40Q on 2009

This is probably interesting to ONLY me but since I've been doing it for the past few years, I want to continue. Here are the links to previous years 2008, 2007, 2006 (why I'm linking to it, is beyond be, cause BORING DUH!)

1.What did you do in 2009 that you'd never done before?
Pranayam, work on my fitness with a Personal Trainer, start to eat healthy, refused the second spoonful of Nutella(One Giant Step!).
2.Did you keep your New Years' resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
Here's what I said last year: (1) Focus on getting fit and eating healthy - accomplished, got into a size 6 for the first time in years. Only binged during Diwali and the trip to NY other than that I stayed away from the jar of Nutella. (2) Critisize India less and enjoy it more - I am surely starting to appriciate my country more and enjoying it's warm comfort. (3) Learn to cook Dal - ahh right, forgot this one. I did eat a lot of Dal though, if that counts!
For 2010:
- Stay fit
- Master the Surya Namaskar
- Start our house construction in Pune
3.Did anyone close to you give birth?
Madhuri & Srini had a baby boy, Kathleen had a baby girl
4.Did anyone close to you die?
No, although I have to mention Michael Jackson, I grew up with Billie Jean playing in the background for years.
5.What countries did you visit?
China, Hong Kong, USA
6.What would you like to have in 2010 that you lacked in 2009?
Acceptance of people I cannot change
7.What date from 2009 will remain etched upon your memory?
Nov 24, I got a job after a haitus of 1.5years
8.What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Parenting - it's so full of very high highs and low lows. I realized spanking is not a disciplining technique that worked for me, I felt horrible, continue to do, everytime I gave Tara one on her bottom. Nisha is in her Terrible Twos and is a much bigger handful than Tara ever was but I've restrained from a spank and instead relied on time-outs and working on my patience.(I'm probably spoiling her to bits as a result, well aware of the fact!)
9.What was your biggest failure?
Not learning how to cook.
10.Did you suffer illness or injury?
No
11.What was the best thing you bought?
I didn't buy it but my Mom got me a gorgeous pair of Indian ear-rings. I wish I had more opportunities to wear it. My Mom has lovely taste and is the only one who continues to buy stuff just for me. Also the Andy Warhol - Elvis piece from my Aunt, totally rocked!
12.Whose behaviour merited celebration?
My brother, who has had an exceptional year at work. He continues to spoil his nieces and shower them with his large heart.
13.Whose behaviour made you appalled and depressed?
My snooty neighbours
14.Where did most of your money go?
Sarees, toys and children's books.
15.What did you get really, really, really excited about?
- My favorite aunt and cousin, visiting us from Germany
- Arun's wedding
- Taking the girls to DisneyLand
16.What song/album will always remind you of 2009?
Jai Ho, from Slumdog Millionaire
17.Compared to this time last year, are you:
happier or sadder? Happier
thinner or fatter? Thinner
richer or poorer? Poorer
18.What do you wish you'd done more of?
Write on this blog
19.What do you wish you'd done less of?
Surf Facebook
20.How will you be spending New Year's?
Sharing an Italian meal with the Husband in Pune.
21.Who did you spend the most time on the phone with?
Spent most of the time listening to automated recordings from the Phone Company trying to sell me the next hottest Bollywood ringtone.
22.Did you fall in love in 2009?
Yes, with Don Draper (MadMen)
23.How many one night stands in this last year?
Officially striking this question from the list, it's pointless really.
24.What was your favourite TV programme?
MadMen
25.Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?
Not anyone new, same old ones, sadly.
26.What was the best book(s) you read?
White Tiger by Anand Adiga
27.What was your greatest musical discovery?
I am failing miserably in keeping up with music, not sure I'll ever hear an adult tune again. The only thing I'm forced to listen to is Bollywood tunes and I'm not it's biggest fan.
28.What did you want and get?
A job
29.What did you want and not get?
A flat stomach
30.What were your favourite films of this year?
Curious case of Benjamin Button
31.What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I turned 36 and I had a quiet celebration with family at home.
32.What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
If my brother got married! I agree I want to attend and dress up for an Indian Wedding more that I wanted to see him married, but really, Avi, get to it!
33.How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2009?
Enthic - wore lots of sarees and salwars and less of my sexy-boot jeans
34.What kept you sane?
My girls
35.Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
Not sure about "fancy" but Micheal Jackson definitely took up a lot of my thoughts. End of an era as I knew it.
36.What political issue stirred you the most?
The division of a state in India
37.Who did you miss?
My Seattle girl-friends
38.Who was the best new person you met?
My Yoga instructor. I experienced complete and utter muscle failure while attempting a Surya Namaskar. She has taught me it's benefits and has made me appreciate Yoga.
39.Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2009.
Don't be judgemental, there is good in every place, just need to discover it and make the most of it.
40.Quote a song lyric that sums up your year?
Well, I’ve been afraid of changing
cause I’ve built my life around you.
But time makes you bolder
Children get older
I’m getting older too.
- Landslide by Fleetwood Mac

