Look what I found..an online free make-over site

Today as I glanced through my new issue of the Oprah Magazine, I saw a very interesting thing. It was a huge advertisement by Estee Lauder, and there was a small leaflet about this amazing thing that they created. It is a widget/tool/software program that allows you to make-over yourself by using all the products in their makeup range. You get to choose your photo, then you start with your basic foundation, concealer etc. Then you go on to choose the blush on, the bronzer (did not know what this was !! till now). Next you get to work on your lips, choosing various kinds of lipsticks, glosses in various finishes. You finish off with a lip liner. Next are the eyes, you choose your eye shadow, your liner and mascara.

You get to do all this after the tool has helped you to carefully measure your facial points.

The outcome is truly amazing, and one can spend hours n hours doing this....I am doing this since morning and have not stopped yet !!

Below are pictures of the three looks that I have tried so far...Have a look and go get yourself a make over too !!

The tool can be downloaded from: http://omagonline.com/esteelauder/

Have fun girls !! and send me ur pictures...

Before

After

Personal Message:

my first trial with the Estee Lauder widget

Before

After

Personal Message:

double wear lipstick one click look

Before

After

Personal Message:

look-3

A few of my favourite things...

What I want to do under this title, is to enlist my favourite things such as cosmetics, perfumes, handbags, shoes etc etc...all girly stuff basically.

So today I begin with my top-rated favourite things...and it is a Vitamin Enriched Face Base by Bobbi Brown.

I bought this thinking it to be a cream...a moisturising cream...and it turned out to be much more.

I love it for it's fragrance, it's super fresh and energising. The texture is as smooth as silk, it gets absorbed very easily into the skin, and most importantly it does not leave me looking oily.

The skin kind of just drinks up or soaks up all the goodness offered by this cream.

It has a host of great things for the skin like Shea butter, carrot extract, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, E etc.

It is a great way to start make up, and even if it's just a dab of powdered foundation or a loose tinted powder, all stays put on this base, and the finish is all smooth.

My current pot of goodness is almost coming to near finish....which reminds me I had better put this goody thing on my to-buy list ASAP !!

Julia Donaldson's books

Recently we read some picture books of Julia Donaldson's to my kids which they really liked.These include books like "The Gruffalo's Child" ,"The Snail and the Whale" and "Hippo has a Hat".

The first Julia Donaldson book that I read to my kids was "The Gruffalo" and they just fell in love with the book ( so did I). It is truly a modern classic and those mothers who haven't already read the book to their children,please do so....you will have great fun!This was a year back and then I bought "The Gruffalo" because it is worth having it in the house when I am reading a book that frequently because otherwise it is just renew,renew & renew from the library. I knew that "The Gruffalo" had a sequel but I could never find it in the library.I kept searching with the first letter of her first name,which is "J", instead of searching by the first letter of her surname!!!I don't know how I didn't realize it!

Then I went to "Kinokuniya" again last month and bought two books of Julia Donaldson called "The Gruffalo's Child" & "A Squash and a Squeeze". Both my kids became extremely fond of these books and I had to read the sequel of the Gruffalo to them almost everday!Then,fortunately,I found Julia's books in the library as well,after realizing that I should search under "D" and from there I borrowed "Hippo has a Hat" and "The Snail and the Whale".My daughter loved both the books and my son likes "Hippo has a Hat".I think that "The Snail and the Whale" might just be a little wordy and complicated for him.

Julia Donaldson's books are very enjoyable and most of them rhymes (probably because of her songwriting background). My kids can recite parts of her books because of the rhyming pattern.Books like "The Snail and the Whale" & "A Squash and a Squeeze" also has a lot of wisdom in them. For example, the "Squash and a Squeeze" tell us that we are never grateful for what we have and we only realize how lucky we were only when we lose privileges.

The book that I least liked of all the Julia Donaldson's books is probably the "Postman Bear" but my son likes it because it is a "lift the flap" book and he gets very excited about lifting the flap and seeing what's inside.

