Tere masoom savaalon se...

Pareshaan hoon main.... Yes. Kutu is going through that phase when he wants to know about everything and anything. Straight out of the babe's mouth I know they are amazingly cute. But....I am not too good at answering questions either. So more often than not I am at a loss of words. Literally...

He has a question about everything around him. From the street dog to the spider at some corner of the house to the imaginary monsters that help me thrust morsels of food down his throat. Everyone is subject to his interrogation. :) Its just questions, questions and more questions through out all his waking hours.

Want to try a sample of his questions? Here you go:

Scene One: The short early morning walk that he takes with his amma. A dog is seen disappearing down the road.

Kutu: Bow-Bow evide odi poyi amma? (Where did the Bow-Bow run away amma)

Amma: Adhinde veetilleku poyi kutu.(It ran to its home)

Kutu: adhu engane odi poyi?(How did it run)

Amma: fast fast aayitu odi..

Kutu: Engane fast fast aayitu odi?

Amma(already at a loss of words): fast fast aayitu odi.. (with a stern tone)

Knowing from my tone, not to probe further into the random dog's atheltic capabilities...

Kutu: Sheri...Adhu veetu poyitu endhu cheyum?

Amma: Adhu good boy aayitu pallu thechu, paapam kazhichitu school pogum ( like a good boy he brushes his teeth, has his breakfast and goes to school...all this told with a faint hope to inspire him into being a good boy and not to make a fuss while getting ready to school)

Kutu: Appo bow-bow inde amma endhu parayum? (Then what will its amma say)

Amma: Bow-Bow inde amma "good boy good boy" parayum. Kutu good boy aano? (Are you a good boy too kutu?)

Kutu(with a sheepish grin): illaa....:)

End of Scene.

Off late he also wants to know the pros and cons of everything. For Eg., When I ask him to drink milk. He wants to know "amma...paal kudichaa"(what if i drink milk?). I say something random like the bacteria in his tummy will run away. Then he asks "amma paal kudichilengil??". Again I search for something imaginative to say but end up saying that the bacteria will come running back to his tummy and that if he drinks milk it will go fight all the bacteria there. Then he wants to know how exactly the milk will fight the bacteria. I would say something like it will do dishum dishum and fight them. Then pop comes the question "engane dishum dishum fight cheyum?". I end up blinking for a second and then do a dishum dishum on his tummy. He would then start giggling and run away. And the bottom line is that inspite of all this the Misson Milk Pouring down his throat remains unaccomplished. :(

I just tell him not to ask too many questions when I end up blinking like a caterpillar. That again is sends him on a giggle tour.

Ever Heard of Kipling's Six Honest Serving Men?

I keep six honest serving-men
(They taught me all I knew);
Their names are What and Why and When
And How and Where and Who.

Well....my son keeps these honest serving men too...and makes them work overtime...24x7. Hundreds of whats and hundreds of whys. They might be teaching him all he knows but they have also put his mom on a fasttrack towards insanity.

P.S: This is a beautiful poem though. Given below is its full version. These lines comprise part of the epigraph to Kipling's short story, "The Elephant's Child".

I keep six honest serving-men
(They taught me all I knew);
Their names are What and Why and When
And How and Where and Who.
I send them over land and sea,
I send them east and west;
But after they have worked for me,
I give them all a rest.

I let them rest from nine till five,
For I am busy then,
As well as breakfast, lunch, and tea,
For they are hungry men.
But different folk have different views;
I know a person small-
She keeps ten million serving-men,
Who get no rest at all!

She sends'em abroad on her own affairs,
From the second she opens her eyes-
One million Hows, two million Wheres,
And seven million Whys!

From the world of books

I read a very interesting post while bloghopping(my favourite pastime). Usha writes beautifully and seems to be a wonderful person. I have not commented much on her space though. This post of hers inspired me into doing something similar over here.

The world of books(with the exception of textbooks of course) has never failed to enchant me. It is so easy to delve into the fictitious world thrown open to you. Be one with the protagonist and gain tremendous joy in being with him\her through thick and thin. So, here goes a list(not in any particular order) of some of my favourite characters from the books that I have read.

