Stories aboard the mommy train...

Hero

2011-05-27T16:15:00.001+05:30

MC: Appa is your hero, isn’t it, Kevin? Amma is not your hero, right?

Kevin: Amma not hero. Amma zero.

MC & me: ???????

MC: If Amma is zero, what are you?

Kevin: I am seven.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Don’t ask what it means.

Dear Mr. Murphy

2011-02-20T23:04:00.000+05:30

Thank you...

for blocking internet when there is time and ideas
for blocking ideas when there is internet and time
for blocking time when there are ideas and internet
for blocking internet when there is time and ideas
...
..
.

I admire your dedication!

Söckchen 08

2010-12-08T22:36:00.006+05:30

Sleighing followed by a cup of hot chocolate with cream. Hmmmm......

Söckchen 07

2010-12-07T19:42:00.000+05:30

Christmas story and popcorn.

Söckchen 01

2010-12-01T17:24:00.000+05:30

A Söckchenkalender is what they have as the Adventskalender at the Kita. Each sock has a chit with the craft/activity for the day.

We missed the first day due to fever. So, no idea what happened on day 1. :(

Adventskalender

2010-11-30T18:48:00.000+05:30

Here in Germany, there is a tradition of using the Adventskalender to count the days in anticipation of Christmas (please read Wiki.. I am too lazy to explain)... again something I was missing like hell over the past 20+ years.

When we were kids, the calendars usually came with small pieces of chocolate in Winter/Christmas-related shapes like Santa Claus, angel, snowman, star, apple etc behind the 24 windows. Now-a-days these have been commercialised so much that I feel that the beauty is lost. They contain Lego toys, little ponys and accessories, big Kinder chocolates etc. A small piece of chocolate to sweeten and shorten the wait time is fine. But toys everyday? Sorry, but I am a Taurean. So I need to object to these kind of changes. And I really don't think that it's good.

To confess, I didn't buy a calendar this year. I didn't want to buy one with chocolate/Lego and all those with little pictures behind the windows were already sold out. Aha! So there are people out there who prefer the old fashioned ones. To compensate for the lack of a calendar at home, they have one at the Kita, where, to my surprise, the daily surprises are healthy ones. That is why I thought that I should record it. Here starts the 'Advent 2010' series. Enjoy! :)

Priorities

2010-11-17T11:17:00.007+05:30

What's usually written on cigarette packets:

"Smoking is injurious to health / Smoking can be deadly"

What's written on a pack of cigarettes from Turkey:

"Please be aware that smoking can impact your sperm count and fertility"

!!!!!!!

Priorities, I say.

The bus to Frankfurt and then some

2010-11-15T11:15:00.002+05:30

Before 13th September

Me: Kevin, when someone asks you 'Wie alt bist du?' (How old are you?), you have to answer 'Zwei' (two).
Kev: Ok

And dude started practicing 'Wie alt bist du?' 'Zwei', 'Wie alt bist du?' 'Zwei', 'Wie alt bist du?' 'Zwei'...

***

After 13th September

Me: Kevin, now you are 'drei' (three). So, when someone asks 'Wie alt bist du?', you say 'Drei'.
Again he started practicing and suddenly asked: Mama, wie alt bist du?
Me: Dreißig (Thirty)
Kev (horrified): But you can't be dreißig, Mama. Dreißig is the bus that goes to Frankfurt!
ME: !!!

========================================================

'Kevin, what did you have for lunch today', asks Mama, who despite the weekly menu being published at the KG wants to hear it from the offspring's mouth.
Kevin: 'hmmmmmmmm......'

*thinking........*
*thinking......*
*thinking....*
*thinking..*
*thinking*

'Lunch!'

"Laterne, Laterne

2010-11-12T14:53:00.002+05:30

Sonne, Mond und Sterne..."

So beautifully did they sing, the little ones. It was a real feast for the ears as well as the eyes. For me, again something after a gap of 21 years and for Kevin something to add to his box of childhood memories. I know that I am asking for too much when I expect him to remember things that happened at the age of 3. But you never know. I still have flashes of some incidents, though I can't call them memories. But I digress.

To begin from the beginning.. let's get back to reality. The first para is how I would have liked to describe the evening. But things were not supposed to turn out that well. The weather was horrible (read rain and wind) and Kevin was cranky. The moment we stepped out of the KG to join the Martinszug, Kevin decided that it was time to go home. Of course, being as stubborn as the offspring, Mama didn't give in and son had to follow suit. It was raining cats and dogs. The wind was blowing heavily and by the time we reached back at the KG, everyone was shivering and the laterns were almost drenched, if not destroyed.

The rest of the evening was spent inside the class rooms. Everyone enjoyed the snacks and the warm drinks were most welcome. I seriously hope that next 11th Nov will be more co-operative. For now I leave you with a picture of the St. Martin's day specials.

Prepare for Christmas

2010-11-11T11:11:00.007+05:30

says Babyworld as of 11th Nov. It's more than a month to Christmas and most of the shops have already started selling chocolate and porcelain Santas.

I lifted this pic from a friend's mob-uploads on FB. It was too cute to resist. :D

I was really shocked when I saw the first Santas for the year, which was way back in..... October!!! I am just waiting for the day when we start celebrating New Year with Easter eggs. :P

Block

2010-11-09T14:44:00.000+05:30

I stopped updating my blog for some time and promptly lost the few readers I had. Not that I am writing for name and fame.. I know that this blog is not really material for said results. Still.

I can't blame the lack of time or connection (Internet, of course!) for the lack of posts. The whole idea of blogging just shut down, though I wouldn't call it 'Writer's block'. Nah, I'm not a writer, you see. So let's call it a block. Simply. I was blogging in my mind all the time but it just stayed virtual. Far more virtual than the internet. And now I deeply regret not writing. I mean, which blogger doesn't have fun reading old posts and smiling at the immaturity in them. Err... no offense. I just meant to say that we are getting older and more mature with time (at least, we are expected to!!) and that should reflect in more recent posts, right?

Then, some days back while I was hopping and hopping from blog to blog, I got stuck at a little world... at Dhanya's little world full of electroscribbles. The ease with which her posts seemed to flow just left me in awe. And I kept reading and reading, without even stopping to comment. And the blog inspired me to restart writing. It seemed to pass on the message that blogging is fun. So, keep writing girl. There are people out there (read me)who are in need of the inspiration and entertainment. :)

And now that I don't know what to write further, I just say that I will try to login to blogger more often. :)

It's Forestweek

2010-11-08T19:37:00.007+05:30

renamed and replanned to Naturweek, since the KG team didn't want to run into the risk of more tutors on sick leave. So it will be four half-days in the nearby forests and the rest of the time spent on activities related to nature. Since the weather is not too bad, I expect that all of them will have a nice time.

The Martinszug has also been planned for the week. The kids have already crafted their laterns and practiced different St. Martin songs. This will be followed by a get-together in the KG yard with Kinderpunsch, Glühwein, Wechmännern and Laugenteilchen.

I am hoping for a happy and eventful week. I also hope that I will stay enthusiastic enough to blog the details and post some pictures. :)

It's that time of the year...

2010-11-02T13:32:00.004+05:30

...which brings back childhood memories. The falling leaves, the red-yellow-brown surroundings, the chestnuts, the short dark days, the smell of the cold early morning breeze..... it's been 21 years since I last lived through this season. And now it's taking me back. And I'm loving it.

Motherhood...

2010-07-08T20:10:00.003+05:30

takes you back to your childhood and allows you be a kid again. But then, mothers never grow up and kids grow way too fast! :(

Announcements?

2010-06-30T19:59:00.003+05:30

This is what the "belly-print" t-shirt that was worn by the Packers & Movers supervisor (in India) said in the month of March:

"Ich werde im Februar da sein!"

which is German and translates to "I will be there in February!". :D

What made the whole thing funnier, was the fact that this guy was not really fat but still had a huge belly. I had a hard time suppressing my laughter each time I saw him. :))

"Amma, it's red!"

2010-06-24T18:03:00.000+05:30

All through our 'Tashi' (Taxi) journey from Frankfurt airport to the apartment in Bad Vilbel, Kevin kept asking why we were stopping every now and then. I had to keep explaining that we were supposed to stop at red light and could go ahead at green. In India, he had never come across the respect for traffic signals even by chance. So, a car stopping and waiting in the middle of the road was really something new.

Well, with new lessons kept handy, we went for grocery shopping the next day and reached a pedestrian crossing when the signal was showing red. I told Kevin that we had to wait since the light was red. He waited patiently and started walking, pulling me along, when the light switched. We had crossed about 75% of the road, when he suddently stopped and refused to walk further. I was surprised and wondering what happened, tried to pull him to the footpath,
when he exclaimed, "Amma, it's red! We have to stop!!". :-O

I really didn't know what to say!

To answer questions that might pop up here - Kevin and his grandparents arrived in Germany on 17th June. We will be here for a couple of months depending on the project.

The name is Kela, just Kela.

2010-06-09T18:08:00.008+05:30

To those of you who are wondering what/who on earth 'Kela' is - it's my son. No, no, I am not announcing the arrival of a second one. It's my one and only Little Innovator, who has taken to naming and renaming himself once in a while. I haven't blogged for quite some time and hence obviously missed a couple of updates that really deserved to go in here.

Nearly a year back, Kevin started calling himself Vavalala. Just to confirm, as far as I know, 'lala' doesn't mean anything. And I don't have a clue where he got that from. He just invented the name. Later on Kiwilala was added to the list. At around that point of time he also upgraded his parents' names - Appa to Appan to Appalala and Amma to Amman to Ammanna and then to Ammanana. Again, no clue what that was supposed to mean. But who cared. It was just too cute. And please note that males were suffixed with 'lala' whereas females were suffixed with 'nana'. We used to get confused with this lala-nana thing, when kiddo never seemed to have a problem!

Last week Kevin decided to rebaptise himself and came up with ????. It took everyone a couple of days to decipher the word he kept using all the time. It was finally figured out that the first part of Kevin was intelligently merged with a part of lala to give....... Kela!!! I think that the name itself is too funny and I can't help laughing every time I even think about it. But what's even funnier is the seriousness and dedication he shows in using it. Luckily we are still Appalala and Ammanana. But I am just waiting for the day when we turn into Ala and Ana!

And here I am...

2010-03-24T15:45:00.003+05:30

after nearly a year. Can't say that I missed blogging, since I was too busy running from Bangalore to Kerala and back. But have to admit that it feels nice to see the blogger edit pane again.

Currently the family is pretty much spread across South India - me in Hyderabad (yeah!), MC in Bangalore and Kevin in Kerala. But that's gonna change shortly and it can only get worse. So keep watching...

Yipee!!

2009-07-01T10:10:00.003+05:30

I've done it!!! Long long back I had written a post about the Goethe C1 Certificate I was planning to do. And the 'to do' finally happened. Wrote the exam last week and got the result today - 92.5%. Guess I can be happy :)

To all who wished me good luck - Thank You!!!

