My world..

chotusworld — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 02:36:02 +0000

Fear.

Trepidation.

Darkness that gets one shade darker everytime I try to get used to it.

Fumbling (lots of it).

Bruises.

Aches.

Hope- you listening?

What does one do

chotusworld — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 00:59:48 +0000

when one doesn’t find a magniflying glass or a microscope at home, to examine one’s palms to check for the bacteria that teacher said is present, no matter how many times one washes one’s hands? Simple. One just uses a pair of binoculars.

Of Names

chotusworld — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 11:54:35 +0000

When chotu got off the school bus yesterday, I could see he was bursting to ask/tell me something and sure enough..

Chotu: Amma, ennaku middle name iruka? (Do I have a middle name?)

Amma: of course, iruke and proceeds to tell his middle name.

Chotu: (Considering this for a while) ohh ok ok.

Amma: (Thinking about the times, she had told chotu his complete name and wondering about the source of this question).

Chotu: Amma, Rohan (bus /lunch table/ workgroup buddy) told to me that he also has a middle name.

Amma: (a ha so this is where the discussion started).

Chotu: Amma do all peoples have middle name?

Amma: Some yes, some no.

Chotu: Do you have middle name?

Amma: No.

Chotu: Does appa have middle name?

Amma: No.

The discussion ended here.

Later in the evening, he tells me. “All peoples must have middle name. It should be their own name first, their amma’s name next and their appa’s name third”. He also tells me that his appa and I have broken this very simple rule and have given him a wrong middle name.

If only we were made aware of the “rule” before.

PS : Hope you folks are being treated to a very bright , happy, healthy and positive 2012 so far.

How rain is made

chotusworld — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 13:13:17 +0000

.. per chotu.

Chotu: The clouds are packed with water and then it just bursts and the water all comes down. (Step 1)

Me: How did the water get there in the first place?

Chotu: Ohh ada (ada = that in Tamizh) it is the remaining water from Step 1

Me: Ok but how did “the remaining” water get there?

Chotu: (thinks for a while) Varuna put it there.

Me: Varuna-va?

Chotu: Ammam, avan thaaan rain god.* (yes he is the rain god)

Me: How did Varuna get hold of the water?

Chotu: In the night when everyone was sleeping, Varuna took a bucket from his bathroom, got into his flying space craft and came down to a river which was on earth, filled up the bucket and went back and put it in the clouds.

Me: Ohh now I understand.

Chotu: Good girl amma.

* Per Hindu mythology, Varuna is the god of water bodies and the sky

Profound thoughts # 234

chotusworld — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 04:05:27 +0000

“Amma, ammmmmma I want to tell you something” begins chotu with the tone of someone who has cracked the secret code to life and the likes and receiving no response continues in the same vein “I know who am I”.. if it wasn’t about 12am and if he hadn’t shaken me awake from deep slumber, I might have still indulged him. But the restraint (which has got to be seen to be believed) that I was exercising (to scream my lungs off) for having been woken up rudely, stopped me from doing anything other than just staring at him in the dark. But my clueless son went on “Amma, do you know what, I know who am I”. ” I’m the patties“. At that moment, my anger dissipated and I asked him ” You are the what.?” “patties, amma… I’m patties“.., “appa and you is the bun slices and all this porvai (blanket in Tamizh) is the yucky lettuce”.. (yucky being the operative term here). “We are like burger peoples”. After having laughed hysterically at this great discovery and waking up the poor husband in the bargain, chotu and I went back to sleep, leaving the poor man wondering just what had possessed his wife and son.

It is coming..

chotusworld — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 06:45:41 +0000

.. says chotu when he doesn’t know the answer to a particular question and wants to buy time. So yesterday, he was asked “name a planet(s) that begins with the letter M”;” Mercury” he says and when further asked if there were any more, he tells me “ohh wait, wait, I know.. it is coming, the answer is coming to my brain…. but it is coming very slowly, amma”. The answer finally reached his brain, some 30 minutes later.

At four and a few months..

chotusworld — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 01:14:37 +0000

.. chotu is..

