Madness and Mayhem

Button is so clearly developing a mind of his own. He can now babble 'ba ba ba' continuously, but chooses to do it ONLY when his dad is around. His baby-sitter is not helping my case by teaching him how to say 'appa' all the time. So the moment P comes into the room, Button goes into babble-overdrive. Its a task to shut him up!

ARR's youngest fan is Button indeed(after all both of us are such staunch fans of ARR). Whenever he listens to 'Masakali' he begins grinning. He also goes still (as if when he grins the rest of the body cannot move). I caught on immediately and began putting on the tape only when I had to change his diapers. So one evening, I put on the CD (despite the fact that he did not need a diaper change) and he started howling and stopped only when I pulled out a diaper and showed him. Gosh, how fast does a routine set in?

Button loves to watch the view from my bedroom and what a view it is (pls refer to pics). In the migratory season (NOW), there are scores of egrets and herons and storks and other such birds which alight on the mudflats near my home in low tide (those little specks in the pic). Button loves to watch them. These birds fly in a large group and often change mudflats in a huge swirl of white wings. Button, at 9 months, does not understand the concept of 'distance' yet. He puts out his hands in the hope of capturing one of 'em and gets annoyed when none of them alight near him. Bozo!

In TV news, I feel really sorry for a character in 'Balika Vadhu', whose husband-to-be is killed on the way to their wedding. But I feel sorrier for the characters who have to mouth silly lines... for example, the mother of the slain groom. As he son is bleeding, she has a line that goes "Dekhiye na, un badmaashon ne hamare bete to kya kiya". Duh! And even more amusing is the fact that the boy (who is shot through his chest and forced to lie on his mom's lap) smiles in memory of his waiting bride and refuses to let go of some flowers he picked for he. Is is possible to smile when a bullet is making friends with your lungs? Double duh.

Another TV grouse. Yes, it is shocking that Sri Lankan cricketers were attacked in Lahore. But CNN-IBN had no business talking to Javed Miandad the way they did. The reporters seemed to imply that terrorist attacks in Mumbai posed no security threats, but God save Pakistan if even a fire cracker shouted out to the cricketers. They asked him several RUDE questions with phrases like "in your country" and "terror outfits seem to originate in Pakistan". Please give normal citizens of the country a break. After all India has several terror outfits too (Ram Sene included). No need to harass a poor ex-cricketer. Am certainly Cheesed off.

Am continuing to battle maid trouble and lack of will power to lose weight. Hope both get resolved quickly. :) My last maid stopped doing one chore after the other citing lack of time, until she wore my patience out. When I asked her about her inefficiency, she said she would only do 1 - 3 of 10 agreed tasks as she did not 'feel' like doing the rest for me! (Is it me or is it me?) My current maid, on the 3rd day of her employment wants me to increase her salary by 200 bucks every month. Now, the money is one part, but what about professionalism? Where is it? I feel like am being held threat by a gang of extortionists.

Jai Ho! (Ella pugazhum iraivanukke)

My weekend was a wonderfully busy one, peppered with joys and many disappointments. From a blog (can't remember whose) I was inspired to make every friday evening a wine-and-movie evening with husband at home. Sort of a mini-date :) This Friday, courtesy Dish TV it was 'Slumdog Millionaire' (in time for the statues) and courtesy husband lovely Merlot from Chateau Indage.

I imagined Saturday morning would be wonderful too. We had a school orientation to attend(yeah, for Button. ALREADY!) This school in Bandra offers a mother-toddler program for babies (ages 8 - 14 months) and their moms. I had missed the Jan orientation thanks to a bad flu. So the husband and I, Button and helper, headed off to a friend's house in Bandra (to leave Button behind). Just as I waved my byes to Button, he (made of sterner stuff) began his yelling practice(which sadly, gets appeased only with being nursed by darling mamma). The delay cost us... heavily. We ran to the school (literally). We were two minutes late and the room was full. Therefore entry was barred. Result? I had had enough with all my plans (of late) coming to naught. I couldn't help it, precious tears just rolled down my cheeks. My dear husband (P) can usually counter a fair fight, but tears just bring him to his knees. He whisked me off to our car and brought me to (guess, guess!) a jewelry store. Yippeee...... Check out the lovely earrings I was given. But was I appeased? Nope. I too am made of sterner stuff! We went to Crossroads for some book therapy and then to Patel's for some exotic-stuff-usually-thrown-away-post-expiry purchases. Finally, I heaved a sigh of relief and agreed to be civil during the lunch we had to go to. :)

