There are so many moments in the day when I'm totally exasperated with my son, little A. He is usually so deeply engrossed in whatever he is doing that he tunes out everything else. When he's making paper planes ( the latest craze, and thankfully a cheap one), he doesn;t hear me telling him to do something, he forgets to pick up a bite of breakfast or to swallow the bite already in his mouth. Drinking milk can take forty five minutes when he's watching Mickey and friends...
And then there are the moments when he reduces me to a little puddle of mush.
He's been having bad dreams for the past few days and we've been so tired that we have given up and bring him into our bed each time. Last night he went through another such episode, on a night when I was dog tired. Later he woke up to use the bathroom. Still later he wanted a drink of water and I yelled at him. Then early this morning, cuddled up next to me, he says, "I feel so safe when you're near me, mamma."
Then when we were both up, he tells me, "Even when I'm as big as Priyesh ( our downstairs neighbour's 9 year old) I'll still play with you. Even when I'm 100 I'll still play with you, mamma."
How cute is that!
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
An option!
Yesterday I took L for her checkup because for the last few months excepting last month she had been falling sick constantly.. A and I owed it to her catching it from school..with atleast 3 courses of antibiotics, she is fine by the grace of God now!!
But L starts her day with a string of coughs and sneezes for an hour and she's fine the entire day!! I described this to L's doc and he said it is something referred to as allergic rhinitis! And since A and I didn't want L to be on medication all over again, an alternative that the doc suggested was:
To get L to wear socks during the night and on L waking up in the morning to wash her face right away using warm water...
Believe me, I did see a difference.
I am sure this will be useful to a lot of moms out there!
[Posted by of http://www.tangerineskitchen.blogspot.com ]
But L starts her day with a string of coughs and sneezes for an hour and she's fine the entire day!! I described this to L's doc and he said it is something referred to as allergic rhinitis! And since A and I didn't want L to be on medication all over again, an alternative that the doc suggested was:
To get L to wear socks during the night and on L waking up in the morning to wash her face right away using warm water...
Believe me, I did see a difference.
I am sure this will be useful to a lot of moms out there!
[Posted by of http://www.tangerineskitchen.blogspot.com ]
Ma Durga... Come again the next year
Kucho nimki, narkol naru, malpua, mansher ghughni, keemar shingara, mishti r thalaa, dhok dhok pronaam aar kolakuli.... the childhood memories of Bijoya are too vivid, more so gastronomically.
Days have changed, so my son, who is at least 98% clued on Bong was surprised to find, kucho nimkis are manufacturable in Mom's kitchen as well beside the Chittoranjan Park Sweet shops in Delhi.
So this time, while I prepared to embrace and entertain a large group of family, Mr D prepared for his France visit for an unavoidable workshop. Little sonny R, upset with his Dad's funny tour plans was trying to find solace in visiting paternal Grandparents from Kolkata.
Saptami was chaotic. My Mamashoshur( Husband's Mama) and family had planned a surprise for his sister.... they were visiting us. So even though I prepared a pick up for them from railway station, my in laws were completely in the dark. Even my ten year old son was party to the conspiracy. Chaos bloomed post lunch, I had to leave for an emergency client meeting, my guests could not find the car sent for the pick up, neither could the driver find the guest..... AMAZING. I retraced 45 km to pick them up after reaching back.... and the family chat continued till wee hours of 2am.
Ashtami colourful as usual.... other than me struggling to keep a backup khichuri and accompaniments ready in case we miss the bhog at the pandal. On puja days in Gurgaon pandals, since we always end up behind 1000 at least, a backup plan is an absolute must. Afternoon, in true Bong way, we stuffed ourselves in a hired Toyota Innova and struggled our way through the terrible highway traffic to reach New Delhi Kali bari. Long travel, fights on right AC cooling, and finally we end up standing behind serpentine cues for a glimpse of the Goddess and the happening arati. Thousands were already sitting on the huge mandir courtyard waiting for Kumar Shanu to begin his performance. Terrified of the crowd, and asphyxation we finally plunge out and breathe well before locating a chaatwallah. Soft and crispy aalu chaat and spicy churmur we all had to our heart's content before reaching airport to pick up Mr D.
Navami we packed fast and quick and once again stuffed ourselves in two cars and left for a Jaipur Ajmer Pushkar trip. The days passed off in a whizzzzz.... and on Monday 3 am we came back home, almost crawling back.
