We Won..

... the Artsy Craftsy April Challenge.....Yaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyy!

Here's the entry

Shruti - What an effort! And how well you pull it off! Thanks for adding that extra splash of colour to our lives :)
And thanks to all of you for all the nice words.... *ALL SMILES*

London Bridge is falling down...

..so, what does Pattu build it up with?

...'Buillld it up with iron bars, milky bars, monkey bars,
............buillld it up with milky bars, 

My Fair Ladiiieeeeeeeeee......

Excuse me

Pattu has been told to say that when she has to interrupt someone. With Pattu though, every lesson has its pitfall...

Amma talking on the phone one day. Pattu has to interrupt whenever amma is on the phone.


Pattu: Amma..amma...excuse me amma..ExCuse Mmeeee, EXCYuuse MEEEEEEEEEE, EXCUUUUSE MEEE AMMMMMAAAAAA, EXXXXXXXCUSE MEEEEEEE AMMMMAAAA

The person on the other end hangs up. Amma glares at Pattu

A Smug Pattu: Amma, see I said Excuse me :)
_______________________________________________________________________________

Amma: Pattu do you want want to have milk now?
No response. Amma repeats question
Amma: Patttuuu, I'm asking you something...

Pattu: You should say, 'excuse me' amma
Amma: Gulp. But you are not talking to anyone
Pattu: But I am talking to this pencil

Well... if you insist Ms Pattu.

Slam by Adam Stower

SLAM by Adam Stower. Pattu Rating 5

We read this book We viewed this picture story book - Pattu's first and boy, did we have fun!


The book tells a story of consequences through just the illustrations and some sounds (through onomatopoetic expressions). It all starts when this boy goes out with his walkman on, oblivious to the complete mess that results from SLAM-ming the door! The ball that is caught on the roof falls on a resting cat which springs in fright, causing further fright and a row of disasters. All this while the boy walks on with just the music in his ears, completely insulated from his surroundings.

We discovered a variety of sounds... sound of a soft fall, hard fall, bounce, bump, clash, splash, screech, scrunnnch, huff puff...oh so many more...

Another very insteresting aspect is that there are multiple threads of consequences that come together in the final mess and there are lots of little details that you'll discover (like a little jet that crashes into a little girl's kite, a cat that goes after a fish and so on) in the second, third, and subsequent readings. Pattu pointed to a couple of them that I hadn't noticed myself! So you can even weave many stories by just shifting your perspective. Last night was riot with Pattu laughing till her jaws ached and me acting the disaster till all my joints and my throat ached - but it was all worth it to see Pattu laugh like that :)

Now, I have to hide this book before my joints give in! I'm looking to buy a copy (the one I have is from the library).

There's one more like this by Quentin Blake... will review shortly.

Keep them Buzy...

Has anyone checked out the workshop on Chrysalis Busy Bee Fun Factory at Landmark, Apex Plaza? It is on till 25th May. Looks like it is only for kids 5 yrs and above.
Dakshinachitra seems to have lots in offer for children - residential camps, activity camps, Glove Puppetry and Leather Puppet making on 5th and 28th May respectively. There are some workshops for adults as well - more details here
I would like attend the Art Exhibition between 1st and 10th May by Rohini Thotta Tharani.
Let's do something has a Mocktail workshop tomorrow - just what we want to beat the Chennai heat! The Robotics Workshop is back on popular demand and there's the summer camp for kids 5+ yrs.

Also noticed that Velachery now has Born Babies on Bye Pass road. With Half Ticket, Niel & Nikki and Cotton City (inside Srishti on Bye Pass Road), Velachery definitely seems to be improving!

Tried the Citrus body wash and Papaya Ginger jam from Fab India and loved them! Highly recommend Papaya Ginger ...

Have just got some organic groceries delivered from a new vendor - will check them out and give more details later....

Some books and an award...

The First Well (A folk tale retold. Published by Book Box): 
Pattu Rating: 4.2

A samurai warrior goes in search of water when rains fail his kingdom. He brings back a huge icicle from the cold mountain cave following the advice of an old lady. By the time he gets back to his kingdom, there's only a small lump left of the icicle and people think it is a water seed. They dig a pit to plant the seed and the moment the seed is dropped, it disappears and then begins the frantic search for the elusive seed. They dig deeper to find the seed and what do they find eventually?


Who wants Arthur? - Amanda Graham, Illustration: Donna Gynell. 
Pattu Rating: 4.5

A very endearing story. Arthur is an ordinary dog in a pet shop eagerly awaiting his turn to find his home. Luck favours the Rabbit the first day and Arthur thinks he could find a home if he is as cute as a rabbit. So he practices that night to hop like a rabbit and eats carrots too. The next day his rabbit tricks fail as the customer prefers a snake and so every night he practices to be something else, all in the hope to find his home. Does he finally find his home? And how?
I like this one because it goes to prove that people would eventually like you for what you are and not what you pretend to be.

Norbu's New Shoes - Chewang Dorji Bhutia. 
Pattu Rating: 4.7

First thing - Norbu looks so cute! Pattu immediately connected with him.
Norbu gets a gift from his dad - a pair of bright yellow shoes, and he is thrilled! The happiness doesn't last long though as he loses it eventually. This book introduces a different culture - Bhuddism, Monastery, etc. What I liked: Norbu doesn't get his shoes back but something else cheers him up and he goes on leaving the shoes behind (and probably learning a lesson).

Greedy Miss Miao - Amar Chitra Katha. 
Pattu Rating: 4.5

Cat steals milk, chased by old lady manages to escape only to find itself in a jungle. Jungle animals take the cat to be the wise one who will protect the jungle and its creatures. Cat is well fed and looked after and leads a royal life, all the while plotting to eat the mouse one day. Well, nothing too good lasts too long ...

Best Friends - Nina Sabnani 
Pattu Rating: 4.2

Lovely story about a little girl's relationship with a tree. This is just the kind of story that young children should grow up reading. It is rather disheartening to see adults chopping off trees to accommodate illegal extensions of their apartments. Hopefully, stories like these would help our children develop healthier sentiments towards our green friends.

The Magic School Bus Gets Eaten - The Magic School Bus Series. 
Pattu Rating: 5

I wasn't planning to read this for Pattu yet but something about the book seemed to have caught her fancy and she insisted on reading this. I didn't think she would understand food chain but I was surprised that she did. This is one of those books that she wanted me to read a hundred times. Once she gets hooked like this, she wouldn't be receptive to starting a new book. The only strategy is to hide the book and say that it got lost. I knew taht she understood food chain when she asked me, 'Amma, I eat carrot...who will eat me?'

The Rooster and the Sun - Meren Imchen. 
Pattu Rating: 5

Another sticky book that I had to hide from Pattu! Why does the Mighty Sun scramble out of bed at the rooster's call? Find out!

And I've got an award from Swati - Thank you lady!

And I pass it on to Lavanya, Jayashree and Hema.

Artsy Craftsy - April

Edited to add:

Shruti asked me to share my clay recipe and here it is:

For the clay -

The recipe said
1. tear paper into strips and soak overnight
2. Grind it into a pulp using a blender
3. Add glue and knead into dough
4. Make whatever you want

and you could add some colours while grinding if you want some interesting combination and patterns...

