Sunday, December 20, 2009

mine or my sisters?

Top reasons why my daughter reminds us of my sis...
1) Big expressive eyes
2) Non-stop chatter
3) Good non-verbal communication .. actions speaking louder than words
4) Little tall for her age
5) Looks good in modern dresses
6) Kicking others while sleeping and goes round and round all the time
7) Sleep blabbering
8) Runs to temple mainly for Prasadham
9) Interested in jewellery
10) Naughty with all caps
11) Good pinching skills!

One of my cousin's even said that I better swap my daughter with my sis.. She looks more like her and less like me or hubby..

Friday, December 11, 2009

My sis is my hubby's new employer.......

How? As per my daughter. My hubby works for Satyam and my sis's name is Sathya. The other day I was telling my daughter that appa works for Satyam Office and left it at that. After sometime I asked where does appa work and prompt came the reply - " Periamma office". I did not understand what she was trying to say.. I carefully repeated that appa does not work for periamma but in Satyam Office... My daugther replied "Sathya periamma office".. How cool is that? These kids can relate things so well.My daughter talks non-stop these days. All that childish gibberish is very funny to hear. She can identify animals from her book but wouldnt learn ABC or 123 or colors. Yesterday when we went out we were waiting for the signal when i casually pointed out to her to that if the signal is red we wait and if it turns greens we go. Today we went in the morning. We were waiting near the Consulate signal and she says "appa red signal", the moment the signal turned green she said "appa geen signal, bye po".... Kids do learn fast no doubt but only what they want and when they want to...

Saturday, June 27, 2009

ஓடி விளையாடு பாப்பா

அது என்னமோ தெரியல எனக்கும் விளையாட்டுக்கும் எப்போவுமே ஒரு இந்தியா பாகிஸ்தான் உறவு தான்... நான் கொஞ்சம் குண்டாக இருப்பேனா (round is a shape you see)அதுனால ஒத்துவரல போல. வாரம் ஒரு நாள் ஒரு மணி நேரம் விளையாட்டு நேரம். பி.டி master வந்து கைய இப்படி தூக்குங்க கால இப்படி மடக்குங்க rectangle, square, circle எல்லாம் போடுங்கன்னு கொஞ்ச நேரம் உடற்பயிற்சி சொல்லி தருவார். அப்பறம் எல்லாரும் போய் ஓடி புடிச்சு விளையாட ஆரம்பிச்சா பாக்கி நேரம் அவருக்கு எங்களோட சண்டய தீர்த்துவக்கறதுல போய்டும்.கடைசியா "அடுத்த வாரம் இதே நாள் இதே நேரம் சந்திப்போம். அது வரை விடைபெறுவது பாண்டி பாண்டி"னு சொல்லிட்டு போய்டுவார்(அவர் பிறகு மளிகை கடை வைத்தது தனி கதை).

அப்பறம் இந்த sports day. ஓட்டப்பந்தயமும், தலைல பாடப்புத்தகத்தை வைத்துகொண்டு நடக்கும் பந்தயமும் இருக்கும். ஓட்டப்பந்தயம் கூட பரவாயில்ல கடைசிலேந்து மூனாவதுக்குள்ள வந்துடுவேன். ஆனா இந்த ரெண்டாவது இருக்கே அது கொஞ்சமும் பிடிக்கல.. எல்லா பசங்களும் தலை நிறைய எண்ணெய் வைத்துகொண்டு புத்தகம் இல்லாமல் வருவார்கள்(அப்போது தான் புத்தகம் விழாமல் இருக்குமாம்). நம்ப தான் sincere சிகாமணி ஆச்சே.. என் புத்தகம் எல்லாம் எண்ணெய் ஆனதுலேந்து பிடிக்காமல் போனது.இப்படியாக இரண்டு வருடம் போனது.

