Where have you been?

No post for so long? I was actually asked to post by a reader..I puffed up with pride and decided to stop being lazy...So here's a post for you Priya masi, my one faithful reader=) This was written before the weekend..coming up soon the weekend fun post, stay tuned.

Rakhsha bandhan

I have a cousin that lives in the same city and they have two boys 8 and 3..so ofcourse we had to tie rakhis...it was fun to doll up little thumki and take her last night.

I made kalakand, the easy way with badams, ricotta cheese and milk powder and it was yummy.

I also made besan ka ladoo which turned out pretty decent, not like mama's but good nonetheless. I put them in little cupcake holder paper thingies, it was very presentable and nice..the most fun was dressing thumki up. Her ghagra was in her way..



She was dragged about by the other children there and tried to valiantly hold her own..she is very independent spirited, she doesn't like to be cuddled unless its on her own terms..she enjoyed runnin around in circles with the cute 12 year old girl who was besotted with her.







The other 7 year old girl found out she likes shoes of all types and handed her a shiny chappal much to her delight.





When it came time to tie rakhis she just looked on quizzically..i tied on her behalf she just hung around watching me rotate the plate and ad teeka..she almost leapt on the diya.

bird moonwalk

An old friend sent me this hilarious video..watch the numnum go! K danke! Ich liebe Ihren Sinn fur HUmor Sie verruckter Vogel, ihre biene

Aaj ka din

Here is some tribal art created from things Thumki found in her morning outdoor adventure..we admired it..


only for a moment


then the canvas was lifted, inspected

and carried away for other experiments

She gave me company when I made her thepla, the first one I mixed with ghee and gur..my mouth watering the whole time..but she made a face...I couldn't waste it, no? So I ate it..yummm..

She ate a little of the plain one

The rest was fed to Palu who was not interested..sigh..why don't I just stick to gerber??

having a bad day

Why won't she sleep? She slept badly last night and for her afternoon nap she slept 20 minutes...aaargh! I NEED sometime to myself...We had a good morning got her car seat checked up by a pro to see if it was installed correctly, actually found some issues, so it was good I went at 830 am..too early for us..On the way back we went to the library, she had a great time, flopping on the giant bear's lap and pulling board books off the shelf. she was given free reign of the kids section, so she had a ball..then after an hour it was time to head home, I fed her in the car and put her in the car seat asleep..ofcourse she woke and started screaming on the top her lungs until I could get in the driver's seat..I got a look of concern from a passing mom..what are you doing to that poor child? Look at your own daughter running in the street, lady...like I said, having a bad day.

When the car started moving she fell asleep. The drive was 15 minutes. At home, I carefully took her out of the seat..had her sleeping in my arms all the way upto the bed...I was going to put her down lightly, not yet breathing(that's me not breathing)..when at the last minute I panicked, on her back or belly? back or belly...? Why, why, why...why do I question the most obvious things at such a critical moment? It should have been back, the way she was positioned, but no I wanted to put her face down on the damn blankie we bought a couple days ago, so she could get used to it....BAD DECISION, I kind of plonked her down...and of course she was up..up up up..cranky and playful at the same time. Today I just needed a few to myself to have some chai and read a little before starting the housework...sigh...

Friends

Just got some nice pics from a friend from a weekend trip at the beginning of the summer. This post is for you, V & A. Since we moved here they are the one family that feels comfortable. Their adorable son Nikhil who is almost 2 years old is Anika's boyfriend(they hug everytime they meet, see the kiss below) and guru..she watches and learns and we the parents get a chance to hang out and not be overwhelmed by constant parenting for the times that we can share the load. Here are some pics and a small blurb I wrote while Aniika took a nap....









June 9th, Port Aransas, TX 1:10pm

I'm sitting with my legs propped up at a windswept beach home in Port Aransas, TX. We are at V's familys' 41 year old beach home on an island just north of Corpus Christi. It is beautiful and muggy here. the damp salt air is clinging to my skin, I can actually feel the weight of the air, like Bombay. D and V are reading racy paperbacks, A and the kids are sleeping. All around us are sun bleached mementos of a family. The flags of the world are all one colour now, on the poster anyway. A wooden board says, 'Heaven's a little closer in a house by the sea,' that couldn't be more true. Thank you God for friends.