But what I found while trying to make this:

1. Soaking for couple of days makes it softer to grind and the lower the quality of paper the better - eg TOI is better than Hindu in this context :D
2. Blender doesn't do a great job - the paper gets lumpy and clog up. I had to mash it a bit with hands and then use the blender - better still, the grinder. Also, you need some water for it to grind. I tried using some soaked methi and it works because it adds a bit of sliminess which helps the blending
3. Since I couldn't avoid water while grinding, I squeezed the water out before adding glue
4. My glue:pulp ratio was something like 1:3. I used fevicol.
5. Then I made all of these... I used some bowls for the form - I should remember to use Shruti's tips next time. And for some of the bowls I applied a very thin layer of pulp which became thinner when it dried. The thicker ones are more sturdy.
6. And for the lady, I made a skeleton with an iron wire - I wanted to make one who would be able to stand on her two feet but my pulp collapsed.
7. My sheep, mushrooms, fish, tortoise and Ganesha were nice and fat when I made them but they shriveled up on drying and the sheep got a sprain in the neck as he also couldn't stand on his fours and hence had to make him lie down. I think my pulp/ clay wasn't thick enough.

Then after drying and after the struggle to separate the bowls from the form, I used acrylic, undiluted to paint them all. The insides of the bowls were easier to pain since the surface was smoother...

On the whole - 2 days to soak paper, 4 hours to grind and make all the stuff, 2 days for drying (3 days of struggle to get them apart) 2 hours to paint them all and 1 night for paint to dry.


Here goes...

All but one of the bowls were made from paper mache clay...

Art on a Platter - Group Photo

A Gopika and a tribal woman - same piece painted differently on either side. Two shallow bowls, Fish - again the same fish painted differently on either side, two withered mushrooms, a sheep with a sprain in the neck and a Tortoise...

See some flowers that the tribal woman is picking?? A Ganesha who hasn't had his quota of kozhukattais and the bowls ...

The bowls up close - kitschy, drippy, sprinkly and all...

A peek into the making...

Phew!!!

A goofy tale

My paper mache stuff has dried crisp in the hot Chennai sun for the Artsy Craftsy Challenge. But let me share the making of the *great piece of art* by the eternal goof...

This is my first attempt at paper mache with recipes that I gathered from few sites. By the looks of the specimen, I don't think I got either of the recipes right - my FIL was going to dump the 'hideous looking lump' around the plants thinking it was cow dung LOL!  I tried the strips as well as the clay - but they just refused to leave the containers that I used for the form *ROFL*! So, I told Shruti that if I manage to pull them apart without much damage, she'll find an entry from the Pattu household...

 

Did they part? Well, we forced them apart. Quite a struggle it was and you will see the evidence on the piece(s) of art. I think I used too much glue. My maid and Pattu's care taker told me that the glue is not required - it seems that they just mash the pulp with methi seeds soaked in water and that's enough. I should have taken the wisdom instead of waving it off with my 'google' confidence. They laughed and laughed and laughed at my struggle :(

The painting is WIP - watch out!

Pattu wonders...

...why bakers can't keep the cake out of the icing...

Fair Deal...

We were playing and we had to go upstairs. Pattu tries to push me aside and run ahead.

Pattu: I'll be first
Amma: No, I'm gonna be first this time (amma's master plan to equip her to face defeat! Yes, Pattu's amma can be like that sometimes..)
Pattu: Nooooo...I'm first
Amma: Not fair Pattu... you come first all the time. You should give me a chance..
Pattu: (After pausing for a few nano seconds, by which time she thought of a win-win model) Ok. First, I'll go first; then, you go first ..Ok?

Fair Deal Eh?

Anxious...

Lately, I've been a bit worried about Pattu. It has always been a bit difficult to get her to do one thing at a time, get her to complete her tasks, hold her interest for more than 15 mins and so on - any parenting guide would sound out an alarm at these signs (and every other parent would tell you that her kid is exactly the same). Add to it the occasional temper tantrums, hyper activity, talking to invisible friends or sometimes inanimate objects, not answering/ responding etc. Well!

As though these weren't enough, Pattu has been writing mirror images. She still hasn't chosen one hand over the other - she uses both hands equally. I'm not sure if I should be worried yet. Her school reports are normal though - apparently, she is obedient and well behaved, grasps reasonably well, etc.

But still...is it ok for a 3 yr old to smile at and have conversations with the street light that she can see through our bedroom window? My bro says that says a lot about how interesting she finds our company!

Guess I'll just wait ... though I can't entirely quit worrying...

Prized...

... we came third at the Artst-Craftsy Challenge, though huffing and puffing :D .. Here's the entry
I thank my husband for sacrificing the loofah (though it was stolen when he was away) and Pattu for successfully pulling out parts of her hair clip which inspired the princess idea...( I would have thanked my dog and my dinosaur but I don't have one ...)

But seriously you guys - Shruti and TPL , are awesome! Some effort and passion it takes to do something like this... I'm gonna flaunt this badge

Shruti, TPL - the cards & the puppet look lovely! 

Nostalgic...

I woke up to the waft of 'Maracheeni puzhukku' early this morning. 'Maracheeni' is Tapioca and 'puzhukku' is a gooey chewy paste. We make papads out of tapioca and this is the process: make the paste first and then spread it out on mats made of palm leaves or on jack fruit leaves. The more modern we got, we used plastic sheets for convenience. This is dried in the sun till it becomes brittle and stored for future. MIL made the papads today and they are drying in the sun as I type this. 

This sent us all on a nostalgic journey back to the 80s when vadams were an integral part of summer vacations. The best thing about the vadams is that it offers a range of gastronomic experience at various stages of its making.First the puzhukku, which is as popular as the pappadam - its is a completely different kind of sensation on the taste buds.Then when the papads are half dry and rubbery - quite challenging but that's the fun! Then the fried and roasted papads...hmmm... The joke is that the women start by planning for a certain number of papads and after losing a few in each of these stages, only half of it will actually make it to the frying pan!

My grandmom used to make 'javvarisi vadam'(sabudana papad) and 'arisi vadam'(rice papad). In Tamilnadu, the 'puzhukku' is called the 'koozhu'. It doesn't matter what they call it, it is just as chewy, gooey and yummy!

At my grandmom's place in Kerala, the coconuts would also be dried in the sun for making coconut oil. Chewing the coconuts through different stages of drying was equally interesting. As kids, we used to be employed as scarecrows - extra coconut/ puzhukku for shooing the crows away, for bringing the papds in, for spreading them out again the next day... it required labour you see. Well, some of it ended in our gut instead of the crow's beak and some of the men would also sneak up for a steal and wink at us kids which meant, 'Sshhh.. no reporting to the women!'. As though the women didn't know - while counting, they would murmur amongst themselves, 'oh, we can't keep the human crows away, can we!' :D

And here's a pic of the papads that are drying on the terrace... on Jack fruit leaves 
(...and while the pics are loading, I'm licking the remains of the puzhukku :)   )

  

Up Close - fresh from the kadai

Me too is 'Tagged'

Swati has tagged me to say seven things that people don't know about me. I've seen this tag doing the rounds in blogosphere and here I am doing it now... So please fasten your seat belt, here I go...