அப்புறம் lemon and spoon race. வெயிலுக்கு இதமா ஜில்லுனு இதை சாப்டாம பெரிய கொடுமை. பெரிய spoon சின்ன எலுமிச்சை அப்படி இப்படினு தயாரானாலும் "go" சொன்னவுடனே எலுமிச்சை தனக்கு தான் சொல்ராங்கன்னு ஓஓடி போய்டும். அப்பறம் நம்ப திருப்பி தயாராகி திரும்பி பாத்தா சின்ன வகுப்பு பசங்க கூட நின்றுகொண்டு இருப்போம்.

கொஞ்சம் பெரிய வகுப்பு போனதும் ஸ்கிப்பிங். ஒரு எடத்துல ஸ்கிப் பண்ணுனா பரவாயில்லை, ஸ்கிப் பண்ணிக்கொண்டே ஓடவும் ஓடணும்.... ஒரு தடவை பக்கத்தில் வந்து கொண்டிருந்த பெண்ணின் கயிறோடு என் கயிறு லா லா பாட அதோடு என்னை யாரும் அழைத்த‌தில்லை. இதன் பிறகு வந்தது short put நம்ப இதுல புகுந்து விளையாடலாம் (அதாங்க round is a shape..) அப்படின்னு பாத்தா கைவலி வந்ததுதான் மிச்சம். இதுல "தயிர் சாதம்"னு ஒரு புனை பெயர் வேறு ஒட்டிக்கொண்டது.

க‌டைசியா வந்தது ballon bursting. ச‌ம‌த்துவ போட்டி. யார் கால‌ யார் வேணும்னாலும் மிதிக்க‌லாம். ப‌லூன் உடைத்தோமோ இல்லையோ பிடிக்காத‌வ‌ர்க‌ள் காலை ப‌த‌ம் பார்த்தோம்.. ஒரு வ‌ழியா ப‌த்தாம் வ‌குப்பு வந்த‌தும் இனிமே ப‌டிப்பு ம‌ட்டும் தான் என்றார்க‌ள். என்னை போல் மகிழ்ந்த‌வ‌ர் யாரும் இல்லை...



இப்போ anticlimax...

என் ஒரு கையில் சாத‌ம் ம‌று கையில த‌ண்ணீ என் பெண் பின்னால் ஒட்ட‌ம்... ப‌ம்ம‌ல் கே ச‌ம்ப‌ந்த‌த்தில் க‌ம‌ல் சொல்ர‌ மாதிரி ஒரு ப‌க்க‌ம் பொண்ண‌ பிடிக்க‌னும் ஒரு ப‌க்க‌ம் சாத‌ம் குடுக்க‌னும் ஒரு ப‌க்க‌ம் விளையாட்டு காமிக்க‌னும் அப்புறம் dialogue ம் பேச‌னும்னா எப்ப‌டி?? ஒழுங்கா lemon and spoon race விளையாடி இருக்க‌லாம்.என்ன‌ ஒன்னு நேர் கோட்ல‌ ஓட‌ வேண்டாம்.

Sunday, June 21, 2009

காதல் கல்யாணம்

உன்னில் நான் என்னில் நீ நமக்காக எல்லாம்

வாழ்த்தியவர்கள் ஏர்டெல்லும் பிஎஸென்னலும்

காதலுக்கு அருஞ்சொற்பொருளாய் சுற்றிய நாட்கள்

பின்பு வாழ்க்கை தலையிட்டது ~ கல்யாணம்

ம் ஓ என்பதே அதிகபட்ச பேச்சாய்

காதல் இருக்கிறது நேரம்தான் இல்லை

எல்லாம் புல்லுக்கு இரைத்த நீராய்

உன் புன்னகையும் நேரமும் மட்டும் தா பிழைதிடுவேன்

Friday, June 5, 2009

க‌லிகாலம்

வீடு ரெண்டுபட்டது.. ஒரே அமர்களம். நேஹா குளிச்சாசா?

dress பண்ணிண்டாச்சா? அவளுக்கு வேண்டியது எல்லாம் எடுத்து பைல வச்சாசா?

