Born and brought up in Mumbai, I have been a Mumbaikar at heart, no matter where I went. Whenever I returned to Mumbai after a long time, I would breathe in the sea scented, yet inevitably polluted air of Mumbai, which would hit one like a blast furnace, and instantly feel at home. Mumbaikars usually cannot imagine going away from the city and settling elsewhere. I, too, never thought I would. Until my wedding was fixed.
My fiance, now my husband, was working in Bangalore, and had declared that he had no intentions of coming back to the crushing rush of Mumbai with its sauna like weather. So I moved to Bangalore as a newlywed, but my heart yearned for Mumbai. This was more than two decades ago. Bangalore was a pretty laid back place then, and I missed the energy of Mumbai. Slowly, though, it began to get under my skin and in my veins, and I began to put down roots here.
I learnt the language - I can speak well enough to communicate with my househelp, autowallahs and the greengrocer, though the kid and the husband still laugh at my Kannada. I made new friends, learnt to appreciate the nuances of Karnataka's cuisine - all of south cuisine, actually - and learnt a lot about the natural beauty, heritage sites and history of my adopted state.
Today, Bangalore, now officially in its new avatar as Bengaluru, is what I call home, though Mumbai will never be taken out of my heart.
Happy Karnataka Rajotsava Day!
Showing posts with label home. Show all posts
Showing posts with label home. Show all posts
01 November, 2014
17 February, 2014
An update, and a poem by the daughter
And slowly, the work at home is winding up. The carpenters, painters and plumbers are out, and the electricians are currently working on the fixtures. We're not doing any major changes, just replacing the tired old white tubelights with warm, yellow light. The builders have been much remiss in their wiring work, too, as we discovered on finding that many of the 'outlets' provided had no electric current, and that called for a major revamp. We've already had the cleaners in, who did an excellent job of cleaning up the major spills of glue / paint / polish, etc., that the workers had left behind. Now it is up to us to sort through all our stuff. The stuff collected over more than 20 years of marriage, and 12+ years as parents.
And of course, the books - that is going to be a project in itself. It was International Book Giving Day on the 14th of February 2014. I have been putting books that we no longer need, to give away.
While all this has been happening in the background, there is much else on the writing front, though not of any great consequence. No, that book still has to wait.
Articles and book reviews on Women's Web.
Book reviews on Goodbooks. Two of my reviews feature on the current slider - do take a look.
Articles for The Alternative.
And someone really thought I would do as a panel member for a writing contest in which I shared space with published authors. A participated in the contest, making sure there she did not show me her entry until after the contest was judged, or even tell me anything about it, as she knew I was one of the judges, and shouldn't carry any bias. Here is her entry. Feeling very proud of her.
Here's her entry. Do go to the site for the judges' comments.
WHEN SANTA CAME HOME
He came in the dead of the night
When the blue of the sky was deep
He sailed so silently over our world
When every person was asleep
He floated through the starry sky
Past the gleaming moon
He must hurry, for he was running late
The sun would be rising soon
Ours was the last town he visited
And mine was the very last house
So he began climbing down the chimney,
Quickly, but as quietly as a mouse
After visiting so many children
And eating their cookies and cakes,
Santa was rather full, and hadn't realized
How much effort chimney climbing takes
He sucked in his belly as much as he could
And began to wriggle down
But he was stuck, well and truly jammed
Yes, that is what Santa found
But here is what Santa did not know –
Our house was enchanted
Our house was home to a number of elves
A number that cannot be counted
They found poor Santa in a soup
They told him he needn't worry
They set about their elfish work
And soon they ceased to scurry
They had dug the sides of the chimney
Till Santa Claus could go through
But where they went after that
Santa wished he knew
He climbed down; it was easy now
He soon reached the ground
He tip-toed towards my stocking
Without making a sound
He stuffed in the presents
Oh, and what presents they were
Then, he was finally done with his job
He exited through the front door
Those elves loved snow more than any else
But they could find none here
And our guests were just temporary,
For they stayed out of fear
Of the wicked, oh, so wicked
Froozotapplegadeese
Who would search for and feast on
Just such elves as these
Santa, of course, was grateful to them
He owed them a major debt
He knew that quick workers like these
Were difficult to get
So he sought out the elves and said to them,
"Come with me to the North Pole
You'll find plenty of snow there
For it is freezing, and that is mighty cold"
You will be safe and sound from the
Froozotapplegadeese
For, if he comes to look for you,
I can tell you for sure that he will freeze
I would like you to do me
Another tremendous favour
And in exchange for I will give you
Snow cream of any flavour
Could you help me with the presents –
Could you make them and then wrap them?
For I know that elfish craft
Is certainly a gem
The elves were delighted – this deal was great!
They all jumped into the sleigh
Santa was pleased, and he smiled and said,
"Up, up, and away!"
