Monday, July 11, 2005
What I'll Do...
These are some of the things I think I'll do if and when I stop doing a regular job.... Dunno how many I'll get down to doing...
- Take a leisurely walk by myself around the place, explore the area (will work only if it is an inhabited area, safe to take walks in)
- Is there a public park? Make it a point to visit it.
- Is there a childrens' park? Make it a point to visit it.
- Is there an association in the apartment? Join it ;)
- Read as many books as I can get hold of... That's how I have found some rare gems, which are otherwise not very well known.
- Try to learn baking. Try out a new recipe every week at least. Search the net for interesting reipes.
- Try out a new dish everyday. Again take inspiration from the net.
- Try my hand at knitting/crochet/tatting. all r pretty tough to learn on your own, and u'll be lost for hours trying to untangle the tangled yarn/wool :D
- Play patience, play scrabble, play carroms.
- Watch as little tv as possible. Make it my aim in life to be independent of a tv.
May have more items to add to the list, but these are the things that come to the top of my mind.
Thursday, July 07, 2005
Of Vibes
Vibes is my son. Vaibhav.
He is all of 2 years 3 months old now.
People tell me he is a very sweet and obedient child. Little do they know the tantrums he throws at home!
It is his granny who gets to handle most of his tantrums. I get the reports when I get home from work.
The other day he wanted to wear his granny's spectacles and walk around! He was holding on to her saree pallu, and not letting go...
"Paatii.... kannaadi.... pease!!!!!"
No go. Paati ignores him.
Rolling on the ground.. "Kannaadii..... kannaadii.... peeease..........."
Finally he had to be made to forget the kannaadi with offers of chocolate (Big thank u to my best friend who got him a big stock of chocolates from Germany)
He started going to Play school last month. His school is called Apple Kids.
Everyday I ask him:
"School-ls enna panninai?" (What did you do in school)
"Ayuthen naan" (Cried, I did) is his proud answer. Looks like he thinks it is a proud achievement to cry in school every day.
"Teacher Akka enna sonnaa?" (What did Teacher say)
"Shh... Vaibhav, don't cry"
"Appara enna sonna?" (What else did she say)
"Raghupati.. " (Claps and sings Ragupati Raghav Raja Ram..)
After starting school, it is a delicate process to get him ready to go out. Every time we dress him in good clothes he stars saying "Apple kids no...." He wants his grandma to lock up his school bag inside the cupboard, and his grandma and I should be carrying our handbags (that's a sure sign that we aregoing out). ALso, on reaching the main road, he'll say "Left... Left..." as Right turn takes us in the direction of his school.
Yesterday he was all ready to go to school, but the school van didn't turn up. My aunt had come to visit us, and offered to drop him in her car. He gladly got into the car, turned to paati and said "paati, dum dum kalyaanam polaamaa?" (shall we got for the wedding?) 'coz on monday he skipped school and went for a wedding with his Paati, and thought he's going to be able to playing truant again.
His latest hobby is helping Paati. Most days when i reach home in the evening, he'll be pottering around and say "Paati help pannaren". One day I went home and could not find him in the living room or in the bed room. I checked in the kitchen, and he was trying to fill the water bottle from the water can. He had not spilt a drop, and was trying desparately to close the tap before water overflows(he still doesn't know how to). He gave me a guilty look and said "Amma thanni off pannu". My angel, I didn't know whether to hug you or scold you!
He is all of 2 years 3 months old now.
People tell me he is a very sweet and obedient child. Little do they know the tantrums he throws at home!
It is his granny who gets to handle most of his tantrums. I get the reports when I get home from work.
The other day he wanted to wear his granny's spectacles and walk around! He was holding on to her saree pallu, and not letting go...
"Paatii.... kannaadi.... pease!!!!!"
No go. Paati ignores him.
Rolling on the ground.. "Kannaadii..... kannaadii.... peeease..........."
Finally he had to be made to forget the kannaadi with offers of chocolate (Big thank u to my best friend who got him a big stock of chocolates from Germany)
He started going to Play school last month. His school is called Apple Kids.
Everyday I ask him:
"School-ls enna panninai?" (What did you do in school)
"Ayuthen naan" (Cried, I did) is his proud answer. Looks like he thinks it is a proud achievement to cry in school every day.
"Teacher Akka enna sonnaa?" (What did Teacher say)
"Shh... Vaibhav, don't cry"
"Appara enna sonna?" (What else did she say)
"Raghupati.. " (Claps and sings Ragupati Raghav Raja Ram..)
