...a new laptop, finally!
Before I begin on this, let me announce a humongous giveaway over at playingbythebook, hosted by my good friend Zoe. You just need to visit, and leave a comment to be entered into a draw for a set of 50 Ladybird books. Do visit. I promise you won't regret it!
OK, now to my laptop story.
My last one, that had lasted me 7 years, finally died on me. It had been giving me a lot of trouble over the past one year, frequently hanging, suddenly shutting down mid-sentence, heating up just after 15-20 mins of use, despite propping it up on 'legs' comprising two hefty books on two sides to ensure that it got aired underneath, refusing to switch on at times, taking forever to boot, the battery going for a toss - requiring it to be connected forever to the charger to even start. It had even crashed once a few months back - from which attack it had been revived, the system restore done, but all saved data wiped off...it had become a litany of complaints and inconveniences.
Until it finally gave up, and refused to be revived. This was in the last week of May. Since then, the husband had been travelling, so we did not have an opportunity to go shop for a new one. I didn't want to do a major purchase like this all on my own. Cost aside, I am a self-confessed technologically challenged bookworm, so I wouldn't have known what I needed to look for.
So this week-end, we decided that the deed HAD to be done, and here we are! We are proud owners of a brand new gadget! So now I really need stop being a dinosaur and proceed to polish my knowledge of how it works, how Windows 8 works, if I have to learn to navigate my way around.
And no, sometimes technology does the opposite of making you dumb, R's Mom! Thanks for checking on me when I had 'disappeared' from the blogosphere! :)
And RIP, my old, trusty laptop. I had a good innings with you.
Showing posts with label blogging. Show all posts
Showing posts with label blogging. Show all posts
08 July, 2013
18 October, 2012
As I contemplate writing my 200th post...
...I think of all the things that have changed for me since I began blogging. It hasn't all been plain sailing: there have been many hiccups, but I've recovered, dusted off, and continued from where I had left off.
I have indulged in my first love- reading and writing- something that had almost been eclipsed by the passing of time and the nitty-gritties of everyday life.
I have re-visited many childhood favourites, some that I had almost forgotten about, and others that I just had to dust the surface of.
I have found another way of connecting with my fast-growing and book-discerning daughter. I had always read to her and with her through all these years...my blogging about the books we enjoy together has made me something of a hero in her eyes. Something that I'll always be thankful for and cherish.
Not just her, my nephews- my siblings' sons, to whom I was 'just the pesky aunt that visits every year', have of late been looking at me through new, respectful, eyes. It is almost as if I had suddenly become worth taking seriously. They're tweens, too: grown-ups begin to become persona non-grata beginning now. How refreshing for things to look the other way! Of course, I have to thank my ruminations about Harry Potter for that.
I have found new and wonderful friends past my 40s. Choxbox, Sangi, Starry, Veena, Zoe, the Saffrontree gang specially the mad momma, utbtkids, Artnavy, Vibha, Ranjani, Sheela and Arundhati. There are many others - bloggers and non-bloggers, both- Swapna, Subhashree, Suranga, Abha, Shankari (where are you?), Monika, IHM, R's Mom, TGND, Shruti, Simran, Rashmi, Aparna, Padmini,...some of whom I've met and others whom I've only ever interacted with online. Any names that I may have missed- consider yourself tagged. All of you have enriched my life in your own special way. Some of you have been pillars of strength when I needed it- you know who you are.
I've participated in some fun activities and competitions online, notable of which are the Tulika blogathons. Won some, lost some. A prestigious award on IHM's blog- this is something I cherish.
I've been a participant and raised my voice in some awesome drives- Child Sexual Abuse Awareness Month and Violence Against Women Awareness Month. One may call it armchair activism, but even that has its uses: and if that is all I can contribute, that is what I will.
You will find my work (other than this blog) at Saffrontree (my online family), Book Reviews, Zealot Readers, Women's Web and Mom's Diaries. Maybe in a small way at each place, but it's me.
I read the writing of all the aforementioned friends, and some more, as also the awesome stuff shared by every one of them. All of which has slowly pulled me out of the deep well I was in. I've learnt a lot from all of them, and hope to continue learning. My reading also has gone places, much more than it would have if I had been just a reader.
I've challenged myself now and again, and have loved the experience. My writing, too, has evolved over the past two-and-a-half years, and I see the road opening in front of me.
Wish me luck as I end this 200th post. Looking forward to many more such posts where I can interact with like-minded friends. For you guys make it all worthwhile.
I have indulged in my first love- reading and writing- something that had almost been eclipsed by the passing of time and the nitty-gritties of everyday life.
I have re-visited many childhood favourites, some that I had almost forgotten about, and others that I just had to dust the surface of.
I have found another way of connecting with my fast-growing and book-discerning daughter. I had always read to her and with her through all these years...my blogging about the books we enjoy together has made me something of a hero in her eyes. Something that I'll always be thankful for and cherish.
Not just her, my nephews- my siblings' sons, to whom I was 'just the pesky aunt that visits every year', have of late been looking at me through new, respectful, eyes. It is almost as if I had suddenly become worth taking seriously. They're tweens, too: grown-ups begin to become persona non-grata beginning now. How refreshing for things to look the other way! Of course, I have to thank my ruminations about Harry Potter for that.
I have found new and wonderful friends past my 40s. Choxbox, Sangi, Starry, Veena, Zoe, the Saffrontree gang specially the mad momma, utbtkids, Artnavy, Vibha, Ranjani, Sheela and Arundhati. There are many others - bloggers and non-bloggers, both- Swapna, Subhashree, Suranga, Abha, Shankari (where are you?), Monika, IHM, R's Mom, TGND, Shruti, Simran, Rashmi, Aparna, Padmini,...some of whom I've met and others whom I've only ever interacted with online. Any names that I may have missed- consider yourself tagged. All of you have enriched my life in your own special way. Some of you have been pillars of strength when I needed it- you know who you are.
I've participated in some fun activities and competitions online, notable of which are the Tulika blogathons. Won some, lost some. A prestigious award on IHM's blog- this is something I cherish.
I've been a participant and raised my voice in some awesome drives- Child Sexual Abuse Awareness Month and Violence Against Women Awareness Month. One may call it armchair activism, but even that has its uses: and if that is all I can contribute, that is what I will.
You will find my work (other than this blog) at Saffrontree (my online family), Book Reviews, Zealot Readers, Women's Web and Mom's Diaries. Maybe in a small way at each place, but it's me.
I read the writing of all the aforementioned friends, and some more, as also the awesome stuff shared by every one of them. All of which has slowly pulled me out of the deep well I was in. I've learnt a lot from all of them, and hope to continue learning. My reading also has gone places, much more than it would have if I had been just a reader.
I've challenged myself now and again, and have loved the experience. My writing, too, has evolved over the past two-and-a-half years, and I see the road opening in front of me.
Wish me luck as I end this 200th post. Looking forward to many more such posts where I can interact with like-minded friends. For you guys make it all worthwhile.
15 August, 2012
One more prize...
...won for an article on Womensweb. This was for their Friendship Story writing theme.
*gleefully browsing flipkart for a book to spend the Rs 200 gift voucher on*
Here's the article in full.
She did not have any friends who stayed near her house. Not a single school friend, nor anyone near her age, or sharing her interests. There were just her younger brothers, who according to her, were brats not to be seen around with.
At least, there were the cousins, who stayed a few buildings away. Something was better than nothing, so she decided they’d do, to hang around with. The cousins had a neighbour, an only child. This girl, a few years younger, latched herself onto her, becoming the proverbial Mary’s lamb!
They had nothing in common, not even their interests, but something clicked. Over the years, as the two girls grew up, the reasons for hanging out with the cousins dwindled, and those for spending evenings with the younger girl increased. They became a twosome and shunted the cousins out.
As the two friends grew up into adulthood, the natural gap of 7-odd years between them began to close. They were women, with totally different destinies, totally different career trajectories, but with complete understanding of each other’s minds. Life happened, and they lived in widely separated places, different time zones, even.
They were as different as chalk and cheese in their family lives as well, which could not have intersected at any points except the one which they both overlapped at. Their husbands never met each other, not by design, but just by chance. They each knew their wife’s friend well though, and each was always welcome to the other’s home.
Over two decades, they met maybe once or twice a year, but every time they met, it was as if they had never been apart. Each intuitively knew if the other was in any kind of trouble or difficulty, and it would be an eerie coincidence that they would try to contact each other just when a friend was needed.
Despite never being able to attend the major events in each other’s lives, they have been able to remain clued in to each other’s triumphs and troubles. If needed, one just has to reach out to find the other right there.
I am the older girl of the two, and this is the story of my friend M and me. A friendship between two completely dissimilar personalities, which has simply endured on love, loyalty, trust and understanding – through thick and thin.
