Golu 2008

Finished and posted it at last............
The festival of Navrathri or Dusshera is celebrated in most parts of India. This festival is unique in that its a 9 day long celebration for the Goddessess - Durga, Lakshmi and Saraswati. In TamilNadu, Navrathri is never complete without the 'Golu' or the dolls arrangment on steps. In West Bengal, its Durga Pooja when huge mud idols of the Goddessess are placed in specially erected 'pandals' and special poojas performed on the nine days.
When we were young, we would eagerly await 'Golu' for its when young and old get together and a multitude of talent is displayed.People invite friends and family for tamboolam and to visit the 'golu' in each other's homes. Most of the famous temples thesedays have grand display of Golu bommais(dolls). This festival would usually fall during the September holidays, just after the quarterly exams, so it would be a perfect way to unwind. I lived for most part of my life with my grandparents in Chennai and memories of the huge Golu linger fresh in my memory.
The previous day, our milkman(we had a cow and a calf until 1997 and drank cow's milk until then)would bring down the golu baskets from the loft and the metal steps would be brought down from the terrace room. They would be assembled using screws, nuts and bolts and the huge bales of white cloth would be used to cover the seven green painted steps. We had a huge mud idol of Durga seated on a fierce looking tiger which would always occupy the centre position on the top most step. On either side would be seated Goddess Saraswati and Goddess Lakshmi and few other tall idols. The first 3 steps would be filled with idols of Gods and Goddesses. The fourth step would usually be an Asthalakshmi set. Fifth would hold the dasavatharam. Sixth would usually be some Krishan leelas and Seventh would adorn the huge talai-attum chettair and his wife along with soem Tanjore bommais. Of the sets that would adorn the remaining part of the hall on the top floor would be a village with lots of thatched roof houses, farmers, a well and many women doing different daily chores like washing, cleaning etc. Then there would be the customary park, a temple atop a hill, a garuda sevai set, a zoo, a white cricket set, a marriage conducted in a hall, another marriage procession with the bride and groom sitting on a decorated swan shaped car, a school with a computer lab and few others that have faded from my memory. It would take us a whole day to set everything up and be satisfied at the end of it. Then would begin the trips to the local mamis to invite them for golu and get innumerable sundal packets from them.
My grandmother would usually serve lunch and give clothes away to young girls on one day and to older women on another day. We would also visit aunts and other relatives' during this season.
Fast forward to now, when I had to juggle between work, home, caring for a 20 month old toddler and looking for Golu items. A month earlier I started the preparations. I decided on what would go in each step and had arough idea of where to find them. Most of the items were charity shop finds. I contmeplated making the steps with wooden planks, but then decided to use the furniture and cardboard boxes. They were arranged and it took about a couple of hours to get everything arranged and set up the lights. Aditi was terribly sweet and really never troubled the dolls or the steps, but partly it was because I had set the Golu up in the study, rather than in the living room where she usually spends most of her time.
We had about a dozen people for tamboolam over the weekend and Aditi has totally fun. We had a wonderful time and it was soon time to pack up the dolls. So they were packed in newspapers and safely placed in cardboard boxes and carefully moved to the attic, where they will remain until the next year.

For pictures, please go to Golu in pictures

One year as a mommy blogger

On the first anniversary of my blog, just as I complete fifty posts and just as many comments, I have thoroughly enjoyed the experience. There have been weeks when the blog remained neglected, but I have tried to capture most of the important instances and events in the last year. It indeed surprises me to note that I have survived a year as a blogger and not dumped this within a few months of creation. Whether I'll continue this journey,I'm not too sure. But many women across the globe have become a part of my life. I love reading other mommy blogs and have my favorties too. I think blog-hopping is a kind of relaxation. Every evening after I have completed all the chores and duties around the house, I start visiting blogs. Soemtimes they go on for more than an hour, sometimes very short, but its a part of the daily routine to read other bloggers. I wish to note down here that Mamma-Mia, who regularly comments on this blog has been a great inspiration to keep the blog going. I think tis now time to introduce a proper header and spice up this blog a bit, rather than leave it at its current simple state. Off to work on the header now.

Wagamama

Its a traditonal custom at work that when any girl joins the development/testing team, we organize a girl's lunch and fire hundreds of questions at the new person(s) - by way of getting to know them. A toned down version of raging you could say. Last time we headed out to All Bar One on Leopald Street which was really nice except that they had very few vegetarian options. This time I took the initiative to organize the lunch and we headed out to Wagamama - a japanese fusion style restaurant. The super-fast service at this restaurant deserves special mention. We were a group of ten girls seated in two rows and as the waitress was taking orders on an electronic hand-held system, they were being relayed to the central system that services the orders. We had our drinks on the table within 30 seconds of placing the order. This is the fastest service I have ever had. I have plenty of slow poor service experiences, but this one takes the cake.
We placed orders for the food, but they were on our table within minutes. Not wanting to try the usual noodles, I had vegetable dumplings with sauce - five of them which was actually a side-dish, but quite filling by itself. Others ordered noodles or salad - which looked quite impressive too. One difference though was they served warm salad, which was a striking contrast to the very cold salads the locals normally prefer. They had wooden chopsticks on the table, which remained untouched by most of us. Those who chose nooddles, preferred to use the fork and spoon and not embarass themselves by trying to eat with the chopsticks. Most plates were clean which meant their food was really exceptional. I would love to go there again, but when, only time will tell.

Smart or what?

Then:
When my little girl drops something on the floor accidentally or intentionally, she would remark an 'Oh-ho' which would make me go 'Not again' look - especially in the mornings when time is at stake. Probably the little girl is learning how to impress mamma when you make a mistake....
Now:
She remarks an Oh-Ho, looks straight at me and blowes kisses with a very sweet smile, that would melt rocks. All I do is smile back and request her not to do it again.(Well I know she's not going to follow, but whats the harm in saying so)Kids these days are really much smarter than the previous generation!!

Double rainbow

It was one of the early autumn days. It was raining heavily during the day. One ofm y colleagues refused to go home as it was raining outside(That's quite something for me - as people usuall love to go home soon) As I was returning home, I saw a rainbow in the sky. As usual I clicked a few pictures on my phone camera. A few minutes later, I saw another rainbow in the sky, just above the first one. Leaving you with the pictures of the double rainbow that appeared in the city of Sheffield last week.

Golu '08 in pictures

Here are the pictures of this year's Golu.

Write up coming soon.