Urvi's World : Child Art and Imagination

Minuet in G

2012-02-10T06:20:00.003+01:00

This video has been lying on my laptop for over 3 months. Yes, I have been characteristically lazy. This was recorded during a practice session with Urvi's teacher, Mr Washington, who is on the piano.

PaperArtz, GOONJ, Twinklers

2011-12-01T05:15:00.007+01:00

These are 3 NGOs we have interacted with recently.

PaperArtz: As a child, I always painted cards for birthdays and holidays. While they did not look professional like printed greeting cards, they had a personal touch. Even now, when I visit my older relatives, they will often fish out a card I had drawn for them years ago, to show my daughter :)

As far as possible, I make Urvi draw greeting cards, too. And PaperArtz made our job easier!

It is a unique initiative, where your artwork is printed on a set of 12 greeting cards, which you could now share with friends and family. They have tied up with several schools in Bangalore (including Urvi's) where a part of the profits from the greeting cards thus sold, are used to support local charities.

This is Urvi's contribution for our holiday card this year.

To see how you can get your artwork printed, or how you can support them, visit the website, http://paperartz.org/

GOONJ: This is an award winning NGO doing absolutely fantastic work at the grass-root level. One of their many initiatives is 'Vastra-Samman', providing clothing for every man, woman and child on the street. Unlike most other NGOs who will take only wearable clothes in good condition, GOONJ will take just about anything. Even scrap clothes will be re-stitched and put to good use.

We recently organized a clothes collection drive for GOONJ in our community. The response was overwhelming. The effort, among other things, gave me an opportunity to meet many of my neighbours for the first time, and I feel fortunate to be part of a community with such wonderful, generous and conscientious people. To know more about GOONJ and how you can organize a similar drive in your area, visit their website www.goonj.org. They have also tied up with Pantaloons where you can drop off your old clothes in any of their showrooms in India.

Twinklers Public School:

Another social initiative taken up by our community is selling of old newspaper, and using the money thus generated to fund local charities. The children of our community are most enthusiastic about this project, and once every 3 months, you will find a host of them running around, ringing doorbells and carrying heaps of newspaper for this purpose. In the last 1 year, we have managed to generate Rs 54,000/- with this effort alone!! The money has been used to support many local charities, from slum schools to old age homes. We prefer not to donate in cash, so we generally visit the charity and find out what their requirements are.

On one such visit, I went to Twinklers Public School, run by the Samvrudhi Trust. This is a small orphanage school in JP Nagar, Bangalore, where about 70 children are receiving free boarding and education.

It is a very nice set-up with small classrooms and volunteer teachers. I was especially impressed with the quality of the work done in class. In the higher grades (VI and VII) they do not have more than 2 or 3 students, but the Principal, Ms Sunitha does not want to send these children to the free government school, where she knows the quality of education would be far below standards. As always, the main problem with running such schools remains funding and availability of volunteer teachers. If you know of anyone who is willing to volunteer, or can support the school in any way, do pass on the information.

Nine!

2011-11-22T13:34:00.002+01:00

OMG, that's halfway to 18!! AAAAhhhhhhhh!!

Urvi with her new bike on her b'day :)

Fancy hats

2011-11-15T18:48:00.006+01:00

November 14th is Childrens' Day in India.

As part of the day-long celebrations in Urvi's school, there was a 'fancy hat' contest. We decided to make an eco-friendly 'green' hat.

Halfway through the production of this hat, we received some unexpected help in the form of Bawa and Dinesh (of the Bawa and Dinesh fame)! Once they were done raiding the refrigerator and pillow-fighting with Urvi, they were made to sit in in one place and paint...carrots!

The Go-Green Wizards modelling our unfinished hat!

You can probably see some of the carrots on the table :)

And Ta-Da! This is the final look...

I am the Go-Green witch and this is my Go-Green Witch hat. Made with 100% recycled materials!

And guess what? This hat won first prize:)!! YIPPPEEEEE!!

An Award and a Sleep-Over

2011-11-12T16:41:00.008+01:00

Some weeks ago, we received a very exciting news: K was this year's recipient of the prestigious Hillel Einhorn New Investigator award, given by the Society of Judgment and Decision Making! Past recipients have been stalwarts of social science research, like George Loewenstein (CMU), Eldar Shafir (Princeton) and Dan Ariely (MIT/Duke). This is the first time the award has reached the Indian shores...so yes, it is a pretty big deal :)

Here is an excerpt from the congratulatory email from the Chair of the Awards Committee:

Dear Kanchan,

On behalf of the Hillel Einhorn New Investigator Award selection committee, I am delighted to tell you that you have been selected as this year's winner! You should know that we had a record number of submissions this year and that the committee felt that the quality was exceptionally high. We judged your paper to be "the best of the best".

So, last weekend K was at Seattle collecting the award and presenting his paper.

Meanwhile, Urvi and I made our own plans for the weekend!

She had been wanting to call her friend Devika over for a sleepover, and this was the perfect time for one.

We stayed up late, ate pizza, watched Mary Poppins and Sound of Music for the hundredth time and played Draw Out...Well it was meant to be a Stay-up-over'!

We decided that even though we thoroughly enjoyed our girl-time together, we did kinda miss being ignored by the man in our lives :)

Rajyotsava

2011-11-01T16:45:00.003+01:00

Today is the Karnataka Rajyotsava Day, literally the birthday of the state of Karnataka.

For quite some time now, I have been attempting to learn Kannada. One day, I told Urvi that the Kannada script looks really complicated.

Pat comes the reply, No, its really easy. You just have to write Ws and decorate them :)

A Lesson in Will Power

2011-10-28T18:57:00.004+02:00

Of late, we have been a little concerned with the progress in Math in Urvi's class. Most kids struggle with Math, hence the teacher is going really slow. Fair enough. Except that the kids who have already mastered a concept, feel bored and uninterested.

We found Urvi's interest in Math dwindling and she complained that they were having to do the same things over and over again. To supplement schoolwork therefore, I decided to give her some extra lessons in Math at home. We worked out a plan, where every time she masters a new concept, she gets a star. When she accumulates 4 stars, she gets a pizza.

Urvi LOVES pizza!

She can have pizza for breakfast, lunch, dinner and for 'gouter' (snack) in between. 24/7. 365. No other food even comes close. When the Pizza Hut delivery guy rings our doorbell, she jumps up and down and does a little jig before answering the door. THAT'S how much she loves pizza!

Now, 2 days into the math program, her dad announces that he can't wait for the 4 stars, and has to have pizza RIGHT NOW! (Told you I have 2 kids!)

Urvi says, No, I have only 1 star.
K: That's alright. You can have a pizza.
Urvi: No.
K: Let tonight's pizza be an advance treat. You can have the next one after 8 stars.
Urvi: No.
K: Can I have pizza alone, then?
Urvi: Sure. Go ahead.
K: You are sure you don't want pizza?
Urvi: Yes.
K: I'm not going to share mine with you. Don't come asking for pizza once it arrives. If you want one, tell me now before I order.
Urvi. No, I don't want pizza till I get my 4 stars.

K orders his pizza and when it arrives, he does another round of coaxing. 'Look Rai, there's garlic bread. Have a garlic bread at least...that's not even pizza.'

Urvi: But it came with the pizza. I'll have both AND choco lava cake when I get my 4 stars.

At this point, even I weakened. Rai, I said, if you want the garlic bread or a slice of the pizza, go ahead. We'll get another pizza when you get your 4 stars.

Urvi: No. I'll enjoy the taste of pizza and garlic bread more when I have earned my 4 stars.

I cannot even begin to say how proud I am of my little girl today.

Now if only the 41 year old would learn a thing or two from the 8 year old...

Birthdays and Navaratri

2011-10-19T15:00:00.004+02:00

Oct 3rd, K turned ...40 something.

It was also Mahasaptami, an auspicious day during the Navaratri festivals. So in the evening we decked up in our traditional best, and went to the ashram.

Once the kids had been fed, they settled down nicely to watch the elaborate yagnas and the droning chants that accompanied them. Much to my surprise, K even joined in the humming of a Shiva bhajan. For a brief second, I wondered if I was sitting next to the right guy.

Like I said, it was a brief second.

When a friend called to wish him on his birthday, he said 'We are in the ashram.'
Friend asks, 'Oh? What are you doing in the ashram?'
K confidently replies, 'Don't you know? These days Shivaratri is going on...'

In India there is a saying for every situation. And one such saying goes, After listening to the entire Ramayana, you ask Sita is whose dad?

Well anyways, this is what Urvi drew for her father's birthday!

She carried her art supplies on most days of the Navaratri and sketched merrily away.

This is the Durga she drew during Chandi Homa on ashtami day.

Bawa and Dinesh's birthday too were around the same time. I love the pic she drew for them. But unfortunately it was completed only during Rudra Puja that evening, so I did not get time to scan it.

p.s: After about an hour of the chanting and the homas, K remarked he was getting bored. They are just doing the same thing over and over again, he said. I, on the other hand, could not get enough of it. The difference: K had his eyes open, and mine were closed :)

A Scenery

2011-09-15T18:57:00.001+02:00

Happy Teachers Day!

2011-09-04T20:39:00.003+02:00

We made these fairy pop-up cards for all of Urvi's teachers at school.

You are a good Mamma

2011-09-02T18:48:00.002+02:00

Lately, our little girl has been quite the rebel.

If I say 'red', she says 'green'. If I say 'green' hoping she would say 'red', she would get that I actually want her to say 'red' and would therefore insist on 'yellow'. The immediate result of this almost constant 'conflict' has been soaring tempers, pouting and an occasional teary outburst. K and I found ourselves thinking aloud, What will happen when she hits the teens?

When I scold her, she thinks I am being mean. I tell her, I'd be a really bad parent if I did not correct her when she was wrong. Wouldn't she rather get scolded by me than by an outsider for the same mistake? That just makes me sound more mean.

Last week, I decided to chill. Told her, we should spend some 'girl time' together, do some 'girl stuff'. So we made pretty fairy cards for Teachers' Day, dined out (just the two of us, no 'garcons') and treated ourselves to late-night ice-creams at Naturals (our current favorite ice-cream parlour). We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves, so much so, that the Dad, feeling rather left out and ignored, even offered Rs 50 to Urvi as pocket money instead of the Rs 10 a week that we had mutually agreed upon. (In this day of Annagiri, I find that despicable Mr Professor).

It could be the ice-cream or it could be everything we did earlier, but temperatures did fall. So much so that Urvi has been quite exceptional this week---doing her homework without being told to do so, switching off the TV when asked once, being generally more responsible. She even offered to return the week's pocket money, acknowledging that she had perhaps not rightfully deserved it.

This afternoon we were talking about an incident that happened with one of her friends, and she suddenly says, 'You are a good Mamma.'

Yup! My day is made :)

A Tree

2011-08-06T17:09:00.001+02:00

Painted by Urvi in her art class this week.

The anthem

2011-07-16T14:04:00.004+02:00

Urvi playing the National Anthem, Jana gana mana. She picked it up on her own, without any notations and without any help from her teacher.

Experimental Methods 101

2011-06-18T18:19:00.003+02:00

A certain TV commercial for a popular washing powder shows the person selling the powder (A) pouring beetroot juice, ketchup and orange juice on an already soiled T-shirt. He then cuts the T-shirt in half, keeps one half for himself and gives the other half to person B (who, as always, is adamant that these 'stubborn' stains cannot be removed).

Person B then dips her half of the T-shirt in a washing powder of her choice, and if possible, it comes out even dirtier than before.

Person A, now does the same with the brand of washing powder he plans to dazzle everyone with. And surprise! The T-shirt comes out sparkling clean!

Urvi sees the commercial and remarks, May be person B did not scrub the T-shirt well enough while person A did!

Hearing this, her behavioral scientist father is thrilled that his 8 year old has identified basic flaws in the exercise. Based on what was shown, one cannot conclusively say, that the 'control specimen' and the 'test specimen' underwent identical treatments save for the manipulating variable to test for causal hypothesis. (Ya, I know..)

P.S: It is not always that the same 8 year old refuses to believe everything she sees on TV. Why else is she convinced that a particular brand of cookie, consumed in multiples of three, are enough to meet her daily Calcium requirement?

Happy birthday, Mamma!

2011-05-27T15:04:00.003+02:00

Cards, paintings, hugs, wishes, the Guru's blessings, satsang, friends, chocolate cake and an exotic dessert...Who says birthdays aren't as great as they used to be in your younger days?!

A Mystery!

2011-05-08T15:48:00.003+02:00

There is a daunting case on my hand
Of a mysterious, invisible mailman
He delivers mail all over the world
Even to unknown, faraway lands

No one has ever seen him come
Yet the letter is there in my mailbox
Even on Sundays and holidays
Past midnight on the clocks

Who sends me these mysterious letters
Written in an elegant hand?
It doesn’t have a return address
Or even a proper stamp!

Well one such envelope came this morning
(Take note, its a Sunday)
It was stamped with a Kiss, and sealed with Love
And said, Happy Mothers’ Day!

I can’t say for sure I have solved the case
But I have a sneaking suspicion
Those muffled giggles behind my back
Could well be the clue I’ve been missing

Your beautiful thoughts made my day
Thank you, dear invisible stranger
Being a mother is the most wonderful job
I truly could have asked for

(Between you and me though, sometimes
I wish you’d mysteriously do the cleaning
The dishes, the laundry, the groceries, too
But hey, who’s complaining?)

Summer garden

2011-05-05T14:47:00.005+02:00

Our 'garden' is now very green and full of flowers and buds ready to blossom. Much credit goes to Nini and Dadu, who during their stays here put in quite a bit of effort.

I am most thrilled about the rose bud, the first after almost 6 months of patient labour and love :)

Rio

2011-04-19T19:21:00.005+02:00

The movie starts with an endangered blue macaw called Blu (brought up as a pet in Minnesota) who has to woo the only female of his species, Jewel, a spirited blue macaw with an attitude, who has been brought to an aviary in Rio de Janeiro for this very purpose. They both get kidnapped by bird traffickers and what follows is a whirlwind adventure of them trying to escape and their owners trying to find them. All this during Rio's biggest festival, the Carnivale!

It had all the elements of a good family movie---some terrific action which made watching the movie in 3D a lot of fun, a continuous explosion of colors (exotic tropical birds in a carnival in Rio!), a few good laughs, and ultimately a story about breaking one's barriers and fighting all odds for your one true love. Just my kind of movie...

Urvi's Adventure

2011-04-14T18:36:00.006+02:00

Once upon a time, there was a little girl called Urvi. She lived with her mother and father. One day, urvi and her parents went to a mall called 'The Place (where) You Can Find Everything except houses, mirrors, doors and cupboards!' They went to the third floor to get boxes to keep things like beads and ribbons. Just then, Urvi spotted a lovely rainbow colored box and said, "Mommy, Daddy, can I have that box?"

"Yes, you can have it," said her mother and gave it to her.

When they went home, Urvi opened the box to keep her beads, and a tiny fairy and a talking and flying unicorn came out of the box!

Urvi was amazed to see a fairy and a unicorn.

"What are your names?" asked Urvi.

"I am Bella," said the unicorn.

"And I am Amy," said the fairy. "What is yours?"

"I am Urvi," said Urvi. "Do you want to meet my parents?"

"Yes, please!" they said.

So they went with Urvi to meet her parents. "Mommy, Daddy, these are my friends Bella and Amy," she said. "Can they stay with us?"

"Yes, of course!" said her parents.

The next day Amy and Bella looked a little worried.

"Why are you looking so worried?" asked Urvi.

"We just remembered that our friend Tomy, the talking tomato has been captured by a dragon!" explained Bella.

"We have to rescue him," said Urvi. "Where is the dragon?"

"In the Mammoth Caves in the U.S.A!" said Bella.

Urvi went to ask her mother and father if they could go to Mammoth Caves in the U.S.A.

"Yes, of course, but Bella won't be able to go in a plane," said her father.

"I could change Bella into a human," said Amy.

So, the next day, they went to the airport and from there they went to the U.S.A.

Amy changed Bella into a unicorn again, and the three of them went to the Mammoth Caves to save Tomy. When they went inside the cave they saw a dragon city.

"Hey, look there!" said Urvi, and pointed to a mall called The Place (where) You can Find Everything except houses, mirrors, doors and cupboards! "Let's check inside if we can find the dragon who captured Tomy."

They went inside the mall and guess who they found? The dragon!

Amy flew to see if Tomy was there in his basket. He was! She flew back to the others. "He is there!" said Amy looking excited.

Urvi went to tell the dragon that he had mistake(n)ly captured their friend.

"Excuse me, but I think you mistake(n)ly took our friend. He is a talking tomato."

The dragon looked surprised and said, "What is your name?"

"My name is Urvi. And these are my friends Amy and Bella. What is yours?"

"My name is Slippitidoo," said the dragon. "I am vegetarian. I am really sorry to take your friend. Here you go."

