Math Adventures at CROCUS

Here is my second post at CROCUS 2012.

Math can be fun. Puzzles, games and stories are some ways in which it can be made. Stories, especially work very well with children. And more so if they are stories of a mathematical cat!

A mathematical cat? What's that? Penrose is a mathematically gifted cat, who belongs to Theoni Pappas, the author of the stories.

The Adventures of Penrose
the mathematical cat        

The Further Adventures of Penrose
the mathematical cat

Fractals, Googols and other
mathematical tales
                         
Written by Theoni Pappas
Published by World Wide Publishing/Tetra
Ages: 8+

At the beginning of 'The Adventures...', she tells us the story of how she realised that the cat was interested in math. So she wrote down all of Penrose's stories for children- these stories tackle one concept at a time, and can be read as stand-alone stories, too.

The stories point out the association of math with the things we encounter in the real world: in nature and in man-made things.  Pappas is that rare mathematician, who breaks down the overwhelmingly complex into easily digestible bites, makes them palatable to all- children and adults alike. The books take into consideration the youngest possible reader, and the harried parent, who would much appreciate these handy stories to delve into the breathtakingly beautiful, yet sometimes alarming world of math.

pic courtesy domusweb.it

One day, Penrose finds his mistress playing with soap bubbles. He runs to play with them, and is amazed with the perfect sphere shapes, that magically change shapes as they coalesce. He discovers, (as did my daughter A, while playing with soap one day instead of washing her hands quickly and coming for dinner) that soap bubbles are always perfect spheres when discrete, as the sphere is the most stable form occurring in nature with the maximum volume for the smallest surface area - No matter what the shape of the bubble blower? Or that when they coalesce to form a cluster, they tessallate to form regular shapes once they stabilise? That if you draw a plane through this cluster, they will look like a cut-section of a honeycomb?

What is tessallation? Figures that fit together perfectly without any space in between. They could be the same figure or different figures. Nature creates many beautiful designs using this concept. Designs that are often copied by man in the arts.Quilts, tile designs, even the hexagons on a football are examples of tessallation.

pic courtesy scienceray.com

One day, Penrose comes across a snail in its shell. He is mesmerised by the shell- it is such a beautiful pattern. In conversation with the snail, Penrose discovers the secret of the golden rectangle- a very common concept that occurs in nature, creating breathtakingly beautiful designs. The ratio of length to breadth always tends to 1.618.

Start with a 1 by 1 square. Then, add another square of the same size. Subsequently, add squares whose sides are equal to the longest side of the existing rectangle. This can go on infinitely in both directions- increasing as well as decreasing. The rectangle that is formed every time is the golden rectangle. The numbers also form an interesting pattern-

1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, ...

These can be written as each consecutive number being the sum of the two numbers preceding it.

1, 0+1, 1+1, 1+2, 2+3, 3+5, 5+8, 8+13, 13+21, 21+34,...

This sequence is also called the Fibonacci sequence. How does this tie up with a snails shell? If you draw a curve inside each square in the figure, and join all the curves, they form what is called the golden spiral, that can extend infinitely inwards as well as outwards.

pic courtesy mathworld.wolfram.com
  

pic courtesy google images

More examples occurring in nature? Whorls of a flower, arrangement of seeds in spirals in flowers like the sunflower, branching of a tree, ...you may check this out at howstuffworks.

Art copying nature? Check this out. A very modern use of the golden rectangle- the credit card..

More of what occurs in nature? Fractals. What are those, and where do they come in daily life? Penrose was amazed when he found out how ubiquitous they were, as we are, too when we dig a little deeper. The definition says- duplication of a form inwards or outwards. So his, by definition, will incorporate and go beyond the golden spiral or Fibonacci numbers.

fractals from basic shapes
pic courtesy mathworld.wolfram.com

Ever seen a snowflake grow? The original nidus decides what design it will form- so that no two snowflakes are the same. Or just any crystals grow? Think clouds, galaxies, fern fronds, diffusion and movements of fluids, music, population explosion...the list could go on.

pic courtesy google images

Does Penrose encounter only these slightly unusual math concepts? Not at all. He comes across the very basics that our children might encounter on a daily basis too- numbers, the magic of prime numbers, number line, conventions in math, number processes, pi, irrational and rational numbers, graphs, estimates, probability, two-and-three-dimentional figures, x - the unknown in algebra, the concept of zero...and much more.

Each short story, illustrated with pictures of Penrose and simple figures for the math concept, ends with a puzzle which we are left to solve along with the cat. Pappas, of course, gives a very helpful solutions and explanations section at the end of each book that completely de-mystifies the concept at hand.    

It's CROCUS time at Saffrontree

Once upon a time, my daughter was scared of Math. It was not that she could not comprehend it. It was just a matter of being overwhelmed. She has always been a words person, content with immersing herself in language and literature- not surprising since we've always been passionate about reading.

Until I decided to take things in hand. For, in my mind, the sheer symmetry and perfection of anything in nature, as well as the conscious or subconscious use of math in the arts- paintings, sculptures, music...had much to do with math. Arts here would include language and literature too- they are inextricably interwoven with math. Look at the beauty of poetry- the rhythm, metre, cadence, patterns- they all have to do with math. If the problem is couched in words, one reads the words, translates them into mathematical terms, does the math, and expresses the answer again in terms of words.

Sciences are close cousins to math. They all require the input of data, the use of logic to work through that data, and come up with a solution. These processes, and the conundrums they present, have been there since the beginning of time. Humans have been aware of them and trying to make sense of them, ever since evolution bestowed on them the power of reasoning. The pre-historic uses of available material for cutting and hunting, for protection as clothing or shelter; the procuring and cultivation of food, the use of fire for cooking, are all uses of math and science for survival.

The human body itself is an amazing feat of engineering- the perfect machine. Unlike in lesser animals, the superior intellect of humans is capable of analysing, reasoning and planning. This is the main defence, as well as offence humans have against the stronger forces of nature. Use of science and math enabled humans to provide for their survival, as well as have the time, energy and resources left over to put down cultural roots. All of culture, in its myriad and endless variety, is thus an offspring of the early use of math and science by humans. The fruits of leisure, after the basic necessities have been met.

Our earliest stories, folktales and mythologies, too, have been an effort on the part of mankind to make sense of the amazing phenomena of nature. Sometimes the explanations thought of are in the realm of the fantastic; occasionally, they have come closer to what modern science has attempted to and managed to prove. For what are the stories of the Dashavatar anything other than an amazing attempt at explaining evolution as we now know of?

Subsequent advances in math and the sciences, especially those in the past 2-3 centuries, have done much to ease the lot of humankind, and improved our quality of life. In the process, though, we have been guilty of killing the goose that lays the golden egg. Indiscriminate exploitation of our natural resources have led to an untenable situation in terms of our ecology, If we are to bequeath a live-able world to future generations, we need to do something proactive about protecting the reserves that are still left. As well as work out eco-friendly methods of doing things that will sustain through many more centuries.

Children, and consequently parents, are often frightened of math and the sciences. To them, it is like an alien language. All one needs to do, however, 'is start at the very beginning', as Maria says in The Sound of Music- 'a very good place to start.' For musical notes too follow the logic of math, and that is what makes them so beautiful. Remember Irene from Enid Blyton's Malory Towers series- the music and math genius? That was a well-crafted character.

As for my daughter- as I said earlier, I decided to take things in hand. Clearly, there was something lacking in her mathematical and scientific experience up until then. The Montessori methods used in her early education had instilled a decided proficiency at the subject, yet she was faltering. As I have said, she was being overwhelmed by the enormity of it. Fortunately, math and science have a logic that is like building blocks of a building. Take hold of the basics, and work upwards, one step at a time. All I needed to do, was demonstrate to her that math and science could be fun, sit and work together with the logic and concepts, and viola...math and science are ogres no longer!   

So this is the theme for CROCUS 2012- MATH & ECO-SCIENCE.

And now, *DRUMROLL* unveiling our fabulous flyer- created by Saffrontree's very own in-house artist, Lavanya Karthik.