*gleefully browsing flipkart for a book to spend the Rs 200 gift voucher on*
Here's the article in full.
She did not have any friends who stayed near her house. Not a single school friend, nor anyone near her age, or sharing her interests. There were just her younger brothers, who according to her, were brats not to be seen around with.
At least, there were the cousins, who stayed a few buildings away. Something was better than nothing, so she decided they’d do, to hang around with. The cousins had a neighbour, an only child. This girl, a few years younger, latched herself onto her, becoming the proverbial Mary’s lamb!
They had nothing in common, not even their interests, but something clicked. Over the years, as the two girls grew up, the reasons for hanging out with the cousins dwindled, and those for spending evenings with the younger girl increased. They became a twosome and shunted the cousins out.
As the two friends grew up into adulthood, the natural gap of 7-odd years between them began to close. They were women, with totally different destinies, totally different career trajectories, but with complete understanding of each other’s minds. Life happened, and they lived in widely separated places, different time zones, even.
They were as different as chalk and cheese in their family lives as well, which could not have intersected at any points except the one which they both overlapped at. Their husbands never met each other, not by design, but just by chance. They each knew their wife’s friend well though, and each was always welcome to the other’s home.
Over two decades, they met maybe once or twice a year, but every time they met, it was as if they had never been apart. Each intuitively knew if the other was in any kind of trouble or difficulty, and it would be an eerie coincidence that they would try to contact each other just when a friend was needed.
Despite never being able to attend the major events in each other’s lives, they have been able to remain clued in to each other’s triumphs and troubles. If needed, one just has to reach out to find the other right there.
I am the older girl of the two, and this is the story of my friend M and me. A friendship between two completely dissimilar personalities, which has simply endured on love, loyalty, trust and understanding – through thick and thin.
06 January, 2012
The Prestigious Yellow Polka-dotted Cup
I have won one more award from IHM's blog- the Prestigious Yellow Polka-dotted Cup. Am proud to display it on my blog.
Thanks, IHM!
Thanks, IHM!
31 December, 2011
Bragging rights...my first blogging award!
I got my first blogging award at the Tejaswee Rao Blogging Awards 2011. Am thrilled! This was a post on "Books as aids to empowering a child to stay safe from sexual abuse" that I had written for the CSA Awareness Month initiative in April 2011, and crossposted on Saffrontree.
There were many entries from all over the world, and my post was nominated by Sangi. Thanks, Sangi!
I get to display this fabulous button created by Suranga Date, a blogger friend with whom I had spent some time on my last jaunt to Mumbai.
Thanks to all the judges and of course, to IHM, who has instituted these awards in memory of her late daughter, Tejaswee. A fitting tribute.
There were many entries from all over the world, and my post was nominated by Sangi. Thanks, Sangi!
I get to display this fabulous button created by Suranga Date, a blogger friend with whom I had spent some time on my last jaunt to Mumbai.
Thanks to all the judges and of course, to IHM, who has instituted these awards in memory of her late daughter, Tejaswee. A fitting tribute.
29 September, 2011
Violence against Women Awareness Month
Violence against Women. It has a universal ring to it- be it physical or emotional violence. It does not matter if the women are white, black, brown or yellow, rich or poor, young or old. The story is the same all over.
A group of women have decided to speak up against it, and October has been earmarked for an awareness campaign about Violence against Women.
The team is cognizant with the fact that the subject of violence against women is very huge and includes multiple aspects. To ensure that this awareness campaign is effective, the scope is limited to the following aspects….
1. Domestic violence – Physical violence against the woman by husband/partner and other family members
2. Violence against girl child including deprivation
3. Sexual violence - including marital rape, date rape
4. Emotional/psychological abuse
5. Dowry related violence including Bride Burning
6. Female Infanticide
7. Acid attacks
We would be delighted to have your support for VAWM Oct 2011. The plan is similar to CSA April 2011. We have a blog (http://www.vawawareness.wordpress.com/) on Violence Against Women where we invite guest posts, expert posts and anon survivor stories.
We also would urge bloggers to post on this topic on the blog all through October, first announcing the awareness campaign and second, posting on any aspect of this topic they feel strongly about.
We also have a twitter handle (@VAWMonth) which will tweet information about VAWA and invite experts, NGOs, counsellors, etc to take questions.
Do let us know if you would be interested in participating, and how would you like to participate. Also, if you have any leads to NGOs or organisations you think we should partner with do let us know.
The email to write in to is vawawareness@gmail.com.
Do post about this initiative on your blog, and use the above image to link to the VAWM blog. Also, if possible, do put the link up on your side bar. Help to spread the word.
I will, of course, be sticking to reviewing a few books that are related to the topic, some written by experts and some by survivors. Some may even be fiction.
I am painfully aware, of course, that for every survivor who has come out with her story, there will be thousands who are facing violence mutely every day, some of them with scars that last a lifetime, and many thousands for whom the violence proves fatal- either the way of homicide or suicide.
There may be millions more who may not be actively facing violence in its injurious form, but being discriminated against for the simple fact of being born a woman-- little, piffling things that can eat away at one's self-esteem, not having real choices, and being criminalised for the choices that they do make from the ones left to them. All of which can have debilitating repurcussions, preventing them from ever being able to tap their full potential. Something that is commonplace in most homes. Subliminal violence, I would call it. Insidious, and all the more dangerous for that.
I would like to share this, too. Yesterday, I was sitting in my usual place near the children's play area in my complex, reading a book that I mean to review. A lady from the complex, with whom I was on just a nodding aquaintance, came by and showed interest in the book I was reading. When I told her about this initiative, she came up with a surprising (actually not so surprising) question. According to her, the women who have any access at all to a blogpost were women with at least some priviledges. How does this 'armchair variety of awareness' help the common woman? Does it seriously have a trickle-down effect? Even if there is, isn't the change too slow to be of any significance? And for all the apparent awareness about these problems, aren't the papers everyday full of just such cases?
Any answers?
A group of women have decided to speak up against it, and October has been earmarked for an awareness campaign about Violence against Women.
 |
| Link to VAWM blog |
1. Domestic violence – Physical violence against the woman by husband/partner and other family members
2. Violence against girl child including deprivation
3. Sexual violence - including marital rape, date rape
4. Emotional/psychological abuse
5. Dowry related violence including Bride Burning
6. Female Infanticide
7. Acid attacks
We would be delighted to have your support for VAWM Oct 2011. The plan is similar to CSA April 2011. We have a blog (http://www.vawawareness.wordpress.com/) on Violence Against Women where we invite guest posts, expert posts and anon survivor stories.
We also would urge bloggers to post on this topic on the blog all through October, first announcing the awareness campaign and second, posting on any aspect of this topic they feel strongly about.
We also have a twitter handle (@VAWMonth) which will tweet information about VAWA and invite experts, NGOs, counsellors, etc to take questions.
Do let us know if you would be interested in participating, and how would you like to participate. Also, if you have any leads to NGOs or organisations you think we should partner with do let us know.
The email to write in to is vawawareness@gmail.com.
Do post about this initiative on your blog, and use the above image to link to the VAWM blog. Also, if possible, do put the link up on your side bar. Help to spread the word.
I will, of course, be sticking to reviewing a few books that are related to the topic, some written by experts and some by survivors. Some may even be fiction.
I am painfully aware, of course, that for every survivor who has come out with her story, there will be thousands who are facing violence mutely every day, some of them with scars that last a lifetime, and many thousands for whom the violence proves fatal- either the way of homicide or suicide.
There may be millions more who may not be actively facing violence in its injurious form, but being discriminated against for the simple fact of being born a woman-- little, piffling things that can eat away at one's self-esteem, not having real choices, and being criminalised for the choices that they do make from the ones left to them. All of which can have debilitating repurcussions, preventing them from ever being able to tap their full potential. Something that is commonplace in most homes. Subliminal violence, I would call it. Insidious, and all the more dangerous for that.
I would like to share this, too. Yesterday, I was sitting in my usual place near the children's play area in my complex, reading a book that I mean to review. A lady from the complex, with whom I was on just a nodding aquaintance, came by and showed interest in the book I was reading. When I told her about this initiative, she came up with a surprising (actually not so surprising) question. According to her, the women who have any access at all to a blogpost were women with at least some priviledges. How does this 'armchair variety of awareness' help the common woman? Does it seriously have a trickle-down effect? Even if there is, isn't the change too slow to be of any significance? And for all the apparent awareness about these problems, aren't the papers everyday full of just such cases?
Any answers?
11 August, 2011
Twinkle, twinkle, O bright star!
Today is a year since a bright star coming up on the blogging horizon was lost after a brief and entirely preventable illness. Tejaswee Rao, daughter of the incredibly sensitive, yet courageous and formidable lady we know as Indianhomemaker passed away with complications following dengue.
