Random Thoughts

Explosion

2012-01-28T18:54:00.000+05:30

...might be the right term to use to describe some of the study sessions where Sooraj and I sit together. Everything starts off peacefully, then his day dreaming, my restlessness to get back to other tasks, his questions which I think are silly, my impulse to smack him in the head with his pencil box and fling the notebook to the far corner of the room, then actually reminding myself that I am an adult or rather his mother, taking a deep breath to calm down and then explain in the smoothest tone what I expect of him, repeated mistakes by him, me loosing cool and exploding, he in tears, verbal battles, slamming of doors, he flinging himself on the bed in self pity and me completely stressed out thinking that this is just the beginning.

That's the reason why I so love this program on Zee Cafe called Parenthood. The validation that every family with kids has it's own insane and explosive moments, is such a big help to carry on to the next day !

Discipline or tough love as I see it

2012-01-18T10:16:00.000+05:30

- The heart begs to sleep for ten more minutes on a cosy wintery morning, when the alarm goes off before sun rise. The mind admonishes to wake up and complete that Surya Namaskar, which I had promised myself.

- The heart seeks the laptop to quickly check the mails during the busy morning hours in the kitchen, whereas the mind reasons that it is better to concentrate on the task at hand and approach the emails leisurely.

- The heart jumps in joy with a cursory look at the articles that I enjoy reading in the newspaper and tries to quickly go through it in the midst of getting the kids ready, food items cooking on the stove etc. The mind draws me back to my tasks at hand.

- Even as the day progresses, the lure of the bean-bag and the favourite book is irresistable, but the mind keeps reminding me of the numerous pending tasks in the "To do list".

- The heart feels bad calling the son at the end of his play time, when it sees that he is totally enjoying himself. The mind reminds me of his pending home work and things to be studied for the day.

- The heart is bent on watching that one favourite TV program late in the night, the mind warns of the ticking clock and the need to wake up early and fresh.

In this tussle between the heart and the mind, sometimes the mind wins and sometimes the heart. But overall it is not too bad either ! But come friday evening, the heart completely beats the mind and rejoices in it's victory :-)

2011-12-11T17:09:00.001+05:30

I feel this pressing need to distance myself from the distractions of the online world and delve a little more into the recess of the heart to hear the inner voice better. So until I get back to blogging, it is goodbye for now, from me !

Sarcas-Wife

2011-11-29T09:04:00.001+05:30

Disclaimer : This is not a conversation between my husband and me. I can be the sarcas-wife but he is definitely not the Neanderthal man (NM) quoted in the conversation below ! This is an imagined scenario, though the existence of this Neanderthal man is true, even if they are less in numbers. It is a fact that in the midst of the wonderful men in our life, we have this kind of species too.

NM : Hey you know what, there are a few things that I wanted to clarify before we got married.

Sarcas-wife (SW) : Yeah, please tell me.

NM : I am the only son to my parents. My mother bore me for nine months and after a very difficult child birth, I was born. I can't even imagine the difficulties that my mother had to go through my early childhood years.

SW : Oh, really ? I never knew that boys were born that way. When my mother wanted a child, she went and stood under the peepal tree and prayed to the Gods. Immediately I was plonked into my mother's lap. It was as easy-peasy as that. Plus you know what ? I was born as the third child, in a family which had two daughters already. Being the 1970s and all that, everyone in the house particulary my paternal grandparents were so so excited at my birth, that it seems the celebrations went on for days. My mother still recollects as to how she could not get the smile out of her face on my birth.

NM : My parents had to struggle really hard to get me educated and send me to one of the top schools in the city. Since I did not score enough marks in my board exams (you see..I was never that great in studies), they had to shell out a few lakhs to get me admitted into a private college. They have spent so much money on me.

SW : Right. My parents sent us only to a Govt school nearby, even though they are pretty well of. We all studied well and got us ourselves admitted into various colleges of repute. I studied fully on a scholarship and was in fact a Gold medalist.

NM : Okay...Okay. All that does not matter. What is important right now is that, since my parents have done so much for me, I am indebted to them. Also I am so precious to them. So I want all of us to live together and I want you to be a good daughter-inlaw.

SW : I totally see your point. Now I realise that, to my parents, I am nothing but just a piece of trash. So now that you have opened my eyes, I am totally willing to serve you and your family. I will consider it a great honour. As for my parents ..Let them go to hell ! This is what they deserve for giving birth to a girl child.

Humour sometimes is the only way to make sense of the senseless things happening around us.

Sarcas-mom

2011-11-22T09:04:00.001+05:30

I can be pretty sarcastic sometimes and Sathish does not think it is funny when I extend it to the kids. But hey they are my kids and they know exactly when I am being sarcastic :-). Some instances-

S & S (they like talking to me ONLY when I have just entered the bathroom) : Amma, what are you doing ?
Me : Umm..I am having my breakfast.
(All I can hear are giggles).

S and S, are deeply engrossed in fighting with each other and I am going mad. So I raise my voice and shout "Would you like me to give some kitchen knives with which you can fight each other?". They are stumped for a minute and then start laughing. Phew..the situation is diffused for that moment.

I am asking Shraddha to put her dirty socks for washing. In her sweetest-I -don't-know kind of voice she asks me "Amma, where should I put it ?" I think for a second and tell her " The MIXIE ?". Pat comes the reply from her "Okay ..the washing machine right ? ". Right, you got it.

It could be either of the kids, but this dialogue comes up frequently when they are really angry with me. "Why should I listen to you ? I don't have to do what you say ?" I do not get ruffled at all. I simply tell them " Oh no..You have to do exactly as I say, because I am a dictator." Then ofcourse I have sit and explain the meaning of a dictator to Shraddha.

Moms and (Oxy)morons

2011-11-19T20:37:00.001+05:30

To Child 1, mother says " You have to talk more. How else will I know what is happening in school ? Communication is the key. Monosyllabic replies cannot always work."
To Child 2, mother says "You talk too much. That is your problem. When you continously talk, half of it ends up being nonsense. Learn to listen better".

To Child 1, mother says in a very exasperated voice "You have played already for 4 hours today, outside the house. Now when I ask you to sit for some weekend studies for just half an hour, you keep such a long face. It cannot always be play time"
To Child 2, mother says "You HAVE to get out and play. You just cannot sit and talk always with your friends. Give your body the much needed physical activities and outdoor time. Otherwise you are going to end up so unhealthy."

To Child 1, mother says "It is okay, if I wake you up five minutes later than the time you told me. You do not have to be so obsessed with time. You are pretty punctual and manage your time well. You don't have to get so worked up over it".
To Child 2, mother says in a panic stricken high pitched voice at 7.30 in the morning " Do YOU have any idea of time ? In one hour's time you need to be in the bus stand and NOW you are asking for five minutes more to sleep ? GET UP RIGHT NOW. When will you ever get a sense of time ? "

The same mother in the same home environment gives out these mixed signals. Mother thinks she is trying to impart a sense of balance in everything to her kids. Kids must think "Mothers mostly give out contradictory messages. But don't you ever dare to contradict her." Sigh.

Children's day posts at Saffron Tree

2011-11-14T13:08:00.001+05:30

When was the last time you walked into a book shop -

where you were greeted by a friendly and smiling face,

when you mentioned that you were looking for books as gifts, for a specific age group, they pointed you in the right direction and volunteered lot of information about the books themselves,

when you were flustered that you did not carry your membership card (that helps to avail of a 20 % discount each time) and also did not remember the Membership number, they asked you not to worry but patiently searched their old registers to locate the details (not a quick computer search),

where you can quietly sit and browse through the books without a crowd breathing down your neck ?

Genuine personal touch enhances the quality of each of our experiences in life. The NBT book shop in Bangalore is one such wonderful place, where each book shopping experience has been a pleasure. To continue reading, click here.

Sathish has also reviewed a wonderful NBT book called Lengdon's Legacy. Go on and read it !

There are lot of other interesting posts on Saffron Tree for children's day. Don't miss them.

Recipe for Cheese Cake

2011-11-07T18:21:00.001+05:30

Recipe for No bake Eggless Cheese Cake

I am outlining the recipe with the ingredients that I used. I referred primarily to a Nita Mehta cook book for this and also referred to this blog for a few details.

FOR CRUST/BASE

10 digestive biscuits (Brittania)

1 tablespoon sugar

3 tbsp Milk or little melted butter

OTHER INGREDIENTS

Cream Cheese - Nilgiris Paneer - 200 gms

Yogurt - 500 gms of Amul Dahi (1 400 gms container + little extra)

Fruit Puree if available like Strawberries, Mango.

(I used Mala's Black Currant Crush - a fruit pulp concentrate. May be 3 tbsp)

Sugar - As needed

Gelatin - 3tsp

(Gelatin is supposed to be animal product. But what I used had the Green vegetarian symbol. So may be it is a variation. I also read that Agar-Agar can be used instead of gelatin, as it is plant based.)

Method

1) For the crust, crush biscuits in a blender to get coarse crumbs.

2) Mix the crumbs with sugar and milk/butter. Press the mixture at the bottom of a glass bowl/cake tin. Chill for 30 mts in the fridge (No freezing).

3) Hang the curd in a muslin cloth for 20 mts. Squeeze and drain out the extra water (whey water which can be used for gravies or making chappathi dough).

4) Blend the crumbled paneer, hung curd, fruit puree and sugar.

5) Add the gelatin to 1/4 cup of water and place this bowl in another bowl which has hot water (so we are directly not exposing it to heat). Stir and leave aside for 10 mts, till you get a clear liquid.

6) Add the dissolved gelatin to the puree mixture.

7) Now pour this mixture over the set biscuit crumbs in the tin. Place in the fridge for 2 to 3 hours.

The cake can be decorated with fresh fruits/dry biscuit crumbs/fruit puree etc .

Notes

1) Since most of the ingredients I used are store bought, there is nothing healthy about it ! But I think we can use home made curd or make paneer at home. I was quite lazy and skipped those steps. But all said and done, it is a very heavy dessert and I think it is quite okay to indulge in sinful desserts once in a while :-)

2) I do not have a springform tin. I used a Borosil glass bowl. I think it is easier to get the slices of cheese cake if a spring form tin is used. Here some chunks of crusts were left behind in the bowl when we tried to take the slices out.

Cheese Cake

2011-11-06T08:33:00.001+05:30

I never honestly thought I would be able to do a cheese cake in my kitchen ! In my mind, these are some of the exotic desserts, that taste best in a restaurant. But then a year back, when Vibha had made a yummy cheesecake for our Saffron Tree meet with a very simple recipe, it struck me that may be it was doable in the house. But I never got around to it.

I waited for the Diwali-Sweet-mania to settle down, before I indulged in another of my baking experiments. Flipping through my recipe book , I chanced on a Mango Cheese cake recipe by Nita Mehta which seemed easy enough. I did a lit bit of online research too and referring to various sources, I did manage to come up with a Cheese Cake, with the flavour of Black Currants. I had to settle for bottled fruit pulp concentrate, since I neither got strawberries nor mangoes in this season to give the authentic fruit flavour.

But all that effort in getting it right, was worth it since I did manage to create a tasty, good looking (lavender is my favourite colour)and almost restaurant like dessert :-). I was quite pleased with my creation and everyone in the house loved it !

Ps : I will update the recipe soon.

Parenting challenges

2011-10-31T20:04:00.004+05:30

It is one of those days, when I am in a pensive and introspective mood. Questioning the things I do with my kids. Am I spending enough time with them on the things they need me for ? Am I guiding them in the right direction ? Am I doing enough to tap their potential ? Am I being too strict with my son with respect to his studies ? Am I expecting too much from him ? Am I neglecting my daughter because everything that my son does seem important to me, right now ?