  
Come and join us in this celebration. And for all our readers - please share the news of CROCUS - blog about it, or share on Facebook, Twitter, or any other means you can think of. Participate, and have fun.

Cross-posted at Saffrontree .

Of Whipple-Scrumpets and Vexatious Teachers

Today is Roald Dahl's birthday, and I couldn't let the day go without a tribute. He was born on 13th September, 1916.

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pic courtesy flipkart

Spotty Powder and other Splendiferous Secrets
Compiled and illustrated by Quentin Blake
Publisher: Puffin (Pocket Money Puffin series)

The book begins with a quote from his book The Minpins: “Above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most likely places. Those who don’t believe in magic will never find it.” This should be the guiding light for all who associate themselves with children’s books. Or any books at all. Or anything that raises one above the mundane. As Dahl’s books certainly do. He was a keen observer of his surroundings, human or otherwise, and each of the twelve chapters begins with his essay on the month or season.

Do you know…

…that there were as many as ten naughty children to feature in his most famous book Charlie and the Chocolate factory? These were to have names like Bertie Upside and Herpes Trout. Or that the Oompa-Loompas were to be called Whipple-Scrumpets?

…that the Roald Dahl-Quentin Blake partnership began in 1976, quite late in Dahl’s career, and that initially Blake was nervous about illustrating for such a famous writer?

…that Dahl kept two notebooks in which he pinned down any stray idea that entered his head, and that almost all his books came from these years later?

…that strange though it may seem to his readers, his English teacher at boarding school had written him off? “This boy is an indolent and illiterate member of the class.” “Vocabulary negligible, sentences malconstructed. Ideas limited.”

…that in the churchyard at Great Missenden, Buckinghamshire, big friendly giant footprints lead to Roald Dahl’s grave?

pic courtesy flipkart

D is for Dahl

A gloriumptious A-Z guide to the world of Roald Dahl

Compiled by Wendy Cooling

Illustrations Quentin Blake

Publisher: Puffin books

It begins with a smudged copy of the Dahl family tree on page 1. The next 149 pages are cram-filled with alphabetically arranged snippets that will warm the heart of even the most reluctant of readers. All things Dahl : personal life, his books, quirks, his literary associates, his working style, his opinions about everything he came across- it is all there, in bite-sizes, and embellished with the zany illustrations of his friend and long-time illustrator, Quentin Blake.

Some our favourites are the Random Roald Facts in boxes:

He wrote his first ever story at the age of 10, titled “Kumbak II” about a machine that could tune in to conversations from the past.

From an essay written by him at school, describing his teacher: “He’s a short man with a face like a fried elderberry, and a moustache which closely resembles the African jungle.” On his teacher's cane: “It wasn’t simply an instrument for beating you. It was a weapon for wounding.” Do you see Miss Agatha Trunchbull from Matilda?

No wonder his teachers were vexed with him!

Here is a review of a proper biography, Fantastic Mr Dahl, written by Michael Rosen, on Guardian Children's Books.

Cross-posted at Saffrontree.

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Happy Birthday, Roald Dahl! You have given us - A and myself - some giggleworthy moments of childhood.

Authored by a friend!

pic courtesy tulikabooks

Have You Seen This?
Text by Arthi Anand Navaneeth
Illustrated by Roomani Kulkarni
Published by Tulika books (bilinguals)
Ages 3+

I came home with A from her school bus-stop, and a parcel was waiting for me. I had a fair idea as to its contents, as I had been expecting my review copy from Tulika. The kid pounced on it when I told her what it was, and tore open the wrapping. There she stood, with her bag and shoes still on, giggling as she read through it!

Arthi Anand Navaneeth, Saffrontree’s own Artnavy, has brought us the wacky, the whimsical, the quirky, even the outlandish in this completely giggle-worthy book. A book bang-on in the premise of fiction, even fantasy- suspending disbelief, and even believing the unbelievable!

“A chair that jumps? 
A tree that flies? 
A crow that cooks?” 

A friend who came over read it to her 2 ½ year old in front of me, and his reaction was equally giggle-worthy. The child was transfixed, with his mouth open, and saying “Yes!”, “No!” : acting out some stuff and laughing out really loud at places. It was interesting to note what he said “Yes” to. Those were the ones he has seen as the anthropomorphised characters doing similar wacky things in other stories or on the TV. So these were clearly things that children around his age seemed to think were possible- spot on for the target age group of the book.

Illustrations by Roomani Kulkarni are a huge part of the book’s appeal. I did a search for this artist, who I had not heard of before, and I was amazed by some of her other work. In the book, the eye looks at a picture on a new page first, travelling next to the words which explains it all, just a single sentence on each page. The pair of children romping around the narrative reminded us for some reason of ET, the extra-terrestrial!

The book is the newest in the Tulika books' series of bilingual books, and ours was a Marathi-English combo, thoughtfully sent by Tulika and Arthi, as we speak Marathi at home. A had as much fun tripping over reading the Devnagari script that she has learnt in Hindi at school, and then smoothing out the prounciation into the familiar Marathi. Our personal favourite? The book that reads!:)

We're proud of you, Artnavy!

Crossposted at Saffrontree.

Of summer and lemonade

This vacation, we won't be travelling anywhere, and we opted out of keeping busy with summer camps. Except for one that will be held in May over a period of two weeks, at the school.

So the plan was to read a lot, practice our music, have meaningful social interaction with friends, ditto at home, do all the art and craft that we wanted to do all year, but couldn't due to more pressing matters, follow-up a bit on school work done in the past and to be done in the future- in short, just chill.

After two weeks of chilling out, A and a friend in the complex came up with the idea of some enterprise- they decided to cash in on the extraordinarily hot summer for my city, and put up a lemonade stall for an hour everyday.

We decided to use this as a learning opportunity while having fun. So the girls first did a market research. Facilitated by me.

First to decide on the days, time and place. After much scouting around and discussion, the girls decided on a week, everyday in the evening from 5.30 to 7, next to our clubhouse. The idea was to keep it to a manageable number of days, and to catch the crowd that mills around playing or swimming in the pool.

Then they made a poster (they spent the whole afternoon one day doing it in summery colours) and put it up on the main complex notice board.

Then we decided on a recipe for the lemonade. One that would minimize work and serving time at the stall.

Squeeze out the lemon juice and strain it. Measure it.
For every measure of juice, take three measures of sugar, in a thick bottomed vessel.
Pour in water just enough to cover the sugar. Heat, stirring till the sugar dissolves. Bring to boil, and let it boil hard for a minute or so.
Take off as much of the greyish froth that comes up and discard. This contains most of the impurities in the sugar. Switch off the heat.
Let the sugar syrup cool for a few minutes. Not too much, or it will start re-crystallizing. Pour in the lemon juice and stir to mix well. Add a bit of salt. (This is to taste.) Your lemonade concentrate is ready.
Cool completely and pour into bottles to store in the refrigerator. It will stay unspoiled in there upto a month.
While serving, pour a large tablespoonful in the glass, add water, stir. Add optionals like ice cubes, flavouring (we decided on offering a choice between ginger powder, black salt, chat masala, elaichi powder, jeera powder and original), and your lemonade is ready!

We then went to different shops and compared prices of lemons, sugar and paper cups. We decided on paper cups as a mean between convenience (we did not have enough washable ones- which would also need to be washed every time, with possible hygiene problems) and environmental consciousness (no disposable plastic. Although paper cups also have a minus, they are at least biodegradable! ) and bought from a place that gave us the lowest price with a fair quality. Flavourings were at hand at home, so I decided not to add them to our costs. (Maybe next time I will!)

So the stuff was bought after costing was done, and the concentrate was made under adult supervision. I went with them to the shops, cut the lemons open and boiled the syrup. Everything else was managed by the two.

So they were all set with bottles of chilled water, lemonade concentrate, paper cups, small boxes of flavourings, ice cubes in an ice box, a bunch of spoons to measure out and stir, a money box with some change for the customers, a notebook to make tally marks in. Each glass was to be sold at Rs 5.