Like many others, I, too, had been following IHM's blog for some time before that. I remember reading about Tejaswee's illness, and also the fact that I could not believe what I was reading. I did not know much about her then, but over the next few days, I hopped over to her blog and read quite a bit of it. Here was this promising young woman, already showing signs of becoming a force to reckon with, and she was dying?
I am sure, IHM, prayers went up for her recovery from all over the globe. But sometimes God prefers to remain unmoved. We human beings are not able to fathom his mysterious ways. She did not make it.
But she, and IHM, will continue to be an inspiration. She will for ever be a guiding star. In her characteristic way, IHM has ensured this immortality by instituting the BLOGSARS -The Tejaswee Rao Blogging Awards, Tejaswee's legacy to all women.
Imagine, if this is the effect she has had on someone who did not know her very closely, how much she must have touched the lives of those that knew her!
Peace be with you, bright star.
Like many others, I, too, had been following IHM's blog for some time before that. I remember reading about Tejaswee's illness, and also the fact that I could not believe what I was reading. I did not know much about her then, but over the next few days, I hopped over to her blog and read quite a bit of it. Here was this promising young woman, already showing signs of becoming a force to reckon with, and she was dying?
I am sure, IHM, prayers went up for her recovery from all over the globe. But sometimes God prefers to remain unmoved. We human beings are not able to fathom his mysterious ways. She did not make it.
But she, and IHM, will continue to be an inspiration. She will for ever be a guiding star. In her characteristic way, IHM has ensured this immortality by instituting the BLOGSARS -The Tejaswee Rao Blogging Awards, Tejaswee's legacy to all women.
Imagine, if this is the effect she has had on someone who did not know her very closely, how much she must have touched the lives of those that knew her!
Peace be with you, bright star.
17 June, 2011
Stuck in a time warp- have tried to fix it!
(EDITED TO ADD: It didn't work. At least, there is no update on my dashboard.
HELP!)
A lot of you know that I had some problem at my blog a few months back at which time I had made my blog private. At that time, I changed everything about my blog, the URL, the blog name, and the template.
After having taken a breather, I had re-opened my blog to the public, keeping the settings to 'do not let search engines find me', and in the process, fiddled around quite a bit with all the settings. Ever since, there has been this issue of my followers not being updated with my new posts. In fact, some of them who have displayed my blog on theirs, with the title of the post, still show it as the last post I had written before all this happened.
A few of you, like Choxbox and Artnavy mentioned a few times, on my blog, as also directly to me that my posts were not getting updated in their reader, or on their dashboard. They even tried to remove and re-add my blog, but nada!I couldn't understand why this should happen, as it wasn't a new blog- I had just made the abovementioned changes, retaining all my earlier posts. I also checked the profiles of a few followers, and saw that my blog name had automatically updated, so it wasn't as if blogger was getting confused between the old and new URLs.
I tried looking for a solution on Blogger Help, but couldn't find any. So I just thought that this was one of those inexplicable things that I was not going to understand, and my loyal regular readers were anyway getting to my posts. So it's OK.
Until I got a comment from a new reader, Simran, seconded by Choxbox, that 'my new posts are not automatically updated.' I decided that enough was enough, and that I needed to do something about it.
So I decided to 'follow' my own blog to see what happens, and sure enough, the blog name showed up in the left-hand side 'Blogs I'm following' section of the dashboard, but the right-hand side had this message-
"You have followed this URL, but we couldn't find a feed for it. Please check that the URL is correct."
So I did a google search again, with the exact same words, and I found some very clearly stated help. I needed to change my 'Site Feed' settings to 'Full' and keep the rest of it blank, unless I had subscribed to Feedburner, which I haven't. I decided to try it. Let us see what happens. I hope it works.
The person who gave the solution to the problem said that "You will need to create a new post to push it out to other people who have followed. Previous ones will not update."
So if you are getting this post updated, it has worked. If not, can anybody who knows what is happening please help me?
HELP!)
A lot of you know that I had some problem at my blog a few months back at which time I had made my blog private. At that time, I changed everything about my blog, the URL, the blog name, and the template.
After having taken a breather, I had re-opened my blog to the public, keeping the settings to 'do not let search engines find me', and in the process, fiddled around quite a bit with all the settings. Ever since, there has been this issue of my followers not being updated with my new posts. In fact, some of them who have displayed my blog on theirs, with the title of the post, still show it as the last post I had written before all this happened.
A few of you, like Choxbox and Artnavy mentioned a few times, on my blog, as also directly to me that my posts were not getting updated in their reader, or on their dashboard. They even tried to remove and re-add my blog, but nada!I couldn't understand why this should happen, as it wasn't a new blog- I had just made the abovementioned changes, retaining all my earlier posts. I also checked the profiles of a few followers, and saw that my blog name had automatically updated, so it wasn't as if blogger was getting confused between the old and new URLs.
I tried looking for a solution on Blogger Help, but couldn't find any. So I just thought that this was one of those inexplicable things that I was not going to understand, and my loyal regular readers were anyway getting to my posts. So it's OK.
Until I got a comment from a new reader, Simran, seconded by Choxbox, that 'my new posts are not automatically updated.' I decided that enough was enough, and that I needed to do something about it.
So I decided to 'follow' my own blog to see what happens, and sure enough, the blog name showed up in the left-hand side 'Blogs I'm following' section of the dashboard, but the right-hand side had this message-
"You have followed this URL, but we couldn't find a feed for it. Please check that the URL is correct."
So I did a google search again, with the exact same words, and I found some very clearly stated help. I needed to change my 'Site Feed' settings to 'Full' and keep the rest of it blank, unless I had subscribed to Feedburner, which I haven't. I decided to try it. Let us see what happens. I hope it works.
The person who gave the solution to the problem said that "You will need to create a new post to push it out to other people who have followed. Previous ones will not update."
So if you are getting this post updated, it has worked. If not, can anybody who knows what is happening please help me?
28 February, 2011
Tulika books - Fifteen, and going strong!
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| Pic courtesy tulikabooks |
I am quite good at Hindi, but it was a little difficult finding good Hindi books where I lived. I was a novice at Kannada, I could barely speak the language, enough to communicate with my househelp, the friendly neighbourhood green grocer and the various autowalas on whom I was dependent to get around the city, not being able to drive. And no, I could not read or write the language. So I had no idea where to begin to find good kannada books suitable for her. The best persons to ask were obviously her language teachers. Both of them refered me to Tulika books.
At that time, I couldn't find much in bookstores. Then I discovered a lady who supplied the books on direct orders. I obtained her catalogue, went through it, and ordered a whole bagful of them.
It was a revelation. Lovely paper, beautiful layouts, just enough text in a large font to tell the story, and plenty of wonderful illustrations to read it from. I got hold of a few basic bilingual books like Line and Circle, and a few picture books in both Kannada and Hindi like Sameer's House, My Mother's Sari, Dancing on the Walls, Dancing Bees, Pavo and Cavo; Wordbird books like The Why-why Girl, Ekki Dokki, and Eecha Poocha; books from the Under the Banyan series like All Free, Mazzoo Mazzoo and Sweet and Salty.
The books soon became an addiction. I read all the Hindi books aloud to A, again and again, at different stages of her language ability, so that she could soon understand them, and read them herself. A also became my Kannada teacher, and we laboured together through the unfamiliar alphabet, she, having the advantage of all young kids learning a new language, a sponge-like ability to absorb the language, I having the advantage of the familiarity of the sounds, if not of the correct grammar. We understood the Kannada, of course, in the context of a Hindi or English version, and soon made out what the unfamiliar words meant, helped along with dictionaries.
I recommended them to relatives in Mumbai, also thought I'll be able to pick up Marathi versions for A there, but for some reason, they are not so easily found at book stores there. Tulika books, you need to find out why.
It was soon after this, that I came across another wonderful publishing house for books in Indian languages- Pratham books, but this post is not about them. Matter for another post, certainly. This post is about Tulika books, and I'll stick to that. Pratham books deserve a mention in this context, nevertheless.
I soon found many other books by Tulika, loved them, brought them home. Gifted them at birthdays, as return gifts, sent them overseas to blogging friends as a gift, recommended them to countless friends, read them, blogged about them, and participated in blogathons organised by Tulika books throughout the whole of last year. Won a few books from them too. The last book that I won from them, Aajoba by Taruja Parande, is yet to be reviewed by me. I shall proceed to correct this oversight in this post.
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pic courtesy tulikabooks |
And my favourite Tulika? Why, it is My Mother's Sari, written by Sandhya Rao and illustrated by Nina Sabnani, of course! A and I have had some wonderful moments with this book.
And now for our review.
Imagine that a child is given the activity of writing in a scrapbook all that (s)he knows about a favourite relative, with her special memories and feelings about that relative. Imagine that the child is provided with lots of colouring and writing material, and all the photographs that can be found about the person in question. And there is no rush to finish the project, time enough for the child to reflect and marshall all thoughts and feelings.