We are moving

2009-04-06T21:30:00.003+05:30

or rather 'we are on the move!'. And I am short of the netconnection-time combo. That should explain the lack of posts.

Right now the family is pretty much split up, with MC staying in a PG, me with a cousin, both of us in Bangalore, and with Kevin staying with his grandparents in Kerala. A re-union is going to take some time. So till then my blog will be on vacation.

The IFB Saga

2009-03-19T14:07:00.004+05:30

Since the technician who had visited the previous day, had said that he will come with the spare parts at 9 o'clock the next morning, I took a day's off yesterday. Here's my yesterday:

18-Mar-09 09:00 AM No technician in sight!

18-Mar-09 09:30 AM Still no technician in sight!! I call the service center - "Madam, evening will come or tomorrow..... blah blah blah"... and eventually cuts the call when I say that I don't speak Telugu! Bloody idiots! Is it a crime not to speak a local language? Anyway, I call again and tell them my opinion in a totally rude way (and I am proud of it!). Then I call Rajeev (who had called me the previous day to apologize) and make sure that he understands that things are going beyond every limit.

18-Mar-09 10:15 AM Technicians appear and work till 12 o' clock. At 12, the power goes off. And since we are living in a country with people who are more bothered about "enriching" the so-called "rich" culture and heritage, we fall a bit short and poor on a couple of not-so-important matters like electricity and punctuality. Which means "I don't know when or whether the power is gonna come back!" Whatever.. they wait for 45 mins and leave saying that they will come back in the evening.

18-Mar-09 06:30 PM Technicians come and work till 9:30 and are still not able to solve the problem. I talk to their "Sir" and he promises me to send a better experienced person the next day.

*** *** ***

19-Mar-09 09:45 AM I get a call from Rajeev reassuring that the technician will come in the evening.

19-Mar-09 06:35 PM Senior technicians come and get it done in 45 mins. Now that's called expertise. Experience does matter!

But that I had to pull out my hair (the few that are left!) to get something for which I have every right, really makes me sad. Well, I guess that's what India is all about. *sigh* That reminds me of my PAN card correction experience, which is well worth another couple of posts!

IFB continues to suck...

2009-03-17T11:18:00.007+05:30

as if competing for a championship. In continuation to my earlier post...

Current status:

05-Mar-09 Machine was taken to the service center

07-Mar-09 Machine was brought back with changed drum. Rs. 400 was charged for transportation even though the transportation was due to the damage caused by IFB!!! Machine was switched on and found to be not working. Technician said that some part is damaged and they don't have the tool with them and will come on Monday (09-Mar-09). To be noted: The machine is just in from the service center. Didn't they check whether it is working before bringing it back????!!!!

09-Mar-09 No technician in sight!

10-Mar-09 Still no technician in sight!! I call the service center and they say that the technician is in another area. Since 11-Mar-09 is a holiday (Holi) they will send the technician on 12-Mar-09.

12-Mar-09 Technician comes and says that some part is damaged and he has to get it. Huh? Wasn't that the same thing that the technician who came on 07-Mar-09 said. Whatever.. He says that he will come on 13-Mar-09 (next day). Pucca!!

13-Mar-09 No technician in sight! I call the service center - "On the way", it seems!

14-Mar-09 Still no technician in sight!! I call the service center - "On the way", it seems!!

16-Mar-09 Still no technician in sight!!! I call the service center - "Just around your corner", it seems!!! Oh, forgot to mention - whoever attended the phone simply disconnected the call when I said that I don't speak Telugu! After that I didn't even bother talking in Hindi. English it was. Whether they understand or not.

17-Mar-09 09:30 AM I call the service center - "Technician will come today, Ma'am!"

17-Mar-09 11:00 AM I call the service center - "The complaint number is in completed status!!" I say - (*_@!$^!@^$()*(&@%^*&#%@*(&$ Response - "Technician will come in the evening".

17-Mar-09 12:30 PM Following a couple of random mails I shot to whichever IFB mail ids I could find on the World Wide Web, an IFB representative, Rajeev called up to check on the issue. He has assured that he will get the machine repaired today itself. Lets wait and see.

17-Mar-09 06:30 PM Technician comes and checks the machine. Finds that both the timer and the motor are damaged and says that he will come the next day morning with the spare parts.

To be continued............

Keep watching this space for the rest of the story.

Pregnancy Tag

2009-03-16T10:56:00.003+05:30

Kiran had passed on this tag on Facebook and I am taking the liberty to do it on my blog. So, here we go...

1. WAS YOUR FIRST PREGNANCY PLANNED?
Yes.

2. WERE YOU MARRIED AT THE TIME?
Sure!

3. WHAT WERE YOUR REACTIONS?
Happy! But I kind of knew it before I tested positive.

4. WAS ABORTION AN OPTION FOR YOU?
No way!!

5. HOW OLD WERE YOU?
26

6. HOW DID YOU FIND OUT YOU WERE PREGNANT?
Home pregnancy kit

7. WHO DID YOU TELL FIRST?
MC

8. DUE DATE?
24 Sep 2007

9. DID YOU HAVE MORNING SICKNESS?
Yeah. But not that bad.

10. WHAT DID YOU CRAVE?
German Cuisine

11. WHO/WHAT IRRITATED YOU THE MOST?
Intense smell of anything and everything

12. WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST CHILD’S SEX?
Male

13. DID YOU WISH YOU HAD THE OPPOSITE SEX OF WHAT YOU WERE GETTING?
I wished, but didn't pray for it. A healthy child was far more important.

14. HOW MANY POUNDS/KGS DID YOU GAIN THROUGHOUT THE PREGNANCY?
12 kgs

15. DID YOU HAVE A BABY SHOWER?
The traditional one.

16. WAS IT A SURPRISE OR DID YOU KNOW?
Everything traditional is more of a head-ache!!!

17. DID YOU HAVE ANY COMPLICATIONS DURING YOUR PREGNANCY?
Nope. Can't complain.

18. WHERE DID YOU GIVE BIRTH?
Kerala

19. HOW MANY HOURS WERE YOU IN LABOR?
Painful contractions - 20 hrs. The painless ones started about 20 hrs before that.

20. WHO DROVE YOU TO THE HOSPITAL/BIRTH CENTER?
My father

21. WHO WATCHED YOU GIVE BIRTH?
Doc and her team

22. WAS IT NATURAL OR C-SECTION?
Natural

23. DID YOU TAKE MEDICINE TO EASE THE PAIN?
They gave me some sedation

24. HOW MUCH DID YOUR CHILD WEIGH?
3.5 kg

25. WHEN WAS YOUR CHILD ACTUALLY BORN ?
13 Sep 2007, 11:58 AM

26. WHAT WAS YOUR REACTION WHEN THE DOCTOR ANNOUNCED THE SEX OF THE BABY?
I thought “Shit! Now I can forget all the nice frocks I saw at Central!!”

27. WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST REACTION ON SEEING THE BABY?
I thought "What?! This guy wants to see only half of this world?!" (his left eye was a bit lame initially and hence closed when I saw him).

28. DID YOU CRY?
No. I was busy thanking God for the natural delivery and the strength to bear the long hours of labour.

29. WHAT DID YOU NAME HIM/HER?
Kevin

30. HOW OLD IS YOUR FIRST BORN TODAY?
1 year 6 months and 3 days

Today's Breakfast

2009-03-04T11:45:00.002+05:30

Jam Bried
Cornpals
Kacheri Palk
Palen Dosa

No prizes for interpretation!

P.S: To eliminate all confusion that might have occurred - This is how the breakfast menu had been written on that day in our canteen!

Farah choreographs for Amrita Arora

2009-03-03T13:50:00.004+05:30

says the Deccan Chronicle. I quote:

"Malaika has chalked out all the details and requested Farah to help her. Amrita does not know about it and it is being planned as a big surprise."

Now with the newspapers keeping the world updated, it's really gonna be a biiig surprise!!

IFB sucks!!!

2009-02-27T12:12:00.006+05:30

It's not the quality of a product but the service of the company that matters. Here is my complaint. I just had to publish it.

Following some problems with the way our Elena washing machine (purchased Jan 2005) was spinning, we contacted IFB customer care (mid Jan '09). Someone visited two days after the complaint was raised and said that the program setting knob had some loose contact. He supposedly fixed it and it started working again.

After three days the same problem occurred and we called up customer care again. The mechanic came after four days and said that the issue was due to the calc deposit in the machine.

A water softening tool from IFB had been fixed to the water inlet of the machine following IFB's advice at the time of the purchase of the machine. The representative did not check the pipes or water in/outlet and simply assumed that the culprit would be the calc.
He poured 1.5 pack of IFB's descaling powder into the wash powder tray and half a pack into the drum. That when it was clearly written on the pack that the powder should be poured into the wash powder tray only. After that the drum went black!!!
He demanded Rs. 300 for the powder though we were on AMC!! We did not give the money though.
The drum should have been washed and the filter cleaned after the descaling, which he did NOT do.

After n number of phone calls and arguments, the guy who screwed up our drum came to "investigate" and we were promised that the drum would be replaced (1st week of Feb), which hasn't happened till now. Since 18th Feb '09 the machine is back to square 1 and not spinning properly. I raised a complaint on 19th, then followed up on 22nd and was told that they haven't been able to visit since the PIN code given in the address is incorrect. To be noted is that we had already been visited thrice in a month's time - so I don't understand how the PIN could be the reason for the delay in service!

We were told that the issue has been forwarded to the local franchise and were given a contact number (Gopi - 9848409462). The franchise guy told us that the issue had already been addressed and that the representative had informed them that the drum needed to be replaced. I told him that that was one thing and that the more urgent issue was that the spinning was not right and that it needed to be looked into immediately. Then he said that it cannot be done until the drum is replaced and that he will call in 2 days and let me know when he can send the vehicle to take the machine to the service centre. Three days have passed and no one has called.

By the way, we were initially told that we had to bring the machine to the service centre ourselves. How could that be our problem when the damage was caused by the IFB people?! It took me some tongue-lashing for them to agree that they would come and take the machine. The question is: When?!

In case anyone has got any doubt - I didn't buy a washing machine so that I can wash my clothes myself!!!

I am at a loss of words

2009-02-26T09:27:00.000+05:30

when I come across these kind of incidents. To hell with you, Gaurav Chopra!!

Jai Ho, Rahman & Resul!

2009-02-24T11:18:00.000+05:30

We are proud of you!!!

Kochu Kochu Santhoshangal

2009-02-23T11:35:00.000+05:30

Little Joys - that's what kids bring along with them. And they are so much beyond words, only to leave everliving memories buried deep inside the mother's heart.

Sweet Seventeen!

2009-02-13T22:43:00.001+05:30

Yeah, 17.. and life is all about cars...

cars...

and more cars...

I wonder... is it 17 months or 17 years?

A budding actor...

2009-01-27T09:48:00.002+05:30

is what I have at home. He puts his little finger through the nearest available hole or loop and fakes a cry. Where do kids get these from?!