அங்க என்ன கிடைக்குமோ கிடைக்காதோ.. பாவம் எங்களை விட்டு தனியாகவே இருந்ததில்லை.. புது மனிதர்கள் புது இடம். சரியாக சாப்பிடுவாளோ என்னமோ? அங்கே எல்லாரும் அன்பாக பழகுவார்களா?

நான் வேலை வேலை என்று இருந்த‌தால் ஒன்றும் சொல்லி குடுக்கவில்லை.. என்னை குறை சொல்வார்களோ? என் அம்மா "நான் ரெண்டு பேரை வளர்த்து எல்லாம் செய்யலயா? நீ ஒரு பொண்ணுக்கு இப்படி tension ஆறயே? "

நான் காதிலே வாங்கிக்கொள்ளாம‌ல் அவ‌ரிட‌ம் சென்றேன். "வ‌ண்டி சரியா வந்துடுமா? நான் இங்க‌ ஒரு ஆளா எல்லாம் ப‌ண்றேன்..நீ இப்ப‌டி க‌வ‌ல‌யே இல்லாம internet browse பண்ற?" என்னவர் பாவமாய் என்னை ஒரு பார்வை பார்த்துவிட்டு "time தான் இருக்கேடா... நேஹா எல்லாம் சமத்தா ready ஆய்டுவா.. கவலை படாத" என்றார். இவரிடம் பேசி ஆகப்போரது ஒண்ணுமில்லை.போய் நேஹாவை எழுப்பப் பார்த்தேன்.

Madam Highness அப்போ தான் எழுத்து சோம்பல் முறித்துவிட்டு அம்மா என்றாள்."எழுந்த்ரு.சீக்கரம் கிளம்பு. அப்றம் கொஞ்சலாம்.மொத நாளே கெட்ட பேர் வாங்காதே.." பார்க்க பாவமாய் இருந்தாலும் விரட்டினேன்... அப்படி இப்படி என்று தயாரானாள்.இவ‌ள் வாழ்க்கை எப்ப‌டி இருக்குமோ என்ன‌ செய்வாளோ என்று எண்ணிய‌ப‌டி நானும் த‌யாரானேன்.



போகின்ற‌ வ‌ழியில் பிள்ளையாரை பார்த்துவிட்டு கிள‌ம்பினோம்.நேஹா எல்லாரிடமும் பேசிக்கொண்டே வந்தாள்.. இடம் இடம் நெருங்க நெருங்க என் கண்களில் ஈரம். எல்லாரும் என்னை ஒரு மாதிரியாக

பார்க்க, என் குட்டி தேவ‌தையோ என் உண‌ர்ச்சி புரிந்த்தவ‌ளாய் "அம்மா அழாம bye சொல்லு. ஸ்கூல் முடிஞ்ச உடனே நான் வந்துவேன். Miss என்ன பார்த்துப்பா.." ..

ம்.. எல்லாம் க‌லிகாலம்டா.எனக்கு ஸ்கூல் போறச்சே அழற குழந்தை தான் வேணும்.. யாரவது கேக்கறீங்களா?



பி.கு இது ஒரு கற்பனை கதை. என் பெண்ணிற்கு ஒரு வ‌யதுதான்..

Given a chance

1) Miss G

A very close friend of mine. She was with me for about 2 years in school (5th and 6th). I liked her from the day she joined our school.She was a very brilliant girl. I still remember her oratorical skills she had at that young age. Soon she became the topper of our class. We remained very close friends knowing each other's likes and dislikes till one day when she suddenly disappeared from my life just like she came into it.. She stopped coming to school one day and what we learnt about her family was not that good. I still pray that she be safe and well settled in life.I dont even know if she still remembers me...