What would be the result? A collage-y book like Aajoba-my grandfather.
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| Pic courtesy tulikabooks.com |
Written and illustrated by Taruja Parande.
Published by Tulika books.
Ages 5+
The book begins with who the writer's grandfather was. After enumerating all that he wasn't, she goes on to say that "He was just very special because he was mine."
And then she goes on to write about all the little, special, memorable things that they went on to do together. Putting a snack together, pottering about in the garden, giving the cat a bath, feeding pigeons and then listening to the sound of their wings as they suddenly flew overhead. The story of her Aajoba and Aaji when they got married, and the stories he would tell at bedtime, the same story over and over again.
The book has plenty of personal photographs, accounts of Aajoba's hobbies, pictures of cards written to the writer in his handwriting, pictures of the bags he made from re-cycled clothes and so much more that gives us a comprehensive picture of the person he was in Taruja's memories.
All the more wonderful from a child's point-of-view, as these are simple, everyday pleasures that mean more to a child than all the big things in the world, the little things that go into weaving a tapestry of memories. A tapestry that is so strong that it can often define who you become, and can be a virtual security blanket for one in the big, bad world.
It is a wonderful book, one that we have loved reading together at home. It has revived many memories of my grandparents, and has led to A seeing her own grandparents in a totally different light. In fact, this is one activity that we have planned for the upcoming vacations- A trip to both sets of her grandparents is on the cards, and we will have a lovely time going through old photographs, and maybe come up with a scrapbook of our own!
Crossposted at Saffrontree.
Entering this book for the Reading the World Challenge 2011 over at Papertigers for A under India, non-fiction.
25 October, 2010
CROCUS, and what we did in the vacation
It has been a busy few weeks.
First, there was all the preparation for CROCUS, the online bookfest at Saffron Tree, the kidlit site I write for. There were themes to decide, books to search for and zero in on, interesting discussions about our books across the ST board, finalising our choices and then working on them. I found wonderful books, just what the theme ordered for. I enjoyed researching for and reading up about the themes, reading the books myself and with A. I enjoyed discussing the books with her, getting her points of view. She was fascinated by them, and has been dipping into them again and again-just what the books need you to do. She even used them in her imaginative play with her friend W, who had come over to spend the day during the vacation. Then there was the drafting and re-drafting of the reviews, racing to meet the deadline set by Prabha Ram and Ranjani. It was wonderful!
We also met friends over the vacation.
We met a blogger friend Arundhati and her son P. Arundhati was just as I visualised her to be, calm and collected. P was so adorable, watching us speak with big wide eyes. A was very taken with him, finding him extremely quiet in comparison to her constant chatter. I had to remind her that she was much the same at his age.
A's friend S, whose mother P is also a very close friend, had a 10th birthday on 10-10-10. P and I had a blast planning for her party together, having discussions about themes and return gifts and food and venue. The party was finally held at a farmhouse nearby, and both kids and parents enjoyed themselves out in the open air. The weather gods were good to us, and it was a pleasant, not too sunny day. The food was also very yum, with noodles, mini-pizzas, and chocolate mousse for kids and chola, paneer matar, methi parathas and moong dal halwa for adults. All pure veg. Of course, everyone ate whatever they wanted. There was also the very scrumptious chocolate cake made with atta instead of maida, eggless, of course, which was baked at home by P's sister N, in the shape of a big 10. Yum yum. Of course we gorged on everything without counting the calories. And had some cake and moong dal halwa for a takeaway.
A, another school friend of A, whose mother R is also a good friend, came over one day at tea time, so that the girls could finish a project they had as vacation homework. So while the girls worked, we ladies had a yak over tea. It was fun.
Then there was a visit to the library, where there was a storytelling session by Muriel Bloch, who told us wonderful stories, and stories about storytelling. Also chanced to meet Ssstoryteller there, a blogger I have admired for some time. It was wonderful meetting her there, and we both have daughters the same age, and she also has been following ST for some time now.
Many books have been read over the vacation. Harry Potter? We are halfway through book 4 now, as part of our read aloud sessions at home. In all this, vacation homework took a back seat, and we had a showdown and a marathon session on the friday before the last weekend of the vacation. Did manage to finish, so we had a chilled out weekend with friends and family.
And now CROCUS is in full bloom. Enjoying every bit of it. Please do visit.
First, there was all the preparation for CROCUS, the online bookfest at Saffron Tree, the kidlit site I write for. There were themes to decide, books to search for and zero in on, interesting discussions about our books across the ST board, finalising our choices and then working on them. I found wonderful books, just what the theme ordered for. I enjoyed researching for and reading up about the themes, reading the books myself and with A. I enjoyed discussing the books with her, getting her points of view. She was fascinated by them, and has been dipping into them again and again-just what the books need you to do. She even used them in her imaginative play with her friend W, who had come over to spend the day during the vacation. Then there was the drafting and re-drafting of the reviews, racing to meet the deadline set by Prabha Ram and Ranjani. It was wonderful!
We also met friends over the vacation.
We met a blogger friend Arundhati and her son P. Arundhati was just as I visualised her to be, calm and collected. P was so adorable, watching us speak with big wide eyes. A was very taken with him, finding him extremely quiet in comparison to her constant chatter. I had to remind her that she was much the same at his age.
A's friend S, whose mother P is also a very close friend, had a 10th birthday on 10-10-10. P and I had a blast planning for her party together, having discussions about themes and return gifts and food and venue. The party was finally held at a farmhouse nearby, and both kids and parents enjoyed themselves out in the open air. The weather gods were good to us, and it was a pleasant, not too sunny day. The food was also very yum, with noodles, mini-pizzas, and chocolate mousse for kids and chola, paneer matar, methi parathas and moong dal halwa for adults. All pure veg. Of course, everyone ate whatever they wanted. There was also the very scrumptious chocolate cake made with atta instead of maida, eggless, of course, which was baked at home by P's sister N, in the shape of a big 10. Yum yum. Of course we gorged on everything without counting the calories. And had some cake and moong dal halwa for a takeaway.
A, another school friend of A, whose mother R is also a good friend, came over one day at tea time, so that the girls could finish a project they had as vacation homework. So while the girls worked, we ladies had a yak over tea. It was fun.
Then there was a visit to the library, where there was a storytelling session by Muriel Bloch, who told us wonderful stories, and stories about storytelling. Also chanced to meet Ssstoryteller there, a blogger I have admired for some time. It was wonderful meetting her there, and we both have daughters the same age, and she also has been following ST for some time now.
Many books have been read over the vacation. Harry Potter? We are halfway through book 4 now, as part of our read aloud sessions at home. In all this, vacation homework took a back seat, and we had a showdown and a marathon session on the friday before the last weekend of the vacation. Did manage to finish, so we had a chilled out weekend with friends and family.
And now CROCUS is in full bloom. Enjoying every bit of it. Please do visit.
See you there!
21 October, 2010
THE TIME HAS COME...
I know now how a fugitive gone underground feels. Claustrophobic. Struggling for a breath of fresh air. For a single sight of the life-giving sun. For the freshness of some greenery. For a flash of blue- a handful of the sky!
It has been more than a month now since I all but disappeared from the blogging scene. Except for a few of my friends, no-one could access my blog. My friends have understood, and have stood by me. In the process, they have been inconvenienced many times, and my apologies to them.
Well, as Lewis Caroll has famously said in his poem, "The Walrus and the Carpenter", the time has come. I want my breath of fresh air, my place in the sun, my glorious greens, my handful of the sky. Time to de-privatise. And what better time than now, when we celebrate.
Celebrating Reading Of Culturally Unique Stories. CROCUS. As most of my readers know, I write for Saffron Tree, a rich repository of books for children from across many cultures. Saffron Tree was started on 23rd October 2006 by Prabha Ram, who searched for, and did not find a resource for the kind of books she wanted for her children. Over the past four years, more parent bloggers equally passionate about books joined Saffron Tree, until now when we are a team of 15 contributors, me being the newest, having started with the post Frindle. Since then, there has been no looking back, and I have enjoyed every bit of being part of such a wonderful team. Do hop over to the site and read the invite I've posted there.
It has been more than a month now since I all but disappeared from the blogging scene. Except for a few of my friends, no-one could access my blog. My friends have understood, and have stood by me. In the process, they have been inconvenienced many times, and my apologies to them.
Well, as Lewis Caroll has famously said in his poem, "The Walrus and the Carpenter", the time has come. I want my breath of fresh air, my place in the sun, my glorious greens, my handful of the sky. Time to de-privatise. And what better time than now, when we celebrate.