That is how Santa got his trusty elves
They make each and every toy
For Santa to give as gifts for Christmas
To every little girl and boy
I wonder what became of the
Froozotapplegadeese
Did he go looking for the elves?
Tell me, did he freeze?
My reading, in the mean-time, is going along in spurts. Will post about a challenge I feel the need to participate in, soon.
 |
| pic courtesy bookgivingday.com |
While all this has been happening in the background, there is much else on the writing front, though not of any great consequence. No, that book still has to wait.
Articles and book reviews on Women's Web.
Book reviews on Goodbooks. Two of my reviews feature on the current slider - do take a look.
Articles for The Alternative.
And someone really thought I would do as a panel member for a writing contest in which I shared space with published authors. A participated in the contest, making sure there she did not show me her entry until after the contest was judged, or even tell me anything about it, as she knew I was one of the judges, and shouldn't carry any bias. Here is her entry. Feeling very proud of her.
Here's her entry. Do go to the site for the judges' comments.
WHEN SANTA CAME HOME
He came in the dead of the night
When the blue of the sky was deep
He sailed so silently over our world
When every person was asleep
He floated through the starry sky
Past the gleaming moon
He must hurry, for he was running late
The sun would be rising soon
Ours was the last town he visited
And mine was the very last house
So he began climbing down the chimney,
Quickly, but as quietly as a mouse
After visiting so many children
And eating their cookies and cakes,
Santa was rather full, and hadn't realized
How much effort chimney climbing takes
He sucked in his belly as much as he could
And began to wriggle down
But he was stuck, well and truly jammed
Yes, that is what Santa found
But here is what Santa did not know –
Our house was enchanted
Our house was home to a number of elves
A number that cannot be counted
They found poor Santa in a soup
They told him he needn't worry
They set about their elfish work
And soon they ceased to scurry
They had dug the sides of the chimney
Till Santa Claus could go through
But where they went after that
Santa wished he knew
He climbed down; it was easy now
He soon reached the ground
He tip-toed towards my stocking
Without making a sound
He stuffed in the presents
Oh, and what presents they were
Then, he was finally done with his job
He exited through the front door
Those elves loved snow more than any else
But they could find none here
And our guests were just temporary,
For they stayed out of fear
Of the wicked, oh, so wicked
Froozotapplegadeese
Who would search for and feast on
Just such elves as these
Santa, of course, was grateful to them
He owed them a major debt
He knew that quick workers like these
Were difficult to get
So he sought out the elves and said to them,
"Come with me to the North Pole
You'll find plenty of snow there
For it is freezing, and that is mighty cold"
You will be safe and sound from the
Froozotapplegadeese
For, if he comes to look for you,
I can tell you for sure that he will freeze
I would like you to do me
Another tremendous favour
And in exchange for I will give you
Snow cream of any flavour
Could you help me with the presents –
Could you make them and then wrap them?
For I know that elfish craft
Is certainly a gem
The elves were delighted – this deal was great!
They all jumped into the sleigh
Santa was pleased, and he smiled and said,
"Up, up, and away!"
That is how Santa got his trusty elves
They make each and every toy
For Santa to give as gifts for Christmas
To every little girl and boy
I wonder what became of the
Froozotapplegadeese
Did he go looking for the elves?
Tell me, did he freeze?
*******************************
My reading, in the mean-time, is going along in spurts. Will post about a challenge I feel the need to participate in, soon.
14 June, 2012
Of school, friends, and Woman-Fridays
It is now almost the end of our second week of back-to-school. We are thrilled to be one grade up, and the children of the earlier grade seem like little kids. A la first chapters from any of Enid Blyton's school stories- "she couldn't believe how little the first formers seemed to her now!"
A fresh new year means a new set of the uniform, new books, new classrooms, new class-teachers, new classmates, a new sitting arrangement, new rules, new extra-curriculars,...the list could go on.
We have a size issue with our uniform, as A falls into a size between the one assigned for her age, and the one below it. So we have to necessarily make do with a size a tad too large for a few months until the inevitable growth spurt combined with the (also inevitable) shrinkage of the fabric finally makes it fit over the second half of the year. I have a bone to pick with this year's set, though. What prompted the school to introduce formal trousers a certain grade onwards, when they already had such comfortable and serviceable track-pants till now? And why the change in the design of the skirt? The earlier one was smarter, IMO. And what's with the sweater in place of the jacket? Now one has to choose between shivering without it, or cooking with it, on days that are pleasantly cool. With the jacket, one could just put it on and keep it unzipped if it wasn't so cold. :(
The books seem interesting, with more focus on 'think and answer' and research oriented questions in the exercises. We recognised quite a few of the chapters and poems from the English books as excerpts from books we already have/ have read. Math is getting interesting now, as is science. There is certainly going to be more work this year, but it promises to be interesting. We just need to start focusing. Something that has been a work-in-progress for a long time now.