Now I am planning to borrow or buy other Julia Donaldson's books which we haven't read yet.Her picture books are great for "read aloud" sessions with young children.

Dressing for the occasion

I was watching the new reality/talk show hosted by Farah Khan, called Tere Mere Beech Mein. I liked the format of the show, I hate the set, and hate the entire over-the-top drama.

What I also did not like the way some lady guests on the show dressed up. As watched them, I kept wondering if they had never heard of the term 'dressing for the occasions'..

The ladies were tugging up their neck lines, as they struggled to sit down and have a decent conversation. They were pulling down their hem lines....trying to look decent as they sat legs crosses (knee over the other)...they were constantly pulling up and or pulling down....

I felt they were too distracted with what they were wearing. They should have just worn clothes with a more forgiving neck line, and a hemline that stayed at a decent length even when one sat down....I am not asking them to be fully covered in a salwar suit etc; but a little dress sense goes a long way. Point in case Genelia ....who I love a lot...Shilpa and Bipasha also turned out in short dresses but I liked their classy dress sense. Kareena was super in a animal print shirt and blue jeans.

I also know that such shows are times when they wish to show off their wonderful figures and look like million dollars...but I ask...all this at what expense?

You can't complete one line without your hand wandering either up or down...what does that say about you? It shows you're not comfortable with what your wearing.

I am an ardent fan of the Oprah show, and have seen ample number of celebrities on her show, but I always found them to be very decently dressed (save a minute number of them who turned up in their kids clothes !!).

Why even go that far.....check the men on the same show, they turned out fully covered, decent, and yes looking good. I did not like Salman's shirt though :(

Shahrukh, John Abraham, Riteish Deshmukh, Vivek Oberoi, Karan Johar, Shreesanth, Irfaan Pathan, Yusuf Pathan...all looked good in full clothes.

Ladies please, you can still look 'wow' minus all those skimpy clothes....save them for some party please.......

Artist in my house

Aaditya got the above star from his Mamaji for the following work.

The first one is a drawing depicting where we currently live, the boy is Aaditya who is looking out of the window, and he's looking at his friend "no-no" (moon). He used to call the moon as "no-no" when he was little.

This is his first attempt at writing number without the tracing sheets. He wrote them independently without help. His 7 and 9 are typical of a left handed person, so have to still work on them.
This picture shows Aadu's Mamaji's house, the building is tall, it has spiral or rounded finishes along some parts of its exterior, there is a hill to the right, the sun shines over the mountain.

On the other side of the building is a tall tree ..

Chicken Biryani - my style

I love making this Biryani, not only is it yummy, it is gratifying and satisfying to see friends and family enjoy it. The process to some may seem tedious and long, but believe me the outcome is absolutely fantastic.

What you need:

Chicken 1 Kg

Basmati Rice 1 Kg

Onions 7 medium ones or 5 large ones

Ginger - Garlic paste 2 tablespoons each

Green chilli - 4-5

Tomato - 3

Yogurt - 1 cup

Lemon juice - juice of one lemon

Red chilli powder - 2 teaspoons

Chicken Masala - 3 teaspoons

Turmeric powder

Tej Patta - 2-3

Cardamom - 4-5

Black pepper - 1 teaspoon

Cloves - 4-5

Cinnamon - 1 stick

Mint leaves

Fresh Coriander

Salt (obviously !!)

Marinade:

Mix together the curds, the lemon juice, 1 teaspoon of ginger paste, 1 teaspoon of garlic paste, turmeric 1/2 teaspoon, chicken masala, red chilli powder, salt.

Meanwhile wash and drain the chicken pieces; poke them with a fork.

Dip each piece in the marinade and place in a bowl; after completing all pieces, pour the remaining marinade over the chicken.

Leave this in the fridge over night for best results or atleast for a couple of hours.

The next day, you will need to do the following...

