Wherever you are…..
Today is 7 th February.
Happy birthday, Bhanu N.
My bosom pal , my benchmate of the early seventies…
Many happy returns of the day.
Many a time we make friends and lose them.
We ‘find’ friends and gather so many experiences and memories. We move on in life and ‘lose’ them . Their journey with us would have been highly fruitful . I wonder why we can’t work harder to keep in touch. I have had the fortune of having some great friends who made astounding efforts to keep in touch with me. I use the word ‘astounding’ because I studied in six different Kendriya Vidyalayas scattered across the country !! My father got transferred often and there were no mobiles and e mails in those days. There were no social networking sites either. I too have tried to retain friendships with some inspite of having lost them temporarily.
I found Brinda , a wonderful person after having lost her for about 15 years. And just by chance I realised that my neighbour’s brother had worked in Perambur in the early nineties……and all the efforts clicked !! I suddenly had her father’s phone number . He had worked with my neighbour’s brother .My joy was doubled when I spoke to her and met her in her Mambalam residence a few weeks later.
For 5 years Bhanu was my friend–alter ego?We looked alike, thought alike,and probably behaved in a similar fashion too!I still remember the day I entered class III A, in KVM. I was given a seat next to her. And even the very strict Saraswati miss couldn’t separate us as we would burst out crying whenever she tried .
We used to exchange our tiffin boxes, and write in each others’ style and what-not.We had similar interests in reading , embroidery, playing throwball, dodgeball ….
Oh! Those were heady days. We had some seniors whom we would emulate and follow their footsteps..Our school ( KV Malleshwaram ) conducted elections to elect school leaders.We used to follow our candidates in a trance -like fashion.We used to keep thinking of suitable slogans and novel ways of campaigning for them.Cleanliness of the classroom was a major issue. It fetched ’stars ‘ for the class. And we would go overboard…Staying after school , sweeping, washing and polishing the windows…
My mom used to lament that if I had taken half that interest in cleaning out my cupboard/ study table at home she would have given me real stars ;)
Class II to class 7–an idyllic world… In class 8 some crazy brain thought of shuffling the classes.We were heart broken. My father got transferred out of Bangalore in the same year and the gloom changed scene.
I used to meet her till 1985. Then I lost touch with her.
She did her B tech from UVCE- most probably 1981-85 Electrical / electronics.
Some things we would love to keep safely forever and these are the things that evaporate into thin air. Ties need to be watered to be kept alive.They need careful rearing .
Anyway, wherever you are…may God bless you dear friend.
Aha, bachpan ke din bhi kyaa din the…
Small children ?
Today the fourth standard kids and I went to a nearby shopping area to use skills of money transactions .I had requested kids to bring Rs. 5 or Rs. 10 if permitted so as to help them in this activity.Those who didnt bring could borrow from me.
I took them around 7-8 shops selling groceries, fancy items, stationery, vegetables, tailoring and craft -work items, bakery…
Most kids bought grapes, sugar candies, pens, shampoo sachets, detergent sachets….
Most kids were impulsive in their purchases.Some showed a great sense of premeditation, planning, vision. Aishwarya bought a small packet of cardamoms and two lemons.Aman kept going up and down ..taking his time in searching for something suitable.He finally bought lemons and radishes for his home. Jenisha bought two packets of wafers and decided to go home to share it with her parents and sister.In a class of 40, while most kids ate atleast one of their purchases , I was surprised to see such children..their self control and the degree of maturity.
The other surprising thing I observed was that they cajoled the 10 senior citizens sitting in the park to taste their tiffins.They chatted happily to them, shared jokes and puzzles.They cleaned the park after their snack time without being told to.
They are just 8 year olds!
Tax(ing) calculations …? Not now
Each year when the school office gives deadlines for our tax calculations many of us find it cumbersome to calculate on our own and most of us find it too funny to go to a tax consultant with such a meagre annual income 
Actually tax calculations are not tough, saving to escape the dragnet is also not difficult for people with two incomes at homes .But the ever changing calculations are a big burden to some of us.
I found this file and I wanted to share it here.
This has a ready reckoner which can be downloaded to do various calculations with regard to tax and savings.
An auditor comes calling at night.
As a parent I am restless. I keep auditing myself and my skills of parenting. And like all auditors , I keep finding glaring errors. Was I too soft in allowing him to play computer games for 60 minutes this week ? Was I too harsh when i refused to allow him to read the third story book this week ?? Was I barbaric when I forced down the badam milk down his gullet ? Was I hitlersque in not allowing noodles more than once a month ?