The problem of peers. That, too, has been a work-in-progress for a long time, now. As A tends to put it, she isn't cool enough for her peers, what with her propensity to prefer reading over all the other pursuits of the cool gang. We have a self-esteem issue here that we have been tackling for over half-a-decade now. Keeping fingers crossed.
Extracurriculars seem interesting with theatre and violin classes in the offing. As also the Indian classical vocals after school classes.
Reading? Yes, we plan to a lot of that this year too. Some of it as an adjunct to the curriculum, but most of it not.
Looking forward to a new year of learning and living life.
****************************************************
Met UTBT, fellow blogger and a wonderful and hugely talented co-contributor at Saffrontree. Finally. This was her second visit to my city. Choxbox managed to meet her the first time she was here. I missed her then on account of the kid's birthday party.
She is an elfin lady, and every bit as lively and witty as she comes across online. Have just received a gift sent by her through flipkart. Seems like she has taken the hugo-mungous hint I gave here! The parcel was grabbed by both hands and ripped open immediately...
...and immediately browsed through!
Thank you, UTBT! We love the thoughtful gift! Cannot wait for the kid to come home from school and show it to her.
******************************************************
My house-help had been ill for the past two weeks. She had been ill on-and-off for a couple of days at a time over the past two months. I kept urging her to go to her doctor and get some treatment, to which she would say yes and ignore my advice. So this time when she became ill enough to not come for three days at a stretch (Amma is a dedicated, conscientious worker, who has been with me for many years now, and is my Woman Friday), I decided to take things into hand. I took her to the clinic we go to for minor maladies, one which has a reasonably well-equipped path lab.
After I spent a good half-hour acting translator between a Malayalam-Hindi-English speaking doctor and a Kannada-Telagu speaking Amma, miming some medical arguments my pidgin Kannada couldn't express, we got her to agree to a blood and urine test that she was mortally frightened of. The doctor gave her some tablets for symptomatic relief while we waited a day for the lab results.
Amma disappeared from the next day. There was no response to my phone calls to her home- the phone consistently happened to be 'out of reach'. Finally, I made my way to her house, and found an Amma who was now asymptomatic, but very weak. Her lab results and the doctors diagnosis mandated a course of antibiotics- it was a low-grade infection, that nevertheless popped up intermittantly, and was curable by a suitable course of antibiotics: an opinion with which I concurred.
Amma just could not be convinced as to the need for further medication. After all, she no longer had the symptoms, though still weak from hypoglycemia as she had not eaten properly over the last few days due to a lack of appetite and fear of throwing up. I finally made her see sense after enlisting the help of two other ladies at whose homes she works as well as at mine. We now see that she has her morning dose at my place, as she eats lunch here, and hope that she has the other dose at home after dinner! Doing some of her work myself for some time, until she has recovered completely!
Again, fingers crossed. I owe much of my free time to her attention to my home.
A fresh new year means a new set of the uniform, new books, new classrooms, new class-teachers, new classmates, a new sitting arrangement, new rules, new extra-curriculars,...the list could go on.
We have a size issue with our uniform, as A falls into a size between the one assigned for her age, and the one below it. So we have to necessarily make do with a size a tad too large for a few months until the inevitable growth spurt combined with the (also inevitable) shrinkage of the fabric finally makes it fit over the second half of the year. I have a bone to pick with this year's set, though. What prompted the school to introduce formal trousers a certain grade onwards, when they already had such comfortable and serviceable track-pants till now? And why the change in the design of the skirt? The earlier one was smarter, IMO. And what's with the sweater in place of the jacket? Now one has to choose between shivering without it, or cooking with it, on days that are pleasantly cool. With the jacket, one could just put it on and keep it unzipped if it wasn't so cold. :(
The books seem interesting, with more focus on 'think and answer' and research oriented questions in the exercises. We recognised quite a few of the chapters and poems from the English books as excerpts from books we already have/ have read. Math is getting interesting now, as is science. There is certainly going to be more work this year, but it promises to be interesting. We just need to start focusing. Something that has been a work-in-progress for a long time now.
The problem of peers. That, too, has been a work-in-progress for a long time, now. As A tends to put it, she isn't cool enough for her peers, what with her propensity to prefer reading over all the other pursuits of the cool gang. We have a self-esteem issue here that we have been tackling for over half-a-decade now. Keeping fingers crossed.
Extracurriculars seem interesting with theatre and violin classes in the offing. As also the Indian classical vocals after school classes.
Reading? Yes, we plan to a lot of that this year too. Some of it as an adjunct to the curriculum, but most of it not.
Looking forward to a new year of learning and living life.
****************************************************
Met UTBT, fellow blogger and a wonderful and hugely talented co-contributor at Saffrontree. Finally. This was her second visit to my city. Choxbox managed to meet her the first time she was here. I missed her then on account of the kid's birthday party.
She is an elfin lady, and every bit as lively and witty as she comes across online. Have just received a gift sent by her through flipkart. Seems like she has taken the hugo-mungous hint I gave here! The parcel was grabbed by both hands and ripped open immediately...