Celebrating Reading Of Culturally Unique Stories. CROCUS. As most of my readers know, I write for Saffron Tree, a rich repository of books for children from across many cultures. Saffron Tree was started on 23rd October 2006 by Prabha Ram, who searched for, and did not find a resource for the kind of books she wanted for her children. Over the past four years, more parent bloggers equally passionate about books joined Saffron Tree, until now when we are a team of 15 contributors, me being the newest, having started with the post Frindle. Since then, there has been no looking back, and I have enjoyed every bit of being part of such a wonderful team. Do hop over to the site and read the invite I've posted there.
So now, with just 3 days left for CROCUS, I would like to begin anew. I am the same, my work is the same. With changes. For change is the only constant.
03 July, 2010
Unwomanly behaviour, anyone?
Picking this tag up from Art. When I checked out the rules of the tag at this post by IHM, I found out that she had invited both Sandhyas to pick up the tag. So here is my list.
1. I do pretty much all the banking, payments, grocery shopping, etc. at home, in my time, on weekdays. No keeping anything for the weekends when the husband is at home. Unless it is for something decided on the spur of the moment.
2. My nails have always been kept cut short. I don't remember a time even in my teens when I grew them. Also I couldn't ever abide by nail polish on my fingernails. I do use it on my toes although even they are always trimmed short. Polish on my toe-nails has more to do with protecting them from infections. Don't go much by the cleanser-and-moisturiser-and-blow-drying-hair routine most of my girlfriends swear by. A thorough scrubbing at the morning bath, a quick combing through the hair and a tie around it and I am ready to face the world. Moisturisers are to be used only if the Bangalore weather makes things so dry that my skin itches. To sooth. Never use makeup too.
3. Furnishings at home are of the no-nonsense kind with none of the 'girly' stuff. There are also books everywhere instead of curios, flowers, etc. Certainly not 'ladylike.'
4. I prefer putting on denims and a tee-shirt at home or a kurti if going out. Cannot abide by saris even if they are voted to be 'the most graceful attire' by most people. Other women may feel graceful in it. I just feel as if I am wearing a strait-jacket and find it extremely difficult to go about my daily business in it. I wear saris only at weddings and such and only because I'll be clobbered by my sisters-in-law.(Actually we are all sinners-in-cahoots. Am great friends with all these ladies as well as being related to them through marriage. Maybe this is one more unfeminine thing. Aren't we supposed to speak against each other?). This distaste extends to broad dupattas on salwar-kameezes. If they have to be worn, they are worn with a chiffon dupatta which does not need much 'sanwarna', or with none at all if they happen to have a high collar. I have been nagged at by many friends for not 'dressing up' on many occasions.
5. Only jewellery I use is the mangalsutra, my engagement ring, one bangle on right hand/watch on the other, and earstuds. These never come off. There is no 'changing jewellery to match attire' or any costume jewellery. In fact I don't own any. Never bought any jewellery myself except that which was bought at my wedding.
6. I prefer to spend on books more than on anything else. My idea of a good time: Go to a bookshop and spend the whole afternoon browsing.
7. When A goes to play downstairs in the evening, I always accompany her there with a book in my hand. I sit there reading, lost to the world while the other ladies are discussing 'matters of importance'. Read gossip. I am never in the know, and sometimes am laughed at for not knowing the latest. That's OK with me. Though it is me they come to when they want anything to do with books or language or some such thing. Oh, well, it takes all kinds.
8. I am not very good with womenly skills like cooking or embroidery, etc. The husband is a much better cook than I am and I can just about cook typical Maharashtrian food which I learnt at my mother's and grandmother's elbow. And needlework? Well I must say I can mend torn clothes or sew on buttons, but that is about, it.
9. Even as a child I rebelled against "having to learn housework because I was a girl and I should know how to do everything in the house." It would have been OK with me if all of us had to learn it because it is an essential skill. It always angered me that my brothers didn't have to do it while I had to.
10. Have been guilty of encouraging my daughter not to take bullying behaviour from any of her peers. On one occasion when we had gone to a friend's place for dinner, there was a younger boy who was hitting the girls, (all other children were girls) pulling their hair, etc. All of them kept coming to complain to the parents and there was a lot of crying that happened. Suddenly we heard the boy screaming. Some of us went to that room to see what was happenning, and we saw A firmly holding the boy's hands to prevent him from doing whatever it was that he intended doing. Probably pulling her hair. I came to know later that after we left, a lot of talk that day was on how 'a girl was doing this, and how other girls weren't'. As far as I saw, A was just preventing the boy from hitting her, and was not retaliating in kind. We did have a talk with her about the boy being younger and how she should be careful lest she hurt him.
I do, however, love chocolates, soulful music, cuddly toys. In fact, some of the toys I bought for A have been bought because I loved the feel of them. I love little babies and can spend hours playing with them. Although I can't hold a conversation with an older child with 'attitude' for very long.
I have a question, though. How do we decide if any of this behaviour is to be desired or not? Why is it such a sin to be womanly or manly? Shouldn't we just stick to what comes naturally to us and makes us comfortable?
According to the tag, you will be cursed to "wear blue clothes pants if you are a woman and pink shirts if you are a man – for next twelve years" if I don't tag 12 other people. So I tag Choxbox, Subha, utbtkids , Usha, the mad momma, Vibha, and anyone else woman enough to pick it up. Sorry, everybody else I know of is already tagged.
1. I do pretty much all the banking, payments, grocery shopping, etc. at home, in my time, on weekdays. No keeping anything for the weekends when the husband is at home. Unless it is for something decided on the spur of the moment.
2. My nails have always been kept cut short. I don't remember a time even in my teens when I grew them. Also I couldn't ever abide by nail polish on my fingernails. I do use it on my toes although even they are always trimmed short. Polish on my toe-nails has more to do with protecting them from infections. Don't go much by the cleanser-and-moisturiser-and-blow-drying-hair routine most of my girlfriends swear by. A thorough scrubbing at the morning bath, a quick combing through the hair and a tie around it and I am ready to face the world. Moisturisers are to be used only if the Bangalore weather makes things so dry that my skin itches. To sooth. Never use makeup too.
3. Furnishings at home are of the no-nonsense kind with none of the 'girly' stuff. There are also books everywhere instead of curios, flowers, etc. Certainly not 'ladylike.'
4. I prefer putting on denims and a tee-shirt at home or a kurti if going out. Cannot abide by saris even if they are voted to be 'the most graceful attire' by most people. Other women may feel graceful in it. I just feel as if I am wearing a strait-jacket and find it extremely difficult to go about my daily business in it. I wear saris only at weddings and such and only because I'll be clobbered by my sisters-in-law.(Actually we are all sinners-in-cahoots. Am great friends with all these ladies as well as being related to them through marriage. Maybe this is one more unfeminine thing. Aren't we supposed to speak against each other?). This distaste extends to broad dupattas on salwar-kameezes. If they have to be worn, they are worn with a chiffon dupatta which does not need much 'sanwarna', or with none at all if they happen to have a high collar. I have been nagged at by many friends for not 'dressing up' on many occasions.
5. Only jewellery I use is the mangalsutra, my engagement ring, one bangle on right hand/watch on the other, and earstuds. These never come off. There is no 'changing jewellery to match attire' or any costume jewellery. In fact I don't own any. Never bought any jewellery myself except that which was bought at my wedding.
6. I prefer to spend on books more than on anything else. My idea of a good time: Go to a bookshop and spend the whole afternoon browsing.
7. When A goes to play downstairs in the evening, I always accompany her there with a book in my hand. I sit there reading, lost to the world while the other ladies are discussing 'matters of importance'. Read gossip. I am never in the know, and sometimes am laughed at for not knowing the latest. That's OK with me. Though it is me they come to when they want anything to do with books or language or some such thing. Oh, well, it takes all kinds.
8. I am not very good with womenly skills like cooking or embroidery, etc. The husband is a much better cook than I am and I can just about cook typical Maharashtrian food which I learnt at my mother's and grandmother's elbow. And needlework? Well I must say I can mend torn clothes or sew on buttons, but that is about, it.
9. Even as a child I rebelled against "having to learn housework because I was a girl and I should know how to do everything in the house." It would have been OK with me if all of us had to learn it because it is an essential skill. It always angered me that my brothers didn't have to do it while I had to.
10. Have been guilty of encouraging my daughter not to take bullying behaviour from any of her peers. On one occasion when we had gone to a friend's place for dinner, there was a younger boy who was hitting the girls, (all other children were girls) pulling their hair, etc. All of them kept coming to complain to the parents and there was a lot of crying that happened. Suddenly we heard the boy screaming. Some of us went to that room to see what was happenning, and we saw A firmly holding the boy's hands to prevent him from doing whatever it was that he intended doing. Probably pulling her hair. I came to know later that after we left, a lot of talk that day was on how 'a girl was doing this, and how other girls weren't'. As far as I saw, A was just preventing the boy from hitting her, and was not retaliating in kind. We did have a talk with her about the boy being younger and how she should be careful lest she hurt him.