16 already!

2009-01-13T09:11:00.001+05:30

Another year, another month.. and another monthly update. Kevin is 16 months as of today and I can only wonder at how time flies. It was just around one year back that Kevin was brought to Hyderabad - and he made it his home within no time.

Reading is the latest time pass and it is such fun watching him read the newspaper or even price tags and labels. It's done all seriously and the height is that language is not really a barrier! :) At times he is the Mr. Discipline and then there are times when he screams off his head for something he is not supposed to get/do. Kevin has gotten into this not-so-acceptable habit of forcing himself to the front seat while travelling by car. I am still trying to figure out how to stop it and I can already see myself failing.

Kevin has a dedicated portion on a wall where he is allowed to scribble as per wish. (That happened by accident, by the way!!). Thank God, he is not interested in any other walls. He loves watching his own videos taken on Appa's mobile and even smiles/laughs occasionally while watching them! The videos however are a great relief to keep him engaged when he gets up in the night and doesn't want to go back to sleep. 'Hail the inventor of mobile phone cameras!' is all I can say.

The current bedtime game is sitting on Appa's or Amma's tummy and jumping around or jumping onto the bed, falling face down. A bit painful, if you ask me.. for Appa and Amma i.e. Dude seems to enjoy - at least that's what I understand from all the shrieks and laughs.

Our neighbour Chelsea chechi is 'Chesechi', Jose Uncle is 'Kakaka' and Cinda Aunty is 'Nanana'. Yes, he has baptised everyone to his convenience. Thankfully, Appa and Amma still remain the same! Kevin just loves playing peek-a-boo with our neighbour and the laughter that lightens up the house is much brighter than the Diwali lights. And the exhaustion that follows leads to a good night's sleep. :D

We had a wonderful Christmas this year, with the Christmas tree and a bright star put up. Though I was a bit apprehensive about whether the tree would stay in tact for the whole Christmas season, Kevin proved that he can be a good boy. He would even point to the star and say 'thaar', showing it to everyone who dropped in.

Rice, which used to be the all-time favourite once upon a time, has dropped down drastically from the hit list and has been replaced by chapathis. He prefers eating steamed vegetables by himself rather than being fed the veggie-rice mix. Yes, yes.. we have a big boy here. But the big boy still loves Cerelac. Two upper molars have started finding their way out and the lower gum is a bit swollen. High time we start brushing our teeth.

He has graduated from walking backwards to crawling backwards, which looks simply funny. Used clothes are put into the laundry basket before going ahead to take a bath. Climbing stairs is still a difficult task which cannot be managed without a helping hand.

Weekend outings have become a norm and the time spend outside is thoroughly utilised and enjoyed. It's been a busy month and the next one is going to be even busier and more eventful. So as of now, "Happy 16th, Darling!!" Love you!

The year called 2008...

2008-12-31T09:26:00.002+05:30

is bidding good-bye and wishing good luck, to everyone!

Merry Christmas!!

2008-12-25T14:07:00.001+05:30

May the joy of Christmas fill your heart with warmth and love!!

Think before you kiss

2008-12-11T09:25:00.002+05:30

An article on BBC claims that kissing can be dangerous and can leave you with a broken ear drum. Sounds funny indeed.

Like father, like son

2008-12-08T13:00:00.001+05:30

A father with a morning routine somewhat like offering a short prayer, wearing the id tag, taking the laptop bag and waving bye, will inspire the offspring to go visiting the neighbour only after offering a short prayer, sending a flying kiss to God (don't ask me where he got that from!), wearing the spare tag (without id card!), taking the building blocks bag and waving bye to whoever is in vicinity!

Customer care

2008-11-27T15:02:00.003+05:30

So we go to this retail shop, collect some stuff and start getting items billed. As the helper boy proceeds to pack a bag of rice into the carry bag, the rice bag breaks and rice starts pouring out. The helper quickly holds the bag to prevent further loss and goes to the rice counter to supposedly refill the bag to its original quantity. I follow this guy, having lived in India for too long to trust anyone, and see that the torn bag is just inserted into a fresh plastic bag. No weight check, nothing. And that in a shop were they make sure that 5 kg means 5.000 kg. Not a single gram more or less.

I go back to the cash counter and ensure that MC screams at the helper and the cashier for cheating. (See, I am too well-mannered to scream at anyone :P). The helper goes to rice counter, gets the bag checked and refilled and this time we get 4 gm more. WOW! (Yes, I followed him again!)

Still all is not well that ends well, since things hadn't ended well.

We had picked up two packs of fruitjuice, on which was written "Buy 1, Get 1 free". And the cashier tells us that there is no offer. That triggered another round of scoldings. It seems whatever pack we pick from the shop will be billed and the free pack should be redeemed from the counter outside. *humpf* Couldn't this guy just open his mouth and tell us that that was how free gifts were handled there?!

Whichever field you are working, you should have the minimum knowledge about what you are doing or supposed to be doing at your workspace. Or at least show the commonsense to ask your colleagues if you are new. One more reason why India is still developing and developing and never reaching the developed mark.

Black Order by James Rollins

2008-11-25T16:29:00.001+05:30

An edge-of-the-seat read which I would definitely recommend.

Baby's first birthday party

2008-11-24T14:41:00.001+05:30

was on Sunday. At Pizza Corner. It was the first time that we visited a pizzaria after Kevin was born. And we enjoyed. For half an hour. By then Kevin had had enough of all the music and the junk food and wanted to get out of the place. *sigh*

Talking of junk, yeah, Kevin had his first bite of garlic bread and potato wedges and a sip of coke. For us, this is a once-in-a-blue-moon affair. So I didn't really get hysteric about what he had.

A game of musical chair was conducted for kids and also for parents and Kevin was dancing all the time watching others run around the chairs.

Looks like this birthday party served as a trigger. Next Sunday we are attending another birthday party. Way to go, Kevin!

Sister Abhaya Murder Case - New Developments

2008-11-20T10:40:00.005+05:30

I don't know how many out here have heard about the Sr Abhaya Murder Case, which simply refused to die out inspite of being around for more than 16 years. The last two days witnessed developments of this unusual case, which are definitely worth a mention.

The CBI has arrested two priests - Fr Kottor & Fr Puthrikka and one nun - Sr Seffi, who have been under constant screening over many years and have also undergone narco analysis and polygraph tests, in relation to the case where Sr Abhaya, 21 years of age then, was found dead in a well of the St Pius Xth Convent, Kottayam - Kerala, on the morning of the 27th of March 1992. Sr Seffi was an inmate of the convent at that time. Fr Jose Puthrikka, 56, was a Malayalam professor at the Kottayam college where Abhaya studied, and Fr Thomas Kottor, 61, the Diocesan chancellor of the Catholic Church at Kottayam. Subjected to pressures from different angles, the case was closed and re-opened a couple of time.

It was the witness statement of the convent's neighbour, Sanju, that led to a sudden positive change in the progress of the case. Sanju, who was a student then, confessed that he had seen Fr Kottor's bike parked outside the convent at around 2 AM on 27th March, whereas it was missing in the morning, by the time the news of the nun's demise had spread. Apparently, the priests were frequent visitors in the convent. The accused will remain in CBI custody till the 2nd of December for further investigation.

According to the Kottayam Archdiocese, the latest developments are suspicious and the priests and nun are innocent. But that argument, of course, is expected.

I just can't wait for the closure of the case - hopefully this time with proper results.

14 months and counting...

2008-11-13T16:30:00.002+05:30

well, not literally. Kevin is not yet counting (that would have been too much of an expectation!). But he is singing. And it's such fun to see him singing all seriously. :) We have moved on from "mama mama mama" to "la la la la la...." and "na na na na...." with varying notes and to "kaaka kaaka kaakaka" (kaakke kaakke koodevide) and "appoppappaaaaaaaaaaaaa....." (alphonsammaaaaaaa...). Yeah, these four are the latest hits. Two days back I even had him waking up at night and practicing "na na na..."!

Yes, every word is modified to convenience using the sounds pa, po, ma, mo, ka. That's it. End of our alphabet. But the message is still conveyed successfully. Clock is "kaakk", Obama is "amama" and crackers burst "ppe ppe" or "tthe tthe" (always two crackers at a time!).

Kevin started walking this month and is almost stable now. Though it took a couple of bumps and bruises to reach the stable phase. Currently gait variations are being experimented, which mainly consist of walking backwards. To be frank, I have never seen a toddler walking backwards. This guy keeps surprising everybody around him with innovative ideas.

Going 'tata' is still on the hit list and the qualification for going 'tata' is wearing the monkey cap. I don't know where he got that idea from, but the moment he wants to go out, he will bring his monkey cap so that we can make him wear it (Touchwood!). And since it's getting cooler these days, I praise the Lord for such sensibility.

Meal times are welcomed by sitting on the mat and waiting to be fed. The latest snack passion is the Passion fruit. Apart from that, Kevin is still on the same diet. No non-veg or fried food yet. I am no hysteric mother who would deprive her son of worldly pleasures. It's just that I have never felt that non-veg is required for a kid's development, in fact anybody's development.

Kevin understands simple instructions like 'move aside', 'wait here', 'bring the towel', 'where is the spoon?', 'how do we make dosas?' etc, which at times is more than I dare to expect. But then it depends.. If we are in a cranky mood, we won't understand anything! :)

The happy-go-lucky chap is 14 months old. Here is to a bright future...

Happy 14th, Kevin!!

Children's day special

2008-11-12T09:31:00.002+05:30

A forward from Parentree:

Hi,Just to let you know that Parentree.in is running a children's day contest (for parents) for writing about your child's cutest or funniest moments. We welcome you to participate. Also, please inform your readers.

* Prizes of Rs 2500, 1000
* You can write as many journals as you want
* Contest ends Nov 18th (So hurry!)

Check out our home page for more details:
http://www.parentree.in

(Parentree.in is an online community of Indian parents. Parents share tips, anecdotes, things to do in journals and discussion groups, review schools, preschools, toys, classes...)

Thanks

Happy Diwali!

2008-10-24T09:25:00.001+05:30

1 1 1 1

2008-10-21T09:31:00.001+05:30

Kevin is 1 year, 1 month, 1 week & 1 day old today and is singing "mama mama mama".

Couldn't resist this one! :P

Milestone Alert!!!

2008-10-18T17:12:00.000+05:30

And we are walking!!!

From 5 to 6 steps, Kevin has moved on to longer walks and mommy has stopped counting steps. God knows, what is in store next!

Till then, happy walking! :)

Going into a pseudo-hibernation mode

2008-10-16T13:49:00.002+05:30

for a couple of days... weeks... or may be even months? That's not yet decided. But posts will be limited to unavoidable ones like Kevin's updates. Hell, that's the whole purpose of this blog. How can I refrain from that?!

Anyway.. I am off to pursue a long lost dream of doing some German Language Certification (as mentioned long back in one of the tag posts). And I have decided to dedicate my spare time for the preparation of the Goethe C1 Certificate exam. All novels, movies & Quick Stitch kits have been kept aside. Which is awfully hard, I tell you! The only consolation being that I like what I am going to spend my time on.