Thank you, UTBT! We love the thoughtful gift! Cannot wait for the kid to come home from school and show it to her.
******************************************************
My house-help had been ill for the past two weeks. She had been ill on-and-off for a couple of days at a time over the past two months. I kept urging her to go to her doctor and get some treatment, to which she would say yes and ignore my advice. So this time when she became ill enough to not come for three days at a stretch (Amma is a dedicated, conscientious worker, who has been with me for many years now, and is my Woman Friday), I decided to take things into hand. I took her to the clinic we go to for minor maladies, one which has a reasonably well-equipped path lab.
After I spent a good half-hour acting translator between a Malayalam-Hindi-English speaking doctor and a Kannada-Telagu speaking Amma, miming some medical arguments my pidgin Kannada couldn't express, we got her to agree to a blood and urine test that she was mortally frightened of. The doctor gave her some tablets for symptomatic relief while we waited a day for the lab results.
Amma disappeared from the next day. There was no response to my phone calls to her home- the phone consistently happened to be 'out of reach'. Finally, I made my way to her house, and found an Amma who was now asymptomatic, but very weak. Her lab results and the doctors diagnosis mandated a course of antibiotics- it was a low-grade infection, that nevertheless popped up intermittantly, and was curable by a suitable course of antibiotics: an opinion with which I concurred.
Amma just could not be convinced as to the need for further medication. After all, she no longer had the symptoms, though still weak from hypoglycemia as she had not eaten properly over the last few days due to a lack of appetite and fear of throwing up. I finally made her see sense after enlisting the help of two other ladies at whose homes she works as well as at mine. We now see that she has her morning dose at my place, as she eats lunch here, and hope that she has the other dose at home after dinner! Doing some of her work myself for some time, until she has recovered completely!
Again, fingers crossed. I owe much of my free time to her attention to my home.
11 October, 2011
Friends, birthdays and gollus
The kid is safely back at school! So what did we do during these hols?
Attended in all 3 birthday parties. We were all invited as a family to all three, so they were family outings of a sort.
The first was at Gerry Martin Farm. Enjoyable as always. It was Gerry's mother-in-law's 60th birthday. She is a good friend in the complex, as is her daughter, Gerry's wife Yamini.
The next too was at a farmhouse we have been to earlier. Geese Haven is a wonderful farmhouse and homestay just an hour's drive from home, near the Art of Living centre on Kanakpura road. It was A's best friend in the complex, W's birthday. Her mother Jamie had arranged a fun treasure hunt for the kids, which is always a good idea at a place like this.
The third was at my dear friend P's home, her daughter's 11th birthday. We were 6-7 families, all close friends of P. Her cooking is yummy, and as usual we had a wonderful time.
It being Navratri time, there were of course the gollus to visit, as also many kanya-poojas. We were invited to a total of 8 gollus, of which we managed to make it to 6. Actually, I found it a bit unbelievable that this year was just the second time in all my years in Bangalore that I actually went for a gollu! Must thank the blogosphere for that.
Some gollus we visited.
The other notable gollu we visited was at Sangi's lovely home. Visiting Sangi, along with a visit to the famed kilo bookstore, has been long on the to-do list. The kilo book store has been postponed to another date (say when, Sangi. After diwali?) but the gollu was an iron-clad excuse to go over to her new place. It is a dream house, built at many levels, full of natural light, the woods peeping in - there is a wonderful wood-jasmine tree bending over the balcony, showering the balcony with its flowers, and bringing in the fragrance every time a breeze blows in. Went there with Choxbox and her brood (another reason to do this- what A wouldn't give to spend the day with her dear friend, Choxbox's FB, and of course, LB) and had a fab time. Great company, great conversation, lovely coffee, and of course, Loopy! Checked out the book shelf, but forgot the potter's wheel.
There were some gollus we couldn't make it to. Sorry Swapna. Next year! Also wanted to visit the gollu at Dhaatu, which Choxbox has been raving about. It is on till the 21st of October, 3-8pm, so we still have a chance of going. Should certainly try to make it.
There were three more that we made it to- two in the complex, and one at another of A's friend's home. All of them transported me back to Diwali celebrations of my childhood, when we would make mud and rock forts (Killas- similar to complex sand castles). Work on these would start a week or so before diwali, and we would sow mustard and coriander seeds on it to depict the crops and plants. Toy soldiers on foot and horseback, farmer dolls, domestic and wild animal dolls would be placed at strategic points to complete a picture of the rural lands of Shivaji's time. The fort would be complete with a flag on the top, and would be lighted up by diwali lamps during the festival. Just like the navratri gollus, we would visit each other's houses to see the forts. We have these every diwali at my parents' place- now it is made by my nephew and niece!
Of course there were many play-dates through the holidays- either A had to go to a friend's place, or the gang would descend on our house.