"You are very kind," said Urvi, Amy, Bella and Tomy. "Would you like to be our friend?"

"Yes, I would love to be your friend."

"Why don't your four stay with me forever?" asked Urvi.

"We would love to," they said.

The five of them went home with Urvi for lunch.

Urvi asked her parents if they could stay with her forever.

"Yes, they can," said her mother and father.

The End

P.S: Now you know why I don't have much time for blogging these days . In addition to Urvi, there's a fairy, a unicorn, a dragon and a talking tomato in our home. You are very welcome to come visit them anytime...

Summer Camp 2011

2011-04-04T20:17:00.008+02:00

We've been getting Summer Camp fliers with the newspapers everyday. Camps where your child gets to swim, play cricket, learn chess, do pottery, baking, art and craft, aero-modeling, karate, act, dance, sing and what not. The list is endless. The camps even pick up and drop your child at hours that correspond fairly closely to school hours. The fliers promise us a peaceful summer where parents won't need to hear 'I'm getting bored!' from the child 20 times a day. Some even warn us, 'You won't know what your child is missing out on, unless you try this.' One flier said, 'Your child will be coached and trained to be a super-achiever in life.'

The summer holidays I remember from my school days meant getting to sleep till late, spending much of the remaining morning discovering unknown nooks and corners in neighbors' homes while playing hide and seek with friends, curling up with a good mystery book in the afternoon, slurping mango juice while listening to Musical Band Box on All India Radio and purposely getting drenched in the kalboishakhi rains even if it meant a severe reprimand for every sneeze that followed. Call me old-fashioned, but I'll live those summers a thousand times over, even if it meant not 'super-achieving' anything in life.

Seeing that almost all of Urvi's friends have joined one or more of the above mentioned camps, we were half-tempted to do the same. But I'm glad we chose otherwise. We have decided to do a summer camp of our own. We'll paint, write stories, cook, do some gardening, re-do her room, read plenty of books, watch some nice movies, and most importantly have fun. None of this involves 'sticking to a schedule', which somehow does not go hand in hand with 'fun'.

Thus far, we've made these mermaid book-marks...

And made these fairy-wands, which we waved at the television set during the World Cup matches. Well, now you know why India won! :)

There's plenty more to come...so do come back soon!

Bangalore, Blyton, Book

2011-03-24T06:32:00.006+01:00

It seems I only have time to give updates these days :) So, here's a quick recap of what we've been up to.

1. Emma's visit! She was thrilled to see monkeys on the street on her very first day in India :) Though, Petra (her mom) said she'll believe she is really in India when they see an elephant! That they did, in Kabini Jungle. And after spending a fortnight here, touring palaces, jungles, mountains, temples, shops and feasting their eyes on the sheer variety of just about everything here, they decided that life in France was really 'dull'. I hear they are planning their next visit already! Urvi was very thrilled to meet Emma after so long. Though there were some initial hiccups (Urvi has almost forgotten French, and Emma has not started learning English, yet) they managed to communicate pretty effectively. Thanks to Emma and Bea, we now have two new French books to read :)

2. Dadu and Thammi (K's parents) are currently visiting, so we are doing another round of Bangalore darshan with them. Its been a pilgrimage of sorts. First Puttaparthi (Sai Baba's ashram), then Art of Living ashram followed by the ISKCON temple. On the agenda were also Pondicherry and Tirupathi, which could not happen this time round. Had the most delicious vegetarian grub at the ISKCON restaurant. The place is called 'The Higher Taste'. Interesting!

3. Urvi played a solo violin piece at the school's Annual Day function. I admire her poise. I'm sure I'd have been a bundle of nerves on stage in front of so many people. Her final term assessments (easy breezy lemon squeezy, apparently) just got over, and she's on her way to 4th grade.

4. She's finished 5 Five Find-Outer books recently and is writing 'secret messages' with home-made 'invisible ink' made from lemon juice. You have to heat the paper over candle-light to make them visible.

5. K just finished his first term of teaching. He was a bit apprehensive, not having taught before, but the students seemed to enjoy his course thoroughly (lots of desk banging and animated discussions). And...he got the highest teacher rating for the course! :)

6. My book is out on the stores! The feedback thus far has been very encouraging. You'll find a couple of newspaper reviews here and here.

More later! Ciao!

An update

2011-02-13T14:06:00.003+01:00

I have neglected this blog long enough!

I attend to it now, finally heeding to the constant pricking of my conscience, while indulging in the few minutes of unadulterated luxury that only fine Darjeeling tea can offer.

A lot has been happening...

First, my book, The All Bengali Crime Detectives, has been released. Its the story of the unlikeliest detectives one can think of--- four recently retired Bengali men. I remember once my sister-in-law, who is Tamilian was thinking aloud as to what the topic of her PhD thesis should be, and my cousin (obviously, Bengali) promptly said 'Bengali men'. You might want to read the story to find out why :)

Urvi is almost through third grade! She is currently inseparable from her recent acquisition, a scooter. She glides in and out of every room constantly, and will take any excuse to ride it. Earlier, requests like 'Get me the remote, please ' were usually replied with 'Why do I have to do everything around here?!' Now before you can even form the request in your mind, she will go 'Mamma, please, please,please, can I get the remote for you, please, please, please?'

She is also literally devouring Enid Blyton books. I remember as a kid I was completely hooked on to the Five-Find-Outers series, and when I saw them recently at a bookstore, could not resist the temptation to buy a few for Urvi. To my utter delight, she is enjoying them thoroughly, literally finishing a book in 2-3 days. I think my job as a mother is (almost) done :)!

Her best friend from France, Emma, is currently visiting India!!! She is in Mysore now, doing the touristy circuits, and will be in Bangalore next week!! We are all so looking forward to this reunion.

Voila! Voila!
That's all for now...
Take care everyone!

1.1.11

2011-01-01T13:25:00.004+01:00

It's been fairly hectic month and a half with my parents visiting us after a long, long time. They left yesterday, and we suddenly feel a little lost. Urvi is upset that she has no one to play with all day, I am reluctant to assume all household responsibilities all over again, and K...well, he mostly misses the good food that was constantly being cooked in our kitchen.

The house is eerily silent, as one had become used to the voice of newsreaders announcing headlines in Bengali, in between Nana's jokes (most of which will be lost to non-Bengalis). Here is one, though:

Person A to B: I went to the French film festival this week.
Person B: Oh? What films did you see?
Person A: Lawaris and Lamhe.

(Yes, I realize no one is laughing)

Nana thinks, rather knows, he has a great singing voice, and much to Urvi's distress, he picked up some christmas carols from her song book, as well as a couple of Art of Living bhajans, happily inserted his own lyrics, and sang them aloud, pretty much all day long.

Once, I was really mad at K for some reason, and said, in utter exasperation, "I wonder what you'll be like when you're 70!"

My mom, very coolly pointed to dad and said, "There! See for yourself!"

I shudder...I shudder...

I thought my plants had all died, till my mom breathed new life into them. The jasmine, which had been reduced to a rickety stick, is now green and full of buds. The lady has magic in her fingers, I tell you.

The first thing Urvi said this morning when she woke up was, "Can I go to Kolkata today?"

Wishing everyone a very Happy 2011!

(We made some very pretty greeting cards with pressed flowers. That's in our next post...)

Merry Christmas, Joyeux Noel!

2010-12-25T06:59:00.006+01:00

Urvi is big enough to know that Santa doesn't exist. She knows it well enough to argue with other kids who don't know the best kept secret yet. She'll be amazed at how blind some children are. Yet...come December 24th, all that reasoning will go straight out of the window, and she'll be leaving treats for Santa, wondering what gifts he'll bring this time, and get a trifle bit anxious about all the naughty deeds she's been up to lately...

Well, Santa hasn't disappointed. What's the hurry in growing up? I say...er...Santa says ;)

That's our tree this year. Many of the Christmas ornaments were home-made with knickknacks lying about.

And this is Urvi playing Rudolph...

Merry Christmas, everyone! Joyeux Noel à tous!

Concert

2010-12-15T06:14:00.004+01:00

Last Sunday was the annual concert at Furtados School of Music, where Urvi has been taking violin lessons since September this year. She played her favorite piece, Allegro. Apologies for the quality, it was shot using a camera phone.

This is her practicing for the concert.

These days she tries picking up songs without knowing the notations. Sometime back she started playing 'Happy birthday', then 'Frere Jacques' and last night she was trying out 'Rudolph, the Red Nosed Reindeer'. Its still work-in-progress, but she has managed to get quite a bit of it right :)

Newspaper carry bags

2010-12-07T05:28:00.002+01:00

We made these for the return gifts this year :)

Happy birthday, Urvi!

2010-11-21T16:07:00.005+01:00

‘Twas nine long years ago
That we went shopping for a daughter
Daddy and I searched far and wide
Behind the hills and yonder

Above the screen of fluffy clouds
Beyond horizon’s border
Is a little shop that calls itself
Babies Made to Order

We leafed through the catalogue
Unsure of what we wanted
An artist? A scientist? A professor?
Long and hard we debated

‘Madame et Monsieur, may I ‘elp you?’
Asked a charming little fairy
‘We ‘ave babies of every kind ‘ere
From cute to naughty and scary

‘Ow about za little boy
Whiz hair all brown and curly
You could zing togezer ‘appy ballads
While he played ze ukelele

Or ‘ow about za scientist
Whiz an inquisitive, questioning mind?
A philosopher, poet or painter?
Ze reflective, sensitive kind?

An acrobat? A ventriloquist?
Or zomeone whiz an artistique bent
A doctor, engineer, cartographer?
May be a future prezident?’

The choices were many and all too tempting
And it would take but a simple spell
But our list was long, so we custom made
Our little mademoiselle

A little streak of mischief
A dash of girly charm
Spoonfuls of courage to face her fears
With dignity and calm

A herb for all the strength she might need
The go-get-what-you-want-now potion
(In hindsight though, we should have used this one
In absolute moderation)

A kind heart, a warm smile
Eyes that were filled with wonder
(The fine print in this label had read
May have a temper like lightning and thunder)

For nine long months we waited
While the fairies did their thing
Then on a starry night in November
The stork delivered an earthling

One look at this little bundle
And we knew we had done it right
There was no doubt, this was very definitely
Love at first sight

Happy birthday, little angel
May your life be filled with laughter
May you find all that you seek
Thank you for being our daughter

All our love,
Mamma and Bapi

Happy Diwali!

2010-11-05T16:48:00.003+01:00

Three things one needs to do for a happy Diwali:
1. Light the lamp of knowledge
2.Eat sweets (to dissolve bitterness)
3.Burst crackers (of negativity)

Wishing everyone a very happy Diwali!!

Urvi painted and decorated these diyas, and then we lit our home and some 'fuljharis' :)

Homework

2010-10-30T12:18:00.003+02:00

Urvi: Mamma, can I finish my homework later?

Me: How much is left?

Urvi: Just 2 more sums...

Me: It took me half an hour to coax, cajole, then threaten you to switch off the TV. Then another 15 minutes for you to stop grumbling, find all your books and settle down. Pencils, erasers, sharpener and ruler have all been found, lost and found again. Now, just for 2 more sums, we have to repeat this entire execise again in the evening?!

Urvi: Okay, okay! I'll finish it now!

p.s: K should invite me for a guest lecture in his next 'negotiation' class :)

Pujo 2010...

2010-10-19T05:16:00.010+02:00

was unlike any I had ever witnessed! A Pujo (worship) in the true sense of the word...where Divinity was not an obscure concept, but was alive, palpable, throbbing with life in every corner... and Devotion transcended all barriers of identity, religion, culture and nationality.

For Bengalis, Durga Pujo is the biggest festival of the year. This is the time of the year we would look forward to the most, when Ma Durga would come riding on her lion killing the demon Mahishashura, thus putting an end to all evil. These 4 to 5 days of her annual visit constitutes a festival of gigantic proportions, where the Goddess and her children are worshiped and venerated.

However, even as a kid, I had often found myself questioning the 'Pujo' aspect of it. It was the priests who conducted the Pujo, chanting sanskrit shlokas, showering the Goddess with flowers and herbs, while the rest of the 'devotees', would be engrossed in discussing new clothes, jewellery, eating joints in the case of women, and politics, sports and the price of shrimps in the market, in the case of men. The only serious involvement was during the time of 'anjali', an offering of flowers to the Goddess, where the devotees were required to arrive on time at the pandal, and repeat some shlokas after the priest. Once that was over, and it only took about 10 minutes, one could pick up the discussion of sarees and jewellery where it had been rudely interrupted.

How much of mind share did I give to the beloved Ma Durga? It is amazing to see how easy it was to get caught up in the mundane material world even in those few days reserved for the Divine.

Pujo at the Art of Living ashram in Bangalore started early every day, with Vedic hymns being chanted by the priests and elaborate yagnas (offerings into the pure fire). About 15,000 people coming from every corner of the globe, representing various faiths and diverse cultures, would listen with rapt attention, would meditate, would feel the connection with the Divine. The Vedic chants were interspersed with melodious devotional songs of the Divine Mother, often ending in a wild crescendo, followed by deep silence the very next moment.

The 9 days/nights of Navaratri are symbolic of the 9 months a child spends in the womb of the mother, and in a way it represents the blossoming of the consciousness to its fullest. The first 3 days have high Tamas (dullness, lethargy), the next 3 days have high Rajas (high activity) and the last 3 days are high Satva (purity, bliss).

While in Kolkata, the days of the Pujo were also an added excuse to gorge on various delicacies (usually non-veg), here we were advised to keep a fast the first few days, having only fruits and liquids. In the evenings, I would go for the Lalitha Sahasranamam chanting (1000 names of the Divine Mother), an exercise that I have come to love.

The elaborate yagna preparation

Another startling difference was in the attires. The ladies were decked up in gorgeous sarees, all looking like Devis themselves, while all the men were in stark white 'angavastrams'. Though K could not (did not) join us in the ashram, I was super-impressed to see how he had totally come to accept my erratic schedule, not complaining once about the general lack of any order at home. I am inclined to believe that the vedic chants we were singing at the ashram, for the general peace of the planet, have had an effect on his psyche as well :) Urvi had come to love the evenings, with lively bhajans, dancing (though she refused to join in), and surprises like Sri Sri playing the Veena.

The ashram elephant Indrani, during Chandi Homa

It was wonderful to meet up with our French family once again, and get thoroughly pampered with yummy cheese and chocolates.

I feel like I have seen a real Pujo for the first time. And for that I consider myself immensely fortunate.

Shubho Bijoya to all!

p.s: All photos courtesy of Manu. No photography was allowed inside, which is a good thing, as otherwise it would be a distraction.

Happy Birthday, Bawa!

2010-09-22T20:34:00.000+02:00

Spiced Yogurt

2010-09-09T12:08:00.003+02:00

Meditation makes one enjoy life 100%. Practice of meditation refines one's senses and sense-organs so that one is able to hear instruments in a symphony one has never heard before, see beauty in the most unlikely places or appreciate subtle flavors in a dish.

Most readers here (having stumbled upon 'Urvi's World' through Bawa's blog) would have experienced this above statement themselves. And here is my undeniable proof: Spiced Yogurt!

Recently, I made this raita, a 'yogurt dip' (among other dishes) for friends, and quite unexpectedly, this became an instant hit. Now, this speaks volumes (either way) of my culinary skills... but jokes apart, people just couldn't get enough of it. The first day I made it with 300g of yogurt, the next day with 600g and the third day with 1200g...no matter how much raita I made, there just did not seem to be enough. Everyone lapped it up in no time.

Okay, so may be ...just may be, they were being polite...

So I made it again, just 2 nights back for a new set of people...and the reaction was exactly the same! Wow! What have you put in this?!

This morning I got an sms from Srikanth (one of the raita tasters) that said that this has now become a part of his daily diet, and that I should definitely give it a name and put the recipe on the blog :)

The recipe couldn't be any simpler. I took the yogurt (Brittania) and whisked it nicely with sugar (approx. 1 tbsp for every 100gms of yogurt). In a small sauce-pan I warmed some olive oil (cold-pressed, extra virgin), added to this mustard seeds and curry leaves. Then poured the oil mixture onto the whisked yogurt. Yup! Its that simple!

Now coming back to my proof...the only person who found absolutely nothing spectacular about the raita was the husband. He couldn't figure out what everyone was ooh-ing and aah-ing about.

You guessed it... He doesn't meditate.

And yup! All the others do :)!

Happy Teachers' Day!

2010-09-05T13:55:00.003+02:00

We made these flower bookmarks for all of Urvi's teachers at school.

They celebrated Teachers' Day last Friday, and Urvi played the song 'Perpetual Motion' on the violin before the whole school. Her Principal sent us a note that said, 'Dear Parents, Your daughter plays the violin like an angel.' :)

Her violin teacher, Mr.Washington, was very happy to hear this. Urvi drew a picture for him for Teachers' Day (a little girl with a violin on horseback!) but I did not get time to scan it.