House is still full, 24 hours, we are chirping and laughing with family, a rare incident compared to me and little sonny R walking back slowly,into an empty apartment, loaded with school bag, creche bag, Kumon hamper, laptop, a huge loaded purse and an equally cumbrous food tote bag....and getting prepared for the next day.
Me and little sonny R are not seeing eye to eye fearing the magic would go off and once more we would get slotted into the routine life.
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Hello to all the moms!
[Post written by Rachel of http://www.tangerineskitchen.blogspot.com ]
I just got introduced into blogging a few months ago.. heard and read about blogging but never wanted to take the step...But here I am finally into blogging and trust me I am having fun...not just bloggin in my own space but also reading other blogs..DMC is one blog that interested me..
I have a 3 yr old daughter L. She goes to nursery..She can be a very stubborn person which is reflected in her eating habits as well...
...Anyways she adores colouring and painting not just in her scrap book but also on the house floor and the walls...She probably takes this interest after me..because i am basically an artist and a designer...I can see she has a keen sense of observtion which is obvious in the way she handles her brushes and paints..
She is also awed by the chapati dough..and keeps herself occupied shaping the dough and talks to the dough too..Wonder what???
I only hope and pray that she would show the same interest in food too!!!
Hoping to contribute to this blog soon!!!
I just got introduced into blogging a few months ago.. heard and read about blogging but never wanted to take the step...But here I am finally into blogging and trust me I am having fun...not just bloggin in my own space but also reading other blogs..DMC is one blog that interested me..
I have a 3 yr old daughter L. She goes to nursery..She can be a very stubborn person which is reflected in her eating habits as well...
...Anyways she adores colouring and painting not just in her scrap book but also on the house floor and the walls...She probably takes this interest after me..because i am basically an artist and a designer...I can see she has a keen sense of observtion which is obvious in the way she handles her brushes and paints..
She is also awed by the chapati dough..and keeps herself occupied shaping the dough and talks to the dough too..Wonder what???
I only hope and pray that she would show the same interest in food too!!!
Hoping to contribute to this blog soon!!!
Monday, October 22, 2007
Navarathri Bommai Golu
[post written by Sheela]
Garuda Sevai.
Arasamaram Pillayar.
Pancha Bootham.
Aaru Padai Veedu.
Saptha Rishi.
Ashta Lakshmi.
Dasavatharam.
These enchanting terms describing the sets of clay dolls my mom collected evoke a strong nostalgia...
Every time I sat down to write this post, I visualized a naive little girl through the gossamer veil of memory, wistfully donning the antique white pattu pavadai with royal purple zari border and a matching puff-sleeved blouse,
...hair braided and accentuated with a kunjalam at the end,
...with adukku malli flowers coiling all around it,
...bangles jingling when carefully forming the Bharathanatyam mudras with small hands while reciting 'pathaka tripathaka ardhapathaka, kartharimukaha', and 'aangikam, bhuvanam, yashya vaachikam'
...frozen at the end of the single-digit age where I can remain a child forever.
Family Traditions brings a lot of images as every festival was a reason to establish a tradition at home. And my mom was good at establishing traditions.
The one that particularly stands out in my mind is the Navarathri Bommai Golu.
A couple of weeks before the start of Navarathri, my mom goes to the wholesale stores across town to get little mirrors, combs, kumkuma chimizhs (tiny little containers for holding the crimson powder kumkumam/sindhoor), little baskets to hold the thambulam... I tag along if I am up for it. It is a tedious multi bus hop across town in the hot sun... but, highly rewarding.
And then, about a week before the start of the Navarathri, Appa brings down the bommai pottigal, yes, plural, as my mom had quite the collection - about four large wooden boxes which held the carefully padded, wrapped, packed dolls of various shapes and sizes and make. And, every year, at least a couple of new dolls are added to the collection.
Then, he sets up the 7-step golu padi: a Godrej steel gray set of shelves and adjustable stands which spends most of the year sleeping in the attic, unassembled, yet magically fulfills its destiny by hosting the gorgeous display of dolls for couple of weeks a year.
Ever since I could follow instructions, it was my duty to broom and mop the area where the golu will be displayed. Once my mom knows it is clean, she draws an elaborate maa kolam - traditional design on the floor made with diluted rice paste.