But on the other hand, a voice tells me "If you do not help your son to excel and show him what he is capable of, who else will ? If you cannot show him, how hard work and love for a subject can work miracles, who will ? If you cannot show him how patience and perseverance pay off, who will ? If you do not tell him how much faith you have in his abilities and YOU believe in him, who will ? If you do not teach him the right way of doing things, who will ? May be you will come across as a tough mom, but isn't your child benefitting and won't he be thankful to you for showing him the right path".

So in my mind, these battles keep raging now and then. I was sharing these thoughts with a wonderful friend too, who resonates on my wavelength. The trick is in knowing when to step back after having put in the effort and allow nature to take recourse, with the firm belief that the child will blossom when he is ready to.

Sometimes through the grey clouds, a ray shines through. As I was moping around the house lost in my thoughts, preparing dinner, Sooraj came and told me with a grin "Amma, I forgot to show you something". Those were certificates awarded to him for excellence in a couple of subjects, with some nice words from the school. The smile on his face, his apparent pride on his achievement, the validation that every action has an equal reaction, the boosting of self esteem - all seemed to give me a sign. That may be I am on the right track. When the mind is confused with a wide variety of choices, sometimes it is signs like these - subtle or apparent, which help clear the mind, atleast for that day !

A sketch at Turahalli

2011-10-30T16:11:00.003+05:30

A wonderful family from our apartment complex took us to Turahalli, a small forest reserve in the out-skirts of Bangalore, for a hike. Here is a quick sketch that I did over there. Did the rest of shading in the luxury of my home.

View from the Balcony

2011-10-29T07:12:00.000+05:30

My first review for CROCUS 2011

2011-10-27T13:10:00.006+05:30

A book which touched me,

A book which was enlightening in terms of facts,

A book whose literary style simply blew me away,

A book which made me think highly of the author,

A book which impacted me in all possible ways it should.

That is Out of the Dust, coming under the theme of WIND. I don't even know if I have done justice to the book in my review.

Psst : If you have observed my last few posts here, I am attempting the free verse style of writing inspired by this author. A feeble attempt, but an attempt nevertheless at some new writing style !

Happy Deepavali and a happy birthday too !

2011-10-26T00:06:00.002+05:30

As the World celebrates the festival of lights,

We have one more reason to smile,

It is the birthday of my little one,

My dear daughter who completes five !

Funny and feisty, bold and bubbly,

Chatty and charming,

Lovable and eatable,

A little piece of fire work she is .

Chakuli to her father,

Shraddhu to her brother,

Chintu, Buntu, Gundoo

Any lovable name to her mother.

Father's pet, brother's pride,

Mother's little darling,

We wish you dearest Shraddhu

A very happy fifth birthday !

CROCUS 2011

2011-10-22T19:20:00.003+05:30

Saffron Tree will be celebrating it's fifth birthday in a few hours from now ! The annual festival that we celebrate every year at ST - CROCUS , is back and the curtains will rise tomorrow. This year we have chosen the FIVE elements as our theme to signify ST's 5th b'day. All of us have worked hard to bring in a lot of - book reviews, interviews with people associated with these elements and some wonderful, related art/craft activities. We request you to keep visiting us throughout the festival, enjoy the goodies and leave your valuable feedback :-)

Ode to beauty

2011-10-19T09:31:00.002+05:30

You are a shy bride peeping from behind the door,

Shooting furtive glances at the beloved,

You are a majestic elephant rising out of the river,

Fresh and awe inspiring,

You are a tiara on the crest of the hill,

Resplendent in the morning glory,

High above, where no can reach,

Flooding the homes with your warmth,

As you morph, you invoke,

The same sense of wonder,

Each time I beheld you,

I am breathless and speechless,

Is there anything that can come close

In beauty, magnificence, radiance and generosity

Oh dear Sun !

PS : Inspired by the sight of the sun today morning, as I was watching it from the kitchen window moving from one stage to another !

Of Muffins and Memories

2011-10-16T17:33:00.006+05:30

Muffins remind me of the little time I spent in the US, in various capacities !

When I went to work in the US for a very short while, the office cafeterias would give out such a wonderful aroma in the mornings, at breakfast time. I soon realised that it was due to the mouth watering yummy things called Muffins. Team members who had skipped b'fast at home, would be generous enough to share their muffins which they would pick on the way to work.

Later when I went with Sathish and Sooraj as a baby to the US, I would pass a neat little cafe on the way to grocery shopping. I would be pushing along Sooraj in the stroller and each time I passed this shop, I would fondly linger on assimiliating that wonderful fragrance from that cafe. A few times I had stopped to indulge in some wonderful muffins from there :-).

So this weekend, after reading this interesting article by Pamela Timms in Mint Lounge and some online search, I chanced on this recipe which seemed easy enough. It yielded the perfect muffins, that I have ever baked :-). I am so happy with the outcome. I did not use strawberries, but used raisins instead. Otherwise I followed the recipe exactly.

From my blog posts, it might seem as though every thing I bake in my kitchen is a success. No, that's not true. For every successful baking attempt I post here, there is one equal disaster which has happened - meaning waste of time, effort , ingredients and lots of disappointment. But that's how we learn !

But today is one of those fabulous days and I am going to savour this moment of elation. Presenting Eggless Banana Raisin Muffins :-)

PS : The video demonstration by Pamela Timms, which is embedded in that website is also very informative.

Baking with abandon

2011-10-08T18:54:00.003+05:30

Presenting my Banana Walnut Loaf ! The sight of over ripe bananas lying in the corner of the kitchen plus the fact that it has been a while since I baked anything, gave me the baking itch today. I was not too bothered about the ingredients and their quantity. Just remembered the basic ingredients ratio and played with the batter ! It turned out a yummy banana cake.

Hampi

2011-10-05T20:28:00.000+05:30

2011-10-04T20:43:00.003+05:30

Blessings in myriad forms

I strongly feel that the divine forces work in many forms to ensure smoothness in our lives. But sadly many a time we do not recognise the subtle forms of Grace and seek HIM only when things go wrong. When I reflected on a series of little incidents that took place, I was fully convinced that I was blessed indeed for what happened and felt very grateful.

We stay in a pretty remote place and the nearest auto stand is around 2 kms away. I had asked a known auto driver, to come and pick the kids and me for the night train, since Sathish was to join us at the station directly. I was also wondering what I would do if he failed to come. In the evening when talking to a friend, I mentioned that we were leaving on a trip that night. She immediately volunteered to drop me to the nearest auto stand. I said I would call her in case the auto driver failed to turn up. The auto driver came on time, inspite of some heavy rains in our area and my friend called me right after that to check if I needed a drop. The driver took us to the station well ahead of the train departure time. A little after we reached, there was a heavy downpour through out the city and people came completely drenched into the coaches.

During the holiday trip, the kids were very cooperative, the place where we stayed was comfortable, the food was very good and kid friendly and the people we had for company were very amiable. The place was fantastic and awe inspiring..more about it another post !

Finally when we came back today, bone tired but with wonderful memories, I thanked God for showering us with little blessings all along the way. My heart was filled with gratitude for that auto driver, the friend, all the other people and nature, who co-conspired to make it a perfect vacation !

On Fire

2011-09-25T10:53:00.001+05:30

Bangalore is awash with orange colour. As you pass through certain streets, the African Tulips in full bloom appears as if the green trees were set on fire. Here is a sketch of the African Tulip using oil pastels (sketch by Sathish).

2011-09-23T18:47:00.004+05:30

Holidays Ka Matlab....

- General chilling out

- Late waking hours

- No dabbas for lunch. That includes husband's too, since kids' holidays translate to "no dabba packing" in the kitchen.

- Ordering pizza for dinner and having an exotic ice cream for dessert, to start the holidays !

- Expecting the kids home only for meal times.

Holiday bonanza - got some news today, that has left me grinning :-)

Flower eating monster

2011-09-18T19:09:00.000+05:30

After a long time, I did a monster for Shraddha. She wants to call it a flower-leaf monster. This one creeps on the ground and eats any plant which has at least three flowers. Why three? Do not ask me, ask the monster.

Cookies

2011-09-17T16:59:00.001+05:30

COCONUT CARDAMOM COOKIES

After a few trials making cookies, with varied results, I have found that the basic recipe from Nita Mehta's book - Snacks for children works very well for me in my OTG.

Here is the basic recipe from the book, which I have altered to suit my palate and my oven settings.

Wheat cookies

Whole wheat flour - 1 cup
Softened butter - 1/2 cup + 2 Tbsp
Powdered sugar - 3/4 cup
Baking powder - 1/2 tsp
a pinch of baking soda
3-4 tsp of milk for kneading

To get the basic dough

1. Beat butter and sugar until it is light and creamy.
2. Add the dry ingredients to the butter and sugar.
3. Knead into a smooth dough.
4. Take small balls and press the into small circles on a greased tray, leaving some space between the cookies for expansion.
5. Meanwhile pre heat the oven to 150 degree celcius for 10 mts.
6. Put the baking tray in the centre and bake for 16 to 17 mts at 150degrees. If you feel after this time it is still not done, then bake for another few minutes.

Notes

1. I add choco chips (I just add roughly chopped Dairy Milk choclate) to the basic dough, to get Choco chip cookies and the kids love it.
2. Today I tried with grated fresh coconut and lot of freshly ground cardamom. It gave a wonderful aroma as it was baking and was very tasty too. Initially it was soft and chewy, later it became quite crunchy.
3. I find that if I set the oven temp to 180 degree celcius (as mentioned in a number of recipes), the cookies get burnt easily. It might have to do with the individual ovens.

Finally, I have come to realise that baking is very relaxing for me. Different people do different things to relax or just beat the blues ! Reading a book, listening to music, workouts, gardening, cooking. Baking it is - for me, for now !

Why do they torment us like this ?

2011-09-17T09:02:00.004+05:30

I mean the cable TV movie channels that I get.

On Saturday nights I look forward to lounging on the couch watching the 9.00 P.M movie and getting up late on sunday morning. This is such a relaxing routine for me. Better the movie, better is the feeling of time well spent !

I have developed an uncanny ability to predict what kind of same old boring movies would get played on the movie channels over the weekend. As I was skipping the movie channels guide in the paper - HBO, PIX, STAR MOVIES - it was stuff like this - Hell boy, Spider Man, Harry Potter. Boy..I have become a pro at predicting what would come. Unfortunately, UTV World movies, which I love, does not come for us.

Once again, all my hopes of a nice movie on a saturday night have been quashed :-(

Exams Ka Matlab...

2011-09-16T09:56:00.003+05:30

What son's exams mean to me (like Kotak's latest ad on "Money ka Matlab"..we love that !)

- First time that he is taking proper exams in school, so I am feeling all jittery. After so many years, the same butterflies in the tummy feeling !

- When I finished college, I was like "Appada. No more exams and no more tension. Good riddance to all that". I was wrong. You live everything through your children again. What affects them, affects you equally, if not more. The realisation sinks in later that you absolutely cannot do anything about it. After the best of effort to help your child, you can only be there as a pillar of support.

-Keeping him in good health, making sure he eats, sleeps and plays well in the midst of the studying.

-Giving him lot of confidence, assuring him that what matters more is the hardwork, learning and understanding, in this process.

-Setting worksheets for him to practise and asking tricky questions- for me to make sure that he has understood his concepts well.

-Browsing online to see if I can give any additional information on the subjects that he is reading. Value add, you see :-).

Oh...in case, after reading my exaggerated post, you thought that my son taking the board exams, I would like to remind you readers that he is in the 4th grade and I am a dramatic person :-)

Either way you are an Ilicha Vai

2011-09-11T13:06:00.003+05:30

Scene 1 :

Sathish was driving the car and we reached a signal, where we had to turn left. We remembered it as a free left, were not too sure when the signal ahead (for both straight and left) turned red. Plus there was a lorry honking continously behind us. So we turned left, only to be stopped by the policeman. The law abiding citizens that we are, we realised our mistake, pulled over and payed the fine that was slapped on us. The rascal lorry driver who had been honking behind us sped away, even as the policeman tried to stop him.