Day 1: Novelty is king. Many people came over to check out the lemonade and had at least one glass. Some gamely tried (this group includes us parents and parents of friends) each flavour in turn. The first day was a success.

Day 2: Some more of those who had not had any turned up. There were those from the children in the age range 6yrs- 14yrs who came again. One of the boys appointed himself 'the marketing man' after negotiating with the girls for a free glass every day. Also, every 100th glass was declared to be 'on the house.'

Some feedback came in the form of- keep a larger glass option too, and service should be a bit faster.

Day 3: Time to act on the feedback. We got a set of slightly larger paper cups, and kept them as an option for Rs 8. Also, some bottles of ready to pour out lemonade was kept, to be dispensed when a large crowd cam all at once. Fairly good sale, but not so much as the first two days. Fewer of the grown-ups came, though there was one couple who came every day. The 100th glass was dispensed to one of the kids who was a 'regular.'

Day 4: No adults, except said couple and doting parents. The crowd of children, though hung around from the beginning to the end, digging into their pocket money for repeated cups in different flavours and socializing. It was a party atmosphere.

Day 5: Ditto day 4. This time, the girls put on another offer. Anyone who wanted to take home some lemonade for their family was to get their own bottle. A half litre bottle would hold 3 glasses and cost Rs 15. A one litre bottle holding 6 glasses would get a volume discount @ Rs 25.

A few children got bottles, and the sale became a bit more brisk. The 200th glass was dispensed.

Day 6: It started raining in earnest from 3pm, and the girls were worried, as the stall was held in the open. They discussed the possibility of putting up a notice that the stall would be held the next morning if it did not stop raining. An idea that was finally shot down. It was decided to hold shop just inside the clubhouse, sheltered from the rain.

The discussions delayed things a bit, and by the time the girls reached the clubhouse with their stuff, there was already a crowd waiting.

Sale- ditto day 5. The idea of bottles caught on really well, and they sold more bottles than individual glasses. Even the children who wanted to drink right there and socialize now bought half litre bottles and stood around guzzling from them. Some adults too returned.

Day 7: The shopkeepers declared at the beginning that it was the last day, and anyone who wanted to buy should do so at the earliest, before stock finished. The news spread around the kid grapevine, and friends' friends also came. A veritable social network was in action. We were sold out within the first half hour, and there was a clamour for more. Maybe some other time.

The girls put in their own pocket money as capital- Rs 250 each. At the end of the week, the profit was Rs 152 each. Not bad.

A good lesson in costing, sale, market dynamics, social networking, mutual cooperation (the girls did not see eye-to-eye on all things and there was a lot of negotiation), basic calculations, (calculating the change to be given to customers) time management, handling pressure and customer feedback, and a lot else.

A lot of fun, too.

Book Review: The Agenda of the Apprentice Scientist

Today is World Science Day and World Read-aloud Day, and yesterday was World Math Day. 2012 has been declared the National Mathematics Year in honour of the 125th anniversary of Ramanujan's birth. Today is also International Women's Day.

What better than to celebrate it with a book originally written by a woman physicist of some note, translated from the French into English by another woman? A book that encompasses all branches of science, as well as math.

Being in a montessori environment at school upto grade 3 meant that hands-on experience played a major part in my daughter's learning at school. Even now, in middle school, she prefers to be explained things through experiment. Quite often, when she is not quite convinced about a concept taught in the more by-rote manner, I found that it helps to get down to the hands-on method. So when I found this book, I knew it was just the right one for her.

The Agenda of the Apprentice Scientist
Written by Nicole Ostrowsky
Illustrated by Theresa Bronn
Translated from French by Radhika Viswanathan with Gillian Rosner
Published by Universities Press
Ages 7-70 (as it says in a foreword by none other than CNR Rao.)

As parents, we come across this experience almost daily- whether in the sphere of academics or otherwise- our children ask us something, and sometimes (OK, a lot of times) it is something that we may not be very sure of ourselves. When I am faced with such a situation, I often try to explain it to her, regardless, but smart cookie that she is, she sees through the attempt. Then I have to admit I need to learn more about / think through about the topic at hand, before I can explain it to her to her satisfaction.

Dr Nicole Ostrowsky, former head of
Laboratory of Physics and Condensed
Matter, University of Nice,
Current Professor Emeritus

So the acid test of whether one has understood something or not is if one can explain something to a child in clear, simple terms. That is just what this book, written by French physicist Dr Nicole Ostrowsky, who believes in a hands-on approach to education, is about.

There is one new idea / question / problem to ponder on for each day of the year, so we are introduced to 365 concepts, some known, some unknown. All fun to work on. The experiments involve easy-to-obtain-at-home articles, and some days it is just an observation that needs pondering on.

Of course, true to her interest in the field, Dr Ostrowsky deals more with physics here, with quite a bit of spillover into mathematics and the other basic sciences. Each day's topic eases into the next days at many places, with a whole spectrum of ideas discussed over many days.

An example - the topic of temperature and thermodynamics with these headings:
Aug 18: Are you a good thermometer?
Aug 19: Let's start again!
Aug 20: Step outside your house at night.
Aug 21: Does a dog need a coat?
Aug 22: Fast freeze and slow freeze.
Aug 23: Freeze- the old fashioned way.
Aug 24: Gabriel (Fahrenheit) made some funny choices.
Aug 25: Let's simplify.
Aug 26: Blow hot and cold.
Aug 27: Why do we blow on our soup to cool it down?
Aug 28: How do you dry your hair?
Aug 29: Look at the mirror in your bathroom after a hot shower.
Aug 30: Where does rain come from?
Aug 31: Evaporation+condensation=distillation.

All this with many more questions, and very clear explanations as footnotes.

My favourite features, the quirky illustrations and the relevant quotes on each page! On the Aug 24 page-look above- there is a quote by Jean Loup Chiflet-"It was so hot that the thermometer read: see the next column!"

Book cover image courtesy flipkart, Dr Nicole Ostrowsky's photograph courtesy blog.hippocampus.in.

Crossposted at Saffrontree.

Coffee and me

I recently had an opportunity to meet up with an old friend C aunty who was our neighbour before we moved to our current residence. Was in her part of the town, and decided to just drop in. Which is how I happened to have an excellent cup of authentic South Indian coffee made the old-fashioned way after a long, long time.

Coffee berries
Image fromcoffeeresearch.org

Now I like my coffee as much as the next person, but am mostly a tea drinker. Could it be because I haven't really learnt or mastered the art of brewing it right? This particular cup was heavenly. What is it about coffee and South India?

Coffee is a native of Ethiopia. The earliest known accounts of the use of coffee as a beverage is from the 9th century AD in the Arabian peninsula in what was then Abyssinia. The cultivation of coffee by the Arab nations continued unassailed for many centuries, and they had a monopoly on it. It was, in fact a punishable offence to take viable coffee beans or cherries out of Arabia. This was managed somehow by the Dutch, and coffee cultivation reached Europe in the late 1600s, a full century after the beverage had become popular. From there, it spread to the rest of the world, including the newly discovered Americas.

There is also a story about how coffee reached India. According to it, in the 1600s,  Baba Budan, a pilgrim to Arabia, brought coffee cherries with him and planted them behind his hut in what is now Chikmagaluru.  The crop spread to the hills around, making the region the hub of coffee cultivation in India. Coffee at that time was used more for the colonists, and it was a long time before it was adopted by the Indians.

Coffee was adopted by middle class Indians only around the early 1900s. It wasn't really considered something really good to drink, as it is now, and was considered a decadent habit. The tradition of coffee drinking, the brewing of it, and the rituals around it in traditional southern homes is quite a turn-around from that scenario. I think India Coffee House has a lot to do with it.

I never really had an authentic cup of filter coffee until I moved here. Back in Mumbai we would sometimes go to a small restaurant in the Matunga area known for its South Indian population, but somehow it was a poor cousin to what I've had here. Even here, the best I've had by far was at Tam /Kannada friends' homes, not in any restaurant. Though I would put my money on the coffee at a certain restaurant I used to frequent in Gandhibazar when I stayed near there. In Cafe Coffee Day/ Barista, I prefer the hot espresso.