We also watched some long-awaited movies-- something that we do not have much time for during school days. So we watched 'Gods must be Crazy 1 & 2, 'Born Free', 'Beautiful People', 'Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs', and re-runs of Harry Potter, all on DVD.
Books- of course, again. Any free time A had, she picked up a book. I've lost track of all those she devoured.
We also engaged in some mother-daughter cooking sessions, and every day she would decide what she wanted for dinner, and we would proceed to cook it together. A surprised her father one day with a breakfast of aloo paratha, nicely stuffed and rolled out round! I would, of course do all the work at the gas.
All this hectic activity was tempered by holiday homework, among which is a detective story written by her, inspired by a chapter in the curriculum from Emil and the Detectives. Needless to say, the book, too was read- at one sitting. (Thanks, Chox!)
And now, we look forward to a new term at school.
Attended in all 3 birthday parties. We were all invited as a family to all three, so they were family outings of a sort.
The first was at Gerry Martin Farm. Enjoyable as always. It was Gerry's mother-in-law's 60th birthday. She is a good friend in the complex, as is her daughter, Gerry's wife Yamini.
The next too was at a farmhouse we have been to earlier. Geese Haven is a wonderful farmhouse and homestay just an hour's drive from home, near the Art of Living centre on Kanakpura road. It was A's best friend in the complex, W's birthday. Her mother Jamie had arranged a fun treasure hunt for the kids, which is always a good idea at a place like this.
The third was at my dear friend P's home, her daughter's 11th birthday. We were 6-7 families, all close friends of P. Her cooking is yummy, and as usual we had a wonderful time.
It being Navratri time, there were of course the gollus to visit, as also many kanya-poojas. We were invited to a total of 8 gollus, of which we managed to make it to 6. Actually, I found it a bit unbelievable that this year was just the second time in all my years in Bangalore that I actually went for a gollu! Must thank the blogosphere for that.
Some gollus we visited.
 |
| Pic- Artnavy's album |
Artnavy's. We had been invited here last year too, but could not make it. Made it a point to go there this year.
Art had made some yummy payasam that we enjoyed. A and Anush hugged like long-lost sisters and promptly sat down to a spot of artwork- a picture of the Devi mask to be coloured. It had been Aditi's birthday just the week before, and we had not been able to be there for the party, so I had carried a book as a gift. Aditi was thrilled. She sat down cross-legged next to me with the book on her lap, and insisted that 'Aditi read.' I thought she wanted me to read aloud to her, but she demurred. 'Aditi read' meant exactly that. She sat there, turning pages, moving her finger down the text, making 'reading' sounds. It was so hilarious!
 |
| Pic from Sangi's blog |
There were some gollus we couldn't make it to. Sorry Swapna. Next year! Also wanted to visit the gollu at Dhaatu, which Choxbox has been raving about. It is on till the 21st of October, 3-8pm, so we still have a chance of going. Should certainly try to make it.
Honorable mention under the gollus- the one put up by Choxbox's LB, and to which we were so lovingly invited.
 |
| Soft toy and doll gollu at Choxbox's |
 |
| Pic from Google Images Search "Diwali killa" |
Of course there were many play-dates through the holidays- either A had to go to a friend's place, or the gang would descend on our house.
We also watched some long-awaited movies-- something that we do not have much time for during school days. So we watched 'Gods must be Crazy 1 & 2, 'Born Free', 'Beautiful People', 'Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs', and re-runs of Harry Potter, all on DVD.
Books- of course, again. Any free time A had, she picked up a book. I've lost track of all those she devoured.
We also engaged in some mother-daughter cooking sessions, and every day she would decide what she wanted for dinner, and we would proceed to cook it together. A surprised her father one day with a breakfast of aloo paratha, nicely stuffed and rolled out round! I would, of course do all the work at the gas.
All this hectic activity was tempered by holiday homework, among which is a detective story written by her, inspired by a chapter in the curriculum from Emil and the Detectives. Needless to say, the book, too was read- at one sitting. (Thanks, Chox!)
And now, we look forward to a new term at school.
08 June, 2011
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.
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!
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 |
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!
25 February, 2011
.....or not to...is the question!
What made me write this post? Well, for one, this post and this one, both by Sangi, this post by Monika, and a talk we attended at A's school.
The school has come across some children of middle school using social networking sites, for which they are clearly underage. There has also been some instances of inappropriate behaviour that has been noticed among students, which has been traced to unsupervised viewership of television programmes with age-inappropriate content, bad language, etc., as also unsupervised access to the internet, especially if both parents are working. According to the school, it is the responsibility of the parents to be aware of what their child is being exposed to, and take steps to correct any oversights. As for children of working parents, it was suggested that they install a password operated net connection, and speak to the children about what can or cannot be watched, reinforcing the message by repetition. For this was the time when the children are just beginning to take the first steps out of childhood, and are still influentiable. For the better or worse.