After starting school, it is a delicate process to get him ready to go out. Every time we dress him in good clothes he stars saying "Apple kids no...." He wants his grandma to lock up his school bag inside the cupboard, and his grandma and I should be carrying our handbags (that's a sure sign that we aregoing out). ALso, on reaching the main road, he'll say "Left... Left..." as Right turn takes us in the direction of his school.
Yesterday he was all ready to go to school, but the school van didn't turn up. My aunt had come to visit us, and offered to drop him in her car. He gladly got into the car, turned to paati and said "paati, dum dum kalyaanam polaamaa?" (shall we got for the wedding?) 'coz on monday he skipped school and went for a wedding with his Paati, and thought he's going to be able to playing truant again.
His latest hobby is helping Paati. Most days when i reach home in the evening, he'll be pottering around and say "Paati help pannaren". One day I went home and could not find him in the living room or in the bed room. I checked in the kitchen, and he was trying to fill the water bottle from the water can. He had not spilt a drop, and was trying desparately to close the tap before water overflows(he still doesn't know how to). He gave me a guilty look and said "Amma thanni off pannu". My angel, I didn't know whether to hug you or scold you!
Tuesday, July 05, 2005
Tagged...
I am not your conventional blogger... I am one with a permanent writers block! Kumari! I'll kill u for making me put in all this effort....
I loved reading her blog on books... It was a little long, but was interesting till the end, where she threw the bombshell at me.... She passed on the tag to me...
Not that I don't want to talk about books... Just that I am still not comfortable writing...
Coming to books - I've been in love with books even before I started reading. My parents used to get be those lovely Russian story books with lots of pictures and the story written in huge font for easy reading. I did have a lot of Rupa classics and other Indian publications also, but my earliest memories are of the Russian books.
From picture stories and comics (Marvel Comics, Amar Chitra Katha) I graduated to the 'big books' when I was around 7-8 years old (I think - not very sure). The first book I read was Secret Seven Bonfire - Enid Blyton. Amma asked me to borrow books for the train journey during Summer Vacation from my neighbor Sudha Akka. She gave me 2 Secret Seven books. I forgot the title of the second book. I also remember someone gifting me a copy of The Five Find Outers and a Dog (Enid Blyton). But unfortunately I lost it somewhere.
My parents used to get me a set of books every year when the Book Exhibition came to Kanakakkunnu Grounds at Trivandrum. That was the best part of the year. Black Beauty, Heidi, Ukranian Folk Tales, The Big Book of Fairy Tales... I must mention that I forgot my hard bound copy of Black Beauty in the train (while going to Delhi, I think) and was miserable about it for a very long time. I also had 3 big fat books (Light green, Dark green and Orange) which had a huge collection of stories, excerpts from stories, and small poems. This is where I first heard about Dr Doolittle and the Pushmi-Pullyu, Heidi (I read the Chapter At Granddad's House first in this book, and then wanted to read the whole book), Stuart Little and some other characters from these books. I was re-reading them when I was in Trivandrum during my Maternity leave, waiting for Vaibhav to come out into this world.
I remember reading Great Expectations and Pickwick Papers (The original unabridged) when I was in 7-th or 8-th class. I expect it was too much for me at that time, because when I re-read Pickwick Papers a few years back, I couldn't remember the story at all. But when I went through Great Expectation again for my Plus 2 English, I really lived Pip's life for a while, cried with him, and hated Emma. Other favorites from Dickens are Oliver Twist, David Copperfield, Nicholas Nickleby (Read only the abridged ones till now)
I also remember reading a lot of classics in abridged form - we used to get those 4 inches X 4 inches X 1 inch books, with pictures on 1/4 of the pages. That's how I first read Jules Verne, Robinson Crusoe, Alexandar Dumas, R L Stevenson and a host of other authors(or rather their stories). My cousin Visakh had a huge collection of these abridged books, and I must have read them more number of times than he has.
I cannot forget the time I was in Mavelikkara at my granny's place, and she introduced me to the new neighbors (I don't remember the names :( ) Uncle had a huge collection of books and I was allowed to borrow anything from him to read. I read a book called The Far Country about someone who goes to Australia (when it was still a very young country). That was a beautiful book.
While talking about books, I have to mention my great love - Wodehouse. I think the first one I read was 'Pelican at Blandings'. I simply loved the style, and would be found laughing very frequently thinking about the book. I also remember reading Laughing Gas around the time I discovered Wodehouse. One of my great aims in life is to read every Wodehouse book I can possibly lay my hands on.