Coffee is drunk in copious amounts overseas too. It is, however, a completely different breed from the local variety. It begins the moment you step on the plane. There is a unique smell of that coffee that permeates every place there. Somehow I never got used to it even after a long overseas stint. Not even the one available at Starbucks!

I'm happy to be here, where I can get my hands on the real thing. In a steel tumbler. Even when it is cutting or by-two. It is ambrosial. Even if I'm a tea-drinker at heart, I am uplifted when I get it.

Anyone reccomend any special coffee anywhere? Remember, I cannot get it right, so it has to be ready to drink. No raw materials!:)

Review: Lord Ganesha's feast of laughter

Today was Ganesh Chaturthi, the 4th day of the waxing half of Bhadrapada. The birthday of my favourite god, Ganapati. This is a big festival for us Maharashtrians, and is celebrated in most houses. The festival was made public by Lokmanya Tilak, when the British put a curfew on public gatherings. In the guise of getting together for the Ganesha festival, freedom fighters would hold their meetings. Today, it has become something of a public nuisance, as there is no longer that need. Ganesha, however, still reigns over our hearts.

Pic courtesy Penguinbooksindia

Lord Ganesh's feast of laughter
Written by Meera Uberoi
Illustrated by Agantuk
Published by Puffin books, an imprint of Penguin Books India
Read aloud 4+, read alone 8+

Ganesha, or Ganapati, is probably the most beloved of the Gods. He is the remover of obstacles, the god of learning, and the one whose name is taken before beginning anything. The primordial sound 'Oum' is attributed to him, and one of his many names is 'Omkara'.

Ganesha is also seen as a benevolent god, and is often a favourite with children. They are also fascinated by the unlikely seeming form- one with an elephant's head, a large belly, and with a mouse as a vehicle to boot. Many of his stories have a childlike quality of fun. 

Meera Uberoi's book has many of these stories. Some known, some not so well known.

Do you know...
That Ganesha was the one who created the first tabla when his irate father Shiva broke his mridungam into two?
That Vyasa overcame a bad case of writers' block after invoking the help of Ganesha?
That Ganesha is wedded to Siddhi (accomplishment) and Buddhi (intellect)?
That Ganesha won a race for going around the world against his brother Skanda, once by going around his parents, a child's world, and once by going around the world in his mind, by reading up all of the available knowledge about the world?
That Ganesha swallowed and contained the demon of anger, Krodhasura (krodha=anger), who was destroying the world, and that is the reason why he has a belly that hangs down (Lambodara)? "Even today, anger must be swallowed to control it, just as Ganesha did."

These and many other tales make up this collection of stories. There are also some folktales about Ganesha other than the usual tales from the Puranas, which makes the collection complete- mythology and folklore.

Meera Uberoi's narration is very endearing, in terms that children use as a matter of course.

"Shiva's wife, Parvati, daughter of Himalaya with its sparkling streams, was pretty easy-going but disliked being disturbed when she was bathing. And Shiva never seemed to remember that. He strode in whenever he wished, cool as you please, and this really annoyed Parvati."

"'I knew it was one of your sneaky tricks!' Skanda exclaimed hotly. 'So tell me, how did you manage it?'
'We-e-ell,' drawled Ganesha, scratching one large ear, 'you didn't say which world. Parents are a child's world, so I walked around our parents--thrice.' Seeing that his brother was ready to explode, he piously added,'The scriptures say so. Ask Father.'"

A loved the book, and was giggling throughout. She has recommended it to all who would like to read fun-filled tales about the elephant god, whose birthday is today, Ganesh Chaturthi.

Crossposted at Saffrontree.

Mommy is guilty as charged

Ranjani had tagged me some time back. Sorry, Ranjani, for not doing the tag for such a long time. I have no excuse but my laziness.

Yesterday, however, I went out with a friend and her one-and-a-half year old son, who adores A and will keep asking for her by his pronounciation of her name every time he sees me, expecting her to be somewhere around me all the time.

We did many things (like browsing in a bookshop and picking up some books) that I know A would have loved to do with us. I kept thinking of her all the time, and was wishing it was a holiday, so that she could have accompanied us. Maybe I will take her out on the next school holiday.

Mommy feeling guilty? You bet!

According to the tag, I have to

1. Write about 2 instances where you have put yourself before your child/ children... been a wee bit selfish.
2. How did you feel? Did you feel a pang of guilt or were you comfortable?
3. Tag 2 more moms

I have always had A along with me since she was born. Since we do not stay with extended family, it was only us all the time. I never had anyone to help with her. I have,  of course, my house-help who comes in everyday for housework, but taking care of A and cooking is something I never liked to nor wanted to delegate.

The first time I spent some time alone without A around was when she joined school. Even there, I would say it was I who had a bad case of separation anxiety - A was ready for mixing socially, and so settled down there quite soon.

Over the years, I have grown to like the 'me time' I get when I am by myself. I find that it is essential for me to have this time for myself, to do as I please, without worrying about the kid's or the husband's schedules. Reading, morning walks, blogging, working on something interesting, browsing in bookshops, going shopping or catching a movie/theatre programme with friends or by myself, eating out sometimes. When A was younger, I also caught up on the listening to music other than nursery rhymes and other children's songs when she was elsewhere. All the things a stay-at-home-mom may do after all her chores are done!

Of course, I love the times we can spend together on days when she has a holiday. Some of the best times we have spent together are sitting together, each with her book in her hands. Yes, I have a little reader at home, and I'm glad it's so.

So I would have to really think for doing this tag. Let me see-

1. Harry Potter. A is as much into the series as I am. Only difference being, that I discovered the series in 2004, when she was just three, and she began reading them in 2009, two years after book 7 was published. True to my belief that she should read the books before she watches the movies, she has watched them all only on TV. Except for Deathly Hallows 1 & 2. She began with book 7 much after DH 1 had gone from theatres, and we are still waiting for the movie to come on TV, or for us to pick up the DVD, which we will probably do only after all the movies come on DVD, and we can buy the boxed set. Of course we finished reading book 7 at super speed in time for her to watch the last movie on the big screen. Went to watch it with Choxbox, her FB and another friend from school and her mother, all big on Harry Potter.

So I would go to watch all the earlier HP movies on big screen without her, even when I knew that she would have loved to watch them with me on big screen. That would be Order of the Phoenix, Half-Blood Prince and Deathly Hallows 1. If I count the fact that most of her friends went to these movies without reading the books, that would include Goblet of Fire, too.

2. A has never been one of those kids who pester their parents to buy something, anything, everytime they make a visit to a shop. Except when we are in a bookshop. Woe betide me if I take her to a bookshop and do not buy something that she will enjoy. So I do not plan a bookshop visit with her if I have not budgeted for at least one book for her to choose and buy. There are also all those books that are interesting enough to pick up, small enough to be read quickly, but too expensive to pick up, and sometimes for a younger age group. Think of all those fabulous picture books we have not yet got our hands on! So we take advantage of bookshops' policies which allow the customers to make themselves comfortable and read away if they may.

Considering her love of books, and of browsing in bookshops, there have been many occasions when I have gone for it alone- when I have to go to a book sale which it might not be possible to go for on the week-end, which might be in a far-off location, or if I just up and go plonk myself in my favourite book shop on a day when I need some retail therapy. Do I feel guilty? Yes, I do, indeed. As Choxbox will be able to testify, I often pick up a whole lot of books, then realising that they would be way beyond my budget, put away most of those that are for myself, and end up buying those that I know A will enjoy!

To A's credit, she has never consciously made me feel guilty about these things, taking it as gospel that the book has to be read first, and she is overjoyed when I get her something on my book-shopping trips. Yes, she makes me feel guilty about that, too. Contrarily, I would not have felt as bad if she had gotten upset about it.

That was my rather wordy take on the tag. I would like to tag Choxbox and Sangi. Both are ladies I admire immensely for their out-of-the-box thinking and from whom I learn so much. There are some more out there whom I would have loved to tag, but the rules say I have to tag two. So anyone else who wants to take it up is welcome to do so. Let us hear your mommy-guilt secrets, ladies!