I do, however, love chocolates, soulful music, cuddly toys. In fact, some of the toys I bought for A have been bought because I loved the feel of them. I love little babies and can spend hours playing with them. Although I can't hold a conversation with an older child with 'attitude' for very long.
I have a question, though. How do we decide if any of this behaviour is to be desired or not? Why is it such a sin to be womanly or manly? Shouldn't we just stick to what comes naturally to us and makes us comfortable?
According to the tag, you will be cursed to "wear blue clothes pants if you are a woman and pink shirts if you are a man – for next twelve years" if I don't tag 12 other people. So I tag Choxbox, Subha, utbtkids , Usha, the mad momma, Vibha, and anyone else woman enough to pick it up. Sorry, everybody else I know of is already tagged.
10 June, 2010
More of my grandmother's songs.
What else do I remember of my grandmother's songs? As a response to Tulika books' Blogathon 4 I wrote a quickie post with a few songs that came to my mind immediately. It triggered off an avalanche of many such memorable songs from my childhood, and I would love to share those too. Mindful Meanderer reminded me of this one in her comments. Loosely translated, it speaks of the gold and silver jewellery worn by the baby and ends by putting a 'kala-tikka' on the baby to ward off the 'evil eye.'
Adgula madgula
Sonyacha kadbola
Rupyacha vala
Sonya bala
Teet lav
Sometimes when I got annoyed with my grandmother and went and sat in the corner- a self imposed timeout of sorts- she would sing
Rusu bai rusu
Annoyed little girl
Kopryat basu
Sitting in a corner
Tikdun ala___ (insert name of someone I liked)
Someone__ has come here
Khudkan hasu!
Suddenly you laugh!
Girls played a lot more with dolls in those days. OK, there was no Barbie (I'm talking about mid-70s to mid-80s. I suppose a childhood around that time makes me ancient. Never mind.) and no teddy bears to speak of. We had well-loved rag dolls, and would celebrate doll weddings if anyone among friends had a boy-doll. Hmmm...nostalgia. But I digress. Back to the topic at hand. This is a song we sang to our dolls. Now A, my daughter, has well-loved dolls, and this is one she loves.
Ya bai ya
Come O you girls
Bagha bagha kashi mazhi basali baya
See how my little one is sitting
Iku na yete
She cannot hear
Bagha bagha kashi mazhi soni baghate
See how my lovely one looks at me.
All children are fascinated by the moon. We were too. My grandmother sang this one for us.
Chandoba chandoba bhagalas ka?
Moon, moon, are you tired?
Limbonichya zhadamage lapalas ka?
Why are you hiding behind the neem tree?
Limbonicha zhaad karavandi
The neem tree is heavy with fruit
Mamacha wada chirebandi
My mama's (maternal uncle) house is strong and big
Mamachya wadyat yeun ja
Come to my mama's house
Tooproti khaun ja
Eat ghee and roti
Toopat padli mashi
Oh! there is a fly in the ghee
Chandomama rahila upashi!
The moon has remained hungry!
This song was followed by a lot of gleeful clapping. Why we were amused by the moon remaining hungry is something my adult self does not understand.
The maternal uncle's home is associated with a lot of fun. Even while addressing the Mama, we say "Tu" which is different from the "Tumhi" used for the paternal uncle. Somehow the use of "Tu" is for someone who is emotionally closer. A song for going to the mama's house-
Zuk zuk zuk zuk ageen gaadi
Dhuranchya resha havet kadhi
Palti zade pahuya
Mamachya gawala jauya
Mama motha talewar
Reshim gheyi hazar war
(something...something)
Mamachi bayako sugrana
Roj roj poli shikarana
Gulabjam khau ya
Mamachya gawala jauya
This song is about going to mama's house or "Ajol" as it is called in marathi. It sings the praises of the mama and of the mami's (aunt's) culinary skills. Shikarana poli is roti eaten with a mash of ripe banana with milk and sugar- a delicacy for a small child.
Then there were the songs we sang in the monsoon. Maharashtra is originally a region of farmers, and it is quite recently that it has become (in)famous for other things. This song invites the rains to come and promise it some money.(as bribe?) But the song tells us that the rain does not like the bribe and only comes down when the paisa is not a real one. The song is from those days when one paisa was a large amount. Juxtapose this with the "Rain rain go away", which is not from a primarily agrarian society.
Ye re Ye re pausa
Tula deto paisa
Paisa zala khota
Paus ala motha
Ye ga Ye ga sari
Mazhe madke bhari
Sar ali dhun
Madke gele vahun!
Then there was a game in which we ran amok- I forget the actual game- and sang
Dongrala aag lagli
Pala re pala
Something along the lines of 'Fire on the mountain.'
And the game we girls played along the lines of 'Oranges and lemons' And sang
Chincha limbu paishya paishyala
Shaletlya mooli alya kashala
Khaun khaun khokla zala
Mamachya wadyat chor shirla
And the 'chor' who was caught was out.
Then here is something all mumbaikars will recognise. It is something we say as the idols of Ganesha are immersed at the end of the festival.
Ganapati bappa morya
Pudhchya varshi lavakar ya
Ganapati challe gavala
Chain padena amhala
There are so many more I could go on and on. There were the prayers my grandmother taught me. We would come home in the evening at the time the lights would come on "Divelagani" in marathi. Then we would say the "Shubhang Karoti", "Ram-raksha" and other shlokas. These are too long and many to write about here. Maybe another post sometime. I try to teach A whatever I can. A lot of it has been eclipsed by other, more pressing things like homework and after-school classes, and so many other trappings of our current existence. I would like to thank Tulika books for triggering off this line of thought. And I would like to end the post with a favourite of my grandmother's, a verse by the celebrated marathi poetess who was born in 1880, Bahinabai Chaudhari who has written some very down-to-earth and heartfelt poetry.
Are Saunsaar saunsaar
Jasa Tawa Chulyhawar
Aadhi Hatala Chatake
Teva Milate Bhakar
Loosely translated- The world is like a pan on the fire. Only if we can take the heat on our hand, can we get the bread-bhakar
Adgula madgula
Sonyacha kadbola
Rupyacha vala
Sonya bala
Teet lav
Sometimes when I got annoyed with my grandmother and went and sat in the corner- a self imposed timeout of sorts- she would sing
Rusu bai rusu
Annoyed little girl
Kopryat basu
Sitting in a corner
Tikdun ala___ (insert name of someone I liked)
Someone__ has come here
Khudkan hasu!
Suddenly you laugh!
Girls played a lot more with dolls in those days. OK, there was no Barbie (I'm talking about mid-70s to mid-80s. I suppose a childhood around that time makes me ancient. Never mind.) and no teddy bears to speak of. We had well-loved rag dolls, and would celebrate doll weddings if anyone among friends had a boy-doll. Hmmm...nostalgia. But I digress. Back to the topic at hand. This is a song we sang to our dolls. Now A, my daughter, has well-loved dolls, and this is one she loves.
Ya bai ya
Come O you girls
Bagha bagha kashi mazhi basali baya
See how my little one is sitting
Iku na yete
She cannot hear
Bagha bagha kashi mazhi soni baghate
See how my lovely one looks at me.
All children are fascinated by the moon. We were too. My grandmother sang this one for us.
Chandoba chandoba bhagalas ka?
Moon, moon, are you tired?
Limbonichya zhadamage lapalas ka?
Why are you hiding behind the neem tree?
Limbonicha zhaad karavandi
The neem tree is heavy with fruit
Mamacha wada chirebandi
My mama's (maternal uncle) house is strong and big
Mamachya wadyat yeun ja
Come to my mama's house
Tooproti khaun ja
Eat ghee and roti
Toopat padli mashi
Oh! there is a fly in the ghee
Chandomama rahila upashi!
The moon has remained hungry!
This song was followed by a lot of gleeful clapping. Why we were amused by the moon remaining hungry is something my adult self does not understand.
The maternal uncle's home is associated with a lot of fun. Even while addressing the Mama, we say "Tu" which is different from the "Tumhi" used for the paternal uncle. Somehow the use of "Tu" is for someone who is emotionally closer. A song for going to the mama's house-
Zuk zuk zuk zuk ageen gaadi
Dhuranchya resha havet kadhi
Palti zade pahuya
Mamachya gawala jauya
Mama motha talewar
Reshim gheyi hazar war
(something...something)
Mamachi bayako sugrana
Roj roj poli shikarana
Gulabjam khau ya
Mamachya gawala jauya
This song is about going to mama's house or "Ajol" as it is called in marathi. It sings the praises of the mama and of the mami's (aunt's) culinary skills. Shikarana poli is roti eaten with a mash of ripe banana with milk and sugar- a delicacy for a small child.