Happy New Year!

Tara recites a Sanskrit shloka

The girls love to sing. They learn an inordinate number of songs in school, at home, I play them Raffi and other CD's that folks have gifted us. I'm baffled by the ease with which they have picked up Marathi and Hindi songs. Unfortunately I don't understand much (thanks to my English-medium upbringing) and it disappoints me that I can't encourage the songs at home. We attended a PTA meeting for Tara recently and I asked the Teacher how good Tara's attention span was, cause this girl, she can't sit still. The Teacher gave me a surprised look and said "Tara concentrates the most, haven't you heard her sing Guru Brahma?". I responded with a GURU WHA? Tara was immediately summoned and she recited the shloka with such ease that all the parents in the class paused and listened to her.

I often lament that if we were in the US, the girls would have picked up so much more. There are so many opportunities for them to learn swimming, an instrument, tennis, etc. In India, children are made to spend time with family till they are 6ish and then the EC classes begin. What didn't strike me is they are learning far more important things in India, things I would not have been able to teach them as easily in the US. Swimming and Tennis can wait.



[Guru Brahma, Guru Vishnu, Guru Devo Maheshwara. Guru Sakshath Parambrahma, Tasmai Shri Gurave Namaha. Om Shanti, Shanti]

Early morning ramblings

A few minutes before we drop the girls off to school every morning, we hang out in our balcony. They sit on tiny-tot stools, while I comb their hair and put their shoes on. We spot parrots and crows fly past, school kids walking with their over-burdened bags, maids tucking their sarees in and entering buildings, milkmen pulling cows, old people slowly climbing the hill to do yoga, and we play a game of I-Spy. The girls are at their innocent best, they don't fight with each other, they do their own thing and have priceless conversations. I'm so very fortunate I get to watch this, not in a hurry rushing them off to school, so I can rush to work and start my day. Instead, I sit with my cup of chai and listen to their ramblings and mentally record it. I'm enjoying this mommy thing, more than I ever thought I ever would.

Suddenly, two!

Dear Nisha,

I haven't written on this blog much since we did the India move, maybe because you've taken up every other millisecond of my time and your sister the other millisecond! I swear, everytime I settle in front of the computer to log-in, wherever you are, you KNOW, and the hollowing and the yelling commences. You my dear are a spoilt brat and it's all my fault. You see, I know you are my last child and I so want to enjoy every little bit of your chubbiness, poutiness, stubborness and deliciousness that I let you get away with anything cause by God this is the last time I will see a child in her terrible-two's and I might as well grit my teeth and enjoy it.

You are very much "all baby". I can't feel your elbows and your kneecaps, they are all covered in little rolls of fat and you still smell like an infant. You have grown so tall, almost reaching your sister, but yet you are rolly-polly. I struggle to snuggle with you since you are off the charts in terms of growth but the roundness remains. Blowing kisses on your belly and hearing you giggle in glee makes me want to stop the clocks desperately. Very soon those elbows and knee joint and flat bellies are going to make an appearance and your feet will start to smell of sweat! Stop growing so fast, I can't take it.

Words didn't come easy to you. It seems that the universe is trying to preserve your babyness by delaying your speech. You have a delightful baby-talk which I know I shouldn't encourage and get you to pronounce the actual word but I can't help myself and I repeat Motocatata while we watch the motorcycle whizz past. Tara started talking very early, she was yammering away and never had the googoogahgah phase. You on the other hand are taking your time. You know how to communicate very effectively with one single word. TARA.NO. YOU.GO. THIS MINE or MAMA.TIRED.SLEEP or TARA.PUSH. NAUGHTY TARA. NEECHA.GOO GIRLL. You relate the whole story with action in just one word, that's fachinating, you'll be a good Editor someday. Sometimes you say words that I'm totally clueless about and you will keep repeating it until I finally figure out the word and you'll break into the most gorgeous smile and say "YEAH!".