The Rice:

Soak the rice in water for 20-30 mins, then in a deep and thick bottom pan pour some oil or ghee, and add the Tej Patta, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, black pepper - let this fry till the spices release their aroma. Be careful not to burn them. Then add in the rice (after draining the water); saute the rice for a couple of minutes, coating the rice with the oil/ghee and spices.

Add salt to taste; then add water (I usually add twice the number of cups as that of the rice, so for every 1 cup of rice I add 2 cups of water) in this case we have to cook the rice till 3/4th done, and also drain the excess water; so use all reasoning to add as per ur 'Andaaz'.

Other things that you will need:

Fried Onions:

Cut about 4 of the large onions into thin slices; add a bit of salt to them and leave aside for 1/2 an hour. After that drain off all the water, and sprinkle the onions with corn-flour. In a pan/kadhai heat oil, and deep fry the coated onions, trying not to form clumps. Fry till golden brown. Drain them on some kitchen paper.

Mint & Coriander:

Wash and cut mint leaves and fresh coriander. Leave aside. This should be done at the last minute just before you actually assemble the biryani.

The Chicken:

Heat oil in a large pan, add in the chicken pieces and fry them till they turn golden.

Once they leave the side of the pan (they are not sticking any more), put on the lid and let the chicken cook in it's own juices. Remember you will have some excess marinade left in your bowl; do not throw it, we are going to use it up.

The Gravy:

In a pan heat some oil, add onion; once onions are golden add ginger garlic paste, then add tomatoes (coarsely shopped), green chilli, then add in the excess marinade from the chicken cooking step. Cook this till the tomatoes are soft and the marinade is cooked down. Add fresh coriander.

Let this cool, then using a hand mixer make it into a medium coarse gravy.

Assembly time:

Take a deep and thick bottom pan, cut a piece of butter paper of the size of the pan's bottom. Put this paper in the pan, this is a self discovered trick which avoids the biryani from sticking to the bottom of the pan !!

You can totally avoid this step if butter paper is not in the house. BTW butter paper is available where you get your baking supplies or even near the aluminum foil racks.

The first layer is a thick layer of rice, top it up with fried onion, the gravy, and then chicken pieces, on top of this add the mint-coriander leaves, then add some ghee along the edges of the pan and also in the center.

Repeat this layering process till you are finished with all your chicken & Rice.

The topmost layer should be rice - gravy.

Let this sit on the stove for a good 30 minutes or more, on a low flame, shut the lid tightly over this layered biryani. If you are worried of some steam leakages, make a dough of simple wheat flour and seal the lid along the outer edges. If you want to keep it warm, just place a 'tava' below the pan, and leave the gas on low flame.

Serve the Biryani with:

Boondi Raita

Onion Salad

Cucumber slices that have been chilled in the fridge.

My way of making Onion Salad:

Thinly slice 2-3 medium onions, sprinkle salt, red chilli powder, a bit of black pepper and juice of one lemon. Mix well and keep in fridge.

When it's time to serve this, the onions will have turned soft, sweet and the entire combination works very well with any non-veg dish.

Do try.

Of this and that...

I have done numerous things in the past days that I was not blogging....there was this...and there was that ....

Ha ha ha...

Anyways...I would like to share the little snippets of 'gyan' that I gained during those days.

I read many new blogs, found a few very good ones pertaining to Interior Decoration, Photography, and everything colorful in general. Want to see for yourself? Please visit Rang Decor

Another thing on my mind of late is silver jewellery and traditional Indian patters....I feasted my eyes on Maya Bazaar and Sukra Jewellery

There was another one... Amrapali

I spent an entire afternoon on these sites, figuring one which one I liked most...and it turned out that I loved the traditional patterns by a huge margin over the modern designs....

So I am a traditional girl by choice.

I made some Gajar Ka Halwa, there was even the humble but superbly turned out double-layered sponge cake, then there was the star of the Sunday lunch: Chicken Biryani; that turned out the best it has ever...I did do a few things differently this time...so I am going to stick to the new-found modifications.

