A Trip to God's Own Country

Yes...Kutu went on his first ever trip to Kerala. Inspite of being a malayalee he had not set foot on mallu land for all four years of his existence. This is what happens when you are born to parents who are the most Non-Malluish Mallus . Ok...I think am being a little harsh on myself and his dad. It just so happened that chance and time were not conducive enough to make such a trip possible in the past. Now anyway, thanks to a cousin's wedding we had a long and eventful and fun-filled weekend at trivandrum.

The fun started in the train itself!! With two of our cousins joining us at ernakulam and kutu being his own extra-exuberant self. The little monkey's ambition in life seemed to be to climb up and down the berths in our coupe! I was reminded of the first time we took him on a train journey. He was so calm and composed. ok ok...sorry..I was blinded by motherly love for a few moments! We have never known calm and composed used in the same context as kutu except in school where he is a reincarnation of Gautam Buddha himself! But I digress...I will talk about this aspect of his character sometime later.

Our co-passenger a quiet young girl...most probably a software engineering going home for the weekend...was trying hard to keep a straight face seeing us struggling hard keep up with kutu's tirade of questions and non-stop nonsense.

Cool showers and gentle breeze welcomed us at trivandrum. With the monsoons having arrived much before us, it was a race between us and the rains wherever we went. And guess what we managed to outplay the great monsoons of kerala. We actually managed the whole trip without getting wet in the rain. Yeah...we have crossed the age when drenching in the rain and singing "rim jhim rim jhim" is considered romantic. Post Kutu...rains only remind us of running nose, cough, fever and endless trips to the doctor! No thank you... :) we prefer the safety of indoors.

But then...as usual...i have starting rambling on and on. A quick lunch and a nap later we went our for a drive around trivandrum. Oh Yes...I did mention quick lunch in the same context as kutu! Its time I started to expect the unexpected as far as he is concerned. I went anticipating hell during his meal times as the normal white rice we eat in chennai is not easily available in kerala. The fatter and redder cousin of the white rice is used there. But then my kutu ate! Of course he did make a huge fuss and run around during meal time...but atleast he didnt refuse downright which in itself is a good sign. :) Thank god for these little mercies... :) Again I digress. So we did everything from chasing a running train from the road(a la` rajesh khanna in aradhana) and loafing around in the lovely serene beaches and horse rides.Atlast our little outing ended with having cutlets, omlettes, toasts and coffees at Indian Coffee House near the beach road.

The next day was the wedding which went on well. As always is the case with any mallu nair wedding...this too was a blink-and-miss affair. You bat an eyelid and there...you have missed the wedding. Yes...our rituals are that short!! A brief ten minute affair. A tad boring na? I wish kutu gets married to a punjabi girl and we have a grand "balle-balle" wedding for him. Am going to be one hot looking Mother-In-Law dancing and singing "lo chali mein...apni kutu ki baaraat leke...” Don't you think so too? No? Nahi? Sigh.....well never mind....Whatever will be will be and the future's not ours to see. But dreams...are unlimited!!! :) :)

I have to mention the star of the event though....ammachi! Kutu's great-grand mother. she is 97 not out! Still quite active for her age.It had been a long time wish of mine that kutu should get to see his great-grandmother. It was atlast fulfilled. I was so happy. Owing to old age she might not even have known who we were. But we atleast got to be in her midst for a short span of time and that will do. :) She is amazing. Here I am...typically the silly city bred girl....pecking at the sumputuous sadya that was being served for lunch and there she was eating every morsel with great relish and contentment! Touch wood!! May god give her good health and happiness.

From there we went to vembayam..MIL's hometown...a nice little village near trivandrum. It was a trip down the memory lane for her when she was showing kutu the places from her childhood days! Her school, the local market place, the hospital where her children were born etc. There at home were three little brats all of almost the same age as kutu! The commotion and racket they created!! The gang leader of the troupe was the eldest one. Arya. She is what you call a Toofan Mail…or better still a little tornado! My own little kutu seemed much sober in comparison! So the Fiery Four gang had a great time tearing the house to bits! The gang of the elder brats was no less either! This gang comprised of Hubby Dear and cousins. Their only worthwhile past time during the whole trip seemed to be to tease each other and of course me. One mega leg pulling session it was! But then what else are little brothers for if not this!! They even managed to make me drive a car! It doesn’t matter that all I did was moving the car in first gear back and forth a distance of about 20 mts. But coming from me it is a huge achievement.

And yes…How can I forget this… I met up with a virtual friend of mine. Someone I have known only through emails, online chats and phone calls. It was nice to meet her in person. It was just like meeting old friends. No awkward pauses or starting trouble in our conversations. No one could have guessed that we were seeing each other for the first time! Sree was an instant hit with Kutu as well. He even decided to bring her home with us to Chennai. :)

So all in all a fun time was had by everyone and it left us yearning for more. But then this is precisely the way every well enjoyed vacation should end. :) I just realized that we have been visiting Trivandrum only when someone in the family is getting married. So the next eligible bachelor in the gang had better hurry up. :)
From the wilderness of Vembayam we are now back to our very own Singara Chennai and it’s good to be home. Even if one’s home is the always Hot-Hotter-Hottest Chennai. :) Kutu’s school reopens tomorrow and he has been making excuses for the past two weeks. He says “Amma June il enikku cold varum…so enikku school pogaan pattillaa”. Yes…he is very sure that he is going to catch a cold in June so he won’t be able to go to school! What do I say to this except to pray for some good luck. Wish me luck… :)

A cheeky incident of a sleepy boy in the morning

Yes yes....i know thats a very bad attempt at a pun! But how best do I describe this incident?