So, wish me good luck!

1 1 1

2008-10-14T10:37:00.001+05:30

Kevin is 1 year, 1 month and 1 day old as of today. Time for another round of silly celebrations. :D

13 on the 13th

2008-10-13T13:13:00.003+05:30

Yes, my baby turned 13 months old today and I almost missed it! What kind of mommy misses monthly birthdays?! But then, I have been thinking about discontinuing monthly updates now that Kevin is 1 year old. And as it turned out, I couldn't resist bragging about my little creation and I got nothing better to do today since my project is being implemented over the next two days.

And as I type this, the requirement for the next project lands in my inbox! Anyway...

The first unsteady steps have been taken. Actually, the first step was taken two weeks before the birthday. But that was just one or two steps by mistake (three or four times). Now the number of steps has increased to 5 and 6. Standing is almost stable, but any movement from the current standing position is preferably supported. He looks around to see whether someone who can lend him a helping hand is standing nearby. Yeah, though just an infant, he prefers to do things the safer way.

Two more teeth have cut in over the past month and all eight are used in full swing.

The favourite activity these days is visiting the balcony to hang washed clothes to dry. Laundry pieces are picked up one by one from the bucket and handed over along with an "inna" (Malayalam, meaning something like "take this" the colloquial way) attached to every piece. In case the remaining laundry lies too deep in the bucket, it’s just turned over and pieces pulled out sitting on the floor. Yes, little master knows how to help himself.

Going ‘tata’ (somewhere out of the house) is simply the best time pass and so the buggy needs to be made use of at least 5 times a day if possible. And in case you don’t know where the buggy is stored away, no issues, Kevin will take you by your hand to guide you and show you where it is.

Simple household language is understood depending on whether it is required to understand or not! But the vocabulary has grown from “atha”, “appa” & “amma” by addition of “inna”, “ayye”, “a-a” (that’s how the cuckoo clock is imitated), “lalalalala” (self-made BGM when we walk around for timepass), “uff” (sound made as part of climbing stairs), “anna” (common sound used for anything and everything these days) and a lot more.

Singers on the TV are encouraged by clapping or dancing depending on the mood. Ekalavya style classes are considered for learning music. And so…
“How does Kevin sing?” – soft, melodious “aaaaaaaa”
“How does grandmother sing?” - loud “kaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa”!
Err… looks like he has identified himself to be the better singer of the two. What confidence!

Bath-times have turned into trouble-times since everything needs to be in the Lord’s control – be it water, soap, mug and what not all. As much as splashing is loved, head baths are dreaded. Finishing off bathing is a world war in itself. Staying in the tub all day long would have been preferred if given a choice.

The AC remote is used as a cell phone and the cell phone is held to mommy’s ear so that she can talk to whoever she wants. Having mommy suck fingers is still the best way to fall asleep and little doggie is still lovingly called Appa. Small pieces, especially Papad pieces, are accurately picked up using the index finger and the thumb and more accurately guided into the mouth. Bathing toys are securely kept inside kitchen utensils. Cars are played with ‘brrrrrrrr’ sound effects. And all kind of drinks that Appa has need to be tasted and tested. Uff…

I know – we have just started! Terrible twos are yet to come.

So, as for now – Happy 13th!

Baby Talk!

2008-10-11T14:24:00.001+05:30

What happens when you try to teach your 1 year old that the pull-along Dalmatian puppy's name is 'Appu'?

He will call it 'Appa'!!!

But the affection in his voice is simply priceless! :P

Happy Navrathri!

2008-10-09T09:46:00.000+05:30

NRIs planning to return to India...

2008-10-03T12:45:00.001+05:30

please vote.

Do you talk to your children in your mother tongue or do you use the local language? I am too curious to know whether my observation stands valid for the majority.

On to the next

2008-10-01T12:27:00.001+05:30

milestone, i.e. So my little Toddler-to-be has started toddling. A bit unsteady, a bit apprehensive, still.. he has started off. And that calls for err.. marking milestone dates :). Moving from Appa to Amma and back, if and only if Appa and Amma are situated at a 5-6 step distance (note the condition!), is THE game these days. Larger distances are better managed crawling :P.

Happy Toddling, Sweetheart!

Eid Mubarak!

2008-10-01T09:36:00.000+05:30

Wishing everyone a fun filled and blessed Eid!

New USD 1 bill

2008-09-29T09:46:00.000+05:30

After the collapse of the US dollar, America circulated the New US $

And the award goes too...

2008-09-26T10:57:00.001+05:30

me, of course! Otherwise I would not have blogged about it :P

Swati passed me on, the Blogging Friends Forever Award, stating "I know her from when we both just started blogging and I think we bonded well since then".

You are damn right, girl.. I have always felt that we bond quite well :) Thank you!

Now it's my turn to pass on the award to friends I found through the blogosphere. Here we go...

Aryan's Mom: The one and only blog friend I have ever talked to and liked instantly because of her friendly style. I don't see any posts these days. Where have you gone?

JLT: Who instantly found a place in my heart with her jottings.

Trishna: Little sunshine's sunshiny mom. Friendliness incarnate is the only thing I can say about her.

Avaylabel only in Hydrabad

2008-09-24T11:31:00.001+05:30

daimond

furnitere

carner

chaines / chainees food

wodwork

daymeg

not warking

-----
to be continued...

Back HOME!

2008-09-22T17:21:00.000+05:30

The car is stopped in front of the lift and he is taken out of the car. He wakes up from his sleep and looks around. He is taken into the lift, the familiar red lights in the lift start blinking and his eyes light up. He is carried to the front door and he smiles at the surroundings. The door is opened, everyone steps inside and I see his face brighten up – radiating with a godly glow. I felt as if his little eyes were screaming “Yes – this is MY HOME!”

We are back from Kerala after a two week vacation and a happy first birthday celebration. And we were missing OUR home like hell. Kevin’s reactions and responses to whatever he came across yesterday at our flat here in Hyderabad, kept creating and re-creating a lump in my throat. I knew exactly how he was feeling. He was reminding me of the days when we would reach back at our 1 bedroom flat in Germany after the 6 week vacations in India, slowly moving through the little available space which had a larger-than-palace image in our hearts, savouring each moment with the calm and satisfaction of being at HOME.

Yes, he is mommy’s boy and has once again proven it! At least the offspring understands, if not the parents.

Kevin's first Onam

2008-09-12T16:30:00.000+05:30

To the Indian, who is proud of it...

2008-09-05T16:01:00.000+05:30

I am on my way to office and approach a vehicle with a rare rear number plate. Instead of the usual boring black on white pattern, this number plate is red with black letters on it. The message – INDIAN, PROUD OF IT.

How cute! But isn’t the first thing that a proud Indian should do, obey the rules and regulations of India?

Thank God at least the front number plate was a proper one!

Happy Vinayak Chathurthi!

2008-09-03T09:51:00.002+05:30

"VAKRATHUNDA MAHAAKAAYA....

SOORYAKODI SAMAPRABHA....

NIRVIGHNAM KURUMAE DEVA....

SARWA KAARYAESHU SARWADHA !!!..

Pirannal Ashamsakal

2008-09-02T11:09:00.000+05:30

As per Malayalam Calendar it's Kevin's 1st birthday today (Atham nakshatra in the month of Chingam). Wishing my little big boy a prosperous second year!

One, two...

2008-08-30T11:13:00.000+05:30

and that's it.

Kevin took his first step (or two? - unconsciously, I guess) today. And the current “Standing record time” is not more than 10 seconds. But still all these qualify for a milestone post, don’t they?

- Doting Mommy ;)

A Thousand Splendid Suns

2008-08-20T13:39:00.010+05:30

That's the one I read last.

I had read a review some time back and couldn't resist when I came across the book in an exhibition. And to say the least, it left me completely shaken. Those of you who crib about anything and everything in life - I would advise you to read this book. You will unconsiously start counting your blessings. Even for a man, a birth and life in Afghanistan would be the worst nightmare.

To add some fuel to the fire, here is another post. If Mariam and Laila were fictional characters, the 9 year old girl mentioned in the post was for real - true flesh and blood like you and me.

Now click on the 'X' in the right corner and go... go and thank God and count your blessings!

This day, that year - I

2008-08-12T16:44:00.001+05:30

Last year, I should have said.

I was riding - riding - riding,
all the way home...
for my delivery.

How time flies!

My blog is a Huuuge Hit!

2008-08-04T14:38:00.003+05:30

Really?, you may ask. Well... it depends on how 'Hit' is interpreted. The number of page loads hit exactly 1000 yesterday and I would have loved to say that I owe it to my writing skills... Obviously that's not the case and all gratitude goes to the post I did a year back.

Happy Friendship Day Folks!! (though a little belated!)

Spreading awareness

2008-07-31T17:02:00.004+05:30

Now, that we are already in the process of exposing fraud and spreading the word for a good cause, I would like to use this platform to share my experiences, in the hope that I will be able to save at least one person from exploitation. A couple of people commented to my post about the "Great Indian Petrol Pump Fraud", telling that they were saved from being cheated just b'coz they had read the post. I felt really happy about it.

Here is what happened to us in a neighbourhood petrol pump. The IBP petrol bunk at Miyapur X-roads (Hyderabad) seems to sell adulterated petrol. We usually completely fill our tank and also keep a note of the mileage. It so turned out that the petrol we filled from this station gave us around 5-6 kms lesser mileage. The petrol just seemed to evaporate. We just eliminated the station from our list and spread the word :). That was the only thing we could do.

I had raised a complaint on the Public Grievances site. But it was closed with a 'No action required' status. So, here I am, spreading the word again.

It's official!!!

2008-07-28T16:45:00.000+05:30

Kevin is calling me "Amma" since yesterday (and since I’ve got a lazy butt, I’m doing a backdated post!). He has been saying "Amma", "Ammammamma…", "Appa", "Appappappa…" and things like that for quite some time now, but has never really said it as if he were addressing one of us. Only now little Prince decided that it is time to start addressing his parents properly. I was told that I said "Papa" when I was 7 months old. Whatever! I don’t care.. Better late than never.

Finger sucking mommy

2008-07-18T14:30:00.005+05:30

Thumb sucking, or sucking altogether in infants, is considered one of a baby's natural reflexes and completely typical for babies and young children. Even though Kevin did show some inclination towards finger sucking (even hand sucking!!) at one point of time or the other, he gave up the idea some time down the line and I am glad to say that he hasn't gone back and made it a habit till now.

We used to calm him down using pacifiers when he was very small, with me being apprehensive about it. I feared that having something to suck on all the time would become a habit. But the pacifier turned out to be nothing more than a mere toy to be thrown around, once Kevin learned the art of grabbing. Thus the fear about the pacifier becoming an obsession was gone.