Scene 2 :

An aquaintance of ours, had been driving his car and just as he reached the junction, the traffic light had turned Red. So he had immediately stopped his car and had waited for the Green. A car and a bike had been continously honking behind him and ofcourse he could do nothing other than to ignore it. The car and bike caught up with this person, two signals later, smashed his car windows and had then sped away, leaving him bruised due to the glass pieces. Was this an act of road rage ?

Anyway the lessons you pick from these incidents are - if you are good and break the rules accidentally, you pay penalty to the police department. If you are good and abide by the rules, you are at the mercy of the goondas. Wow. Either way in India, you are an Ilicha Vai.

The challenge is that you need to keep reiterating to yourself and to your children, that inspite of all these incidents, we should never waver from our core values. Doing the right thing is the way to be. That is the only hope for the society.

Ps : Ilicha vai is a Tamil term for people who are good/innocent, but are conned by the society around them.

Dilapidated

2011-08-29T22:51:00.000+05:30

A few hundred metres from our apartment complex is a dilapidated house; almost completed covered with moss and plants; but surprisingly not too broken. There is no door and seems to invite one to take a peek inside. Wonder if it was ever inhabited? What stories does it hold? Happy memories or sad ones? I would probably never know; but it would continue to invite until either the vegetation around it eats it away slowly or some bulldozer erases it for a giant apartment similar to ones we live in.

Recipe for Basic Bread

2011-08-29T16:09:00.003+05:30

2 cups - Wheat flour

2 cups - Maida

2 1/4 Tsp - Dried Active Yeast

1 1/2 cups - Warm water

Sugar, Butter as required

1. First the yeast mixture needs to be prepared. The 1.5 cups of water should be more than warm (I read on the yeast box that 1 part of boiling water and 2 parts of cold water should give the right temperature needed for yeast). Mix the yeast, warm water and 1 tsp of sugar in a bowl and leave it for 10 mts. In the Blore weather, the water at room temperature was cold by itself.

2. After 10 mts, if the temp had been right, the yeast rises. The bowl has a frothy, fermented look (just like how idli batter looks after 10 hours of fermentation).

3. In a big mixing bowl, add the flour, sugar (I added 1.5 tablespoon..this can vary depending on sweetness required) , yeast solution, 2 tablespoons of butter . Make the sticky mass into a nice dough just like you would do for chapathi. The kneading process should happen for atleast 10 mts. (For me the yeast solution was enough to provide the liquids. In case you need extra water, you can use warm water as per your need).

4. Once you get a nice smooth dough, put in an oiled bowl (giving space for rising), cover with a damp cloth and leave it for 2 hours.

5. After 2 hours, the first rise happens. It looks double the initial quantity. But if you punch it , it deflates. Knead again for another 5 minutes. (Punching is important to remove the bitterness).

6. Now transfer the dough to a greased loaf pan and arrange in the shape of the tin. Cover with damp cloth and leave for 1 hour.

7. After roughly 1 hour, the dough quantity would have doubled. Now we do not have to do anything to the dough.

8. Pre heat the oven to 180 degree celsius for 10 mts. Put the tin inside and bake for 40 mts.

9. Once it is done, remove from tin and invert on to the wire rack. If you thump the bottom of the loaf, you should get a hollow sound to indicate it is well done.

10. Cool for 20 mts before slicing.

Notes : As per my friend, lot of variations are possible

1) You can use completely wheat flour or completely maida.

2) Instead of sugar, powdered jaggery can be used.

3) During the first kneading phase, you can add nuts or seeds as per preference.

This weekend, I tried with 4 cups of maida instead of wheat flour..something went wrong in some step and the outcome was not good ! Yet to figure out what was the mistake :-)

Hindi is turning the home into a war zone

2011-08-26T08:58:00.002+05:30

I am having some frustrating moments with the school subject Hindi, for Sooraj. Hindi has been a troublesome area and I can understand why it is difficult for him - we don't speak the language at home, he doesn't watch people speak at home/TV and suddenly when you have a lesson with around 30 new words to comprehend, it definitely becomes overwhelming. Out of these thirty, may be for ten words, I have to sit with my old "Bhargava" dictionary and understand myself to explain to him. This - considering I studied Hindi for 10 years as part of the CBSE curriculum and was quite good in the subject (no modesty as you can see !).

I keep telling him that it does not require magic or extra ordinary intelligence to grasp the subject. Just hard work, patiently working through and getting it. It becomes a joint struggle after a point. I think of ways I can help him, set some exercises and then during the sessions I loose my cool, when I do not see him responding properly. I shout at him and a battle of words ensue. In the line of fire, if Shraddha happens to step in by mistake, she gets it too for various other reasons - scattering her crayons, papers and her eternal search for her pencils/erasers. Everyone in the house is wary of my "those" moments.

At the end of the day, how do I feel ? Totally crappy. I feel angry at myself for having behaved like a raving lunatic rather than a sensible composed adult. I feel angry at the school for not doing things in creative ways to get the child interested. I can see there is nothing wrong with my child. He is ready to work hard and listen to me. I think I lack the conviction in what I ask him to believe.

Do any of you have your own experiences to share ? How do you help your children manage language subjects, which are new to them ?

This kind of drama happens every year at the beginning of the academic year. I buckle up after a point and find my own creative ways to help him and it does definitely help him. He feels happy too when he is able to do well in his assessment sheets and tells me proudly "Amma, all that preparation at home is definitely helping me now".

But for now we are only in the hard work phase and it is time consuming and tiring for both of us.

Yay ! Bread making at home

2011-08-25T16:40:00.003+05:30

I am super excited today and as Sooraj said, it is a special day because I baked bread at home for the first time in my new OTG ! The inspiration for making bread at home is my friend M. She regularly bakes bread and cakes for her family. So taking her tips, advice and after observing her first hand in action, decided to make it today. I am thrilled with the product and the taste is awesome. Coupled with a dollop of my mother's Mango Jam, it tasted yummy. Since I do not yet have a loaf pan, could only make it in this cake tin. I have now a big list of accessories to buy to go with the OTG :-)

I am so thankful to my friend V who understood my excitement about baking bread and got me the sachets of yeast from UK on my request and M, who inspired and helped me in this process !

PS : I used half-half Wheat flour and Maida.

From my home this week

2011-08-21T20:38:00.003+05:30

In the excitement of buying a new OTG, I attempted baking cookies multiple times - one was a "burned" disaster, two which yielded crisp cookies but slightly burnt , one batch was chowk chowk and not tasty and finally one batch which yielded the most perfect choco chip cookies I have ever made :-). So I am still getting to know my new oven ! The banana cake which I tried with cinnamon flavouring came out well.

Krishna Jayanthi special was appam ! After 2 batches of appam (which were made in the appa kuzhi), I had batter for just 2 more big appams. So I thought , why not my muffin cups and bake them ?!! So whisked in a little oil and ghee and put them in the oven. Got two yummy baked appams, but ofcourse they were no match for the oily crispy appams out of the appa kuzhi :-). My latest passion showed itself in my Naivedyam offering for our Krishnar !

Flowers

2011-08-21T17:44:00.000+05:30

The regular Sunday morning sketch dates with Shraddha continued today. It was a surprise when Sooraj also enthusiastically turned up today for this. He was busy doing a sketch of a Pokeman character by memory. Shraddha was too distracted with Sooraj around. I think she also felt a bit jealous that some one else(even if it is her brother) is taking away some of her special time with Appa.
It has been ages since Sooraj had dropped his pencils and said - "Thats it! I cannot draw. I am bad at it". Regularly watching me and Shraddha do it the last few weeks, made him realise that he can also do it again.

Nothing quite like learning by observation.

Mehendi

2011-08-17T09:19:00.000+05:30

This is the design that Shraddha wants on her hand. She came up with this colourful design. Wonder where I can get all these colours? :)

Snippets of our daily life

2011-08-16T08:52:00.003+05:30

Shraddha and me reach the bus stop 5 to 10 mts earlier than the school bus's arrival time. So usually there is 10 to 15 mts to kill there. Here are some snippets of our morning conversations (rather her monologues), as we watch the world pass by.

S : Amma, look at that tree..some one has cutten the branches. It looks different now.

Me : Yeah, right. By the way it is "cut" not "cutten".

S : Amma, what is this pink thingie on this leaf..it looks yucky.

Me : May be someone spit their gum on the leaf.

S : What an idiot he must be to do something like that.

.....

S : Amma, see that cow is doing susu on the road. Giggling to herself now. But what will it do ..it does not have a toilet !

Me (mentally) : Some of the men folk are also like these erumai madu only.

.....

S : Amma, LOOK...some fools have put plastic covers and plastic bottles in the midst of all these plants....chaa ....

.....

S : (Watching a mother escort three kids to school)..Amma, that aunty seems to have three kids...why ?

....

S : Amma you know what...my friend told me that she wanted to have long hair. But I warned her that if she had long hair, which comes upto her bums then it will become so messy when she does her potty (giggles to herself )

Me : (Trying to keep a straight face) Shraddha, if girls have long hair then they will make sure that they tie it neatly into a bun or pony or plaits so it will never come in the way of the potty.

S : But amma, just in case, they don't do that, it will also be full of potty right ?!

.........

S (very excitedly): Amma, look at the Touch-me-not plant. See this is how you touch it, so that it closes it's leaves !

By now the bus arrives and the next target is the child with whom she sits. Even before she can take her seat, she starts talking to her !

I was disagreeing to a lot of points

2011-08-14T19:03:00.005+05:30

http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-features/tp-openpage/article2355411.ece

As I was reading this article today morning, I was mentally disagreeing to a lot of points mentioned. I have been on both sides of the grass. I was a working mother once and quite aware of the difficulties of being one. So no offence meant to any working mother ! I thought may be I would quote the sentences where I had a different take.

Rekha, a young competent IT professional, says that her son will enjoy the luxury and happiness of owning expensive toys as a benefit of her additional income.

Children, as far as I understand, do not really need expensive toys to be happy. Most of the children are very happy playing outdoors - in the sand, water, park OR indoors - with empty cartons, thermocoles, shredding old newspapers and so many other things which we think as trash. I think it is the parents who feel compelled to buy expensive toys for the kids.

The working mother occupies a very important role in the family. She commands respect from her children because she exhibits the characteristics of an industrious person, full of self-confidence, maturity, decision-making capacity, intelligence and accountability. When children identify with their parents, these qualities are imparted to them.

This is a very biased statement. Do mothers who stay at home not have any of the characteristics mentioned ? It essentially depends on the individual. It does not matter if it is a male or female or working or stay-at-home person. What you are and what you feel about yourself, is what you transmit to others. It could be your home or your work place. Children can easily pick up our vibrations.

Children think that it would improve their status among their mates when their parents are employed.

I am honestly stunned reading this statement. I presume she means "when mother is also working" when she says " their parents are employed". It never crossed my mind that young innocent minds can think that way, unless this thought has been transmitted from the home environment.

Typically, working mothers harbour higher educational aspirations for their children

Again a statement that left me speechless. What is the basis for this statement ? Why should stay at home moms want anything less for her kids ? I am baffled.

Sometimes, on the negative side, boys of working mothers showed bad results in school. The child gets more attached to the servant maid or the babysitter than the parent. The babysitter needs to be treated with equal importance like a member of the family. Malini, a doctor and mother of a schoolgoing kid, says that the maid cannot be left behind even during summer vacation trips as her son is attached to her. But these are minor issues which can be overcome.

In my opinion these are NOT minor issues, where a child cannot live without the maid. What is the probability of permanance of these people in a child's life ? When a maid quits and leaves suddenly, won't the child have emotional issues ? These are major issues that people need to worry about, than expensive toys for their kids.