K was surprised to get a 'Happy Teachers' Day' SMS from his institute, then remembered (with some sadness) that he was 'technically' done being a student...

Happy Birthday, Krishna!

2010-09-01T10:35:00.005+02:00

Today is Krishna's birthday!

Krishna is one Indian God Urvi is absolutely obsessed with. This butter-stealing, gopi-teasing, mischief-making God is not just a character in mythological stories or someone stuck in clay or brass idols for her. As far as Urvi is concerned, He is very, very real. She talks to Him, writes to Him, plays with Him, just like other girls this age play with Barbie dolls. In the bedtime stories that I tell her, she would often insist that Krishna pops up somewhere in a guest appearance...never mind, if the stories are that of Cinderalla or the Princess and the Pea. Her favorites though are the ones which Urvi meets Krishna.

Her favorite songs are Krishna bhajans (devotional songs). She even made a Krishna doll cut out of paper and hung it from the rear-view mirror of our car, so that Krishna can look after her dad when he drives.

This year there was some confusion regarding the birthday...unlike Christmas it does not fall on the same day every year. Some said 2nd september, some said 1st. Exasperated, she wrote a letter to Krishna...it read, "Dear Krishna, Please tell me when it is your birthday. Love, Rai." She colored the letters, cut it out in the shape of a heart, folded it, and placed it near the foot of a brass idol of Krishna that I have on my altar.

Imagine her surprise and delight when next day she unfolded the paper, and below her question were written the words:

Dear Rai, My birthday is on the 1st. Please come celebrate with me in the ashram. Love, Krishna.

She read it with a twinkle in her eyes, and then said, "Mamma, you wrote it, right?"

Sigh! My little girl's growing up...

p.s: Rai is another name for Radha...there couldn't have been a more apt name for her :)

Door sign

2010-08-17T16:12:00.003+02:00

We made this funny door sign for Urvi's room last week :)
There are 2 spiders hanging from a web...

One looks angry and says 'KEEP OUT!'

The other is all smiles and says 'COME IN'.

Cool, na? :)

Jai Hind!

2010-08-15T14:33:00.003+02:00

Its one of those days, one can't but feel immensely proud to be Indian!

Urvi has been learning patriotic songs over the last month, and will sing them for whoever cares to listen. Listening to her 'Ei Mere Vataan key Logon' and 'Sarey Jahan Se Accha' I'm reminded of the Independence Day programs back in school. They've also spent the month making posters on freedom fighters and the various national symbols...the tiger, the lotus, the flag, the anthem...

As the papers splash news of the million problems and issues India faces today, I find myself thinking, there is no other Mother I would rather have...

Proud to be an Indian!
Jai Hind!
Vande Mataram!

Urvi's garden

2010-07-21T07:25:00.006+02:00

Urvi is super-excited about her new room. She vacillated between several themes for the decor---unicorn, jungle, princess, princess on a unicorn in a jungle, princess on a unicorn in a jungle and an ocean by the side with dolphins jumping in and out of the water etc etc--but finally, we decided to not be over-ambitious, and start nice and easy with a garden theme.

We bought her a bed with a suitable headboard and flowery bedspreads.

But something was amiss...

A bit of magic....

So amidst constant foreboding from our only male room-mate (who, these days, is given to erupting on his version of the 'waka waka' dance whenever things don't quite seem to go right)--we, Urvi and I, embarked on our most ambitious art project till date.

One weekend and a few empty paint pots later, we have this...TA DA!

I drew the tree and the birds free-hand on the wall, and then Urvi and I painted it with poster paint. I cannot even begin to describe how kicked I am that it turned out so perfect at the very first attempt. Urvi said she was so engrossed in the painting that she forgot about Spongebob and 'Phineas and Ferb'. (See Spongebob, you're not that big a competition!)

Some details...

The owl

The macaw

The peacock...

Even K couldn't help but be impressed. We took pity on him and let him paint a few leaves :)

What say now, Doubting Thomas...er Kanchan?

An Observation

2010-07-18T06:20:00.005+02:00

Urvi: Do you know why a lion is the King of the jungle?

Kanchan: No. Why?

Urvi: 'Cause he is powerful AND patient.

New Life, New Jobs

2010-07-11T17:42:00.005+02:00

Its been exactly a month since we arrived in Bangalore. We've moved to an apartment near IIM, and up until a few days ago, we had been 'camping'. That's code word for nothing-in-the-house-except-bare-necessities and dinner is usually a choice between khichdi, Maggi and Domino's Pizza. Hey! At least I gave them a choice!

Urvi has started school. Its called Sherwood High, a new school very close to our place. Thus far, we are super impressed with the school. The infrastructure is comparable to any international school here, yet the fee is very reasonable. They have put an incredible amount of thought in planning every aspect of the school--- the classrooms, the facilities, the curriculum, the website, the school-bus and yes, even the stationary!

She is learning Hindi and Kannada at school (her 4th and 5th languages) and has made some new friends. And Madhav, her friend from DPS, Singapore has moved into the apartment one floor below, and goes to the same school, same class in the same school-bus. So you can imagine, its a party every day.

Spongebob has slid down the popularity ladder, giving way to the current new favorites, Phineas and Ferb. The show has a catchy title sequence (which Urvi and I hum all the time):

There's a 104 days of summer vacation

And school comes along just to end it

So the annual problem for our generation

Is finding a good way to spend it

Like maybe...

Building a rocket

Or fighting a mummy

Or climbing up the Eiffel Tower

Discovering something that doesn't exist (Hey! )

Or giving a monkey a shower

Surfing tidal waves

Creating nanobots

Or locating Frankenstein's brain (It's over here! )

Finding a dodo bird

Painting a continent

Or driving your sister insane (Phineas! )

As you can see

There's a whole lot of stuff to do

Before school starts this fall (Come on Perry)

So stick with us 'cause Phineas and Ferb

Are gonna do it all

So stick with us 'cause Phineas and Ferb are

Gonna do it all!

(Mom! Phineas and Ferb are making a title sequence! )

K has joined IIM as faculty. He starts teaching this September, and is now busy preparing his course.

And I have my first book contract!!! Details to be posted soon :)

Have been to heaven and back a few times. One musical play I had written, Anand and Benaifer, was enacted by the YES!+ team (youth wing of the Art of Living), and was well appreciated. Here is the experience of one the actors:) Some pics from the show:

All in all, an eventful month! Stay tuned for more...

Incredible India!

2010-06-18T17:45:00.009+02:00

We've lived here for the better part of our lives...yet India continues to take us by surprise :) Its an amazingly surreal feeling, returning Home after almost a decade. Much has changed, yet so much remains the same. At times I realize just how much I had missed her all these years...at times, I feel I had never left...

There have been a few minor hiccups settling down. We came here armed with the confidence that if we could successfully navigate the French system (in French), how much more difficult would the Indian system be? I mean, hello...we are Indian! But man, were we in for a surprise :)
A cell phone connection which we thought would be a cakewalk, took 3 days to happen ... some confusion regarding 'permanent address' and 'current address', neither of which we have at present!

The Airtel (cell phone service provider) retailer asked K to get a xerox of his passport. Thankfully, we had that already, and produced it promptly. He freaked out that the passport was issued in Washington D.C. Helloo...its an Indian passport! He shook his head meaningfully...our hearts sank. But wait! Out here in the south, shaking the head is actually an 'yes'...or is it?!

K was asked for a xerox of the last page as well. We didn't have that.

'You can get a xerox in room 103,' he told us.

'Room 103?'

"Yes, yes," (more shaking of head). "Right there...after the yellow railings, turn lefta." He gave us directions. Helpful guy.

We followed the directions to Room 103 to find it locked.

"Its locked," we told the shopkeeper.

"Yes, yes," he shook his head. And grinned for effect.

We went to the institute library, where after a wait for almost half an hour, K was able to get the xerox required.

We returned triumphantly to the cell-phone shop, now armed with 2 xeroxes. The guy asks for a passport size photo.

"What? You have my photo in the passport! Why do you need another photo?" K is losing it...I can feel it.

"Forma." He points to the form, emphasizing the importance of a photo.

We didn't have a photo with us right then. It was 4 in the afternoon. We hadn't slept the night before. Or the week before in Singapore, for that matter. It was six hours since we landed in India and we still hadn't been able to call our families. (The STD booth on campus was locked as well:))

Have re-learned the forgotten art of bargaining.

To auto- driver: How much to IIM, campus?
Driver: 100 rupees.
Me: 50
(First rule of bargaining, reduce the amount to half)
Driver shakes his head. Or does he nod this time? I can't be sure. Body language can be so confusing.
Driver: 90
Me: 70
Driver: 75
Me: 72
Driver: 72.50
Me: 72.25 (sometimes you just can't help but get into the spirit of things :)

The next day we attempted opening a bank account.

"You will need to give us an address proof,"said the banker.

"What can we show as address proof? We've just moved."

"Take a cellphone subscription, that should be easy." Aha!

"But they are also asking for address proof. What can we show them for address proof?"

"The bank statement."

Like I said, Incredible India!

Things have been moving since then, albeit slowly. We've been given an apartment in a condo nearby--Ajmera Green Acres, its called. Have been shopping for furniture, car, and just about everything else...Setting up home from scratch after a long, long time.

We feel like newly weds. Again.

Wrapping up

2010-06-08T11:07:00.003+02:00

Its that time of our life again!

Boxes all over the apartment, and huge piles of stuff that need to go in somewhere!

We're moving for the 4th (and I hope the last) time. We spent less than a year in Singapore, and though we made some very good friends, good-byes this time round is not that emotional. Most of our friends here are Indians who visit home every year, hence we part with the feeling that we'll meet again soon.

Incidentally, one of Urvi's 'best-friends' in Singapore, M, is also moving to Bangalore next month. And what's more his parents have admitted him in the very same school as Urvi's!!

Packing this time was not nearly as difficult with Urvi around. In fact, she was quite helpful...except at times when she lost sight of the task at hand, and indulged instead in popping the bubble wraps. Pop! Pop! Pop! It is addictive...

When we were moving from the US, Urvi was about a year and a half old...and it was practically impossible to pack when she was awake. Anytime we were looking away, she would dive into the suitcases and pull all the clothes out and scatter them on the floor. There was no way we could get through to her...I imagine she thought it was a game we were playing.

The 'To-Do' list seems to be stretching every hour as a million different things come up ... yet we could not have left Singapore without a trip to the Science center. It was not as exciting as we thought it would be, though. The optical illusions were great, and we watched a beaver movie at the Imax dome. At the end, what I really took back were these two quotes from two great minds:

"Reality is an illusion, albeit a very persistent one." Albert Einstein

"You cannot depend on your eyes, when your imagination is out of focus." Mark Twain

I did want to include a couple of posts about Urvi's swim coach and violin teacher here...but I can't seem to find the cable thingie that connects the digicam to the laptop. Bet K has packed it somewhere, even though he insists he didn't...

Next post from India!!
Take care, everyone!!

Urvi meets the Aliens

2010-06-02T10:58:00.008+02:00

Once upon a time, there was a girl called Urvi. One day, she was lying on the grass and looking at the clouds. One of the pictures was a spaceship. She had an idea. She asked her mother, "Can I go to space tomorrow?"

Her mother replied, "May be not tomorrow, because you might need some days to build a rocket ship."

"Ok," Urvi said.

She went to her father and asked for help. Her father said, "Yes. Tomorrow we both will start building a rocket ship. Ok?"

"Ok!" said Urvi.

At night Urvi couldn't get to sleep as she was so excited, but finally she got to sleep. The next day, early morning, Urvi and her dad started to work on the rocket ship. After six months, the rocket ship was finished. The next day, Urvi and her mum went to the shop to buy Urvi an astronaut dress. While they were at the shop, Urvi's dad was testing the rocket ship. When Urvi and her mum returned, Urvi asked her dad, "Does the rocket ship work?"

Her dad said, "Yes! It does!"

Urvi was so happy! That night Urvi announced in her house, "Tomorrow I will go to the planet Uranus." The next day Urvi told her mum and dad, "May be, I will stay in Uranus for four days."

"Ok," said her mum and dad.

After breakfast, Urvi put on her astronaut dress and went into the rocket ship. She waved goodbye to her mother and father, and said "10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5 4, 3, 2, 1... blast off!"

The rocket ship went into space and landed in Uranus! Urvi went out. She wondered if there were any friendly aliens. She was walking and walking, and suddenly she heard a strange noise. Urvi hid behind a rock. She was peeking and trying to see aliens and guess what she saw! An alien! She slowly came near the alien and said,"Hello."

The alien said, "Hello! What is your name?"

Urvi replied, "My name is Urvi. What is yours?"

"My name is Goldy," said the alien.

Urvi and Goldy had lots of fun! In the third day in Uranus, Urvi asked Goldy, "Can you come to earth tomorrow?"

"Let me go and ask my mother," said Goldy.

Goldy went to ask her mother and father, "Can I go to Earth tomorrow?"

"Ok," said her parents.

Goldy went to Urvi and told her she that she can go to Earth. The next day, early morning, the alien announced, "I will stay on Earth for three days."

"Ok," said her parents.

Goldy waved goodbye to her parents and said, "10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1...blast off!"

The rocket ship went back to Earth. Goldy had lots of fun on Earth. In the third day, Urvi gave her rocket ship to Goldy. Goldy said "Bye-bye" and went back to Uranus.

The End

P.S: K and I were reading this together, and at the part where Urvi says "10, 9, 8, 7...blast off!" we laughed so hard that we had tears streaming down our cheeks. Don't ask why. I guess we were just being...parents :) K said this was the best story he had ever read!

P.P.S: Urvi's favorite planet is Uranus, as it has the same first letters as her name.

Being Vegetarian

2010-05-29T11:18:00.000+02:00

Me: Rai, please eat your vegetables!

Urvi : No!

Me: How can you be a vegetarian if you don't eat vegetables?

Urvi: I can be.

Me: How? What will you eat?!

Urvi: Pizzas. Fries. Chocolates. Ice-creams. Voila! Vegetarian!

Birthday Surprise!

2010-05-20T16:01:00.013+02:00

'Twas my birthday yesterday!!

For the past two weeks Urvi has been reminding me that my birthday was just round the corner, and how this time she was NOT going to give me a gift.

Alright, I said.

She spent an entire Saturday afternoon in the study with her art materials, then emerged to say, "Don't go in there!"
"Okay. I won't."
"I'm not making you anything, I promise."
"Alright, dear. I get it!"
"I'm not lying! I mean it."
K suddenly feels the need to establish facts. "Mamma loves you so much, Rai. She does so many things for you. Surely, you can draw her a nice card for her birthday."
He gets this I-Dare-You glare from his daughter and shuts up.
"Don't listen to Bapi," she says to me. "He doesn't know what he is talking about."
"Not surprised, dear. He anyways has no clue what goes on in this house half the time."

This above conversation, with some minor variations, was repeated a few times every single day for the past few days.

Yesterday, there was something lying in the mail-box for me. Urvi ran to get it, obviously.
"Look mamma, there's something for you! And it doesn't have a postage stamp. I wonder who its from. Not from me, obviously. 'Cause if i had to give you something, why would I put it in the mailbox, right? Right?"

Its a birthday card with a huge cake drawn on it, with the number 36 in large font on top of it. (This last bit was quite unnecessary, really.) Its got glitter glue all over. Urvi is thrilled when I act all surprised. Kids!

She also made me this beautiful drawing :)

A little girl and her cat are looking at the rainbow. The girl says, "Wow!" The cat says,"Meow." Poignant.

K promised me his undivided attention. No chess, no Mr. Anand. Okay, so his voice quivered a little while he spoke those words, and... he broke his promise only ten minutes later...but at least he spoke them. See, I don't ask for much?

It felt great to receive so many wishes from friends and relatives from all over the globe. FB rocks!! But what Beatrice, my friend from Fontainebleau, wrote, really touched my heart. Thank you so much!!!

The day was great except for one minor catastrophe concerning the cake. There were none. I thought I had made it amply clear that I was NOT going to bake a cake for MYSELF on my OWN birthday!! Even though Kanchan and Urvi have conveniently forgotten to buy one, they are genuinely surprised that there is no cake in the house!

"We'll just have to do without a cake," I said.

The utterance rocked Urvi's world! A birthday without a cake??! What could my parents be thinking?? She is on the verge of a tantrum, when I declare, "You had cake only 2 days ago. Let's pretend that was my birthday cake."

K agrees immediately, cause that means he is absolved from the forgotten-the-cake- for-my wife's-birthday fiasco.

That only made her howl louder.

"Well, how on earth did you expect a cake, when you haven't bought one? Surely I can't just stand here and create cakes out of nothingness?" I mean, sure, I meditate and all...but haven't quite mastered the art of conjuring whole chocolate cakes out of thin air. Yet.

