came across this post of a blogger who praises the effectiveness of 108 EMRI service. Its good to know that its effective and pretty quick. Thought would share with everyone. 108 EMRI also responds to fire and police related emergencies. To know more about this please visit this link.

What I like about this is that, 108 can be dialed from both land-line and a mobile.

Be aware and help others !

Choice

2009-10-22T00:36:00.002+05:30

Have you ever been in this situation?

You know what you ought to do. You know what your heart tells you to do. You know that it is the right thing to do now. You know that there will be associated risk(s) with any decision/course of action. You know that the risk taken now is well worth it. You know that, if not now, then it is never. You know that there are always bound to be other avenues later, sooner or later, if the decision that you take now does not work out well in the long run.

And yet, your mind does not heed to it. You don't make that decision.

You dilli dally. You procrastinate. You look for opinions and advice from others. You get influenced by others. You look for excuses for avoiding the change. You get cold feet thinking about the risk and the change. And then, you still have the audacity to envy others, the case of the grass always being greener on the other side of the fence.

You know that change is the only constant thing in the world!.Yet it is so difficult to adjust to change, let alone welcome it with open arms.

Transformation

2009-10-17T07:41:00.003+05:30

Girl 1: A very simple girl, who cannot be quite called shy or reserved, just not the type to talk to strangers first and make friends. But once a friendship is made, it lasts forever. Not one to talk too much, but better at being a silent spectator and listening.

Girl 2: A very simple girl, but one who is known to talk to strangers first and make friends, if and when warranted. Once a friendship is made, it lasts forever. One who can both share things and listen as well.

The 1st girl is me 2 years back and the 2nd girl is again me, as I am right now. And what is the trigger for the change? Being a mother. I am unable to believe the transformation in myself. These days, I just don't hesitate to make the first move when it comes to gathering information for Saathvika. 2 years back, I would not have mailed people whom I did not know, would not have joined a public forum and also actively participated in it, would not have initiated talk/conversation with an unknown person. Why, 2 years back, I was not blogging as well!

Now, I actively participate in a parent community, initiate talks with other parents (there is so much to share and learn - about kid's health, discipline, schooling etc), do not hesitate to approach other people, and in the course of time, have become pen friends with a couple of them. My! I have come a long way and all because of Jillu. She brings such a joy to me and makes me swell with pride with whatever she does and invokes the "shout from the roof-top" kind of reaction for all that she does :) and I have never been a "shout from the roof-top" kind of person :)

Motherhood has brought about such a transformation in me. I know all of us change in some way or the other when we become parents. But, in my case, the change is significant. I have changed in the way I do things, view life altogether differently now.

Would love to hear from others as well. What about you ? has being a mother or father changed the "core" you ?

Heaven

2009-10-14T00:07:00.002+05:30

The sun descending on the crimson colored horizon leaving way to dusk and a starry moon filled night,

Soft, sweet, melodious, music emanating from the guitar strings resonating through the speakers,

Soft & fresh cushioned pillows on the bed and bed sheets being invitingly turned down,

Your cheeks being lovingly caressed by sweet lips in the name of goodnight kiss,

The cute little bundle of joy lying beside you face to face and embracing you,

And last, but not the least, small tiny fingers tightly curled trustingly around your thumb,for want of additional security in spite of the habitual right thumb sucking!

P.S : And I thank God for providing me this heaven as part of the bed time routine with my little bundle of joy day in and day out

Make your own B'days & Anniversaries

2009-10-11T10:11:00.004+05:30

Did you go out and freak out on your birthday ? No?

Did you spend quality time with your spouse on your anniversary ? No?

Did you treat your spouse on his/her birthday? No?

Did you celebrate your kid's birthday ? Yes?

If your answer is yes to all of the above, then you are awesome and you can ignore the rest of the post. For those, who do read on,

With us being caught in our own very busy world and time putting us under tremendous pressure, I think the answers above would be more or less correct for many folks.

