Summer Holidays - Play all day!

Medhini doing her bit!

Manasvi cleaning the windows!

The schools are closed and the girls are enjoying their summer vacation.  The summer break is truly a time for relaxing and enjoying life.  As children, I am sure all of us used to  look forward to this 2 month break and spend our time playing all day long with friends and cousins.  I can see the same happening with my 12-year old elder daughter.

The neighbourhood that we live in has a lot of kids pretty much the same age as Manasvi.  So it is day long play time for her.  If I need to see her, it can only be during mealtimes - she has a quick breakfast and is out of the house; she is back home in time for lunch.  My otherwise slow eater of a daughter now finishes her lunch in record time and rushes out to join her friends.  The next time she is home, I can set the clock to 4:30 PM - tea time.  After a cup of milk and raiding the larder for a tea-time snack, she is back on the street to play Lagori, Kings or any other game that she and her friends are keen to play that day. After a long day of play, she is tired and strolls back home by 7:00 pm, picks up the TV remote, and chants out loudly -"Ma, I am hungry....what is for dinner?"   We followed this "heavenly" routine for two days, but of course, there is always a villain in every happy situation and this time, it came in the form of MOM.   I laid out a few rules to be followed -

1. A small chore to be done everyday -this could be cleaning the bookshelf /cupboard, cleaning the windows, watering the plants, washing the school bag...  this way, I hope to get her involved in all forms of labour and not resent doing certain jobs.

2. Spend more time on reading books  and a little less on watching TV

We have been able to follow this routine and it is a win-win for both of us.  Manasvi was especially thrilled today while cleaning the windows.  Our neighbour watched her do the job and was all praise for her.  He appreciated her effort and wished his own grand daughter would try and emulate her.  Manasvi's face lit up with pride while her Mom's face beamed with satisfaction and of course, the glass that she was cleaning took on a brighter shine!

Having fun while performing the chore!

Television - bane or boon?

In Class 9, we were asked to write a composition on the topic of television - whether it was a boon or a bane.  As I remember, at that time, I could think of only the benefits of having and watching television, especially since  we didn't have a TV at home till I was in Class 7.

Our neighbour was the first person who bought a TV in our locality  - they had a Bush TV- black and white model which itself was a big thing then. We would all - my brothers and I, and other friends in the neighbourhood- climb over the compound wall, enter their house through the rear door and sit and watch TV in their house for hours together.  Their living room would be filled with people -sitting on the sofa (balcony seats that we rarely got), the side bench (sometimes)  and the floor (most often) and all eyes glued to the TV set.  Suddenly, and frequently, there would be cursing and heavy sighing when the transmission was interrupted and  Doordarshan posted any of the following signs -  "Sorry for the interruption" or "Adechanegaagi kshamisi" or "Rukavat ke liye khed hain" depending on the programme we were watching.  Sometimes, we would end up watching the above sign(s) for even 20 -30 minutes, cursing the "Television guy" all the while and hoping and praying for the programme to resume.  Now I really wonder how we managed to sit through patiently - I guess it was better than having to come back home and study! 

When we bought our first TV - Solidaire colour TV - my happiness knew no bounds.  I would sit and watch any programme that was being telecast -even the one that was meant for farmers! 

Now, the tables have turned. With my girls always glued to the TV sets, I can only think of the TV as a bane.  Even now, as I am writing this, I can hear my younger daughter watching Chhota Bheem while her older sister is silently devouring all the dishes being served by the Master Chefs in Australia!  Controlling their TV time is my number one activity. And ofcourse, as is universally seen and accepted, when the cat is away, the mice will play!  So it's time for me to ring the bell so my girls know that the cat is still around!

The past tense is perfect!

English, as a language, can be bewildering to a 4 year old, I guess. But kids seem to find a way to master this language easily, - in their own, uncomplicated way!