Taking a quick fast forward from school and summer holidays, I went thru a season of Thomas Hardy, Oliver Goldsmith, Charles Dickens et al on one side, and Nancy Drew, Hardy Boys, The 3 Investigators and other mystery stories during high school and Plus 2 years. But the frequency of reading dwindled a lot during Plus 2, and the early Engineering years. My sources were limited during those years, and I had to read what I got and not what I want.
One major tragedy in my life happened around then. My uncle is a voracious reader and had a huge collection of books, and I was hoping to flick many of those once I got out of college and settled down. He had some problems lugging around his collection during every transfer, and decided to dispose off the books. My dad (traitor!) encouraged him to sell them to a library without my knowledge! :(
Now I am a member of Easwari Lending Library in Chennai, and a regular visitor there. I read a lot of books - some I want to read, some because I don't want to search, so pick up the books on top. I go so frequently, and read so many books now, that I lose track, and take the same book again sometimes(not that I really mind - some of the books can be read again and again, but I do mind paying full charge for second reading). I have exhausted their collection of Wodehouse, but I still keep checking once in a while if they have got new titles. I spend at least 45 minutes a day reading (on the return journey from work).
Books I am reading currently:
The Northern Light - A J Cronin (Am working thru the collection of Cronin at Easwari)
Restaurant At The End Of The World - Am reading the Hitchhikers series also - been wanting to re-read for a very long time. Read them first around 3 years back.
Wodehouse on Wodehouse - It is some sort of autobiography.
The Small Bachelor - Wodehouse - new addition at Easwari
Books I want to read someday:
Gone with the Wind
Black Shirt - this is a series about a gentleman cat-thief. Read one book when I was in school. Always wanted to read the others in the series. Found the name in the library database, but no one has been able to locate the books yet :D
Books that I cannot forget:
One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
The Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
Midnight's Children - Salman Rushdie
Haroun and the Sea of Stories - Salman Rushdie
The Mayor of Casterbridge - Thomas Hardy
Sybil - Flora Rheta Schreiber (It is about a woman with multiple personality disorder)
Ponniyin Selvan - Kalki (read the translation in English - would like to read some of his other works too)
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest - Ken Kesey
Catch - 22 - Joseph Heller
Huckleberry Finn (And Tom Sawyer) - Mark Twain
Peony - Pearl S Buck
Masters of the Himalayas (or the Himalayan Masters) - It was a spiritual book my mother was reading. I started flicking through it, and could not put it down!
The Citadel – A J Cronin
Some of my current favorite authors (means I’ll look for these in the library first):
PG Wodehouse
Henry Cecil - Courthouse humor - really good.
A J Cronin
Salman Rushdie
Agatha Christie
Enid Blyton
PS: Passing on the tag - I really don't know many bloggers to pass on the tag to. So the tag ends here for now.
I loved reading her blog on books... It was a little long, but was interesting till the end, where she threw the bombshell at me.... She passed on the tag to me...
Not that I don't want to talk about books... Just that I am still not comfortable writing...
Coming to books - I've been in love with books even before I started reading. My parents used to get be those lovely Russian story books with lots of pictures and the story written in huge font for easy reading. I did have a lot of Rupa classics and other Indian publications also, but my earliest memories are of the Russian books.
From picture stories and comics (Marvel Comics, Amar Chitra Katha) I graduated to the 'big books' when I was around 7-8 years old (I think - not very sure). The first book I read was Secret Seven Bonfire - Enid Blyton. Amma asked me to borrow books for the train journey during Summer Vacation from my neighbor Sudha Akka. She gave me 2 Secret Seven books. I forgot the title of the second book. I also remember someone gifting me a copy of The Five Find Outers and a Dog (Enid Blyton). But unfortunately I lost it somewhere.
My parents used to get me a set of books every year when the Book Exhibition came to Kanakakkunnu Grounds at Trivandrum. That was the best part of the year. Black Beauty, Heidi, Ukranian Folk Tales, The Big Book of Fairy Tales... I must mention that I forgot my hard bound copy of Black Beauty in the train (while going to Delhi, I think) and was miserable about it for a very long time. I also had 3 big fat books (Light green, Dark green and Orange) which had a huge collection of stories, excerpts from stories, and small poems. This is where I first heard about Dr Doolittle and the Pushmi-Pullyu, Heidi (I read the Chapter At Granddad's House first in this book, and then wanted to read the whole book), Stuart Little and some other characters from these books. I was re-reading them when I was in Trivandrum during my Maternity leave, waiting for Vaibhav to come out into this world.