Leaving alone birthdays and anniversaries, let it be any occasion, its getting very difficult to go out, spend time on days that is normally ear marked for such things. Because, more often than not, only on those days will there be important "meetings" that cannot be skipped, important "dead lines" due to which taking off is not an option, so on and so forth. The only exception to that may be our own kids birthdays (may be that too only when they are little toddlers) when we some-how manage to put together some thing of sorts

So what do I do about it ?

I dont get disappointed when we are unable to make it on those days. In fact, if they are on week days, I almost write it off :(. However, I decided to make the most of the time we do get unexpectedly. Like yesterday, when we decided to go out for lunch, we made a celebration out of it and went to Radisson Kabab factory, which was on my pending list :) for a long time and had a very long, relaxing lunch, which is how I would have to wanted to spend my b'day anyways. You get what I mean ? Not that going to Radisson itself is a celebration but Radisson or the likes cannot be your every time eat-out (unless you happen to own them yourself :) ).

Make your own birthdays and anniversaries and make the most of the time that you get then and there!!! Don't wait for special occasions or days to do what you want to do. Do them when time is in your hands and the time is right !

Like I celebrated my birthday yesterday, or may be his birthday or may be our anniversary? How does it matter ? :) It matters only that we were able to get some quality time together

Heel Hell ?

2009-10-06T00:37:00.001+05:30

Whoever invented heels has a lot to answer for. I personally am not a heels person. I feel the pain straight in my back the moment I look at heels, esp pointed heels. Whenever I look at a person wearing high heeled slippers, I always look at them with a mixture of awe, fascination and what not. And almost every time, the same thought process goes across my mind : How do they manage to walk in that in the first place? Won't they fall down? Will they be massaging their foot and back at night?

I know it is a symbol of style, fashion along with the bonus of a few extra inches, but, I know I might get a lot flak for this, but then that's how I am and heels give me the creeps!

So you can imagine my surprise, or rather shock, when the other day, I notice a 3 year old wearing high pointed heels and being made to climb the steep steps in the railway station as well. My God !!! While I can relate to (if not understand) why adults wear them, kids doing the same is beyond me !

I am in fact surprised that they manufacture such stuff for kids that age! What happened to convenience, comfort and more importantly safety ? And, more surprised that parents actually buy such kind of high heeled slippers for their kids. And when parents dis-regard safety and well-being for fashion, why am I surprised that they are being produced for kids in the first place?

Tick, Tock :Tick,Tock : Could you please stop ticking ?

2009-10-02T13:18:00.003+05:30

Time and Tide waits for none !

If I am asked for one single wish to be granted today, I would wish for time to stand still until further notice :)

Yesterday evening outing with you was such fun and so poignant, Jillu. You looked so grown up and a big girl last evening even though you are only 21 months old!

I had made you wear full pants and full sleeve T-shirt yesterday (to avoid mosquito bites) as it was pretty late when we headed out for the near by park. And my, you looked so tall and to prove that fact, the pants were an inch or so short. You were able to stand in the front of my bike for the ride to the park, a 1/2 Km away. The way you sat in the swing (for whole 10 minutes) alone, holding on to the ropes on both sides while I pushed the swing reinforced that you have indeed grown. I still remember the times when you needed 2 people, one to hold you in the seat and the other to push the swing! And, we (My mom and I ) were so amazed when you climbed the couple of stairs alone without holding on to anything and entered the grocery store. You talk so much these days using words that we never knew you knew! You are so inquisitive and want to know everything!

And yet, at the same time, you are a baby still. You still need to grow up to play on the slides on your own. I helped you on the slides yesterday. You still continue to babble things like "Minima Minima", "Gaaya Baayaa Gukki" for which only you know the meaning. You cannot pronounce "f" still and say chone and choto. You still believe that "Kaakaa" or the crow is capable of taking things away from you. You are such a baby when you climb on top of me before your sleep time. You have got a long way to go, learn a lot and you are only a baby still.