I know of many young children who need their thumb to doze off. My little son too needs his fingers (not thumb). The difference is that he doesn't put his fingers into his mouth, but into his mommy's mouth. I have woken up many times with his fingers in my mouth! Now, should I be really happy that he is not addicted to thumb sucking and takes care of his natural reflex on his own?

Kevin is 10 months old

2008-07-13T17:30:00.002+05:30

This blog was born on 13th June 2007 and as of 13th July 2008 it's been 13 months since I started this journey. I reached home for my delivery on 13th August 2007 and gave birth to a little bundle of joy on 13th September 2007. Thus, even though 13 is always being considered an unlucky number by a lot many, it seems to get connected to me unknowingly. And that too not at all unluckily!

As of this 13th, Kevin is completing 10 months. Last month, quite eventful (as always!) showed a tiny helpless baby blooming into a little boy. Of course, it was a slow process which happened over the past couple of months, but I was more surprised by the little things that especially happened during the 10th month.

Kevin now waves when we say 'Tata tata' and claps when asked how he claps his hands; of course only when he is in a good mood. Yeah, we are Mr. Picky. He sometimes even makes dramatic movie star entries to where we sit, moving gracefully in his walker and waving with his arms stretched out! He zooms around in his walker, but comes to a halt immediately when he notices someone opening the fridge or any cupboard and literally places himself inside it. Watching the washing machine is one of his favourites. He also helps with hanging the laundry to dry, by picking up pieces from the bucket. Just that we have to catch each piece before he decides that it should be put on the floor.

Kevin simply loves bathing and getting out of the bathroom is a circus after each bath. The guy simply doesn't know what patience is and can't wait if it's related to something he loves. The moment he hears the water gushing from the tap he needs to start bathing. The moment he hears the words 'milk' or 'water' he HAS to drink. The moment he sees the front door open he needs to go out.

Grab and run is the favourite game these days. As soon he gets hold of something that he thinks he shouldn't be having, he whooshes away in his walker as if his tail just caught fire! So dude knows that he is not supposed to have certain things?! Huh? It's these subtle reactions that amaze me more than anything.

Kevin knows how to shake hands and recognizes the nettipattam as an 'aana' (Elephant - that's what we taught him about the nettipattam!). He will lift both his arms when asked how big he is and bang on his head when asked where his head is. Right now I am in the process of teaching Kevin 'eyes' and he is in the process of laughing at me when I blink.

'Amma' and 'Appa' still seem to be far away and all we are able to get out of our boy is still the same 'athe', now sometimes 'athathe', 'athathathe' or 'athathathathathatha....', which has qualified to be MC's ring tone!!

It's been a fun-ride and I am looking forward to my baby's BIG day in 2 months; at the same time feeling my heart ache, remembering September 13th, missing my teeny weeny bundle, looking big-eyed into Amma's eyes while having his first feed, not even an hour of age then, soon turning into a big boy of 1 year.

Happy 10 months, my Baby!

Have a heart - For a good cause

2008-07-11T16:57:00.002+05:30

Please do spread the word.

Picked up from MM's blog.

A series of unfortunate events

2008-07-07T15:24:00.000+05:30

It so happened that I got two requirements for which the technical specifications (TS) had to be written. I got hold of an idle resource, delegated half of my work and happily started working on one specification. After three days, this associate went down for a week with viral fever. I thought that I would be able to manage if I worked on a tighter schedule. And what happens? MC slips, falls and gets admitted for a knee surgery! Four more days gone, one TS half finished and another one untouched. I continue my work vigorously, take help from all the idle associates who cross my way, to start on the development and what happens next? Kevin goes down with rotavirus diarrhea.

This should explain the lack of posts.

Thank God, the delivery date got pushed forward by a week and we are on target. The viral-fever-associate is back in form, MC is doing good and Kevin is zooming around in his walker as if nothing happened.

And all is well that ends well!

9 months collaged

2008-06-13T20:40:00.003+05:30

Happy 9 months!

Great Indian Petrol Pump Fraud

2008-05-21T13:44:00.003+05:30

Couldn't keep myself from posting the below forward. Something similar happened to MC while in Kerala around 6 months back.

***

I would like to bring to your kind attention the "Great Indian Petrol Pump Fraud" happening all over Bangalore (and I believe all over India ) .

Today in the morning, I saw the fuel gauge of my car touching the "Empty" sign, so I thought that while on my way to office, I will fill petrol worth 1000 Rs in my car. When I reached the petrol pump at 9:30 Am today (24th April 2008) (BP petrol pump near richmond road) I showed the crisp 1000 Rs note to the attendant at the petrol pump and told him to fill 1000 Rs. I repeated 1000 to him 2-3 times so that he registers 1000 Rs in his head fill the petrol for 1000 Rs. I repeatedly told him because of the past experience whenever I had asked him to fill petrol worth 1000 bucks at different gas stations (ie for eg. at Advaitha Gas station, near udapi garden BTM to name one of them), the attendant always filled 200 rs of petrol and said "Sir your 200 rs of petrol is filled". I used to say i asked you fill 1000 Rs of petrol not 200 worth. He would look at me like an innocent kid and would start filling the remaining 800 Rs of petrol.

But this procedure of 200+800 didn't stop at one petrol pump but gas attendants at all the petrol pumps followed this weird ritual. I could sense something fishy but not before losing money to this procedure 3-4 times. So coming back to today's incident I asked the "Honest" petrol pump attendant to fill the petrol. While filling the petrol my attention was diverted towards the pollution check centre at the same petrol pump but when I looked back at the meter indicator, I was shocked to see the familiar "200" mark at the petrol pump meter. I told him again why didn't you fill for 1000 Rs. He said that he heard 200 Rs. So I told him to fill 800 Rs of petrol also. After he had filled the petrol, I got in the car and started towards my office. While on my way to office. I observed the fuel gauge in my car. It had moved from "Empty" first to half and then little further. But from my past experience that when I used to get 1000 rs of fuel filled in the empty fuel tank, it used to come to certain level but today it hadn't come till there. So I thought SHIT....I got Duped again.

After reaching office I checked the Internet for same frauds which had happened before my case. I was shocked to find that many other people also faced the same problem of 200+800 and some bikes of 40+60 bucks (these petrol pump attendants don't leave anybody). I spoke to my boss and a colleague of mine at office they told me of the same incident. I was like shit, this problem is not only with me but with people all over Bangalore. Basically people all over Bangalore (maybe all over india ) are getting cheated in this ingenious fraud which is promoted by our friendly neighbour hood petrol pump owners and their honchos gas attendants ..

The ingenious technique these people follow is discussed below in italics

When asked for diesel worth Rs. 500. The attendant filled up only Rs. 100. Noticing that I told him to fill for Rs. 500 but by that time he is done with 100 so the attender said he will fill up for remaining Rs. 400…that is when he did a trick of as though he is resetting by playing games of hurry burry and continuing to fill and when he is done for Rs. 400 he asked for 500 (100+400) but in reality he only filed for 100+300 as he is not really resetted the machine to zero even though it appears as he reset it.

So after reading the messages on the website I went back to the petrol pump, parked my car in middle of the petrol pump called the attendant and told him that you have cheated me of 200 rs of petrol instead of filling petrol worth of 1000 Rs you have filled the petrol worth only 800 rs, I told him I am gonna sue your petrol pump and I want to write a complaint against the same. He got frightened said "Sorry Sir By mistake i have not reset 200 rs". He didn't ask me any more questions and directly filled 200 Rs of petrol.

I wonder that BP, IOC, HP talk about going in losses and hence they ask govt to increase the price of diesel and petrol but in reality petrol pump owners are helping us save lots of oil by asking us to pay 1000 rs but giving us petrol worth 800. What a brilliant way to conserve oil and make profit for petrol pump owners. I guess people should know about the ingenious way in which petrol pumps owners helps us ..(Pardon me for the sarcasm) :-)

I am enclosing the website on which i went today to find information about the "Great Indian Petrol Pump fraud"

http://community.livejournal.com/bangalore/276353.html

***

Edited to add: I don't have any idea whether the petroleum companies are involved in this. In fact, I am least bothered about who is the culprit. I just want justice and value for hard earned money.

Burger King and more

2008-05-21T09:12:00.004+05:30

Going shopping in matching outfit and bag. Hell, why didn't Appa get me a blue-red-white walker?

I so enjoy this :)

My blogroll...

2008-05-20T09:59:00.002+05:30

... is gone. Bloglinx expired just like that and took along with it my looong list of 'Blogs I Read'. Since the site was free, I can't complain either. Switching over to Blogrolling. Hope that this one is here to stay!

I am 8 months old!

2008-05-13T20:16:00.018+05:30

Salutations to Mommy's blogger pals! This is Kevin reporting from home. :)

I am 8 months old as of today. Needless to say, the last month was quite eventful, especially the second half. I hit so many milestones in one go. I sat up by myself, pulled myself up to standing position without mommy's help and started talking.

Yeah, I started talking and the first word is not Amma or Appa but something like 'athe' or 'atthe'. Take it the way you hear it. And please do me a favour by not asking me the meaning. Mommy thought that it is so meaningless that she didn't even bother to blog about it! :( As far as I know, 'athe' means 'Yes' or 'I agree' in Malayalam. Is agreeing to everything not worth to be considered a milestone?

Here are some other interesting things I did last month.

Kevin in the basket...

'Master of Mayhem' is what they call me nowadays.

I caught a bad cold last month and became a fussy eater for a couple of days. I also developed a liking for fruits and fruits only. But I maintained my stamina by eating up my toys.

The walker is my latest love and I make it a point to help out mommy in the kitchen, though she thinks that I am just coming to mess up. Poor baby!

Now I am a big boy, na? So I can't bother mommy with the 'beautification' part anymore. I do the styling all by myself.

But I still need Appa's support while trying out the standing bit.

Amma and I have such a nice time sharing jokes

and most of the time I laugh till I become as red as a Beetroot.

Oops, Amma just caught me blogging. See you all later...

Ok, now it's Kevin's Amma reporting. And since all the birthday blogging for the month is done, I cut it short.

"Happy 8 months, Darling! I love you!"

The nice me :)

2008-05-08T16:47:00.005+05:30

Yeah, nice. That exactly is what ~nm called me while passing on this award. And I feel proud. Thanks ~nm! :)

The nice me is not forgetting to quote the creator of the award (whoever it be):

Now it's my turn to pass on the award and let people know that I think they are nice.

"This award will be awarded to those that are just nice people, good blog friends and those that inspire good feelings and inspiration! Those that care about others that are there to lend support or those that are just a positive influence in our blogging world!"

I become friends with a lot many bloggers via a Mega Online Baby Shower and would like to select some of them for this award.

Here we go...

Sue, Prema, Orchid and Aryan - my neighbourhood blogging baby writing about his dad and mom :)

And a happy beginning it was!

2008-05-07T15:01:00.007+05:30

Ok, I will have to admit that I might be last person blogging about the Mega Online Baby Shower.