A fitness routine...finally! Keeping fingers crossed.

I am not a fitness freak...not by any stretch of imagination.

Walking is something I always loved doing, and would do plenty of it earlier - from walking to grocery stores, etc., to brisk 'morning walks' as part of a fitness routine.

We stayed near Lalbaug many years ago, before A was born, and walking in Lalbaug was a routine I loved. Every morning at 6, I would join the hordes of walkers out to get their daily fitness fix. The surroundings, of course, added to a rejuvenating experience.

Everywhere that we have lived, and travelled, be it the US, UK, or Japan, walking was high on our list. It was not such a big deal in the UK and Japan, as everyone walked on the streets, a LOT. In the US, though, it was a different matter. Walking on streets seemed to be a big no-no, at least in the places we had stayed in, (Places like New York city seem to be the exception!) and cars would zoom past us, the people inside probably wondering why we were walking. In fact, one of the places we were in (it was a small place in the deep south) for a while had no footpaths to speak of (or sidewalks as they are called there) except in the downtown area. Walking in such a place meant we had to find a park specifically to walk in. Not very safe.

We did, of course do a lot of 'touristy' walking. We would try and take any/ all hikes that any place had to offer. In fact, in the UK, I chanced upon a this book on walks in Britain, categorized by the level of difficulty. It was in a ringbinder, so that any particular walk we wanted to take could be taken out of the folder and put in a plastic cover provided for the purpose, to take with us on the walk. Of course it was snapped up, especially since I found it in an Oxfam shop, at a fraction of its original price. We took these walks with A in tow, the husband carrying her in a child-carrier on his back.

Back home, I continued my walking in the mornings, until four years ago when A began school in the morning. After she left for school, it felt too late to go out, as it would become too sunny and hot for comfort.

I tried different timings, even evening walks, but somehow it did not work. I was way too tired in the evening to really push myself, and walk long enough to my satisfaction, or even to enjoy the walk. I tried the gym routine- there is a rudimentary facility at my complex - but it didn't work for me. The mindless walking on a treadmill or excercise bicycle was not for me. I needed to be outdoors to sustain the effort.

I HAD to do something about it, and soon. I wasn't getting younger, and creaking joints, belly fat and a decided 'couch-potato' feel were making their presence felt. I also needed a stress-buster. I tried a bit of yoga, but that isn't something that one should try without proper training, or it could go seriously wrong.

Inertia! I convinced a friend in the complex to join me, so that we can motivate each other to keep at it. And as of the past 2 weeks, we have been walking for an hour every day after our kids AND husbands beat it at 7.30am. Enjoying it thoroughly.

The icing on the cake? A lady from ASDA, a dance and fitness training academy has started Zumba classes in our complex, and we had our first class yesterday. Nothing like fitness while moving to music. I'm sure some of us look a bit silly, like some of the kids doing zumba in this video, but hey, we enjoyed ourself!. And sweated out a lot. Worth it.

Am loving it!

On the love of books - and a giveaway!

First: My friend Zoe, over at Playingbythebook has a fabulous new giveaway that I would love to get my hands on. It is a children's movie, Eleanor's Secret, a must-see for those who love books, and those who would love to see a movie which promises some lovely 'un-adult-rated' fun (Zoe's word, not mine!) You may go over to her post to view details of the giveaway! I have put in my claim, too, and am keeping all fingers (and toes) crossed!



Pic courtesy flipkart.com

Talking about love for books, I recently came upon this wonderful book that I would love to share with fellow book lovers.

THE GROANING SHELF
and other instances of book love
Written by Pradeep Sebastian
Published by Hachette India

This is that ultimate fantasy for me- a book about books and about love for books- that explains a lot about my inexplicable book-lust:

Why I need to explore every book shop there is in any place.

Why I need to visit every book sale.

Why I need to own every book that I feel A or I would love to read.

Why I have more books in my house than an average person would need in her/his life, lying around in piles.

Why I need to read and re-read many of my books.

Why I need to shuffle my books around on shelves periodically, taking them off the shelves, sorting through them, opening those that I haven't looked at in a while, losing track of time, and then putting them all back over a period of weeks, by which time it is again time to sort through them!

Why I do not consider the above described work as a chore, but enjoy it thoroughly, spinning it out.

Why I start the work with an intention to clear clutter, (shame on me for considering books clutter, but an excess of even books takes up space.) but end up putting most of the books back, as I cannot bear to give them away. Yeah, Sangi, I need the Serenity Prayer too!

Why reading a well-loved book, caressing the pages and breathing in the fragrance of paper and ink is the ultimate sensual experience.

"This pleasurable, absorbing ritual of rearranging books, even trying to downsize one's library, now seems to be really about getting to know these books all over again. To pick up one from the shelves, remember where and when you bought it, and recall the pleasure that finding the book gave you - this is why a book collector gets all her books off and on the shelves every year."

Pradeep Sebastian speaks of the collecting of books, even of first editions, and brings to our notice the difference between a bibliomaniac (...has a rage for collecting and possessing books) and a bibliophile (a book collector of refined judgement, the quality of whose library reflects his or her exacting bibliographical standards). Where do I stand? Somewhere in between.

We come to know of the different reasons we buy a book - not just for its content. The edition, the cover design, illustrations, paper quality, the font used, the whole look and feel of the book, too matter. Ask me- I often buy whole lots by a favoured author, and favour certain publications which add to the overall experience of reading.

First editions, especially if in a pristine condition with their book jackets, and if they are signed or inscribed by the author, could become valuable additions to one's collection par with rare pieces of art by masters.

We have chapters on rare books, history of books in the world, and in India.

A whole section on notable works by his favourite authors, which include works by Pico Iyer, J.D.Salinger, Arthur Conan Doyle, Ayn Rand and Ira Levin. He discusses both the life and works of these writers, giving us a peek into how their creative energies worked.

A whole section on noteworthy bookshops in India, book museums and a chapter on books in movies. Yes, 'You've got mail' is one of the movies discussed, as are '84 Charing Cross Road', 'The Name of the Rose', 'The Mystic Masseur', 'Fahrenheit 451' and 'The Jane Austen Book Club'. There is also a real story, about how a documentary about an out of print classic, the only book by that author (The Stones of Summer by Dow Mossman) resurrected that book in print.

Some of the chapters on the actual experience of reading gave me an eerie sense of 'he's reading my mind'!.

"The books we read make us part of a larger (invisible) community of readers. Could the opposite be true as well? That our reading makes us lonely. Wrapped up in a book, we shut the world out, cutting ourselves off from those who cannot share in our private world."

Maybe. But then I find that my reading can also open up a world of like-minded friends, where we can share our mutual love of, and impressions of different books, enriching us all. I think the reading-aloud of books shared by A and I is a part of this process, as is this compulsive sharing of a book I loved with all of you in my reviews. I want to convey what I loved about a book, maybe compel you to pick it up!

There is an interesting chapter on re-reading. I'll quote - "What a commited reader has with a book is a relationship. And like most relationships, it is sustaining, volatile, vulnerable...the question is - does the book remain the same book the second time around? Are we even the same readers when we revisit these books?...it seems to me that our experience alters the book even as the book alters our experience."

Very true. A book that I have loved reading could not be read just once. One reads it rapidly at first, then mulls over what one has read for a while- which could be anything from a few hours to a few years. One then HAS to return to the book and read it over and over again, finding things one has not noticed or noted at the first reading, somehow managing to internalise the book, until it becomes a part of one's self.

As J.K.Rowling said while announcing PotterMore: "the experience of reading requires that the imaginations of the author and reader work together to create the story."

There is obviously more to reading than just a pastime, just a gleaning of information or learning of something. It is a whole experience that has to be, well, experienced. Even books that one has loved and lost, or books that one has encountered in a store or library, found interesting, but not gotten around to really reading through, never to find them again, are part of this experience.

Let me end with one more quote from this wonderful book by Pradeep Sebastian. This one for non-readers, too!

"I often envy non-readers for all the wonderful books out there that they have never read. Imagine the number of books that await them and the joy of encountering these great works for the first time. A favourite literary fantasy of mine has been to turn amnesiac for a year and read all my favourite books as though for the first time." 