I remember reading Great Expectations and Pickwick Papers (The original unabridged) when I was in 7-th or 8-th class. I expect it was too much for me at that time, because when I re-read Pickwick Papers a few years back, I couldn't remember the story at all. But when I went through Great Expectation again for my Plus 2 English, I really lived Pip's life for a while, cried with him, and hated Emma. Other favorites from Dickens are Oliver Twist, David Copperfield, Nicholas Nickleby (Read only the abridged ones till now)
I also remember reading a lot of classics in abridged form - we used to get those 4 inches X 4 inches X 1 inch books, with pictures on 1/4 of the pages. That's how I first read Jules Verne, Robinson Crusoe, Alexandar Dumas, R L Stevenson and a host of other authors(or rather their stories). My cousin Visakh had a huge collection of these abridged books, and I must have read them more number of times than he has.
I cannot forget the time I was in Mavelikkara at my granny's place, and she introduced me to the new neighbors (I don't remember the names :( ) Uncle had a huge collection of books and I was allowed to borrow anything from him to read. I read a book called The Far Country about someone who goes to Australia (when it was still a very young country). That was a beautiful book.
While talking about books, I have to mention my great love - Wodehouse. I think the first one I read was 'Pelican at Blandings'. I simply loved the style, and would be found laughing very frequently thinking about the book. I also remember reading Laughing Gas around the time I discovered Wodehouse. One of my great aims in life is to read every Wodehouse book I can possibly lay my hands on.
Taking a quick fast forward from school and summer holidays, I went thru a season of Thomas Hardy, Oliver Goldsmith, Charles Dickens et al on one side, and Nancy Drew, Hardy Boys, The 3 Investigators and other mystery stories during high school and Plus 2 years. But the frequency of reading dwindled a lot during Plus 2, and the early Engineering years. My sources were limited during those years, and I had to read what I got and not what I want.
One major tragedy in my life happened around then. My uncle is a voracious reader and had a huge collection of books, and I was hoping to flick many of those once I got out of college and settled down. He had some problems lugging around his collection during every transfer, and decided to dispose off the books. My dad (traitor!) encouraged him to sell them to a library without my knowledge! :(
Now I am a member of Easwari Lending Library in Chennai, and a regular visitor there. I read a lot of books - some I want to read, some because I don't want to search, so pick up the books on top. I go so frequently, and read so many books now, that I lose track, and take the same book again sometimes(not that I really mind - some of the books can be read again and again, but I do mind paying full charge for second reading). I have exhausted their collection of Wodehouse, but I still keep checking once in a while if they have got new titles. I spend at least 45 minutes a day reading (on the return journey from work).
Books I am reading currently:
The Northern Light - A J Cronin (Am working thru the collection of Cronin at Easwari)
Restaurant At The End Of The World - Am reading the Hitchhikers series also - been wanting to re-read for a very long time. Read them first around 3 years back.
Wodehouse on Wodehouse - It is some sort of autobiography.
The Small Bachelor - Wodehouse - new addition at Easwari
Books I want to read someday:
Gone with the Wind
Black Shirt - this is a series about a gentleman cat-thief. Read one book when I was in school. Always wanted to read the others in the series. Found the name in the library database, but no one has been able to locate the books yet :D
Books that I cannot forget:
One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
The Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
Midnight's Children - Salman Rushdie
Haroun and the Sea of Stories - Salman Rushdie
The Mayor of Casterbridge - Thomas Hardy
Sybil - Flora Rheta Schreiber (It is about a woman with multiple personality disorder)
Ponniyin Selvan - Kalki (read the translation in English - would like to read some of his other works too)
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest - Ken Kesey
Catch - 22 - Joseph Heller
Huckleberry Finn (And Tom Sawyer) - Mark Twain
Peony - Pearl S Buck
Masters of the Himalayas (or the Himalayan Masters) - It was a spiritual book my mother was reading. I started flicking through it, and could not put it down!
The Citadel – A J Cronin
Some of my current favorite authors (means I’ll look for these in the library first):
PG Wodehouse
Henry Cecil - Courthouse humor - really good.
A J Cronin
Salman Rushdie
Agatha Christie
Enid Blyton
PS: Passing on the tag - I really don't know many bloggers to pass on the tag to. So the tag ends here for now.