Working mothers often possess the skills necessary for responding creatively to the increased stress their children face while advancing in their own career.

What ?? From my own personal experience, I never had time for any "creative" ways to handle my child's problems, when I was dealing with my own stress of managing home and career. When my home related tasks and office work consume most of my time, where do I have the time, energy and effort required to handle other problems ?

I know it is not easy being a working mother. It involves a lot of struggle and sacrifice. Every person makes their own choices for various reasons. But I know for sure that some of the reasons mentioned in the article are not good enough to highlight the pluses of being a working mother.

Trees

2011-08-14T18:45:00.000+05:30

The first thing that Shraddha told me today after she woke up was - "It is Sunday. Lets go out and sketch".

It is slowly becoming our ritual. Every Sunday, daughter and I go out of our apartment complex and try to sketch whatever we want to. She is becoming a great encouragement to try out atleast one pencil sketch a week.

In the kitchen this week

2011-08-13T13:55:00.001+05:30

So what did I do significantly in the kitchen this week ? Nothing much, since I was busy with the Pooja preparations ! So these are the Naivedyam items for the pooja - Aamavadai (Dal Vadai), Rava Kesari, Kabuli Channa sundal, Pal Payasam. There was still lot of vada batter left over from yday (had dumped it in the fridge). Lots of finely cut coriander and onions to it, made for yummyMasal vadai today!

A story....

2011-08-13T09:18:00.006+05:30

It is a story waiting to be told. No, I would rephrase it as "clamouring" in my mind to be told.

I celebrated the Varalakshmi Pooja yesterday and it was a significant event. Significant, not because it was my first time but it was an experience into which I put my heart and soul and the contentment that came along with it. I have to give you the history of this event and it's significance in my life.

Before I got married I was totally clueless about this pooja. It was not a part of our family tradition and I did not have any friends in whose house it was celebrated grandly either. So when I got married and this pooja got talked about frequently I realised it was a pretty important festival for my MIL. But I was not mentally prepared for the enormity of the rituals and tradition associated with this pooja and which was also thrust on me. I could not relate to most of them. So it was a half hearted, minimal involvement on my part , mentally raging against some rituals which did not make sense to me at all. It became a bone of contention between the two ladies. This annual event gradually began to mean to me - conflicts, inner anger, resentment and doing things which I did not believe in. Everything the opposite of what the pooja stands for. I started hating myself for not being true to who I am.

From resentment against the established norms, grew the rebellion. I came to a point where I rebelled against all that I did not believe it. So it was in some sense, a lot better than the initial years.

Then came a period of quite introspection. Did I hate the pooja itself or was it an ego clash or what was it that instilled so much anger in me ? To my surprise I realised that I enjoyed the core pooja replete with the Sanskrit mantras. The mantras made a lot of sense to me and the more I read about them, the more I could appreciate them. Essentially I did not like the frills attached to the core, which are man made and must have been tweaked by every generation for their convenience.

Having identified the problem, I realised that I needed the liberty to do what I believed in and what made sense to me, while keeping in mind the spirit of the festival. I wanted to live my dream and not someone elses'.

So this time, when I gave my 100 % to the pooja, the result was the contentment of having performed a task well and with sincerity. Simple tasks such as - a beautiful Kolam outside the house, shopping for little accessories for the Goddess, decorating the Goddess like I would decorate my daughter with flowers and jewels, waking up early to make the Naivedyam items, adorning the Pooja area with my silk sarees to give a nice backdrop, inviting my friends for Vethillai Pakku. Every task was performed with a lot of love and faith. This is who I am and it made me very happy just being true to myself.

I think this is what every generation does - adapting the customs to suit the times while trying to keep the spirit of the activity alive.

Shraddha's dream comes true !

2011-08-09T08:50:00.004+05:30

Shraddha recently kept a nice fragrant strand of jasmine flowers in her hair, when she went to school. It reminded me of my own childhood, when I would carry a mini garden on my head and I mentioned this to Shraddha. When she knew that Dahlia was one of the flowers I would keep in my hair and she happened to chance on it near our house, she started pestering me to get it.

There is a small village house with a beautiful garden near our place and right now adorned with these peach coloured Dahlias. Everytime we crossed it, we would stop for a minute and admire it. I knew she badly wanted to have one of those. So I promised her that I will talk to the owner and get her one. For the last two days, before going to her bus stop, I would stop there knocking on the gate to see if I could talk to the lady, whom I had seen once. But no luck there.

Today morning, as we were rushing to the bus stop, we saw that lady near the gate watering her plants. I immediately switched off the Scooty and went upto the rickety gate to talk. She seemed a bit hesitant and said they were going to use for the habba(Varalakshmi pooja is a big event in Blore and lots of flowers flood the market). So I thought may be they sold their flowers to flower sellers. I gave her a ten rupee note and asked her to give me flowers for that. She handed me four big flowers and seemed pleased when Shraddha thanked her !

I was as excited as Shraddha. In the bus stop, I put one dahlia on to her hair and she was delighted when she looked at herself in the Scooty mirror ! (That was the first thing she showed to her friend when she got on to the bus). I told her " Now that you have one on the hair, I will keep one aside for you and can I use the remaining for Ummachi Padam ?( God's pictures)".

Came the vehement reply "No ..two for me and only one for Ummachi". After a few seconds she said " Umm..actually you can put everything in the fridge..so I can keep one each day".

That has left me smiling till now !

City in Miniature

2011-08-08T06:35:00.005+05:30

Inspired by MadebyJoel (thanks to utbt), I did some miniature paper cuttings. Most ideas are from his website; although I did add a temple, cart etc to make it a bit Indian looking. Let me know how it looks. My kids watched most of it and they did a few of the kids.

In the kitchen this week

2011-08-07T19:14:00.004+05:30

Top Left - Oats Dalia (Wheat Rava) Idli. Chanced on the recipe at this blog. I love MTR rava idlis...so something similar to that with two other favourite ingredients, made me try this out for saturday morning breakfast. I loved it and it is so healthy ! Why don't you try it and see for yourself ?!

Top Right - Eggless condensed milk cake, with raisins and walnuts.

Bottom Left - We call it as Nada in the house, but it is more popularly known as Ribbon pakoda. This was made to please Shraddha, since she does not touch any of the cakes that I make. She is a savoury and not sweets person. Yes, it did make her very happy :-)

Bottom right - Chunks of the cake !

Vines

2011-07-31T16:52:00.000+05:30

Weekend evening snacks

2011-07-31T16:27:00.004+05:30

Pav Bhaji, inspired by Utbt, when she mentioned that she was planning to make it this weekend !

Eggless custard powder cake - A recipe which seemed very interesting, when I discovered this food blog. The cake turned out very well ! There seem to be a lot of interesting recipes on Divya's food blog.

Date walnut cake

2011-07-23T18:43:00.004+05:30

As you can see, I am in a very cakey mood ! Ofcourse no one at home is complaining, except may be my waistline. Baking indeed lifts my spirits !

Recipe from Nita Mehta's book on Cakes.

Guilt Pangs - No, not me !

2011-07-22T19:31:00.003+05:30

I was tagged by Noon, where the rules are these

Write about 2 instances where you have put yourself before your child/ children... been a wee bit selfish.
How did you feel? Did you feel a pang of guilt or were you comfortable?
Tag 2 more moms

At the cost of sounding pompous or arrogant, I would like to state that I have not felt much mommy guilt about anything ever since I quit my job ! These are the instances where I put myself before the kids and absolutely feel comfortable with it :-)

1. Friday and saturday nights are much awaited relaxation time...I plonk myself in front of the TV by 9.00 P.M (kids in bed or not) waiting for any movie to start ! The kids are shooed away to their beds, with the task of putting themselves to sleep :-). Sometimes they hang around, catching a little of whatever I am seeing and I do not worry about it much, unless it is highly adult content.

2. Sometimes I like to go shopping alone, go and browse books in a book shop, attend a theatre program, while Sathish takes care of the kids. I savour these moments of solitary enjoyment.

3. Sathish and me leave the kids with our parents, once in a while to catch some good movie in town. No guilt there again !

Oh..I have listed more than 2 instances !

I would like to tag Sandhya and Vibha.

Recipe for Eggless curd cake

2011-07-21T10:56:00.004+05:30

Sandhya and Noon, here is the recipe for Eggless cake with curd.

2 cups - Wheat flour/Maida

400 g - Nestle Cup Curd (basically thick curd)

1 tsp - Baking powder

1 tsp - Baking soda

3/4 cup - Cooking Oil

1.5 cups - Sugar

Vanilla or Chocolate essence/powder as per taste

1) Mix all the ingredients in a mixie. (I loved this part for it's simplicity !)

2) Pour in a tin and bake at 180 degree C for 45 mts.

Some points

1) First time I baked it with complete wheat flour sticking to the original recipe. Came out well.

2) The second time, I used Maida and substituted curd + sugar with Milkmaid and some malai which I had in the fridge. This came out quite tasty as well.

Thanks Abi for passing on this easy, yummy cake recipe !

Latest desserts in the kitchen

2011-07-20T12:10:00.002+05:30

Bottle gourd Halwa (just like Pumpkin Halwa or Kasi Halwa) and Eggless curd cake recipe given to me by my friend Abi. The cake can be made in a jiffy, since you mix everything in a mixie ! It tastes yummy too.

Book reviews

2011-07-11T08:53:00.003+05:30

Please check Saffron Tree for my latest book reviews - The Merry Mischief of Gopal Bhand and The Comic capers of Sheikh Chilli.

I am very proud to say that the author of The Merry Mischief of Gopal Bhand is my cousin :-). We have lot more books of hers' in our bookshelf, waiting for the kids to devour !

Why do we think some jobs are beneath our dignity ?

2011-07-09T20:08:00.004+05:30

I read an article in the magazine Hindustan Times - Brunch today, which talks about quite a number of women opting to stay at home rather than go out to work for various reasons. It is not about what the article discusses, but a specific remark that got me to write this post. This person thinks it is cool to stay at home, but adds "Well I may stay at home, but I don't do the sweeping, cleaning and cooking. I read, go to gym/ spa, watch films ..."etc etc.

Why do people think it is "uncool" to admit or even do the household chores ? When I quit my IT job, during the exit interview I was asked with a smirk if I planned to do household chores after quitting. I said smilingly "Oh yes definitely, along with a with few other things that I have in mind".

Just because I have an engineering degree, does it mean that I can't clean my own house bathroom ? If I have a maid to help me with the cleaning of vessels and sweeping/swabbing, it is because I know it is physically very demanding and I cannot manage on a daily basis without their help. But yes, on the days they take off (my maids have so far been good enough to give me advance information about their vacation or call me if they fall sick), I do all the above mentioned work to the best of my ability. I don't panic unlike a lot of people around me. Infact it gives me an opportunity to flex my muscles a little and really appreciate the physical strain involved in these tasks. Usually when they come back after a break, I am extra nice to them and do not nit-pick much :-).

Well my point is that it does not matter if you are cooking or cleaning your bathroom or giving a presentation to your client. You have to give your best to whatever you do, in that moment. No job is big or small. It is your perception of it, that matters. Dignity of labour, was instilled in me right from my childhood by my parents and they set a fine example too.

I might get questions as to why I needed an engineering degree then, to get the household tasks accomplished now, but I can give atleast 10 reasons as to how the engineering degree helped me at some point in my life ! That's a story for another post :-)

2011-07-04T14:08:00.006+05:30

To my sun

You are shy, you are quiet

That's what everyone sees

But I see you when your spirits are high

And you are bouncing around the house

You are so responsible and mature

That I wish you just be a child sometimes

You are caring and understanding

In your own little ways

That I feel very touched

You are so logical and correct

That it drives me mad sometimes !