1. I can't drive (LOL - and I told you all to fasten your seat belt!). I'm terrified of traffic, cows, dogs and even the crows on the road! I've never even been on a bicycle *HIDING MY FACE IN SHAME*

OK, now that I've said this, it is easy to say the rest.

2. I haven't seen snowfall yet :( ... or for that matter never experienced single digit temperatures

3. I am absent minded. Once, when the family sat down for dinner I realised that I had cooked everything but rice! More recently I was frantically looking for my phone and went back to the rest room, cafeteria and rummaged through my desk for a good 15 mins when I figured out that I was talking on the phone all the while! I hope you'll still read me and be my friends.

4. I guess I'm not a movie buff - If I count all the movies I've watched till date, I'm sure it would be less than 100.

5. The one thing I really feel bad about is the fact that I can't sing! Not that I'm good at everything else, but I don't feel so bad about it. A few maamis tried but gave up eventually. I have absolutely no sense of sound :(

6. My childhood ambition was to become an underworld don. Well, I have a few months of Karate and and rifle shooting under my belt...

7. I cried when Dumbledore died.

And now its your turn ladies... I tag Lavanya, Jayashree, Apu and TPL

We speak Hindi these days

Definitely not at home. Pattu has couple of Hindi speaking friends at school and she seems to be quite fascinated by the language. She speaks very fluent gibberish that sounds like flawless Hindi! She intersperses her Hindi sentences with one or two English words, so it is possible to get a hang of what she is saying...

The conversation goes something like this...

Pattu: Kya ke jao tum ke neki (No clue what that means!)
Amma: What are you saying?
Pattu:Amma, upstairs jake tum kene ke? (Shall we go upstairs?)
Amma:OK..what do you want to do there?
Pattu:Ghar ja tum ke play ke neke upstairs jake nee (Let's play)
Amma:What do you want to play?
Pattu: Iske piske balloon aske deke ne karo kee (Let's play with balloon)
Amma: No, I don't want to play
Pattu:kya ke tum kiya bas taakke owl dekre ke hai.. karo tum? (If you don't owl will come and take you...well, something to that effect..)

you get the drift... and it goes on and on... there are days when we speak only Hindi, even to the maid, driver and the poor care taker! We are going mad!

Fresh and Green

We live in a neighborhood where all residents have a small green patch around the house. Most of us happen to be interested in a kitchen garden as well. We sometimes share our produce with neighbors and friends like olden days. We've already got some raw bananas, banana flower, white raddish, a bagful of tomatoes from couple of our neighbors - both the ripe and the green variety. I particularly love the green tomatoes which are rare to come by in the market. We've got some papayas as well - again the raw and ripe variety. Raw papaya is also not found commonly in the market and we love making subzi out of it. Our own chillies and tomatoes have just started bearing fruit and the papayas are becoming fatter. We harvested Methi leaves, pudina, the red keerai, manathakkali, some avarakkai (flat bean variety) and brinjal.

While on this, if you are interested in organic fruits and vegetables, do visit this site. We've been ordering one box a month from here which typically lasts us a week or so.

I owe our garden to my MIL and her green thumb (touch wood!) who single handedly plants, waters, tends, cares and toils, out there, come sun or rain. She's going to be away for a month - the plants will miss her immensely I'm sure! But I'm going to make a sincere attempt to care for them... atleast enough to maintain it the way it is right now - I hope that’s not too ambitious...

Well, we tried....

Here's Pattu's entry for the March challenge. With Pattu, it is very difficult to hold her attention for long. So I had to think of ideas that can get done in less than 10 mins - that was my challenge (besides the fact that I am not particularly creative i.e,).
So, we started by making the paper plate clowns where she had to only stick things on to a plate and boy did she enjoy it! She wanted to convert all the plates in the house into clowns. 
What we used for the paper plate clowns: two rings from a toy for the eyes, a red hair band cut and stuck for the mouth and a black hair band cut and shredded for the hair. I did the cutting part while Pattu did the rest as instructed.
Then we found a bath scrub and wrapped it over a ball. We fastened it behind with some hair clips (one of the pics will reveal this :D) and cut out some packing material for the eyes and the mouth. To be honest, we wanted to make a cute looking puppy but this one ended up looking like a forlorn alien LOL! Here too, I helped with the cutting and Pattu did the rest...with a bit of struggle.
The gloves gave us an idea - the dwarfs. Black wool for the hair, black dots for eyes and red painted smile.
Then we rummaged further to find the loofahs - The maiden's dress is a fluffy loofah. We found a hair clip that had the girl. Inspired by that, Pattu's care taker thought of another maiden with a paper fan dress so that the loofah maiden had company. Pattu liked the fan folding...
Then the duckling - that's another loofah with a handle. We found some pegs to go as the eyes and the beak is a pistachio shell coloured red using crayon. Pattu did all of this.
Then we had to make a story around it.... so, there it goes... phew!

 The story is in verse (because I am very lazy) and this is how it goes:

The little alien was lost and sad

He couldn’t find his mom and dad

Where are you,

oh where have you gone?

Will you be back by 

the break of dawn? 

The five happy dwarfs came along

And played a happy peppy song

Nothing seemed to

cheer him though

Home was just where

he wanted to go

The plate clowns vowed to make him smile

And they tried and tried for a long while

The little one just turned away

The clowns didn’t know what to say

Rest of the story...

Then came the maidens, with dimples and curls

They danced around and did some twirls

‘Oh no’, said the dwarfs and the clown

How do we get him to throw that frown 

Then came a ducking lost and scared

She is lost and no one cared

The alien cuddled her, ‘come let’s play’

He sang, he danced, he made her gay

The dwarfs, the clowns, the maidens broke into a song

Happy and merry, they danced along

So, that's that....

Come Summer...

Vacation time is nearing and I'm wondering how to keep Pattu productively occupied. I'm sure there are summer camps in every street corner these days, the trouble however is to identify the good ones.
I see that Kanchana Paati, Sunshine, MAS and a few others around Velachery have announced their summer plans. Let's do something is also planning a variety of activities. Xseed of idiscoveri, Hansel & Gretel, Vanilla, all have lots going on for summer.

I definitely don't want to send her to a very crowded place. Would prefer a something nearby. Pattu's school has some activities planned till end of April, so we are good till end of April.

While doing this round up, also came across a sale at Oxford Bookstore, Nungambakkam - upto 80% off on books and a flat 10% off on all books and stationaries.

Introducing Buc...

Buc is a huge bird, so huge and so tall that it's head touches the ceiling of our bedroom. It has big eyes, sharp beak, huge wings that spread out till H's house and purple plumes. Sometimes it changes to white or orange, reflecting Pattu's mood for the day..err, night... This one is nocturnal like the Owl and the Bat. It can carry Amma away if she is typing on her laptop at night when she should ideally be playing/ reading with Pattu!
Pattu dreamed up this bird because I used the 'Owl' occasionally to get her into bed (if she insists on playing even after 11.30 PM). Now the bird has become a reality for Pattu. When asked to name the night birds, Pattu would promptly say, 'Owl, Bat, Buc'

Every action has an equal and opposite reaction - Pattu's reactions sometimes make me laugh. That affirms my 'action' as positive. But through some reactions, I realise the folly of my 'actions'. For instance, what started off as a harmless cajoling by way of, 'let's beat the floor/ wall' when she got hurt has now become Pattu's solution to pretty much everything. If she gets hurt, beat. If the building blocks don't fit/ fall, beat. You get the drift...