I will put up the entire preparation of the Chicken Biryani in the next post...so just hang on

Giving up milk tea & Diet Coke

I have been wanting to give up milk tea ever since I learnt that adding milk to tea negates most of its health benefits .I am a great fan of milk tea and I just couldn't do without my morning "doodh cha".

Since yesterday I haven't been drinking milk tea....yes, it is too early to say that I have given up milk tea completely...I might just change my mind. Yesterday I replaced my morning "dudh cha" with black tea, ginger & a dash of lemon.It, in fact,tasted quite good but I still missed it in the afternoon while I was facebooking. Another benefit for me when I drink black or green tea is that when I don't add milk,I skip the sugar as well.

Another thing that both of us are trying to quit are diet drinks.We often drink Coke Zero when we go out to eat and even at home when we decide to snack during night. The last three days I have been free of diet drinks or any kinds of artificial drinks.Just a while ago I drank fresh coconut water and oh it had such a refreshing taste!

Giving up diet drinks is easier because it is a habit that I had developed recently whereas milk tea has been a staple in my diet since many years.

I loved this ...

For all those people out there who love Indian Hand Printed stuff in Indian colours and combinations...this is the site for you.

http://www.saffronmarigold.com

They have everything from bed covers, pillow covers, duvet covers, tablecloths, table runners, curtains etc.

I loved each and every product and every print that they have. Loved the colours....

I want to buy it all !!!

God give me some money !!!

What is your work-out time?

When do you work-out? Do you have a fixed time? Do you stick to it like an ant to a candy?

Do you change and shuffle your work-out time? Do you work out as-and-when you get the time? Do you exercise according to your energy levels?

Do you exercise daily or alternate days?

Too many questions...but they all are valid; and most importantly they all have very interesting answers. Just try asnwering all of these questions...and you'll know what I am saying !!

Well let me share my answers...

1) I don't

2) No

3) No

4) No

5) No

6) No

!!!!!!!!!

Now some of you may accuse me of being lazy, of not giving my health the importance it demands...

Say what you want girls...I know what I am doing......I am doing......Nothing !!!

I face the difficult task of changing or for starts chalking out my work-out time based on certain events and their out comes.

1) has my son gone to school?

2) have I done enough preparation for hubby's tiffin so that I can rush off to the gym and still get back and pack off those garama-garam phoolkaas?

3) is it the maid's day of coming over?

4) is it the milkman's day of delivering milk?

5) did I sleep well last night, so that I am able to keep myself from hollering at every word that ano one says to me?

These and more events are to be taken care of before I even chart out my work-out time.

I wonder how some ladies (and some of you) manage to stick to one time throughout?

I want to work-out......honestly I want to.....

some one please help !!!!

Off to school or not...

I have been keeping my son at home since this Monday. There are ever increasing number of people being diagnosed with H1N1, then there were some frantic calls from friends telling me not to send Aadi to school as there were some un-confirmed cases of students being affected.

I am worried about the situation.

My son fell ill on 30th of July after coming back from school, he had a mild fever and a cough, a runny nose. We took him to the doctor etc and the medication was started. Surprisingly he was not given any antibiotics as the fever was low grade and the runny nose and cough would eventually go off on it's own with the help of some medication.

He was completely well since last Wednesday, but the cough was still there, so I thought it would be wiser to keep him home rather than to send him off to school and put other kids at risk.

So all in all it's become a long break for Aadi who is enjoying it fully !!

We're also doing some letter-tracing and other activities to keep him in tough with school stuff.

Each evening we discuss about our plan for the next day....

Off to school...or not....

Back to blogging

Pardon my absenteeism. I was away in homeland for over a month.

I am so happy to get all those emails, asking me to start blogging and that they are really looking forward to reading something here.....I love you all !!!

Well I had a good trip, I got to meet some long lost friends, and as usual it was super duper fun to meet up with everyone I met, Shibani, Neeta, Amolika, Mrinal, Manali. Love you girls !!

