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!

Off to Nagala

Had gone on an amazing trekking trip a couple of weeks ago. For the first time I had left home even before my brat woke up from the slumberland. Even after having prepared him before he went to bed the previous night saying "amma will have to leave for office very very early the next day. Be a good boy ok?", I was ill at ease. The mother hen in me not wanting to let go of her little one. But then I did. Mamma Bird flew off the nest for one whole day away from her littlest one! The pappa Bird stayed back did the babysitting. :)

Where women are concerned even a trekking trip will\has to involve shopping. Obviously!! so there I went shopping for shoes and track pants and t-shirts and what not! and then came the task of packing! Oh my god!! I was so reminded of the packing episode in the book "Three men in a boat". I so so love this book and have read it some gadzillion times. But what do I say. Some people are slow learners and I never did learn the valuble lesson that the wise George sermonises in there! He says the golden rule about packing for any trip is this "We must not think of the things we could do with, but only of the things that we can’t do without." So true....so true!! But again learnt it the hard way. We loaded our bags with a hundred differnt things of which not even 1% came handy while trekking. A couple of water bottles is all that one would need while trekking in the wilderness.

Anyways packed we were by midnight. And in all this excitement....I just could not manage a wink of sleep for the rest of the night. In anticipation of what the next day holds...will I pass out in the middle of the forest? Will I get lost? What if my old limbs refuse to budge? And the mother of all "What ifs"...What if Kutu throws a right royal tantrum asking for his amma? what if he falls sick? How will anyone even contact me? There will not be any signal in the middle of the forest! Sadly...the answer to all this was the same... "Whatever will be will be". siggghhh...yeah right. Jo hoga so dekha jayega. Enjoy your day out girl!! Having said this to myself I woke up at the unearthly hours...3:30 AM on a sunday morning.



Got ready and went to kiss my sleeping baby goodbye! :( There is something about sleeping babies that melts your heart. Yes it just melts all the steely resolve that you have made. Everyone said that he will be ok without you. But noone knew that the problem is not with him but me! About me being able to keep him in the back burner for a day. Noone knew that I would be taking two parallel trips. Along with the trekking trip, I would also be sub-consciously going on a guilt trip. Yeah right!! I am a self-proclaimed drama queen.

Finally pulled my heavy self and my even heavier baggage and rushed out of the house to pickup point alloted to us. Once inside the bus, I felt relaxed. So....nagalapuram here I come!

As you sow so shall you reap....

You know how they say life goes round and round in circles? Well this profound law of nature just dawned on me! And how!!! I had to learn this the hard way and believe you me, it hurts when life moves one full circle to come back and bite you sharp on the backside.

Remember that phase of life when you used to irritate everyone around by repeating each and every word that they said?? Generally being a pesky parrot and invoking the wrath of your near and dear ones. The immense sense of satisfaction and amusement that this provided needs to be experienced to be believed. So yeah...I am experiencing it right now. Only this time its from the other side of the table. My darling son has got into the habit of repeating all that I say! Especially when I go into that hyperventilating mode in the early morning rush to get ready for school! I shout "Kutu!!!!late aagum...vaaa" and there he goes "Kutu!!!!!late aagum...vaaa..." in the same tone and with the same facial expressions!!

And yeah...remember when you used to get away with all the mischief you did by conveniently throwing the "It was not me" arguement? Beat up your little brother black and blue and say "hey its not me...it was my hand!! I am not responsible for that now!!". Throw some random thing on your sibling and say "its not me!! it was that thing which went flying towards him!". Well...this too has backfired on me. The other day Kutu took his toy helicopter and came crashing on me. His entire weight(which is not much anyway) fell on me and the drama queen that I am, I gave a scream and shouted at him(what else is there in life to do nowadays??!!siggghhhh....). And the little brat very nonchalantly says "njaan allaa amma...helicopter". eh? what?

I was left gaping with my mouth wide open and a misplaced sense of Déjà vu. They start really young these days...don't they??

Here I leave you with a very rare photograph. How often would you come across a "Little Monster Meditating".