School has been great for you and more importantly for me. You need constant entertainment and it was getting harder and harder for me to qualify as your playmate. Luckily the school took you in and you adjusted right away. Seeing you and your sister get dressed with nametags and backpacks makes me tear up every single day without fail. Watching you say bye and run off into the playground clutching Tara's hand is an image that I will always carry in my heart. I've been told you stick to her like glue. The teachers hide her from you as if you see her you want to go to her class RIGHT NOW and boy do you know how to throw a tantrum. You have mastered the whole lying-on-the floor-kicking-the legs-yelling till you get what you want, masterfully.

It touches my heart to see you and Tara begin to play with each other. Even though you play for 5 minutes and fight for the next 1/2 hour, those five minutes give me hope. Someday you will be best buddies and I'll be able to sit in front of the computer and maybe send an email out and not be bothered. Tara really takes care of you, she had accepted you in her life and shares every single toy with you. You on the other hand, refuse to share and boss her around. I see how you slyly get your way with her - you first pull the toy you want, if you don't get it then you pull her hair, then you pinch her, then you bite her, and when she starts to cry for me you run and give her a big hug and start kissing her all over when I walk into the room. All I see is you hugging her and Tara handing over the toy in defeat. Then when I start to shout at you, you immediately run to a corner and face the wall, pout and say "time-ou mama?". How can I get angry with you? How can I punish you? I melt down and give you a hug is what I do.

You are etrememly strong-willed. It's your way or noway pretty much all the time. You choose your own clothes from the closet. Most times you take Tara's dress and say Neecha's?No Thara.Dhis Neecha. And force me to put it on you. If I dare put another outfit all hell breaks loose and I eventually give in. You hold up your finger and say No!Noooo! so forcely we don't know what else to do but listen. If we don't agree you make us turn around and whack us on our bums while announcing Phat! If we still don't listen you scream YouGoPeacock (When your Agi used to tease you she used to say I'm going to see the Peacocks and leave the house, so you associate Peacocks with going out).

With all I do to spoil you, you'd think you'd be my biggest fan. Nope, not in the least. You are daddy's girl through and through. The first word you say when you wake up is Pappi (I used to call my dad that, not sure where you picked it up from). If you spot your Dad, that is it, I turn into furniture. Which really works well when your bum needs to be washed! You push Tara aside and run to welcome him home, you bang on his bathroom door and keep repeating PappiPappi a zillion times until he comes out. You lay your head on his shoulder and clutch his shirt, something you do only with him since the time you were born. The smile you reserve for him is something I'll always be envious off. I'm glad you have this power over him, now all I have to do is teach you the right words and he'll be dancing to my tunes in no time.

Dear Nishi (another name your sister thought up) you are everything that a second-time Mom could hope for. You make me want to have more babies just because you are the most delightful of babies. You are your great-grandma's pet and I can see the joy she has in her eyes when she sees you. Everyone turns there head to do a double take cause your cuteness radiates and that smile, oh that michievious smile. When I hold your hand and walk you take my hand turn it and kiss it and say Mmmmmahhh. I hope you know you can always take my hand, I will be right there for you, always.


Happy Birthday.

love,
mama

Interview with Tara (3.5years)

1. What is something mom always says to you?
Thank you

2. What makes mom happy?
Jumping, a jumping rope. Mom, I want an elephant please, like in Jungle Book.

3. What makes mom sad?
Because I am nice. I want the elephant song, up-two-three-four.

(Phone rings) It's Papa....yes I do Papa.....I play there.....Hi Papa...what are you doing....you come tomorrow to my house....yes...I love you too....I miss you too...yes....yes she's alright...yeah...muah....yes I do...yes,now,tomorrow....Nisha say hi to Papa...say hi...ok bye Papa.

4. How does your mom make you laugh?
Tickle me that makes me funny.

5. What was your mom like as a child?
You were to crawl then you walk and you go big just like me.

6. How old is your mom?
3 1/2 years old. (That's your age Tara, what's Mama's age?) I don't know.

7. How tall is your mom?
This big (holds hands about 12 inches apart, she's probably right). Read this Mama, can you please read this book.

