Bored...

So I'm bored of blogspot... and will come back when I'm bored of wordpress... but till then
My new blog:

http://myawesomeeveryday.wordpress.com/

Goonda Aunty and her book- The Reluctant Detective

My son took his own sweet time to start talking- which he did after he turned 2.5 years. Before that it was a lot of random words.  So you could have knocked me over with a feather when my not yet two year old stood in the balcony and called a lady walking around the block-Goonda! So apparently this was a lady whom he saw in the park every evening,  who mock glared at him, who seemed to be in a state of perpetual motion- walking, talking, and keeping a hawk’s eye on  a kid… smiling randomly at strangers during her walk, and the one thing I noticed- very well turned out even when she came down to the park to “huff and puff”( as she once put it…) she ALWAYS  had bright lipstick on and she was very friendly but my son – he called her -goonda. He did respectfully add an aunty after that! I asked him why and he said “gooda bulaya”. Apparently she used to call him goonda and he was just returning the compliment!  

After a few random hellos, and the odd thought of her popping in my head while I was watching Taare Zameen Par and bawling (Tisca Chopra does remind me of her!) - I discovered she was a blogger, (yeah, lived in the same building and became friends because of the blog!), a journalist, a freelance writer, a director in her own company and she had never lost her fabulous sense of humor even in the face of adversity. What impressed me most though was she along with millions of people watched the horror that was 26/11 and actually did something about it- She started India Helps. She wears her many hats with élan and now she’s adding another feather in her cap- a Novelist! Kiran Manral, take a bow!!! In my house, she will always be called Goonda Aunty.   And here is how she got around to writing her book!

http://thirtysixandcounting.wordpress.com/2010/10/29/once-upon-a-time/

I got my copy of The Reluctant Detective, a couple of days ago and while l would love to read the book in one sitting my two imps have other ideas! When I read a book I disappear into a different world and with this book- Kanan Mehra and Kiran Manral seemed like the same person to me… I could so imagine her going through  her cupboard (color coded, mind you!) and telling her spouse that she had nothing to wear and him  grunting from behind the stocks section of the newspaper, or Krish lying on the bed with beyblades and action figures watching his mother stare at the clothes in her cupboard while mentally discarding them one by one! And yes, it’s a pretty real suburban housewife unlike the regressive “ jill jill ramamani” characters on TV.

All ye good people… you should definitely check this one out!!!

Kay aka Kanan Mehra is a thirty something suburban housewife and a young mother with a penchant for sticking her curious nose into things she definitely absolutely and certainly shouldn't go near. When a couple of corpses turn up in her neighborhood, she teams up with her detective friend Runa, in a half-hearted attempt to find the murderers only to suspect that perhaps the detective business doesn't quite become her. A hilarious account of how not to get involved in other peoples murders, The Reluctant Detective is every school gate mom, searching for a purpose to her life beyond kitty lunches, shopping and fish pedicures. 

Books are available at flipkart , infibeam, indiaplaza and crossword. Those who live outside India, please check amazon.com.

Noticed how....

..... politicians say something every day to top their dumb sound bites from an earlier time. Case in point Mr. Sibal and his attempt to monitor social networking sites.

...... that some cleric somewhere will say something that will not make sense at all.. first it was a cleric who propogated adult breast feeding and then there is this guy who sounds insane when he said women should not touch bananas and cucumbers.

....there's always one song that rocks the charts that has nothing to do with outstanding lyrics... just the music. My kids love this song. Its lunatic, has rubbish lyrics, but is brilliant and catchy. And if you're a tamilian, chances of you loving this one are much higher. 

....A R Rahman always comes back stronger. For all his duds in the last year, he really rocked Rockstar.

....the markets swing back a few 100 points higher a day after the experts predict doom! Ofcourse it tends to go the other way too!

...murphy's law is superactive in the realm of motherhood! The buttered side will always fall down, when you're in a hurry to leave is when the kid will insist on doing his potty, the night you plan a romantic dinner with the spouse is when they will refuse to sleep, the time you want to run errands is when the kids will absolutely refuse to sit still and the day you have a migraine is super tantrum day ... Sigh!

....its impossible to give one kid a time out without the other being very upset  with me for the same. It doesn't matter that my son got the timeout for throwing my daughter's toys or pushing her.. she'll give him company in the corner!

Lighting up my life- Diwali

There's something really fabulous about Diwali. I absolutely love the festival season which for me begins with Onam, Dusshera, Diwali and Karthigai Deepam.