There was an interesting point raised. There are children, and then there are children. Of different kinds. For every child that is influenced by all this, and loses focus of what is right, there may be some who are not, who manage to take it in their stride, and come through unscathed. It was upto every parent to be aware of how their child is, educate the child accordingly and be available for the child at all times if need be. The school on its part would discourage anything age-inappropriate, and have a no-tolerance policy for anything inappropriate for school. This was something that was to be handled on a two-way-street.
So what does this have to do with the three posts I mentioned at the beginning? Quite a bit.
I come from Bram roots. My grandparents would not even partake of anything that contained onions or garlic, these been considered as tamasic foods. My parents, though, encouraged us to eat eggs, although my mother could never touch the stuff herself. We had a separate vessel and pan which was washed after use and put away separately. No eggs were allowed when my paternal grandparents were staying with us. My maternal grandmother lived with us for many years, and although she never tasted them, would cook the eggs for us.
We had quite a few friends who ate non-veg food, but never once do I remember wanting to try it. We were happy enough with our ghaas-phoos, as one friend once put it, except for the very occasional eggs.
When I got married, I did not expect to be eating any either, as the husband is from the same community, an arranged marriage. He had, however, tried it during his student days, and found that he liked it, though not extraordinarily so. I tried chicken tentatively in those early days, liked it enough to have some while eating out once in a while. We never tried cooking it at home though. Even on our travels overseas, I did not really become a regular eater.
Then A came along, and somewhere at 3-4 years of age, she realised she liked the non-veg that we occasionally tried while eating out. It was purely so that the finicky mother in me would be sure of the hygiene and of what has gone in it that I agreed to cook the stuff at home. Even then, cooking non-veg is more the husband's territory than mine, I help with getting the masalas ready and then sit twiddling my thumbs (or reading some book with A). I also do not like red meat or fish dishes overmuch. And I will be more than willing to give it all up if need be. At times when we haven't had any non-veg for a longish period of time, I've never felt the urge to eat some. I'll be fine without it in my life. Maybe a point will come when I no longer want to eat it. Already on days when I prepare eggs for breakfast I have only plain toast with cheese or jam, and avoid the eggs.
A loves the stuff, of couse, especially the way Dad makes it, and is a confirmed non-vegetarian. The only reason for which I see her leaving it is if at some point in her life the softie animal lover in her decides to surface. I'm fine with whatever she decides. The choice has to be hers.
As for alcohol, I grew up in a teetotaler household. No smoking either. I am sure my parents never thought that they needed to say anything to us about it. We never thought it was a done thing, and that was that. I really do not know about my brothers, who were students when I got married, but I was never tempted by the lure of either alcohol or nicotine or any other substance in my growing up years, and I thank God for that. Of course that does not mean that I was an exemplary teenager, with no rebellion in me. There were other things that my parents came down heavily upon, without, I regret, any real communication or education about them, and I contrarily chose to focus my rebellious energies on those. So I have made my mistakes in life like anyone else.
I have worked extensively with the AA in my post-grad days, and I have seen the devastation that the addiction can cause. The rehabilitation has to be done one day at a time- something that the ex-addict has to follow all his life. Along with the counselling for psychological factors, the person has to make a commitment to avoid alcohol on an everyday basis. There is no place here for the "I can handle it" (mis)confidence. I have seen long-term rehabilitated addicts relapsing after something as innocuous as a course of cough medicine with an alcohol content, and it is tough.
At the same time, not everyone who tastes alcohol in their life gets addicted to it. I have tried alcohol with my husband, on rare occasions, as I never really aquired a taste for it. I have got really drunk once or twice, but that was just to try it out, with different brands of alcohol, and as Sangi puts it "being drunk SUCKS!" Even then I probably had a drink once in 2-3 months, that too with guests or on a holiday. And ever since daughter has started showing curiosity in the contents of mom's /dad's glass, I've stopped drinking, not even an occasional one. I don't think I miss it at all, and feel no urge to indulge myself for any reason whatsoever.
The husband has a drink or two on weekends, and is extremely responsible about his drinking, AND of the drinking of those who drink under our roof, and have to drive back to their homes. Of late, even this has decreased. Reason- A read about a character in Black Beauty (by Anne Sewell) who drank and rode a horse to its ruin and his death. (I always fall back on books if I want to say something. Maybe books are my addiction!) She had many questions about alcohol and its effects at the time, and since then, she gets upset if her father has a drink. He has had a talk with her about it, and I'm sure it will be all for the best.
The point I'm trying to make here, is that some things, though present elsewhere in the world, were absent in my environment, either in reality, or hypothetically as subjects of discussion. We just ignored those, and never considered trying them as an option. And when I did try them, I did not get over-much attached to them. Whereas I was wrongly influenced by those things that were strongly spoken against, especially under peer-pressure, without any education from my parents as to the consequences of a mis-step, and have suffered for it.