In case you are wondering what he is trying to accomplish...his teacher is chanting "om shanti shanti shanti.." at the end of the Yoga Presentation by the kids and each one of them is trying hard to look enlightened and calm and peaceful. :)

Did you know...

that ducks have stopped going "quack quack quack"? Especially the Mother Duck which goes around quacking(er...sorry i meant calling) its little ones back home. Am I talking in riddles? My apologies. :) Let me explain.

Ever heard this nursery rhyme which goes thus:

Five Little Ducks went out to play
Over the hills and far away
Mother Duck called quack quack quack
Four little ducks came back.

Four little ducks went out to play...... and it goes on till no little ducks come back.

This has been Kutu's favourite all through last year. So much so that he sometimes used to change its tune to a softer melodious one and sang it as a lullaby for me to sleep. But guess whats happening these days in Kutu's Kingdom? He doesnt like the mother duck to go quacking for her little ones. No sir. She has to start singing out in english!! The other day he was arranging his crayons in his box and randomly singing out this song. I didn't pay any attention to him in the beginning of course because I was bored to death listening to five little ducks everytime he is in a mood to sing. So imagine my surprise when I heard him singing this :

Five little ducks went out to play
Over the hills and far away
Mother Duck says "where is little ducks"
Four little ducks came back
Mother duck say "where you go"
Four little ducks say "over the hills and far away".

And yes this went on untill....No little ducks came back of course!! Smothering all urges of laughter, I asked him why he changed the song. He said in a very matter of fact manner "idhu pudhiya paatu ammaa" (this is a new song amma). A "very nice kuta" kiss was given pronto.

There is one more incident that I have to record here. Couple of weeks or more ago, during one of our feeding sessions, I was singing a song to him. I think it was "odi vilayaadu paapa". Not exactly the right choice when one is expecting the brat to stay put in a place to eat. But still me being me could not think of anything else. Then our little master says "amma verae paatu paadu"(amma sing some other song). Having run out of energy to think of anything else, I asked him what he wanted me to sing. He said "amma sleeping paapa paatu". Racked my brains to recollect the song he wanted but was very unsuccessful! He said "ok...njaan paadam". So here goes his composition...his maiden composition!!

Sleeping paapa sleeping paapa
sleep sleep
morning is come
get up get up

and immediately he ran away and hid behind his cot before I could give him a tight hug. :) After that he refused to give a repeat performance no matter how much we asked. But later that night, he sang it again for his dad just before going to sleep.

Sigh....my little one has grown up enough to make up songs of his own!! and to think I was worried sick when he took as long as two and a half years to start speaking!! Now....its just a tirade of non-stop blabbering 24x7.

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!

Happy 2009!!!!

Happy New Year Glitter Pictures

Mimosa Pudica!!

Excuse me!!?? What did I just say? :) :) :) No no...this is not a swear word nor am I in a nasty mood. Thats just me showing off my memory power. I didn't learn all those darn scientific names for all kinds of plants and animals in school for fun. Got to display my skills somewhere right? And why of all the varied flora that grow under the sun, I talk about a silly prickly touch-me-not? siggghhh....well thats our latest fascination.



Kutu just loves them now. Yes blame it on me. During one of our morning walks, I found a touch-me-not bush among the weeds infront of a house. Me being me, showed kutu how the leaves wilt off temporarily on touch. The curious cat that he is, he wanted to know why they do so. on being told that they go off to sleep because we are patting them on their heads he was quite excited. This was the story on Day 1. Day 2 and he would go "patting" and loudly say "hey orangu daa...hey orangu daaa..."(hey go to sleep da).

And then, Day 3 onwards the plant blooms into pretty pink flowers. Or thats when we noticed them. He wanted them flowers! Amma of course had to oblige and be the flower picker. But the only problem here is the plant has tiny thorns all over and it pricks! As if to say "hey are you dumb? Even after I say Touch-Me-Not, you not only dare to touch me but also pluck my pretty flowers??!! Well....you asked for it. Here you go..." ouch!!...:( When the flowers were deposited in his hands, he broke into a big wide smile and said "amma enikku poo perichu thannu alle...enikku santhosham..."(i know thats broken malayalam...but thats all even his mother knows...so cant really blame him. Can we?). By the way, "enikku santhosham"(crudely meaning to say i am happy) is his favourite phrase now. It is used freely anywhere and everywhere, in or out of context. Yes darling...anything to see that bright smile on your face early in the morning even if it means handling those silly thorns.