Then Appa assembles the golu padi. At which point, depending on who is at hand and up for it, we cover the steps with either simple white veshti, or Amma's old sarees, pinning up as needed to make sure the cloth drapes the steps elegantly.
If that wasn't fun enough, now is when the real festivities start: arranging the dolls and, possibly setting up more scenes on the floor around the bommai padi.
Amma is particular about the order. The tallest and biggest clay dolls go on the topmost step. Gods and goddess dolls at the top, and mythological symbols and other generic ones (like a pair of swans, elephants and such) at the bottom. If something isn't aesthetically appealing, she rearranges till things seem in harmony again.
Once that is done, more fun starts: mixing sand with color powder, we design a city on the floor all around the golu padi. A little school here, an arasamaram pillayar koil (temple) there. A little circus tent with animals here. A bus depot there. A railway station here. A playground there. Rickshaws and bicycles abound our streets. Little plastic and clay children and adults of all sizes and shapes populate our town.
Finally, I get to do a rangoli design on the floor with my cousins, in the available space, without limiting the motion in the area. And nobody better turn on the fan!
But then, the actual Navarathri has not even started yet!
On the first day of Navarathri, Amma establishes the Kalasam (a bronze/silver pot with water or rice, decorated with mango leaves that are held in place by a whole coconut), and pronounces the golu officially open. And she sets off with a kumkuma chimizh full of crimson kumkumam to invite the neighbors and friends.
Every day of the 10-day, 9-nights festival, people exchange visits, spread goodwill and cheer, sing traditional songs, share chundal and other prasadam...
On the 8th night Amma always sets up the books and instruments for the Saraswathi Pooja: my school textbooks, my favorite books, notebooks, pens and pencils, and, of course, my chalangai and veenai.
These are not to be touched or disturbed all of 9th day (and night) observed as Saraswathi Pooja.
However, on the 10th and last day of navarathri, Vijaya Dasami, we get to sit by the arrangement and write, read, play the veena or dance a little, anything at all that we want to excel in, we practice on Vijaya Dasami...
Of course, that was then.
For the last 15 years, I have not participated in Navarathri celebrations here in the U.S. Over the years, if my mom's visit coincides around the Navarathri time, she sets up a simple 3-step arrangement with whatever curios and pictures she gave me of the traditional mythological beings.
However, along the lines of Navarathri, since Ana was born, we have been celebrating Christmas with a tree decked to the gills, ornaments galore, and adding a new ornament each year (discounting the many that break each year thanks to the kitties living with us)...
But, this year, Navarathri just got over, and since my parents were not visiting us, I decided to establish a simple tradition of my own. No elaborate bommai golu, but, just a 2-step arrangement of dolls I have. Plus, a chundal or payasam of some kind every evening.
I was never the fancy dresser since my teens. But, I made an effort to cleanse myself and drape a silk saree each evening after coming home from work, which in turn inspired my 2-year Ana old to ask to be dressed up as well... then, made some chundal or payasam and offered the nivedhyam...
Somehow, it is not the same without friends and neighbors stopping by, and unless it is a weekend, I am strapped for energy and time to celebrate the way I'd like...No matter.
I am not sure I am up for the 7-step bommai golu anymore... but, if Ana is up for it as she grows up, I hope I have the strength to pass on this beautiful Navarathri Bommai Golu tradition my mom has set up for our family...
Garuda Sevai.
Arasamaram Pillayar.
Pancha Bootham.
Aaru Padai Veedu.
Saptha Rishi.
Ashta Lakshmi.
Dasavatharam.
These enchanting terms describing the sets of clay dolls my mom collected evoke a strong nostalgia...
Every time I sat down to write this post, I visualized a naive little girl through the gossamer veil of memory, wistfully donning the antique white pattu pavadai with royal purple zari border and a matching puff-sleeved blouse,
...hair braided and accentuated with a kunjalam at the end,
...with adukku malli flowers coiling all around it,
...bangles jingling when carefully forming the Bharathanatyam mudras with small hands while reciting 'pathaka tripathaka ardhapathaka, kartharimukaha', and 'aangikam, bhuvanam, yashya vaachikam'
...frozen at the end of the single-digit age where I can remain a child forever.
Family Traditions brings a lot of images as every festival was a reason to establish a tradition at home. And my mom was good at establishing traditions.
The one that particularly stands out in my mind is the Navarathri Bommai Golu.