Then there were the songs we sang in the monsoon. Maharashtra is originally a region of farmers, and it is quite recently that it has become (in)famous for other things. This song invites the rains to come and promise it some money.(as bribe?) But the song tells us that the rain does not like the bribe and only comes down when the paisa is not a real one. The song is from those days when one paisa was a large amount. Juxtapose this with the "Rain rain go away", which is not from a primarily agrarian society.
Ye re Ye re pausa
Tula deto paisa
Paisa zala khota
Paus ala motha
Ye ga Ye ga sari
Mazhe madke bhari
Sar ali dhun
Madke gele vahun!
Then there was a game in which we ran amok- I forget the actual game- and sang
Dongrala aag lagli
Pala re pala
Something along the lines of 'Fire on the mountain.'
And the game we girls played along the lines of 'Oranges and lemons' And sang
Chincha limbu paishya paishyala
Shaletlya mooli alya kashala
Khaun khaun khokla zala
Mamachya wadyat chor shirla
And the 'chor' who was caught was out.
Then here is something all mumbaikars will recognise. It is something we say as the idols of Ganesha are immersed at the end of the festival.
Ganapati bappa morya
Pudhchya varshi lavakar ya
Ganapati challe gavala
Chain padena amhala
There are so many more I could go on and on. There were the prayers my grandmother taught me. We would come home in the evening at the time the lights would come on "Divelagani" in marathi. Then we would say the "Shubhang Karoti", "Ram-raksha" and other shlokas. These are too long and many to write about here. Maybe another post sometime. I try to teach A whatever I can. A lot of it has been eclipsed by other, more pressing things like homework and after-school classes, and so many other trappings of our current existence. I would like to thank Tulika books for triggering off this line of thought. And I would like to end the post with a favourite of my grandmother's, a verse by the celebrated marathi poetess who was born in 1880, Bahinabai Chaudhari who has written some very down-to-earth and heartfelt poetry.
Are Saunsaar saunsaar
Jasa Tawa Chulyhawar
Aadhi Hatala Chatake
Teva Milate Bhakar
Loosely translated- The world is like a pan on the fire. Only if we can take the heat on our hand, can we get the bread-bhakar
24 May, 2010
Here, there and everywhere...
This has been a hectic and fun two weeks!
First, there was the family function in Mumbai last weekend. Preparations for that had been on for almost two months. The first thing we did is getting A's clothes in order. I had two saries, one in pink and the other in a sea-green colour, which I had somehow always visualised as being made into lehengas for A. This was the ideal opportunity for that. So I got my tailor to agree to the idea (an old fellow who was scandalised at having to cut the saries!), designed the cholis to be stitched from the pallus, and the ghagaras with pleats giving way to a flare at the bottom. A loved them, the way the hem swished around her feet. Then I had to check if the blouses of the saris I wanted to wear fit, or get new ones stitched. A loved helping me pack, and as always, we packed, and re-packed several times before we thought we had everything. I contrast this with my husband's packing, which was done in 10 minutes on the morning of our journey, before he left for office! We had a great time at Mumbai meeting all our relations and A queening it as the only girl among all her cousins. However hectic it is, I usually feel refreshed after getting back to my roots.
Then there was the international postcard swap in which we had taken part. There were cards to be written, gifts that A wanted to send to be bought, and then the whole assembled together and posted. We had fun doing it!
Then, since we were going to be out of town for the week before A's birthday, we had to plan ahead for the cake cutting in school, and the party she wanted to have at home for her friends. That was a big job in itself. The school was informed, the cake ordered, food ordered, dress bought, invites handwritten by A to give her friends before we took off, duly delivered.
On the day of her birthday, about which I have written earlier, we had the excitement of getting the book from Tulika books. Also, Zoe wrote about the book I had sent her on her blog making me feel very warm, and A very excited. As if that wasn't enough, I got an invite that same day to join Saffrontree as a member. Something I was very happy doing.
On friday, we had planned a treasure hunt for A's birthday party in my complex. I had taken photographs of 10 places in the grounds, and the children had to identify each of these, go there and hunt around for a clue. This was a puzzle or a riddle, which they had to solve, or a task, in which there was something exciting to eat or drink in between all that running around. The kids had a blast at the hunt, just as I had one planning it! Return gift was a copy of "Where's Hanuman," in keeping with the theme of a hunt.
There was more to follow, believe it or not! I had participated in a book review contest held by Crossword bookstores. This week, I got a mail from them saying my review had won. It is the same one that I have posted as my first post at Saffrontree.
I still have a long lists of tasks to do before I can really put my feet up. The first of which is the review I promised Tulika books. A has to read the book, give her input and then I write my post about it!
"And miles to go before I sleep!"
First, there was the family function in Mumbai last weekend. Preparations for that had been on for almost two months. The first thing we did is getting A's clothes in order. I had two saries, one in pink and the other in a sea-green colour, which I had somehow always visualised as being made into lehengas for A. This was the ideal opportunity for that. So I got my tailor to agree to the idea (an old fellow who was scandalised at having to cut the saries!), designed the cholis to be stitched from the pallus, and the ghagaras with pleats giving way to a flare at the bottom. A loved them, the way the hem swished around her feet. Then I had to check if the blouses of the saris I wanted to wear fit, or get new ones stitched. A loved helping me pack, and as always, we packed, and re-packed several times before we thought we had everything. I contrast this with my husband's packing, which was done in 10 minutes on the morning of our journey, before he left for office! We had a great time at Mumbai meeting all our relations and A queening it as the only girl among all her cousins. However hectic it is, I usually feel refreshed after getting back to my roots.
Then there was the international postcard swap in which we had taken part. There were cards to be written, gifts that A wanted to send to be bought, and then the whole assembled together and posted. We had fun doing it!
Then, since we were going to be out of town for the week before A's birthday, we had to plan ahead for the cake cutting in school, and the party she wanted to have at home for her friends. That was a big job in itself. The school was informed, the cake ordered, food ordered, dress bought, invites handwritten by A to give her friends before we took off, duly delivered.
On the day of her birthday, about which I have written earlier, we had the excitement of getting the book from Tulika books. Also, Zoe wrote about the book I had sent her on her blog making me feel very warm, and A very excited. As if that wasn't enough, I got an invite that same day to join Saffrontree as a member. Something I was very happy doing.
On friday, we had planned a treasure hunt for A's birthday party in my complex. I had taken photographs of 10 places in the grounds, and the children had to identify each of these, go there and hunt around for a clue. This was a puzzle or a riddle, which they had to solve, or a task, in which there was something exciting to eat or drink in between all that running around. The kids had a blast at the hunt, just as I had one planning it! Return gift was a copy of "Where's Hanuman," in keeping with the theme of a hunt.
There was more to follow, believe it or not! I had participated in a book review contest held by Crossword bookstores. This week, I got a mail from them saying my review had won. It is the same one that I have posted as my first post at Saffrontree.
I still have a long lists of tasks to do before I can really put my feet up. The first of which is the review I promised Tulika books. A has to read the book, give her input and then I write my post about it!
"And miles to go before I sleep!"
09 May, 2010
Bonding over bondas--and a book for Mother's Day
Yesterday was a long anticipated day.
I am pretty new to the world of blogging, although I had been following some bloggers regularly. A friend blogs on Saffrontree, a blog where I could read about my own passion, books. Reading this blog had become a regular feature for me. As soon as A left for school and my husband for work, I would make myself a hot cup of tea, switch on the laptop and go online. Over a period of weeks, I followed not just ST, but also the individual blogs of some of the bloggers. It became an addiction, a must-do thing with my morning cuppa.
Like any other mom, a bulk of my reading was age-appropriate books for A, age-appropriate reading for myself often taking a backseat. I began to enjoy these books, and had occasion to re-visit some of my own childhood favourites. I had always read a lot, devoured is a better word, and soon got big-time into the world of children's books. Saffrontree was like an extension of that love, and I had a ball reading the posts and adding my bit to them. Slowly, I began to get to know the bloggers and their individual styles. Connected with some of them. I knew I would like to get to know them, get into their world.
Then Artnavy moved to town and invited all of us to her place. Now I do not usually make friends easily. I was not sure if I could go and meet a whole group of strangers. But then I chided myself. Told myself that we had already been introduced to each other and communicated through our blogs. I should go and meet these lovely ladies. They were not strangers, not by a long shot.
What about A? She had a birthday party to attend on the same day, around the same time. I had read quite a few posts to her, and when I showed her the pictures of Art's two girls on her blog, she was quite keen to meet them. So we arranged it so that we go to Art's place first, followed by her birthday party.