I also met my little cousin sister Aarya, she is a happy-go-lucky 9 month bundle of amazement !!

The best part was that my son loved her instantaneously and was by her side through out. He loved the concept of 'a baby'. He even fed her with a bottle !! (this gave way to everyone around me to gently suggest that I must plan for another baby soon!!...well easier said than done ;) !! )

Another thing that happened was that I missed my home...just being in my home, with my stuff around, doing things and chores at my pace etc. And I did miss hubby darling dearly !!

Aadi also missed 2 weeks of school, which was nothing major as a KG1 guy can always catch up fast with all the missed stuff.

A great coincidence occurred....

Shibani and I are friends since our MBA days, we meet almost every time I'm home. Now this time around Shibani was in Pune at her parents home, and so we met in Pune, and I had this major urge to meet Neeta, a friend of mine since Junior College, but some how we were out of touch ever since she went to study Dentistry and I went off to Engineering College. I had taken her number from her sister, and so made the call and we spoke as though we spoke just yesterday !! BTW: Her son's name is Aaditya too !! (that can be counted as coincidence # 1)

We decided to meet soon, and the conversation was ended.

After some time Shibani called to say that she was on her way to pick me up to go to the Jewellers (now don't get ideas that I was majorly jewellery shopping in times of this recession..) I was to only go with her and maybe...just maybe buy a pendant for Aadi to wear around his neck with a rope of black thread!! I was not ready and lots of things needed to be done so I told her I would not be able to accompany her...and I mentioned to her about Neeta and how we were friends and now again were back in touch and wanted to meet etc. etc. etc.

Surprise...surprise !! Shibani knew Neeta, and not just knew her...they were friends since their school days !!!

So we three decided to meet and what a meeting it was......

Shibani and Neeta meeting after school ...that is roughly 16 years....and Neeta and I met after 13 years !!!

We had so much to talk...so much to ask, so much to tell......WOW.....it was just amazing.

I felt that even though we were grown up, had our own professions, our kids, our very different lives, we were connected in more ways than less. Friendship is that bond where everything else just dwindles in importance. We are on the same level in a friendship, and that's what makes it so special and wonderful. It's just great to have non-judgemental friends.

I would go on and on writing, but it would be all over the place. So I end for today and promise to keep writing now on, regularly.

P.S. We forogt to take snaps !!!

Role Play

These days, the son is into role-plays and loves being the 'Papa'; I have to tag along as the Mom (his mom) !!

In his role-play he has a son, and then he pampers his son, sits him on his own chair, puts on the song 'Meri dunia tu hi rey..' from 'Heyy Baby'. While this song goes on, Aadi is feeding the baby with a spoon, cleaning his face, changing his diaper, and then they set off for a walk, the baby is in a stroller now (The chair on which the baby sat, turns into a stroller...now that is an idea one can take forward...who would not want multi-function kid furniture!!)
This song and dance and walking all over the house with baby is not limited to one-time play of the song, but it goes on and on and on for half and hour or even more...I am of course reminding him how his baby will get bored of the same song for o long !!
Aadi enjoys this routine, and we're doing this almost every other day.
I am the doting grand-ma to his son, and then in between his play, if his baby cries I have to pacify him after Aadi instructs me with 'tyala pyar kar' (make him happy/cajole him/baby talk him)!!
I enjoy this role-play time, and it helps me see what Aadi absorbs from us as his parents and how he uses all those inputs to treat his baby...I must say from what I see he is going to make a very good Papa someday; but I am not sure of the diaper change though, coz he hates to get his hands dirty be it food or paint or anything else.....gosh I can't wait for the time when he will learn to wash himself after potty time !!! ha ha ha


That is my son's son!! Yes Mater (from the famous 'Cars' movie) is my grandson !!! The little yellow car is my grandson's toy car !! The proud Papa (my son) is pointing to his baby !!!
I know all of you were imagining a baby doll or something, but my son is using a tow truck to be his imaginary baby....that sure speaks volumes of his vivid and wild imagination and of course full marks to him for being so resourceful. It also shows how kids don't lay emphasis on good-looks....they just want unconditional pure love.
And yes that is the chair that transforms itself into a stroller when they go for a stroll!!