A couple of weeks before the start of Navarathri, my mom goes to the wholesale stores across town to get little mirrors, combs, kumkuma chimizhs (tiny little containers for holding the crimson powder kumkumam/sindhoor), little baskets to hold the thambulam... I tag along if I am up for it. It is a tedious multi bus hop across town in the hot sun... but, highly rewarding.
And then, about a week before the start of the Navarathri, Appa brings down the bommai pottigal, yes, plural, as my mom had quite the collection - about four large wooden boxes which held the carefully padded, wrapped, packed dolls of various shapes and sizes and make. And, every year, at least a couple of new dolls are added to the collection.
Then, he sets up the 7-step golu padi: a Godrej steel gray set of shelves and adjustable stands which spends most of the year sleeping in the attic, unassembled, yet magically fulfills its destiny by hosting the gorgeous display of dolls for couple of weeks a year.
Ever since I could follow instructions, it was my duty to broom and mop the area where the golu will be displayed. Once my mom knows it is clean, she draws an elaborate maa kolam - traditional design on the floor made with diluted rice paste.
Then Appa assembles the golu padi. At which point, depending on who is at hand and up for it, we cover the steps with either simple white veshti, or Amma's old sarees, pinning up as needed to make sure the cloth drapes the steps elegantly.
If that wasn't fun enough, now is when the real festivities start: arranging the dolls and, possibly setting up more scenes on the floor around the bommai padi.
Amma is particular about the order. The tallest and biggest clay dolls go on the topmost step. Gods and goddess dolls at the top, and mythological symbols and other generic ones (like a pair of swans, elephants and such) at the bottom. If something isn't aesthetically appealing, she rearranges till things seem in harmony again.
Once that is done, more fun starts: mixing sand with color powder, we design a city on the floor all around the golu padi. A little school here, an arasamaram pillayar koil (temple) there. A little circus tent with animals here. A bus depot there. A railway station here. A playground there. Rickshaws and bicycles abound our streets. Little plastic and clay children and adults of all sizes and shapes populate our town.
Finally, I get to do a rangoli design on the floor with my cousins, in the available space, without limiting the motion in the area. And nobody better turn on the fan!
But then, the actual Navarathri has not even started yet!
On the first day of Navarathri, Amma establishes the Kalasam (a bronze/silver pot with water or rice, decorated with mango leaves that are held in place by a whole coconut), and pronounces the golu officially open. And she sets off with a kumkuma chimizh full of crimson kumkumam to invite the neighbors and friends.
Every day of the 10-day, 9-nights festival, people exchange visits, spread goodwill and cheer, sing traditional songs, share chundal and other prasadam...
On the 8th night Amma always sets up the books and instruments for the Saraswathi Pooja: my school textbooks, my favorite books, notebooks, pens and pencils, and, of course, my chalangai and veenai.
These are not to be touched or disturbed all of 9th day (and night) observed as Saraswathi Pooja.
However, on the 10th and last day of navarathri, Vijaya Dasami, we get to sit by the arrangement and write, read, play the veena or dance a little, anything at all that we want to excel in, we practice on Vijaya Dasami...
Of course, that was then.
For the last 15 years, I have not participated in Navarathri celebrations here in the U.S. Over the years, if my mom's visit coincides around the Navarathri time, she sets up a simple 3-step arrangement with whatever curios and pictures she gave me of the traditional mythological beings.
However, along the lines of Navarathri, since Ana was born, we have been celebrating Christmas with a tree decked to the gills, ornaments galore, and adding a new ornament each year (discounting the many that break each year thanks to the kitties living with us)...
But, this year, Navarathri just got over, and since my parents were not visiting us, I decided to establish a simple tradition of my own. No elaborate bommai golu, but, just a 2-step arrangement of dolls I have. Plus, a chundal or payasam of some kind every evening.
I was never the fancy dresser since my teens. But, I made an effort to cleanse myself and drape a silk saree each evening after coming home from work, which in turn inspired my 2-year Ana old to ask to be dressed up as well... then, made some chundal or payasam and offered the nivedhyam...
Somehow, it is not the same without friends and neighbors stopping by, and unless it is a weekend, I am strapped for energy and time to celebrate the way I'd like...No matter.
I am not sure I am up for the 7-step bommai golu anymore... but, if Ana is up for it as she grows up, I hope I have the strength to pass on this beautiful Navarathri Bommai Golu tradition my mom has set up for our family...
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