That title is to say my first tamil movie in a theatre after my marriage which is more than 4 years old. The much-hyped 'Universal Hero' starrer Dasavatharam was released recently and we decided rather unexpectedly to go around &watch it last night. Usually its a Saturday thta we'd go out to watch a movie(ie pre Aditi days) and this time the husband suggested that we go out on the Friday. After feeding and putting Aditi to sleep and packing her night time essentials, we ventured out with high hopes to watch the said movie. Aditi was really too sweet. She slept through out the 3.5 hours or so that we were away. Our neighbour in the movie theatre questioned us on how she slept so peacefully unmindful of the sounds...
The movie started off very well and somewhere half an hour into the movie, it seemed like all too familiar, typical tamil movie.The hero could have chosen to play say 4 roles instead of 10. It seemed all too much and the make-up wasn't up to the mark. Anybody who has watched Indian would have said that the make up was the highlight of the movie, but here it was terrible. Certain make-ups of the hero looked like an improvised fancy dress makeover. I was disappointed to say the least, after all the hype in the media, what with 10 years of research and 2 years of making, the movie definitely did not stand up to its mark or my mark.
There are 2 more posts in draft waiting for some attention from me, but I direct all the time towards the emails/responses in the SBS group, which of course has very intersting stuff happening all the time.
Saturday 21 June 2008
Monday 16 June 2008
16 months into motherhood
This is my first attempt to recall all that I have learnt from my little child in the last 16 months. You brought so much joy to daddy and me on the day I knew I was carrying you. It was a Thursday and the famous WorldCup football match between England and Trinidad and Tobago. We were sent off early from work to watch the match. Your father usually picks me up from the bus stop near the Tesco superstore, and though I reached early, I went into Tesco to do the weekly shopping. As I went past the medicine counter, somehow my eyes rested on the HPT kit and without a second thought, I bought it. We returned home, dad made some tea and I went off to wash and change. I wasn't nervous or anxious, but I was too overjoyed to say anything when I saw the pink lines on the test stick. I came downstairs, had my tea and watched the match. I was nervous about telling your father - I do not know why. I decided that if England won the match, I'll tell your father otherwise, I'll wait till the weekend. As luck would have it, England won the match and I sheepishly told your dad. He was happy and excited - which I tell you I did not expect, and went off to get some multivitamin and Santogen -that I used throughout and even after you were born. I could not wait to tell your maternal grandmom the next morning.
When you were born, I did not even know to hold you. You taught me persistence when I was struggling to feed you. You taught me to be patient as I moaned away at the long hours you were stuck to me all the time. Night times for the first 2 months were typically a nightmare - You taught me to accept the good and the bad. When we were in desperate situations, you were the ray of hope. One look at your sweet face and any problem would melt away. You taught me to smile with your sleepy-dreamy smile - when I would be all worried about your input and output. I still cannot believe you were the little baby - who looked exactly like my grandmom -with a round face and brows full of furrows - that came into my life 16 months ago.
You showed me how to hold a book upside down, vertically, horizontally and at every angle other than 'normal' and how to enjoy a book in every direction. Each of your milestone has amazed me no less and now you are onto the climbing phase - sofa/chair/tea table/bed. We were surprised to see you climb a flight of stairs on our holiday in Paris - you were 10 months old then. But now you can climb up and down - oh you are growing up so fast!
You taught me not to be lazy on a weekend - you wake up at the crack of dawn - always on time and my repeated requests to you to sleep a little longer only end up in me getting out of bed and playing with you.
When you act naughty, I try to be clam. I try not to yell at your name and many times these days, I find myself just shutting up and completely ignoring your act. I tell you that its not right to do so , but just in a normal voice. The other day, your daddy raised his voice a bit and you started weeping. You still do not like anybody - especially your daddy or me yell at you. You don't mind if we tell it in a normal voice. I have definitely learnt to be calm.
You've taught me the importance of time and to work in little batches and still play or continue my conversation with you. To be honest, I'm still working on this. I can multitask, but not with you. But I have changed from being always bound by time to work as little or much as need be. Sometimes I tell myself, I am lucky to have you bring this other side of me. These days I am a little more relaxed about everything I do.
