A smashing Sunday

Sunday – Have never looked forward to a Sunday evening with so much excitement.

Reason- Meeting a blogger I admire immensely and look up to for so many things, along with meeting RS and her husband (who are chotu’s most favorite people, outside of his family)

Background- I first ‘met’ him almost a year back when he left a comment on my blog. Following the link, I landed on a gem of a blog and have been hooked ever since. Not every blog on business is written in  a way, this one is. Simple, straightforward, jargon free, every post that has gone in , in the last one year has been a treasure trove of information in its own right. My words can never ever do justice to the blog and the magnanimity of the man in question.

Meeting- The first thing that strikes me about this blogger is his simplicity. It was quite evident from his posts and also from the few email exchanges we have had, but to actually see all this in person had the most humbling effect on me.
The meeting went off really well, my awe factor for him  increased multifold. I still cannot believe I met such a perfect combination of knowledge, humility, grace and charisma.

After effects: A nice happy feeling that still carries. A meet that will linger in my memory for a very long time.

 

Being Chotu…

Lover of

Indoors
Jigsaw puzzles
Cars
Cycle races with park buddies (in rare cases when he can be found outdoors)
School
Tachi mammu (curd/yogurt rice)
Chilli Sauce
Books
Crayonning
Flushing (the loo like 50 times a day)

A kid who strongly believes:

His appa travels to office everyday in a helicopter.
He can cycle his way to his thatha paati’s house in Bangalore.
That his scream is so magical that people appear out of thin air when he exercises his vocal chords.
Every plane that he spots has his chitti (aunt) and that when he waves bye bye to her, she also reciprocates.
The biggest number ever to exist is 33, though he can count till 100 (on a good day).
Barney, Bal Ganesh, Mooshik and Bal Hanuman are friends and live in the same block.
The bell on his bicycle is actually the break and hits it every time, he wants to stop.

Some one who thinks the bane of his existence is:

Having to brush his teeth, not once but twice everyday.
French fries (he hates them with every cell of his being)
Vegetables in particular and healthy food in general.
Sleeping on any other place, other than being sprawled out on appa’s chest.
Travelling by taxi.

A little guy who is a worthy embodiment of Murphy’s law:

Having a tremendous urge to pee/poop whilst travelling by train and in between stations. The urge heightens when also in a taxi on the highway.

This is chotu at 31 months. Yesterday was his first day out on his brand new cycle. Couldn’t believe my eyes when he took off on a ‘race’ with his appa. What a parody, young that he can’t even pronounce race correctly (says Lace) but old enough to actually embark on one. Love you young man. Here is wishing you the very best life can offer.

 

31 going on 8

Chotu these days is in this stage ‘31 months going on 8′. I do not know what it is the after effect of, but just going with the flow. So the highlight of his day is to scour the floor for any objects that might be worthwhile to put in his mouth. He also wants to play the ‘what is this’ game and points at all and sundry egging me to ‘aks’ him a question (ohh yeah chotu cannot say ‘ask’ yet, he says ‘aks’- pronounced more like ‘aarcs’).

His first pursuit usually has me screaming, to the point that he is almost immune to it now. The second one I still indulge him.

Last evening, we were in the final leg of the ‘what is this’ game. He was done naming most of the stuff around the house when he pointed at the computer asking me ‘idhu enna’?(what is this?) I opened my mouth to say computer (collectively) but then he was interested in breaking it further down. So we said ‘mouse’, ‘keybold’, ’speakers’ and that is when chotu came up with the very cute ‘mommintull’ for monitor.

 

Kites

Our neighbourhood skyline was a riot of all kinds of kites, the past weekend. It was the annual “international Kite Flying’ competition and I was thrilled to bits to see so many of them beauties gliding across the sky. Of course, I was at my resourceful best and did not carry a camera to capture the sheer beauty.

Chotu was his mega thrilled self and his fav was a huge bright coloured dragon shaped kite, there were others that had little lights on them that also caught his fancy. So after ohhing and aahing we pulled a screaming chotu back home.