I realize they are still looking at me with expectant eyes. I am speechless. Words fail me. Sometimes you can't help but be touched by just how much your family believes in you...

So there were no cakes yesterday. And this morning, before my kids could be up, I sneaked out and got a big chocolate cake. Got myself fancy candles, too. Might as well do it right, I figured.

Coming back to yesterday...we went for this very nice show called 'The Singing Chef' at the Esplanade Theatre. The show is by a professional chef, Irene, who conducts a cookery show with a difference. She and her crew sing out the recipes. Some of the songs were sentimental numbers about 'Mom's cooking' and how no matter where you are you could never forget the smell and taste of it, some numbers were pure fun.

The chef's teenage son and his friends cooked spaghetti and meatballs to a very funky pop/rap number that had the audience cheering loudly. The pianist who was accompanying the singers said that once he had tasted Irene's hot chocolate, he was so inspired he immediately wrote a song about it. This song was handed out to the audience, and we sang the chorus along with the crew.

Hot chocolate, it's a little cup of comfort
Hot Chocolate will put you to sleep
Drink Hot Chocolate to drown you woes away
Hot Chocolate's the way to end any day

"Well, if you want someone to write you a poem or a song, just cook him/her something nice!" said Irene. I hope Someone-I-Know is reading this :)

Later the audience was given a taste of the hot chocolate, and it truly was worth a song :)

One of the numbers was on how cooking was really an easy thing to do, and if men wanted to impress their girlfriends/wives, then there could be no better way. I hope Someone-Else-I-Know was paying attention.

We then went to Mirchi Kebab Factory for a wonderful Indian dinner. All in all, a fabulous day!

"Could you pass the salt, honey?"
K (after 15 seconds): Huh?!

Sigh! Its comforting how some things in your world will never change...

Anand

2010-05-18T12:45:00.005+02:00

For sometime now K has been itching to get something 'chess' on the blog...Yeah! Like I don't have enough of that otherwise in my life! Recently, his idol, Vishy Anand, won the world chess championship for the 4th time...and K thought I should write a congratulatory post. After all, he reasoned with me, Urvi followed the games too. Yeah right! Nice try! The only reason Urvi 'followed' the games were that it gave her an excuse to stay up late and cuddle up with dad.

I told K he should write the post himself...but by the time I was done uttering the words, he was already engrossed in another game.

I guess its up to me...so here goes:

Vishwanathan Anand

Congratulations, Vishy Anand!!! Bravo! You continue to make us proud. I realize I sound like a close family member. I feel like one too.

If we had a son, he would have been named Vishwanathan Anand Mukherjee. (Phew! That was a close shave!)

You are there with us every single day. Every waking moment. At breakfast, lunch, dinner (how was last week's sambhar, btw?) My husband is right. You are God! Omnipresent. Thank you so much for filling our home with such joy. Everytime you come on screen, my husband gets this goofy grin on his face...quite like the time I broke the news of my pregnancy. I love that grin!

He has even begun to look like you (at home, we call him Kanchanathan Anand), and one of his secret desires is to be an extra or a dummy if ever someone decides to make a movie on you. He could just sit there and stare at the chess pieces for hours. I promise you, you will not be disappointed. He has mastered that role to perfection.

Kanchanathan Anand

So congrats once again! And may you continue to win many more championships beating the Karpovs, Topalovs, Kramniks (or whatever new Russian dude is their next champ)! And if they do ever decide to make that movie, please do give us a call. I would hate to see all the practice go to waste.

Love,
Suparna

p.s: I realize this is not exactly what K had in mind, but if you want the wife to write a testimonial on the other woman, this is precisely what it would sound like!

A Quick Update

2010-05-14T16:29:00.003+02:00

Today was Urvi's last day in her school in Singapore...and for those of you who are wondering where we are headed next...its Bangalore, India!!!! Kanchan has been offered a faculty position in the Indian Institute of Management, a top business school in the country. We're returning home after almost a decade...and honestly, I just can't wait...

Every morning I wake up with a single thought in my head... I am 1 day closer to Bangalore...

WOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOO!!!!

(Those of you 'in the know' will be able to comprehend the reason for this extreme elation :) Others can visit me and find out more :))

Urvi has seen enough change in her 7 year old life to not get effected by a 'move' anymore. Her only question was 'Will we stay there long enough to be able paint on the walls of my room?" (We've only rented apartments thus far, and painting on walls was an absolute 'no, no'.)

She was super thrilled to learn though, that many of our friends from France will visit Bangalore often...Samyuktha, one of her closest friends from school will visit soon, and Emma, Carmen, Bianca have promised too. We've invited our French landlady, Lucette, to come see India, and we hope she will. Mrs. Rangan, her english teacher from her school in Fontainebleau visits Bangalore every summer, as do most of my Art of Living friends. Many of her friends from Singapore too have their parents' hometown there, so very likely we will run into them in the years to come.

When I went to pick up Urvi from school today, her teachers ganged up on me, expressing just how "unfair" it was that she had to leave so soon. They hugged her and clicked photos with her, gave their emails and numbers, made us promise that we'd write. They heaped praises on her...

"Such a darling!"

"Such a sweet, soft-spoken child..."

"So caring..."

"She stayed for such a short time but stole our hearts..."

"You must feel so fortunate to have a child like her..."

I do. I really do.

Zoo and Night Safari

2010-05-05T11:28:00.007+02:00

Some time ago, K's sister was visiting with her family. We spent a thoroughly enjoyable fortnight together, indulging in Bong-style adda peppered with Amit da's timely one-liners. Neil, our nephew, is now a young man of 15! He is the closest Urvi has to a sibling, so its great to see how well they get along with each other, in spite of the age difference, and in spite of them getting to see each other only for a few days in a year. She piggy-backed on him, pillow-fought with him, and heaped on him other similar forms of adulation, almost round the clock. Thankfully, Dadabhai did not seem to mind.

Urvi and Neil

We took the opportunity to visit (and re-visit) some of the touristy spots of Singapore. First stop was the Singapore Zoo. Urvi's only agenda here was to see a cheetah. Apparently, she had never seen one before. Every zoo she had visited before had leopards and panthers and jaguars, but no cheetah. If you try to brush it off with a 'They're all one and the same', expect another flurry of questions...the most obvious being, why did they name it differently, then?

For those of you who are wondering if there actually is a difference, here it is: A Jaguar has black spots on its body. The Cheetah also has spots, but is distinct because it has black 'teary' lines from its eyes down to its nose. The Leopard has black spots with thin black circles around them.

My brave little girl!

The Zoo has a fantastic collection of all the usual, and some very exotic and unusual animals. We had heard of the Komodo dragon before, but got to see one up-close here for the first time. The snake house with the anacondas and pythons sent chills down our spines. The tigers were absolutely majestic! As were the elephants, giraffes, lions and leopards.

White tigers

What makes a trip to the zoo like this even more interesting is the way in which the animals have been displayed. Not in cages but pretty much out in the open, where you feel the animals are getting to live in their habitat, without being confined in small spaces. Interesting information about the animals are displayed in very kid-friendly ways (for example, if an adult kangaroo wore a shoe, just how big would they be?) and animals from the same region are grouped together (example, Australian outback or African Safari), which makes it even easier to comprehend.

Like all other parks, this too had a few shows. 'Rain-forest fights back' is a show where a businessman wants to chop off trees in order to build a shopping mall, but the animals and birds of the rain forest chase him away. I thought, with a storyline like that, the show had potential, but I was disappointed by the poor script. The elephant show was way better, specially with Gambhir, the cheeky one, who refused to listen to his mahout. We missed the early morning elephant painting session (they are way more intelligent than sulphur-crested cockatoos, and you would be amazed at the 'tulips' canvasses that were available at the gift shop), but Urvi and Neil did manage to get a ride on the elephant back.

Finally, we came to the cheetahs! Yes, that's how closely we saw them!

Well, almost...there is a glass barrier...duh!

Next stop was the Night Safari! Its a visit to the zoo at night! The visit starts with a thoroughly entertaining performance by the fire-eating tribe of Borneo. The interesting thing about this park is that you get to see the animals in the dark, which itself was a thrilling experience. Flash photography was not allowed, so we did not bother to click any photos.

Yesterday, at school, Urvi's teacher asked the students to name extinct animals. The answers that had come forth were dinosaurs and dragons (!). Urvi's answer was Tasmanian tiger. Looks like the trips to the zoo were well worth it :)

For anyone visiting Singapore, a visit to these parks is an absolute must. Adults would enjoy them as much as kids. I know we did.

Before I forget...A very, very, happy birthday to Vinod from Urvi and myself! May your year be filled with love, luck, laughter and many surprises!! And may you continue to add cheer to our blog with your sweet comments :)

Quiz Time

2010-04-26T09:55:00.007+02:00

Can you guess who painted this?

Whatever your guess, think again :)
Giving up already? Okay, here's the answer...

Meet Pikasso, the very talented sulphur-crested cockatoo who is a professional artist! Meet him and hundreds of other colorful and talented birds at the Jurong Bird Park in Singapore. Spread over 20 hectares, this park houses over 600 species of exotic birds from across the world. You could never have guessed there were this many different kinds of owls!

A hop-on, hop-off panorail takes you round the park, giving you enough time to explore the areas by yourself.

Colorful macaws

The flamingo pool

The best attractions though were the shows! The birds (parrots, cockatoos, macaws) performed their acts with mastered precision--- they flew in and out of rings, completed jigsaw puzzles (which a 2 year old child could), played 'basket-ball' against each other, sang 'Happy Birthday', recited 1 to 10 in english and mandarin, and took a $10 note from a member of the audience and deposited it neatly in the trainer's pocket :)

Pikasso painted the above picture during our show. K simply had to buy it, especially since Urvi interpreted this piece of 'outsider' art as a 'self-portait' :) (Don't ask!)

Jurong Bird Park is easily one of the best theme parks we have been to. You cannot but be impressed by the sheer variety of birds that are housed here. We would rate this higher than the Night Safari and the Zoo. More on those two parks coming up soon...

Urvi's stories

2010-04-12T02:27:00.006+02:00

A few days ago, Urvi and I were taking a leisurely stroll in the park, when I asked her why she didn't write stories anymore. (To read her previous stories, click here and here). She promptly replied that it was because she did not have a book to write stories in. Urvi and I had made 'story books' for some of her friends in France, and at that time I had promised Urvi one, as soon as we settled down in Singapore. Lazy mom!!

So one Sunday, before my kids (!) could be up, acting on a sudden burst of inspiration, I made this:

And Voila! Here is one story from Urvi, after a very long time :)

The Fairyland

Last night I had a dream that a beautiful fairy called Rebecca had come to grant me two wishes. I wished for a horse because I really wanted a real horse to ride on. My second wish was for a cat as a pet. I love cats because they are so cute.

The fairy was very happy so she took me to Fairyland. I met her friends. Rebecca and I played for two hours. I also played with Rebecca's friends. Rebecca showed me all the shops in Fairyland. I had lots of fun there. I found a wand that I loved, so I bought it. I also found a nice fairy dress.

Urvi in a fairy dress

The End

Happy Birthday, Dadu!

2010-04-04T11:51:00.004+02:00

How to Train Your Dragon

2010-04-03T11:29:00.006+02:00

The most ferocious looking beings can be the gentlest...don't judge too quickly.

'How to Train Your Dragon' is the story a Viking village perched on the top of a hill, which is attacked frequently by...dragons. Most tribes would have moved to a safer, dragon-free area...But not the vikings, 'cause they have 'stubbornness issues'.

Hiccup is a teen Viking like no other. He is a scrawny kid in a village where most people have biceps the size of footballs. He's the laughing stock of the village, cause he has never, ever killed a dragon...but what makes all this even worse is the fact that he is the son of the village chief.

By sheer chance, he manages to trap a Night Fury, a dragon so fierce and deadly, that no one before him has ever come face to face with one, and lived to tell the tale. Can hiccup finish him off, and end his years of humiliation? Or will he find out that he truly is the very worst of the Vikings...one without a violent streak?

This wittily done movie is about friendship and courage...there are parts of E.T., and Chicken Little and Asterix and the Vikings in there. But all in all, everything looks fresh and entertaining. Some scenes can be scary for very young kids...but do watch it in 3D!

Favorite sounds

2010-03-30T12:49:00.002+02:00

I was making Urvi do some EVS worksheets in preparation for her entrance tests for the next school.

One of the questions on 'senses and sense organs' was, Name 3 sounds that you like to hear. Her first two answers were 'meowing of cats' and 'chirping of birds'. But I was stunned at what she wrote next.

'Silence'.

Thank you, Ma'am!

2010-03-26T08:08:00.010+01:00

For those of you who think I've conveniently forgotten the existence of my blog, let me hasten to tell you...you couldn't be more wrong! Its just that, these days I'm being...lazy.

Today was Urvi's last day in 2nd grade. How time flies! It was a fairly tough year for her to begin with. Leaving her familiar environment and dear friends in France, and coming far away to Singapore was tough enough. In addition she had to adjust to the fairly rigorous (and largely un-creative) ways of Indian schooling. The school itself had turned out to be a huge disappointment for us, and it was only after several meetings and harsh emails that the authorities decided to do something about the sanitation (or utter lack of it) in the school.

The first few weeks here, we were tempted to pull her out of the school. But the only reason we didn't, was Suchandra Chaudhuri, her class teacher. She is an extremely caring teacher who Urvi took an instant liking to. And it is largely due to her, that Urvi adjusted easily and even started looking forward to school.

Urvi wanted to gift something to 'Suchandra Ma'am', and so we set out to make these glitter candles. As always, everything was made at home from scratch.

Gift Tags

2010-03-06T03:43:00.006+01:00

February and March are birthday-heavy months...here are some of the interesting gift-tags we made for Urvi's friends...

An Ele and a Horse

2010-02-20T12:24:00.005+01:00

Urvi touches her paintbrushes very rarely these days, so I was thrilled to find her spending the entire Saturday afternoon in creating a very colorful mess. One of the products of this afternoon was this elephant in a sunflower garden. She plans to cut out a circle where the trunk is supposed to be, and put a kitchen roll tube through it. I was sure the painting wouldn't survive the surgery, so scanned it in haste.

This is one of her 'doodles' from last week. She drew a key first, and then made it the head of a female horse.

Translating Robi Thakur

2010-02-09T06:22:00.011+01:00

There is scarcely a Bengali kid, who hasn't hummed a Rabindrasangeet or two, or learnt to recite by heart, poems by the great Bengali poet, Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Thakur. Any Bengali cultural function is incomplete without his songs, dance dramas or his poetries. As a kid, I remember celebrating 'Rabindra Jayanti' or the poet's birthday every year in May, where a bunch of us (we called ourselves 'Monjori', my dad would call us 'Monjori Opera') would rehearse for weeks and finally perform in front of the whole neighborhood. Every parent would get involved and help out with the decorations, the stage set-up, the lighting, the costumes , the make-up. When the final curtains would fall (amidst thunderous applause) we would be treated to a sumptuous meal cooked by the moms. No Bengali function is complete without food (and as previously pointed out, Rabindranath).

Even K, who grew up far from the Bengal borders was unable to escape this influence. Every morning his mother would listen to an All India Radio programme which played 4 Rabindrasangeets, and his mother would use this to time his getting ready for school. "Get out of the bathroom!Its the third song already!"

Last week, Urvi was asked by her teacher to prepare something for the Assembly. The Assembly is a weekly affair, where some kids have to go up on stage and sing a song, or do a skit before the whole school. Her teacher asked her to learn a French poem, but Urvi recited to her 'Mastermoshai' a poem by Rabindranath Thakur, which my mother had taught her over the winter holidays. Her teacher, being Bengali, was naturally impressed. So now, it has been decided that she will recite this poem. But here's the catch...since not everyone understands Bengali (shame on them!) I would now have to translate this poem to English.

The poem is about a little boy who wants to teach his cat to read. Here is the Bengali version followed by my translation. I hope all Bengalis reading this will forgive my audacity.

Kobi Guru Robindronath Thakur'er Mastermoshai'

Ami aaj Kanai Master

Podo mor beral chhanati

Okey ami mari ney ma bet

Michhi michhi boshi niye kathi

Roj roj derei korey ashey

Poratey dei na oto mon

Dan pa tuley toley hai

Joto ami boli, 'Shon, Shon.'

Din raat khela khela khela

Porar kajey bhaari hela

Joto ami boli 'Cho Chho Jo Jho Yeong'

O kebol boley 'Meow meow'

The translation:

Today I am Kanai, the teacher

My student here is a little kitten

I sit with a stick just to scare him

But even when he's naughty, I spare him

He is late for his lessons everyday

Has no interest in education

He'll lift a leg and yawn wide

Even as I say, 'Listen! Pay attention!'

He wants to play all day long

And ignore his studies altogether

When asked to repeat the alphabet 'Cho Chho Jo Jho Yeong'

All he will ever say is 'Meow meow'

Movies we loved!