But yesterday, the feeling of the ever passing time was much more significant and I just wanted (and still want) the time to stand still. I am reminded of all these words like Maasum (Hindi), Sisu, Mazhalai, (Tamil), cherubic, innocence, etc when I think of babies and especially when I look at you. I am not in any hurry to see you growing up fast and losing all that innocence that is unique only to kids and babies.

There's so much more to tell you about how I feel but I can't describe or express everything. I never imagined motherhood would be like this! And whatever happens and how much ever you grow up, I think you will always be my baby and I love you so much!

Tick, Tock :Tick,Tock : Could you please stop ticking ?

Stem cell banking - Part 2 - How to go about it ?

2009-09-28T14:28:00.001+05:30

Step 1 : Read about stem cells and understand the need and how it can be used

Step 2 : Find out the players in the field in your area

Step 3 : Call them up to fix up an appointment and they will send a representative home for explaining everything to you and they will take you through a presentation with all information about stem cells.

Cost & Payment Options

The representative would also explain to you about the various price aspects. The cost is basically divided into a one time harvesting fee (for extracting stem cells from the cord blood) and storage fee. The storage fee could be paid every year or could be paid up front for 20 years or so. They would store the stem cells for us as long as we pay the storage fees. In addition to this, there is also an EMI option. Note: These terms are pertinent to Lifecell. However, I am not sure about other bankers

Step 4 : Once you opt for preserving your baby's stem cells, you need to fill out certain forms and make the payment based on the pricing plan you choose.

Step 5 : On payment, you will receive the cord blood collection kit along with the instruction manual. Read the instructions carefully and keep the gel packs in the freezer immediately. You need to take the whole kit and the gel packs from the refrigerator along with you to the hospital while going for delivery. On reaching the hospital. again keep the gel packs in the refrigerator.

Step 6 : Discuss with your doctor regarding your plans well in advance as he/she needs to know about this.

Step 7: Keep the contact numbers safely and inform the bank before you head for the hospital. They will send a representative to the hospital you are headed to.

Step 8 : After delivery, the cord blood sample taken from the umbilical cord will be sent to the laboratory and various tests will be taken to confirm it is fit for processing. Once the stem cells are extracted, the preservation certificate will be sent to you. Preserve the certificate carefully.

Stem cell banking - A must read for all, esp To-Be-Moms

2009-09-26T10:37:00.001+05:30

I am doing a post on stem cells as I think this is very important and everybody should be aware of stem cells, their importance and the effect it could have on anyone's life.

A timely mention about stem cell banking from a friend of mine when I was carrying got me to read and research a bit and what we learnt made me go through with it and we have preserved our daughter's stem cells.

What are stem cells?

Stem cells, as the name suggests, are the basic cells in our body, from which various kinds of cells are formed. They are blank cells with no specific function and given the right environment, they can regenerate into any kind of cell -say a blood cell, a nerve cell or a muscle cell. They can divide repeatedly and replenish cells within the body thus aiding the repair system in our body. They are also called as adult stem cells.

How do we benefit from stem cell?

As stem cells have the unique capability of transforming itself into any type of cell, they are being looked at for replacement of various cells and tissues and stem cells transplantation is becoming more viable and successful in curing lots of diseases. Stem cell is being looked at to cure various diseases such as Parkinson's, Alzheimer's diseases, spinal cord injury, stroke, burns, heart disease, diabetes, etc. One type of stem cell therapy that we are already familiar with is the bone marrow transplant.

Sources of Stem cells

Bone marrow, embryonic tissue, amniotic fluid or umbilical cord blood. Of these, rich sources of stem cells are the bone marrow and umbilical cord blood, which is the blood left over in the umbilical cord and placenta of a newborn child. In fact, research has it that "Cord blood is found to contain 10 times more stem cells than an equally sized portion of bone marrow.The major advantage is that umbilical cord blood stem cells are easier to gather than stem cells from the bone marrow. They have the unique ability to regenerate/reproduce into over 200 types of tissues.