Another cute picture of my grandson !! I think I need to take him to the dentist ;)

How To Deal With Separation Anxiety In Preschoolers

Separation Anxiety: 15 Ways to Ease Your Child's Fears

It took months before I was able to leave five-year-old Madison, my fourth child, at school without having to peel her fingers off of me one-by-one and endure her tears and tantrums. The curious thing was that she'd gone to nursery school the previous year without making a fuss. Although Madison's teachers reassured me that she settled down and seemed worry-free within minutes after I left, I didn't know how heart-broken I would feel leaving her in such a state.

Separation anxiety is a little one's way of saying how much they really don't want to say good-bye. Most preschoolers and grade-schoolers experience it at some point in their early lives. Sometimes it occurs out of the blue after a change in the environment. Other times separation anxiety occurs because children are worried about life at home

-- perhaps because parents are fighting or someone is sick -- and they feel a sense of uncertainty about leaving home. Most often, however, separation anxiety is purely a "missing mom" issue. Madison fussed for months on end until I had my eldest daughter drop her off. Almost immediately, the tears and tantrums disappeared. Follow these 15 strategies and you may be able to minimize the problem too.

DO: Keep your good-byes short and sweet. In doing so, you convey the message that you have confidence in your child's ability to cope.

DON'T: Hover around. Your child will sense your anxiety, and this will make it more difficult for her to calm down.

DO: Tuck a family picture or a loving reminder away in your child's backpack for her to look at later in the day.

DON'T: Sneak out. You want your child to know unequivocally that she can trust you.

DO: Develop loving good-bye routines. Madison and I invented a kiss-hug-nose-rub routine that we both enjoy.

DON'T: Bargain or bribe your child to behave. Your little one should be allowed her feelings.

DO: Send clear messages. Your child needs to know that you expect him to go to school no matter how much he fusses, cries or stamps his feet.

DON'T: Take your school-aged child home. If you do, you send the message that if your child cries enough he won't have to stay.

DO: Invite children from the class over, so your child can forge friendships that will make the transition easier.

DON'T: Get upset. By keeping an upbeat and positive attitude about your child's school, teacher and friends, you'll help your child feel safe and enjoy his time at school.

DO: Ask your spouse or another family member to take a turn dropping your child off, or pick up one of your child's classmates on the way to school, and your problems may disappear with lightning speed.

DON'T: Discuss problems with the teacher in the morning. Save conversations and questions for the end of the day.

DO: Involve the teacher. You need someone on the other end who will greet your child and ease the transition.

DON'T: Be surprised if you solve the problem and it reoccurs after holidays and sick days.

DO: Believe in your child's ability to make positive changes.

Remember: Separation anxiety means that a strong and loving bond exists between you and your child.

source:http://parenting.ivillage.com/tp/tpbehavior/0,,n8sx,00.html

hooked onto youtube

These past days, YouTube has me hooked onto it...and I am loving every moment of it. I log in every single day to see what I can see !! Well I did have a throat infection, and the medication made me week and I had to rest etc etc etc. and that meant that I did rest well and watch some amazing movies.
I watched some serious ones like 'Gulal' - a story of a simple studious boy who goes to a city in Rajasthan to pursue law, but gets caught up in the local politics and ends his life. It is a simple story with some very well written characters and the casting was good too. Loved one song in it...'Rana Ji'; it has amazing lyrics.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x3ATqmHseME
That's the link for you.