As a child, Diwali meant only the bursting of crackers. We didn't celebrate diwali any other way. As a malayalee brahmin  the only two big festivals were onam and vishu which were super grand. Diwali was not on the radar. Growing up in Madras , where diwali is big, you tend to start celebrating it in your own way. My best friend's grandma- ammama making absolutely delicious savouries and sweets, the acrid smell of the crackers which neighbours started bursting weeks before, going to the standard firecracker stalls to buy the crackers, arguing with achan about the ones we wanted and then bursting them at home...Somewhere along the way, I stopped bursting crackers and celebrating it... it just became another holiday... an excuse to shop, a day to read, binge on mithai, play cards at home  and generally relax.

Post marriage, we lived in  Bombay -the celebrations started again.  Diwali cleaning began a month prior. Immediately after Dusshera. The Jains celebrate diwali because Lord Mahavir attained Nirvana that day.So there was Mahavir Bhagwan puja, Lakshmi puja, distribution of sweets, celebrating with friends... and last diwali the man played teen patti with poker chips! :)  Normally, lights would go up before Dusshera and would be taken down only post diwali. This year thought we took off on our annual vacation  around that time.. so lights went up only on Diwali Day. It was only after the lights went up that it even felt like Diwali.
It was a green Diwali- No fireworks. I must say the number of people bursting crackers seems to have gone down drastically- not that it would prevent the festive spirit in any way.

Anyway Diwali and Vishu seem to have become days of gratitude for me than anything else. For a year gone past, for my blessings, for my blessing in disguise(which sometimes take way longer to unmask), for my two lil miracles, my family, friends and the immense amount of love in my life.

A few scenes from Diwali at home

Well, I got them dressed and headed for a bath. Came out to find that they had dunked each other with a mug of water and were all drenched!

My Ganesh, Lakshmi, Saraswati Lamp

 Lamps and a traditional urli with a silver lamp near the door.

A Ganesha lamp

Getting all set for the puja. Now in fresh clothes.

 Fairy lights in the balcony

 A diya in every room

Getting the puja started

A havan for the cleansing of energies.

How was your Diwali? Hope you had a fab one! Wishing all you people a fabulous and prosperous year ahead!!!

Happiness

I was mulling about going back to work. Someone asked me the other day to figure out what I really wanted from life... what i want to do with it...where i want to go, what i want to be... and to do whatever i do for the right reasons.

I thought about it and all I really want from life is to be happy. When I pray I don't ask for things- I say let me be happy. Truly happy! 

My thought for the Day

I'm going to put this in my house!

Found this on pinterest and loved it!!! :)

I so know what he means.

I'm like that too! 

Music and gypsy feet....

A few years back when I was going through a rough patch, I sat listening to this song...

God, I wanted to chuck everything and just travel. I didn't want to stay in a place for more than a month. I wanted to meet new people, see new places , try new things.I had this master plan in my head and ofcourse not completely sure how i would achieve it either. I freaked my mom out when I discussed it with her. So my mom, being the wise woman she is, told me to make that same plan when I was in a happy place saying that it was the only way I would enjoy my journey. Otherwise it would just mean that I was running away from my problems. I slept on that lil piece of adviceand then took an impulsive decision to just move cities. So I moved to Mumbai. Took a break for a couple of months.. pigged out, partied, made new friends... cut out a whole lot of baggage from my life.. reconnected with the love of my life.. opened up old wounds.. fought , loved, got married... had the most awesome kids in the world.. and did things i swore I'd never do!

Now on a random Saturday night, while the whole world seems asleep, I'm listening to a bunch of what I call the travel songs...  I wonder about the road not taken. Life would have been different. I would have travelled, seen the world, been that maverick gene that my family would have wondered about. But my mom knew me well. Knew me well enough to know that while I wanted to travel, putting down roots was also important.I remember my cousin once told my mom that he didn't ever see me give up my career for kids... (i also remember agreeing with him) and my mom told him that if he thought that then he didn't know me. I'm glad she knew me really well.. I cannot imagine not having my imp and mishti..I cannot imagine not driving pyare round the bend.. I know there are a few things I would have done differently.. (not regret.. just wiser now)but most things I wouldn't change.John Lennon said " Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans. Its true!

Pyare and I agree on the whole travel broadening horizons concept. And I know its one of the things we want our kids to do.We've slowly started... and I'm looking forward to the trips of my life!

So do you have a list of travel songs?Mine is a rather eclectic collection with no particular Genre.. Here are a few in my list...