Recently,
Pattu: Amma, can we go to A's house tomorrow?
Amma: No Pattu, she is going to Bangalore
Pattu: Nooo... beat Bangalore...

She bit her tongue accidentally and said, 'beat..' and paused.
Amma: Beat your tongue or your teeth Pattu?
Pattu:  *confused*

I've been telling her to not use the B word. She probably thinks I'm unreasonable since I was the one who started using the word in the first place! If only I knew...*SIGH*

Remembering the man who created the Amul Moppet

Eustace Fernandes who created the absolutely adorable Amul moppet passed away. I'm sure you all would agree - it is impossible to pass by an Amul hoarding without being affected by its humour and without feeling an urge to pinch the chubby cheeks of the cute little girl in polka dots. I used to arch my head eagerly to check out the Amul hoarding on the way to college and it continued for many years till I moved out of city limits.In a cluttered ad landscape, this brand has continued to evince interest and appeal across generations by being contextual and by maintaining its simple humour. It has been a record breaking 44 years and I hope it will continue forever... What a wonderful way to live on in our hearts, how utterly butterly  immortalised!

Here are some of my favourites. Check out the archives for more.

 Advocating the use of helmets

 Souyuz - Cosmonaut in space.

Introduction of the Escalator in India

Tags on Baby Clothes

I've noticed, much to my dismay, that most of the baby clothes come with tags, some so large and sometime too many in a single piece of clothing. The material is seldom soft and causes considerable irritation on the soft skin. Very often Pattu has ended up having rashes at the nape and near the waist depending on where these tags are. I've tried to chop them off but they still protrude as sharp edges. Pattu refuses to wear some of the pretty clothes only because she can't stand the irritation caused by the tags.

I am surprised that none of these major brands have realised how kid unfriendly the tags are. I'm sure there are other ways of keeping these tags if they are not totally avoidable. These things make me wonder how much research actually goes behind all these big brand baby products that we trust so much. I wonder how this piece of consumer feedback hasn't yet reached the brands....

Annual Day

...was last weekend at Pattu's school. Her second time on stage. The first time was a few seconds of, 'why have you put me here' followed by few more seconds of howling after all the decking up and waiting.

This time, luckily there was no major decking up (they made sure that the kids don't wear anything remotely uncomfortable) and they didn't make the KGs wait too long. The chief guests were sensible enough to make short speeches and the sound system for a change was well managed. Usually the sound managers make sure that it is loud enough for the Martians to hear. So Pattu was in a good mood and smiled through the song and even shook her arms and hips to the tune! Quite a leap from last time. She got a certificate, a trophy and some gifts and you can imagine the excitement...

We've got a whole new set of stories last week:

The Little Engine That Could - The Big Chase: Pattu Rating: 4 Stars
The blue engine that has a never say die attitude goes all out to rescue its best friend the toy clown who accidentally goes on the wrong train... a nice story of trust and friendship.

The Smartest Giant in Town - Pattu Rating: 4.7 Stars
George is a very cute and adorable giant. But he is scruffy. He decides to shake off this image and get smart only to donate all his smart outfits one by one to the animals that need help. There are some rhymes interspersed in the story and I made up a tune. Pattu has been humming that the last few days and I haven't stopped grinning :D

Angelina and the Butterfly - Pattu Rating: 4 Stars
Being trapped is an awful feeling - that's what Angelina figures out when she falls into a pit. And that makes her set her favourite pet, Arthur the butterfly, free despite feeling miserable about not having him around...
 
Mrs Armitage: Queen of the Road - Pattu Rating: 4.3 Stars
The madcap Mrs Armitage's adventures on the road and how her car comes apart with nothing left but the wheels and the steering! There are some nice sound effects every time she bumpps and screeches and klunks and krrrruuunncches..... we added some more sound effects to it and Pattu found it hilarious!

Mallipoo, Where are you? - Pattu Rating: 4 Stars
Paytu Pig goes for a stroll with her friends Amma elephant and Hutoxy the horse leaving Anna and Akka elephants to babysit her piglets. Anna and Akka get busy playing thinking that the piglets are fast asleep but to their horror, they find the piglets gone. They find all of them somehow but Mallipoosundari, the tiniest piglet is still missing....

Maami Calling Maami

I was witness to this episode.
The context: R's Paati is 96 yrs old and was admitted in the hospital. Maami's discussing the events

Maami 1 (on phone with Maami 2) - R aathulendu phone vanduda?

Did you receive a call from R's house?

Maami 2 - Illaye....ayyayo...enna aachu?

Oh no! What happened?

Me thinking: This is absurd. There's no reason for this 'aiyyayo' reaction! Its like wailing at the mention of 'telegram' in olden movies!

M 1 - Illa, avathu vaasalla ambulance vandadu...adanaala ketten

I saw an ambulance in front of their gate..that's why I asked

M 2 - Appadiya ... enakku onnum news varallaye...

Oh really! I didn't get any news

M 2 calling M 3 - R aathu paati poyitta polerukku... ambulance vandadaam... M1 sonna

R's grandmom passed away it seems... M1 told me

M 3 - Ooohhh... paavam... nallavela romba paduthukkama poyittale...

Ooohh...poor thing... good she passed away without suffering too much

M 2 - Avaa onnum sollale... news vanda poyi paathuttu vandu kulikkalamennu wait pannaren...

They haven't conveyed the news yet... I thought I'll offer my condolences and then have bath (it is a custom to have a bath after offering condolences).

So after waiting near the phone for a while and passing this news to couple of more random maamis and discussing bath plans in detail (if they are yet to have their bath, they might as well wait till they offer condolences), M 2 along with other Ms decide to go ahead with their bath. They will go tomorrow to offer condolences.

Later in the evening we see R's paati sitting on their verandah chatting with her concerned neighbours and assuring them that she is hale and healthy!

The Ms would have thought - 'Thank god we didn't delay our bath!'

Your turn next time...

The housekeeping staff at the resort we stayed at Kovalam were quite creative. When we got back to our suite we saw that they had not just cleaned the room but also made a cute elephant using couple of turkey towels and put him on the bed. He looked adorable! I know you are asking for the pics.... but I don't have one... Pattu was ahead of me - she was so excited that she jumped on the elephant, squashed him and brought him back to his towel avatar! :(

So I made the sad face and said, 'You spoiled it Pattu...I wanted to take a snap' and sulked.
Pattu: (In her consoling tone, wiping away some imaginary tears from my eyes) 'Its ok amma...don't be sad. Next time you can spoil it ok....now smile....'

Our Latest Addictions

The Bullfrog and the Cow: Where the cow inadvertently kills a few bullfrogs while at the pond to drink some water. Mama bullfrog is so angry and wants to take the beast head on. But she has to puff herself up to match the beast in size...  

High in the Sky: Korean folktale. The mother selling Deok (rice cake... reminded me of Idly) and walking through forests and the tiger are all so familiar even in the Indian context. Pattu was upset about the mother being eaten by the tiger :(

Where is Gola's Home: Gola the yak goes house hunting with the help of his friend Muri the eagle. We get to see different habitats and how it suits the creatures that live there.