I watched 'Titli' - a film that has Konkona Sen Sharma, and her mother Aparna Sen, both superb actors. Their equation as mother and daughter came out so beautifully...the chemistry was amazing. The movie is about the daughter 'Titli' who hero worships a film actor called Rohit Kumar...she dreams of marrying this actor. One day, as they are going to pick up her dad from the airport, they meet this Rohit Kumar on the way and as his vehicle has conked off, the ladies offer him a lift ..and then there are conversations of a girl who has a crush on this actor and between a woman (the mother) and the actor. The girl comes to know a huge secret about her mother and this actor. The second part of the movie shows us the completely changed Titli....
A beautiful movie to watch..I typed out the secret, but then it would have spoiled the fun for you all...so go ahead and watch.

'15 Park Avenue' - an amazing amazing movie.. Again the super brilliant Konkona Sen Sharma, this time as a mentally ill girl 'Meethi/Mitali'. The entire story revolves around Meethi and her family, their struggles to keep Meethi at home, her treatments, her thoughts, her life before the illness etc. Shabana Azmi as her elder sister is a superb professor of Physics, and so convincing as a strong, opinionated, confident lady with a short temper.
This is a must watch for all.

'Amu' - Yes...this one has Konkana in it too !! Here she plays an Indian girl who was adopted by a lady and they go and live in LA. She is amazing with the accent, never over the top, but just right. OK..and her name is very cute in it...'Kaaju'.
OK, so Kaaju comes to Delhi to meet her relatives and also to know more about her roots. Little does she know that she would find out about her real parents who died terrible deaths during the riots of 1984.

'AntarMahal' - A Bengali film about the time when British ruled India, and the Viceroy had declared that who ever puts the face of the queen onto Ma Durga during Durga Puja would be awarded the title of 'Rai Bahadur'. This story shows Jackie Shroff as the eccentric childless Jameendar, who decides to get the 'Rai Bahadur' title, and engages a young artisan Abhishekh Bachhan to do the job. The story unfolds the life of this Jameendar household, the level to which this man goes to get his wife pregnant, the way he treats his wives. The anguish that his wives face, the dynamics between them is beautifully portrayed.

I think those are all that I saw, currently watching another Bengali movie 'Bariwali' which has Kirron Kher as the owner of the house.

The non resident

One morning, as I went to the kitchen to make my son's school snack-box, I was horrified to see a really huge cockroach ....those of you who know me, know what I would do in this situation....RUNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN
Yes ran I did ...as fast as a half-sleepy person can run...and screamed to the husband who was getting the son into his uniform....'there's a huge...really huge cockroach in the kitchen...do something fasssssst'
The husband went to the kitchen, and came back to the room...where I was standing on the bed....the son wondering what happened to his mom..
Husband said 'I killed it, he was not our resident..so it was easy!!'
I ask: 'how did u know he was not a resident'
He said: 'he did not know where to hide' !!!!

ha ha ha ha ha

children of mixed parentage

Our weekend mornings are spent lurking around Bangsar while the son has fun at Gymboree. It is here that I get to see a lot of mixed breed kids...I don't think that is a nice enough term to use but it gets the point across quickly. I am talking about kids born to a white man-Malaysian Chinese or Malay lady; or white lady married to a local guy.
These kids have a mix of facial features, making them look really confusing. I am in no way looking down on them, but more in terms of amazement and curiosity.
These kids look confused to me, they cannot identify themselves with the local scene coz they have only little local genes in them and the rest of the, which is white gets more confused in the local scene where the whites are not in majority....
This makes me think about my son too, although there are lots of Indians around us, will he be confused as a Marathi-speaking boy, that he cannnot hold a conversation with everyone in his mother tongue? That he can speak in Marathi to only his family and a handful more....will he face an identity crisis in future? or is he going through it every day even now?
During the early part of my childhood we were in the northern part of India, and our Marathi was not that good, we spoke only at home...outside it was pure Hindi or English in school.
When we moved to Pune, I was in the 2nd standard, and me & my brother were made fun of by our building kids for our famously funny Marathi !!!
We did not know our Marathi number...I still get confused after about 50 ..
I picked up the language, but my brother was not good at it, to the extent that in the 7th standard his Marathi teacher called mom to school to show his essay on 'majhi aai' (my mother) in which he had gone overboard with his use of non-sensical Marathi words !! and she even pleaded with my mom to shift him to German language from 8th standard !!