Some of you might have wondered what the Riddle-Me-Ree post was all about. It was part of dear Tharini's brain child, which translated into a huge success. Well, almost, I should say, hadn't the curious Boo started hunting even before the hunt was on!

Now, before anyone bashes me up for being cryptic.. the idea of having an online baby shower for expectant bloggers sprouted in Tharini's mind and within no time a group was formed for the purpose of it's execution. While Gauri gave the idea of having a treasure hunt, Tharini, from behind the scenes, co-ordinated all activities. The treasure hunt was planned to lead the MTBs (mom-to-bes) from one blog to another providing them with letters, which would eventually form the username and password to the showerblog. Here's a sneak peek at the showerblog header. Due to personal reasons we are keeping the blog private.

Thanks MayG for the wonderful design! We are still aaaawing at it!

The group of about 70 bloggers from all over the world worked literally around the clock for a month's time to get the online baby shower in shape.

And results we did get. :) Read for yourself.

Here is what the MTBs had to say:
Boo was all set for an Oscar speech.
Kodi's Mom was a bit late into the party and Tharini had to call her up.
Desi Girl got all sentimental, felt privileged and expressed gratitude!
Poppin's Mom stumbled upon Kiran's Riddle-Me-Ree and got mad at not being able to understand what these Rees were doing on the blogosphere. That when Kiran was having a party :D
We had Lavs blogging straight from the heart.
Moppet's Mom (Maggie) was so intelligent (MBA brains!) to think that some virus had broken out.
Random Vignettes said thank you.
Somethingtosay, though a little late into the fun, still made it to be part of the shower.
And then there was BEV, who tricked us by being on both sides of the party.

And here is the rest of the crew speaking...
Rohini, spilling the beans
Mad Momma, confessing what she was up to
Sue, reporting about the April shower
Suki, our teenager, explaining her previous post
Crazy Mum Nisha's narration on how the mystery was solved
Aditi's Mom, a non-member, kind enough to blog about the shower
Here's MNAmma saying that the baby shower theme song "Shower of Blessings" was a huge hit with M and N.

This is the riddle which was posted on MNAmma's blog and directed MTBs to my blog.

“Natered in Eagle Deutschland
She hopped on the mommy train to cybercity
She writes code like the back of hand
Her MC is part of her ditty.”

And the riddle on my blog led them further to Choxbox.

Lastly, like UTBT mentioned in "The Making" of the shower blog,
"And…ladies thanks for being pregnant :) We all had fun doing this :)"

Though all hunt and shower is over and out, the group is still active and is having the fun of a lifetime; sharing recipes, lending shoulders, arranging blogger meets and all this and that.. Needless to say about the online baby shower - a happy beginning it was!

IT Computation 2008-09

2008-05-06T14:31:00.002+05:30

I found this excel sheet very useful.

Thank you Taxworry!

QA Session

2008-04-28T10:25:00.004+05:30

Last Movie Seen In A Theatre?
Balle balle, Amritsar to LA (I think!)

What Book Are You Reading?
Currently nothing

Favourite Board Game?
Monopoly.

Favourite Magazine?
Readers Digest, Vanitha (Malayalam)

Favourite Smells?
Kevin's :) (yeah, mommyness rules)
Henna - MC simply hates it :P

Favourite Sound?
Nature's sounds or may be anything except mobile ring tones.

Worst Feeling In The World?
That I am missing something, but don't know what!

What Is The First Thing You Think Of When You Wake?
Can I sleep for 5 more mins?

Favourite Fast Food Place?
Subway

Future Child’s Name?
Will there be one more? Not sure.

Finish This Statement: If I Had A Lot of Money
I would deposit it as FD. Yeah, I don't know how to handle a lot of money :(

Do You Drive Fast?
No

Do You Sleep With A Stuffed Animal?
Don't let MC hear this :P

Storms – cool or scary?
Cool

Do You Eat The Stems on Broccoli?
Yes

If You Could Dye Your Hair Any Colour, What Would Be Your Choice?
No thanks, I hate colouring hair.

Name All The Different Cities/Towns You’ve Lived In:
Herne (Germany), Thrissur (Kerala), Bangalore, Pune, Hyderabad, Melbourne, Hyderabad

Favourite Sports To Watch:
Football

One Nice Thing About The Person Who Sent This To You
Full of thoughts and emotions, this flower girl :)

What’s Under Your Bed?
The floor

Would You Like To Be Born As Yourself Again?
Yes!

Morning Person or Night Owl?
Night Owl

Over Easy or Sunny Side Up?
Over easy

Favourite Place To Relax?
Home - with a good book or good company. (Thanks Daisy!)

Favourite Pie?
Apple

Favourite Ice-Cream Flavour?
Chocolate

You Pass This Tag To
Angel, Compulsive Dreamer and Upsi.

Of All The People You Tagged, Who’s Most Likely To Respond First?
Angel?

Please vote

2008-04-28T09:39:00.002+05:30

I have a added a poll to my blog. Please do vote. People who choose the 'other reason' option, please comment if you feel like doing so.

Thanks!

Riddle-me-Ree, Who can she be?

2008-04-24T10:44:00.006+05:30

Greetings wonderful MTBs!!!
and good work to all of you!
For having solved the riddle before
I give you all this clue.

The letter " T "

Write it down, add it on...
And let's move on to the next little song.

“Be it Maaths Maatalu or a zoom to the zoo
This lady is addicted to Sudoku
Woodcraft parties and crafts galore
Ideas Ideas – she always has more
The famous works of Goscinny and Uderzo
We’re talking about Asterix, you know?
This one’s no babe in The Forest
The Gump says it all – it says the rest.”

Solve it and you get your lead
Misguess, and you lose your speed
Solve it slow but solve it now
And before you go, take a little bow

Go to 'Comments' and leave me a clue
Tell me which blog you are off to.
Good luck! Good luck! Be on your way.
You have your work, cut out for the day!

Happy Anniversary!!

2008-04-17T12:37:00.006+05:30

I have always thought of this to be a dumb thing to do, i.e. posting wishes for oneself. But I couldn't resist on this one :D

It's our 3rd wedding anniversary today. But I am not going to post mushy stuff on how the relation has been going so far. That's too boring.

The ultra unromantic couple that we are, we started our day with MC being wished by a friend's wife (!). I was in the shower and it was only then that I remembered that it's April 17th!!

Anyone still reading?

Our house help had made some wheat gheer and a vegetable flower, considering the day! Everyone around seemed to be better informed than us. sigh...

So, what is my anniversary contribution? I added a ticker to my blog.

Here's to three years of togetherness. Happy Anniversary! :D

Anyone feeling like wishing the most boring but still most compatible couple on earth, please do so. Lurkers too please. :)

By the way, I just remembered.. it's my birthday on 24th, i.e. next week. :P

100 and 7 plus 3

2008-04-16T10:08:00.005+05:30

110??? No, it's 100 and 7 plus 3... my 100th post and Kevin's 7 months update delayed by 3 days!

Kevin turned 7 months on 13th April. Many things happened over the past month.. good things, bad things... a muddle of everything.

On the morning of 13th, Kevin had his first hair cut. Some of the longer tresses, which had started falling into his eyes, were snipped off. Kevin is now looking very much a villain. And since then he is trying to match his behaviour with his looks. Sigh... After the hair cut he had his bath and was fed rice for the first time. Rice cooked with tomato and a dash of butter. Yummy!

Kevin has started sitting steadily for some time, getting more and more stable day by day. But he still prefers standing and is not even trying to sit up on his own. I have decided not to bother about the sitting anymore. May be he just cut it off from his milestone list.

Teething started at 6 months and 4 days and the new toothy grin is giving us so much joy while the biting spree is giving us tickle and pain.

Kevin is mad about the prayer book, as a result of which evening prayers have turned into a comedy. God knows when we will have proper evening prayers again!

But, he is growing and that is what counts.

Here is to my sweetheart - all love and care from mommy.

And last but not least, congrats to myself on the 100th post! :D

Candle in My Window - for Tibet

2008-04-10T18:01:00.002+05:30

Event: Candle in My Window - for Tibet
“Lighting up the world during the Opening Ceremony of Olympic Games”
What: Protest
Host: All of us
When: Friday, August 8 at 8:05pm
Where: At your home or workplace all over The Globe ________ NO NEED TO SHOW UP ANYWHERE

YOU DON’T HAVE TO LEAVE HOME IN ORDER TO PARTICIPATE IN THE BIGGEST PROTEST EVER

Let us all light a candle for Tibet during the opening ceremony of the Olympic games.

Let us all put this candle in our windows.

Let us all invite all our friends to do so.

Let’s ask them to invite their friends.

Let us have a hundred million candles for Tibet.

WE CAN DO IT - BILLIONS WILL BE WATCHING US

Just Imagine - The opening ceremony of the Olympic Games is on, and the world is lit with candles – for Tibet.

Be part of it – You can make a difference.

You have the influence. Please invite your entire friends list. Please ask them to invite their friends.

THIS CAN BE HUGE

100,000,000 candles. One hundred million – Just Imagine.

THIS WILL GO WAY BEYOND FacebookTo see more details and RSVP, follow the link below:http://www.facebook.com/n/?event.php&eid=26061226952

Thanks,
The Facebook Team

Statcounter Statistics

2008-04-10T11:48:00.000+05:30

The Recent Keyword Activity tab on statcounter keeps providing me with something or the other to laugh. It seems someone reached my blog 'google'-ing for 'how to train a baby to go on the party'. Who would want to train a baby to go on the party?! Tss.. tss...

Dumbo Bimbo

2008-04-04T13:15:00.001+05:30

Apparently, the online Internet game Ms Bimbo is the latest craze and has attracted 200,000 members in a month since it was opened. The game is aimed at girls aged 9 to 16 to give a virtual doll called Ms Bimbo breast implants, put it on crash diets and pull it thru face lifts. The final target of the game is to create the coolest, richest and most famous bimbo in the world and finding it a millionaire husband. Can things get worse? What kind of world are we living in?

Are these the kind of games for 10 year olds? They are not even for adults. These are not even games, just absolute rubbish. As per my opinion, breast implants, crash diets and plastic surgeries (unless in case of an accident) are utmost insane things to do to oneself. They don't even deserve to get into our thought process. But that is exactly what happens while playing these games. Especially since kids are ultra-addictive. Thankfully it hasn't reached India. But with the world getting smaller and smaller, it won't take much time. So, all you mommies, keep your kids away from the PC.

Here is...

2008-04-03T20:50:00.003+05:30

Kevin... arrested...

for stealing Appa's tie

I have a standing baby

2008-04-03T15:12:00.001+05:30

Well, not really… But he simple loves standing with support. This little brat, who is not able to sit all alone or even willing to sit with support, is trying to pull himself up if gotten a chance. Take the crying baby, make him stand on your lap or tummy and you will see him jumping as if on the trampoline and the sobs transform into squeals of laughter within seconds.