When you enrage me

With your quirky little ways

I see so much of me in you

That the anger melts and a smile appears

I love that you think the world of me

Everything that I do

Seems perfect to you

Atleast for now !

On your star birthday

My little sunny boy

I wish you the very best

Of all that the world has to offer you

You make my life as resplendent as your namesake

A morning walk

2011-07-02T12:13:00.000+05:30

Simple sweets

2011-06-29T13:38:00.002+05:30

In it's humble avatar, you can call it as "Satthu maavu urundai", which literally means "Highly nutritious flour balls". That might not get your attention. So we can call it by an exotic name "Badam Laddu", which might have more takers !

Essentially, this dish figures in our house (my mom's kitchen is the origin as far as I know), when there is still ghee sticking to the kadai after butter is melted and transferred to a container. Add a mixture of finely powdered sugar, chutney dal (Pottu kadalai)and cardamam pods to the kadai. Mix everything together, add more ghee if you want and roll them into balls. For variation today I added powdered badam (which was more than the powdered chutney dal, hence that exotic name !). It is a nutritious sweet snack for kids and thankfully both the kids love this simple dish :-)

The Secret Science Alliance

2011-06-27T22:36:00.004+05:30

The Secret Science Alliance and the Copycat Crook

by Eleanor Davis

"The coolest graphics book that I have read in the last few years". That is it - end of review. You need not read any further; just grab, steal or buy the book. For those who are still lingering around (hopefully because you like my reviews - ahem! :)), here is the longer version of the review.

Julian Calendar, 11 year old nerd, is extremely happy about transfer to a new school. He thinks he can start a new chapter in the new school by acting cool, not answering any questions asked by the teachers and playing sports. But, it just not him and he is found out easily as a nerd by two other kids - Greta Hughes, helmet-wearing kid whom every one is afraid of (including the teachers) and Ben Garza, basket ball player and a chemistry whiz kid. The three of them form a secret science club and invent away during their free time, hidden away from the eyes of the adults. The book deals with their inventions and how they thwart another evil scientist from stealing stuff from a museum and their own inventions.

The graphics novel is choc-a-bloc of intricate and detailed drawings and information. There are some full page spreads that are so detailed that it made me wonder how long she took to write and illustrate this book. The book does not follow any specific page layout format and each double page gets its own separate treatment. The first page might contains pictures drawn in traditional comics format with each picture in its pane, while the next page would be completely different with no panes. There is a page where the pictures are shown in between a large clock with a full page dark background. It switches between various panes and formats effortlessly.

A lot of different themes like the insecurities of scientists, the kids who are bright but cannot do well in exams, kids completely against adults - are dealt in a subtle manner. My son loved the character of Ben Garza, who loves basketball and science - just like him. My daughter loved the character of Greta - the feisty girl. They continue to ask when the next book of this series would be released. I am not sure if this is a series, but, I would grab it if there is a next one.

It appeals to the nerd in me; it appeals the kids at home. Eleanor Davis, you are the best.

Go. Get it.

Banyan Tree

2011-06-26T18:43:00.002+05:30

A large banyan tree, next door to our apartment. One of the best things around our apartment.

Sketch by Sathish

Apartment sketch

2011-06-26T18:40:00.002+05:30

The apartment that we live in. A quick one on the sketch pad using pencil and crayons.

Sketch by Sathish

Gratitude towards the nameless people

2011-06-26T07:29:00.005+05:30

Often in our lives, we come across people just for a few moments, but their kindness leaves a lasting impression. Invariably the faces become fuzzy after a while, but you can never forget their touching acts.

I often ponder about these people whom I have crossed paths with. My heart wells in gratitude when I think of them. Ofcourse there are the other people, the really close ones in your life, to whom you atleast get the opportunity to express your gratitude. But what I am talking about is different. The only way to thank these nameless, faceless people is through the silent expression in my heart.

Most of my memories are associated with hospitals. Hospital is a place where you feel very vulnerable. You place explicit trust in the team working around you - the nurses, the attendants and the doctors. Every little thing they do, matters so much.

It was my first delivery. It was a normal Indian hospital, where the family members were not allowed to be with me after a particular point. I had been through more than 12 hours of contractions, which were gradually increasing in intensity. I was in a small room, with a sour looking nurse, who was in no way giving me any reassurances. It was a lonely battle. I was weak, tired and close to tears. For a few minutes the sour faced nurse went away and came an attendant. She held my hand and said " It is okay, you can squeeze my hands whenever you are in pain" and she gently stroked my forehead. For the next half an hour, she was soothing me with her words and I felt so good to have a sympathetic human around me. So she and my son, who was born hours later, are the best impressions of my first pregnancy.

Few years down the line. It was again a hospital environment. I was wheeled into the OT for a surgey.The cold sterile environment of the OT, the buzzing of the assorted machines around me sent shivers down my spine. I was trying to be very brave. They made me sit up to administer the anaesthesia. Each prick was very painful and I was crushing the steel OT table. There was a male attender standing next to me and I felt very conscious about holding his hand. Tears were beginning to well up in my eyes.(I normally do not crib, scream or complain about physical pain. I do have a high threshold. But sometimes it is not just the physical pain, but a fear of all that is to come.) I think he understood my situation very well and said kindly "You can hold my arm if you want". I just latched on to the words of kindness and kept crushing his arm, each time I was injected. Just sharing the pain with another human, seemed to make it more bearable. Ofcourse I went blank after that and could not recall his face never again.

In the context of hospitals, I must say that Malayali nurses are the BEST. They have a beautiful smile and are always ready to offer you words of comfort and cheer. Which is exactly what you need when you are feeling low.

So today was one such day, when their memories came alive and I felt the need to share it here on the blog.

Mommyhood tag

2011-06-23T12:07:00.004+05:30

I was tagged by Sandhya, to do this mommyhood tag, wherein I have to list 5 things that mommyhood has taught me. So this is what I have picked up so far from my parenting !

1. Creativity need not be confined to spheres of art, music or writing. It can also manifest in the way you handle your day to day issues, children's tantrums, anything for that matter !

This incident is very clear in my mind. We were in the emergency ward of a Houston hospital. It was a sunday and Sooraj had his first and a terrible ear infection.We were alarmed and rushed him to the hospital and since it was a sunday, we had to go to Emergency. The nurse was getting ready to give him an injection. Meanwhile to distract Sooraj, I started spinning a story about some animals, whose statues were placed just outside the glass doors. I was continously talking to him in Tamil. In the next few minutes the nurse had finished her job, without any kind of resistance from the baby. He was 1 year 3 months old. She was totally amazed and asked me "What were you talking to him ?He did not even cry!". I felt pleased as a punch :-). I can recollect lot more such instances with the kids.

2.Perfection does not find a place in the Parenting dictionary. I have learned that there is no perfect way to parent a child. The culture around us, our own conditioning, the generation we live in, influence of friends, geographical location and finally a strong inner voice all contribute in various degrees. I think given a set of parameters, we can just do the best within those limits.

3.Learning has never before been so joyful. I am unlearning all the things I learned by rote in my childhood and discovering everything along with my children with fresh new eyes. To explain certain things to them, I am reading a lot more these days and I am quite enjoying it.

4.Cooking and baking never interested me before the kids. Though the hubby is also a foodie, it is the kids who inspire me these days to try out various new recipes ! So I can safely say that I have become a better cook, thanks to my kids !

5.The most important lesson of being a mother is that, I do not have to really PREACH to them any Values. As long as I PRACTICE them myself, the kids are bound to PICK them up from me. They are constantly observing me and I spend the most time with them. So there lies a big responsibility. I am trying to become a better human for myself as well as my children.

Anyone reading this post, please feel free to take up this tag ! It would be interesting to hear others views too !

Snapshots from the Kitchen

2011-06-18T19:45:00.001+05:30

Rava uppuma and Paneer cake, Paneer cake fresh out of the oven, Choco curd cake, Veg Idli Uppuma

The week that was. In the kitchen !

The Rabbits

2011-06-15T23:19:00.003+05:30

Review of Shaun Tan's(almost) book - The Rabbits

1000 th Post !

2011-06-05T08:19:00.003+05:30

Yes, we have reached a milestone in our blogging ! Slowly and steadily, we have reached this mark. It feels great that we have been able to maintain this blog for the last 9 years, primarily due to Sathish. He started this blog and when I got interested I too joined in. Looking back and reading on the old posts makes it very interesting for me. As the title of the blog says, we have been writing on all the topics that have appealed to us. I personally feel it is another great place to turn to, when you so acutely want to share your happiness or frustrations. In the process of blogging, we have come across and met some wonderful people. Thanks to this blog, we are now into Saffron Tree too, which has been another fabulous experience for us. We hope to continue writing for many more years with the same enthusiasm !

THIS being the 1000th post and TODAY being our wedding anniversary, I want to dedicate this post to Sathish - my friend of 14 years, dear one of 13 years and hubby of 11 years, whom I value and cherish for all that he is to me. There is much more to be said about him, but this is a public blog and both of us are quite private people. So I will have to stop with that :-).

Some whirling thoughts

2011-05-30T13:26:00.004+05:30

In my quest to lead an ethical or a dharmic life, there keeps happening a struggle between practicality and spirituality. While practicality is more easily understood, logical and sensible spirituality's dictates are slightly more complex. When I read books on Vedanta, life philosophy, they are just wonderful to read and make perfect sense. The difficulty lies in the application.

The more I try to integrate the various parts of my life, in alignment with my philosophy, the more I seem to struggle. It is like a tussle between two voices in my head, each of which makes sense in it's own way, but do not seamlessly merge into a tranquil sea. Is it due to the lack of faith in the spiritual teachings or plain human frailities ? But I also like to think of it as an indication of my evolution. Since my attempts are quite sincere, may be every sincere seeker has to go through these stages, to attain the peace of mind, which everyone so desires.

As our scriptures rightly point out, everything is within us. I think the greatest battles are not what are fought in the battle field, but within the mind. Good vs evil, right vs wrong, love vs hate, positive vs negative, truth vs lies. The choice is always there for us to make.

Movies

2011-05-30T10:56:00.003+05:30

Kung Fu Panda 2 was a bit of a disappointment. May be the novelty of the movie wears off with sequels. It was the same with Ice Age. I simply loved the first movie and then the subsequent ones were just okay.

I think there are a lot of Tamil movies that have received good reviews in then recent months. Need to catch up on those.

It beats me

2011-05-15T17:41:00.004+05:30

Certain things are beyond comprehension like

1)How it is possible to wear silk sarees on a hot summer day in Chennai.

2)How people can wear tight fittings dresses or jeans, when they are already sweating buckets.

For me hot summers are synonymous with light, loose cotton wear. It is not a judgement of people's choices, but something which I can really not understand.

Summer hols and nostalgia

2011-05-15T17:25:00.003+05:30

I am enjoying my summer vacation in my home town in pretty much the same way I used to enjoy as a young girl. Yes..you read it right..MY summer vacation :-)

I finished all the books (magazines and periodicals which my parents buy) to be read in our house and then hit my old library. My brother and myself were members of three different libraries at various times. That kept us happy during the holidays. Now thankfully , one of the really good ones, is still around and it is the same guy there..he has just become bald ! So I usually take a temporary membership, take lots of books and get my deposit back when I leave town.

Sitting in the hot, sweaty, small library, I was transported to my earlier days. The days that saw me devouring - Sydney Sheldon, Irving Wallace, Alistair Maclean, Desmond Bagley, Agatha Christie, Jeffrey Archer. Most of these used to be quite worn out books - small print, really brown pages. I used to be hardly bothered about these little things ! What fun it used to be. For old times sake, I picked a Sydney Sheldon which I had not read and a David Baldacci book.

I don't remember reading any classics. Mysteries and thrillers have always interested me. Ofcourse the Sydney Sheldon book was not as appealing as it used to be when I was a teenager !!