The Tiny Seed: What a lovely story to convey that certain perceived weaknesses could actually be your strength! Eric Carle's illustrations are wonderful as usual!

Pavo and Cavo: Cute little story of Cavo Pristatus and Pavo Cristatus that says, 'you could pretend to be anything but only for so long... your true colours would show some day'.

The never ending story: Addictive... Pattu just loves the last bit...

Its only a Story: The ant makes spicy curry for its friend the peacock but falls into the hot gravy and dies. Saddened by this, the peacock spreads the grief through the river, mango tree, elephant, crow, the Rani and all the way to the Raja.... and in a reversal of all the mishaps, the ant climbs out of the pot and says, "I'll never make spicy curry again"

Caught You...

Some delightful 'Caught you' moments with Pattu...

Making faces at the mirror
Trying to see her behind in the mirror... and trying very hard
Having deep conversations with the moon
Ballet dancing on tip toe (she stops the moment she notices someone's presence)
Admonishing her puppet for insisting to be carried
Making my white kurta more colourful using sketch pens
Sitting by herself and laughing .. (thinking of one of the T&J moments, I gathered later)
Soaking my washed and ironed clothes (some 15 pieces) in water
Wearing my dupattah and admiring herself in the mirror
Painting her legs in vivid rainbow colours (After reading 'The Boy Who Loved Colour')
Practicing to say 'Swish Swash' and making hilarious combos and faces...

Have some Caught you moments?? Please do share...

Strategies...

Amma and Pattu playing Jungle. After being chased by Amma Lion and some excited running and screaming, Pattu is cornered.
Amma: I am the Lion and I'm gonna eat you...
Pattu (meek and looking into my eyes imploringly): I am a small Lion cub...hmmm mmm... (almost licking)

What choice do I have but hug the little cub!

Morning, 7 AM.
Amma (Half groggy herself): Wake up Pattu... sun is up and ready... say Hi to the sun..
Pattu: (With eyes still closed): If I wake up will the needle come out of the well?  
That's a line from, The Never Ending Story

Pattu loses her sense of hearing while watching TV and she naturally gravitates towards the screen slowly. After many unheeded requests, appa switches to cricket.
Pattu: I like cricket appa.... yea... sixxxx....

Stories Galore

...at Hoos Tales. Thanks to Art, we had a wonderful weekend. I got to attend a workshop by Jeeva and Craig along with Art and Pattu got to attend her first story telling session at Nageswara Rao Park. It took some effort to get pattu to abandon play and get to the session. I was hoping the story telling to keep her glued but she wasn't impressed. It took a monkey puppet and later Richard and Jeeva to get her attention. She loved the 'lion hunt' by Jeeva and the 'Ghost with one black eye' by Richard. Missed Craig's session since we were late : (

I fail to understand why we can't get the sound system right - it was so loud that I ended up with a head ache. I notice this with most of the events that I attend, save some of the well known sabhas. Richard had the sense to avoid using the mic. I was hoping others to pick up the cue...but, well... And next time, I should remember to take some odomos with me for the outdoor events.

We followed that with a dinner at Veg Nation. Sadly they didn't have anything from the 'Continental' part of their menu. The mushroom starter was awesome though. And the mysore masala dosai was evilly (sooo oily) yummy!

Sunday was packed as we went visiting some family friends - Pattu got to play with some new friends and she thoroughly enjoyed it. She was so excited that she refused to have her afternoon nap.

Thirsty Crow - 2010 (Pattu's Version?)

I got to know this from her school. Her version of the story goes like this....

The crow is thirsty and goes looking for water and finds some water in the pot but at the bottom...'oh oh, now what' thinks the crow...
Old story till now... and then...
The crow flies around looking for a straw and finds one and has a hearty drink and flies away happy happy....
I asked Pattu if she said that and she agreed. Who taught her to say that? - No answer.
Why did she bring the straw into the story? What about the stones?
Pattu: You should not put stones in water amma, water will become dirty...

Kovalam ...

...that's where we spent the last 3 days and had a whale of a time! A true holiday after a looong time and I just realised how much we needed it!
Pattu rolled in the beach sand and spent hours in waters - either in the beach or in the pool (and finished it with jacuzzi back in the room). She has an enviable tan too :D

We had a beach facing (well it was almost on the beach) suite and the best part of it was waking up to the song of the fishermen. Apparently they cast their net at night and start gathering the net to the shore as early as 6 AM. It is no mean job - some 20 fishermen pulling the rope with a song on their lips (to distract them from the pain when the rope cuts into their palms I guess). We kept watching from our balcony, mesmerised. After some 2 hours of singing and continuous pulling, they take a break and come back to it. When we finished our breakfast and got to the beach (around 10 AM), they were still gathering the net and the song took on a higher pitch and the excitement mounted as the slippery silver fish glittered in the morning sun. It was edge of the seat stuff and all of us (lots of tourists had gathered by then) were hoping for them to have a good catch. It was a bad day though and our hearts sank... so much that a tourist who witnessed this effort felt so bad for them that he handed out Rs 1000/- to them! It is a hard life...

Btw, Pattu who has been off diapers for a long time now had to be put on diapers during certain legs of the holiday. She must have been quite confused, coz she refused to pee in her diaper and later at the airport she secretly asked me, 'Amma, am I wearing diaper?' and when I answered in the affirmative, she said, 'then I can go moocha in this?' throwing a man sitting next to us into a fit of laughter :D

Theater Workshop by Evam

... is starting this weekend at Let's Do Something. It is for older teens and adults - 16 yrs and above. I'm going to miss this since I am off to Trivandrum tonight :(

Those who've been waiting for something like this and do manage to catch up, please tell me what I missed...

Bedtime Blues

The night and the moon seem to have this strange effect on Pattu. She comes up with such crazy demands.
Few days back she was talking to the Moon through the bedroom window and insisted that she has to go to the Moon.
Amma: Ok, we'll take a plane and go tomorrow, come sleep now.
Pattu: No amma...I want to go now... I want feathers to fly up to the moon
Amma: Only birds have feathers, we just have hands
Pattu: You ask the owl to give me some feathers amma... then I can fly
...and some trials happened with amma's dupatta and bedsheets before hitting the bed...sulking

Last night after some close examination of her fingers, Pattu decided that there is enough space for a new finger between her thumb and index finger...
Pattu: Amma, I want a finger here
Amma: Why Pattu, you have 5 already
Pattu: But there is lot of space for another one amma... then I can count till six amma and then 'Six' will be very happy amma..
...whatever that means....

The first time I introduced the new sloka, Achudam Kesavam Ramanarayanam..' , Pattu says,

'Amma, Achudam is Achu (the little boy next door) and Kesavam is Keshav (another little boy in the neighborhood), who is Ramanarayanam?' 

.... We'll find out...

