Heart to heart

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I will remember today as the day when V's first ever best friend moved away as her family relocated to another part of the country.  The event moved me to write a post about it although V firmly believes her best friend is going to be back in 45 days. They had apparently discussed the whole situation at length at school and had come to conclusions about many things including the fact that the best friend had to walk all the way to the new city (4 hours away by air) and V had to give her company. I dint know how to react to this apart from giving both of them warm hugs. Such a deep friendship at such an impressionable age! The teachers at school were all concerned about how they would cope with being away from each other but I think its the very memory of each other that will sustain them till they make new friends and possibly the next best ones.
It took me back to the time in my life when my first best friend Shadgunya moved away. I still have snatches of memory of her face and our play together. We were all of 6 years old. My school day descriptions would not be complete with atleast fifty mentions of her name and everything associated with her. We were last benchers and had a great time together. I even used to protect her long plaited, looped and ribbon held hair from getting pulled by some boys in our class! Her house used to be in the same compound as our family doctor's clinic in Hyderabad. So I would look forward to doctor visits in the fond hope that I would get to sit in the cane chair swing that hung in their living room. There was one particular incident which strengthened our bond. The nature of the incident makes me not want to reveal it in on this blog but it would suffice to know that it was an embarrassing one for her in front many in the school. I got wind of it and ran down to see her and I will never forget the look of appeal in her eyes to not be judgemental. Being a kid helped us put it behind us and move ahead with daily business. In the recent past I have tried a lot to find her on social networking sites but in vain. I wont give up yet. Every friend has a hand in sculpting one's attitude towards life and because of her I learnt fortitude.

Life just happened to V and her best friend as they pranced around the playground and slid down the slide two together. The artwork that V will bring home will not have her best friend's mark on it like before. They both have a lot of love for each other and for everyone else which shone through in their art work which was dominated by hearts and rainbows. I am pretty sure they will both spread sunshine and love wherever they are and as a parent I can only try to show V ways to keep in touch.

First day at school....again

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Tomorrow is the first day of school for lil V. New city new school. She is so excited its contagious!
Am I the only one when I say I used to not like the first day of school so much? Infact I used to dread summer holidays coming to an end. My school had a pracitce of shuffling us to different sections each year and this only made it more painful for me. Although for all of high school I stuck to "F" section, my classmates kept changing. Once school started however, I would get comfortable under the cloak of routine. I have had some hilarious entrances. Every year of high school I fell ill during the last days of summer holidays extending into school start. (No, I did not invent the excuse) One such year my classmates purportedly expected a Sardarji boy called "C.D. Roop" whose name they heard everyday at attendance and did not hear any "Present Sister" response. Another year I walked in ten days later and I was deported to the last but one bench. As I walked up and sat down the guy behind me asked "Why do you walk like a robot?" (Does this guy know am talking about him? I have him on FB). I was so flabbergasted that I instantly became friends with him. I changed schools only once and on the first day of my new school I made friends with another newcomer. By the time our queue proceeded to the splitter (the teacher who was randomly assigning us to sections) we had become best friends. It was a very painful separation but the amazing aspect of it is that we never talked to each other again! Only cordial smiles everytime we passed each other for the remainder years. Lunch on the first day (sometimes a couple of weeks) of school was a beehive of activity. Finding out which sections your friends went into. The most important question was with whom should lunch be had! Some of us were lucky enough to get into a cozy group shielded by shuffling although I must admit I know a lot more people because of shuffling than otherwise.
V is going to attend her 3rd school in 1.5 years and I am proud of her confidence. She goes into the classroom and is instantly at home. There will be occasional clamour for attention and crying for Amma but that is imperative at this age I guess. One thing she has not reconciled to is to call teachers by their names. While she had many "aunties" in the Bangalore school, here she simply addresses them as "teacher".
All the best my kutty. May you grow like a "Yele mare kayi" and achieve great heights. 

Killer Repitition

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Yawn! Today has been a busy day what with getting yellu ingredients ready. This is the first time am making it and would have happily bought it ready-made if it was available in the Indian stores.
But this post is not about that. Its about the best entertainment in my life - dotzy. So as usual I was trying a million ways to get her away from TV and YouTube and in one of my attempts I asked her to read the alphabets.
"But I already know that mamma" she said
Not to be outdone "Then bring a pen and book and write the alphabets" I said.
"But I know that too mamma" she said frustrated.
"If you dont write it every day you will forget" I said.
That was enough to send her diligently to get a book and pencil. She had patience enough to write A, B and C with great aplomb and self appreciation. She writes C like U and I had to show her how to write it correctly. She wrote it again upon my insistence. But when I implored her to right for the third time, she threw the pencil down and refused to budge. Whatever I said after that wouldnt make her write.
Sigh! How did our parents and teachers manage to make us write each letter around 25 times on a page.
How come we did not have the street smartness of the kids now?

I am God with a remote

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Our house is becoming an Android lair. We have 2 android phones, an android tablet and Google TV. All I need now is an Android bot to cook and clean and I would be the happiest person on earth.
We purchased Google TV after much research and a frustrating experience with Roku.

Roku did not have direct access to the YouTube app nor did it have a browser app. So we were basically stuck with all kinds of apps using which needed paid subscriptions.

Anyway this post is not about technical details but about how we use technology to fox V

So, like I said earlier we brought home the Google TV and along with it came a keyboard. Even while I was digging into box for a familiar remote-like thing, T informed me that the keyboard was the remote. It was rather ungainly to operate a TV with a keyboard on your lap but it was a small price to pay for watching internet on a 22 inches TV kept 6 feet away from our eyes.