A change in the course of the river

2011-04-16T22:23:00.003+05:30

Tonight the mother decided to make the children happy by telling her own bed time story. Sometimes these stories are figments of her imagination, built in her head and then spun out into words and sometimes they are real incidents. Today she wanted to tell one of her own stories. The story of a girl who reacted to changes, quite crazily !

She remembered the day when her father came home one day, when she was around 14 years, to say that they might get transferred to another city. It was like a big shock to her. All her life she had been growing up in that city, studying in that same school, with the same set of colony friends....was that World going to turn upside down ? She cried and cried and said she never wanted to leave that city. But then the transfer did not happen and she felt at ease again.

End of tenth class. Eleventh class in a new school, new friends. She did not miss her old school of 10 years and adapted well to the change and formed a wonderful new circle of friends.

End of Eleventh class. Beginning of twelfth. On the first day of the new academic year, came a shock to her....she was being moved to another section. She cried and cried at the entrance to her old class, much to her own embarassment and got lots of warm hugs from her friends. But after a month she was okay, when she made some new friends.

She left to another small town for her college studies, missed her family terribly, was quite homesick the first few months, cribbed about the college in the first year and then started loving it. She felt sad when she had to leave it.

A new city for work, new friends, new colleagues. She felt quite unsettled in the beginning and then made her own new circle of friends at the workplace.

The train journey right after the wedding. She started choking when the train began to leave the platform and her parents and brother became miniatures in the background. The tears blurred her eyes and she could not stop crying for the next fifteen minutes. She had been away from home already for seven years, her husband was not new to her...but still lot of things had changed and there was again the fear of the "NEW".

New life, new house and ofcourse what followed were tiny new beings. Each phase of the life brings in lots of changes. Each time the river takes a turn in it's course, there is the feeling of apprehension, excitement, nervousness. But I think what matters finally is the people who are around you. When you find people that you are comfortable with, everything else becomes a little insignificant.

After being in one house for nearly 9 years now, we are moving into another place. I have a close friend from my stay here, made some nice acquaintances and the children have made some wonderful friends. Sooraj has grown up with all his friends here...starting from sitting on mommies laps and watching everything, riding tricycles, playing board games, riding bicycles and now street cricket and football ! He will miss all these and we are hoping the children can make some wonderful friends there too.

As for me, no....I am not teary now ! But yes definitely nostalgic. I am looking forward to this new change in our life with lot of excitement and hoping it would be a very enriching experience.

Dragons

2011-04-04T19:21:00.003+05:30

Too many influences for this crayons sketch - almost a multi-artist copy. But, I love it. Long time since I used crayons.

All parents need this awareness

2011-04-02T12:28:00.005+05:30

http://csaawarenessmonth.wordpress.com/ .

Go ahead and check out the posts and informative articles on this topic. CSA is never talked about openly in India. The posts and the comments to the posts on the website only go on to show what a big issue it is. As with lots of other things in India, this too is a "shush shush" topic. That's the reason perverts flourish in our society, rather than perish.

Where The Buffaloes Begin

2011-03-23T07:09:00.002+05:30

Review of an amazing book called Where The Buffaloes Begin

Colours and flowers of Bangalore

2011-03-20T11:35:00.000+05:30

Sweet memories

2011-03-17T18:39:00.002+05:30

If there is a comfort food in sweets, which I can associate with my mom, it is this seven cup cake ! It is delicious and just melts in your mouth when it is well made. Everyone in our family, including all the little ones, love this.

So today when I needed something to cheer me up, I decided to make this. The outcome is usually unpredictable, because the perfect texture of the sweet depends on the exact moment when you lift it off the stove and pour on the plate. I have not got it perfectly right so far..either it will be squishy or a bit hard, though it always tastes good.

For the first time today I managed the perfect texture too and I can't wait for the kids and S to savour it !

So did it cheer me ? Yeah ..more than that..I am grinning with delight :-). The flip side is that my morning walk has been offset by this self created temptation.

Venting away

2011-03-14T16:06:00.004+05:30

While I can be the epitome of patience at times, I can be easily angered too.

Shraddha comes and tells me "Amma, my friend says that if I don't take hair bath everyday, I will die".

My basic instinct is to grab this other child that very minute and give her a tight slap, for putting such nonsense into my child's head. Then the very next minute the realisation sinks in, that I cannot do such a thing because

1)I am a mother. I am supposed to behave in a mature way, befitting of imitation by the child.

2) I live in a civilised society, where there are other means of handling problems rather than barbaric acts.

So I take a deeeeeeeeeeeeeep breath and address my child "Kanna, what your friend has said is nonsense. If you don't take hair bath for a longgg time, you hair just gets dirty..nothing else happens. The next time your friend says something like this, please come and call me. I would like to talk to her". As an afterthought I add to no one in particular "If talking to the child does not work, I will go and talk to the child's mother. I have a strong feeling that such misconceptions arise in the home environment". Sathish is a bit bewildered at my strong reaction, but no one messes with my kid's heads. If things happen, to counter the time and energy I spend on making my kids heads right, I bet I would get into a fight for all that, with anyone.

This is just one simple example, but so many things get narrated at home when the children come back after a play time. It is distressing to hear that and tiring to keep on reiterating our core values and to do what is right. Yes I can hear it aloud "Hey, but isn't that what parenting is all about ?". Right. I fear this is just the beginning of external influences. God save us through teenage times of the kids !

Summer is here !

2011-03-10T08:36:00.006+05:30

The days are getting longer and hotter,

The early mornings are so pleasant and mildly chilly,

Watermelons, Tender Coconuts and Grapes adorn the fruit carts to quench the thirst,

The beautiful long trees of our streets are bursting forth into blooms of lavender, mauve and various hues of pink. It is a visual treat to watch these flowers in full bloom.

I keep hearing various bird sounds and recently discovered this bird, which frequents the tree next to our apartment. After a little research we found out it is the barbet. It so beautifully merges with the leaves that it easy to miss it. Here is a picture of the bird from our balcony.

I so love this season !

Creeper or a Monster?

2011-03-06T12:00:00.002+05:30

Is that a creeper growing out of an old lamp post or a creepy monster that eats light lamps that is growing out of the lamp post. I think it is a monster. What do you think?

Some observations

2011-03-06T07:52:00.003+05:30

I noticed something yesterday, which kind of saddened me. It was not the first time though I was witnessing such behaviour in public.

We were waiting outside a restaurant for lunch and Sathish was a bit away on the phone. I noticed a middle aged lady with a cute little baby sitting in the waiting area. She looked like a baby sitter. Just then a young lady (baby's mom) came out , told her something and went back inside. Soon we also entered the place and saw that the lady was sitting with her family - husband and parents, and having their lunch. This baby sitter soon came inside and stood at the table (as they were all eating) and given a bottle of milk to feed the child. I was hoping that at some point, they would ask her to eat (may be after they finished). No...that never happened. Once her job with the baby was over, she was sent outside again.

I do not like to pass judgements on people, without understanding the complete picture. It was quite possible that the baby sitter might have had lunch already at home or something like that, but still I thought it was poor behaviour to invite your help inside, make her see what everybody is gorging on and then send them outside again without a morsel to eat.

In this case, this lady was middle aged. Once in Shopper's stop, a loud family had come, with a little girl (may be early teens) to take care of their baby. While the family was stuffing itself, the poor little thing was standing just a little further away, managing the bags of shopping and baby.

I was really furious here and hoped that atleast at some point they would ask the girl to come and share their snacks. No, that again never happened. I was so disgusted with their behaviour.

When it is so easy for people to be urbane (the so called definitions of urban as prescribed by the society), why is it so difficult to be humane ?

Monsters-II

2011-02-27T12:02:00.005+05:30

This turnip headed monster does not do much - other than to stare with its three eyes (there is no eye in the backside) and grin at everyone. It is a surprise how it survives without eating.

Do you know why some kids cannot pick up toothbrush in the mornings. Their toothbrush gets taken over by this monster. They usually sulk away as soon as they see some adults. Only some children see them.

Monsters-I

2011-02-26T11:42:00.003+05:30

I love drawing monsters for the kids. We have fun drawing and then I lose it; it finally occured to me that I could scan it and keep a copy here. So, here goes -

This tentacled monsters loves old palaces. The problem is that it tries to hug them and they collapse. It can never understand why they do not love her back.

This is monster is a part snail with some sharp teeth. The teeth are very strong, but it moves so slowly that even a tortoise runs away.
This is an one-eyed, horned octopus.

Invisible mother

2011-02-17T17:08:00.001+05:30

Liked this story posted in The Mad Momma's blog. Here it is

Invisible Mother…..

It all began to make sense, the blank stares, the lack of response, the way one of the kids will walk into the room while I’m on the phone and ask to be taken to the store. Inside I’m thinking, ‘Can’t you see I’m on the phone?’

Obviously not; no one can see if I’m on the phone, or cooking, or sweeping the floor, or even standing on my head in the corner, because no one can see me at all. I’m invisible. The invisible Mom. Some days I am only a pair of hands, nothing more! Can you fix this? Can you tie this? Can you open this??

Some days I’m not a pair of hands; I’m not even a human being. I’m a clock to ask, ‘What time is it?’ I’m a satellite guide to answer, ‘What number is the Disney Channel?’ I’m a car to order, ‘Right around 5:30, please.’

I was certain that these were the hands that once held books and the eyes that studied history and the mind that graduated summa cum laude -but now, they had disappeared into the peanut butter, never to be seen again. She’s going, she’s going, she’s gone!?

One night, a group of us were having dinner, celebrating the return of a friend from England . Janice had just gotten back from a fabulous trip, and she was going on and on about the hotel she stayed in. I was sitting there, looking around at the others all put together so well. It was hard not to compare and feel sorry for myself. I was feeling pretty pathetic, when Janice turned to me with a beautifully wrapped package, and said, ‘I brought you this.’ It was a book on the great cathedrals of Europe . I wasn’t exactly sure why she’d given it to me until I read her inscription: ‘To Charlotte , with admiration for the greatness of what you are building when no one sees.’

In the days ahead I would read – no, devour – the book. And I would discover what would become for me, four life-changing truths, after which I could pattern my work: No one can say who built the great cathedrals – we have no record of their names. These builders gave their whole lives for a work they would never see finished. They made great sacrifices and expected no credit. The passion of their building was fueled by their faith that the eyes of God saw everything.

A legendary story in the book told of a rich man who came to visit the cathedral while it was being built, and he saw a workman carving a tiny bird on the inside of a beam. He was puzzled and asked the man, ‘Why are you spending so much time carving that bird into a beam that will be covered by the roof, No one will ever see it. And the workman replied, ‘Because God sees.’
I closed the book, feeling the missing piece fall into place. It was almost as if I heard God whispering to me, ‘I see you, Charlotte. I see the sacrifices you make every day, even when no one around you does.
No act of kindness you’ve done, no sequin you’ve sewn on, no cupcake you’ve baked, is too small for me to notice and smile over. You are building a great cathedral, but you can’t see right now what it will become. At times, my invisibility feels like an affliction. But it is not a disease that is erasing my life. It is the cure for the disease of my own self-centeredness. It is the antidote to my strong, stubborn pride.
I keep the right perspective when I see myself as a great builder. As one of the people who show up at a job that they will never see finished, to work on something that their name will never be on. The writer of the book went so far as to say that no cathedrals could ever be built in our lifetime because there are so few people willing to sacrifice to that degree.
When I really think about it, I don’t want my son to tell the friend he’s bringing home from college for Thanksgiving, ‘My Mom gets up at 4 in the morning and bakes homemade pies, and then she hand bastes a turkey for 3 hours and presses all the linens for the table.’ That would mean I’d built a shrine or a monument to myself. I just want him to want to come home. And then, if there is anything more to say to his friend, to add, ‘You’re going to love it there.’
As mothers, we are building great cathedrals. We cannot be seen if we’re doing it right. And one day, it is very possible that the world will marvel, not only at what we have built, but at the beauty that has been added to the world by the sacrifices of invisible women.