Indian. Chinese. Tandoor

...seems to be the winning combination. Every third restaurant that has opened in the last 5 years claim to serve 'Indian, Chinese, Tandoor'. Wonder why Tandoor is different from Indian.
I guess this kind of covers pretty much everything that the Indian taste buds would relish especially the Gopi Majoorian and Panneer Fried Rice and the Tom Yum soup suspiciously looking like the rasam from the 'Indian' kitchen. Tandoor would have Gopi Parotta and Dhal Makkanni with Chettinad spicing! I've always been wary of this combination - I avoid it if I have a choice else just stick to the 'Indian' part of the menu.
This somehow reminds me of Bollywood (and the other local 'Ollywoods we have) - Song & Dance. Sentiment. Stunt. = Winning Combination. Indian. Chinese. Tandoor. = Winning Combination. Maybe its just us, Indians!

Speaking of which, I recently saw a board in our own Velachery (I think it is The Rock...not sure though) that said, 'Indian. Chinese. Tandoor. Thai' - something in me switched on the red alert. Guys, Watch out!

Btw, has anyone tried 'Ugadi' the Andhra joint that has recently opened at Velachery?

Rants of the Middle Class Madras Maami

It is an age old tradition of (some) Chennai Maamis (and some Mamas as well) to go around the neighborhood and sneakily and shamelessly gather flowers from others' gardens for their Gods. Chandran's parents (of R K Narayan's Bachelor of Arts fame) were once victims to this and to this day these Maamis continue to harass innocent, friendly neighbors. Here are some 'Flower Thief Maamis' archetypes:

1. Smooth Saroja: She walks in for a friendly chat, 'Ungathula enna samayal...' and drifts into, '...Enge Brahmanan la Cho sonnar paathela...' and all the while she walks around and gathers flowers that she neatly tucks into her saree pallu... once this is done, she leaves with, '... neenga busy-ya irukkael, naan apparam varen..' and sometimes manages to borrow some coffee powder or sugar along the way.

2. Mystery Meenakshi: She wakes up before the world and does a round of the neighborhood gathering all the flowers she wants. No one has ever spotted her till date. No matter how early you set your alarm, she always beats you! We don't know how!

3. Sneaky Sundari: She has chalked out her plan across different neighborhoods for each day of the week. She typically sneaks behind the compound wall and quietly picks all the flowers that happen to hang outside the wall while the household is busy with the morning routine. If someone happens to pass by, she quickly bends down to examine the grass and weeds on the pavement with a zest unknown even to a Botanist. She doesn't meet your eye.

There are many more I am sure.

One such Sneaky Sundari was caught red handed recently when my MIL happened to be watering the plants. It was embarrassing since it was a neighbor - she must have felt guilty since she said (and had the temerity to say), 'I'm only taking what is outside the compound wall'. My MIL being the nice lady that she is said, 'It all goes to God, please take, its ok..' but I was totally annoyed! My MIL toils in the garden every day for 2 hours - anyone who has spent even 30 mins digging in the garden would understand how physically demanding it is. At 65+ she still works hard in the garden (touch wood) and she is so passionate about it. I just can't bear to see the fruits ..err flowers of her labour being stolen this way. I am seriously considering Chandran's idea of building a moat around the house and putting few crocodiles in it!

Btw, last night I saw Sneaky Sundari's car parked outside the compound wall,  and I was so tempted!

Weekend @ Dosa Fest

Last weekend we lazed at home. Didn't get tickets for the ET Wow but that didn't dampen our spirits. We packed the family and went to the beach. Pattu has become quite friendly with the waves these days, she spent quite a while there. While Sk and MIL were giving Pattu company, I sneaked away to have raw mango. FIL joined and we shared the steal. Then we attacked the son papdi vendor and a few others. Pattu wasn't interested in the eats, she went for the rides and picked up a cheap looking plastic mobile phone among other things. And off we went to the dosa fest at Sanjeevanam.

I am a big fan of Kadalivanam (the restaurant at Sanjeevanam) - especially their Raja Keeyam. It is one of the best things on offer for the veggie lover in Chennai. However, the dosa fest was a bit of a let down. The stuffed dosas - one had to look for the 'stuff' with magnifying glasses. Ootappams with topping - same story...take out the magnifying glasses to spot the veggies, small onions.... Hardly worth the Rs.70 per dosa!

My MIL had an idea which I thought was a good one - a platter of mini dosas with different stuffing and toppings so you get a good variety. They should consider it I think.

Footwear Fetish

Pattu has never looked at footwear as anything beyond the functional purpose it is meant to serve. All my efforts to make her wear those cute shoes that go so well with her clothes would only be met with, '..but I like this hawai chappal only amma...' assertion. Till 10th Jan 2010.
Athai had sent some glittering silver sandals through Paati on 10th Jan, which so fascinated her that she wore it to bed despite it being one size small and uncomfortable. Maybe the Foot Fairy cast a spell, she's been asking for every pretty shoe that passes by. The mom who used to take her to the footwear section to entice her is now terrified of taking her anywhere near it. Well, I wished and the Foot Fairy heard I guess...

While at this topic - I was appalled to find footwear for 3 to 6 yr old children with such high heels and some pointed heels too! Even more appalling was the fact that some parents were actually buying them. I wonder if this is the case only in India where there are practically no prescribed laws when it comes to kids' products.   

The year so far...

A bit late in the day - but this is my first post of 2010 - so here's wishing you all a wonderful year ahead!
We spent the first day of the year at Dakshinachitra. There was a Manipuri performance that day that Pattu enjoyed. She got to paint on clay models. The lady who attempted to guide her got a stern, 'I don't take instructions from strangers' look from Pattu who continued to follow her own instincts and came up with some never before colour formulations - Asian Paints - take note!

And then we got back to school, office routine. We missed the book fair :( - Both Pattu and appa fell ill and we had to ditch the plan. So, we are even through with the first bout of fever and indigestion for the year.

We had Chennai Sangamam at our office car park yesterday. It was a pleasant surprise - what a wonderful initiative! I saw some of the folk/ street dances for the first time yesterday. Wish Pattu was around. I understand that there is a performance in T Nagar tomorrow but I guess it would be too crowded! The highlight of the event was this little boy (7 yrs old probably) who displayed mastery of silambattam and some other tricks with hoola hoop and fire. I particularly liked the drum dance - so peppy and foot tapping...
There were other familiar pieces like Kolattam, karagattam, therukoothu, etc. Missed Poikkal kudirai. Do try and catch it when it comes to your neighborhood.

Btw, Pattu has been heavily into Hindi these days - details in the next post...

Chennai - My list of 5 places that define the city (Part II)

Mount Road

Those days whenever 'Madras' was introduced in movies, it would open with the inimitable LIC building which was a 16 storied pride and wonder.  Besides the LIC building that Mount Road boasts, it was also a glitzy place with all the cinema halls, buildings that had elevators, uppish restaurants with chandeliers,  dim lighting & table linen (Yamuna and Maurya were popular for family dining) and hi-end outlets that had decked up mannequins behind glass facades.  People came all the way to Poppat Jamal to pick up crockery. Poompuhar, VTI and a lot of other Art Emporiums dotted the road on both sides where most of the customers were foreigners and things were hence priced at 'Dollar Rates'.  Khadi Gramodyog Bhavan with its famous assortment  of Khadi fabric,  sandalwood and papier mache figurines, semi precious gems and jewelry,  to a lot of packaged foods from co operative society groups attracted its set of strong loyalists. I still go after the Khadi Golu bommais every year for Navratri as they have very well etched features as opposed to the flashy blob-like alternatives that seem to be more popular these days.