Fascinated with garbage trucks. There is this huge white truck that comes for collection every week and chotu can be seen looking at it in absolute delight. His olfactory senses take temporary leave of absence for the 10 odd minutes the truck is present. (Vids: Recollected anna V’s similar fascination ,albeit with the collector’s job, some time back).

(An) Obsessesive nail chewer. All forms of Sama, Dana, Bheda and Danda have been used, but nothing has worked so far. The grandmother is being pressed to action and counselling sessions are on via skype. Things seem to be getting better (touch wood).

(Professess)Undying love for Lego sets, basically building blocks of any kind. His latest possession is a 300 piece kucube basic set and he can spend copious amounts of time putting together random structures.

Reading (flipping through pages and being read to) has taken a back seat and sadly so. Efforts are on to nudge him back on track.

As with every stage/passing year, this one too comes with its share of surprises,discoveries, making adjustments all culminating in some valuable learnings. We walk on, chotu leading the way.

ETA: Ohh and besides the points mentioned above he is absent minded, still can’t get most jokes, thinks his “dance and drama” teacher is God and firmly beleives that brushing one’s teeth or having a bath is a waste of time.

Walls

chotusworld — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 01:34:35 +0000

Read this somewhere.. long back, these words came back to me today so reposting.

“Sometimes you put walls up not to keep people out, but to see who cares enough to break them down”.

Memories

chotusworld — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 06:39:26 +0000

5am “ganga snanam aacha” calls. A house filled with a mix of aromas – some wafting from the kitchen, some from the prayer room and some from the little corner where “nalla ennai” (seasame oil) is being slightly heated. . New clothes with surreptitious dabs of turmeric and kumkum.The staccato of a pair of very caring hands massaging generous amounts of said nalla ennai on scalps. The warmth of the oil - soothing and reassuring. Two eager beaver siblings.Laddos. Mixture. Other sundry bhakshanams on demand. Mattaapus,bhoomi chakras, flower pots, lakshmi bombs, bijlis. Different times. Happy times.

Passport To A Healthy Pregnancy Contest- Women’s Web

chotusworld — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 04:55:43 +0000

I was made aware of this contest by Anne John of Women’s Web. Thanks so much for the invite to write, Anne.

When I think back to my pregnancy days, the following pointers were the ones that helped me the most.

(1) A well-informed “go to” person: Preferably your gynaecologist.Considering the amount of information that is around to read/hear from, it is essential there is one solid source that is able to sieve,personalise and help in the application of information. I was blessed to have a gynaec who was truly only a phone call away. She would patiently answer the many queries I had, allay my fears and would counsel me on what I could expect. This helped me the most, because I’m not a “self-help” book kind of person.

(2) Eating for 2 is a myth: Eat the right amounts (do not stuff yourself), eat healthy, and go easy on fatty food and maintain healthy weight was something my gynaec kept reiterating.

(3) Keep yourself sufficiently hydrated.

(4) Listen to your body: There is a life growing within, the body sends out signals and one has just got to listen and act accordingly. An example in this case-there were days at a stretch where I felt that getting out of bed was a chore, I was happy snuggling deeper into the sheets. I felt guilty about not being up and about; then there were stretches were I felt extremely energetic and I wondered if I was over exerting myself. When I raised these 2 seemingly divergent situations with my doc, she said as long as my body didn’t protest or show signs of tiring down I was on the right track.

(5) “You are pregnant not incapable”: This was one of the first things my gynaec told me.Coupled with the previous point made lots of sense to me.

(6) Keep a happy/positive frame of mind how much ever possible (I say this because hormones are known to play truant during pregnancy) and enjoy all the pampering.

(7) Dont feel guilty about sleeping or taking rest a lot, view it as energy reserved for the very busy post delivery months.

(8) Music helps – I made a conscious attempt to listen to soothing music as it helped calm me, I wish it did more though.

The points that I have made are quite common but stood me in good stead at some really low points during my pregnancy. So to all the moms-to-be who are reading this post, many congratulations, wishes for a hassle free pregnancy and safe delivery.