I am entering this review for the 2011 Global Reading Challenge under Asia and in the 2011 South Asian Challenge at S.Krishna's books.

Reading to A- and a 100 stars in my sky

THIS IS MY 100th POST.

I thank you, all my friends, for reading what I needed to say, and encouraging me along the way. I have learned a lot along the way, and have got to know some wonderful people.

And what better way to mark it than to speak of some books A and I have loved reading together?

But first, an update: We have already received all five of the picture postcards that we were expecting as part of the 2011 international postcard swap for families hosted by Zoe over at Playingbythebook, a wonderful person who blogs about books for children, and the fun her girls have working with those books.

And now for the rest of our post, on reading aloud to A, and- you guessed it- Harry Potter.

*Spoiler Alert * Do not read the rest of the post if you want to find out for yourself what happens in the seven books!

Recently Prabha, a co-contributor at Saffrontree wrote to me about her daughter K, all of 9, beginning to read the books, and how she was a bit apprehensive about it. Understandably so, as the books have much that could be 'iffy', depending on the POV. They are unslottable to a large extent, as the age spectrum of those enjoying them seems to stretch from kids as young as 6yrs (it makes me wonder how many GET them? Isn't it a disservice to them if we let them read this stuff at such a young age, robbing them of the pleasure of discovering them when they are actually old enough to grasp the full import of what they are reading?) to adults.

Prabha says, "I thought it offered a lot of meat to go over. The sheer number of characters, the plot, the writing and to carry the reader through seven books- kudos to JKR!...Do let me know your thoughts, S, about your experiences...K will continue reading them this year...I didn't mind letting her watch the movies before finishing up the books...the movies have given a lot away, but I am glad she now has a frame of reference and can absorb things better and all those that the movie hasn't covered, and enjoy it for the pure writing aspect alone!" 

Some time back, Starry had made this comment on one of my Potter posts:  "Nervous about introducing HP to Div...we'll start from Jan, I think we will go slow anyway with books 1 and 2, which are relatively lighter. Like the question A asked, I guess there will be many q's...I love the intricate plot and logic of every single thing in these books."  Div, too, is 9.

So here's what I feel.

I have always read aloud to A, ever since she could sit up on my lap. She loved it. So even after she could read on her own, we continued with our habit, except that I would choose books that were meatier, or were a little bit above her age group, either in terms of the language, or the content.

Language was handled easily enough, and there would often be a word, or a phrase/idiom that would baffle her. I explained these to her in terms she understands, and she often used them subsequently, sometimes with pretty hilarious results, but usually correctly.

Sometimes, the language of a book, usually an old classic, would be simple enough, but the narrative would be a bit tedious. At such times it helped that I was reading aloud, so that I could tide her over the boring bits in anticipation of what I knew would come. Sometimes, the old English would be difficult to understand, with quaint words not much used these days. That, too, could be rephrased while explaining it to her.

Content was a bit difficult. We have often embarked on a book, sometimes to abandon it after a chapter or so, as she could not really relate to it. Sometimes it was the genre- I found that currently she does not enjoy anything to do with horror; it gives her nightmares. It was not necessary that there be anything graphic- she didn't enjoy Morpurgo's 'The Giant's necklace'. But she enjoys the cousins of horror- she likes suspense, action and black humour, for example- a case in point are the books by Roald Dahl, a master of black humour.

Sometimes it was just that the content was too much for her age- she could not visualise what was happening, or relate to it. I would then just shelve the book, to return to it at a later date when I thought she might appreciate it better. We had to do that with 'Anne of Green Gables', which we had attempted at 8 yrs- I think the time may be right for it sometime now.

So at the age of 8, when she showed an interest in the Potter books, seeing as she would see me reading them, I wondered if they could be the next ones to be read aloud. We were reading aloud the two Alice books by Lewis Carroll at the time.

She loved them. She had already read Enid Blyton's Naughtiest Girls series, Tom Brown's Schooldays and What Katy did at School, so she had a fair idea of a boarding school system. This was like a natural continuation of that, with magic, just darker.

Books 1, 2, 3 were fine. She was a bit distressed by the targeting of Harry, the ostracizing that he has to suffer from his classmates, the mutterings, etc., in book 2. It did give us an opportunity to discuss how her peers perceive her as 'different' on account of her disinterest in bollywood, fashion, etc.

She would introspect a lot on what we read, and would throw up many interesting questions, which showed her insight into many complex aspects of the books. Some would not have occured to me, too, till then, and I needed to do a bit of thinking and analysing of my own to answer her. She does this with everything we read aloud, and sometimes it is troublesome- for eg., if the questions are asked at 7am, when we have a school bus to catch at 7.25, and I have lunches and breakfasts to prepare, the mind working on the next thing to be done on the schedule!:)

We finished book 3 around the time she was 8.5, and we discussed the options. I told her book 4 was a bit distressing, and that each subsequent book increases in its distress quotient, so we needed to take it a bit slow. She is to tell me if I needed to pause for a while or stop. She was fine till the chapter where Voldemort is resurrected, and then she didn't want me to read near her bedtime. So we finished book 4- and moved on to book 5.

In the meantime, we were also watching the movies as we progressed. I can understand about having a frame of reference while reading the book if the movie has already been watched. Can be helpful in placing the details in context. We have done that for so many books- notably those based on the classics- we saw Alice in Wonderland, Winnie the Pooh, Heidi, The Little Princess, Peter Pan, Pinocchio, and many more on screen before we read the books- and have enjoyed them thoroughly.

But HP, I think is about more than just the story, the incredibly wonderful characterisation, the rich imagination and impeccable English. Not all of it has come across in the movies.

It is also a story with a philosophy, with a lot of logic, the interlinking of plots, the way Rowling never introduces anything which may not be significant at some other stage, the way even her comic relief has a place in the larger picture. That mountains can be moved by faith, hope, love, compassion, courage, sacrifice, loyalty, team work and hard work. That even those considered too far gone can get back on the right track if only they wanted to. That there is always a choice.

Difficult for grown-ups, too, to grasp, to realise, to internalise. I am trying, too, and believe me, it is not easy.

I wanted A to absorb all that- which, I feel she is, and sometimes more, going by the questions she comes up with. I am sure these lessons will have to be reinforced many times over before she can internalise them, but they have been introduced.

She has all that in her mind while watching the movie- as also this interesting concept of alternative ways in which the story can go- since Warner Brothers have made their own changes to the story when adapting it to the screen. Changes I don't really like, being a purist of sorts as far as this series is concerned, since Rowling has got a tight plot, with all ends tied.

Anyway- back to the books. We went through book 5 with a lot of interest, as there are so many details here, and sometimes it feels as though Rowling is rambling, but isn't. As we reached the middle of the book, I prepared A for the unexpected ending. We spoke about how now that Voldemort is back, there are bound to be distressing things happening, sometimes quite unexpectedly- but how that has to be accepted, and even taken as a mark of the author's wonderful storytelling skills, the way she keeps one on the edge, wanting to know- what next? And packing a punch just when least expected. Inspite of this she was distressed on the death of Sirius, more for Harry than anyhing else, as she saw him as orphaned once more.

We finished book 5 sometime in March this year. She was quite upset, so I told her we'll put the rest on hold for a while. But kids are very resilient, and do a lot of growing up in a very short time. It is amazing. After we were back from Mumbai, she told me she wanted to finish the last two books before the last movie is released, as she wanted to watch it on the big screen. It helped, that two of her closest friends- Choxbox' FB and another girl at school had also finished reading all the books and were keen for A to read them so that they could discuss them. I would give full credit to both girls for restraining themselves from putting across any spoilers- just egging her on.

So I told her to expect more deaths, more distressing ones. We have just finished book 6 yesterday, and she seems to be handling it quite well. Book 7 is going to be bit different. It has a lot of philosophy packed into it, so I'll have to see how much of A really 'gets.' I think she is mature enough to handle just the story, and it wouldn't hurt to read it so that she can really enjoy the movie on the big screen.