8. What is her favorite thing to do?
Sleeping (Damnit, my daughter knows me too well already.)

9. What does your mom do when you're not around?
Cook and you work and go on a holiday.

10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for?
For a monster for you (wha?)

11. What is your mom really good at?
Cooking...cleaning...washing...cooking. (Maybe she doesn't know me that well :)

12. What is your mom not very good at?
Nothing you make me happy. Is it over Mama, the questions?

13. What does your mom do for a job?
You have to clean in the house. You have to do washing all the vessels. Mama I want to call Papa.

14.What is your mom's favorite food?
Spicy Food. Spicy Poori. Pasta, I make cook Pasta for you afterday. Chocolate on a spoon, I like it too. (Nutella, that's my girl!)

15.What makes you proud of your mom?
You make me laugh. Hugging me.

16. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be?
You will be a small child like me. Your name will be Mama. Then you have to swtich off the TV. Then you will be Minnie, you have to wear a big pink bow on your head like this.

17. What do you and your mom do together?
Hug and then you have to kiss me.

18. How are you and your mom the same?
I the same and you the same, me and you. I want water Mama, I want water please, give me water. WATER!!!

19. How are you and your mom different?
I am different and you the same. (Ok, this interview needs to end pretty soon)

20. How do you know your mom loves you?
You hug me Mama, You have to read this book Mom, now Mom now.

21. What does your mom like most about your dad?
He, you love him. Mummy likes Papa when he visits her.

22. Where is your mom's favorite place to go?
To go outside.

Interview with Nisha (18 Months)

1. What is something mom always says to you?
Thara

2. What makes mom happy?
Thara Thara

3. What makes mom sad?
Thara. One. Done. Wahhh.

Ok Nisha, we'll try again next year.

25 Random things about me

Since not all of you are on Facebook, and this blog is not being updated regularly anymore (big FAIL for me!) thought I'd share this list here too.

1) I got my motorcycle driving license when I was 13. My dad taught me to ride his Yamaha 350 RD.
2) I arrange my money in my wallet in ascending order, always.
3) I am known to arrive at a Host's house early and wait outside till the correct time and then ring the bell. I hate being late.
4) I turned vegetarian on my 18th birthday. I heard Linda McCartney say "Never eat anything that has a face". I haven't since.
5) I carry my flat-iron everywhere. I have spent a lot of time and money on my hair, it's my Achilles heel.
6) Delete is my favorite key.
7) I was by my father's side when he had his first heart attack and his last. Not a night passes when I don't picture the smile he gave me just before he went breathless.
8) Discovered my favorite band Pink Floyd when I was 11, sitting in the London Planetarium watching a laser light show set to their music.
9) I'm kinda ambidextrous. I play tennis with my left but write with my right. I'm always confused about left & right as a result. When someone says - take a left - I have to think about it for a second before I turn in the right direction.
10) I won two silver medals at the All India Tennis Championships. I got the medals simply cause non of the seeded players came for the tournament.
11) I've experienced two life threatening incidents. One when I was 6, I sat on a glass table and went crashing through it. It slit my wrist and missed the nerve by millimeters. The second I fell into Lake WA while trying to pull a boat onto the dock. I didn't have a life jacket and was convinced I was going to drown until I was pulled up by my brother. Rumor has it the water was only 5 feet deep and I could have just stood up, but I don't believe it.
12) I seriously believe there is more to TV than life. I have learnt a lot from watching the Sopranos, Six Feet Under, The Wire, Gossip Girl, and an episode or two of Taxicab Confessions.
13) Whenever I type fast I put the last alphabet of one word with the next word - lik ethis, drives Google's spellcheck batsh*t crazy.
14) Both my daughter's names are in my maiden name. Pure coincidence.
15) I am terrible with street directions. When people tell me to head west I immediately look for the sun and start to figure out if it's rising or setting.
16) I have a photographic memory. I can remember every last detail of some random good for nothing crap that happened bazillion years ago. I can quote every line from Pulp Fiction and Reservoir Dogs.
17) I can never hang-up on a telemarketer. I have taken countless surveys, bought tickets to gala functions and supported the Firefighters of WA for years because I could not say No.
18) I once was locked in a very small bathroom for 9 hours. I never ever enter a bathroom now without a magazine and a fully-charged cellphone.
19) I have finished a 5kg jar of Nutella in a few weeks.
20) I have a fake laugh which I use at times when I'm conscious or am blushing.
21) I fantasize about being Jude Law's nanny.
22) I had my first sip of alcohol when I was 28, my younger brother bought me a drink. I live dangerously through him.
23) I proposed to my husband on email. He took 3 days to reply.
24) I wish I was taller.
25) I experience a lot of buyer's remorse. I pretty much want to take everything that I buy back. When I had Tara and she was giving me hell I considered calling the hospital and asking them for a copy of their return policy. Then I went and had Nisha.