You are choosy and picky about your food. You tell me that its okay if you ate a little less someday and that you would be alright. But me being your mommy will worry unnecessarily over the quantity that you've had. You like cheese and yogurt and would have that for breakfast,lunch and dinner. Your fascination towards cornflakes and then cheerios was very short-lived. You still love anything green - so I am happy about your food colour sense(if that's a term at all)
Recently, you taught me to dance. Oh and that scene comes to mind instantly. I remember how I was sitting on the floor trying to read a book with you and you pointed to my hands. Immediately I took them away from my lap so that you could sit. But you kept smiling and bent down to hold my hand. You lifted your left leg first and then your right and kept nodding your head at the same time. This is popularly called the 'dancey-dancey' at home and we are ever-ready to 'dance' with you dear child. But not to dance to your tunes all the time.
Your love for the mobile ph
one or hand-held hasn't diminished at all .You still love the phone to bits. Only now you have learnt to hold it and speak to it. You started off one day saying 'Aditi, Aditi speaking' and now you have imaginary conversations and talk a lot, most of which we are yet to comprehend. You love to go and stand near the patio doors and watch your shadow. You try to catch the shadow only not knowing that its really you. You've started walking backwards and sometimes fall over objects/toys/books.
Every morning before I can even dress you up completely, you run to the mirror and love to look at yourself and smile. But can you please wait until I've finished dressing you up. Its a struggle these days to dress you up for you do not want to wear certain clothes and want to make your own choice of clothes.Your recent love for mommy's bag drives me nuts because you want to hang the bag around your neck and you do not know how to remove it. You cry for attention and if I remove the bag from your neck, its back on your neck in less than 5 seconds and you are crying again. You love your books - now you are fascinated towards the ones that make noise. The Duck book that goes' Quack,Quack' and you shout 'Buk,Buk,Buk' with it. The Car book that makes 3 different sounds and you love it to bits. But I guess I'll do a separate post on all your toys and books. now let me add some pictures and hit Publish on this post sitting in the Drafts folder for a long time.
When you were born, I did not even know to hold you. You taught me persistence when I was struggling to feed you. You taught me to be patient as I moaned away at the long hours you were stuck to me all the time. Night times for the first 2 months were typically a nightmare - You taught me to accept the good and the bad. When we were in desperate situations, you were the ray of hope. One look at your sweet face and any problem would melt away. You taught me to smile with your sleepy-dreamy smile - when I would be all worried about your input and output. I still cannot believe you were the little baby - who looked exactly like my grandmom -with a round face and brows full of furrows - that came into my life 16 months ago.
You showed me how to hold a book upside down, vertically, horizontally and at every angle other than 'normal' and how to enjoy a book in every direction. Each of your milestone has amazed me no less and now you are onto the climbing phase - sofa/chair/tea table/bed. We were surprised to see you climb a flight of stairs on our holiday in Paris - you were 10 months old then. But now you can climb up and down - oh you are growing up so fast!
You taught me not to be lazy on a weekend - you wake up at the crack of dawn - always on time and my repeated requests to you to sleep a little longer only end up in me getting out of bed and playing with you.
When you act naughty, I try to be clam. I try not to yell at your name and many times these days, I find myself just shutting up and completely ignoring your act. I tell you that its not right to do so , but just in a normal voice. The other day, your daddy raised his voice a bit and you started weeping. You still do not like anybody - especially your daddy or me yell at you. You don't mind if we tell it in a normal voice. I have definitely learnt to be calm.
You've taught me the importance of time and to work in little batches and still play or continue my conversation with you. To be honest, I'm still working on this. I can multitask, but not with you. But I have changed from being always bound by time to work as little or much as need be. Sometimes I tell myself, I am lucky to have you bring this other side of me. These days I am a little more relaxed about everything I do.
You are choosy and picky about your food. You tell me that its okay if you ate a little less someday and that you would be alright. But me being your mommy will worry unnecessarily over the quantity that you've had. You like cheese and yogurt and would have that for breakfast,lunch and dinner. Your fascination towards cornflakes and then cheerios was very short-lived. You still love anything green - so I am happy about your food colour sense(if that's a term at all)
Recently, you taught me to dance. Oh and that scene comes to mind instantly. I remember how I was sitting on the floor trying to read a book with you and you pointed to my hands. Immediately I took them away from my lap so that you could sit. But you kept smiling and bent down to hold my hand. You lifted your left leg first and then your right and kept nodding your head at the same time. This is popularly called the 'dancey-dancey' at home and we are ever-ready to 'dance' with you dear child. But not to dance to your tunes all the time.