The setting of the scene: A bright sunny monday morning and Amma is attempting to wake up her dearest brat dreading the impending herculean task of "getting ready to school".

But then there is something about sleeping children that melts your heart. Especially the mommy heart! And so me the "Amma with a melting heart" told the half-asleep-half awake kutu that I am going to give him a big kiss. I asked him where the said kiss should be manifested. "Kutu para....right cheek or the left cheek". And the little one lifted up his feet and thrust it on my face and said "ivide(here)".
"oh yeah??!! sigh...sigh...well if you say so....fine.". and it didnt stop at that! He has the cheek to lift up his other feet for a next kiss!!!! And all through this the little gentleman didn't even open his eyes!!

well...well....if you are worshipping the ground beneath the little feet, you might as well be ready kiss them right? :) Mister Kutu.....just show me another woman who would so willingly and lovingly kiss your feet and scratch your bum!! :):)

Thoughts triggered by a phone call

You know you have finally arrived in the Mommy World when...

1. The friend you have known from your own diaper days seeks your advice on which diapers to use for her baby! And you say "I swear by Huggies and pampers is no good" and not stopping with that both of you go on ranting about which diapers give what kind of rashes on the baby's tiny butt.

2. Words like breastfeeding, periods, epsiotomy and contraceptives are no longer used in a hush hush tone.Infact they are quite common place. :)

3. You can hold an entire conversation on and only on the baby pooping, farting and burping. And that too in great intricate details.

4. you exchange really looong emails with your close friend in US....discussing what your respective brats eat. Rather how\why they don't eat anything. Each of you find great solace in knowing that your own brat is not the only skinny stick-insect in this world. and finally at the end of it all declare that you are both sisters in woe. The greatest woe on earth being the fruit of your womb refusing to down even a morsel of food without any fuss.

5. you and the same friend spot a happy looking girl with thick long lustrous hair and give one sad look at your plait(which can anytime be mistaken for a rat's tail) and say almost in unison "oh...she has not given birth to a brat as yet.".

A telephonic conversation with a friend yesterday triggered all these thoughts. My only regret is that I could not hold such enlightening discussions with any of my friends when Kutu was born. Being an early bird in my group of friends, I kickstarted the babywagon atleast a good three years before the rest of them. But anyway...no cribs. I am now the official Gyaan Provider of the group. :) So what if "Go see the Doc...girl" is the only gyaan I can ultimately provide.

How these little brats change our lives!! and how our conversations have evolved from homeworks, assignments, exams, teachers, boys, gossip, careers, office politics, family, marriage and now babies!! :) An interesting Journey!!

Buzz of the Spelling Bee

How do you spell NODDY??!! Yes...Come on. Tell me how? No wait! Listen to what I have to tell first. :)

A close friend T got Kutu a book on Noddy. It was a surprise birthday present for him. The title of the book is "Bumpy Dog's Bad Day". My boy ofcourse loved it! The ardent die hard Fan of Noddy that he is!!! It has now become his favouritest and has to be read to him every night atleast thrice. The book is then kept beside his pillow and only then will the little monster dozes of into the dreamworld. By the way, this is the latest addition to the things that he takes to bed with him. Sorry...no cute cuddly teddy bears or soft pillows for this one. He just has to make sure his bundle of treasure is safe and sound and close to him before he sleeps. Doesn't matter if the bundle comprises of:
1. His building set
2. His green pencil Box(which is anyway in a highly dilapidated state)
3. His Noddy books
4. Some other story books like Pinochio, Gingerbread Man etc.
All hell breaks lose if one of these is missing at bedtime. The whole household will go down on all fours looking for the missing object which would be later found under the TV or the sofa or bed or some such random place.

But then I digress. This is not the point of the post. The fact of the matter is...me being me...tried to convert the repetitive bedtime reading sessions into a learning session. An idea that can occur only to mothers!!

Kutu has started learning a few small words and their spellings in school. Like CAT, MAT, BAT, MAN, VAN etc. The kids are made to match the words with the corresponding pictures. Hence, they learn the spellings as well. SO....I taught him how to spell DOG from the title of the book that T gifted. Given the number of times we read that book( or rather the story is told to him) every night, he learnt the spelling fast enough. I decided to proceed a little further and try a bigger word now. The bigger word being "NODDY". So, at the first attempt we go "Kutu...Noddy spelling endhu? N...O...D....D...Y! NODDY!!" and it is also religiously repeated by him. Day 2 and again I go "N...O...D....D...Y! NODDY!!". Now, his crooked mind starts running wild and he says " illa amma....Noddy spelling enthu ariyaamo? N...Y...NODDY".

EH??? What?? I say "No Kutu....N...O...D....D...Y! NODDY!!". Now he is positively frustrated at his mother's foolishness. "Ee Ammaikku onnum arinjoodaa".(This Amma knows nothing!!). And then he goes on to explain. "O...D...D... ellam Dog Spelling. N, Y maatram Noddy spelling." (The O and Ds appear in "D.O.G" so they cannot belong to the word N.O.D.D.Y). Now, can anyone beat this logic??!!! Will someone tell me if my son stands any chance to be a future Spelling Bee Contest Champion? Anyway...for now, I am just flabbergasted!