A needed a bit of hand-holding through many parts of the series, but it might not have been this easy on her if she had had to read it by herself. While reading to her, I always omit reading out some distressing graphic bits- like yesterday when I skipped over the vivid description of the inferi creeping nearer to attack Harry and Dumbledore in the cave- stuff sure to have triggered nightmares. It will keep for when she reads them on her own- she is already through books 1-3 on her own.

Even if she had read the books on her own, I am sure she would have come to me with questions, but I would not have been able to anticipate her distress and prepare her for it. Although I am sure that the whole series has made her look at books and storytelling in a different way, and she has matured considerably in her reading- can go on to stronger stuff- reading to her or even on her own. Am happy about it.

Next on the cards- The Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings books.  She can read Percy Jackson, Diane Wynne Jones, Cornelia Funke etc. on her own.

Will be getting back to the topic after we are done with the reading aloud of book 7. Till then!

Our Great Mumbai Holiday plus

So the kid is off to school, and as Starry so succintly puts it: the chains are off! First time in 2 months that I have managed to sit down in front of my laptop without someone wanting my attention.

So what did we do in the holidays? Quite a list.

Attended a super Carpentry workshop at Hippocampus, our library, run by a dear friend. We have a working model of a sun-dial, and a toy aeroplane to show for it. Thoroughly enjoyed by A.

Went to Mumbai after a very long 2 years, visiting parents and in-laws.

Sisters-in-law (2 of them) and I carted the kids (4 boys aged 12-17 years and A) over to the over 200 year old Shree Siddhivinayak temple  in Prabhadevi, which is believed to grant wishes to devotees. It is a favoured place to visit for those who revere Ganesha/ Ganapati- the elephant headed god of learning, who is also believed to remove obstacles from one's life, and is invoked as 'Shree' before undertaking anything of importance.

Also visited the Mahalakshmi temple in Worli, which is built right next to the sea, with the waves breaking on its walls at high tide. The sea fascinated A more than anything else, as the last time we saw the sea was the North sea off Scotland when she was just 3, and she doesn't have any memory of it.

Went shopping with the entire gang (ladies and kids only) to Crawford Market built by the British in 1869 after travelling by the mumbai local trains. A was horrified by the crowd, the rush, and the chaos of both, but enjoyed the outing with her cousins.

Also checked out the extremely high end and absolutely unaffordable Palladium mall and the adjacent High Street Phoenix mall at the place where the famed Phoenix mills- cotton mills- were situated. The only place there that we could even think of buying something was the absolutely enormous Landmark, which had such a wide range of books that I could not do justice in terms of browsing. Picked up a few titles there- but of course. It was literally like getting into Alladin's cave for both A and I, and I plan to make a visit to just that one store on a later visit to Mumbai.

Made a family trip to the absolutely wonderful Tikuji-ni-wadi with brother and his family- A now had two cousins, my nephew aged 11 and niece aged 5 with her. It is very near the city, a few kilometers from my parents' house, but it is like stepping into another time zone. Of course there are the rides and the water parks that were fun for the kids, but the part I enjoyed most were that there was a sprawling chickoo orchard, with village style cots scattered around on which we could relax after a morning of activity and just chill. Which the sister-in-law and I did, as the brother took the kids off for rides. The food is very ordinary, though, just routine noodles-pizza-sandwich-chelpuri-other chaats stuff, not very inspiring. I was hoping for a homestyle gujju spread, and was much disappointed.

Immersed myself in many things marathi-

Typical food cooked by my mother- pithla bhakri, ambadichi bhaji, puraN poLi, kadhigoLe, waTli daL, waraNphaL, shrikand (home made) puri, and most of all, alphonso mango in many avataars. I even picked up aambawadi (a burfi like preparation from mango pulp), aambapoLi (alphonso pulp put out on plates and sundried), phaNaspoLi (made from jackfruit pulp), aambyacha satha (just a lump of dehydrated alphonso pulp).

I also picked up the all important Goda Masaala which is an important and indispensible ingredient of maharashtrian cuisine, and which is unfortunately not available anywhere. At least I have never found it. It is a difficult masaala to make at home, as it has many ingredients and is quite labour intensive. Something I have been too lazy to make at home, as my mother and grandmother always did.

pic courtesy lokvani.com

Took A to many Marathi theatre performances for children. The most notable of which was Durga Zali Gauri, a dance drama, which moves forward only in song and dance. A loved it, and we heard nothing but those songs for a few days. It is comparable to Agatha Christie's play "Mousetrap", in that it has been running to a full house for the last 29 years, and its popularity shows no sign of abating. Unfortunately, it has still not been released on DVD, but I picked up an audio CD at the time of the performance. Something I would recommend to any theatre lover visiting Mumbai during the summer vacations. Performances are only then, as the children acting in it are free at the time. I spoke to Arun Kakade, the person behind it all, about having shows in Bangalore. He was interested, and told me that he had spoken to some people here about it, but that the logistics of transporting a 50+ troupe of dancers, housing them, almost all children, was daunting. Our loss!

I went for a few Marathi theatre performances too- two of which were written by the noted playwright, Sai Paranjpye, better known outside of Maharashtra for her sensitively made movies like Katha, Chashhme Baddoor and Sparsh. Also saw a few Marathi movies- some on DVD and one in theatres- the newly released Bal Gandharva which is a biographical film based on the life of one of Marathi's greatest and pioneering singers, and actor Narayan Shripad Rajhans, better known by his alter-ego : Bal Gandharva.

On DVD, saw quite a few. Am convinced that regional movies have a lot more to offer on realistic and well made movies- of an extremely high calibre as compared to the staple bollywood fare. I can probably count those bollywood films that impressed me in the last five years on the fingers of my hand. I do not really know much about regional films in other Indian languages, but going by those that are aired on LokSabha channel, there are quite a few world-class movies being made. When will bollywood wake up and smell the celluloid?

Anyway, the ones I saw this time-

Rita, based on the book of the same name by renowned marathi writer Shanta Gokhale- it is the story of Rita Welingkar, the eldest of three daughters, who starts working at an early age when her no-good father loses his job, and pretty much becomes the parent for her sisters, inspite of having both her parents alive. On the way she gets into a relationship with her much older and much-married-with-kids boss. The movie captures very well Rita's struggle to make things more meaningful in her life- wonderfully played by Pallavi Joshi.

Mee Sindhutai Sapkal (I, Sindhutai Sakpal) based on her autobiography named Mee Vanvasi (I, the exiled), is the story of a poor woman born in rural Maharashtra- pulled out of school and married off at age 12 to a man more than twice her age, and her struggle for a life of dignity. She is thrown out by her husband, pregnant, near term, with her third child, on a false charge of infidelity. This is the story of how she stands up in dignity, not just for herself, but for the rights of many more of the downtrodden, establishing 5 orphanages in the process, and travelling to the US on invitation to raise funds. Sindhutai, or Mai as she is known, is a living legend, doing her work even today. Wonderful performances by the actors, the movie may be seen just for the underplayed performance of Tejaswini Pandit, who plays the protagonist in her youth, her real life mother, Jyoti Chandorkar playing the elderly Mai.

Went to a few book exihibitions exclusively for Marathi books. Found out that many of our favourite Tulika books are been published by Jyotsna Prakashan, a well known publishing house of Marathi children's books, at a fraction of the price, with full credits to Tulika's copyright.. Was thrilled on finding them. Picked up a lot of Marathi books for A and for myself. Now that she knows the Devanagari script, common to both Marathi and Hindi, A can read simple books on her own. Am really thrilled about it.

It goes without saying that both A and I read a lot of books including Harry Potter 6, which we will be finishing in a day or two. To be followed by book 7, so that we will be all set for the last movie due in mid-July.

Ate at a lot of interesting restaurants many times with family and friends, too many too enumerate. The high point was a small place where we ate home-style Malwani food. Yum!

Met a lot of my old friends after a loooooonnnngggg time.