I love Paris- Frank Sinatra. I'm a huge Sinatra fan. I remember humming this while I walked through the Latin Quarters in Paris

If you're going to San Fransisco- Scott McKenzie

New York New York- Frank Sinatra

James Taylor- Carolina In my mind

Time to move on- Tom Petty

Take me home Country Roads: John Denver

U2 - Where the streets have no name

Lynryd Skynyrd- Free Bird

The long and winding road: The Beatles

Lynryd Skynyrd- Sweet home Alabama

Johnny Cash- I've been everwhere

Like a rolling stone- bob dylan

Beautiful Day- U2. There's just something about this song.

And old Hindi hit from CID

and most recently this ode to Delhi.

Something I relate to.

Esp for my lil imp and Mishti

With all my love,

Amma

A Mother's prayer

Tadaaaaaa!

And I'm back! When I look at my blog I think there are more breaks than posts! :)

Sooo much has happened in the last year-

My lil girl turned one and my imp turned three.

We moved cities... and I'm loving it!

I am a year older and still 24 in my head! :)

I still hate housework with a vengeance but nothing can make me regret taking that career break!

I always loved cooking, now I realise I love baking too.

I tolerate fools a lot less. I have lesser tolerance for false friendships.

I respect money a lot more than I used to.

I'm learning the art of small talk. Its really hard to keep an "I'm interested" look on my face when I really don't give a rat's ass!

With two kids under four, tantrums are the order of the day. Guess what?!!! I can deal with them anywhere!

Keeping my short fuse in check, however, is a lesson in progress.

I stopped equating sleep with an even temper.

I'm still impatient as hell... yes.. two kids later that's still not changed.

I cuss a lot less.

I always knew I had an absolutely rocking mom. Today, she's beginning to take the form of a goddess in my head!

My son and I were introduced to track mania by my honorable brother. And now we're addicted together.

I was super kicked when I realised that both my kids absolutely love music and can carry a tune ;)

My babies started school and the house is extremely quiet for two hours during the day.

I realised that what I paid for my entire education (post graduate degrees included) will be spent by the time both my kids finish kindergarten. So all those financial planning ads you see- believe it!

Ruth Graham was once asked whether she contemplated divorce. "Divorce, No. Murder? Yes!" I so totally get that statement! :) Its amazing how someone you love so much can drive you right round the bend. According to him though- I was already there... Must've been.. married him didn't I? ;D

I've realised that in parenting while some basic stuff remain the same, my kids need to be handled completely different. My son's the sensitive one and my daughter is feisty.

I still have days where I wonder whether I had some illegal substance by mistake when I decided to have kids.

They say when you become a mother you life is not yours anymore- whose is it if not yours... my family is my life... and big part of it actually. And then there are things I do for myself. A part of my life I will live only for myself. There I said it without being guilty. Letting go of that guilt was my biggest lesson over the last year and a half. It's taken me almost four years of motherhood and two kids to get there!

My life seems to be a roller coaster ride at times but everyday I wake up and feel immensely grateful for the crazy people sharing that ride who make it so much more fun.. and so much more worth it!

Khalil Gibran on marriage

I read Khalil Gibran's  " The Prophet" years ago and I simply loved the philosophical essays for their sheer wisdom put in such simple prose. I read this again today. And it never fails to move me. The wealth of wisdom in these lines. The advice is pretty solid.  Sometimes it doesn't matter what the issue is, look at these lines and you'll find  one that gives you an answer. 


You were born together, and together you shall be forevermore.
You shall be together when the white wings of death scatter your days.
Ay, you shall be together even in the silent memory of God.
But let there be spaces in your togetherness,
And let the winds of the heavens dance between you. 

Love one another, but make not a bond of love:
Let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls.
Fill each other's cup but drink not from one cup.
Give one another of your bread but eat not from the same loaf
Sing and dance together and be joyous, but let each one of you be alone,
Even as the strings of a lute are alone though they quiver with the same music. 

Give your hearts, but not into each other's keeping.
For only the hand of Life can contain your hearts.
And stand together yet not too near together:
For the pillars of the temple stand apart,
And the oak tree and the cypress grow not in each other's shadow.

Tribute to my dad-

Blogadda is holding a " Tribute to my dad" competition in association with Pringoo.

I wrote this for my dad last year on his birthday and he absolutely loved it. I don't think I can write it any better.

So I am submitting this for a tribute to my dad.

Look Ma, I'm standing!!!!

It seems it was just yesterday that I held my lil girl in my arms for the first time.

It seems it was just yesterday that I was all excited because you gripped my finger

It seems it was just yesterday that I realised that the color of your eyes was a leafy green

It seems it was just yesterday that I felt my heart burst when I saw how protective of you your brother was.

It seems it was just yesterday that you smiled for the first time

It seems it was just yesterday that you were this really small thin baby..