Family bed blues..

Had a terrible night...thumki woke up every hour after 4am, plus once before that when I didn't look at the clock. I really want to believe in the family bed and it works well most of the time, the closeness and the snuggling are great but last night was terrible. She is not teething but she keeps waking up to snack..it usually happens after she has rotated and kicked me in the face or something and I try very slowly to make a few inches for myself..but she invariably wakes up in a few minutes and then the whimpering and searching for the boobie starts..I can't say no to her, she starts screaming and everyone is disturbed. We tried attaching the crib flush upto the bed next to me, no railing and stuffing pillows in the back, we have her favorite stuffed toys in there. We thought the extra space would give her undisturbed sleep but she only plays in the crib, she doesn't sleep in there..DH was getting into work late coz of disturbed nights, we tried to have him sleep in the other room for a couple nights but we both missed him. Last night when he came back, she was all over him, jumping on his belly, biting his nose etc..what a welcome=)

But anyway, I was so tired this morning..am everyday. I do not get a restful night of sleep and after some accumulation it takes a toll on my state of mind and body. I know I am not living in an optimised manner. Its not her fault, its my lack of training for her so far. She sleeps later than other babies her age do, because she needs some time with her father when he comes back from work...she is up until we sleep, which means no time for us together without baby..this is hard. I have to make a better routine for her. If DH would be consistent about the time he came home and we could have dinner finished by 7 and go for a family walk after dinner and then bath and in bed by 8pm...that would be sane..

According to Pri who is a family bed mama, you just have to get used to the lack of good sleep to enjoy hte benefits of warm, cuddly baby...there must be a middle road i can find...?

Chak de India: Five stars!

This past weekend DH, Thumki and I went for Chak de India with trepidation, our last three attempts to watch a movie with baby in public have been frustrating, with thumki screaming to go from the first frame onwards..but this movie, her first Hindi fillum in true desi style she enjoyed, she started dancing in my lap like a good Indian baby from the start, the pulsating, loud music of Salim-Sulaiman was great. What a great movie, I really enjoyed it alot...Shahrukh is great, much like the Shahrukh in Swadesh, very real..and the team of girls..I loved them, great characters very endearing and refreshing.

Kabir Khan(Shahrukh), ex captain of the Indian hockey team coaches a team of girls, after 7 years in hiding post a lost game to Pakistan for which he is blamed and called 'gaddar', paki in indian clothing and other dramatic stuff...The coach trains the girls hard and makes them the 'Indian team' from a rag tag mix of 'state players'. Its a great sports film, of course its predictable but that doesn't matter, the characters are so much fun to watch, I found myself getting totally involved in their pain and gain..biting my nails through the finale. Chak de is a very well made film, very convincing sports film, good production, YashRaj films of course. The dialogues are fantastic. The casting is brilliant. I really liked the commentary on the farce of an 'women's team', Anjaan Srivastav plays the jaded, chauvanistic bureaucrat to a T..I liked the mixture of the girls, representative of the different worlds India lives in. I liked the political commentary and the questioning of the typical slurs..'you are madrasi?' no I'm Telegu...Telegu Tamil same thing, no? No are Punjabi and Bihari the same? The girls from Manipur and Mizoram are not pleased to be treated like guests. The girl from Haryana, Komal and Balbir form Punjab with her garam dimaag were fantastic. I also liked Bindia and her strong negativity, she wasn't folding easily. the script is text book..but the characters and dialogue lift this film way above the ordinary. It has great spirit! I loved the girl power....yeah..CHAK DE!!

This film is a sure hit, I can just see people watching it multiple times and learning the dialogues. It is a young, fresh movie with great music too, I'm going to buy the soundtrack, so thumki can keep shakin' to it! Chak de India made me very nostalgic and happy...GO WATCH IT!