The case in point is my younger daughter who will turn 5 next month. As a 2-year old, she did not know a word of English. When we visited her cousins in the US who spoke mostly accented English, she was left speechless (literally!). But not for long...within a couple of weeks, she picked up the language and much to our amazement, she was able to have a conversation with her cousins!

Now, over the last couple of years, her vocabulary has improved considerably. (when I was her age, I didn't know even a quarter of what she knows now!) She has coined new words to address the past tense of certain verbs - actually, the way she puts it makes more sense.
Put becomes "putten", (I have putten all the toys inside), cut turns into "cutted" (She cutted the cake), bite turns into "bited" (Oh, I bited my tongue), buy becomes 'buyed' (She tells her sister sternly - don't touch this box, Appa buyed it for me!). By the same logic, see does not become "seed " but becomes "sawed". ("Did you see the book?", I ask her. She replies, "Yes, I sawed it".)

One of her hilarious constructs was when she hit a mosquito, and then she told her sister proudly "Akka, I died off the mosquito!"

Hopefully, when she reads this at some point, she will take it in the right spirit - I don't want to be "hitted" by her!

Happy moments while clearing the wardrobe!

Does your cupboard have a rack of clothes that you used to wear once upon a time? These garments don't fit you anymore but you still retain them in the fond hope of wearing them once again - after you have shed those extra kilos that have found their way uncannily onto the hip region - the place from where it is most difficult to reduce the flab!!

Oh well, I have such a shelf too and once in a while I love rummaging through these clothes - the dark blue pair of jeans that I used to wear in college, the light blue pair that I bought using my first stipend, the skirt that I wore during that memorable New Year's party...the list goes on. Every time I check to see if I can squeeze into those, I end up letting out a loud groan and a pitiable sigh and then fervently hope that things will look up by the next cleaning session.

But today, when I was doing the wardrobe cleaning, I was in for a lovely surprise! I was able to get into the blue jeans that I'd bought using my stipend. I was super thrilled! The slight difficulty that I faced while buttoning up did not dampen my spirits. I had finally inched my way to the long cherished dream! YES, I had to share the good news! My daughter was watching TV (as usual) and I proudly announced to her the background of the jeans and my being able to fit into them now. She heard me out and I was waiting for her to congratulate me on my super human effort. She raised her eyebrows and commented "Oh, you were so fat even then!!"

There, that did it - my bubble of happiness and pride burst instantly!! In the light of my daughter's rather caustic remark, I started having second thoughts about my 'so called' achievement. But not for long - the happiness at being able to fit into the old pair of pants engulfed me again and left me with a smile on my lips! Hurray!

Bicyle diaries!

On a sudden impulse, I cycled up to the Bangalore One office today to pay the bills. The word to take note of here is "cycled". Usually, I would either walk up or take the car but today I felt the urge to ride the cycle.

It felt great to be cycling - I thought about the petrol I saved on the 3 km round trip, the carbon emissions that I did not off load into the atmosphere and of course the calories that I burnt! It was a three-pronged, 'feel good' trident that helped release the endorphins in my brain to keep me elated despite the effort put in while cycling.

The reactions of people on the road was varied- a middle aged man in a motor cycle thought it best to let me pass and hence stopped to give me way - I suppose he was unsure of my riding skills and didn't want to take any chances. An auto driver, (he must have been in a great hurry) did not like my taking up the corner of the small road and kept his hands pressed on the horn, honking loudly and persistently - so it was my turn to wait and let him pass. I think I also got a few appreciative glances (I'd rather think of them as appreciative glances than rude glares) from a few pedestrians.

Anyway, as I cycled, it brought back memories from my childhood - the first cycling lesson, the innumerable falls while learning to cycle, the excitement and thrill when I finally found my balance, the pleas to my brother to let me borrow his cycle. Those days, having a cycle was a luxury. My elder brother had a Hero cycle - the typical, black, gents cycle of yester years with a rod in the middle. I could not reach the pedal if I sat on the seat of the cycle so I would ride "kathri" style - with the right leg going below the bar to reach the right pedal and my whole body slightly bent to the left and me holding on to the handle bar trying to maintain the balance! Thinking back, I wonder how I achieved this! (but that's how most kids learnt to ride the big cycle then).
My brother would wash and clean his pride of possession and would take care of it like it was his baby - he does the same thing to his car now! And whenever I asked him for his cycle, he would always say -"first learn to clean the cycle, you can ride it later". So I was forced to clean his cycle every time before riding it.