Your love for the mobile ph
one or hand-held hasn't diminished at all .You still love the phone to bits. Only now you have learnt to hold it and speak to it. You started off one day saying 'Aditi, Aditi speaking' and now you have imaginary conversations and talk a lot, most of which we are yet to comprehend. You love to go and stand near the patio doors and watch your shadow. You try to catch the shadow only not knowing that its really you. You've started walking backwards and sometimes fall over objects/toys/books. Every morning before I can even dress you up completely, you run to the mirror and love to look at yourself and smile. But can you please wait until I've finished dressing you up. Its a struggle these days to dress you up for you do not want to wear certain clothes and want to make your own choice of clothes.Your recent love for mommy's bag drives me nuts because you want to hang the bag around your neck and you do not know how to remove it. You cry for attention and if I remove the bag from your neck, its back on your neck in less than 5 seconds and you are crying again. You love your books - now you are fascinated towards the ones that make noise. The Duck book that goes' Quack,Quack' and you shout 'Buk,Buk,Buk' with it. The Car book that makes 3 different sounds and you love it to bits. But I guess I'll do a separate post on all your toys and books. now let me add some pictures and hit Publish on this post sitting in the Drafts folder for a long time.
Sunday 15 June 2008
Father's Day
Father's Day this year dawned bright and sunny. Aditi and I were busy that morning chatting away on Yahoo! with my parents. The little girl has learnt to dance in her nursery and one day sometime last week held my hands and moved her legs and head from side to side. This dance has become an oft repeated game in our household with amma and appa taking turns to dance with the little girl. What we enjoy most is her wide grin as she moves her head from side to side - expressing her happiness and joy. We eagerly await each other's turn to dance with our little child.
My mom wanted to witness her grandchild's dance and so I mentioned 'Dance' to Aditi who was busy playing on the floor beside me. She got up at once, extended her hands and started waving her torso from side to side. A couple of minutes later, she wanted her dad to join and proceeded to wake him up. What a unique way to start Father's Day - for daddy by dancing with his darling girl.
The gift: On Friday, I went during lunch to buy an electric shaver as a gift for Father's Day. We had requested for a shaver socket in the family bath in the new house and I had wanted to put it to good use. I wasn't sure which one to choose given the 40 different varieties housed by Argos. After reading many reviews and doing a bit of research on the shaver head, I decided on a piece - and safely stored the bill in case it needed to be exchanged or returned. On my way back, I was thinking of storing it away until Sunday morning and surprising daddy with the gift, but Prashanth returned early that day and hence came over to pick us up.
It was no longer the surprise I wanted, but Prashanth was excited at his gift. He's the tech-savvy one at home. He read up the instructions, used it the next morning and declared that it was indeed a good choice. I was happy to see that the shaver was put to use and wasn't returned. So the formal gifting process did not happen on Sunday, but Aditi was lovely as ever when we visited a friend's place for lunch that day. She enjoyed herself and the hosts loved having her around. We had a heavy lunch and headed home while Aditi slept on our way back. Enjoyable day for daddy and happy day for mummy with hardly any cooking.
My mom wanted to witness her grandchild's dance and so I mentioned 'Dance' to Aditi who was busy playing on the floor beside me. She got up at once, extended her hands and started waving her torso from side to side. A couple of minutes later, she wanted her dad to join and proceeded to wake him up. What a unique way to start Father's Day - for daddy by dancing with his darling girl.
The gift: On Friday, I went during lunch to buy an electric shaver as a gift for Father's Day. We had requested for a shaver socket in the family bath in the new house and I had wanted to put it to good use. I wasn't sure which one to choose given the 40 different varieties housed by Argos. After reading many reviews and doing a bit of research on the shaver head, I decided on a piece - and safely stored the bill in case it needed to be exchanged or returned. On my way back, I was thinking of storing it away until Sunday morning and surprising daddy with the gift, but Prashanth returned early that day and hence came over to pick us up.
It was no longer the surprise I wanted, but Prashanth was excited at his gift. He's the tech-savvy one at home. He read up the instructions, used it the next morning and declared that it was indeed a good choice. I was happy to see that the shaver was put to use and wasn't returned. So the formal gifting process did not happen on Sunday, but Aditi was lovely as ever when we visited a friend's place for lunch that day. She enjoyed herself and the hosts loved having her around. We had a heavy lunch and headed home while Aditi slept on our way back. Enjoyable day for daddy and happy day for mummy with hardly any cooking.