Found her place quite easily. A and I walked into the complex, not knowing exactly where to go. There was a lady standing on the way, with two kids, a welcoming smile on her face. As soon as she saw me, she knew who I was, and I knew who she was. A and I had recognised Anush and Aditi! Soon Usha Vaidyanathan, Shubha, and Swapna, who does not blog, but is a participant in the comments on ST, were there too, Swapna with her little one, who took an immediate liking to A, and kept telling her that she should visit her home. Her home was very warm, welcoming, very tidy for someone who had moved in there so recently, and very tastefully decorated. I was especially impressed as I am a very sloppy person myself in these matters. We saw the famed "Kawad", too.
Art had some wonderful kairi-lassi for us to drink, followed by yum batata-wadas. (Actually I should do a post sometime on batata-wadas or aloo bondas as they are called here. They don't taste anywhere like they do on the streets of Mumbai. More about that some other time!) These were lovely. Hot, crisp, with the right spiciness of the filling. Swapna had got some home-made cake, which I am sorry to say I ate only one piece of. I shall have to ask her for the recipe on A's demand. It felt just like attending a birthday party of sorts with good company, good eats, good conversation, and of course the (return?) gifts. I came back with a goody bag filled with gifts and a box filled with Art's batata-wadas for my husband, which got demolished in no time at all on reaching home after finishing with the other, actual birthday party. The gifts were duly (A's work) opened, admired, and immediately put to use.
As I said, I was initially apprehensive about going, but I was made to feel so welcome, so much one of them, that I was overwhelmed. They all felt like kindred souls, and I am glad I went. I really have a lot to thank Saffrontree for. I only wish that the other ladies could also had made it, but let's keep it for another place, another day.
Image: Courtesy Penguin books India.
Leila Seth was the first woman judge of the Delhi High Court and the first woman Chief Justice of a state in India. Her credentials listed on the introductory page amply testify to her being the best person to have taken up this project. By her own admission, this book has been written with the help of her grandchildren, ages 5 and 8.
Leila Seth has beautifully deconstructed the heavy vocabulary of the preamble to make it comprehensible to all. She has gone word by word, giving succint examples and explanations with the help of speech bubbles--with a lot of help from the vivid illustrations by Bindia Thapar.
For example while discussing the word "Socialist" she explains:"socialism meant bettering the life of the people of India". Here the children in the illustrations explain to us:"so that
everyone should have enough food
everyone should be able to go to school
everyone should have a safe home
everyone should be able to lead a healthy life and be able to go to a doctor when they need to"
Clearly explained, with happy illustrations.
My favourite are the words used while explaining "Secular". To the names of all the religions prevalent in India, she has added other belief groups: "Agnosticism, Atheism, Rationalism, Humanism, Animism" There are these groups, too. They are part of "We, the people", and have to be included.
On each page, there are boxes where we are given the facts pertaining to those words. There is also a short account of the events leading up to and culminating in our constitution as well as an account of the people involved in writing it, with wonderful photographs.
The book ends with a simplified version of the Preamble with the word "people" replaced by "children", a short account of what needs to be done, and a short poem to help us remember the spirit of the preamble.
"Let's be equal, just and free-
Strong in our diversity:
Free in thought and free in prayer,
Free to dream and free to dare,
Free to love and free to care.
Let's be equal, just and free-
Strong in our diversity."
"Let's be equal, free and just,
Unified in love and trust:
Strong to lend the weak a hand,
Strong to help and understand,
Strong to build a happier land.
Let's be equal, free and just,
Unified in love and trust."
This poem is followed by a drawing by the writer's 8yr-old grand-daughter, Nandini.
A wonderful and timely book, making the preamble easy to understand for all, and more important, easy to remember and follow. A true gem, which should be recommended for all children and all schools.
Crossposted here.
I am pretty new to the world of blogging, although I had been following some bloggers regularly. A friend blogs on Saffrontree, a blog where I could read about my own passion, books. Reading this blog had become a regular feature for me. As soon as A left for school and my husband for work, I would make myself a hot cup of tea, switch on the laptop and go online. Over a period of weeks, I followed not just ST, but also the individual blogs of some of the bloggers. It became an addiction, a must-do thing with my morning cuppa.
Like any other mom, a bulk of my reading was age-appropriate books for A, age-appropriate reading for myself often taking a backseat. I began to enjoy these books, and had occasion to re-visit some of my own childhood favourites. I had always read a lot, devoured is a better word, and soon got big-time into the world of children's books. Saffrontree was like an extension of that love, and I had a ball reading the posts and adding my bit to them. Slowly, I began to get to know the bloggers and their individual styles. Connected with some of them. I knew I would like to get to know them, get into their world.
Then Artnavy moved to town and invited all of us to her place. Now I do not usually make friends easily. I was not sure if I could go and meet a whole group of strangers. But then I chided myself. Told myself that we had already been introduced to each other and communicated through our blogs. I should go and meet these lovely ladies. They were not strangers, not by a long shot.
What about A? She had a birthday party to attend on the same day, around the same time. I had read quite a few posts to her, and when I showed her the pictures of Art's two girls on her blog, she was quite keen to meet them. So we arranged it so that we go to Art's place first, followed by her birthday party.
Found her place quite easily. A and I walked into the complex, not knowing exactly where to go. There was a lady standing on the way, with two kids, a welcoming smile on her face. As soon as she saw me, she knew who I was, and I knew who she was. A and I had recognised Anush and Aditi! Soon Usha Vaidyanathan, Shubha, and Swapna, who does not blog, but is a participant in the comments on ST, were there too, Swapna with her little one, who took an immediate liking to A, and kept telling her that she should visit her home. Her home was very warm, welcoming, very tidy for someone who had moved in there so recently, and very tastefully decorated. I was especially impressed as I am a very sloppy person myself in these matters. We saw the famed "Kawad", too.
Art had some wonderful kairi-lassi for us to drink, followed by yum batata-wadas. (Actually I should do a post sometime on batata-wadas or aloo bondas as they are called here. They don't taste anywhere like they do on the streets of Mumbai. More about that some other time!) These were lovely. Hot, crisp, with the right spiciness of the filling. Swapna had got some home-made cake, which I am sorry to say I ate only one piece of. I shall have to ask her for the recipe on A's demand. It felt just like attending a birthday party of sorts with good company, good eats, good conversation, and of course the (return?) gifts. I came back with a goody bag filled with gifts and a box filled with Art's batata-wadas for my husband, which got demolished in no time at all on reaching home after finishing with the other, actual birthday party. The gifts were duly (A's work) opened, admired, and immediately put to use.
As I said, I was initially apprehensive about going, but I was made to feel so welcome, so much one of them, that I was overwhelmed. They all felt like kindred souls, and I am glad I went. I really have a lot to thank Saffrontree for. I only wish that the other ladies could also had made it, but let's keep it for another place, another day.
Here's also a book- on occasion of Mother's day. For our motherland.
Picked up this new book in Landmark the other day:
WE, THE CHILDREN OF INDIA
THE PREAMBLE TO OUR CONSTITUTION
Written by Leila Seth. Illustrations by Bindia Thapar. Published by Puffin books. Ages: All.Image: Courtesy Penguin books India.
Leila Seth was the first woman judge of the Delhi High Court and the first woman Chief Justice of a state in India. Her credentials listed on the introductory page amply testify to her being the best person to have taken up this project. By her own admission, this book has been written with the help of her grandchildren, ages 5 and 8.
For example while discussing the word "Socialist" she explains:"socialism meant bettering the life of the people of India". Here the children in the illustrations explain to us:"so that
everyone should have enough food
everyone should be able to go to school
everyone should have a safe home
everyone should be able to lead a healthy life and be able to go to a doctor when they need to"
Clearly explained, with happy illustrations.
My favourite are the words used while explaining "Secular". To the names of all the religions prevalent in India, she has added other belief groups: "Agnosticism, Atheism, Rationalism, Humanism, Animism" There are these groups, too. They are part of "We, the people", and have to be included.
On each page, there are boxes where we are given the facts pertaining to those words. There is also a short account of the events leading up to and culminating in our constitution as well as an account of the people involved in writing it, with wonderful photographs.
The book ends with a simplified version of the Preamble with the word "people" replaced by "children", a short account of what needs to be done, and a short poem to help us remember the spirit of the preamble.
"Let's be equal, just and free-
Strong in our diversity:
Free in thought and free in prayer,
Free to dream and free to dare,
Free to love and free to care.
Let's be equal, just and free-
Strong in our diversity."
"Let's be equal, free and just,
Unified in love and trust:
Strong to lend the weak a hand,
Strong to help and understand,
Strong to build a happier land.
Let's be equal, free and just,
Unified in love and trust."
This poem is followed by a drawing by the writer's 8yr-old grand-daughter, Nandini.
A wonderful and timely book, making the preamble easy to understand for all, and more important, easy to remember and follow. A true gem, which should be recommended for all children and all schools.
Crossposted here.
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