Things have changed a lot today. Both my girls have a 'girls cycle' adjusted to their height, and in a colour they like. But one thing definitely hasn't changed - it is still me who cleans the cycles!!

Last Saturday morning, I set out to Kanteerava Stadium with my husband and daughter to take part in the exercise programme organised by the Nike Run Club. There were quite a few people already assembled - some, who looked like first timers (just like me) and some who were really fit, lean and well muscled. Reeth Abraham, the national sprinter was also there. She was tall, athletic and looked smashing in her running gear.

Well, we started off with a few jogs around the car park - just to loosen ourselves up. Our trainer then lined us up and started on the actual workout. The first few minutes were great - it was easy-going and I sailed through smoothly. Subsequently, the exercises became slightly intense. I continued on, breathing hard and letting out loud gasps. Our trainer then increased the pace of the activities - the combination of high speed and intense exercises sustained over a longer time period had all my muscles crying for mercy. Some muscles that I didn't know even existed in my body, started howling in pain! It was such a relief when our trainer ended one set of exercises and gave us a few seconds respite before he started on the next set. Finally, after 25 long minutes, our trainer blew the whistle. I felt like I had been tossed and turned around in a washing machine -completely drained of all energy.
Our trainer, (he must have been a sadist!) very cheerfully commented that we were now sufficiently warmed up to go for a long run! I was aghast! I had thought that the so called "warm-up" routine was to be the sum total of that day's workout but apparently it was not.

Reluctantly, I headed to Cubbon Park with all the others to begin the long run. My husband, who was already ahead urged me to follow quickly. My legs screamed and refused to move. It felt like as though heavy stones were tied around them - just raising and moving them seemed like moving a mountain.

At this point, I was giving up all hope of even running half a kilometer. That was when I saw the image of Reeth Abraham in my mind's eye. Reeth, standing so tall and looking extremely fit, and going about her exercise routine with such ease and litheness. I held on to that image and huffed and puffed my way across the park. I was probably one of the people who came in last but at that point, it felt just great to complete the run! I felt a great sense of achievement and and was brimming with fulfillment, forgetting all the aches and pains in my body!

Thanks Reeth, for being the inspiration!

Classmate or friend!

Some days back, I was with my daughter in her basketball class when it suddenly started to rain. So, on the spur of the moment, I decided to drop in into my friend's house that's near the basketball court. I introduced my daughters (the younger one had also come along) to my friend, met her son, chatted for a while and returned home. My daughter was keen on knowing more about this friend of mine - after all, she was meeting her for the first time.
I told her she was my classmate from college. She then wanted to know if this classmate had been a friend then.

Now, this really set me thinking. Back in college, in a class of about 60-odd students, I was part of a group of 8 friends - the close knit group that only school or college kids can form - meeting each other daily, sitting together, having lunch together, bunking class together or giggling and laughing together at our own jokes. All the others in the class were, well, classmates, I guess; or simply put, 'plain' friends and not 'close' friends.

But now, after several years out of college, all classmates seem to be like good old friends. Isn't that strange? I guess a lot of that has to do with the fact that we have known each other for over 5 years, have shared the same classroom, have spent the same time growing up and of course have a lot of common friends and common experiences. The memories of things we did and enjoyed as college students wipes away the imaginary boundaries that we had earlier created when forming groups in the class. Now, we think of everyone in the class as just one big group of friends!

Also, having moved on in life, we collect and make more friends - so they are now broadly categorised as friends from school, from college, from office, neighbours, etc..

So, coming back to my daughter's question, I told her she was a 'classmate' then but now she's a friend!!