Domestic efficiency program

So you've got to do what you've got to do..there is no way around cooking, cleaning, laundry..so after thought and dodging over the years the plan is to tame the beast..organize tasks into bite sized chunks according to a PLAN so that I can have free time to do the stuff I really want to. After years of snickering at 'military organization' in the home i.e. preplanned menu for the week ahead, becoming a mother has made me realize the wisdom in that, gone are the days of standing in the kitchen waiting to be inspired by sundry ingredients..spontaniety and chores are not good friends..Anyway will spare my few readers the boredom of the banal details of my domestic travails. I am very inspired by moms at the dailytiffin and the mom at veganlunchbox

The Secret Life Of Words - Must See

Saw a great movie over the weekend. Somehow managed to get Thumki to bed and DH and I watched it..we hadn't really heard of it in our current parenting blinker stage but we chanced upon it at the video store and agreed on it immediately..

Very good film, written and directed by Isabel Coixet..my first by her. Tim Robbins and Sarah Polley act brilliantly and Pedro Almodovar is the Producer. What an amazing, heart wrenching, captivating and memorable film. Its the kind of film that stays with you for days..Sarah polley is just brilliant..and the dialogue, the words are so good, the way they should be. The film is set on a dying oil rig in the middle of the ocean somewhere in the world. The film is the aftermath of an accident on the rig that is in its last days before total abandonment..there is consensus about this except for an idealistic oceanographer...this however is not an integral part of the film...but the little strand of idealism and the emotion is...everyone has a story, a past, all that's left is the stories and the words...I don't want to say much..please watch the film..it is not appropriate for kids.

Making a film is always such a mammoth task, but for a result like this..it must've all been worthwhile.

Ma am I a toddler now?

I had a nice day on my birthday..I was woken up at 7am with songs, gifts and cards..I was mama papa and masi's star attraction..they kept hugging me and getting kinda weepy, atleast ma did. Papa said some cute things to me he said, "my sweetheart I hope you have a long happy life in which you help people and spread love whereever you go." Mama was incredulous, she kept saying I can't believe my baby is out and about and walking around, I remember when she was inside me..how can this all have happened so quickly? She was treating me liek quite a ladli all day long..I was massaged with some almond oil was bathing for a long time, I splashed water all over the place and even sat in the bucket for along time...it was fun.
After my bath I wore the dress that masi made for me
After that I checked email with masi, she even let me chew her blackjack..hehe birthdays rock, I could do no wrong, masi love is great.
Then Papa came home early from work and we went shopping at Central Market, I love that place I even got to sample some rosemary bread, but the most fun was the pink balloon the lady gave me..Shopping with a balloon is fun!
After that was the highlight of my day, when we came out guess what I saw?
Ducks!Ducks!
Hey Hey come here!
After all that fun we came home and cut a cake with all my friends, again there was the singing...what a lovely day
At my official party..chk out my ghagra choli, I liked the cake and I clapped too, much to my proud parents' delight. I told them not to get too accustomed to this performing on cue thing...

more pics from art party

All these fabulous pics were taken by Melanei from the Other Mother's group..she did a great job capturing the adventure.

Thumki's Art Party

Photogenic 072407
Originally uploaded by melanie_in_texas

Toddler Art party was fun fun fun..lots of delicious colors, naked babies, snacks and sunshine. Thumki was a little sceptical..she was not so sure about messing around too much..if only she would be so conscious of 'mess' while eating! The kiddos had a blast, one of the mama's Melanei took great shots, these are hers. The rest are here

Thumki n Sheroo

Her big love for the cats keeps growing. These days she helps give them their food. I call out to her while gettign dinner together, "Anika can you give the cats their food?"..she toddles over to the cupboard where the dabba is and drags it out, no matter the weight and pushes it to their bowls, smilin gform ear to ear. Then one of us has to pick her up and she has to inspect while we put the food in their bowls. She has now learnt not to pick up their bowls while they are eating!