For all or little that I understand, I think we should let kids develop as per the local scene, and not try to force their original culture on them. Having said that I myself would shudder to think that my son would know more about Chinese New Year than Diwali or Gudhi Padwa....
I would even hate if he picked up the local accent !!
So I guess a fine balance needs to be made between the original culture and the culture that the child is growing up in.
I know a lot of people who lived in the USA, had kids and once the kids were of 5-6 years they came back to India or atleast moved to Asia for the fear of alienating their kids from Asian/Indian culture. I don't consider that the right thing to do, but I cannot judge them as they lived through the issues and problems themselves, I am a mere observer.
Even my next door neighbor is leaving for India next month, and says that if they don't go now, their kids will never like India. The kids are now 7 and 6 years old. Again I do not know if that is a reason good enough to make you go back home....I do not know...

some deep thoughts...

These days when one surfs any news channel, newspaper etc there are stories after stories of torture, suffering, some man-made some nature inflicted...one sees people, children crying their heart out and hoping really hoping for someone to have a little mercy on them and free them from their sorry state. They seem to be vying for the kind attention of the Almighty by all means possible...
Hinduism believes in the 'Atma' or the soul; and also there is the principle of re-birth and re-incarnation. And they way all these are linked is by the thought or belief that what wrong deeds we did in our past life, we pay for it in our present life, and the wrongs we do in this lifetime we will pay for them in our next life or re-birth.
It makes me think and makes me very sad to see all the suffering around us now, and then to think of it this way that all those who are suffering now are only bearing the brunt of having done something wrong in their past lives...
When a child suffers, through an illness, through the loss of one or both parents, or faces abuse in any form...is the child repaying for his bad 'karma' during a past life? How can a child be allowed to bear such pain when elders who we all know are doing wrong deeds are roaming around scout free....when will they repay? why should they get the chance to enjoy in this life and then not worry until the re-birth? Why can't they suffer for their bad karma in this lifetime?

Some say that we pay for our bad karma in this lifetime itself, I'd like to believe this more..at least it makes one feel confident of seeing bad people being put to test or suffer for all the evil they inflicted on someone else...

A great book for parents !

I highly recommend the book "How to raise a Brighter Child" by Joan Beck to all parents who have children under five.The author advocates early learning and stimulation for babies,toddlers and preschoolers without pressure ,ofcourse.The author says that early childhood (0-6 years) is a time of tremendous development and parents should take advantage of these precious years to provide children with the mental stimulation to boost their intelligence.

While reading the book I got the feeling that the late author was a believer of the Montessori method of education.But she doesn't focus fully on Montessori and shows parents how they can help their children learn in everyday situations.She doesn't give an outline of lessons but shows how to play games with children and how to interact with them so that they learn. There are examples of how to take advantage of children's natural curiosity to stimulate their minds.

Some useful suggestions in this book are:

• Giving the child a good language model to copy.


• Using "Bingo" and dice games (such as snakes & ladders) to teach the child about numbers


• Making nature intriguing to the child by giving her a magnifying glass.Leaves,insects...everything looks more magical when enlarged.


• Encouraging children to make collections of seeds,insects,leaves etc.


• Inspiring creative art beyond crayons and paper:how paper plates,peanut shells and toothbrush can be used in painting.


• Some montessori activities such as cutting matching pieces of cloth of several different textures-velvet,silk etc and asking the child to match them by sight and touch.

The only drawback of the book is its unimaginative layout devoid of any illustrations. This book was not updated after 1999.

Art work by children in Aadu's school

These were some of the drawings that were put up on the notice board at Aadu's school. I am amazed at the use of colors, the cover-the-paper concept, and the shadings, and more amazed at the overall concepts of these pieces.
I did not notice the standard of study of these students, but they are from the primary section for sure...and for primary section these art-pieces are simply stunning !!!