Just to bring in perspective, my laptop has a 15 inch screen and is a foot away from my eyes which means I can "read" whats written on the monitor!

So there I was Tv-ly challenged and dabbling around like a blind person much to the chagrin of a tech-savvy dotzy. (There is no "click to choose" on the trackpad!!).

Well that was the case till today (around an hour before to be precise) when I downloaded the Google TV remote for android phones. Voila - one more way to use your android phone. But all this would have had little impact on our lives if it werent to help us in child development. Our dotzy knows a lot about phones and TV which sometimes puts me to shame (she taught me how to use the Music app) so it becomes a challenge for me to remain one step ahead of her all the time. Now its time for revenge and I found the ultimate weapon! The cutie has no clue that there is a remote app on my phone and everytime the video she watches pauses she gets very confused. More because she can see that we are nowhere near the biggie remote. We dont know how this will affect her behaviour but we are telling her that the TV has eyes and it will pause the video everytime it sees that she is not eating :). All she needs to do is eat another spoon of food and clap her hands for the video to work :)

Bottom-line - Tum sher toh ham savasher he he he (evil laugh)

I can only gloat for a few days till she figures it out

Who's the mom?

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My dotzy bosses over me like no other and vice versa. We fight, we bicker, we make up and we need each other. She got all the stubbornness and rebel genes from me I guess. But what I like about her attitude is her ability to turn (or atleast try) even a bad situation to her advantage in her own kutty-putani way.

Some gems below:

All conversation in American accented English (V) and desi English (me)

Scene 1
V is suddenly bored of making magic wands out of her sketch pens.
V : Mamma (thats my english name acc to her) I want your phone.
Me : No V, I am expecting a call now so I cant give it to you
The above goes in loops 3 times with my voice raising with every iteration.
V : Dont shout at me
Me : Am not shouting, am talking loudly
V : (Snapping) Will you stop talking and listen to me?
Me : (Aghast) ok
V : ((As if talking to a moron) I - want - your - phone - now
Me : I told you I am going to get a call so I cant give you my phone
V : Oh alright ha ha. Put Dora on TV.

Scene 2
V starts crying suddenly after bath
Me : Why are you crying gunda?
V : waaaaaaaaaaaa
I sulk, V sulks, no one talks. 15 minutes later after the crying subsided
Me : You want some bajji (V's word for yoghurt) ?
V : No. But you need to say sorry to me (categorically).
Me : Why
V : Because you scolded me and then you dint talk to me.
Me : I dint scold you, you started crying and dint say why
V : (Not knowing how to top it) Oooh ok ha ha. Its ok.I want some grapes.

I am so glad that she is around with me. Following me, checking on me, smothering me with affection and slathering me with kisses. I love my kutty mummy :)

Life as a Sonnet

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Looking out at the gloomy skies,

Greeting the sun, driving away the shies.

A little fight lost,

Brushing teeth at any cost.

A big battle won,

School for the little one.

Cooking cleaning and admiring,

Yoga flexes my bones and wiring.

Happiness as the school bus deposits,

Lunch pleas and bath as time flits.

Cozy evenings spent with toys,

Lego cities brings all round joys.

Night bears down fast and dark,

Dinner and to dreamland we would embark.

Bonus lines:

All through one friend stands by me,

The steadfast and loyal TV.

The li'l ad-guru in my house

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Today, TV is reality and reality is in TV.
I really want to talk about the brands that V recognises on TV but for that I will have to tell you about the evolution of V-TV watching rt?
My baby got introduced to TV when she was 2 months old (dont judge me, but those swig taking sessions can get boring when your baby is concentrating). Very soon, V had started recognising when the TV was switched on and would stare at the screen. The bright colours attracted her. The sound was never too high and I am thankful to Zee Studio for bringing in subtitles! A few months later she had mastered the remote controls of all the TVs in ours as well my parents' house enough to know how to "Aan-Aap". She then swiftly moved on to changing channels and volume levels. By the time she knew how to walk she had become an adept watcher of all the serials that her grandmom watches mainly the introductory songs. Being on her feet gave her new found freedom to dance when the songs come on.
I have to tell you that she is also a chota bada cricket fan. Every time the commentator's voice sounds excited she jumps up and puts her hands into the air and shouts "Thikther". And she wont have her dad sprawled on the sofa when she does this. She goes upto him and says "Appa Thikther" and will keep repeating it till he also stands up, and exults :)
Continuing with the TV saga, V started to recognise the ad breaks between whatever comes on TV. This got started with the "Joojoo" ads. As soon as the ad used to start, she would leave whatever she was doing behind, to watch the big-heads. Great concept I must say if a 11 month old's attention could be captured for that long. Then came the Santoor ad when she turned 1 where she would go "Thantoo". I wonder what it is about the Santoor ad, V is not the first kid I know who started singing along with its jingle! The latest favourite is the "Doo doo" ad. The other day we were driving through a crowded road with intermittent stops. All of a sudden, V sat straight up in my lap and shouted "Doo doo". We were surprised because the ad was not playing on the radio. She then started pointing and shouting "Doo doo". Following her finger we looked up to see a giant hoarding of DoCoMo! Brand recall at its best. If a 15 month old kid can recognise it, imagine what it does to the target audience (which doesnt involve toddlers who say "haooo" on the mobile) it is trying to reach out to!