The' yellow belt' road to happiness

Happiness (for a 6 year old ) = a meter of yellow cloth obtained after 4 hours of intense physical exertions.
Sunday was a landmark day in Nachikaet's"martial artistic" life. He has been been given "official membership" into the the fascinating world of martial arts.  It is his first "real achievement"... all the more sweeter as it is quite literally the fruit of his sweat and labour.
What really made this day special for me, was to see my son (who used to come running asking to be taken to a hospital, because he had scraped his knee,) slog on hour after hour determined to get that belt.
While a  good number of kids were all but ready to give up; crying and howling, my little man carried on until the last punch was delivered.
Congratulations my little one
                                         for believing that you could do it ..even though amma told you that you weren't  ready yet.
                                         for having the courage to say no, when amma asked you if you wanted to stop and go home, after you nearly collapsed after the 50th count of middle punches

and most of all congratulations on getting your " dream" belt..amma is so very proud of you.

Here is a snap of him beaming at the camara with his coveted yellow belt which by  the way, has replaced
all alien creatures and pre historic species as our new bed fellow!!!

 

By us for us

When Smita Banerjee , (on behalf of Hewlett Packard Write and Read initiative), mailed me asking if I would like to review a collection of short stories for children, I jumped at the opportunity.
The names associated with the book had given me a fair idea that I was in for a treat. Further, I saw it as an opportunity to read it with my 6 year old son, and view the book from his perspective (it is a book meant for kids after all!!!)
I received a lovely brightly coloured illustrated book called “By us for us”. What sets this book apart is that it is a collection of short stories, written by children for children. All the 29 storied featured in this book have been handpicked by the acclaimed lyricist/poet Prasoon Joshi, and is published by Katha in collaboration with Hewlett Packard India.

Each of the 29 stories bears testament to the unique insight that only children can have. I truly felt I was seeing our world in a whole new light - through the eyes of a child. The book engulfs the reader, in a plethora of emotions in the simple uncomplicated language of children. Each of the “little authors” manage to convey a socially relevant message through their thought provoking stories - little Kaizan who begs near the traffic signals of Chandni Chowk, who makes us feel grateful for all of life’s privileges we so take for granted…
A little boy who stumbles upon a treasure called “sharing”..
A tree who shows us what it feels like when we so casually cut it in half ..
A suit case who opens our eyes to the layers of corruption camouflaged cleverly in the powerful world of politics, through its memoirs on how it became a “celebrity”..
A stray cat who was adopted by a family and soon became “reigning queen” , introduces us to the joys of caring for a pet. a stray one at that!!
Four toothbrushes who have an adventure of their” toothbrushy” lives when they tamper with a time machine, showcases childish imagination at its best.

It is this sort of creative writing at its best that make this book a must read for kids (and adults!!!)
My 6 year old thoroughly enjoyed reading each and every one of these stories and
the fact that it was written by children, made it even more enjoyable and its given him that “little push” to give writing stories a shot..what more can a mother expect out of a book? It is definitely a keeper!!!

Please check out their space for more information
http://www.hpwriteandread.com/

A" soon to be" mom in law!!!

If things go the way they are going currently, I am in danger of becoming a "soon to be" mom in law..courtesy my ever obliging and proactive 6 year old. Here is what I am talking about.
We were returning from Karate class the other day, when suddenly it struck me that Nachikaet was unusually silent..deep in thought. This is an excerpt from our conversation..

Amma:  Kanna, what happened, why are you so quiet..are you feeling sick? (sadly, that's one of the few reasons he keeps quiet!!!)

Nachikaet: Amma I'm thinking of getting married!!!

Amma: You're what????      ( managed not to shriek and pretended as if I had not heard)

Nachikaet:   You know like you and achan..

Amma : Oh that's nice, and who is the lucky girl? ( perfectly calm, as if he had told me that  he wanted a new toy)

Nachikaet: There are two three I'm thinking of...can't decide..you can marry only one person right?