Saturday 7 June 2008
Four fabulous fantastic fun-filled years
I am a month late on doing this post, but was determined to do it this weekend. Thanks to my dear friend Nithu who had her blog updated on the date of her wedding anniversary that reminded me time and again to do the much delayed post. This one is especially meant to relive the last 4 years that I spent with the man of my dreams.
The first anniversary was meant to be very special, but I spent the day in a flight from Chennai and hence we ended up celebrating the following week. We had a week-long celebration as we were meeting each other after a long time and went around the Kent countryside, enjoying every day. Year 2 saw us both in Paris - we did not go there on a holiday - we were stopping over there on transit. Atleast we were together, but still flying from Bangalore after a trip to India for his cousin's wedding. The third year was prefect. It fell on a Sunday, we went to the temple, we were new parents, we took blessings from my dad who was at home with us. The only thing that was missing was that we spent the evening at home rather than dine at a restaurant.
This year it fell soon after the Spring Bank holiday weekend. Worse Prashanth was working the previous night and the next, so I would only meet him for a couple of hours that day. Those hours are typically the times when my little girl gets cranky. Its her snack/dinner time and I'm all in a rush to cook dinner for the kid and my man who is off to work through the night. It wouldn't be wrong if I said we did pretty much nothing on that day. But the boss had different plans. I had casu
ally mentioned to him that my watch was as old as our marriage and needed a replacement. People who wear a watch day in and out, will know what I mean when I say 'The world seems dead, if my watch drops dead.' So after the night shift, Prashanth went shopping for a watch and as soon as I returned home gave it in Aditi's hands to be given to me. Curious girl she is, she decided to open the pack and see what was inside. She probably assumed it must be a game. But just in time, Prashanth managed to grab it from her and presented it to me. Of course I was overjoyed and happy. More so becasue of the effort and pains he had taken to shop for it and gift me something special and useful on this memorable day. Every time , my mom sees it on the webcam and says it looks pretty, I'm reminded of the scene when he gave it to me.
Did I bother to reciprocate? Not really. Well I'm kind of late. I have decided to club it with Father's Day gifts. We did manage to enjoy the weekend with what I call a house-party. I cook some of his favorite foods, put Aditi to bed, dim the lights, light up some aromatic candles, have a candle-light dinner and enjoy ourselves with a movie later. Its not just at anniverary time, but whenever I feel like it that we have this house-party.
Leaving you with a picture of the wonderful gift I received for my wedding anniversary this year.
The first anniversary was meant to be very special, but I spent the day in a flight from Chennai and hence we ended up celebrating the following week. We had a week-long celebration as we were meeting each other after a long time and went around the Kent countryside, enjoying every day. Year 2 saw us both in Paris - we did not go there on a holiday - we were stopping over there on transit. Atleast we were together, but still flying from Bangalore after a trip to India for his cousin's wedding. The third year was prefect. It fell on a Sunday, we went to the temple, we were new parents, we took blessings from my dad who was at home with us. The only thing that was missing was that we spent the evening at home rather than dine at a restaurant.
This year it fell soon after the Spring Bank holiday weekend. Worse Prashanth was working the previous night and the next, so I would only meet him for a couple of hours that day. Those hours are typically the times when my little girl gets cranky. Its her snack/dinner time and I'm all in a rush to cook dinner for the kid and my man who is off to work through the night. It wouldn't be wrong if I said we did pretty much nothing on that day. But the boss had different plans. I had casu
ally mentioned to him that my watch was as old as our marriage and needed a replacement. People who wear a watch day in and out, will know what I mean when I say 'The world seems dead, if my watch drops dead.' So after the night shift, Prashanth went shopping for a watch and as soon as I returned home gave it in Aditi's hands to be given to me. Curious girl she is, she decided to open the pack and see what was inside. She probably assumed it must be a game. But just in time, Prashanth managed to grab it from her and presented it to me. Of course I was overjoyed and happy. More so becasue of the effort and pains he had taken to shop for it and gift me something special and useful on this memorable day. Every time , my mom sees it on the webcam and says it looks pretty, I'm reminded of the scene when he gave it to me.Did I bother to reciprocate? Not really. Well I'm kind of late. I have decided to club it with Father's Day gifts. We did manage to enjoy the weekend with what I call a house-party. I cook some of his favorite foods, put Aditi to bed, dim the lights, light up some aromatic candles, have a candle-light dinner and enjoy ourselves with a movie later. Its not just at anniverary time, but whenever I feel like it that we have this house-party.
Leaving you with a picture of the wonderful gift I received for my wedding anniversary this year.
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