Sunday dawned. I found out that Monday was a holiday, but P, having decided that being workaholic is not enough, had planned to go to Kolkata for recruitments at his alma mater. He was excited, but I sure wasn't. So another bout of retail therapy followed a 40%-off-Lifestyle and 50%-off-Body Shop. Am I grinning? YUP, YUP, YUP :)

Monday arrived. Two Indians created history at the Oscars. One of them being the man of my dreams. Ever since I heard the Leo Coffee jingle. Much has been written about how SM's music is not ARR's best. I don't care. He won it for this film. He WON it. That is all that matters. And in Delhi 6, although popular vote goes for 'Masakali', I vote for 'Maula Maula'. What I can bet on is that his humility and quiet assurance would never change, nor will the innovation in his music. More power to him for bringing the Indian sentiment of 'Mere paas maa hai' (I hope Button remembers me in his Oscar acceptance too!)

Button stood up by himself today. He has to hold on to something, but can somehow contort himself to standing position somehow. He is practicing to be a Bus Conductor or Concert Conductor someday. He cannot get enough of standing. Gosh, he exhausts me sometimes.

Jai Ho to my weekend, Jai Ho for the music.

ps: The rest of the title is a Tamil Muslim phrase meaning "Praise be to the Almighty", as quoted by ARR in his acceptance speech.

Blog is acting up....

....I can't view the last post when I enter my blog link... I guess my crankiness this evening has rubbed off on the blog too.. or is it being the proverbial cheshire cat? (Gulp, is my blog clairvoyant?)

2009

`Well! I've often seen a cat without a grin,' thought Alice; `but a grin without a cat! It's the most curious thing I ever saw in my life!'

Okay, the cat is back :) and hopefully before I disappear again, I shall remain to blog a few times.

For starters, Button has turned me into a die-hard infant-gazer. To put it mildly, infants have always screamed their guts out in my curly haired presence. Button had no choice (poor boy!) And at 8 months, I am under his spell. Never realised a 70-cms-tall bundle of energy could captivate me so much. The fascination has now extended to his brethren as well and I am almost willing to start a day care centre for babies. (Miracle miracle!)

Anyways, Button has become a powerhouse of energy and naughtiness personified. He loves to pick up anything in his vicinity on the bed, crawl in a jiffy to the edge of the bed, throw the object and then hurl himself after it! The first time he fell off the bed, I howled louder than he did (ah, a new way to shut him up!). Am now a 'Sehwag ki ma' type Button-catcher. In two seconds I can twist myself and somehow catch him before he leaps off the bed, sometimes in mid air (and if you know how much I weigh, its a Guiness record type feat, I assure you!)

The 'South India' in a person never leaves him, even if he was born and raised in Bombay. After trying all types of solids, from the 'North Indian' nachni, dals and wheat, I finally relented one day and fed Button mashed rice with a dash of salt and ghee. Since then, he not only finishes rice each time (no matter how large the portion), he pleads for more as well. (All my dreams of raising a orange-juice-and-toast-breakfast-eater cruelly dashed to the ground. Bring out the idli maker!)

In non-Button news, the husband and I have started going out on mini vacations (with Button of course). We did our Jan vaca in Madh Island. Twas' a start, albeit with a rating of just okay. In other household news, I've finally found a coupla maids (having sacked the last one for giving me child-rearing advice every second minute she was in my house, despite repeated warnings). Also dusted the treadmill in the hope that I shall begin using it SOON :)

Thanks for not giving up on my blog. I hope the new year dawned well for you and you had a romantic Valentine's day. More adventures follow.

Hindi baat

Advance warning: Non-Hindi readers, pl skip post as it turned out to be too long to include translations.

Prologue: Daddy dearest has lived all his life in the land of Tamils except for a brief 11 months stint in training school, BARC at Chembur, Mumbai. Mommy has lived in the north of Vindhyas only vicariously through the Hindi movies of the '70s. Here is a record of some of their Hindi 'Laughter is the best medicine' type stories!
PS: Any movie makers looking for material for a Southie spoof, here are your answers!

Year: 1999; Location: Souvenir shop, Katra (near Jammu, base camp for the Vaishno Devi shrine)
Mommy - Yeh, yeh, yeh, yeh and yeh, kitna?
Shopkeeper: Maaji, sab milaaki pachees.
Mommy: Ennathu? Too much, too much. Pachaas. That's all.
Shopkeeper: Hain???!!!!

Year: 2003; Location: Kolkata
Dad: Tum jaanta Raj hotel?
Cabbie: Nahin saab.
Dad: (waving his hands wildly to indicate right) Yahaan se seedha, (then gesturing to the right) phir seedha, (another right)ek aur seedha, (then left) phir udhar se aisa seedha.
Cabbie: Phew! Main poochta hoon kisi se!