Amma: Yes kanna ( god give me the strength!!!)

He sighs.. accepting the sad but bitter truth - monogamy!!!!
Suddenly he brightened up and gave a wide toothless grin
  Amma , I know each class i'll marry a different girl...
I nodded..not knowing what else to say!!!


   

Enter the Nachikaet!!!!

My husband is an ardent fan of movies related to martial arts. As a result Nachikaet knows his Tony Jaa's and Jet Lee's from his Jackie Chan's and Bruce Lee's. So when our apartment began conducting karate classes for kids in the club house, both father and son decided that it was time to "enter the Nachikaet"

 He has started classes along with 15 other "black-belts-in-the-making"..all eager to try their freshly learnt moves on each other!!

It is so heartening to see the little ones so eager to learn  the new moves being taught, each without the slightest sliver of doubt  that they are "god's gift to the world of martial arts"
Here  is wishing the little group many more lovely hours of  middle punches and upper punches...

Here is a picture of my little samurai in action

A fiery start to the new year!!!

This "event" really set me on fire. My "mommy-alert" button hit the panic mode and I quite literally let off my steam!!!
The saga unfolded in the underwater world, Sentosa island in Singapore, where I had gone for a vacation with my husband and 6 year old son Nachikaet. One of my pet phobias is the "fear of anything which remotely resembles a snake" So you can imagine my plight, when my son casually announced that he wanted to take a photo with a python draped  around  his neck (one of the attractions being offered in the underwater world)

To say that my mind was on fire is to put matters mildly. To add fuel to the "fire", my husband was all smiles beaming proudly at his "macho" son. The theatrical display of navarasas* which coursed through my face, would have put a seasoned kathakali* artist to shame!!!

I had by this time, managed to attract quite a decent number of interested audience- ranging from giggly pigtailed girls to wonder mommies who looked as if they had just stepped out of the salon, balancing a perfectly behaved baby on one hip  and typing furiously on their I-phones!!!

My son and husband were by this time ready to disown me and get on with more important things ...like getting a python draped around their necks!!

The rather tragic end of this epic drama was that I was left howling and screaming and trying  to explain to a concerned security guard that I didn't need to go the first aid station; while my son went and got himself the coveted picture!!! Here is a copy of the controversial picture..it sure fired up my day!!!!

*navarasas..refer   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rasa_(aesthetics)

* kathakali  refer   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kathakali

This post is written for the indiblogger and KFC sponsered contest  "Sets you on fire"

God's in his heaven - all's right with the world!!!

There is always some thing magical about the ' end of the year' couple of weeks that lulls me into a comforting feeling that  Robert Browning so aptly put in his "Pippa's song" ...even though spring sounds like a distant dream at this point!!!! Its that time when the old year gracefully takes the last bow, giving us another chance to start afresh, another chance to be the best person we can be every single day.
Here is wishing every one a lovely year ahead and may every thing be right in your world!!!
...logging off for the year 2011!!!
Happy new year!!!!!!

Pippa's Song by Robert Browning

THE year 's at the spring,
And day 's at the morn;
Morning 's at seven;
The hill-side 's dew-pearl'd;
The lark 's on the wing;
The snail 's on the thorn;
God 's in His heaven—
All 's right with the world!

Juju- my own custom made "fairy god mother"

Marrion Garrety was so right when she said that "A sister is a little bit of childhood that can never be lost"

Juju my younger sister gifted me an amazon kindle yesterday. To say I was shell shocked is to put matters mildly.

 A little thank you note for the person who knows me inside out and still loves me unconditionally just because I'm "Anu chechi"

Thank you Juju for being there for me when I needed you and even when I did not..

Thank you Juju for spending sleepless nights because I was sad...

Thank you Juju for  being ready to battle with people who hurt me..

Thank you Juju for loving  Kannan much as Keshav..

 and thank you for being the person that you are....I love you... 

ps. Keshav is my nephew and Kannan is my son