Chai n Parle G

Its early and I'm up again, the insomniac mama, I have a cuppa chai and parle g biskies to keep me company..best combination in the world, except when they break off and become smush.. I woke up last night at 230am and made copious lists for Thumki's bday party. In the morning they were edited after discussions with the dh..i'm not practical enough, its true. The party will be at an indoor play area that is soft and carpeted and has a lava pit filled with giant red sponge squares imagine kids hurling themselves in at top speed. And there is a river with rocks, boats, a bumpy crocodile all in rubbery plastic for kids to jump around on. There are also random balls and slides all around..thumki loves this place, she always squeals alot and then conks out in the car on the way home..we figured kids would enjoy this and parents would be grateful for their tired babies..The main back and forth was about the food..anyway that's prolly too mundane for a blog..? There was another first this weekend, we took her to a pool! Our little water baby loved it..she was so cute in her little pink swimsuit, belly sticking out. It was a kiddie pool with 1 foot water and slides..I was paranoid at first but when she was all raring to zip down the slide into her papa's arms I had to relent..dh was good at catching her before she submerged. actually that thawed the ice between us, we had been arguing all morning about details..i hate fighting with him, it makes me feel negative about everything. After the pool we made a good compromise in the car about the party, we came sort of midway. He's right, we should do a few things well and focus on the important thing,the kids having fun...

Meeting other mothers

I'm excited about a new meetup group I've joined of 'other' mothers they are into natural parenting, breastfeeding, homeopathy, yoga etc! Yay! Something to look forward to, they sound like a really interesting bunch of women. We are meeting for a toddler art day..I can just imagine Anika making a big mess with finger paints=) Can't wait! Shite! There she goes on the monitor..gotta run.

Honeymoon Travels Pvt UNltd.!

Finally saw this gem of a film on DVD, the Indian store here had it in stock and I literally jumped on the shelf a la Milly on the deserted road this is mine this weekend! Loved it loved it loved it. This is a fun, modern, quirky, film with lots of fabulous women both on and off screen. Firstly Reema the writer, director did an amazing, original job...this was not at all like a debut film, so well done and not run of the mill. She had a chance to do the usual thing with an amazing production to back her up but she did what she wanted to, she took a chance and made a film that sprung i think from her love of fun, cinema and life. Shot by a woman Deepti Gupta, little miniscule power house..so beautifully shot, I really liked the wide lens shots of Goa, the movement, the dream sequence looked beautiful inspite of an irritating Amisha..i know i know it was her role but then she lost my sympathy when she said in an interview in the making of..(called Raves interestingly=)) that Pinky was such a cute character, so frothy and bubbly and cute whose favorite colour is pink, just like her she didn't even have to act coz she is just liek her ???

Ok ok moving on., back to Deepti...there's one shot in the film where you see Shabana and Boman behind a window, both framed on either side of a bleached out window..look like they are floating in space..this was an ethereal, beautiful shot from a Bergman film. The salsa sequence was beautifully lit and I don't think I've ever seen Raima looking more beautiful..I loved Shabana and Boman alot, the dialogue was fantastic, Anurag Kashyap is a many splendoured genius..

The crazy unusal women in the film were a treat...Dia points the gun at her husband and says she's going to shoot him before ditching him and running off with her boyfriend, Sandhya is brillaint and honest as usual, Raima did wonderfully too. I loved the parachute situation, poor Partho..'She must be traumatised..' cut to a screaming, crazed Milly..Shabana as Naheed was so true..her look, her demeanor, her tone, her camaraderie with Boman was so real. She is a great actor, Indian Cinema's Meryl Streep...When Boman sees an ugly where his old house used to be and feels dejected and old, she is so compassionate and real.."Main hoon na, at your service..Their relationship gave this otherwise funny and light film its few serious moments of depth.