Year: 2008 Location:Mumbai
Postman: Yeh parcel sirf Meera madam ko dena hai
Dad: Woh feeding karta hai. Tum apun to deta hai. Main madam ko feeding baad mein deta hai. Ab deta aur jaata!
Postman: Uh, okay. Sign karo!

Not to be outdone, here are two gaffes of mine which my friends never let me forget. (here's to Kunal and Dips!)

Year: 2001, Location: Puri Beach, early in the morning on new year's
Me: Kunal, sunrise kitna sundar hai. I love the sunrise because mein to beach pe hi ugi thi!

Year: 2002, Location: Gurgaon
[I called my friend and her mom picked up the phone. I thought I'd be polite and enquire about her parents]
Me: Aunty, aap kaise ho? Dipti ke baap kaise hain?

Cheers!

Ahoy from the South!

Button turned six months old :) I finally feel like a veteran mommy.... am a certified diaper changer, sleep-deprived soul, story teller in 3 languages and a connoisseur of baby talk, not to mention how I can nurse Button just about anywhere without worrying too much about any skin-show! New skills indeed! My husband and I celebrated by attacking a date-walnut cake and demolishing it in minutes! And of course the brief Kerala trip.

We did Button's annaprashnam at Guruvayoor on the 6th of Dec (the security was super tight and reassuring). Button looked like a doll in a veshti (the south Indian wrapper in cream and gold). We fed him 7 different types of food off a banana leaf at 5.00 a.m. and although it was so early in the morning, he still slurped and licked his mouth. We also did a tulabaram (paid for his weight in sugar and bananas, the proceeds of which would go towards feeding children supported by the temple trust).

He was a model child until we returned to Cochin airport from where the dad and son parted ways to fly to two different cities. I've always rolled my eyes at those babies who become cranky, loud and impossible in a flight and always believed that my baby would remain a paragon of virtue onboard any flight cos' that is how I'd've brought him up. Button CRASHED those dreams of mine into the netherworld on my solo trip with him from Kochi to Chennai. The moment he saw us leaving withought dad, he began yelling, kicking and screaming. He cried non-stop(except when air hostess Bineesha of Kingfisher airways would stop to smile her dimpled smile at him! God Bless her!) The moment he saw my mom-in-law(upon landing) he gave me an evil grin and went to her. As if I wanted him back after that flight!

I came to my mom's place this morning and Button showed off by doing the worm crawl for the first time today. Described as neenjal in tamizh, he basically pulled up his butt and somehow moved towards his fave cloth book this afternoon.

More posts to follow on lots of topics vying for attention on this blog. In a bit! Until then, enjoy the great weather :)

Jaago Re: Vote out the rot

After the shock and anger passed, am now filled with a sense of urgency, especially after reading and watching how some of our "leaders" reacted. RR Patil the Deputy CM of Maharashtra said that there would always be an incident or two such as this (the recent attacks on Taj Mahal, Oberoi etc.) in a big city like Mumbai and his boss, the CM of Maharashtra 'Shri' Vilasrao Deshmukh decided to visit the affected sites with a filmmaker. What empathy!

Now I'd like to do something.... no, I rephrase, I WANT to do something... but what? A million single efforts are not going to solve the problem. Like Obama said, I need Change, I need Leadership and I need Vision. I want to believe that as an Indian I can contribute to bettering my country. I realise that I need a strong leader to take this country to a better morrow. And for all this rhetoric in my blog (and in my head), I realise I NEED TO VOTE.

All media images of polling booths show SEC B, C, D and sub D categories voting. Never has a car stopped to let out a couple of educated MBA professionals/Media Managers/Engineers/Investment Bankers vote. C'mon, how many of you have ever voted? I have promised to myself I shall cast my vote in EVERY election that I can. At least let my voice be heard, use my right as a citizen, show the way to my son and his son. Taking a small step forward, I have already arranged to apply for my voter's ID card (which I am ashamed to admit, I still do not possess at the ripe voting age of 29!) I shall be back with more details of whether you can vote outside your constituency etc. But meanwhile do check out "jaagore.com"

To paraphrase Michael, nee Mikaeel Jackson, lets make the world a better place for you and for me and the entire human race.

ps: Here are more voices -
http://mammamiameamamma.blogspot.com/2008/11/lets-do-something.html
http://orangeicecandy.blogspot.com/2008/11/yeh-desh-hai-meraswades-hai-mera.html