I have heard that baby’s legs might bend inward if made to stand earlier than the supposed age. So, my mom was quite worried when she saw the pictures where Kevin was standing with MC’s support. I am trying hard to keep Kevin on the ground, but this guy is hell bent on getting onto his feet. Any idea whether this standing spree is likely to harm Kevin? What’s your experience? I’m seeking your advice. Please do tell me.

Fatherhood - a hood with a feather

2008-03-31T17:17:00.002+05:30

How come mommy’s hood doesn’t get any feathers??

Since the past two weeks, MC is sleeping in the bedroom with Kevin and me. Since Kevin was used to having mommy on one side and a pillow on the other, he was getting confused when bumping into MC while searching for his milk supply in the middle of the night. And most of the time, MC had to wake me so that I could feed him.

MC’s version is that after trying to wake mommy, the defeated Kevin turns to MC for help. What if? As said earlier, I have a history of sleeping through earthquakes. Kevin tends to move around more when MC is sleeping on the other side since I don’t block his side using pillows. So I almost never know when Kevin starts wriggling hungrily.

Last day, when we were at a friend’s place, MC was narrating his version of the ‘cold-blooded-mommy-deprives-baby-of-primary-needs’ story. He was trying to gain sympathy for having been woken up every night for a full week. I got defensive and said that I have been going through this for more than 6 months now and I haven’t complained yet.

I am still not complaining. I am pretty sure that every couple absorbs the fact that children are a lot of work, before deciding to have one. Yes, night feeds are a lot of work! Especially for people like me, for whom sleep is worship. But I am doing it happily. And I am not thinking that I am doing something that needs appreciation.

Coming back… Hearing my argument, this friend’s mother (FM) said that that’s what mothers are for. Then the friend’s wife said that fathers too should get to know the taste. Yeah, said FM, but fathers are primarily for bringing home daily requirements and mothers for preparing it and getting things at home done. The basic roles are defined. Aha, so that’s why friend’s wife gave up her job! Ok, I actually don’t know why friend’s wife gave up her job.

I like FM a lot. She is very open and straight forward and we get along quite well. There is just some difference in attitude when it comes to things like ‘moms are born to stay at home and clean poop’. I am not trying to host a SAHM-WM debate. No. If you are the one who decided that you be a SAHM, then hats off to you! I appreciate it. But if you belong to the group who think that dads are not supposed to clean baby poop, then I take back my word.

I let MC take care of Kevin a lot. I also let him do things like changing Kevin’s diapers and lulling him into sleep. It’s not that I am lazy. I am all happy to do it. But a lot of people don’t know what dads are missing out by doing only predefined tasks like smiling at the baby and saying ‘Papa’. I don’t appreciate MC for what he does for Kevin. Why should I? It’s his duty as much as it is mine. I also tried to make MC bathe Kevin, but failed. MC is afraid that Kevin might get hurt. Hey, I wasn’t born with a baby-bathing diploma either! I learned it because I wanted to and I had to. It’s all about will. Not about genetically hardwired logic in the female brain or hormones. How can it be when my bro and I were bathed by our father starting when we were just 10 days old? Needless to say, I gave up on the bathing thing with a remark that MC will not be allowed to bathe Kevin even when he is older and bathing becomes fun. That’s my revenge. Hehe…

The lack of mammary glands is just not a reason enough for fathers, or their supporters, to escape the baby caring business and act as home needs suppliers. These days women too act as these so called suppliers even with baby and baby care.. and home care and family care and office work care. See? Just like Usha mentioned in the comment section of one of her posts, “Haven't you heard people say that a woman is genetically wired to be a good mother to a child and so it is her job to take care of the child? Although there is no evidence that men cannot take care of a child as well as a woman. Except the breast feeding part of course.” So, if you leave out the breastfeeding part, what is the difference between Papa and Mama? Is it plain laziness and diffidence to take risks and responsibilities??

I know that there are many fathers who take care of their children. So, no offense please! And again, no appreciation either! But the age-old attitude is still there and the supporters seem to be growing. Too often I see people shake their head in disbelief when told that MC changes diapers. And too often I hear mothers brag that they don’t let their husband do anything for the baby. And that’s what drives me mad, even more than non-cooperative fathers.

To the person...

2008-03-27T12:15:00.001+05:30

... who reached here google-ing 'china india shit'.

The visitor analysis shows that your location is Delhi. Are you Indian? Then there is something seriously wrong with you. Even if you are not Indian I would say that you are insane. How can anyone give a query like the one above??? Don't tell me that you were trying to find public toilets in China and India!

Help Tibet!

2008-03-26T14:18:00.001+05:30

Dear friends,

The global outcry over Tibet is rising fast - In just 5 days, 751,472 of us from 192 countries have come together to call for restraint and dialogue with the Dalai Lama. Even more amazing, we have told over 5 million of our friends about this important campaign - that’s 1 million people per day!

A personal email from a friend is a powerful thing – it is helping to drive the global tide of concern. Let’s push now to tell 5 million more friends, get over 1 million signatures this week, and deliver the largest global online petition in history to the Chinese government. Just forward the email below to a few more friends and family with a personal note from you…

——————

Dear friends,

After decades of repression, the Tibetan people are crying out to the world for change. The spotlight of the upcoming Olympic Games is now on China, and Tibetan Nobel peace prize winner the Dalai Lama is calling to end all riots and violence through restraint and dialogue–he urgently needs the support of the world’s people.

China’s hardliners are lashing out publicly at the Dalai Lama–but we’re told that President Hu Jintao may believe dialogue is the best hope for stability in Tibet. China’s leadership is right now considering a crucial choice between repression and dialogue that could determine Tibet’s–and China’s–future.

We can affect this historic choice – for President Hu, China’s global reputation matters. He needs to hear from us that the ‘Made in China’ brand and the upcoming Olympics in Beijing will succeed only if he chooses dialogue over the hardliners’ repression. An avalanche of global people power is moving to get his attention. We’re closing on our goal of 1 million signatures and the largest global online petition in history - click below to join the global outcry, and then forward this email to friends and family right away:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/tibet_end_the_violence/52..php?cl=66033783

China’s economy is dependent on “Made in China” exports that we all buy, and the government is keen to make the Olympics in Beijing this summer a celebration of a new and respected China. China is also a sprawling, diverse country with much brutality in its past, so it has good reasons to be concerned about stability — some of Tibet’s rioters killed innocent people. But President Hu must recognize that the greatest danger to Chinese stability and development today comes from hardliners who advocate escalating repression, not from those Tibetans seeking dialogue and reform.

We will deliver our petition directly to Chinese officials in New York, London and Beijing, but it we must reach our goal of 1 million signatures first. Please forward this email to your address book with a note explaining to your friends why this is important, or use our tell-a-friend tool to email your address book–it will come up after you sign.

The Tibetan people have suffered quietly for decades. It is finally their moment to speak–we must help them be heard.

With hope and respect,

Ricken, Pascal, Graziela, Iain, Paul, Galit, Milena, Ben and the whole Avaaz team

Here are some links with more information on the Tibetan protests and the Chinese response:

Crackdown in Tibet, but protests spreading:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/mar/19/tibet..china
and
http://www.theage.com.au/news/world/crackdown-on-protests-widens/2008/03/17/1205602289349.html

Dalai Lama calling for dialogue and restraint, and an end to violence:
http://www.dalailama.com/news.216.htm
and
http://www.agi.it/world/news/200803191258-pol-ren0032-art.html

Leaders across Europe and Asia starting to back dialogue as the way forward:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/7300157.stm

Chinese Prime Minister attacks “Dalai clique”, leaves door open for talks:
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-03/18/content_7813194.htm

Other Chinese signals:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/China_looks_at_India_to_talk_to_Dalai_Lama/articleshow/2875142.cms

PS - It has been suggested that the Chinese government may block the Avaaz website as a result of this email, and thousands of Avaaz members in China will no longer be able to participate in our community. A poll of Avaaz members over the weekend showed that over 80% of us believed it was still important to act on Tibet despite this terrible potential loss to our community, if we thought we could make a difference. If we are blocked, Avaaz will help maintain the campaign for internet freedom for all Chinese people, so that our members in China can one day rejoin our community.

Here are some links with more information on the Tibetan protests and the Chinese response:
BBC News: UN Calls for Restraint in Tibet - http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7301912.stm
Human Right Watch: China Restrain from Violently Attacking Protesters - http://hrw.org/english/docs/2008/03/15/china18291..htm
Associated Press: Tibet Unrest Sparks Global Reaction - http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gSSpPcDOPMoAiRLhPUyezuCRiXBQD8VFDD680
New York Times: China Takes Steps to Thwart Reporting on Tibet Protests - http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/18/world/asia/18access.html?ref=world
——————————————–

ABOUT AVAAZ
Avaaz.org is an independent, not-for-profit global campaigning organization that works to ensure that the views and values of the world’s people inform global decision-making. (Avaaz means “voice” in many languages.) Avaaz receives no money from governments or corporations, and is staffed by a global team based in London, Rio de Janeiro, New York, Paris, Washington DC, and Geneva.

Passport Fraud

2008-03-26T09:15:00.000+05:30

The following E-mail has been doing its rounds for some time now. Just felt like putting it up here:

"Dear All,
Be Careful at the Indian Airports. This is a well-organized conspiracy by Indian Immigration, Police, Customs and Air India staff with networking at all the Indian International Airports. Be watchful whenever you give your passport to Immigration/ Customs/Air India staff. The passport can be easily tampered and can create trouble to you. They have found an easy way of making money from NRIs.

This is the way it works.
At the time of the passenger's departure, if the passenger is not looking at the officer while he is stamping the exit, the officer very cleverly tears away one of the pages from the passport. When the passenger leaves the immigration counter, the case is reported on his computer terminal with full details. Now all over India they have got full details of the passenger with Red Flag flashing on the Passport number entered by the departure immigration officer. They have made their money by doing the above. On arrival next time, he is interrogated. Subject to the passenger's period of stay abroad, his income and standing etc., the price to get rid of the problem is settled by the Police and Immigration people. If someone argues, his future is spoiled because there are always some innocent fellows who think that honesty is the basis of getting justice in India, which is wrong...
Please advise every passenger to be careful at the airport. Whenever they hand over the passport to the counters of Air India, or immigration or the customs, they must be vigilant, and should not remove eyes from the passport even if the officer in front tries to divert their attention.
Also, please pass this information to all friends, media men and important politicians. Every month 20-30 cases are happening all over India to rob the NRIs the minute he lands. Similar case has happened with Armco¢s Arifuddin. He was traveling with his family. They had six passports.... They got the visa of America and decided to go via Hyderabad from Jeddah. They reached Hyderabad, stayed for about a month and left for the States. When they reached the States, the page of the American visa on his wife's passport was missing. At the time of departure from Hyderabad it was there, the whole family had to return to Hyderabad helplessly. On arrival at Bombay back, the police caught them and now it is over 2 months, they are running after the Police, Immigration officers and the Courts.
On going in to details with him, he found out the following: One cannot imagine, neither can believe, that the Indian Immigration dept can play such a nasty game to harass the innocent passengers. All the passengers traveling to & fro India via Bombay and Hyderabad must be aware of this conspiracy. Every month 15 to 20 cases are taking place, at each mentioned airport, of holding the passengers in the crime of tearing away the passport pages. On interviewing some of them, none of them was aware of what had happened. They don't know why, when and who tore away the page from the middle of the passport. One can imagine the sufferings of such people at the hands of the immigration, police and the court procedures in India after that. The number of cases is increasing in the last 2-3 years.
People who are arriving at the immigration are questioned and their passports are being held and they have to go in interrogations.... Obviously, the conspiracy started about 2 to 3 years ago, now the results are coming. Some of the Air India counter staff too is involved in this conspiracy."