2)Mr B

We studied the first year of college together in Madurai after which I took a transfer to a college in Chennai. We were a gang of about 15 and I manage to remain in touch with atleast about 5 people today. Everything was going well when suddenly this guy fell in love with a girl. He started distancing himself from everyone. I did not know this for a long time. One day he had called up to find out how Infy is and all that for a batchmate of ours. I gave him all the info and finally asked him what was the matter between them unknowingly (Only later I came to know of the affiar). From that day he stopped calling/mailing me. I did not mean to be so inquisitive.. Given a chance I would explain it to him. His wife is still with Infy and we get to meet often.



3)Miss S

We studied 3 years of college together.I got transferred to this college during the second year of engineering. It was near the end of 3rd sem that I went to this college. By then friend groups had already been formed and I was left alone. This girl was in a group of 3. One day she came to sit near me because she had a fight with the other two. From then on she never left my side. I soon became good friends with the other two as well but this girl still has a special place in my heart. Today she lives with her husband in Australia and it has been 5 years since we met. For some unknown reason she has decided to stay away from all of us. I know her mail id but I dont mail her that often because she is not too willing to remain in touch. I just let her be....




4)Miss M

A very sweet girl I got as a friend when I worked in Noida. Language was no barrier.She used to talk in Hindi and I used to respond in English. After I left Noida, we did have mail contacts for quite sometime. But somehow I lost touch with her.Hope she is doing well.



5)Mr P

Now I cannot call him my friend.. He was a teacher at the Hindustan Management Academy(part of HAL Bangalore). As part of the training, we executive engineers at HAL had to attend a 6 week course at the HMA. He is such an enthusiast that the moment you see him you are totally transformed. Those 6 weeks were a bliss.I had visited him twice after I joined Infy and we had mail contacts till very recently and he suddenly stopped responding to mails. Wish I went to Bangalore at least once to meet this wonderful person...





Life is like a train journey.. People come and go in your lives...

Some stay for a longer duration and do nothing to you and some stay for a shorter duration and leave a permanent mark in your heart.....

Saturday, May 23, 2009

Life is not fair

Feeling very low from yesterday. It is about an 8-year old. She is being treated for blood cancer for the past 40days. She is a distant relative of Hubby's(R) and we are searching very badly for a platelet donor. The process is much more painful than the normal blood donation process. Me,R and his cousin are trying to get some donors. We have 2 volunteers from Infy. Thanks to the BB that we have in Infosys.
Life is very unfair I say.. On one side we have 80+ aged people who have no one to take care of, counting their days and on the other end we have these little ones struggling for life... From the time I heard this news, for some reason whenever I see my daughter my eyes become moist.I have always sympathised with people who are suffering but for the first time, it is empathy.. What can I do to make my daughter's life better? I have reduced the usage of plastic for her (Not used much from day one) and have never given her any tin food hoping all these will safeguard her from the most dreaded C disease. I take each day as bonus. My hubby says I am overreacting but he looks shaken too.
Why is that mankind still cannot find a cure for this? Are we doomed to be like this? Atleast let it spare the kids......

Neha's vocabulary

My daughter surprised me more than once in the last 3 days...
On Sunday afternoon, Baby N(1 Year old) was playing with the a.c remote. I was just watching her with a water bottle in my hand. Suddenly I had this urge to ask her what it was... Prompt came the reply "bottle". I had the shock of my life. I never expected her to tell that. She can say "paatti" (meaning grandma) and "maadu" (meaning cow) too. My daughter who still cannot say "amma" can say bottle, maadu and paatti. How cool is that? (It is not that cool after all *sigh*).
Yesterday after I reached home from office, she wanted me to take her out for a short walk. Any guesses what she did?? She ran and fetched my dupatta so I can take her out and said "bye" pointing to the door... (*urgh* So my mom is not the only one who will behind me to make sure I get properly dressed)May be it is not such a great thing but it made me think we have parented a child prodigy for a second. Right after we came back I gave her her evening meal. All the usual tantrums, me losing out on her and finally giving up and she eating from my mom's plate... She is definitely a NORMAL Child...
Updated: Some more words .. bag,watch,apple,sattai...