For the book lovers, there is Higginbothams, British Council Library, American Counsel and Library, Connemara library (attached to Egmore Museum)  and I gather that the more recent Devaneya Pavanar library also has a good collection. The Orient Longman building and The Hindu office received awed glances from passing admirers - not for the building but for intellectual capital inside it. Some other famous landmarks are -Parsan Manere, the flyover, YMCA, Thousand lights mosque, Church Park (Presentation Convent) - one of the stylish schools where girls spoke lilting English and wore skirts that hardly reached their knees (the maamis' eyes would open wide in disbelief and dismissal), Spencers (not a mall then)  - an international department store with hi end household appliances, the Addison building, Simpsons, Gymkhana, Island Grounds - how can one forget the exhibitions that we so looked forward to! I still remember screaming my guts out the first time on the Giant Wheel much to my parents' embarrassment and the king sized masala papad that I could hardly finish by myself!

Oh, and the Taj Connemara. A middle class family didn't dream of ever dining at a 5 star restaurant unless they were invited as guests to some function. Conjuring vivid images of a plush interior, so resplendent and opulent was my favourite diversion while passing by. I had always wanted to peek in to check what it was like. It reminds me of the book, 'A Tree Grows in Brooklyn', where the protagonist Francie dreams of going on the new Brooklyn-NY bridge and finally when she does she is disappointed as it is not half as dramatic as what she had imagined it would be.  When I first walked into Taj few years later, I expected something dramatic to happen but as reality would have it, I had to console myself after some waiting and move on as it didn't match the hype that my fertile imagination had painted. I still fondly remember Bombay Halwa House with its mouthwatering, delicious food and the more recent Annalakshmi.  Much later when I was in college, a friend introduced me to a small Irani tea shop on GP road. I wondered how great can tea get, and found out  here. I was amazed to find impeccably dressed white collared execs standing and slurping tea at what seemed to be a dirty roadside tea shop!

Fab India - A friend and I paced up and down the store picking up furnishing material, busy discussing whether this would go with that, oh but I really like this rug... if I want this rug I'll have to change the rest of the decor ...oh I'm so confused ... and so on... The salesman who watched our predicament offered to help and we had to sheepishly confess that we were talking about our dream house and we have just taken up our first job a few months back! The salesman was sweet enough to laugh with us and quipped its always good to have a dream.

The picture wouldn't be complete without mentioning Richie Street - the Dark Alley for electronics, pirated CDs and so on. I knew guys who knew this place like the back of their hand. You have to have the knack of figuring out the quality of the products else you would be taken for a ride here. And last but not the least... the makeshift kiosks that sold second hand books...

This account is limited to my own experiences and knowledge... am sure there are many elements that I have missed out... do add on...
I didn't expect this to spill into part 3 - but well...
The other two places would be covered in part 3 - meanwhile...any guesses?

Chennai - My list of 5 places that define the city (Part I)

I spent the last few weeks telling some (interested) outsiders a few things about Chennai and some of us Chennaites got into a discussion about the city. That's how I came up with my list of 5 places that give Chennai its unique flavour...


Marina Beach

I haven't traveled far and wide. I haven't seen all the beaches touted to be scenic and fabulous. It doesn't matter because, for me  Marina would always be the best beach in the whole world! I can never forget the scene of the vast stretch of soft white sand unfolding to meet the sky at the horizon,  revealing a thin strip of shimmering ocean as you walk towards it before engulfing you into its thunderous roar. As kids we looked forward to picnics at Marina - my mom would pack home made snacks in steel dabbas and ban us from 'unhygienic food' from the vendors, much to our disappointment. We would look at her imploringly as the vendors approached with Thenga maanga pattani sundal (a snack made from channa garnished with coconut and raw mango pieces), Murukku, Kuchi ice, paal ice, cup ice (types of ice candies and ice creams), Molaga Bajji, Kadalai (peanut), Matka Kulfi, Sherbet, Inji marappa (sweetened ginger) Panju mittai in bright pink colour (cotton candy), Maanga pattai with red chilli powder (Raw mango slices)...drrooooolllll.......

Well, 'drool' was all we could do since mom was extremely wary of outside food. We were at best allowed to have the raw mango slices and peanuts! But that didn't steal all the fun because this place had so much more to offer.  Those days, you can't be at Marina and not go for kudirai sawari (horse ride - it was mostly a pony), koda ratnam (mini manual version of giant wheel)  baloon shooting, buying 'gas' baloons and collecting sea shells (which I do till date) .  We never had enough of chasing the waves and getting wet. Every time we would make elaborate preparations to not get wet but would fail miserably within 10 minutes of hitting the waves. Thanks to the sea breeze, we were dry by the time we got back home but always carried a bag of sand bulging through our pockets and between the seams of our clothers.

After a spell of pollution, I'm glad that it is being cleaned and efforts have been taken to maintain it this way.

T Nagar (+ Pondy Bazaar and a bit of West Mambalam) 

No matter how much I crib about the traffic, narrow bylanes, crowded streets and shops and lack of the more modern hangouts, this place still exudes a lot of charm to lure anyone.
The 'Platform shops' with their collection of baubles, junk jewelry, 'uma gold' or covering jewels, cheap toys made in China, figurines, plastic flowers in gaudy colours, kitchenware, flashy wall hangings and confetti, clothes, furnishing, footwear, handbags, tailors who deliver salwar suits in an hour...not to mention the inflatable baby pools, chairs etc hung on the trees and all the soft toys carefully arranged on cars parked around.....you just name it!

This place once hosted some of the high end department stores - Dawn Stores and Bombay Store. People ordered high quality cashews and grocery from Dawn stores, especially for weddings  and Bombay store was known for stocking the authentic 'North Indian' spices, masala and even atta. To this date, my MIL picks up red chilli powder, mustard powder and other assortments for the pickle only from this place!

There are still some niche outfits (albeit old) that have managed to keep their quality and reputation intact. They know their customers and sometimes even their entire family. Take Thaayar Dairy, Venkateswara Boli Store, Sarada Stores - my mom still goes all the way to Thaayar / Sarada stores to pick up butter for ghee. We don't tolerate even mild variations in the flavour - yeah, spoilt we are! And then there's Giri Trading Co, Murali Musicals, Ambika Appalam Depot, Ratna Stores, Geetha Cafe (dilapidated now but was once the only decent restaurant there)... and then there are some nameless vendors who specialised in Kumbakonam Vettalai (Betel leaf from Kumbakonam - supposed to be the best) , Maahali Kezhangu (a native root that is pickled), varieties of Aval, pori (Poha and puffed rice), homam & pooja items ( you just have to tell them the name of the homam and they'll give you all the items you need with instructions like, 'don't keep the varatti inside the house'  etc), vattals and vadaams... phew!

Oh, and London Stores, Maya Plaza and Singapore shopping mall... I still like the crisp smart cotton frocks from London Stores!

Ooppss...how can I not mention Naidu Hall, where the then hep maamis would go to buy 'baady' (lingerie)  -  :D sorry, but the T Nagar picture would not be complete without mentioning this!

Ok, since Marina Beach and T Nagar have taken up so much space, the rest would follow in the next post.