2010-02-03T12:16:00.006+01:00

Who lives in a pineapple under the sea?
SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS!

Absorbent and porous and spongy is he
SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS!

If nautical nonsense be something you wish
Then drop on the deck and flop like a fish

SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS
SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS
SPONGEBOOOOOOOB SQUAREPANTS!!!

If you like the tele-serial, you'll LOVE the movie!

For those of you don't know Spongebob yet (!), he's been described as a dork, a dodo, a knuckle-head mcfzatron by his dear friends. But boy, does he grow on you...This movie is about the adventures of Spongebob and his best friend Patric Star, where they have to go to Shell City (that place from where no one has ever returned) to bring back King Neptune's crown, in order to save his boss Mr. Crabbs who has been falsely accused of stealing it. Thoroughly enjoyable, laugh-out-loud comedy. I think K and I enjoy this one as much as Urvi does. The songs are great, especially the absolutely 'kid-irresistable' Goofy Goober song.

Mary Poppins is a classic! Though I don't know how, but I ended up watching it only last year. Now we have the DVD, which means its being played at least once every week! Though the plot is not as strong as that of The Sound of Music, the music is great, and Julie Andrews is fabulous as usual. Dick Van Dyke excels as well, I especially love the chimney sweepers dance on the rooftops. At first viewing, I thought this movie was a bit too 'kiddish', but K recently commented that this had to be his favorite movie of all times! That made me watch it again. And again. And again. Right now I love it as much as I do The Sound of Music. Sigh! Julie Andrews makes every kid (and grown-up) wish they had a nanny like her :)

Do let me know your favorite family movies...

P.S: For some reason i'm unable to comment on my own blog! Shows a script error. Just wanted to say we are overwhelmed by the show of support, love and concern, from friends and fellow bloggers in response to my last post. Things aren't any clearer...keeping our fingers crossed and hoping for the best! Thank you!

p.p.s: vinod, that was really sweet :)
Tanika, yeah, India should be great, except that the 'fit' concerns remain.

Fantasy Trees

2009-11-30T10:23:00.011+01:00

Thanks to the birthday last week, we have a LOT of wrapping paper in the house. And since I am not one to discard paper that easily, I decided to make our holiday cards this year with 'recycled' paper.

We made these 'Fantasy Christmas Trees'...

If you look carefully, you might be able to spot the 'ToysRUs' or 'Barbie' wrappers :)

We get a lot of paper delivered home for free (letters, junk mail, publicity materials etc), and with a little imagination these can be made into interesting art and craft projects. Recently, I picked up a book from the library called 'make it!' It has many 'high mess factor' projects for children involving paper, plastic, metal and cloth. Quite an interesting book that explains the importance of recycling in kid-friendly terms.

A 3ft stack of flattened cardboard boxes translates to 1 tree! Let's practise the 3 Rs: Reduce, Reuse and Recycle...and be creative in the process :)

Annalakshmi

2009-11-26T02:14:00.004+01:00

We were in the heart of Chinatown, wondering aloud about the eating options. There weren't many, unless you were willing to consider local Chinese cuisine or fast food. We walk into a mall, and there, a signboard greets us: Annalakshmi...where vegetarian dining is a cultural experience.

Intrigued, we step in.

Judging from the ambiance and decor we guess it to be a high-end restaurant. Almost all the tables were occupied, and when the 'waiter' guides us to our table, we notice that more than 60% of the guests are not Indians. There were many local Singaporeans and expats. This is not usual in Indian joints in Little India, so we assume that this particular place must be good. And expensive.

Our curiosity is further peaked when we don't find a price listed beside the items in the menu. What kind of restaurant is this? Was is it like a P-O-R (Price on request) tag that one found beside canvases in expensive art galleries? Mom-in-law can't take it much longer, so she summons the nearest 'waiter'. He tells us with a smile, 'You eat what you like, and you give us whatever you want'.

'Wow!' says Kanchan, echoing our thoughts.

We ordered a variety of south and north Indian dishes, and I have to say, the quality was excellent! The concept, we thought, was brilliant. And judging from its high occupancy on a weeknight, I would say, Annalakshmi has gone a long way in introducing quality Indian vegetarian food to the locals, many of them meat-eaters.

A few words on Annalakshmi...it is the culinary arts section of the Temple of Fine Arts, a non-profit voluntary organisation dedicated to the promotion of Indian culture, heritage and the fine arts. It was started by His Holiness Swami Shantanand Saraswati, and is completely run by volunteers. There are several Indian sculptures and artifacts on display which one can buy at the restaurant, though of course, these items are highly priced.

The address is: 133, New Bridge Road, B1 -02 Chinatown Point, Podium A, Singapore -059413.
They also serve a buffet (no onions or garlic) lunch at Annalakshmi janatha at 104, Amoy Street, Sgp Mon to sat: 11:00 - 15:00

Website: www.annalakshmi.com.sg

Do visit!

Seven!!!

2009-11-24T02:46:00.011+01:00

12 kids high on sugar X 3 hrs = 1 dead Mummy
This equation pretty much sums up Urvi's 7th birthday...

She woke up at 7(!) in the morning screaming 'It's my birthday! It's my birthday!' That set the pace for the rest of the day. Thammi made the traditional 'payesh' (a dessert made from rice and milk), and Dadu performed a Puja. The remainder of the morning went in all the last minute preparations for the party in the afternoon.

Urvi in her new 'Indian robe'... Move over Kareena....

Guests started arriving at 3 p.m. After several minutes of 'Aunty, she's not letting me sit beside Urvi' and 'Aunty, when are we going to eat the cake?' and 'Aunty, can I have my return gift NOW?' I decided it was time to start the first game...Passing the Parcel. The older kids groaned. I don't blame them...as a kid my reaction to this game at birthday parties was quite similar. With activities like 'Recite a poem you learnt at school' or 'Show us a dance' or 'Recite the 8 times tables'...the one idea uppermost in every kid's mind was how quickly to get rid of the parcel.

Our activities were slightly different, and by the third round kids were clinging on to the parcel refusing to let go :) One had to write her name on air with the tip of her nose, or recite 'Twinkle Twinkle' but between each word insert 'OM' or 'BOM', scratch 1 arm and 1 leg at the same time, hop on the right leg and laugh loudly then hop on the left and not laugh, point out 5 red things quickly etc. In addition I had kept several 'Surprises' in the parcel. Anyone who was lucky enough to get a 'surprise' got a 'surprise gift'!

Kanchan was the DJ and he made sure that every kid got a chance. This was challenging as some of the kids held on the parcel, while the kid next to him pulled at it. The foot-tapping music of Elton John's 'I'm still standing' was interspersed with loud laughter every time the wrapper was torn open. Tharun impressed us with his sharp intellect...to the question 'Name 5 animals or birds that start with the letter C' he completely ignored the cat, cow or chicken to name cheetah, caterpillar and chameleon!

The game ended with Samyuktha winning a set of color pencils. By this time, the one question weighing heavily on everyone's mind was 'When are we going to eat the cake?'

So that's what we did next. Candles were blown, the cake was cut, the birthday song was sung. It was time to bring out the pizzas! Thammi had also prepared 'vegetable chop', a very Bengali savory, the recipe of which I hope to post soon on this blog.

The ever helpful (M)adhav right beside Urvi, in case she needed help in blowing the candles.

Once the tummies were filled, it was time to jump some more and burst balloons and scream at the top of your voice. If you thought the kids couldn't be more excited, think again! Complete hysteria broke out when we announced ... a treasure hunt!

Some of the kids had to leave early, so Kanchan divided the remaining 9 kids into groups of 3, while I quietly sneaked out to hide the clues. I had taken advantage of Kovan Melody's sprawling grounds and its many interesting nooks and corners (the tree house, the fish and turtle pond, the Purple Dinosaur and the mysterious Island of the Umbrellas) as spots to hide the clues.

The three teams named themselves 'The Cheetahs', 'Spring' and 'The Peacocks'. I had made separate sets of clues for all the teams, so that the hiding spots did not overlap. The clues were made with chinese symbols, hieroglyphics, crosswords and number sequences. K got the mothers involved. Each team had an 'aunty' who was to accompany them throughout and guide them if necessary.

Here are examples of some of the clues...

One of the clues was ' To the opposite of KEY, Add the letter B
I am usually followed by a number
I'm a group of apartments in a tall tower
There are many of me
In Kovan Melody
What am I?

This was followed by a number series where the kids had to figure out the missing number. I asked K to suggest a series, and he replied 'Give them something simple, na. The Fibonacci sequence, for e.g. ' From that point on, it was clear I had to do this on my own.

Sarah, Samyuktha and Mitali poring over the hieroglyphics

After about a three-quarters of an hour or so, all the teams were successful in solving their clues and finding their treasures (the return gifts). The feedback I got from the kids was that the clues were a little tough, but the hunt was extremely exciting and enjoyable. The moms too appreciated the effort, and some of them have already been requested to do similar games on their kids' birthdays.

By 8 in the evening, Thammi, Dadu, K and I were barely able to move a limb.

Urvi was still jumping.

Eve of the Party

2009-11-21T11:08:00.003+01:00

Tomorrow is the Big Day! Excitement runs high in our home...Thammi is in charge of food and maintaining an overall sanity, Dadu is helping out with the decorations, I am in charge of games and entertainement (!), Urvi is completely hyper...she's blowing balloons only to burst them the next second, then making some crazy artwork with the bits of burst latex (like we have time to clear that mess up!), and Kanchan is doing what he is best at...being a recluse.

Meanwhile, we have 18 invitees and 22 confirmations. (Don't ask!)

Here are some pics of the decorations. We made them ourselves, the circle thingies, that is. We bought some shiny and colorful Christmas wrappers, cut out circles of various diameters (using saucers and dinner plates). Then folded them in half, then quarter and then 1/8th, and cut the sides with 'crazy' scissors. Then opened them out carefully to reveal a perfectly symmetrical design. Kindergarten stuff.

I'm putting up the pics a day in advance just in case the decorations (and I) don't survive tomorrow!

Sentosa

2009-11-16T01:24:00.009+01:00

Dadu and Thammi are visiting currently, and we're taking advantage of every 'rain-free' day to visit all the tourist attractions of Singapore. Last Sunday, we went to Sentosa Islands, a large amusement park with several rides, shows and beaches.

We took the monorail (The Sentosa Express) from the vivocity mall, to reach Sentosa in the early afternoon.

After clicking the Merlion (the one here was definitely more impressive than the one in Marina Bay) we headed for the 4D show...we had already seen this one before at Disneyland in L.A., but it was fun never-the-less. Urvi got the creeps when the spider and the bees came rushing towards her :)

Kanchan and Urvi went for the luge and the sky-ride, then we headed towards the beaches.

The day ended with the laser-water-sound-fire show, 'The Songs of the Sea'. The show itself was fine, but the storyline was trite (a village boy waking up a princess with his song), and the characters (both real and imaginary) were more of an irritation. A similar show at Disneyland Park, Fantasmic, is well...fantastic! But then, you don't expect anything less from Disney.

Another similar show we had enjoyed thoroughly was at the Christmas celebrations at Antibes in the south of France. There were no fancy gadgets or props, and it was in the middle of the town square, but it left the audience spell-bound. When it comes to musical fountains and the like, nothing beats Barcelona's Fonta Majica! And when it comes to fireworks, nothing comes close to Fontainebleau's bi-annual spectacle each year at the chateau grounds. The fireworks here, we said every time, were as good if not better than the one at Disneyland!

Considering that the last three are absolutely free, and Disneyland and Songs of the Sea are not, we somehow always end up feeling duped :)

Back at the Vivocity mall, we admired the Christmas lights and decorations, before heading home.

Next stop: Jurong bird Park and night Safarai.

Party invitations

2009-11-07T11:08:00.009+01:00

We made these really easy to make and attractive party invitations over the week-end.

You will need some sheets of colored paper, pencil, glue, hole-puncher, sketch pens, sequins and a saucer.

First, with the help of the saucer, trace out a circle on a colored paper. Cut it out and fold in half. Punch holes along the rim. Trace a shape (heart, butterfly, star) on a contrasting colored paper (using a stencil if necessary). Cut out the shape and stick the bottom half of it on the diameter, as shown. Decorate with sequins.

New arrival

2009-11-05T03:34:00.006+01:00

There's been a new addition to our family. She's called Mac.

Lately our Dell laptop has been acting pricey, bossy, elusive, and unyielding to the various cajoling tactics that hubby and I have been trying on it. At times it would refuse to boot up, at times refuse to shut down, but mostly it had the most unpardonable habit of shutting off without any notice. Because of this K was unceremoniously booted out of several online chess tournaments, tournaments which he claims would have established his ultimate supremacy in the online version of the game, would have entered his name in the annals of the chess playing world right beside the Kramniks, the Topalovs and the Anands, but most importantly, would have proved, once and for all, to his ever doubting and skeptical wife that all those hours in front of the computer was well worth it, after all! Where would the wife get that kind of reflected glory, if he spent those valuable hours going to the market or the gym or helping out with the laundry? (Women!) I imagined a shelf full of invisible trophies...it was a heady feeling...

A new laptop, therefore, was very much the need of the day.

We vacillated between getting another Dell or making the ultimate shift...to a Mac! Our Mac-initiated friends used various degrees of threats and persuasions in order to convince us that Mac really was the way to go. After several days of 'Seriously, we should go for a Mac' we visited the Apple store, where the salesman managed to convince K that the MS Office was far superior to IWorks. Damn! We were back to square one.

K was now thoroughly convinced that he'd go for a Dell again, the MS Office for Mac being obscenely priced. Any argument I came up with (against a Dell and for a Mac) was met with I won't be able to run regression models in 'Numbers', or Will i be able to do Linear programming? What about macros? Goal programming? How will i get the STATA and SAS packages for Mac...etc etc

I persisted. She arrived yesterday. And this is what followed:

K: Just look at the packaging! Will you look at the packaging!

Me: Yeah, nice! Does it have macros?

K: Look, honey, the power cable just glides in...like that (he glides it in)...its magnetic...look I'll do it again...see?

Me: Yeah, yeah, what about regression models? Have you tried that?

K: Just look at that trackpad...look, I'm not even clicking, I'm tapping..Awesome! Amazing! Look look..

Me: STATA, SAS...?

K: Look at how that apple lights up when you switch it on! Cool, na?

Me: Linear programming?

K: See what happens when I minimize windows....it goes whoooosh!

Men! Go figure...

Boys!

2009-10-29T04:41:00.005+01:00

Urvi: Mamma, why do boys always like to chase girls?

Me (feigning ignorance): Oh, they do?

Urvi: Yeah...don't you remember? In my French school there were J and P who would always run after Emma and me, screaming 'Je t'aime, je t'aime' (I love you, I love you). And now in this school there is this boy M, who is always running after me saying, 'Will you be my girlfriend, will you be my girlfriend?' C'est embettant (Its irritating)!

Me: Hmm..

Urvi: Mamma, what's a girlfriend?

Me: A really special friend...

Urvi: You mean like me and Aishwarya?

Me: Not exactly... I mean when a boy and a girl have a very special friendship..

Urvi: Special?

Me:You know, when they really, really love each other...More than they love other friends..

Urvi: huh?

Me: When they are 'in love' with each other...

Urvi: Oh you mean when they are 'amoureux'?

(Honestly, I don't know why I waste time explaining in English, when there exists a perfectly good French word that apparently needs no explanation)

Me: Yes...amoureux. Are you amoureux with M?

Urvi (making a face): Eeeew!

Me: Well then, you can tell M that you are only his friend and not his girlfriend.

Urvi: Yeah, well I tell him that ...what more does he want?

Me: What indeed?

Urvi: M told all the boys, Urvi is my girlfriend. Its a secret. Don't tell Mam I said this.

Me: I see...

Urvi: But why do boys do this? Chase girls, I mean..

Me: Umm...I don't know...may be you should ask Bapi.

Urvi: Why??!

Me: Because he is a boy...or rather he was a boy...

Urvi: Bapi! (sigh followed by rolling of eyes - This is her usual reaction to anything concerning the dad, complete and utter exasperation. It seemed to say, Now what does he know about chasing girls?)

Mamma?

Me: yeah?

Urvi: Are you Bapi's girlfriend? (giggles)

Me: Let's talk about your situation here...

Urvi: Its complicated.

Me: How?

Urvi: Well A and A (the girls) don't like M(the boy). They keep telling me, Don't be M's friend, don't be his friend. But M(the boy) has told all the other boys that I'm his his best friend and girl friend. So now A and A (the girls), who thought they were my best-friends are not happy. They say 'Don't be M's best friend'. Thing is, M is really nice to me, so I don't know how to tell him, I don't want to be your friend anymore. But then, M is friends with W, who I don't like very much. But if I'm friends with M I have to friends with W...

Sigh! God help me when she hits the teens...