Moral of the story- Although my first reaction to anthing that A wants to do that is wrong in my eyes is an authoritarian one, I try to simmer down and talk to her about it, rather than talk at her. I agree with the school that we need to be available to the children when they are in a communicative mood, else they will take their communication to someone else, someone completely unsuitable. Also that each child may react differently to the same set of conditions, and take away something quite different from it.
On my part, I hope to keep communication channels open with A, as it is very likely that she might find things she finds yuck not so yuck (again quoting Sangi!) in her terrible teens, and I would like to be with her on every step of the way, with reasonable (I hope! Sometimes the streaks of an authoritarian parent tends to get the better of me, and I have to tell myself to simmer down and GET REASONABLE!) restrictions, handholding, educating and counselling. And I hope that she always trusts us, and finds it worth the while coming to me with anything that bothers her.
So help me God!
The school has come across some children of middle school using social networking sites, for which they are clearly underage. There has also been some instances of inappropriate behaviour that has been noticed among students, which has been traced to unsupervised viewership of television programmes with age-inappropriate content, bad language, etc., as also unsupervised access to the internet, especially if both parents are working. According to the school, it is the responsibility of the parents to be aware of what their child is being exposed to, and take steps to correct any oversights. As for children of working parents, it was suggested that they install a password operated net connection, and speak to the children about what can or cannot be watched, reinforcing the message by repetition. For this was the time when the children are just beginning to take the first steps out of childhood, and are still influentiable. For the better or worse.
There was an interesting point raised. There are children, and then there are children. Of different kinds. For every child that is influenced by all this, and loses focus of what is right, there may be some who are not, who manage to take it in their stride, and come through unscathed. It was upto every parent to be aware of how their child is, educate the child accordingly and be available for the child at all times if need be. The school on its part would discourage anything age-inappropriate, and have a no-tolerance policy for anything inappropriate for school. This was something that was to be handled on a two-way-street.
So what does this have to do with the three posts I mentioned at the beginning? Quite a bit.
I come from Bram roots. My grandparents would not even partake of anything that contained onions or garlic, these been considered as tamasic foods. My parents, though, encouraged us to eat eggs, although my mother could never touch the stuff herself. We had a separate vessel and pan which was washed after use and put away separately. No eggs were allowed when my paternal grandparents were staying with us. My maternal grandmother lived with us for many years, and although she never tasted them, would cook the eggs for us.
We had quite a few friends who ate non-veg food, but never once do I remember wanting to try it. We were happy enough with our ghaas-phoos, as one friend once put it, except for the very occasional eggs.
When I got married, I did not expect to be eating any either, as the husband is from the same community, an arranged marriage. He had, however, tried it during his student days, and found that he liked it, though not extraordinarily so. I tried chicken tentatively in those early days, liked it enough to have some while eating out once in a while. We never tried cooking it at home though. Even on our travels overseas, I did not really become a regular eater.
Then A came along, and somewhere at 3-4 years of age, she realised she liked the non-veg that we occasionally tried while eating out. It was purely so that the finicky mother in me would be sure of the hygiene and of what has gone in it that I agreed to cook the stuff at home. Even then, cooking non-veg is more the husband's territory than mine, I help with getting the masalas ready and then sit twiddling my thumbs (or reading some book with A). I also do not like red meat or fish dishes overmuch. And I will be more than willing to give it all up if need be. At times when we haven't had any non-veg for a longish period of time, I've never felt the urge to eat some. I'll be fine without it in my life. Maybe a point will come when I no longer want to eat it. Already on days when I prepare eggs for breakfast I have only plain toast with cheese or jam, and avoid the eggs.
A loves the stuff, of couse, especially the way Dad makes it, and is a confirmed non-vegetarian. The only reason for which I see her leaving it is if at some point in her life the softie animal lover in her decides to surface. I'm fine with whatever she decides. The choice has to be hers.
As for alcohol, I grew up in a teetotaler household. No smoking either. I am sure my parents never thought that they needed to say anything to us about it. We never thought it was a done thing, and that was that. I really do not know about my brothers, who were students when I got married, but I was never tempted by the lure of either alcohol or nicotine or any other substance in my growing up years, and I thank God for that. Of course that does not mean that I was an exemplary teenager, with no rebellion in me. There were other things that my parents came down heavily upon, without, I regret, any real communication or education about them, and I contrarily chose to focus my rebellious energies on those. So I have made my mistakes in life like anyone else.
I have worked extensively with the AA in my post-grad days, and I have seen the devastation that the addiction can cause. The rehabilitation has to be done one day at a time- something that the ex-addict has to follow all his life. Along with the counselling for psychological factors, the person has to make a commitment to avoid alcohol on an everyday basis. There is no place here for the "I can handle it" (mis)confidence. I have seen long-term rehabilitated addicts relapsing after something as innocuous as a course of cough medicine with an alcohol content, and it is tough.