The Boy Sage

2011-02-09T10:51:00.005+05:30

THE BOY SAGE

Published by Sri Ramanashramam, Tiruvannamalai

Text by Geeta Bhatt and Illustrations by S.K.Maithreyi

This book is personally very special to me and touched me deeply. As you can see from the cover picture here, it was this beautiful drawing that drew me towards this book as I was browsing the book shelves at Ramana Ashramam. As I flipped through the pages of the book, I was captivated by the simple but complete and meaningful text. The drawings are magical transporting us to the very places that are being described.

I decided to get this book for my eight year old son, S. This book talks about the life of Sri Ramana Maharishi. It takes us through the various stages of HIS life - birth, the boyhood days, the transformation in HIS life, life in Tiruvannamalai, HIS philosophy and the love and affection HE bestowed on all the creatures around HIM. The language is simple and very easy for the children (8+) to follow what is being said. Even HIS philosophy, which has been detailed mainly on one page can be explained by the parent to the child in the way that can be understood by them.

The illustrations are marvellous. I had goosebumps seeing the picture of the Arunachala Temple and the Old Mediation Hall in the Ashramam. If you have seen these places already, you will marvel at their perfect semblance to reality. If you have not seen them, I am sure you will get transported to these wonderful places via the beautiful drawings.

I strongly believe that we can get the attention of a child to any subject first through the medium of illustrations. From my personal experiences with my own kids, I realise that art is very powerful. Once the art captivates the child and the child enters the book, the written word takes over from there to weave it's magic. In this book the illustrations, the text and the subject matter are so beautiful that it becomes very hard to put down this book.

S read the book as soon he got it from me . He had a lot of questions after reading the book and we had a few discussions too. It was very enriching for both of us. I am sure my little one will love it too, if I sit and read it to her.

So if you are spiritually inclined, this would be a fantastic book to introduce your child to this great sage.

The first pay cheque

2011-01-29T18:02:00.004+05:30

I think the first pay cheque is very special to every person. Nearly 13.5 years back when I beheld my first pay cheque, the joy and happiness was unlimited. I immediately couriered it off to my parents and with that amount got my amma a nice silk saree and my appa a good pant and shirt. My appa kept saying that it was the costliest pant he had ever bought till then. Being a simple man, it was always the bare essentials for him. Then ofcourse a few things for my dear brother who was in hostel then. I sent it through a friend of mine. It all felt very special and a like a dream come true.

Now after a gap of 5 years of no working and little bits of voluntary jobs, I embarked on a new path. I did a story telling training course with Kathalaya. Then immediately I got the opportunity to start story telling in a couple of places. Now after a few sessions of story telling, which I have thoroughly enjoyed, I got my first pay cheque for this ! The feeling of happiness and joy is the same, albeit subdued (mellowness with age I guess) and even though the amount is no match for what I got in IT. Nothing can be sweeter than the reward for hard work. I had earmarked the money for a specific purpose. I am glad I got it on time for that. What's the story of your first pay cheque ?!

Lessons learned in the waiting room !

2011-01-25T14:40:00.004+05:30

One of the things in my day to day lives that can stress me a lot is a visit to the pediatrician. No it is not about our doctor, but the waiting time and the drama that surrounds it. But over so many years and multiple visits to our ped, for either one of the kids, I have learned some valuable lessons that are to be observed in the waiting area of your doctor's clinic, that you can almost call me a Pro !

1)Never smile at the other parents waiting with the kids. Invariably you will start a conversation and then suddenly out of the blue a question will be popped out " Do you mind if I can go before you ?" and a hundred and one reasons will follow. Am I totally jobless ? If I buckle under politeness and allow this person, it means I get to wait another 20 minutes more, get dirty looks from people in the queue behind me and ofcourse an already restless kid who starts whining now. So never fall into the trap.

2) Do not make eye contact with others. If someone catches your eye and decide that you do look like an "Ilichavai", you will be trapped like I mentioned earlier.

3) Do not fall for gimmicks like "Oh this is an emergency...my baby is crying etc". All the patients of a pediatrician are kids - crying, whining, coughing,sneezing. You name it..the variety is there. It is an agony for any child to be waiting to see the doc. So unless I see a child faint in front of me, I won't call it an emergency.

4) I take a book along and immerse myself into it till my time comes. The kids entertain themselves by watching the chaos around !

So if you see a stern looking mom vacantly looking into the distance, with a firm grip on a child (lest the child decides to saunter away at the crucial time), you know who it is.

BUT..once we are out, we are all bathed with relief. The kid is happy to get out of the clinic, mom has the diagnosis and prescription, along with the kind assurance of the doctor that "It is nothing to really worry about" ! It is exactly then I know why I go through this long wait and crowded clinic to meet this specific doctor. He is worth all that effort. He knows the child's history from his birth, can be reached any time of the day and night to answer the queries of a worried parent, has willingly remained in the clinic (when it was close to shut down time) to attend to my child when there was a panic phone call from me.

So on the trip back home along with the medicines, the kids get a little treat too from the nearby pharmacy shop because mom is happy :-)

Strawberry Smoothie

2011-01-05T15:06:00.001+05:30

It is a Fresh Strawberry Smoothie, if you like exotic names. In it's humble desi avatar, it can be called as Strawberry lassie ! Whatever the name, it tasted yummy and just my own trial in the kitchen ! The arrival of fresh strawberries suddenly in the nearby local markets caught my eye and I was itching to try something new with them. So instead of the usual milk shakes, I decided to try with curd , strawberry pulp and sugar. I then realised after googling my ingredients that I had indeed made a Strawberry Smoothie !!

Happy new year

2011-01-01T14:46:00.002+05:30

We wish all the readers of the blog a very happy new year !

New year started on a nice note today morning. I attended the New year talk by Pujya Swami Paramarthananda, a teacher of Vedanta. The topic that he addressed was "Value of Speech", which will soon be uploaded here I guess. It was a fantastic one hour talk flavoured with the right amount of humour. What I like about these talks are that they do not preach the impossible. They are simple guidelines for leading a sensible day to day life. Guidelines which enrich the quality of our life.

One point that he mentioned triggered a series of thoughts which made me want to write this post. In the course of the talk he mentioned that insensitivity towards our family members in some very basic things, also amounts to Himsa(violence). So later my mind veered towards Ahimsa, which I am striving to make as an integral part of my life. Rather ...a way of life.

"Ahimsa paramo dharma", is a Sanskrit saying that was repeated in today's talk. You can read here some of my thoughts written a long time back on this topic. It must be two years back that some strong ideas started forming in my head and I decided to implement them. I was not too resolute about it and did not want to talk about it, since I wanted it to be a gradual and convincing change for myself, rather than a forcibly self imposed one.

On the path of Ahimsa, I first decided that I would stop buying silk sarees or silk salwars for myself. Ever since I made that decision, I have stuck to it and surprisingly I did not feel as though I was missing something ! Now I know for sure that there is going to be no temptation for me from that side. Ofcourse I have all the beautiful silk sarees that were bought by my family for the wedding and subsequent occassions. I still do wear them and plan to only retain these as long as they last. No more fresh additions (unless ofcourse it is Ahimsa silk). So family and friends, who are reading this please note - No SILK gifts for me :-).

Second is egg ! Growing up in a Tam Bram family, we never had eggs in the house or outside, except for pastries. We never really minded those. Now when I embarked on this journey, I decided to consciously avoid eggs in the pastries also. But I have not entirely got over that temptation. Desserts are my weakness ! So when I go to a pastry shop and I don't have the option for eggless pastries, I do indulge in them. So this is something I am working on and confident that my "will" will overpower my temptation !

I have avoided buying leather handbags and prefer cloth or jute. At home, we are incorporating a lot of eco friendly practices. That's the ahimsa towards our environment.

I am also consciously trying to incoporate "Ahimsa" at the thought level. This is the more difficult part and I am glad that atleast I am more aware of my thoughts and thought patterns these days, to initiate positive changes.

Semiya Bahala Bath

2010-12-16T10:49:00.004+05:30

This is a dish that my mother makes quite frequently at home. It is one of the yummiest, healthiest and coolest (literally speaking too !) dishes that I have tasted. I had never tried this before, but last weekend when we had friends for dinner, I wanted to make one of the dishes something light with curd. So when my mom suggested this, I took down the details from her and it came out really well. Everyone really liked it !

It is just like curd rice with all the various seasonings, but instead of rice we use semiya or vermicelli.

1) The semiya needs to be cooked soft in boiling water first, along with salt.

2) Then once it cools down a bit, the seasoning is added to this semiya, consisting of - mustard, chana dal, little asafoetida powder, green chillis.

3)After that I added small pieces of cucumber, carrots, finely chooped coriander leaves and a few raisins. Pomegranate seeds can also be added to this. I added a little milk also to just loosen it.

4) All these can be mixed together and put in the refrigerator. It can be taken out chilled before serving and then the curds can be added to it. I like it chilly and it is a perfect way to end a heavy and a spicy meal !

Puja Kunitha

2010-12-07T21:31:00.000+05:30

A folk dance of Karnataka. Video taken at Chitra Kala Parishat, Bangalore.

Oranges - The flavour of the season !

2010-12-07T19:05:00.005+05:30

Cartloads of oranges everywhere, are such a delight to the eyes. We have been enjoying juicy fresh oranges and I am glad that it is one fruit which both the kids enjoy. Then ofcourse I like to make freshly squeezed orange juice for the kids on some days.

I was itching to try my hand at something new with oranges. As I was blog hopping and randomly browsing, I chanced on this eggless orange cake recipe. It seemed so simple that I wanted to give it a shot. So I did make the orange cake as per the recipe and it turned out awesome ! I skipped the filling part and the orange zest, but followed the rest of the recipe exactly. The kids loved it and I can't wait to try it again ! So it's the orange cake that you see in the photo above :-)

Saffron Tree: SIGNATURE - Patterns in Gond Art

2010-11-27T19:16:00.000+05:30

SIGNATURE - Patterns in Gond Art - A review of a wonderful art book by Ranjani.

Saffron Tree: The Yellow Bird

2010-11-26T17:19:00.000+05:30

Saffron Tree: The Yellow Bird - A guest review by Anu Kumar

2010-11-25T17:35:00.003+05:30

Here is one typical scenario from our house ! While Shraddha can be an adorable little puppy, she can be a total brat at other times. This is what happened today on our way back from the school bus stop to home.

S: Amma, I want a Barbie cell phone (the cheap 20 Rs thing which we must have got umpteen times now)

Me : Shraddha, we had this conversation yesterday also. I have told you that I will get you after 2 weeks only.

Shraddha decides it is time for some drama (she IS a drama queen) and I say "Bring it on" :-).

We enter the house. She is furious that I refused to yield to her demands. She kicks the shoes into a corner, flops down on the sofa and declares "I am not going to school tomorrow".

I coolly reply "Okay". Thinking that I did not hear her properly she firmly asserts now "I AM NOT GOING TO SCHOOL TOMORROW". I turn back and say "Yeah..I heard you. I am okay with it". By now she is very suspicious and must have thought "How the hell did this monster mom agree so easily ?".

S : So , I don't have to go tomorrow really ? You are not lying ..are you ?

Me : No, ofcourse I am not lying. You can stay at home. Your principal will call later in the morning and ask me " Is Shraddha not well ?" to which I will say "No". She will then ask me "Is she attending any function ? " to which I will again say "No". Finally the principal will ask" So what is she doing ?" to which I will reply "She is sitting at home watching TV". That's it. I will not say anything else !!