Swans

2009-10-24T09:11:00.018+02:00

Beautiful swans, yellow, white and gray
Where do you come from, where do you fly away?
Won't you stay with me a moment or two
Tell me of lands, far and new?

Have you met mermaids, fairies and elves
Wizards, sorcerers and charming princes
Chivalrous knights and fiery dragons
Druids in forests brewing magic potions
Flying horses of my favorite dreams
Magicians that turn milk to ice-creams?

Beautiful swans, red, golden and blue
Won't you please take me with you?

I'll dance on the clouds, I'll touch the stars
I'll drench myself in the rainbow colors
I'll pluck the Sun rays to play you a song
I'll teach you the melody to sing along

If I get thirsty I could drink from the rain
We could play 'Catch Me' and then again
Hide-and-Seek in the clouds, night and noon
And if I get tired, I could sleep on the moon...

Suparna 24/10/09

Urvi has recently developed a fascination for origami and swans are her favorite right now. Together with her father, they have made these beautiful swans, and she plays with them for a long time before going to bed...

Happy Diwali!

2009-10-16T11:29:00.004+02:00

Diwali is the Festival of Lights! In India, homes are decorated with diyas (traditional oil lamps), children burst fire-crackers, and sweets are distributed amongst friends and relatives.The lamps signify the light of knowledge, and in Bengal, Diwali also co-incides with the worship of the Goddess Kali, remover of all darkness in the form of ignorance, evil and inertia.

Most Hindu festivals require conforming to a rigorous ritualistic mode of worship (and this is where most people get hung up--- was the timing of the Puja right? do we have the single long-stalked white lotus? Or the exact number of whole fruits as dictated by the scriptures? Were the hymns sung in the right order and by a person of the high Brahmin caste? etc etc)

Yet true worship is something else...

It comes from a fullness of heart, from gratitude for all the blessings received, from a silence within that does not feel the need for words to be 'spoken' to the Divine.

In most parts of India, the Goddess Lakshmi (the Goddess of wealth and prosperity) is worshipped during Diwali, especially by businessmen. But can businessmen be spiritual and vice-versa? Read this insightful article by Bawa...not only do they complement each other perfectly, they are married to each other for life!

Urvi made some 'diyas' from paper-plates. Take a white paper plate, cut it in half, decorate with paint and glitter-glue, stick a 'fire' , and your paper-diyas are ready.

p.s: We also have real diyas, this time :)

Moong sprouts dosa

2009-10-13T03:56:00.006+02:00

Dosas are like French crepes, and very popular in India. They are made from rice and lentils, soaked overnight, blended in a mixie, and then left to ferment. Its time consuming...but this particular recipe from my neighbour Nitu is easy to make, and is as tasty as it is nutritous.

Soak overnight one bowl each of whole moong (also called green gram or green soy) and rice.

The moong will have sprouted by next day, and this is what it'll look like.

2. Blend the rice and the sprouted moong, adding a little salt. If you want to make it hot and spicy, then add to this green chillies and sambhar masala.The mixture will be thick and slightly coarse.

3. Heat a little oil on a shallow pan, and pour some batter. Spread it out evenly with a spatula. Cook till evenly brown on both sides. Enjoy the dosa with Onion-coconut chutney.

Onion-Coconut chutney

1.Mix in a blender half an onion with 1 cup of grated coconut, salt, green chillie and corriander leaves(optional).

2.Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a pan, add mustard seeds and curry leaves. Once the seeds start to splutter, pour oil over the chutney.

Sprouts are considered the meat equivalent for vegetarians. They are an excellant source of fibre, vitamins and minerals. For more information see this site.

Happy Birthday, Bapi!

2009-10-10T16:25:00.006+02:00

K turned 39 last Saturday, and by his own admission is fast approaching mid-life...highs!!

After a decade of drudgery he was finally able to kiss corporate life good-bye! His work now involves reading and thinking, both of which he was doing since birth anyway, only now he is actually getting paid for it. Two of his papers recently got accepted in top academic journals, giving us even more reason to celebrate. He is completely at ease with his rapidly increasing girth, and has no qualms whatsoever about gulping down laddoos and skipping gym the following day. If this is not bliss...what is?

We baked a chocolate cake, and Urvi decorated it with MnMs. We had every noble intention of feeding him whole-wheat carrot cakes baked with cane sugar and fat-free oatmeal cookies...but what the hell?! It's not everyday that one turns 39. Urvi also drew him a lovely card, but K took it to his office before I got a chance to scan it.

When asked how he would like to celebrate his day, he replied,"What's there to celebrate? It's just another day...I celebrate LIFE." I suppose such profound wisdom comes with (old) age...

Nevertheless, we cooked his favorite dishes and went out for a movie (Shorts). I suggested 'Dil Boley Hadippa', which got completely shot down by father and daughter. Urvi protested she wouldn't understand the Hindi dialogues, and apparently she has now reached an age where she can no longer be impressed with music, dancing and colorful costumes, and K said he was not in the mood for another 'Singh is King'.

Shorts is the story of a small suburb in the US, inhabited by families with weird mannerisms. One fine day, a wishing stone lands in their midst and all hell break loose with everyone wishing their wildest fantasies into reality. The storyline was trite, but could have been made interesting with more creative writing. For e.g., in one scene, three boys are chased by snakes and crocodiles. They wish the snakes away, but try to run away from the crocodiles! The villain wishes that he be the'most powerful thing on earth', and is converted to a huge robot capable of anything, so his daughter wishes herself into a wasp(!) to counter her father...could she not have simply wished that her father come back to his senses? Never-the-less, the movie did have some funny scenes. Oh well! As long as my kids (yes, I have two) are happy, that's all that really matters...

Durga Pujo

2009-09-29T03:42:00.014+02:00

Durga Pujo, or Worship of the Divine Mother, is the single largest festival for the people of Bengal. In most parts of India, it is actually celebrated over 9 nights, with the first 3 nights devoted to the Goddess Durga (representing courage and valour), the following 3 nights to the Goddess Lakshmi (representing wealth and prosperity) and the final 3 nights to the Goddess Saraswati (representing knowledge, wisdom and creativity). The 9 nights are also said to be representative of the 9 months a child stays in the womb of the mother, and hence it is also the blossoming of consciousness to its fullest.

In Bengal, during this time, only the Goddess Durga is worshipped with fervor. The goddesses Laksmi and Saraswati are worshipped on other days of the year. The story goes that once a demon, through the pratice of various penances and austerities, attained a boon from the Gods that he could be killed by no man. The demon, was half man and half bull, hence called Mahisasura (In sanskrit, Mahisa=bull, Asura=demon). He became indestructible and terrorized the three worlds with his atrocities. No one, it seems, not even the Gods could stop him. (Stories of this sort are quite common in Indian mythology, where Gods become so impressed with penances that they grant any boon even to the demons! But, there is usually a loop-hole in these granting of boons, as we shall see in the story of this demon.)

The Gods held an emergency meeting, there was an urgent need to come up with a strategy that could put an end to Mahisasura. However care needed to be taken that the boon was not compromised in any way. They were Gods, after all! So they decided to send a Goddess (the boon had stopped Mahisasura from being killed by any man), and empower her with all their energies. Thus was born Durga, the ten armed Goddess, a weapon from each of the Gods in her ten arms. Mother Durga rode on a lion, and slayed the demon. Thus came the end of Mahisasura. Durga Pujo, therefore, is the celebration of victory of good over evil.

During the five days of the Durga Pujo, clay idols of the Mother Durga and her four children (adorned with silk garment and jewellery) are housed in huge bamboo structures called pandals. The pandals, some of which are as gigantic as innovative in design, form a large part of the attraction of the festivals. My earliest memories of Durga Pujo in Calcutta, was of waking up to the sounds of dhaak, a huge drum, slung across the shoulders. The days start early with prayers and chanting, usually accompanied by a lot of loud noise, produced by dhaak, conch shells and bells, among other such instruments. The evenings are usually reserved for cultural programs and pandal-hopping. It is an amazingly magical time, and writing about it after so many years fills me with nostalgia.

A pandal in Calcutta

This was Urvi's first real Durga Pujo and she was filled with wonder and amazement! On Saptami, we went to the Bengali Association Pujo. Urvi ran into some of her friends and also her favourite teacher, Suchandra Mam.

In her new 'Indian robe'

With Suchandra Mam

On Astami, Urvi and I went to the Ram Krishna Mission pujo. This was a very satvic experience, with traditional aarti and devotional songs of the Divine Mother, followed by yummy bhog. When we recounted this to Kanchan, emphasizing on the food part, he decided to join us for Nabami. You can lure him with good food anywhere.

I had something special planned for Nabami. This year, Nabami co-incided with the 56th birthday of Amma (one of the greatest spiritual saints of India), and her organisation decided to celebrate it together with Saraswati Homam at the Sri Sivan temple. Saraswati, being the Goddess of knowledge and creativity, is worshipped especially by children, who place books at her alter and pray for her blessings. Armed with maths, english and violin books, Urvi and I made it to the temple just in time for the homam.

The Saraswati homam

All homams constitute of a large fire, into which several things are thrown while chanting hymns. It tends to be hot and stuffy, but the organisers had come up with an ingenious plan. All present were being seated in a large airy hall fitted with a large-screen TV. The actual homam was taking place in another part of the temple, but being shown live on TV. A perfect mix of technology and tradition! Though after a few minutes of watching the TV, Urvi got restless and wanted to see 'the real thing'. So we went outside to where the homam was taking place. Urvi had numerous questions, some of which I could answer satisfactorily, but most of which I couldn't. Hindu religious customs can be quite complicated, with everything having numerous significances. Will need to brush up before the next festival...

The homam was preceeded and followed by the most delicious South Indian food I have had since our arrival in Singapore. One word needs to be said about Amma's volunteers. I was completely amazed at their level of dedication and attentiveness to the needs of those present. When I recounted the many instances of this to Kanchan, he remarked that even corporates do not function so effectively. Just goes to show that intrinsic motivation is what drives one to excel even in the simplest of jobs. In the evening we went to RK Mission again, accompanied this time, by Kanchan.

Yesterday was Dashami, the last day of the Durga Pujo. In Bengal, the clay idols are immersed in water, to signify 'dissolving back to earth', and sweets are distributed among friends and relatives.

Wishing everyone a peaceful, joyous and prosperous year ahead! Subho Bijoya to all!

A few observations...

2009-09-16T06:56:00.008+02:00

We have more or less settled down in S'pore, though it has been increasingly difficult for Urvi. When we first came here, there was the excitement of seeing a new place, but now, it has finally sunk in. This is where we are staying. And we are not going back to France.Given that she was uprooted from 'home' and brought to the other side of the globe, forced to blend into a culture that is vastly different from what she had experienced thus far, I would say, she has handled it really well. Though occasionally there are outbursts and outpourings of, “I don't want to stay here anymore. I want to go back to France!"

While evaluating a place from a distance, usually the assessment depends on a few abstract features that seem to convey the essence of the place. One's assessment while actually living there can be quite different . Before we came to S’pore, I had thought this would be an ideal place for us to settle down. It was close to home, had excellent infrastructure and facilities, lots of Indians, great schools, etc. etc. Now, up close, the details of this place don’t make it as attractive any more…

For example, it is true that S’pore has many good international schools, but they usually are priced prohibitively and waiting times could extend to several years. It is said that if you want your kid to go to the United World College, one of the most sought after schools for expats here, you’d better register in the school as soon as you have a name for your child, never mind if the baby has not even been conceived yet!! Expats with short time horizons, therefore, do not have too many options. We put Urvi in an Indian Intl school, which continues to be a constant source of stress and disappointment, for purely non-academic reasons. However, the good news is that she has made some very good friends at school.

In our several years away from home, we have noticed that Indians mostly tend to stick with their own kind. I guess this is true of all ethnicities. Everywhere we have been to so far, I have encouraged Urvi to be friends with other Indian kids, and honestly, in this regard, I thought S'pore would be easy. At least, we will meet more Indians, at least we will stay close to our culture...

Again, up close, my recent trips to the condo playground, has been in an eye-opener of sorts. One gets to hear 8/9/10 year old (Indian) boys using expletives freely, sadistically bullying younger kids, and much worse. Urvi approached a girl, whose mother-tongue is Bengali, and spoke to her in the same. She was replied with 'If you want to be my friend, speak to me in English'. Urvi chose not to be her friend.

I find it disconcerting to see the holier than thou attitudes of many Indian parents who readily claim the high moral ground when it comes to ‘instilling’ their children with the Indian ethos. Are these the high moral values we Indians are so fiercely protective about? Values do not come with genes or nationalities. It comes from responsible parenting which involves explaining right from wrong. Honestly, I have seen far more responsible parenting in the west, where kids are not allowed to walk all over their parents, and bad behaviour almost never goes ignored. In the past, I have never had to tell Urvi, 'Don't mix with those kids'. Yet sadly, here, within a large Indian community, I find myself being constantly worried about the influences she brings home from the playground. While on one hand, its making her see reality the way it is (after all its all a part of growing up), one can't help but feel a tinge of sadness at the loss of innocence.

On a more positive note, Urvi has started taking violin lessons and she has started painting again, after a long time. I hope to be able to post some soon. And we visited the Night Safari ...all that and more coming up very soon...

Love Fundas

2009-08-31T03:34:00.014+02:00

...from a 6 year old.

'LIKE' is when you play with someone, enjoy spending time with someone.

'LOVE' is when you live with someone.

Example: I play with my friends, because I like them.

I live with my parents (and they live with each other), because I love them (and they love each other).

Simple.

Happy Birthday Nana!

2009-08-13T07:35:00.001+02:00

Singapura

2009-08-09T13:02:00.013+02:00

This is our fourth attempt at 'settling down' (after Noida, Richmond and Fontainebleau), but this time we are not even trying. K says we should treat this like a year-long holiday, and I must admit, I love the sound of that!

The past few weeks, our senses have had to re-adjust to the new environment. Names like La Fayette, Gare de Lyon and Chatelet got replaced by Hougang, Sengkang and Ang Mo Kio; quaint, centuries old European houses by sky-kissing highrises; the smell of croissants, baguettes and cheeses by Chinese and other Asian condiments; the cool temperate climate by hot and humid equatorial conditions; long stretches of pine forests and their accompanying stillness by flyovers with busy traffic till wee hours of the morning.

One of the first things that strikes one in this country is the efficiency and the ease of getting things done. We called StarHub for cable and internet, the day before we moved in to our new apartment. And by 10 the following morning everything was ready! A welcome change from France Telecom... To book a cab, you needn't speak a single word! Just press the buttons as directed by the automated machine. They'll pick up your address from the number you've used to dial. Most people in Singapore don't own cars, but there is an excellent public transport system. For a big city it is incredibly safe and clean. And what's more? (Little)India is only a short cab ride away!

The locals are very polite and helpful. Cab drivers will not hesitate to lend you a hand in case you are struggling with a lot of bags, and most will like to fill you up with local news and places of interest that visitors must mot miss. From the way a store clerk will hand you over the change or the way someone will always take off his/her shoe before entering your apartment, there is something oddly familiar about the culture of the place...a certain Asian 'humility' that is subtly different from mere politeness.

Before we arrived here, I had made grand plans of making the Zoo and the night safari, Sentosa and the bird park as our very first stops. Yet predictably, the first few trips were to Little India and Mustafa. The latter is a departmental store that one needs to see to believe! The range of products is just incredible! The watches section has models from Titan to Rolex! Though again, predictably, we spent the largest time in the section of Indian snacks. K was in a serious dilemma...whether to get the huge jars of 'murukkus', or the smaller Haldiram packets. Or perhaps the ones which were smaller but darker in color. Finally he settled for a variety large enough to make up for all our murukku-deprived days. I feel anyone who goes into Mustafa, stays there for a couple of hours, and comes out without having bought anything deserves a medal of some sort.

Urvi has been having a ball, splashing about in the condo pool all day (and throwing major tantrums in case she's unable to go to the pool one day for some reason). But she kept asking when she would start school again! Mostly because she was missing her friends a lot and wanted to make new ones here. But also because staying at home meant too much work! At home I was making her do 2 full pages of 3-digit additions, and subtractions with borrowing. Apparently, at school she won't be required to do more than a few a day, and that too not on all days. 'You said this was going to be like a holiday,' she protested. 'I want to go to school!'

Speaking of school it started last week. I'm happy to note that she has adapted easily to the Indian system, and even her teacher is amazed at how completely at ease she was right from Day One. Its only been a week, and I've already started receiving requests from her new friends to bring her over to their homes to play.

We've been to a few malls (the life-force of the residents here) and watched Ice Age in 3d (incidentally our first movie at the theatres with Urvi), tried out some Indian restaurants, and are getting used to Singlish (Question: Can you do this? Ans: Can can). There has been a realisation of how some French words have found a permanent place in our daily vocabulary. Try as we might, I doubt we can ever call 'travail', 'piscine', 'gouter', 'poubelle' and 'mouchoir' anything else.