Meanwhile, Chennai folks, please do your own list of 5 places...

Arivu Pasi (Thirst for Knowledge)

We were picking up groceries at the department store and Pattu was throwing things from her list into the cart. We reached this shelf that had a mindless assortment of toys and some books for kids. Pattu picked up a book after some serious consideration and insisted on buying it. In an attempt to dissuade her, I gave her an option of choosing between ice cream and the book (and thinking what a smart move I'd made). Well, I guess thought too soon....

She didn't even think twice before telling the lady behind the counter, 'Aunty please bill this book'.

And we got back home and had ice cream while reading the book (My First Dictionary).

Tiki Tiki Tembo

... is out latest addiction.

I stumbled on to this really humorous Chinese story at an old book store. This reveals through an amusing story why the Chinese have very short names.

Apparently this was not the tradition long ago in China. The first born sons always had  very long names and the rest had short names. Thus the first born son of this great family gets this name, Tiki Tiki Tembo no-sa rembo-chari bari ruchi-pip peri pembo, which means, 'The most wonderful thing on this whole wide world'. And his brother is called Chang.  
The story is about how the brothers play near the well despite their mother's warning and first Chang falls into the well and Tiki Tiki Tembo tells his mom and then finds an old man with a ladder and gets him to rescue his brother. They pump the water out of the boy and in no time he is fine as ever before. After some months of abandoning play near the well, it beckons them once again and this time Tiki Tiki Tembo falls into the well.
Now, Chang has to tell his mother and according to tradition, he should address his older brother respectfully by his full name! So goes Chang to his mother saying, 'Honourable Mother, Tiki Tiki Tembo no-sa rembo-chari bari ruchi-pip peri pembo has fallen into the well'. His mother can't hear and he has to repeat it couple of times and he gasps and stutters somehow manages. The episode repeats with the old man with the ladder and by the time they get to Tiki Tiki Tembo no-sa rembo-chari bari ruchi-pip peri pembo, there's lot of water to pump out and he takes longer to recover.

So, now we know why the Chinese have short names :)

Pattu finds this really amusing and made me read this continuously for a good 45 mins and I am as out of breath as Chang in the story. So we've been going Tiki Tiki Tembo no-sa rembo-chari bari ruchi-pip peri pembo - ing...all day long...

Yippie..we made it!

... to the Pantomime! I was certain that the rain gods were following my blog when they predicted rains and storm, but thanks to our legendary Met Dept's history...

Wanted to go during the weekend but couldn't and finally made it on Monday. We had some nice company - 3 chirpy bubbly kids from the neighborhood. 

First thing - it is not aimed at kids Pattu's age (I thought it was..maybe I thought wrong). It is for 8 yrs +...atleast I think so, since the older kids who accompanied us understood the play. I wasn't sure (as usual) how Pattu would react and was prepared for the worst, but she did enjoy most of it except when it got a bit dialogue heavy. She especially loved 'hiss... boo...' ing and 'Oh No You're Not'ing (these are things they encourage the audience to say to certain characters and their questions - and the audience played along enthusiastically...including Pattu). Some of the characters that she really enjoyed and laughed at - the crows (they were so cute) and the Mafia Mamas and the fact that the neighbour's kid got scared of the Mafia Mamas when they walked over to the audience during a song.

I quite liked it though I wished some parts to move faster. Some of the characters were well etched and the actors were splendid while the others were so-so and could have been better. Overall it was a good experience (despite the fact that the A/C didn't work) and the kids loved it! Pattu still talks about the Crows and the Mafia Mamas!

.....thus Pattu watched her first Pantomime...

PS: And oh, all the kids got some goodies (lots of candies) from Santa during the break :)

Christmas Goodies

Christmas coupled with half yearly holidays seems to have a lot in store for the kids and the parents.

The Little Theater's Pantomime at the Museum Theater, Egmore sounds like a must see. There is a 3 PM show as well on 11th, 12th and 13th - hoping to go (remembering the last time I proposed something like that and the rain gods disposed!). Well, one doesn't stop hoping.

There's Dakshinachitra Anniversary followed by their Margazhi Fest. There's Plan B - A new circus show at Sir Mutha Venkatasubbarao Hall on Dec 17th and 18th - would like to catch up on these as well (Err...I'm on the edge where Hope meets Greed). Not to mention the Landmark Sale...

Kaanchana Paati is organising a Workshop on Film Making for kids 8 yrs +. Wow!  idiscoveri  has story telling and art & craft sessions.... 

And then there's a lot more going on at the usual kids' haunts - Vanilla, Hansel & Gretel, Baby's Day Out, etc. Get. Set. Go.

Btw, Pattu would like to know if Santa Claus Ummachi will give her a gift if she is a good girl. 

Ban the Paparazzi

What do you do when strangers click snaps of your kids in public places? I've faced this quite a few times at shopping malls, beach, temples etc. Luckily Pattu is shy and refuses to pose. The other day, some college guys at the beach were trying to get Pattu to pose and I had to politely tell them that she is shy and they should leave her alone. No matter how decent looking they are, I feel very uneasy about it. Similar incident at the shopping mall - this time I realised only after the picture was clicked. They were a sweet looking young couple and I felt very awkward to say anything so just smiled and moved away.
I am also quite uneasy with the too friendly Annas at the department stores ... I've just started telling Pattu to be careful with strangers.

Btw, if you still haven't made your weekend plans, check out Lets Do Something.

They have some workshops planned for the moms and the kids have some incentive to be there as well. They are having a digital photography workshop, embroidery sessions and robotics workshops for older children coming up soon. Salsa will also be added soon along with the western dance that they already have.
Forum Art Gallery also has workshops for kids. They also have some Christmas fun coming up.

The Thumb Cards

The Thumb Card for Paati (top - with some dry leaves and sand thrown in) and A Anna (Bottom - there are some little fingers too)

The Aanai Vilakku

Games, Thumbs, Eco Cards and a Runny Nose

We'd been to Lets do Something for a Traditional Indian Games workshop they had organised along with Kreeda. I wasn't too hopeful about Pattu's enthusiasm but then she did surprise me a bit by exploring all of the games there. However her attention span was way too short to complete the games that she started.

The Thumb paintings continue to excite Pattu and we made a Thumb card for (psst...secret). And while on secret, that's the latest with Pattu these days. She would take me aside and say, 'Amma, I'll tell you a secret' and whisper some gibberish into my ears and we both exchange meaningful glances.

And while on cards, we collected some dry leaves, flowers and sand and made a card for Paati who is away at Mumbai. Kaarthigai was a rushed affair as Paati wasn't here to help. I had to rush back from office to light the lamps - It was cut short by a drizzle. Pattu was excited to see the Aanai velakku (the traditional elephant lamp in brass that is passed on from generations - it is one of my favourites too). Apparently, many years back the children were given this to play with (they have wheels and can be dragged around). Depending on how wealthy the family is, the elephants are adorned with Gold, silver, precious and semi precious stone maalai! And the kids played dress up (there's a lady sitting on the elephant with a diya in her hand) with these. Imagine!

And after a lot of excitement over the 'Pitterpattering' of rain drops on the window pane, Pattu has a runny nose and fever. Planning an Indoor theme for this weekend.