Meet the hero!!!

So..we went to meet our hero. Sorry sorry..not hero. Super Hero! What blasphemy!! How dare I call Bheem…Chota Bheem just a hero?  :) Yes. We took Nandu and Achu to the just released movie on Chota Bheem. Weren’t they excited!! Nandu wanted to go first day first show on May 18^th. But held on and waited till yesterday only because then he could watch the movie with his chechi.

Just in case you are someone living in Mars or Jupiter or have been in a self-imposed coma of sorts and are scratching your head and wondering what this gibberish is all about. Well, this boy, Chota Bheem is sort of a super hero cum action hero cum boy with a golden heart cum a lot of other things. He lives in this fictional town called Dholakpur along with his faithful friends (fans?!) Chutki, Raju and Jaggu.  And there is Bheem’s arch rival Kalia and his witty side kick Bholu and Dholu. Dholakpur is ruled by King Indra Varma who when not singing praises of Chota Bheem, is sitting on his throne in a pensive mood saying “Bheem…you are our only hope. The safety of Dholakpur and its people is in your hands!”  Then there is the princess Indumati, the damsel in distress, who is rescued by our pint sized saviour Bheem.  Tun Tun Maasi, Chutki’s mother who makes the yummiest laddoos for Bheem. And that brings us to the most important thing about our little hero! What spinach is to Popeye, laddoos are to Chota Bheem . Laddoos are the secret of his energy!!!

Amazed how I am so knowledgeable?? An adult who is supposed to be watching if not the news channels atleast the saas-bahu K-serials. Oh well….this is what happens when your kid is OCD about Chota Bheem and POGO channel very generously caters to the brats population by airing episodes after episodes, day in and day out. As if this was not enough, came the Chota Bheem movie, bang in the middle of the summer vacations.

Wow….it was some experience! The entire situation was something like the college culturals of our yesteryears. Nandu and Achu joined the kids in the theatre. Cheered, hooted, jumped and clapped to Bheem’s entry scene. The cheering started right from the word GO! “Bheem, Bheem, Bheem, Chota Bheem Chota Bheem” was the chant on everyone’s lips. I mean only the kids.

As for the movie, it kept the kids glued to their seats. The animation effects though not world class were good enough. Who is worried about nitty gritties like animation and special effects when you can watch Chota Bheem on big screen for a whole two hours! The plot of the story, borrows generously from Harry Potter series. Complete with a Basilisk like villain, dementors, magical land etc. You even had dementor like creatures flying around in the opening scene. Death eater look alikes in the form of kaal sainiks(?!). And the guru. Wow…this is where the HP similarity just struck home. The guru is so much like Albus Dumbledore. The hairstyle, the foot length beared tied up in a bow at the end, the robes, the similarity is just too close to go unnoticed by a HP fanatic like me. If someone watches the movie, please tell me I am not wrong! J Or maybe all fantasy stories follow the same plot? Yes..that must be it. 

The episodes of Chota Bheem on small screen, show Bheem to be the one and only saviour. The messiah who came to save mankind sorts. But in the movie, it is pure team work. I loved this fact. Raju, an archery specialist, is given a magical bow and arrow by the Guru. The arrow would show Raju the way to whatever he seeks (remember Ron’s illuminator from HP and the deathly hallows anyone??). Chutki is given something magical too. It helps her tie up the baddies. (I dozed off at this stage I think. So cannot remember the finer details). Kalia is given the mantra for invisiblity and Bholu-Dholu are taught the duplication mantra. They can duplicate themselves at will. Over and above all this is Chota Bheem’s mantra which takes away the magical qualities of the enemy. So, the basic premise is, in the movie it is team work which wins in the end and not just Bheem. This is something one doesn’t usually see on the TV episodes.Oh and one more thing. The two songs, “the title song” and “jum jum jumboora” were enjoyed by all irrespective of the age! I found myself humming “jum jum jumboora” well into the night.

The kids had a blast. The adults had only one role to play here, that of an escort. I enjoyed watching the kids. But even that couldn’t keep me awake for long. I dozed off in the middle and Nandu shook me awake with a very emphatic ”Ammmmmaaaa!!!”.  He was most offended. 

Nandu and Achu were dressed in Chota Bheem T Shirts in a show of true loyalty to their hero. They were an object of envy to many a kid in the theatre hall. At least, a couple of kids looked back at their moms saying “I want that too!!”. Their already tired parents were giving me killer looks while I gave them back a sheepish smile. So there…mission accomplished!!

At the end of a long tiring day....

My little one(who is not so little anymore) was at his sulky best.It was the end of a long gruelling day spent studying(supposedly) at school, an hour at a now very boring keyboard class and then rest of the evening spent chasing a poor little kitten on the streets, dragging a reluctant amma to his friend's house etc. Amma had had a tough day too. So not a recipe for a "happy family" setup. With exams just round the corner, amma asked Kutu to take to his books once back home. And no...the little mister wanted to dawdle around and finally came to amma in kitchen and asked her to sharpen his pencil for him. The pencil in question was only one inch long and looked like the brat had only been sharpening pencils all day. Now why else will a newly bought pencil be reduced to an inch within a day's time!