Hum panchhi unmukt gagan ke

I am neck deep in work today\now. What with deadlines to meet before an audit at the client side and a much desired vacation planned at the end of the week. It is also one of those days when the server at the client side decides to go on a hike. Every little link takes an eternity to open. So as always, I decided to browse\blog hop when the server took its own sweet time to open a few links. And guess what I found? I found a link to a hindi poem that I just love.

"Hum panchhi unmukt gagan ke"

I loved it so much as a kid, that I had memorised the whole poem and one could wake me up from deep sleep and I could still recite the verses from the start to the end. I had long forgotten this poem except for the first few lines. Today when I found this, I was just overjoyed!! So I am sitting here in office grinning from ear to ear and going down the memory lane!!

Its amazing how these little things turn you so nostalgic. I close my eyes and am able to even recollect the page of this poem in my hindi textbook. The picture of a bird flying out of its cage, the faded letters of the textbook, the way Anitha Ma'am taught this poem(She was just WOW!!), the imagery that used to come to life in my mind and how I used to sit on the terrace under the light of an electric bulb and recite this aloud for the whole world to hear. sigghhhh...... kaash woh din laut aate!! :)

So, what is your favourite poem\lesson\song from the bygone days of your childhood? Something that brings in an avalanche of memories in your mind and a smile on your face even today. Let me know. ok...this is for the two readers of this blog..i know there are no others.. :)

Jolting me back to reality is that error which has popped up there in the other window. Work beckons and I am off!! :)

This is a lemon!!!!

Another update from kutu's world!!! My dear little boy had his first ever stage performance last weekend. The activities in his school revolve around one central theme every month. The theme for last month was "Fruits and Vegetables". His teachers had asked us send a veggie or fruit with the child every day. As a culmination to the month's activities, a programme called "Presentation" where in the children would sing the rhymes\songs based on the theme of the month and are also made to talk a few lines on some thing.

So....my little brat was given a lemon and asked to talk about it. He was of course trained by his teachers before hand. The lines were given to the parents before hand so that we could give the kids some training at home as well. The lines went something like this:

Good Morning Parents
This is a lemon
It is in two colours : yellow and green
My mother makes pickle, juice and lemon rice with it.
I like lemon juice very much.
Thank you Parents. Bye!!!

But the little tyke that he is. He never once repeated the lines correctly after me. I say "kutu...say This is a lemon". He would pick up some random object lying in the room and say " this is a box or ball" or whatever it was that he picked up. Not wanting to pressurise him too much I would proceed to the next line. "Kutu say It is in two colours: yellow and green". Then he gives me the most outrageous answer which goes something like this "It is in five colours: pink, blue, orange, black and white". He would say all other colours except yellow and green. Atleast he is did his math well and mentioned exactly five colours. The third line of course I didnt expect him to say because he has never seen his mother make any of those things. :)
So, all in all, I totally gave up.

On the day of the presentation though he was all enthu to go to the hall. Quickly got ready and off we went. Once in the hall, the teacher tied some crown kind of thing depicting a vegetable or fruit on every child's head. Kutu was a jack in the box eagerly waiting for his turn to go on stage. Then at long last his name was called. Again like an obedient little puppy, he went on stage and picked the lemon from a box lying on a desk there. And just went on to say his lines. Perfect and loud and clear!!! My jaws just dropped down! This boy never fails to surprise me! Then gave him a loud loud appalause and we were just short of wolf-whistling!!
I felt immensely happy inspite of that big lump in my throat and that little tear in my eye.




Kutu's dad has gone a trip to Japan this week for a conference. Again kutu surprised us all by not throwing a tantrum when his dad left. I asked him a couple of days ago, "Kutu where is achan? ". He said "Achan Japan poyi". Me being me, pestered him further and asked him why his dad has gone to Japan. Pop comes the answer "Presentation...achan presentation cheyyum...endhu parayum ariyaamo? Good morning parents. This is a lemon parayum". WOW!!! So, Mr Scientist....So much for your research on Molecular Imprinted Polymers. It boils down to just this in your son's POV. "If only my research was that simple" says the much amused dad! :)

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.