He was recounting to my sibling his outing and at one point got tired of saying, kites la lights irundudu (there were lights on kites). He simply called them K-L-I-T-E-S.

 

Never been so touched..

So we have all extolled the benefits of blogging. We have in our limited time span as bloggers found complete strangers to warm up to and forge wonderful long-lasting relationships. I too have had my share of blogging bonanza in the form of many good friends and for that I can’t be thankful enough.

The other when I said that I wouldn’t be blogging anymore, I was at my vulnerable and agitated best. The words refused to flow and I hated it. Blogging is my sanctuary, somewhere I go to , to ‘meet’ you guys and have some exclusive ‘me’ time. So it was a shocker to me when I finally decided I did not want to blog. The comments I received on that post moved me, I was overwhelmed by all your kindness and this is a post to say a heartfelt thanks to all you guys.

So Ramesh, J, RS,Cooks, Gils, Sri, Corinne, Starry, Jai,Mim,  Nivs, Richa , Pallavee, Chan,Titaxy, Shruthi and Hiran- thanks from the bottom of my heart for writing in asking if everything was ok. Have never been so touched.

 

Letter to a friend

Dear youknowwhoyouare,

I’m shocked at your sudden transformation. You look so much older now, lines creasing your forehead, the silver shining more prominently through your hair , eyes sunken with a far away look and you faking the ‘ohh I’m super fine’ look more and more. It’s like time has taken its toll on your otherwise positive persona, chipping away at it little by little till all that is left is a sullen you.

You did give me a sneak peek into your dreary world, let me in easily, so I could look and see the chaos and feel it, for that I’m really glad. It made me shudder to think of what actually you are going through. Of course, you were quick enough to pull those curtains back, shutting me out, for the fear of being a moaning mess every time I met/spoke to you. How can I explain to you that I was only glad, being able to share the pain, albeit very little. You said you were sad and it seemed to engulf you and I understood just how sad, sad could be. You said you were tired of trying and failing every time and my heart went out to every brave trial of yours. Despite all this, you say, in your trademark style that you will pick yourself up, dust off all the remaining signs of failure and surge ahead. I’m happy that your positivity remains, though a little jaded.

I just want you to know, that I will be with you every step of the way, doing whatever I can to cheer you on. You can be dead sure, I wont judge you and that I will listen, no matter what. Is there any way, I can convey this to you in a way you will trust a hundred percent? I do not know.

Good luck dear youknowhoyouare and Godspeed,

Yours truly,

Ajcl (madly cheering you from the sidelines)

PS: So much for saying that I wouldn’t blog. Not sure if I found the will to write or my mojo back, but then this post was the result of meeting an old friend. Long after we said our byes, I still kept going back to the conversation I had with her. I had to pen these thoughts, else it looked like the words would tumble  down my head and throttle my neck (am I making any sense at all?).

 

Im..

Not blogging anymore.. need to go hunt for my lost mojo. Wish me luck. Thanks for reading me all along.

 

Trends that need to change..

Chotu is now in pre school and soon I will have to step up my search for the ideal ‘big’ school. When I meet up with chotu’s classmates’ parents we are almost always discussing this topic. It was interesting that most of the parents were not in awe of schools that preached rote learning as part of their philosophy even though they churned out the island’s top scorers. The parents were so for schools that looked beyond only academics, sort of like an all round child moulding.

Education needs to change. Syllabi should include teaching on how to deal with real life scenarios in addition to the usual course work.For eg : as part of a school project kids can be taught how basic functions in a bank work (i.e depositing a cheque/cash, withdrawal etc). And this connection with real life should be an integral part of the system across all levels of teaching (school and college).

Jai, a good friend, an IIM alumnus wrote this from his personal experience. I do agree with him on most pointers, with no intention of sounding insolent towards the hallowed portals or the world-class talent it produces.