First Sankranthi

Sankranthi is one of the festivals I remember vividly. It is the commence of the harvest season, when the earth slightly shifts it's rotation and the cool winds in the morning start to be replaced by warmer air. This is one of the occasions when we used to get new clothes as kids, the other being Diwali, and got to chew on sugarcane. My mom would make yellu, sweet & salty pongal and my dad's brother would drive us from house to house distributing yellu. This year since it's the first real Sankranthi for Tara & Nisha we decided to follow tradition. The festival is even more special if it's the first for a child.

We made the yellu (a mixture of peanuts, gram, dried coconut, jaggery and sesame seeds). In the past Mom would roast the peanuts, grind the sesame seeds, dry and grate the coconut and mince the jaggery. It was a long tedious process, but now you get evertyhing in vacuum sealed packets and all you got to do is mix the stuff (you loose out on flavor but you save time). Tara enjoyed doing the mixing while Nisha made a mess of the sesame seeds. We then got sugarcane and chopped it into pieces and bought apples to hand out (you usually give bananas but with kids we figured an apple was a better non-squashble fruit).

I wanted to call my relatives to inform them that we'd be coming. Mom refused to let me, she says one never asks for permission one merely goes to the house, after all it's family. We dressed the girls in traditional pavadas, took the bags and set-off. We soon realized we needed directions. Bangalore has become a city of one-ways and no-ways. If you miss one turn you pretty much will have to circle the entire city. The traffic has increased a billion-folds, one wrong turn will cost you precious hours. So we eventually had to call every relative we visited.

The joy and sheer happiness I heard on the other side of the phone and on entering the house was amazing. I visited Aunts and Uncles who've seen me as a kid distributing yellu so to see my two girls doing it now made their day. They thanked me over and over again for coming from the time we entered the house to the time we left. There was a sadness in their eyes as they had to give me yellu in their house instead of coming to mine. Traditionally one would go to one's house to give yellu, you only receive in your house, not give it out. However, with traffic, distances, schedules, age, it's too hard to do. I can see it now, we were beyond exhausted by the end of the day and I wondered whether I'd have the energy to do it again next year.

Life is so hectic in India, it bustles with activity and the activity wears you down. Nothing is easy you have to struggle through it. Take for instance the trouble I had getting into my Aunt's apartment complex. She lives on a long one-way stretch, we missed it the first time which meant, yes, a circle around the city to get back in front of her apartment. Security had us fill-out all sorts of information including a cellphone number to enter. We then forget the apartment number and the Guard was clueless, he couldn't speak Kannada or English or Hindi (he's from Assam a different state with a different language) so I grabbed the Apartment list and combed though each of the 4 buildings tenants, eventually finding the name after two takes. My aunt on arrival apologizes - "Oh, my house was always open for you to come in anytime, now I have to live in a building with security guards who keep people out.". It amazes me now that in the past we'd go to houses and someone was always there, people lived in large joint-families so you'd never have to face a shut-door, you were always greeted with a familiar smile.

We went to eight houses in total, spread across the city. We left at 1pm and got home at 8:30pm. The girls were great for the first couple houses but by the last house Nisha had slept off, Tara was hungry and braty and I had overstuffed my face with too much yellu. BUT, it was such a memorable day. It's not easy to meet family these days, people are busy, distances are huge, traffic is a gridlock, life is chaotic, age has caught up, so on days that you do get out and meet your family, it's very rewarding. The joy that you get from seeing a loved one is something that brightens the spirit. Something I've missed by staying away for far too long, something I'm glad I got to re-live.