At the same time, not everyone who tastes alcohol in their life gets addicted to it. I have tried alcohol with my husband, on rare occasions, as I never really aquired a taste for it. I have got really drunk once or twice, but that was just to try it out, with different brands of alcohol, and as Sangi puts it "being drunk SUCKS!" Even then I probably had a drink once in 2-3 months, that too with guests or on a holiday. And ever since daughter has started showing curiosity in the contents of mom's /dad's glass, I've stopped drinking, not even an occasional one. I don't think I miss it at all, and feel no urge to indulge myself for any reason whatsoever.
The husband has a drink or two on weekends, and is extremely responsible about his drinking, AND of the drinking of those who drink under our roof, and have to drive back to their homes. Of late, even this has decreased. Reason- A read about a character in Black Beauty (by Anne Sewell) who drank and rode a horse to its ruin and his death. (I always fall back on books if I want to say something. Maybe books are my addiction!) She had many questions about alcohol and its effects at the time, and since then, she gets upset if her father has a drink. He has had a talk with her about it, and I'm sure it will be all for the best.
The point I'm trying to make here, is that some things, though present elsewhere in the world, were absent in my environment, either in reality, or hypothetically as subjects of discussion. We just ignored those, and never considered trying them as an option. And when I did try them, I did not get over-much attached to them. Whereas I was wrongly influenced by those things that were strongly spoken against, especially under peer-pressure, without any education from my parents as to the consequences of a mis-step, and have suffered for it.
Moral of the story- Although my first reaction to anthing that A wants to do that is wrong in my eyes is an authoritarian one, I try to simmer down and talk to her about it, rather than talk at her. I agree with the school that we need to be available to the children when they are in a communicative mood, else they will take their communication to someone else, someone completely unsuitable. Also that each child may react differently to the same set of conditions, and take away something quite different from it.
On my part, I hope to keep communication channels open with A, as it is very likely that she might find things she finds yuck not so yuck (again quoting Sangi!) in her terrible teens, and I would like to be with her on every step of the way, with reasonable (I hope! Sometimes the streaks of an authoritarian parent tends to get the better of me, and I have to tell myself to simmer down and GET REASONABLE!) restrictions, handholding, educating and counselling. And I hope that she always trusts us, and finds it worth the while coming to me with anything that bothers her.
So help me God!
17 February, 2011
A need to de-clutter
Been feeling quite low for some time now, and one of the reasons was an accumulation of clutter. So I have been on a de-cluttering mission, at least as far as things are concerned. Maybe when I have my surroundings under control, I'll be able to examine cluttered feelings and go on to do some cleansing there.
So I decided to methodically attack one room at a time, one aspect at a time. I've gone through A's wardrobe, and have packed five large shopping bags with old clothes, some of which will be passed on to her younger cousin, the only other girl in the extended family. The rest has been already handed over to a friend who does some work at an orphanage, so that it is of use to someone. And so that it is already out of my sight, so that I'm not tempted to re-sort it to save some pieces. I've already put 2-3 old favourites of A's in another box where I have been storing, for sentimentality's sake, those that I want to hand over to her when she's "all growed up!"
The same has to be done with mine and the husband's things, the kitchen, and of course, my book collection. There are quite a few books, I'm sure, that we no longer need to keep, after having read them and outgrown them. The school library or any other library would be my preference for passing these on, more to spread the joy. Friends who want to pick up from those are more than welcome. Although there will certainly be those that I'll not be able to relinquish, and I'll have to somehow find a way to put them away without resorting to piling them around the walls in every room.
After I finish with that, I'll need to put all papers in order. I have a tendency to be untidy, and any paper letter, bill, or such goes into one of the chest of drawers. I seriously need to sort these out, too, and throw out stuff that is redundant.
Maybe I'll feel a bit better then. Wish me luck.
So I decided to methodically attack one room at a time, one aspect at a time. I've gone through A's wardrobe, and have packed five large shopping bags with old clothes, some of which will be passed on to her younger cousin, the only other girl in the extended family. The rest has been already handed over to a friend who does some work at an orphanage, so that it is of use to someone. And so that it is already out of my sight, so that I'm not tempted to re-sort it to save some pieces. I've already put 2-3 old favourites of A's in another box where I have been storing, for sentimentality's sake, those that I want to hand over to her when she's "all growed up!"
The same has to be done with mine and the husband's things, the kitchen, and of course, my book collection. There are quite a few books, I'm sure, that we no longer need to keep, after having read them and outgrown them. The school library or any other library would be my preference for passing these on, more to spread the joy. Friends who want to pick up from those are more than welcome. Although there will certainly be those that I'll not be able to relinquish, and I'll have to somehow find a way to put them away without resorting to piling them around the walls in every room.
After I finish with that, I'll need to put all papers in order. I have a tendency to be untidy, and any paper letter, bill, or such goes into one of the chest of drawers. I seriously need to sort these out, too, and throw out stuff that is redundant.
Maybe I'll feel a bit better then. Wish me luck.
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