Emotions were running high with Amma reprimanding kutu, kutu already irritable and tired retaliating in his own whiny way. Kutu took the path which every other pint-size tyke would normally take when at the rope's end! He was about to bawl and cry! This being the last straw for the already tired to the bones amma, she screamed too at a decibel level which shook the neighbouring apartments. "Kutu...not another sound from you....ok??!!!".

Kutu stared at amma for sometime. His eyes welling up with tears, teeth chattering and wrists clenched. Then came the question of the millenium!!! "Sound illaadhe engane karayum amma...??!!". Genuine confusion writ on his tear stained face. The poor little puppy didn't know how to cry silently. And boom!! Yeah...that was amma's heart breaking!

So, amma kicked the parental ego on its posterior. Mother and son hugged and laughed and cried(loudly) all at the same time. The exhaustion of a long day melted away. Peace and calm reigned. God is in his heaven and all is well with this world and all that. And then a meek voice is heard again.... "amma pencil sharp cheydhu tharo?". What???!!!!

Dear Godji....

Is it even possible to wipe this expression off his face? Yeah...he is at his expressive best during meal times!! Godji up in the sky!!!! Are you listening?? When will meal times cease to resemble a battle field? :(



Yours,
A very tired mother of kutu.

Musings at the study table

Scene: Homework time in the kutu household. Amma and kutu at the study table.

Subject under study: Hindi. ka,kaa,ki,kee....ch,chaa,chi,chee.... and more such profoundly interesting things to be written out by the highly unwilling brat!

Amma: Kutu....idhanu "ee" ki maatra. "Cha" inde aduthu oru standing line pinne oru half circle varachu renduneyum join cheyanam. (draw standing line near cha and join the two with a half circle). Appo adhu "cheeeee". ok? now repeat!

No reaction from the said kutu. He is deep in thought while he doodles random designs in the homework notebook. Amma slowly goes into the hyperventilating stage.

Amma: Kuttuuuu.....

Kutu: Amma....next time appoopande veetil pogumbo namakku ammedae schoolil povaam ok?.( we will go to see your school when we go to appoopan's(grandfather's) house next. ok??)

Its an "eh??!!" moment for amma. Now what has that got to do with the darn "eeee" ki maatra!! Nevertheless, amma is very happy. Any thought\talk about her beloved alma mater makes her all nostalgic. and the "eh??!!" moment slowly transforms into a "How sweet!!" moment. Amma is slowly levitating in an imaginary bubble. Pictures of the big play ground and her school building materialise in her mind. A trip down the memory lane it would be!! wow!!! But reality strikes her at the right moment as the issue at hand is conveniently forgotten. so....

Amma: kutu...."eeee ki maatra..." standing line near....

Kutu: amma...avide nammal ammade friends ellareyum kaanam ok? (We will meet all your friends ok?)

Amma is literally floating in the air now...in that imaginary bubble of course. He even wants to meet my friends!! wow! :) :) But....the said friends are all in the amreeka land and in far away places now. Aaaahhh....more nostalgia.

Amma: sigh...sigh...and more sigh..... ammade friends aarum avide illa kutu. Ellarum doore doore poyi. (None of amma's friends are in the school anymore. They are all far far away from here)

Kutu: isssok....nammal ammade miss ine kaanam povaam. ( its ok. we will meet your teachers)

Flashes of all the favourite teachers cross amma's mind. Some of them are not even alive now. :( More sigh moments.... and the bubble floats higher up in the air.

Amma: ok kutu. Miss ine kaanam.

Kutu (with a grin that would put even a cheshire cat to shame): ammade miss endhu parayum ariyaamo??? "hey sunitha....nee ippo oru aunty aayalo" ennu parayum. (your miss will say "sunitha you are now an aunty!")

and....thud!!! The bubble bursts and brings amma back to the ground with a bang! "Aunty??" and me??? :( :( :(

So there....this was how amma officially made an entry into the "sisterhood of aunties". The kith and kin around her kept complimenting her on how young she looks even at the ripe old age of....(well...she is not really going to reveal her age here...come on....three decades in this world has obviously made her wiser...). The spawn of her womb shook her out of her denial. :) Anyways...he thinks this is the biggest compliment he could have given his mom. Well...if that is the case then "aunty" be it. :)

But wait...its not the end of the story yet.

Amma (now trying hard to keep a straight face): ok kutu.

Kutu: Pinne miss parayum "children....see...sunitha good girl aayitu irunnu adhukondu ippo office pogunnu. So ellarum good children aayitu irikkanam ok?". (Sunitha was a good girl so she now goes to an office. So you should be good ok?)

Yeah right!!!What an idea kutu ji!! :) :)

A round of hugging and tickling and cuddling and laughing follows where in the hindi homework notebook and the "eeeee" and "oooooo" and "yaaay" ki maatras get crushed.

The End.

P.S: Have I just been taken for a ride by that son of mine??!! Maybe yes. How on earth am I going to get him to learn his "eee" ki maatras now?

P.P.S: And here goes a picture of our little scholar!