So with these thoughts, predominant in my mind, I was really happy to read this bit of info yesterday. It is a beginning and a great one at that and I just hope it continues to reach great heights and really achieve its purpose. I so totally wish that this percolates downward to the school leve too.

Disclaimer: The author doesn’t claim to be an expert in the subject of education and hence this post doesn’t come supplemented with stats and published findings. The views expressed are just her humble take, as a parent on how she feels the education system needs to evolve as it will create a sea change in the way the future generation’s thinking will be directed. She feels that the education system should constantly evolve to borrow liberally from real life situations. This will help in graduates knowing just what to expect and hence will equip them better to come up with more accurate solutions. She also doesn’t mean to take a dig at the ‘biggies’. She would like to apologise in advance to any one’s feelings she might have inadvertently hurt.

 

Flu..

 The one thing that I really admire about chotu is the way he conducts himself when in pain. He has a very stoic and  matter of fact approach to it, that makes him so much more endearing. Wonder what I’m rambling about? Chotu is currently under the weather, he has his second flu attack in 3 weeks (after effects of going to school his pediatrician tells me) and has been reduced to a whimpering bundle. All he does all day is curl up in his fav corner of the couch, staring away into nowhere. His eyes and nose constantly water and he dabs away at them alternatively with his ‘ankie’. This is pretty much the only action that he performs.  His dad and I take turns, cradling him in our arms and he just goes with the flow. It’s scary when the heat (from the fever) feels hot against our skins. We wonder how he even puts up with so much for his age. Had I been in his place, I’d be moaning away, being supremely cranky and the likes. I’m so glad he doesn’t take after me.

A sick kid is any parent’s nightmare, but having a kid who responds this way only tugs more at my heart-strings. Everything seems to quiet , so dull without his gregarious presence. Makes me realise that it is another one of those things, I take too much for granted.

Wish him well folks, I really need my daily dose of being driven up the wall, and no one can do it the way he does.

 

Of Why’s and why nots

I hate the weather these days, especially in the mornings when I drop chotu off at school. Its blistering hot and even the paltry 15 min walk seems like a torture.

Yesterday chotu decided to add to amma’s woes by asking way too many questions (the answers to which had to be anything other than ‘i don’t knows, sounds and monosyllables) . Like I mentioned, he is now into this ‘why’ phase and it looks like it’s here to stay, stripping me of the last shred of patience I think , I still possess.

Samples:
Chotu: (Pointing to a mushroom, fully knowing what it is) Idu enna? (What is this)?
Amma: You tell me
Chotu: itzzz a kutty umbella (it is a small umbrella)
Amma: (in a mood to indulge him) Correeeeecttt!!!
Chotu: En mushroom umbella madiri iruku (why is the mushroom like an umbrella)?
Amma :(Opening her mouth to say ‘i dont know’ but then realises the rules of the game and not wanting to upset chotu) Mazhai vanda, ants mushroom keezha irukum, wet ahama irukarthuku (A mushroom is shaped like an umbrella, so ants can take shelter when it rains)
Chotu: goes OHHH, as though absorbing amma’s silly logic
We walk on silently for a while, with a ruthless sun beating down on us, when chotu says : AMMA TUKIKO (amma lift me up).
I really dread when he says this, as carrying him kills my back and shoulders. I try to distract him but he stays put, hugging my legs as a last-ditch attempt.

I begin reasoning:
Amma: Walk panalam, please
Chotu: Why
Amma: You are a big boy chotu
Chotu: Why why?
Amma: (Dis-entangles herself from chotu and proceeds to walk, so he will have no choice but to follow)
Chotu: (comes running behind amma, all the time chanting ‘why why’)
Amma: After putting up with a lot of misplaced ‘whys’, turns around all set to scream, when she actually spots ‘Wai- Wai’.

Wai Wai is chotu’s classmate, she was my life saver yesterday and for that I owe her. Thanks to her timely appearance, chotu got chit chatting and walked the rest of the distance and breezed into class.