By now she has understood my game :-). With a look of disgust she stomps to the bedroom crying "I hate you" ! Oh ..just in case you thought it is a teenage daughter I am dealing with..I would like to correct you. She is 4 years old.

By now I can't control my laughter and all my laughing is adding to her fury. In her cute little slip, school tights and hair all done in buns (to avoid the wild curls from falling on her face while eating), she looks like a little Karnam Malleshwari. The best way to calm either of my kids is with a story :-). So then and there I spin off a story about how the little Karnam Malleshwari became a world champion in weight lifting. During the story telling I managed to get her hands and legs cleaned and dress changed.

By the end of the story, she was back to her bubbly self. Skipping and hopping to the sofa she shouts cheerfully "Amma get me curd rice. I so want to eat now ". By now you don't know where all that earlier fury has gone. That's Shraddha for you :-).

Karthigai

2010-11-22T11:08:00.003+05:30

The food items for offering were - Appam and Kadalai Urundai (Peanut balls)

(You can click on the pic to see the bigger image)

2010-11-19T08:35:00.009+05:30

Master Chef Australia on Star World inspires me to do these things. Had lots of fun baking the butterfly cake and soft cupcakes, with my little

one

Back ups..back ups for everything

2010-10-30T16:28:00.003+05:30

Living in India or just my paranoid nature( I don't know) makes me ensure that every electrical item has a back up. So the decoction maker for electrical coffee maker, normal dosa tava for the electric toaster/sandwich maker, own hands/a maid's help for washing machine, aluminium "tavalai" for the geyser and I can go on. But yeah...the "ammi" and "Kallural" have become history, so the mixie and grinder sadly have no back ups :-( . The inverter died a recent death and the cost of replacement seemed too high. So decided to go without it.

Electrical appliances, though make our day day to life easier, generally complicate things is my own humble opinion. The problem starts when the newness of the equipment fade. The faults rear their demon heads and getting these fixed by servicemen is a laborious task. Searching for the service centres, talking to "the no good for" help line people, waiting at home for eternity for them to pay a visit and needless to say the money spent on these - are all a big nightmare to me. So consciously I have decided to cut down on the usage of electrical equipment at home. In the process, I know I am doing my bit for the environment too :-).

So when the old coffeemaker stopped working, I did not buy a new one. So only the traditional decoction maker for me ! I don't want to own a vaccum cleaner, a dishwasher, a separate dryer,a food processor as long as I can manage with my hands or my maid's help. Usually these electrical appliances scare me .

Same with electronic gadgets. My philosophy is that each gadget has it's own use and things should not be mixed up. So a camera ought to do it's job well and a cell phone its' ! So recently when my 4 year old Nokia basic model started behaving badly, I felt so reluctant to part with it. It had everything I wanted - ease of use, long life and it was damn good. I was scared that they had stopped manufacturing these simple models in the market. But luckily for me when I said I just wanted the basic model - no camera, no frills, decent looking (nothing funky for me !) - I got exactly what I wanted. I was thrilled beyond words. I needed the phone to talk and sms...that's it.

Sometimes I really wish I could go back to some very basic living style with no frills. I don't have to waste my precious time - dusting multiple beds in the house(or pay someone to do it), maintaining gadgets, drawing up annual service contracts, waste the natural resources of the earth and go mad when things don't work !

Our reviews for CROCUS 2010

2010-10-29T08:26:00.003+05:30

Here are the book reviews put up by Sathish and me at ST for CROCUS 2010 !

Aiyappan and the Magic Horse

Manu mixes clay and sunshine

Everybody cooks rice

Odd and the Frost Giants

In the Country of Gold Digging Ants

Day of Delight

Interview with Geetha Ramanujam of Kathalaya

Hope you enjoy the reviews and the interview.

CROCUS 2010 - Book festival at Saffrontree

2010-10-23T07:27:00.002+05:30

We are thrilled to announce that we are having a virtual book festival starting today (Oct 23 - 12..30 P.M IST) at Saffrontree.The festival spans over 8 days, covering some wonderful books from around the world mainly dealing with the various cultural elements of different communities. We have lots of interesting book reviews, interviews - with authors, illustrators and a story teller and a Crossword puzzle too !

We have put in lot of time and energy to make it a grand event !! The attached flyer has been prepared by one of our team members (Lavanya).

Please do visit the blog during the festival and leave your valuable comments if you find something interesting :-). Also pl spread the word across to your friends who might be interested.

Looking back

2010-08-31T20:41:00.005+05:30

It is five years exactly since I quit my career to be a full time mom. It was with clarity but also a bit of apprehension, that the decision was made. But I have not regretted the decision anyday in these last five years. I feel that I have spent my time usefully, acquiring quite a few other skills along the way ! Ofcourse "usefulness" is prone to be interpreted in various ways by the society, but I have been quite satisfied with what I have been doing, without niggling thoughts of my time being wasted. That, for me, is very important.

Also the break from a stressful balancing act of home and work, has given me the time to think, act consciously, pause and enjoy the little things around. It might sound funny when I say that, but when I look back I was leading a very mechanical life jumping from one day to the next. There was hardly any time to smell the roses on the way.

Now I know it is spring when the trees on our street burst forth with their lovely blooms. I know it is summer when the watermelons begin to line the pavement shops. It is definitely winter when you see rows and rows of red carrots stocked on carts, making you dream of hot and yummy gajar ka halwa ! Sadly I had never noticed any of these things and much more, when I lead a "busier" life .

I have been consciously trying to make more changes in my life, trying to align to a higher path. It sometimes feels like I have discovered a new me. I know in a couple of years, I will have a lot more time on my hand. I do think of the various options that I can pursue. Sometimes I have this strong feeling that God will point me to the right path when I am ready. I just hope I have the wisdom to recognise it !

So for now, I am a contented person putting my heart and soul into all that I am doing currently :-)

Lovely animation of a well known story !

2010-08-19T08:45:00.001+05:30

Enjoy this with your kids !

http://blog.prathambooks.org/2010/08/tale-for-tuesday.html

2010-08-18T08:56:00.003+05:30

Movies and books

We watched "Inception" in the theatre last weekend. Sathish had warned me that I might not like it so much since I am not a fantasy buff. But I said I definitely wanted to see the movie...even if I did not like the story line or did not understand it, Leonardo Di Caprio was worth watching, for two hours in the theatre ;-). I am big fan of his ever since I watched the movies - The Departed, Blood Diamond and Body of Lies (must have watched this movie alone 2-3 times).

But it turned out to be a bonanza for me ! I loved the entire story line, cast of the movie and I could follow it too. Awesome movie.

______________________________________________________________________

I finished reading "The Music room" by Namitha Devidayal yesterday. It is about her own musical journey. A splendid book on music and the lives of the musicians, around whom her learning centred. The various facets of their lives that she has presented in the book, make it very lively and interesting. It also made me think as to how the dedication and sincerity of a guru, can bring out the innate talent in a person. Not everyone is lucky to find as wonderful a teacher as Namitha. Great writing and fantastic story.

The World of Trees

2010-07-30T08:33:00.003+05:30

Author : Ruskin Bond

Illustrator : Kollol Majumder

Publisher : National Book Trust of India

These days quite a few Ruskin Bond books are being read in the house - for/by the elder kid and also for ourselves ! I will elaborate that statement a little further down in this post.

The World of Trees is a beautiful book that I chanced upon at the NBT book shop in Bangalore. NBT publishes some really wonderful books content wise , though only a few of them have visually appealing illustrations to go with them. This is one such gem which attracts you the moment you set your eyes on it.

As the title suggests, it is a book about the trees of India. Each chapter deals with one tree but a few chapters in the end, combine a few trees of a particular geography or genre. It is only in the hands of a master story teller like Ruskin Bond that even facts become so fascinating to kids ! In each of the chapters he describes the trees, their leaves, flowers and fruits. He also tells about the birds and insects which visit a particular tree and in which season. Then the various uses of the trees are listed. He goes on to elaborate the myths, legends and traditions associated with these trees in the local communities, which make it very interesting.

The soft water colour illustrations are a true delight and complement the contents of the book.

This book was kept as a bed time read aloud book to the kids by Sathish and me. In the process of reading out to them we learned a lot of interesting facts ourselves. Our eight year old son really enjoyed this book and our 4 year old enjoyed those portions that were familiar to her - the banyan, the silk cotton tree (which we have seen in the Lalbagh garden) and the mango ! Our next project is to visit the Lalbagh garden armed with this knowledge to get the real experience of these trees :-).

Another book which I am currently reading is The Book of Nature by Ruskin Bond. This book has some segments from The World of Trees plus a host of other interesting nature related experiences of Ruskin Bond. It truly transports us to the hills and forests of the Northern India and creates a warm, cosy and feel good experience for us who are sitting in this urban jungle !

My son is currently reading Mr.Oliver's diary, a recently released book of Ruskin Bond. It records the plight of a school teacher who has to handle a bunch of naughty kids and their antics !! The book is bringing out a lot of giggles and smiles :-)

Crossposted at Saffron Tree.

Reading List for young boys - ages 7 to 10 years

2010-07-05T17:27:00.024+05:30

We have had a few requests from friends, colleagues and acquaintances about book suggestions for boys aged between 7-10 years. Here is a list of books(some of them series) that Sooraj (now aged 8) enjoyed for some time atleast. He goes through various stages of extreme love to total disdain for a series and the list below mentions the books that he enjoyed at some point of time.

Magic Tree House Series - The books in this series are for early chapter

book readers. It talks about the adventures of Jack and Annie as they visit various places around the world. It can be also considered as a small introduction to the world of history/geography and culture. Some of the books are accompanied by reference books that explore the subject matter in detail with lot of anectodes and facts.

Children's books by Alexander McCall Smith - Alexander McCall Smith of No.1 Ladies Detective fame has some very interesting children's titles to his name. Some of them that we enjoyed include - The Popcorn Pirates, The Chocolate Money Mystery, The Banana Machine. We also enjoyed another series by him involving a boy called Akimbo. Each of the books in this series involve an adventure of Akimbo with an African wild animal.

Books by Dick King-Smith - One of the books that we initially read is called Aristotle, which Sooraj must have read multiple times. Involves the adventures of a naughty cat called Aristotle. Some of the other books that we read by this author include Dinosaur Trouble. Search for this author and there is a big list of books that can be picked up.

Beast Quest by Adam Blade - This series portrays a brave boy, Tom, involved in freeing various magical beasts from an evil spell. The books in this series will definitely appeal to young boys as it involves everything from sword fighting, fearsome magical creatures and wizards.

Usborne Young Reading Series - There are multiple series in this based on reading levels. It appealed to Sooraj as it was easy to read, had lot of stories related to mythology(Greek), funny illustrations, wizards and so on.

Taranauts by Roopa Pai - This is a new Indian series involving three young kids in their quest to solve riddles/puzzles to free their kingdom from evil wizard, Shaap Azur.

Tashi - This is an Australian based series that has some awesome illustrations and some grand story-telling. The reading level gradually increases from the first book onwards.

Books by Ruskin Bond - It is a safe bet to pick up any Ruskin Bond book. Sooraj thoroughly enjoyed the book The Hidden Pool, involving the country side adventures of three young boys.

Books on Jack Stalwart - Jack Stalwart is a junior Bond and he has plenty of gizmo's and chutzpah to take on any villian. This series by Elizabeth Singer Hunter appeals to the hero in every boy.

- Compiled by Sathish and Ranjani

Football fever at home !!

2010-06-21T10:31:00.002+05:30

While dad and son love watching the football matches, mom loves the various music videos of the theme song floating around on the TV and the net !!

I have become a huge fan of the Waving flag song by K'naan. This was the first video I saw and ever since I have been hooked to it and can't stop humming myself :-). And now whenever this Coco cola version comes on the TV, everyone shouts for me. I stop everything I am in the middle of , to enjoy this cute video and go back smiling :-)