1. Robinson Crusoe: This is one of the earliest books that i had read as a child. During the summer holidays of my fourth or fifth standard, this was one of the books that my mother bought for me to help fight boredom. and I was hooked. Travelling in a ship and getting shipwrecked on a lonely island became my life's secret ambition. Anyone who got shipwrecked was one lucky bum according to me. The luckiest among them has to be none other than Robinson Crusoe. It is so easy to identify yourself with him. As lazy and happy go lucky as any teenager in the beginning, he turns rebellious when his father asks him to do something worthwhile in life. Soon the runaway boy turns into a courageous brave hero after he is shipwrecked. I became a die-hard fan of this guy especially after the way he teaches his Man Friday to talk. I started treating all my friends as Man and Woman Fridays when I went back to school. They thought I had gone mad. But who cares. :)

2. "The Famous Five": Wow!! what do I tell about them! Julian, Dick, George(ina), Anne and of course the very adorable Timmy. I especially used to like George. Tomboyish, hot-headed but very kind at heart. Their action packed adventures and hikes and tours to the kirrin island...transports you momentarily to the lush green british countryside. And the yummy food that get a mention in the books. All so new to the little me then...who was aware of only the south indian delicacies at that time. There was a point when I was almost hero worshipping the Famous Five characters. I used to rummage through the damaged and discarded books in my school library and think that my day was made if I found a coverpage of a Famous five book. I actually had a collection of it. :) Sounds silly..now when I think back of all those days.

3. Pat and Isabel O'Sullivan : The "Stuck-Up" twins from the St. Clares series :). My best friend in school P was an avid fan of the St. Clare series too. We spend countless lunch breaks exchanging and discussing these books. And finally a brainwave struck us. We were like "Hey...our school is no less compared to St. Clares". So, to start with, we called ourselves the O'Sullivan twins. Because we were "best of friends" and of course inseparable you see. I was Pat and she was Isabel. All other girls in the class were assigned a character each based on their resemblances(physical or behavioural) to the ones in the book. We even named a teacher of ours as the "abominable Mam'zelle". Sigh...what to say....we dwelled in our own little fantasy world. P and I have been out of touch for years together now. But these memories live on. Thanks P for all those days made special and wonderful by our friendship. Hope to see you sometime soon.

I was a great Enid Blyton fan. And so all the characters from Noddy to the Five Findouters have a special place in my heart.

4. Tom Sawyer: The boy who thought becoming pirates was cool and hunting for a hidden treasure is what every well brought up boy of his age should compulsorily have done. His thirst for adventure, childish romances with Becky Thatcher , friendship with the village vagabond Huck Finn and above all his heart of gold makes him absolutely lovable!

5. Calvin: of the Calvin and Hobbes fame. :)This little fellow and his aide hobbes send me into peals of laughter every time I read their comic strip. The first time I read about them I was so impressed, I told my friend "if and when I have a son of my own I wish he is just like calvin". and you know what they say about being careful about what you wish for, it might just come true. Well...seeing what kutu is...I wish god almighty could have dozed off a little when I uttered those words!! :)

6. Mr. Darcy: From Pride and Prejudice. Is it possible for any girl in her right senses to NOT like this character? :) Handsome, intelligent , very proud and yet with a strong sense of virtue and honour. The way his pride falls as his love for Elizabeth blossoms, brings a smile on every girl's face.

7. Elizabeth Bennet: again from Pride and Prejudice. Beautiful, lively, quick-witted, bold and kind hearted. Easily a role model for a lot of girls :)

8. Scarlett O' Hara: Inspite of the negative streak to her character, there is something likeable in her. May be its the way she works towards getting what she wants in life. Or the little feminist rebel in her. Or her sheer optimistic outlook towards life. So aptly portrayed in the closing lines of the novel "After all, tomorrow is another day!".

9. Vianne Rocher: From Joanne Harris's Chocolat. Needless to say, this book left me smacking my lips just at the thought of all the different varieties of chocolates and other goodies that get a mention here. She is a very charming lady. The way she struggles to fight as well as stick on to her magical past is truly amazing.

10. Ron Weasely: Yeah...inspite of being an ardent fan of the harry potter books, I am not too big a fan of Harry himself. Ron breathes life into these books through his wit and humour. Sarcastic, passionate and very lovable character. The constant bickering between Ron and Hermione brings a smile on one's face just when the book starts to take a melancholic tone.

Ron is closely followed by Fred and George though. Especially in the OOP book. A truly hilarious duo they are!! :) Overall...JKR rocks!!Period.

These are just a few fictional characters which came to my mind. There are many many more. Though I took a long time in finishing this post, it was great fun compiling this list.