I don't have any idea regarding the authenticity of the above. It sounds too filmy to be true. May be it's a warning to keep our eyes wide open. Yeah, may be.. or hopefully?

I have my reasons

2008-03-25T16:35:00.001+05:30

See this. Hehehe...

If only Mr. Boss would believe me!

Glory of Motherhood

2008-03-25T12:46:00.000+05:30

Last Thursday, MC and house help had gone to the church for the Maundy Thursday Prayers and I was playing with Kevin, when I heard a thundering sound somewhere outside the apartment. Kevin just rolled his eyes and continued playing. Moments after that I heard a child crying. I assumed that the sound had scared some child and therefore didn't really bother about it. But then I thought that it sounded as if the cry was coming from the front of our door. I opened the door and saw a boy about 3 years of age standing at our small gate and crying. We have a small gate cutting off the veranda to our flat. So, this child was trying to get in. It was damp, cold and windy outside and may be he was seeking the warmth of his home.

I hadn't seen the kid before and didn't know what to do. I grabbed the boy's hand and quickly checked the floor, but found no one. I came back and the boy came along with me to our flat. But he stopped at the door step, realizing that it was not his home. So I took Kevin, closed the door, took the boy by his hand and walked towards the lift, still unsure of what to do. A neighbour was waiting for the lift and he said that he had seen the child in our block but didn't know the flat number. So while we were standing there, the boy crying his heart out and me mulling over the careless mother, the lift came and out stepped a smiling mommy (?) with a too sweet 'Arre beta, aao". I was too dumbstruck to say anything, hence returned to our flat, clutching Kevin as if someone was trying to take him away.

I was so shaken after the incident. For the sake of an argument one can say that the mother was not too worried since we had a closed compound and the security had been instructed not to let children out. But is that enough? The closed compound and the security can only ensure that the child can't go out. Well and fine. What I was/am more worried about was/is the situation in which the child had found himself. I am sure that he was scared to death (obviously!) and God knows what all had crossed his mind the moment he had felt that he was alone in this world. I could see that he was having a bad time. My God, he was a kid of just 3 or so! As a parent, you are expected to keep your child not only from fire and water, but from matters that disturb him too. I don't understand these kind of parents.

In our apartment I daily see too much of messed up parenting and it disturbs me. I have seen mothers playing with their kids in the park at 10 o'clock in the night. Shouldn't there be some schedule? Ok, I admit that I am no one to interfere and these are my observations. But the conversations and games sometimes get loud enough to disturb others. There are old people, small babies and children studying for exams in the apartment. When you are living as a community you should learn to consider others and children should be taught respect. The whole noise is often topped by children who are allowed to ride their cycles in the floors. It creates a hell of a sound. No complaining has helped till now.

Also, do we have some mothers who have too much of a sense of community and all together feed their children either in the park or in the wider area in front of our lift. I thought that meals are to be taken at the table, without having the TV on!! Can't these mommies take a 5 minute break from gossiping to teach their children that there is something called table manners? And then there are mommies who run around in search of their kids at meal time, having let them loose in the morning so that they can do their work or cook or watch TV or read a book or gossip around or whatever, in peace. I don't understand all this, I really don't!

Peek-a-boo

2008-03-24T12:36:00.001+05:30

Today I accidentally landed on this blog which had lots of interesting posts. It was this post which inspired me to write. Here the writer says,

"The idea of peek-a-boo is not just to make the baby laugh (which mainly it does), but to teach them that a hiding object is still present when they can’t see it."

A few weeks back, Kevin was lying on the bed propped up on MC's tummy. I was kneeling on the ground and MC's leg was folded up like a pillar between Kevin and me. I started playing peek-a-boo, hiding behind MC leg and 'boo'-ing from one side. Each time I 'disappeared' from the left side, Kevin would look over to the right side expecting to see me; and vise versa. I continued for some time and was really surprised that he never thought that I had gone. Or at least he made it a point to check, just in case! I had played pee-a-boo with him earlier using towels or hands to hide my face, but hiding completely was the first time. May be babies are not as dumb as we think they are, and readers may find nothing special about Kevin's reaction, but the surprise factor was there for me for sure. And I was proud! Yeah, the too commonly found proud mommy! :P

Have a safe weekend!

2008-03-20T16:00:00.002+05:30

Wishing everyone a wonderful long weekend and a happy Easter celebration!

"Maybe Cuba or China, but not Dubai"

2008-03-20T12:35:00.002+05:30

That's a line from a relatively recent Malayalam movie. Being a hard-core communist, the character who is nick-named Cuba Mukundan, just can't think of working in Dubai to make a living, that when he is head over heels in debt.

I am not talking about communism or debt. This is something totally different. A couple of days back we had an open-house in office. An open meeting of all associates belonging to a project, with Mr. Boss addressing the crowd is termed open-house here. So, during the meeting we were warned about the Chinese who were learning English and working at a lower rate. The IT boom in India is supposed to come to an end within 5 years, it seems. And the only places that may help survive are China, Africa and Middle-east. I don't really know. I don't have that much of foresight.

Now, this topic came up during coffee-break and people started calculating the chances of getting a job in Dubai. Dubai means money and a not-so-bad life style, but is that all that is required for a happy life. Maybe. But not for me. Dubai means living as long as you have a job and then it's The End. As far as I know you can't stay there as a dependent parent leading a cosy retired life. Do correct me if I am wrong!

So the next step would be catching the next Emirates or Air India and spending the last days in silent prayer, far away from the children for which you went to Dubai to make money! I am not detesting Dubai! No.

The point I am trying to make is this stupid business of travelling abroad to make money and then coming back to India just for the purpose of dying a peaceful death. At least that is what it looks like. I know a lot of people who want to go abroad to make some money and then come back to their 'motherland' and settle down. The decision is reasoned by their love for the motherland and the desire for having the India culture nurture their children. How come you worship a country's currency when you treat its culture like shit? The Indian clothes and India food you buy for your children are bought using, say American dollars, right? I don't get this.

I know of parents who went abroad to make money and came back with two children aged 10 and 7 and the 10 year old is now 27 and is still cursing her parents for having screwed up her life. Yes, the parents I am talking about are my very own. I have suffered a lot and I am still suffering. But I learned to accept India the way it is though not happily and powercuts, hartals and people spitting on the road can't raise my BP anymore. I am against buying generators and invertors, because powercuts have become part of the Indian culture for which my parents came back! My parents still haven't been able to adjust and they regret their decision like hell!

Parents think that children are 'just children' and adapt easily to any kind of surroundings. But that's not the case. The only thing my parents were worried about was the logical break in education. I was admitted to class 5 which is when Hindi starts. But I was to join the English medium stream when I had never learned English. I wasn't any better at handling Malayalam, so Malayalam medium wouldn't have helped either! But I never failed in any subject. And English and Hindi were not the real problem. If it were, I would not have become an Engineer without my parents investing money on my education.

I started my education the European way and I was missing it a lot and it made my life miserable. I used to cry through the night thinking about my loss. Why 'used to'? I am still crying over spilt milk! Compared to the European style, Indian educational system is total bullshit. There children are not forced down the ABC and the multiplication table at an age when they should be learning how to brush teeth. I enjoyed my childhood like anything. Starting age 3 till age 6, I learned how to live a life on my own, which I think is missing in India. I learned how to take my breakfast, how to wash my plate and glass, how to use the toilet (neatly!!!), how to brush my teeth, how to cross the road, to memorise my address and phone number, not to ask strangers for the way home, how to recognise the postoffice/postmaster/police to ask for help etc. For the sake of an argument, you might say that these are things mommy should teach. Yes, but it doesn't hurt to learn it twice and learning with a group of kids was much more fun. And I used to be proud of what I had learned at Kindergarten. Till class 2 I never knew that the number system was way beyond 20 and that the Alphabet had 26 letters and I still didn't come short of anything! So what are people gaining by teaching 'A for Apple' when a child hasn't even learned to pronounce his own name properly? Other than spoiling childhood.

So, what am I talking about? People rushing to make dollars, my life which I think is screwed up or the bloody Indian educational system? Everything in one go because everything is connected. People wanting the Indian culture to raise their children, please return to India before your children can differentiate between Papa and Mama because otherwise there is all chance that you may be cursed to death by your very own offsprings. People who are waiting for the logical break, just forget it! You will have to be answerable for your children's life-long tears and retired life won't be as enjoyable as you think it would be! I know that I am hitting too many people hard on the head. But I want people to know what I have gone through and I don't want to welcome more children to my club.

Each time I think about the educational system here, I regret that I decided to stay in India. Kevin is going to be a victim very soon. But since he hasn't seen and won't see anything other than this, he wouldn't find it a problem and I would still be crying silently, blaming myself for the torture my son is going through. But I am sure about one thing. No more onsite assignments will be taken up once Kevin is 3. I don't want my son to be shot around like a shuttle cock and go through the same trauma I have been going through. I promise you that Kevin, I owe you at least that much!

So much to learn

2008-03-17T14:33:00.001+05:30

The uninformed mother that I am, I immediately assumed that my son was one of the lucky babies (that is when this is a much discussed topic!) who would teeth without screaming into the face of the world!! Bad, bad mommy!

Just 5 minutes back I found some info which is connecting very well to Kevin's health status and about which I was not aware. The cold that Kevin was having since first week of March had subsided in a week's time. But he was coughing once in a while and so medication was still on. Last Friday night, his cough got worse, this time with excessive phlegm, making it difficult for him to sleep.

He was fine on Saturday (daytime) and again went into fits of cough in the night. We called up the Ped on Sunday morning and he asked us to change one of the syrups. I didn't tell him that Kevin had started teething the very morning, since I didn't know that loose cough could be related to it. Even the new syrup didn't have much effect and now I know why! Anyway I am taking Kevin to the Ped in the evening.

Dedicated to new moms of to-be-teethers:

A cold while teething

Coughing Infant

Happy Teething!

2008-03-17T12:40:00.001+05:30

It's official. Kevinboy is teething! One more milestone passed.

There is a narrow cut where the left one of the bottom front teeth is expected to pop up some time soon (I hope!). The best thing is that Kevin is not showing any of the signs of teething like loss of appetite, poor mood, excess salivation etc. Actually he is drooling very less since a couple of days! Hopefully he will be fine till it's over.

Happy teething, baby!!