The Men. Boman was spot on. I loved his character, Oscar and his relationship with Naheed. Abhay was really charming in his over the top role. When he was taking her to the jungle to reveal his secret I thought he was going to turn in to a werewolf or something! Anal little Partho played by Kay Kay was great. I loved 'the best day of his life'! That was just fantastic, a celebration of life, music, youth and sun..I really enjoyed that song. The outburst of the character complete with hugging Oscar(Boman) was just delicious.

Honeymoon Travels is a must see, original, funny, young, modern movie. GO GET IT! The 'Making of' section of the movie is almost as fun as the movie. Very nice vibe on set. Long live women filmmakers! Ok one line of back story..Reema Kagti and I went to the same Communications Course years ago. From day one she struck a chord, shes always lived life on her own terms..She always said I'm going to make a film..and she did. She stayed the course and made it happen. She is a unique little woman with great drive, talent and spirit..Hats off to you. Two of my batchmates have made Hindi feature films, Ruchi Narain and Reema Kagti..I am inspired to work on that damn script of mine that's getting cobwebbed in my brain..

She's Joined the Collective Consciousness

That's what my poetic husband said about little Thumki..to describe the sudden amazing shift in her understanding, perception and expression. She understands everything..well maybe not everything, but it just amazes me that all this time when we were blabbing away to her in an unknown language, this little fresh new life was absorbing everything..eg Anika can you bring the Red car..she goes and picks it up and brings it over. Anika where is your diaper..silent pointing..Anika where is Daadi? Walks over to the mandir and picks up Ma's picture..goose bumps..after that one where's mama's nose is a non event..One other thing D said that was beautiful , 'Before it seemed like things would just flow through her but now they seem to stick, she's holding them'. Makes you realise just how important it is to be mindful of all your words and actions around a child. I am getting really sentimental about the fact that she is going to be a year old in a couple of weeks..I can't believe how quickly its all gone. Holding her in my arms for the first time and nursing her is still so fresh in my mind. Pushing her out and then seeing her little small, wet, white body leaning towards me from the nurse's arms..She knew me, she wanted only me, she loved me already and I loved her more than anything..I was so attached to her in one flash. Those moments of childbirth are the most spectacular of my life..my words are hollow, It was the truest most natural thing in the world..I felt the power of being a woman, I felt like a Godess, the word in my being was Shakti..

Walkie Talkie!

Thumak thallo is walking all about the place. She takes the most adorable small little tentative steps and lets out little excited squeals..she gets cuter by the day and more engaging. She expresses herself really well now she makes it clear wht she wants and doesn't like. She says mama, give , go, tat thats cat and many other organic self created words. She tries to sing along with music and she dances, boy does she dance...she loves to shake her little bum especially to remixed hindi movie songs with jhankaar beats..'mere piya gaye rangoon' really gets her going..its amazing. She wants to play all the time..! She is full of energy. She is sleeping right now, what i should be doing is either cooking or lookig for a job but I'm blogging. I figured a girl needs sometime o express herself too so she doesn't burst or completely fizzle both extremes are no fun. I have to work to make time for my brain and keep up with the media even reading about it and dreaming about my film. Already I am very tempted to just get a job, any job and pick up on my career later, but that's the easy way out..I need to push myself and reinvent. Life has given me a new challenge and I need to recreate myself and come up with a solution to keep my mind alive and some moolah coming in. If I drop the film thing comepletely I'll never pick it up again. If I can't direct right now I should stay connected and edit or write or take pictures or learn some software so I can create websites and also some graphics. I need to start puttign aside 2 hours a day to do stuff just for myself.

Austin

Finally here in Austin. Is good to be here, I like it very much so far. Its a small big city, very laid back and verrry diverse. Its so good to see so much colour after white vermont. I've already eaten at 4 Indian restaurants since I've been here, eaten ice tamarindo paletas which is basically a tamarind flavoured ice cream from Mexico..yummmy, it feels so good to suck down an all ice cream in the heat. The lime flavour is almost as good as the kwality orange stick i used to live on in school in bombay. just had a craving for khichidi with ghee...mmm..gotta go make it NOW. more later