My Dearest Kutu...

You never fail to surprise me boy!! Your school reopened today. And after almost two months of holidays anyone would have expected you to cry. More so me. The prospect of a repeat telecast of your previous school saga has been giving me shivers every now and then. Even if you didn't cry, a room full of wailing brats is enought to set the tear fountains on. Right?

I voiced my fears to your Achan last night. He said "Then lets not send him to school on the reopening day. We will send him next week. By then the rest of them would have calmed down a bit." eh? what? Now that was a simple logical solution wasn't it? And that set your Amma darling to fret and fume and rant and stare at the ceiling fan in the middle of the night deciding on what to do. Finally off to school you were to go on the stipulated day June 6th.

But then there you were. Giving me a sheepish smile and patiently waiting at the door of the classroom for your teacher to take you inside. You followed her in like an obedient little puppy!(where does all this good manners disappear when it comes to your amma???) The teacher had asked a few of the parents to stay back just in case their kids started howling. But she told me "I dont think he is going to cry or make a fuss. You may leave". OK..if you say so.

From when your playschool closed for the summer holidays we have been talking a lot about what you will do when you next go to school. And for the past few days you like a little parrot are chanting to anyone who will listen to you that "June 6th aagumbo njaan biig class pogum. Biiig class per endhu ariyaamo?...LKG!!". Within ourselves this conversation extends to the day when your "happy birthday" will come. I have to dutifully explain the "Happy Birthday to you" ritual that happens in all schools. and you look or seemingly look suitably excited and happy about the whole idea! Anyway thanks to our little conversations. You were prepared for the D-Day and the biiig claass and the new friends and teachers. Or...is this your way of telling me not to count my chickens before they are hatched. Have you postponed your tactics for monday??

You know what? when you are old enough and interested enough to read Harry Potter books, you will get to know about the jinx and anti-jinx charms. I am very tempted to cast an anti-jinx charm on this letter. What if you start throwing a right royal tantrum from monday? With you I have learnt to always expect the unexpected. well....will start worrying about monday on monday. Right now let me bask in glory of today!! :) :)

Because today was my son's first day in school(proper school where you start chanting your A B Cs). And he made us proud today. Good luck to you sweetheart. Hope you go trotting to school like today...every single day of your school life.
Heres wishing you lots and lots of fond memories about school.

Luv you lots kuttappa... :)
Amma.

V-Day Special

I had opened google.com today to look for some information regarding work. And saw this super cute logo as the Valentine's Day Special...they always come up with such interesting ones. Absolutely loved it. And also wanted to record it here so that it is not lost into the wilderness of the WWW. Such a nice way to depict "Growing in love" with each other!!

The Picnic Saga-II

Here is part two of the Picnic Episode!! :)

Kutu did have a rocking time during his little outing!!! yaaaayy!!! Looks like I am happier than him....

As soon as I went home, I just asked him "Kutu evide poyi??"
Kutu: Ammaa...guindy park poyi...amma kondu poyillaa... (He actually meant he went to guindy park and didn't take me along). He then excitedly went on to describe the monkey, crocodile, parrot, owl and fish and paaambu(snake). Then he went a little overboard...this is exactly what he said with his eyes wide as saucers and in all the seriousness: "Ammaa...crocodile kandu...Blue crocodile!! Crocodile neengi neengi vannu...BOOO paranju...appo nandu pedichu poyi"
Ok Baby...agreed. You are a great story teller!! :)



He also didn't starve himself. I had packed bread, biscuits and apple for him. He had eaten a bit of all these. :)



The icing on the cake was his teacher's comment today. "He was very happy yesterday. He was running around the place and was enjoying himself thoroughly!!". Good!! :) I am happy too!!

P.S. : Pictures of the crocodile and deers were sent by Kutu's Dad!! :)
He says Kutu is not entirely wrong. In the picture, there is a tinge of blue on that crocodile!! :) :)