Also met a new friend, Ugich Konitari, a wonderful blogger whose posts I love for the clear headed analysis of so many different things, done with a wry sense of humour. She has written a whole post here about our meeting. We met midway between our houses, and had lunch together at a mall where we even had icy cold gola for dessert. She was exactly as I had visualised her, and much more. It was lovely meeting you, Ugich.

Chilled out totally over our trip, and was back home with a few weeks to spare before school re-opened. Soon after we were back, A had her birthday party.

And we made mango pickle at home- A helped in lot in the process.

We also had a long awaited meet of Saffrontree members from Bangalore at Artnavy's lovely home.

Then there were the usual round of dentist, doctor, etc., shopping for school, and here we are. School has started!

It is never too late for mommy to learn

Sangi has tagged me with this very interesting tag. I need to pick out 5 things that being a mother has taught me. Hmmm...let's see.

1. Are you there, God?
I grew up in a household which put a lot of premium by God, prayers, going to temples, rituals, etc., but I was never convinced of the existence of the said almighty. If anything, I actively rebelled against all of what seemed to me to be a lot of foaming at the mouth over something that was not proven to be existing anyway.

Oh, I knew all the scriptures I was expected to know as a child- the mythology, the epics, the prayers, what could/could not be done- the works. I have to thank my grandmother for much of that.  Not complaining! It has definitely enriched me.

I was, however, entirely confused by a ritualistic approach to God- an insistance on the paraphernelia of religion- that one must have red flowers/ white flowers/ leaves of a particular plant/ coconuts, etc. for a God that seemed to me too petty to have wanted all that JUST SO. My belief thus bordered on atheism, but, as I feel sometimes, I threw the baby out with the bathwater. Pun not intended.

Having A was a miracle of sorts. I had her quite late, also having complications during pregnancy, a difficult labour and finally, an emergency C-section. The anxiety and heartache I went through during all this, and finally having her, healthy and whole, in my arms made feel that yes, there must be a God.

So did I finally get religion? Not quite. I cannot still abide by rituals. The occasional pooja I do, on festive days, is more to introduce this part of her culture to A, rather than for its own sake. I do not pray everyday, for then, I feel, it will become a meaningless ritual; or go that extra mile to get those red flowers/ white flowers, etc. I do pray the day I feel like praying, for, on that day, I know that my prayer is true and heart-felt, and it will certainly reach God. And A knows all the prayers, songs and stories that are part of her inheritance, her birthright as my grandmother's great-grand-daughter.

At times, I even feel close enough to God to quarrel or fight, if need be. When I feel the presense of the divine, my eyes close of their own accord and I bow my head. Spiritual yearnings? Maybe.

2. A smile in my heart.
"The moment a child is born, the mother is also born. She never existed before. The woman existed, but the mother, never. A mother is something absolutely new." Osho Rajneesh.

When I see the affection A has for younger children, the raptures she goes into over any baby, see the affinity younger children have for her, I think back to myself as a child- heck, myself as a grown-up and wonder over how different she is from me in this aspect. As an adult, I loved babies, still do, and am a natural in handling the extremely fragile lovelies. But I normally cannot have easy coversations with older kids, unless they share my interest in books. I was never what you would consider 'mother material'. I never fantasised over having babies as she does, never wanted to get the little kids in the neighbourhood together to raise rabble. I was fine with my book in my corner, inhabiting my imaginary world, thank you very much!

When I saw the two purple stripes, and later A's heart going 'twinkle, twinkle' at an impossible rate on the screen at an ultrasound, I realised how much I wanted my baby. Connecting with her when in utero was an out-of-this-world experience, and I was absolutely smitten by her once I had her in my arms.

Please bear with me over the next paragraph.

The day she was born was an extremely hot day even by Mumbai standards. Since all AC rooms were occupied at the time, I was moved to a non-AC room temporarily, just for one day's time. A could not yet suckle, and as a result she got dehydrated. She was taken away by the nursing staff on duty for some time (the nursing home believed in rooming in; babies were NOT taken away to the nurseries like in most hospitals those days. AND the obstetrician was a dear friend, who had hand-held me through my extremely difficult pregnancy, with me going ballistic over things that could go wrong- a distinct disadvantage of being in the know in medicine) on the doctor's orders, so that she could be given some glucose water orally to tide over till she could suckle. The panic I went into over that was unimaginable. This was my baby. Where were they taking her? Why? So what if these were doctor's orders? Couldn't they do whatever they needed to do right there, in front of me? Blah, blah, blah, blah...you fill it in.

Love is here to stay. Always, in my heart. No matter what, no matter when, no matter how.

3. They are not always right, nor always wrong.
As a child, I often thought my parents were always right in everything, until came a time when I thought just the reverse. Now they could do nothing right. And one's peers also thought the same of their parents at the same time. So I often ended up blaming my parents for things that I did not do right.

While some of it may be true, (see, I have a long way to go yet!) I realise now as hands-on mom that my parents always did that which they thought was right at the time, and what was humanly possible for them. The realisation has gone a long way in making my peace with them over issues we didn't see eye-to-eye.

Something I hope my daughter also realises over a period of time- that her mother is just human, and that I do the best I can do, the best I believe I should do. I hope to God that it is the right thing.

4. Just a spoonful of sugar makes the medicine go down!
Coming from a background where my mother was the rulebook, and considering that I rebelled against it wholeheartedly, sometimes even to my detriment, I always thought that with my child I would be different. I would not do this, or that, that I would always talk to my child, explain things, do things right. I am not saying that I had bad parents, just that they were very conservative, old-fashioned, and pretty much followed the norms of the times they lived in.

I was living in a fool's paradise. No, not till she came along, but till she learnt to stand up to me and say NO! WON'T! pretty early in her toddlerhood. A true-blue Taurean, she knew very well how to dig her heels in and...err...so did I.

I had to go great lengths to unlearn all that I had absorbed. As always, I took the help of books. It was a lot of trial, and much more of error. Still is sometimes. I learnt that logic works more wonders with A than putting my foot down. I need to back off and calm down, be less authoritarian. I who needs to get my act together if I am to make any headway with teaching this lovely but stubborn as a mule child of mine the right things. Blogs by friends who are wonderful parents, like Starry,  Choxbox  and  Sangi help. Their views and extremely clear headed analysis of so many little things often show me the light.

5. It is never too late to get an education.
Having a daughter taught me so many things.
*That one cannot learn everything from books.
*That I cannot bear it when she is in pain, but have to be strong enough for both of us to make it bearable.
*Everything that is humanly possible is certainly achievable, especially if your child needs it of you.
*The human body is amazing- and this doesn't include just what they teach you at medical school. One can survive on the barest minimum of sleep, oxytocin and lots of TLC.
*That much more can be achieved by being patient and explaining things instead of laying down the law.
*That sometimes one is only human and wishes one does not have to explain things so much but can lay down the law!:)
*That one can have conversations with an extra-chattery child where one can switch off and yet make satisfactory rejoinders.
*That even though one loves the child so much, one can wish that someone takes her away for the day, on the stipulation that she is returned in the evening safe and sound. Sending her off to school is the best option.
*That the best part of the day is when A comes home with a smile and a hug for mommy, followed closely by the time in the morning when everybody, including the husband, are out and one can finally rest one's errr...backside with a hot, steaming cup of tea.
*That children can ask the darnedest questions. And one never has an answer for them when they are asked in company.
*That one has absymal / long forgotten / outdated knowledge about the things children learn as early as in middle grade. And that one has to read up a lot to be able to keep up.
*That it is a lot of fun to do things together, and it does not always have to cost a bomb.
*That the best times we have spent together are when we have sat together on the bean-bags near the wide open windows, reading aloud to her in the light streaming in from a book I have loved and wanted to share with her.
*That one has to exercise tough love at times and settle for being the bad cop- mommies often are, as they are the ones usually around. That certainly goes for SAHM mothers like me, as also for working moms, though that bit is slowly changing.
*That there is no single rule about how things should be done, although a large portion of love, faith, hope, belief in oneself and patience is required on our plate.

I have to tag five others as part of the rules. I would like to tag Starry, Utbtkids, Ranjani, Crazy mum and Arundhati.  Let us know what you think, ladies.