Tuesday, March 31, 2009

An interesting autodriver

I had been to Kumaran Stores to buy blouse pieces to be given as gifts for the women folk on the day of Neha's ayushhomam. On my way back I got into this brand new auto. The driver did not know the route to my place. I thought to myself that he must be new to Chennai. I asked him about this and pat came the reply "I was a manager in a jewellery mart for 15 yrs. I developed stomach ulcer and changed profession to get back in shape". Jumping into the fire from frying pan I guess.. Neways that is not what I wanted to write about... He gave me some gyan about the jewellery business. He is also planning to open up a jewellery shop on his own next year. A kg of gold costs 15lakhs as of today (or yesterday). He is waiting for the gold price to come down. He also said that Saravana stores gold jewellery (useful info) is quite good and also the best place to get diamonds is Rajmandir in Cathedral Road (useful at the cost of a big dent in hubby's purse).Interesting guy but a typical autodriver too in that he did not accept the fare I was willing though he did not know much about the distance/autofares in Chennai.

(M)Ad sense

The Hamam soap ad is really disturbing. The ad goes like this. A mom asks her daughter to buy a soap. In her hurry she forgets to tell her what soap to buy. She starts panicking and runs behind her daughter thinking about all the bad things in the world that would happen to her daughter if she got the wrong soap. That she would develop skin allergy and pimples, people will stay from her in school and she will become the object of ridicule in class and eventually lose all confidence in self. WTF? Who comes up with nasty ideas for a soap ad? It is the responsibility of the parents to make the child understand that it is ok to get pimples in the adolescent age and it is just a passing phase.It is nature's own way to say that the child is growing up. And who says Hamam can prevent all these skin problems?? It is not a even classified as a medicated soap for that matter.And the second thing is why should this ad feature a mom and daughter and not a mom and son?? Dont boys get pimples? This ad is aimed at girls/women and it will definitely spoil their minds. Women are achieving great heights and here we have this ad which says you need to look beautiful to make friends and to be recognised among your own folk.. A.T.R.O.C.I.O.U.S is all I can say. Is there a forum where we can opine our views on this??

Rasagulla made easy!

Disclaimer: I am no expert in cooking...
Makes 30 medium sized rasagullas
For the Paneer:
1 litre milk
1 lemon
For rasagulla:
4 cups(1 cup= 250 ml) water
2 cups sugar
cardomom powder
saffron if available
Procedure:
Boil milk without adding water. When it is about to boil add the lemon juice. Stir well and wait till all the milk is curdled. Once this is done strain it and wash the paneer in cold water to remove the lemony flavor. Now transfer the panner to a clean cotton cloth and keeps something heavy on top of it to get rid of the excess water(Preferably a big pan filled with water). Keep aside for 3-4 hours.
After the paneer has hardened, take it and knead it well until you can small balls with the paneer. Make very small balls about the size of a blueberry and keep aside.
Add sugar to water and heat it in a pressure cooker. Add little cardamom powder and little saffron to it. Bring this mixture to a boil. Leave it on high flame for 5 mins. Add the paneer balls one by one. Cover the cooker with the lid and cook on low flame for 20 mins. You might want to put the weight but allow no whistle. Once it is done, take the rasagulla out, refrigerate and serve it cold.

Ilam kandrum bayamarium....

I have been thinking to write a post on Baby N's fears. Today i get to write it finally. I have listed the things that she fears the most in that order
.... Cooker whistle
.... Mixie
.... Door bell
.... Bottle cleaning brush
.... Anything that moves unexpectantly
she is not afraid of darkness. I dont know if it is good or bad. That is the end of the list for now.

Saturday, March 14, 2009

How possesive can someone get

The other day my father had bought a big suraikai(dont know the english equivalent for this vegetable). I held this in my hand and sang the usual jho jho and guess wat?? Baby N started crying thinking that I am carrying a baby and singing to her.. She doesnt like it when I lift other babies or even go near them right from she was 8months but this was heights.One part of me felt proud and another part a little worried.....At least there is someone who is real possesive about me..Worth all the pain.