And then 8 months just flew by...

you grew into this chubby lil thing...

today you're attempting to walk...

You're standing with support.

You're sitting without support.

Your eye colour has changed to hazel.

Though your vocabulary has three words- amma, papa, Ya( for bhaiya).. but you have absolutely no problem expressing yourself

You have a pair of lungs that leaves us in no doubt of what you are feeling

You are extremely competitive.

You love food.

You love oil massages.

You love the rains.

Nobody can make you laugh like your brother does...

And so far its been an awesome trip...

Yes, I don't deny that its been tough sometimes with you and the imp just 21 months apart.

But I wouldn't change a thing.

You've changed our lives...

You've increased the excitement...

You've brought so much of joy.

I love you so much, Mishti.

Love loads

Amma

A corner of Mumbai- during the monsoons

Everytime I have to go to Powai, I always take the Aarey Milk Colony route. Esp during the monsoons. Here's why:

The invitation.

I came across this on the net yesterday. A beautiful piece of writing.

An Indian Elder speaks:

Oriah Mountain Dreamer, Indian Elder, May 1994

It doesn't interest me what you do for a living.

I want to know what you ache for, and if you dare to dream of meeting your heart’s longing.

It doesn't interest me how old you are.

I want to know if you will risk looking like a fool for love, for your dreams, for the adventure

of being alive.

It doesn't interest me what planets are squaring your moon.

I want to know if you have touched the centre of your own sorrow, if you have been opened

by life's betrayals or have become shrivelled and closed from fear of further pain.

I want to know if you can sit with pain, mine or your own without moving to hide it, or fade

it, or fix it.

I want to know if you can be with joy, mine or your own; if you can dance with wildness and

let the ecstasy fill you to the tips of your fingers and toes without cautioning us to be careful,

be realistic, or to remember the limitations of being human.

It doesn't interest me if the story you are telling me is true.

I want to know if you can disappoint another to be true to yourself, if you can bear the

accusation of betrayal and not betray your own soul.

I want to know if you can be faithful and therefore trustworthy.

I want to know if you can see beauty, even when it is not pretty every day, and if you can

source your life from its presence.

I want to know if you can live with failure, yours or mine, and still stand on the edge of a lake

and shout to the silver of the full moon, "Yes!"

It doesn't interest me to know where you live or how much money you have.

I want to know if you can get up after the night of grief and despair, weary and bruised to the

bone, and do what needs to be done for the children.

It doesn't interest me who you are, or how you came to be here.

I want to know if you will stand in the centre of the fire with me and not shrink back.

It doesn't interest me where or what or with whom you have studied.

I want to know what sustains you from the inside when all else falls away. I want to know if

you can be alone with yourself, and if you truly like the company you keep in the empty

moments.

Birthday Girl!

I wish you more color to fill your life...

I wish you the silence to hear your thoughts,

I wish you more friends and adventure

I wish you moments of pure pleasure

I wish you more hot men

I wish you lots of chocolates and eye candy

I wish you those seconds that take your breath away

I wish you great trips of imagination

I wish you great trips. Period

I wish you more fun

I wish you more drama

I wish you lots of hard cash :)

I wish you all those little things that really make you happy

And most of all- I wish you the most wonderful year ahead!

Happy Birthday Mayuri!!!! Rock On!

TAG!!!!!

Kiran tagged me... sometime in Jan.. and as usual I'm super late with this one!

Tell your readers 10 things about you that they may or may not know, but are true..

Tag 10 people with the award, and be sure to let them know they’ve been tagged (a quick comment on their blog will do).

Link back to the blogger who tagged you.

OK so here are 10 things you may not have know about me:

1. I can't make small talk to save my life...and I was in sales!

2. I believe in energy healing.. i believe your thoughts make you and sometimes i have a super hard time not being bitchy!

3. Though sometimes i wonder if i would have signed up for motherhood if I had known how tough it could be- I still am an enamoured mother... big time!Someone who said motherhood was watching your heart walk outside of your body for the rest of your life, knew what she was talking about!

4. I have a sweet tooth that shows up on my figure...

5. I love cooking. Its the cleaning up afterwards that doesn't appeal to me.

6. I read pretty much everything. I may give up eating but i can't give up reading.

7. I read Calvin and Hobbes when I'm low. It cheers me up immensely.

8. I absolutely hate going to the dentist.

9. Warren Buffet is my guru!

10. I have an on and off relationship with religion, but my faith in God is intact.

One of the nicest thing about motherhood....

Is watching the angelic faces of my babies when they sleep with my heart bursting with love.... and savoring the quiet.

And then as the moment slowly passes as I trudge my way to clear up my hurricane hit house!