What is stem cell banking?

Normally, the umbilical cord is discarded after birth. However, as the umbilical cord blood is a rich source of multi-potent stem cells, umbilical cord blood is collected soon after birth and stored in a stem cell bank, where stem cells are harvested from the cord blood and preserved in an appropriate environment . Umbilical cord blood stem cells hold immense potential for stem cell therapies, due to their versatile nature and easy availability.

How can the stored stem cell be used ?

Stem cells, collected from the umbilical cord of the child, can be frozen and kept in a bank, which can be used later. God forbid, if something untoward happens to the child, there won't be any need to turn heaven and hell to find a matching donor.These stem cells can be surely used for the child, siblings or can even be donated to any patient (if there is a match) just like donating blood.

Pros

The advantages speak for themselves as stem cells therapy is a major breakthrough in the field of medicine and the medical research continues further to advance the technology. Stem cells have been proven to cure a lot of diseases. Refer to this link and this link for a couple of success stories. There can be no doubt that it is definitely to our kids' advantage that we store their stem cells.

Cons

Right now, the cost for stem cell banking is high and not all can afford. There is also the fact that having spent so much, it may not be used at all. But whoever can afford it, they have to look upon it as a health insurance and health insurance always comes with a cost. That is how we looked at it and went ahead in spite of the high cost.

However all is not lost as there is also an EMI option in the pay structure for those who cannot the pay the whole amount in a single shot

Leading Stem cell bank in India

LifeCell

Lifecell is one among the leading players right now. The website has detailed information about stem cells and related information.

P.S

Disclaimer: This is not a product or service review. I am not advertising and no one is paying me to write this. This is a genuine wish to spread the knowledge and awareness of stem cells

I wish I could

2009-09-23T09:42:00.000+05:30

sing ! I never felt the need for it before and did not regret having a rather not so trained or tuned voice. I always wanted to learn to play an instrument but not singing. But now after Jillu is born, I really feel the need. I want to sing to her properly, especially, when I put her to bed, I want to be able to sing all those nice thaalaatu (lullaby) songs. Now, I envy all those who can sing even moderately well, mmmm... sigh.. I have to make do with the cassettes and cds..

A good find

2009-09-21T15:26:00.003+05:30

Tired after the shifting (of my mom's residence) yesterday, we were all ready for a hearty meal and were also in a mood to try out a new eating joint. So, we, my parents, my husband and I, (Jillu being under my MIL's care), headed out to Mylai Masala, a pure veg restaurant. It has branches in Nandanam (near to Venkateshwara hospital) and Alwarpet (I think near to Anjaneyar temple) and we headed toward the Nandanam branch.

When we first entered, there was nobody to be seen. (Expected though, because we went at an odd time of 5:45 PM or 6:00 PM, well before the starting time, but we were tired and hungry and had to eat). So we were the only one there. We knew our choices would be limited because of the odd time and as expected, the Chinese and the tandoori items were not available. But most of the standard items were available and our plan B of going elsewhere did not materialize.

Now, to the actual part : The food was good. I won't say it was first-class variety. But the food was good and it was in the range of other chains of restaurants like VB, Sangeetha etc. Also, the price was not as costly as Saravana Bhavan and was fairly priced. At the end of the day, you get the value worth the money spent and it was money well spent for us yesterday. Our bill was around Rs 400 for the following items

1) Bonda - 2 plts

2) Pani Puri -2 sets

3) Adai avaial - 2 plts

4) Chana Bhatura - 2 plts

5) Podi Oothappam - 2 sets

6) Masal Dosai - 1

7) Noodle Dosai -1

8) Chocolate ice cream - 1

9) Coffee - 1

This restaurant has been open only for 6 months now and the rates may go up. But for now, Mylai Masala is a good find.