Friday, March 6, 2009

Nehavum naangalum

Neha is 10 months now. I still remember the kutti pappa who slept like angel on my mother's lap... Not any more. She has become a real tomboy now. Constantly doing something or other.Hmm time is running. Soon it will be time to put her in school.
Some good things about her: $he can stand without support for few seconds, She can identify fan, she can put objects into a container and she knows how to use a comb. She used to be bald at birth. Now she has this Kramer like hairstyle with all that combing she has learnt. She can eat a piece of biscuit on her own now that she has cut 4 teeth. She likes curd, fruits,veggies and all non-baby food. She enjoys going out these days by walk or two-wheeler. She loves music. She is not interested in tv but loves the remote. She likes to play with ball and her father's glasses and of course with utensils of all shapes and sizes.
Now the not so good things.. She can pinch and beat you real hard. She can pick the tiniest bit from the floor and puts it right into her mouth. She refuses baby food in any form. Making her eat still takes a lot of time and energy. She still cannot say amma though she says appa sometimes. And then she wants to have a feed from me right before going to sleep. No one can put her to sleep... Each day i tell myself that i should not shout at her or get upset with her for not eating or sleeping. This thing will continue for one or the other reason for many more years to come i guess..... It is just the tip of the iceberg...

Thenaliraman poonai

Neha is slowly recovering from stomach flu and cold. Her appetite is still not good but when did she like food... Otherwise she is doing ok. Finally I had to go to my mom's place and take her to the doc who was her paed till I came to my in-laws' place. She said I should not have given the medicine that the skin doc prescribed for rashes(he diagonsed her with atopic eczema). The rashes have disappeared on their own though some appear after she gets from sleep and disappears soon after that. I would have litreally fallen on her feet for saving the baby. She was in such a bad shape. Severe diaorrhea, vomitting, severe cold and rahes all at the same time. She had to take 5 medicines 2 times a day for 4 days. At the end of 4 days she ran away the moment something was brought near her mouth. Poor thing. Thenaliraman poonai vallaththa kadhai ayiduchchu.... Each time I think of weaning her and getting back to work she falls sick and I end up giving her additional feeds and start all over. Lessons learnt: dont give any medicine for skin allergy and go slow on weaning.

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Immunisation

Baby N had her measles vaccine on jan 30th. The doc said 'oh this is a subcutaneous injection.she will have no pain. Very rarely kids get fever that too a mild one after 7 days.' Baby N did not cry
much after the vaccine was given. We went home thinking nothing would happen. After 4 hrs she had mild fever. I gave her a dose of tylenol and she was ok. She was indeed fine till 5th of feb when diahorrhea started. I gave her the usual medicine and it only got worse the next day. I took the 7.30 pm appointment with the paed and by midday she developed mild rash in the legs near the ankle region. We went to the doc in the evening and he asked me continue the medicines that i had given and said that she would settle down in 2 days. He also prescribed a cream for the rash and asked us to remove the silver anklet she was wearing. Her stomach got a little better in a couple of days but the rash got worse. For the first time we all felt it could be measles. By then she also developed severe cold. On sunday i gave her a bath with neem leaves but it did not help. Again we rushed the doc on monday. This time he said it could be becos of the vaccine. He gave her a cream with calamine and aloe and said she would be fine and that it occurs in few kids. Need not worry. Cold could also be a side effect of the vaccine. Two days has passed and she is still not well. God knows wat my baby is suffering from. What r these vaccines for? Why didnt the doctor warn me earlier and why didnt he diagnose correctly when we went for a checkup on 6th? So many questions unanswered.... To top it all my hubby says that i go on and on abt this all the time... How comforting? May be i should get immune to all this. I take care of her 24*7 and this is what i get in return. How can i not worry abt my baby? She is suffering right in front of my eyes and i cannot even talk about it. Tension and frustration prevails in nehaland.........