Much of what is attractive about Singapore though, (swank malls, condo living) somehow don't seem to hold much charm for us anymore. Last night we were talking about all the places we have been to so far, and interestingly all 3 of us stated 'nature' as the thing we missed the most (the fall colors of Richmond, the pine forests of Fontainebleau). This was closely followed by the people we left behind in France, most of them locals, who helped us settle down and made us feel at home in a foreign land, expecting no favors in return.

There will be many more posts on Singapore in the near future. But let me sign off today by wishing Singapore 'A Very Happy Birthday!' Today she turns 44...

Au revoir...

2009-07-12T22:18:00.011+02:00

is the hardest word in French...

Its been 5 days since we moved out of France, but we haven't stopped thinking about the land. When we came to France 5 years ago, in Aug 2004, we found ourselves struggling in every step. An alien culture, a foreign language, the bureaucracy, the 'system'...everything! Getting an internet connection to fixing up accounts for paying electricity and gas bills...everything was nightmarish. If you add to that the efficiency (or lack thereof) of the system, where inspite of every light on your modem blinking the way it should, you are still unable to access the net, frustration is bound to rise. And that's not all...you would now have to go down to the France Telecom office in rue grande, and explain the situation...in french! And if all you can manage is 'Je ne parle pas francais' (i don't speak french) and rattle off in English...God Bless You! For, like you, the only english the store salesman has learnt is 'I don't speak English'.

But that was 5 years ago...

Urvi was 1 1/2 years old when we came to Fontainebleau. She could barely speak Bengali, let alone any other language. We had moved as tenants to 41 Rue des pleus (an address, we'd often joke we would never get out of, during K's long and arduous PhD stint) to Lucette and Serge's 100 + year old home. I taught Urvi to call them 'Madame' and Monsieur' and greet them 'bonjour' whenever we met. She could only manage 'booboo' for bonjour, and I think she thought that to be Lucette's name. For very soon, she was saying things like ' I want to go to booboo's house'. Lucette of course did not mind. Both she and Serge have been like grandparents to Urvi, loving her, doting on her, anxious when she was sick, thrilled at her every accomplishment, always welcoming her with home-made cookies and tarte-aux-pommes, speaking to her slowly in French (and picking up some Bengali in return). In no time Urvi had become part of their family. She would be gone to their house for hours. Later I would hear that she had played in their garden, helped Lucette bake a cake, heard a story, ate lunch, learnt new words. They were also the first people we would turn to for help. In our five years in Fontainebleau, our landlords have been like family to us, and I could never express in words the gratitude I feel towards them.

Urvi with Lucette, Serge and Chloe, their grand-daughter

In time we made other friends; Linda, Carmen and Bianca, whose home we raided on days that rained, and on days that didn't, Emma, Samyukta and their moms Petra and Vidya, whom we knew for such a short while, yet had become incredibly close, my wonderful neighbors, Katie, Giovanna and Isabelle, Lou-Isa and Olga, Urvi's wonderful teachers Mme. Vaquer, Mrs Wakoutra and Mrs. Nalini Rangan, my Art of Living friends, Stephane, Bea, Alexia, Katrina, Serge, Anne and Chantal, the cats, Pifou and Simba. Nalini, who I met during an AOL course, was not only a teacher to Urvi but also a dear friend to me. Inspite of her busy schedule, she would always find time to invite me for lunch, and give me good solid advice when I needed it. Her home in India is in Bangalore, and she has made me promise that I'll visit soon, so we can go to the ashram together...and that's a promise I intend to keep.

Saying good-bye to all these wonderful people, who made us feel welcome in a foreign land, was almost as painful as leaving one's own family. We should know as we have done that too.

When the news of our moving to Singapore was confirmed, Urvi was excited about seeing a new place but kept asking when she was going to move back to France again. Not soon, we told her. Well then, can I come back for christmas? she asked. I guess when you are 6 years old, 5 years is a lifetime. This was 'home', the only 'home' she had come to know all her life.

This is not to say however that all the people we met in France were as warm and friendly. We have had our share of racial slurs and the infamous French arrogance, all too often. But in defense of the French, I'd like to say that pricks exist everywhere, in every corner of the world, even in that most perfect place of all, India! But these isolated incidents can no way take away the warmth and love we have experienced during our stay there.

In the end I feel these years were significant for us in many ways. K decided to quit corporate life for good and join academics, a step that required a tremendous amount of courage and dedication, Urvi started formal schooling, learnt an enormous amount of things, the most important being friendship, I started writing again, but most importantly, found what I had been looking for all my life, The Art of Living. This was a time we all grew in some way, both individually and together as a family.

For all that, France and especially Fontainebleau, will always be in our hearts.

It was 3 a.m when I started writing this post. I dreamt that we were again in our Fontainebleau home, Urvi playing in Lucette's beautiful garden. I couldn't go back to sleep...

I guess we were right... we would never really get out of 41, rue des pleus...

Switzerland

2009-07-04T22:32:00.017+02:00

We just returned from Geneva, having spent 4 very relaxing yet very fun days. We stayed at Dadabhai and Boudi's beautiful home, elegantly furnished with antique Indian furniture alongside African masks and other artefacts collected from their visits around the world.

Boudi is a very talented artist, and some of the walls in their home showcase her artwork.

Dadabhai is a psychiatrist, working with the World Health Organisation, and Boudi is in Burundi for the past 4 years, working with the UN Peace Keeping Force.

Urvi and her mamu had bonded instantly, almost from the time that Urvi showed him her 'glow pen'...the one that lights up hearts when you write, and mamu wanted a similar one that he could take to work.

Doctor Chatterji and Mademoiselle Urvi : (Future) Proprietors of the Maison de la Pizza

It was just the kind of vacation we needed. No fixed itineraries, no compelling urges to cross out 'must-see' places, lots of entertainment provided by Dadabhai's huge collection of blockbuster movies, a well-stocked library with many bestsellers, lots of 'adda' over steaming cups of tea (or ice-cream).

Mamu's house is F-U-N!

The food was absolutely delicious. Dadabhai's talent in the kitchen is something to write home about. And though a strict vegetarian, he cooked (according to Kanchan) the yummiest chicken tikkas.

We went to see Jet D'eau for old times sake.

The following day we went to a nearby village called Signol-le-Bougy. The drive was beautiful, through picturesque Swiss villages. Atop the hill was a beautiful park, with farm animals, a magic show, mini golf and various other attractions for children and grown-ups alike.

The last day we went to CERN, the European Center for Nuclear Research. Though the Large Hydron Collider was not open to public, we got to see the 'microcosm' exhibition, which included a video of the LHC. One of the many purposes of the experiment is to re-create conditions at the time of the Big Bang, so that one could understand why the world is what it is today.

I really missed Boudi this time. The last time we visited them, she and I had spent many hours yapping about books, movies, art...She had introduced me to a whole lot of popular literature, and even lent me many, many books from her collection. Coming from France where English books were a rare commodity, I had been delighted by the gesture, and had devoured the books in no time.

All too soon, it was time to leave. But thank you Dadabhai for everything! And hope to see all of you in Singapore soon!!

The drive back...

Graduation

2009-06-28T07:31:00.006+02:00

The PhD graduation ceremony was held on Friday, June 26th at the Salle des Colonnes, in the Chateau of Fontainebleau. Interestingly it was in this very room that the Founders of INSEAD had their meeting of minds, which resulted in the establishment of the global business school. The first INSEAD classes also happened in a room in the chateau.

There were 7 graduates this year. The keynote speaker was Professor How Lee from Stanford Business School. The ceremony was followed by a typical 5 course French meal, at one of the best restaurants in Fontainebleau, The Napoleon.

As 'Congratulations' were being called out and graduation caps thrown into the air, one could sense a huge sense of relief amongst the students and their families. As Joe pointed out in his speech, it was like the 'crossing of a milestone of sorts'. Though Kanchan admitted he didn't know whether he should be happy or sad, as he had enjoyed the process immensely and would love to do it again if the opportunity arose.

Meanwhile, back at home things have been terribly hectic. Immigration papers have arrived, our stuff has been shipped to Singapore, much of the items we owned have been sold, Urvi had her 'graduation' last Thursday, gifts have been exchanged and amidst hugs and tearful farewells the reality of our departure is begining to dawn.

We feel a need to take a break from it all...so we are off to Geneva to Somu da's place for 4 days.

Farewell Gifts

2009-06-19T19:26:00.011+02:00

For those of you do not know already, we are moving to Singapore in two weeks! Its been an amazing five years in France, and we'll miss our friends dearly.

Urvi had decided to make personalised 'green' gifts for her 4 closest friends, Emma, Samyukta, Carmen and Bianca. All four are very smart, creative girls, so we decided to make 'creativity kits' for each of them.We made every item in the gift pack ourselves, almost right from scratch...except for the packet of seeds and the shoe-box of course.

Here is what each pack contained:
A personalised note book...

Bookmarks with cleaned and dried apple seeds

A story-book, where one can write one's own stories

A recipe book to note down one's favorite recipes

A 'friendship' book to keep track of birthdays, phone numbers etc

We cut out letterings from a christmas wrapping paper, which gave the books a neat 'professional' look. For the covers of all the notebooks, we used a thick art paper and colored them with poster paint.

These 'collection boxes' we made from regular cereal boxes. We flattened the cereal box, cut them out so that they were about 2.5 inches in depth, folded them inside out and painted them. Then we glued them on to a hard cardboard base. It could also be used as a piggy-bank.

These are empty yogurt cups that we covered with attractive wrapping paper and stuck to the base of the boxes. They can be used to store 'trucs de filles' (girl-stuff).

We also put a pack of seasonal flower seeds and paper mice containing 'bonbons'.

Finally we put all of that in colorfully decorated shoe boxes.

Each shoe-box had a picture of Urvi with her friend. We decorated the box with paint, images and even shiny 'trucs de filles' from discarded hairclips and and bangles.

Urvi and I had great fun planning and constructing the 'creativity kits'. We hope it will be a way for all of us to remember and treasure the wonderful times we have shared with our friends here.

Congratulations!

2009-06-12T18:07:00.007+02:00

After 5 long years of expected utility and decision making under uncertainty and risk, bayesian stats and behavorial decision theory, JDMs, JRUs, ECRPs and a whole host of acronyms, that so mercilessly robbed him of his chess-playing time, Kanchan defended his thesis succesfully yesterday.

No small feat this...considering that most of the time that he actually worked on his problems, it was like this!

Book of Firsts

2009-06-08T22:33:00.002+02:00

This weekend, saturday morning to be precise, Urvi wrote her first poem. Its about her friend Emma. And it goes:

Emma, je t'aime

Tous les jours c'est la même

T'es sympa, t'es jolie

Tu seras toujours mon amie

T'es gentille, t'es polie

Tu me fait toujours la sourire

Tous les jours c'est ma même

Emma, je t'aime

In English (doesn't rhyme)

Emma, I love you

Its the same everyday

You are nice, you are pretty

You shall always be my friend

You are kind, you are polite

You always make me smile

Every day its the same

Emma, I love you

My contribution was limited to rearranging a few words here and there.

This last weekend Urvi also had her first sleepover at Zoe's. Kanchan and I spent many anxious moments assuring her that it would be great. But should she have any trouble staying over, all she had to do was call us. It didn't matter how late in the night it was, we would go and fetch her.

We had worried uselessly. She was fine after all.

It was us who had trouble sleeping all night.

Mother's Day

2009-06-08T21:18:00.007+02:00

Sunday was Mother's Day in France.

I remember reading this joke in Reader's Digest once...

Dad: Hooray, we're going on a holiday!

2 yr old: What's a holiday Daddy?

Dad: Its going to a place where the beds are made, the rooms are cleaned, the food is cooked, the laundry is done by other people.

2 yr old: Then why is Mom coming along?

Urvi's gift from her French class was a handpainted wooden napkin holder, with a mosaic heart on it. This was Urvi's gift from her English class. Its a pot of tea and a tea-bag, with a poem:

Here's a gift for Mother's Day

I'll try my best in every way

But if you get upset with me

Relax and have a pot of tea!

Later during the day she gave me this 'gift':

When I asked her why she hadn't colored it, she replied that it was an 'activity sheet', and that I would have to color it myself. Guess she feels I don't have enough to do around here...

Green Week

2009-06-05T08:38:00.013+02:00

Its Green Week at INSEAD, which means good vegetarian, bio food at the cafeteria and free tea/coffee only if you bring your own mug. For the record INSEAD uses 32,000 paper cups a month!

There are some very cool 'virtual water' posters all around the campus. Virtual water is the amount of fresh water required to produce the goods consumed. For example to make 1 cup of tea, the virtual water required is 35 litres, right from the tea plantation, to processing of tea leaves, to transportation and final consumption. 35 litres for 1 cup!!

For 1 kg of beef it is 16, 000 lts!!!
Source: Waterfootprint.org

We found some very cool titles at Footnote, the bookstore, on going green.Urvi picked up the Charlie and Lola book 'How to look after your Planet'. Recycling and why we need to do it, is explained in very easy kid-friendly terms. What would happen if everyone simply dumped all there unused things on the planet? Urvi thought it would be like living inside a "poubelle" (a dustbin). The book has some useful tips on how to save energy, and how to contribute to a greener, cleaner planet. It also has a poster of a tree with 100 white leaves. And everytime you recycle something you add a leaf on to the tree. If you complete 100, you get your own real tree!

Urvi already has a few leaves on the poster and is yelling at her Dad everytime he leaves the computer on, while getting up to use the bathroom. I'm begining to think this was a good purchase after all. You may want to look up their website for more cool tips, fun and games.

Charlie and Lola green planet site

I also happened to stumble upon this talk by the legendary French photograher Yann Arthus-Bertrand. It also features the teaser of his film HOME, released today on the occassion of World Environment Day. The film, as he explains, is copy-right free and freely downloadable from this site. Its stunning! Do watch.

In light of all the above, Urvi has decided to make 'green gifts' for her friends before we leave France. The idea is to use material (from cereal boxes, wrapping paper, kitchen towel rolls etc) that we already have and make them useful in a different way. We are still working out the details...will keep you posted.

Wishing you all a clean, green weekend!

Astronomy 101

2009-06-03T16:30:00.009+02:00

The weather was great. The Sun shone brightly, birds chirped, a mild breeze ruffled our hair. We decided to ditch the car and walk to Champion, the local grocery store.

Somewhere during the walk, Urvi raised some very pertinent questions about the Universe. Was it the Earth that circled the Sun or the other way round, if the Moon too was a planet, and if it too circled the Sun...

The simple answer was Yes, it was indeed the Earth that circled the Sun. Urvi expressed some doubts to the above theory, but was promptly silenced by her wise father who informed her that any thoughts to the contrary meant she was a 16th C thinker. The poor girl was flustered.

So Kanchan added that the Earth and all other planets circle the Sun. Also, Earth not only revolves round the Sun, but also rotates about its axis at an angle of 23.5 degrees, which is how different parts of the world have different lengths of days and nights throughout the year. The Moon, on the other hand, is not a planet, but a satellite of the Earth, which revolves around the Earth (and not the Sun). Since the rotation and revolution periods of the moon are the same, we can only see one side of the moon at all times.

Axis? Angle? Moon?

I could tell we had lost the poor dear.

Now, asked Kanchan, is it clear?

Do you know why I like cats more than dogs? asked Urvi. Its because they meow while dogs bark.

I told you we had lost her, said I. We should explain it with apples and oranges.

But Kanchan, not one to give up so easily, said he had a brilliant idea!

In the middle of the sidewalk, in broad daylight, he made me stand still. Mamma is the Sun, he explained to Urvi. (Gosh... That sounded nice!)

And I, he said pointing to himself, am the Earth. This is how I revolve round Mamma. (Sigh! This was the best lesson ever!) He completed one revolution, and stopped. But, he said, not only do I revolve, I also rotate while I revolve, like so. He rotated. And revolved. I think he also made an attempt to tilt himself at an angle of 23.5 degrees. But it could have been the back pain he's complaining of lately.

So there he was rotating and revolving all around the Sun, and I had to call out 'Day', 'Night, 'Day', 'Night' depending on whether he was facing me or not.

What about the moon? asked Urvi.

Kanchan, not about to let a perfectly good model of the solar system go to waste, promptly stretched out his right arm, and pretended he held the Moon in it. Now while he rotated and revolved, he swung his right arm wildly about himself, sort of like Lord Shiva holding the 'damroo' and doing the Tandaav dance.

The amused, bewildered stares we got from passers-by, I leave to your imagination. But at least, the point was made. And now, we could go back to the more important questions of why cats were preferred to dogs.

Cats!

2009-05-31T22:17:00.012+02:00

Urvi and I are the designated cat-feeders of the neighborhood. Whenever our neighbors go away for a vacation, their cats are entrusted to our care.

In the past we have taken care of Pifou, Lucette's cat... and for the past month, we have been taking care of Simba, Katie's adorable feline. This is the closest Urvi has come to actually owning a pet.

And she's enjoying every bit of it. Putting food on Simba's plate, letting him in or out, stroking him, carressing him, holding him close, telling him his 'mummy' will be back soon...

Not surprising therefore, that almost all her drawings now feature a cat.

World hunger

2009-05-30T09:44:00.004+02:00

From time to time I post about extraordinary efforts being made by people to end world hunger and poverty. I have spoken about S.O.S pour L'Afrique in an earlier post, where a young boy from Urvi's school, Ulysees, having heard of the plight of children in Togo, decided to do his bit. Recently, his class staged a beautiful African play in Fontainebleau, the money collected from which has gone for the benefit of school-children in the African nation.

http://www.freerice.com/ is another website committed to the cause of ending world hunger. All you have to do is play their online vocabulary game, and for every correct answer you give, the sponsors donate 10 grains of rice to hungry children. 10 grains does not sound like a lot, but the game is addictive, and the grains pile up real fast!

http://www.aidtochildren.com/ is another similar site, where every correct answer brings 25 cents to impoverished areas of the world.

Please note that the referral fees for any product bought from Amazon through this site will be donated to Care for Children. All you have to do is click on any Amazon widget on this site, and buy any product of your choice from their site.

A Fairytale

2009-05-26T22:48:00.008+02:00

Rosie, the Pig Princess

A fairytale by Urvi

Once upon a time there was a princess named Rosie. She danced and she danced.

She stopped dancing when she saw a prince.

When he approached Rosie, they got married.

Then they danced together. Thereafter they had little babies.

Then the babies played together.

The End

Pearls of wisdom

2009-05-26T21:16:00.003+02:00

Today, while returning home from school...

Urvi: Tu sais maman, dans un match, l'important c'est qu'on participe.
(You know maman, in a game the important thing is to participate).

C'est pas important de gagner tout le temps.
(Its not really important to win all the time).

Si on gagne, on peut avoir un prix, un cadeau...
(If you win, you can get a prize).

Mais c'est rien!
(But its nothing really).

A l'interieur de nous, rien ne change...
(Nothing inside us really changes...)

p.s: Today at sports, Urvi's team lost the match.

Happy Birthday Mamma!

2009-05-19T14:49:00.003+02:00

Some weeks ago...

Urvi: Mamma, what can I get you for your birthday?

Me: Umm...I don't know...whatever you like.

Urvi: Well, if I can't think of anything, can I give you a hug?

Mamma totally speechless and touched runs to Urvi, gives her a bear hug, and showers her with kisses.

Some days later...

Urvi (looking worried): Mamma, I still can't think of what to give you for your birthday...

Mamma (this time ready with an answer): You know what I would really like? A day when everything is in its proper place, where nothing is lying on the floor waiting to be picked up by mamma, and a day of peace and quiet where you and bapi don't fight with each other.

Urvi (pondering over this a moment): Umm...can I give you a hug instead?

I guess I should feel lucky I got a hug AND this hand-drawn card made with so much love :)

Champagne and Exotic birds

2009-05-19T08:36:00.007+02:00

After a hearty Italian dinner (which we all agreed was the best Italian grub we have had so far in France) and a good night's rest at hotel Mercure, we headed for Epernay, the champagne capital of the world.

We drove through scenic roads, flanked by vineyards on either side, to reach the prosperous town of Epernay. The main attraction here is the Champagne Avenue, with its mansion like offices of the Champagne giants.

We took a cellar tour of Achille Princier, which educated us on the centuries old art of creating the perfect champagne. It was fascinating to see how much thought, energy and devotion goes into the manufacture of champagne, right from which grapes to pick up when to the professional tasters mixing just the right proportions of wines of different years to create that perfect blend. After the tour we were given a tasting. Urvi got apple juice:)

Urvi with her Obelix doll in Champagne Avenue

Our day at Epernay got over by late afternoon. From the several fliers I had picked up at the local Office de Tourisme, we got to know about an exotic bird farm nearby at Athis and decided to drop in for a visit.

The farm had several bright, colorful, exotic and very noisy birds, which had Urvi thoroughly excited and running all over the place. A gorgeous white sulphur-crested cockatoo was literally screaming for attention, even dancing to please the people gathered before her cage.

The peacock too enthralled us with a dance. Kanchan and I got to relax in one of the many benches provided, while Urvi ran all over the farm, going from one cage to the other.

After two nights of Italian food, we found ourselves longing for some Indian dishes. The local yellow pages informed us of an Indian joint near our hotel. Though thoroughly grateful for the Indian food, we were disappointed with the quality.

The next day we had planned to cover Provins before reaching Fontainebleau, but Urvi wasn't feeling too well, and my cough and breathing problem (now diagnosed as asthma) was giving me a hard time. So we decided to head back home...

Parc Asterix

2009-05-15T11:31:00.010+02:00

Stop 2 on out itinerary was Parc Asterix! Asterix and his Gaulois friends have long been our favorites. So while still wondering whether we should go to Euro Disney or Parc Asterix, we decided on the latter as this would be something you could find only in France!

This is the first sign that welcomes you to Gaule. Never mind, that once you go to "Gaule", you'll find Rome, Viking village and even Egypt inside. Let's leave aside our knowledge of geography for the moment.

The traffic had slowed down by the time we had neared the parc exit ...we were reminded of the trip to Keukenhof some years ago, when we had spent more than an hour on the exit itself. Still, we assured ourselves, the park was open from 9h00 - 20h00 (according to the website)...that would give us plenty of time to go around. We reached the parking lot to find the time displayed was 10h00 -18h00. Welcome to France...er..Gaule!

While waiting in the long queues to buy tickets, crowds were entertained by very Gaulish music blaring through the loudspeakers.

We really enjoyed the sets that had been created inside the park, be it the tumbling houses of the Egyptian architect Numerobis, or the grand arena of Rome. Everything had a "cartoony" authentic feel to it.

This is the arena, where Julius Ceasar recruited soldiers for his army. It was an absolutely hilarious skit, where "random" people from the audience were being thrown into the arena, and they had to prove their prowess by capturing a Gauloise (a female Gaul).

Having been to two Disney parks in the US already, I had no intention to go for any of the roller-coaster rides. In fact, if I never get on any roller coaster ever again, I would have no regrets. Kanchan had other plans...especially when he saw the triple loop Gouderiiiiix. But the average waiting time for any ride was 2 hours, so he had to abandon the idea.

Thankfully the children's rides were not so crowded, so Urvi got to do most of them. This is the helicopter ride she loved the most!

Inside the druid's forest

The Gaul village

Asterix and Obelix coming out to visit the children

The best show was the one taking place in old Paris (again absolutely brilliant sets), where 4 different art thieves were trying to steal the Mona Lisa. The skit had stunt artists using everything from trepeze to ferraris and motorcycles, jumping through fire and even sinking a ship! So were they successful in stealing the masterpiece, or could the ever effective French police manage to rescue her? Wait till you see the skit to find out...

This is where the dolphin show took place. I have to say that we were a little disppointed with this show. Having seen the one in Sea World, San Diego, where children and grown-ups had squeeled in delight, and held on to the edge of their seats during the performances, the one in Parc Asterix, seemed a little tame.

The last show too, celebrating the 20th birthday of Parc Asterix, left a lot to be desired. As Kanchan put it, it seemed they had refused to put any imagination into this one at all. Just a bunch of Gauls dancing. The worst was, when they were to reveal the "big surprise" (the few stories high birthday cake) the covers simply refused to come off. You had the technical guys running all over the stage with their walkie-talkies, trying to fix the problem. I expected something like "Fastasmia" , the show at Disneyland, but this was a huge disappointment.

The Viking village

Overall, we liked the park, especially since it wasn't so huge that you would be dead by the end of the day, but a few things left us feeling duped. The main characters, other than Asterix and Obelix, were not even seen anywhere around. There was no Getafix, or Vitalstatistics, or Cacophonix.

Its good for a day trip from Paris, especially with kids who might otherwise be bored with museum visits... But its best not to bring in expectations from previous theme park visits...

Chantilly

2009-05-15T07:55:00.008+02:00

The week-end of May 1st to 3rd, we decided to do a short road trip. Choosing a destination proved to be difficult, as having spent 5 years here, there is hardly a place worth seeing that we hadn't been to yet. In fact, some places we have been to more than once (and this is not counting Paris)!

We finally decided to go to Chantilly, Parc Asterix and Epernay. As soon as we hit the autoroute, we were rewarded with carpets of bright yellow flowers on either side, alternating with lush green fields. I am not sure what flowers they were, and the pictures just don't do justice to the sight. Enough to say, that we ooh-ed and aah-ed all through the way, and stopped our car several times to admire the beautiful French countryside, complete with rolling green (and yellow) meadows, and high-steepled churches.

We had started after Urvi's school on thursday, so reached Chantilly just around sunset. The chateau was closed but we admired its sprawling lawns, and imposing architecture from outside.

Urvi was thrilled to spot many carps in the canals that surrounded the chateau.

The legend goes that the 7th Prince of Conde, believed strongly that he would be re-incarnated as a horse. So he built a magnificent stable suitable for royalty. Currently there is a museum of live horses here, and daily equestrian shows educating people about horses and their temperaments. Unfortunately, the museum too had closed by the time we had reached. Urvi would have loved it, as she adores horses more than any other animal.

She even rides an invisible (girl) horse home from school. Her name is Sarah. She is invisible, but makes an awful lot of noise, which is how people like us get to know when she is around.

The horse museum.

p.s: The dates in the photos are different, as I had changed the batteries of my camera but had not changed the settings before clicking the pics.

Favourite gift

2009-05-13T09:14:00.003+02:00

Whenever we go to the supermarket to do our weekly groceries, Urvi is rewarded with one or many "gifts". These aren't necessarily somethings we buy just for her. More often than not, these are regular things which we would have bought anyway...like soap or cereal or a toothbrush or stationary for her school. But Urvi is always thrilled about these items and refers to them as her "gifts" for the day.

Yesterday we had to buy her a new pair of slippers, as the other pair had worn out. She was super-excited that it had a picture of "pet shops" on hers, and admired her "gift" for a long time.

Late last night, while still admiring the many fine qualities of her new pair of slippers, she asked:
Do you know what my favorite gifts are?

Me: The slippers?

Kanchan: Chocolate?

Urvi: I have two; Mamma and Bapi (daddy)!

Arts Plastiques...contd

2009-05-04T18:44:00.005+02:00

We just returned from a fun road trip to Parc Asterix and Epernay (the champagne region of France). I have been meaning to upload the pics of Urvi's last arts plastiques course for a while. So here goes...

The first couple of days they did "The Millipede Project". All the kids together painted a huge millipede, and they drew different kinds of shoes for each feet. Urvi had painted sneakers, ballerina shoes, boots.

Then they painted individual millipedes. This one is Urvi's.

A horse sculpture

And this is Urvi's super cool art teacher Marion Franzini. You can see her work at http://www.marionfranzini.com/

Parc Asterix and Epernay in our next post :)

Meeting Napolean!

2009-04-25T13:48:00.007+02:00

The chateau of Fontainebleau was the home to Napolean the 1st for a few years. Every year, around this time, there is a re-enactment of French history in the chateau, ending in Napolean bidding farewell to his troops.

Here are some photos of the chateau and the gardens from that day. Unfortunately, I could not take photos of the re-enactment, as we had arrived late, and it was extremely crowded.

Men and boys, dressed in period soldier uniforms entertained the crowd with military music, mock sword and gunfights.

There were free horse-carriage rides all day for the visitors.

Isn't this tree gorgeous? I have seen the leaves change color round the year, from green to orange, red and purple.

But here's the surprise :)

Monsieur Napolean did oblige us with a photo shoot :)

Arts Plastique

2009-04-24T23:40:00.003+02:00

This week Urvi had her Easter break, and she attended an art camp for 5 days. Here are a couple of pieces she had done last year, at the same camp.

Collage (age 5 yrs)

Spring in Fontainebleau

2009-04-13T19:13:00.009+02:00

...is a riot of colors!

After the dull, grey, damp and freezing winter months, the town gets a huge facelift with the coming of spring. Here are a few photos...

Tulips planted in street corners and road dividers

My landlady Lucette's spring garden

Cherry Blossom

La Foulee Imperiale - The traditional marathon through the chateau park on the first Sunday of Spring

A view of the chateau gardens

And of course, now that the weather is great, I can return to my favorite spot for the morning meditations :)

Photographs for a Cause

2009-04-09T18:21:00.011+02:00

This post has nothing to do with Urvi or child art, but it is for the benefit of children and child education, and hence deserves a place here. To celebrate his 30th birthday Prashant Bhardwaj, has launched a wonderful project called 30 0n 30, where 30 of his photographs are on sale. The goal is to collect atleast 30,000 INR.

The funds thus collected will be used for the benefit of child education, a project started by Sankalp, an NGO based out of Moradabad, India.

Here are a few samples, you can view the rest here.

Title: Simplicity

Title:Light Travel

Title:Tube Station

Title:Dance like no one is watching

Happy Birthday Dadu!

2009-04-04T22:26:00.003+02:00

Today is Urvi's grandfather's (Kanchan's father's) birthday!

We wish him a very happy birthday, and a wonderful year ahead!

100 Days

2009-04-02T19:20:00.014+02:00

Today was Urvi's 100th day of school this calendar year! They celebrated by partying all day, around the theme "100".

In the afternoon parents were invited to an exhibition of the collections that the children had made.

This is Urvi's collage made from 100 different kinds of "papier-cadeau" (gift-wrapping paper). Its an Indian princess (wearing an "Indian robe") in her garden. There is a palace in the background, and an elephant and a peacock in the garden.

Here are some of the interesting exhibits...

100 soda bottle caps

A bird with 100 feathers

A flower made of 100 yogurt cups

A train decorated with 100 stamps

I thought this one was fabulous! Constellations made of 100 marbles. I wonder how they got the marbles to stick so well...

100 made out of 100 buttons

A snail made of 100 felt paper buttons

A chateau made of 100 wine bottle corks (oh well! This is France after all!)

Another chateau made of yogurt cups

Earlier we went for a picnic to the chateau park.
Do you see Urvi's edible necklace (made of 100 cheerios)? She also has 100 painted on her cheeks.

Urvi with her best friend Emma

Homesick

2009-03-31T19:14:00.005+02:00

Lately Urvi has been talking about India a lot! She wants to know how soon we can visit again. To her, India is this magical place where she can do no wrong. Where relatives dote on her, shower her with gifts. And it doesn't even have to be her birthday! Where grandparents unquestioningly indulge in all her games (often branded "silly" by otherwise well-meaning parents) and listen to her ramblings with profound adoration. And should anyone (read parents) ever try to scold her, or even speak to her in a raised voice, they get scolded instead. How super-cool is that??!!

And then of course, there is that one other absolutely fantastic thing, the very thought of which makes her eyes grow bigger and smile wider. Yes, you have guessed it! Cartoon Network! 24 hours of cartoons on TV. Could anything possibly be better? (In France we have opted not to take cable television, hence her cartoon viewing time is restricted to an hour a day).

She asks me about my school in India. I tell her its the most fun I've ever had. Would she like to go to a school in India? Yes, she'd love to, she says. I tell her she will have to learn Hindi. She doesn't seem worried. She tells me she knows Hindi from the Hanuman and Krishna DVDs. I can't help but smile. Dusht Ravan, aab jaakey ranbhoomi ka dhool chaatna is hardly the grounding in formal Hindi one could have hoped for. She draws a horizontal line and dangles from it some circles and squiggly lines...and then asks me to read it. She is surprised when I can't make sense of it. "But this is Hindi!" she claims.

Mamma misses India too. She misses her parents, the fragrance of her mother's cooking, the idea of getting up in the morning and not worrying about what to cook, or whether the clothes are washed and ironed, or the rooms dusted and cleaned. She misses the colors of Holi and the lights of Diwali. She wonders when, if ever, Urvi will have the opportunity to witness an authentic Durga Puja...the one festival that pretty much defines Bengalis as a class of people. She misses walking into a bookstore with English and Bengali titles. She misses the sounds of India all around her. But most of all she misses The Art of Living...

Kanchan has been talking about India a lot too. The fun he had on his table-tennis tournaments, or the IIT elections or the IIM-C "Mishti" days! He says large chunks of one's life are missing when one lives abroad...like cricket, and politics, things that we identify with, things that define us as Indians. And the food! God! The taste of pani-puris and gulab-jamuns, chaats and dosas!

Needless to say, after a couple of days of such nostalgic discussion, we rushed to the nearest Indian store (located 15 kms away), to get our fill of packeted sohan-papdi, and hot lime pickles.

Its been 8 years since we left home. If only there was a way to return soon...

If only... If only...