Was I ?
Wasn’t I ?
What would his reaction be ? What would I have done in his place ?
Whay? Why?
Could I have done this /that in a better way? WAS there a better way?
I was an auditor as a child too. I would point out how better I could have been brought up,That is in MY view ( highly prejudiced My mother would console me by telling that iItoo qwould get my chance and I could do it the right way then.Now I have my son saying that i am not an ideal mom !
His ideas of parenting are quite well thought out-even as a 12 year old.
I am not worried. I am more worried about his ideas of ’sonning’
More on that soon .
Most often my auditing is done at night. If I am tired sleep takes over otherwise auditing takes over the sleep.Many a times my son would have found it amusing that I would be extra careful on some mornings in handing out decisions /orders.He would have expected the usual military general barking orders….and he is stunned to see a liberal, ‘cool’ mom accepting his verdicts without a syllable of dissent. Mornings such as these must be a kid’s dream beginning of a new day.
Where are we heading ?
This morning I was conducting an activity in which the kids had to jointly ‘write’ an article to a newspaper . The second standard kids were shown newspaper articles and stories. I suggested that they choose an incident that had occurred that afternoon in the class.. a quarrel between two kids as an incident to be ‘written’.They were very interested.
They ‘reminded ‘me to write the date, place, day etc..
I began writing on the blackboard all that the little ones narrated in sequence.Suddenly a girl said, “ pahele ladke ne doosare ki khoon kar di..(the first boy killed the second..). ” This stumped me for a fraction of a second. I quickly reacted by saying , ” We are newspaper reporters, we write only what has really happened.” I was shocked by the extent of their involvement in the gory details of the fight and also about their awareness levels wrt recent happenings in the country and their ideas of how a fight could end!! Fortunately we were alluding to the kids as pahele ladke ne and doosare ladke ne…otherwise things would have gone a bit too far.
Quickly I managed to bring the story to a conclusion . The kids ended up by saying, ..” tabhee ghanti baji aur teacher ko dekhte hi bachche apni-apni jagah par baith gaye…(the bell rang and the kids went back to their places on seeing the teacher. )
The story had other surprises too. One of the kids who really fought is Ahil who doesn’t speak much. The other ‘fighter’ is Sahil who loves to describe things graphically.The narration of Ahil stunned me because he took active part in narrating his side of the duel very well. And Sahil was too stunned to counter /react /defend effectively !!Luckily for him I was busy writing.
The titles they suggested were:
Do ladkon ki ladai,
bachchon ma maraamaari,
school me ladai,
____ me ladai ( the name of the school.. )
They even suggested that a snap should be put. I drew a rectangle and some stick figures in it.
Tomorrow ‘we’ report on a wedding. Looking forward to it.
UNIFORM and YOU
The uniform your child wears to school is the index of how much care you take of her.
It should be freshly cleaned, ironed and must fit well.It gives her immense pleasure to be seen is the best dressed child of the class. It gives her self esteem a boost. It makes her aware that being smartly turned out is a quick key to acceptability in her friend circle.
Further, do remember that she wears it for atleast 7-8 hours. She must feel comfortable in it. All the fastenings should be in top condition. It has to be cleaned everyday.A stale one will be an invitation to skin diseases and more.Microbes love sweat and grime.Wash the uniform everyday. Use a good quality detergent . Using too many chemicals to remove stains can sometimes make the fabric rough.Uniform is a part of the school’s smartness quotient.It makes or mars the school’s reputation too.
Send your child smartly dressed to school. This way you are sowing the seeds of a smartly dressed , healthy adult.
Have you seen this in Goa ?
Goa is famous for beaches,churches and temples.
But there is more to Goa..
Waterfalls, spice gardens,heritage sites…
Check out this site and know about Netravali. It is gloriously clean here- undisturbed by tourists…
Dhakti and Vhadli Deepavali in Goa
Each festival in Goa is uniquely colourful.here people follow most od our traditions and there are some special ones which are unknown to many.
Naraka Chaturdashi is called Dhakti(small ) Deepawali.Though it is celebrated on a large scale…. The previous night huge Narkasurs are burnt in most streets.Cultural organisations hold narkasur making contests.The tradition of going around to people’s houses to greet is quite common everywhere. The snacks that are made here during this time is very traditional. reddish avalakki is used for several preparations called Fauv.Sweet Fauv is accompanied by savoury ones served with Ambat chutney.
In the morning after the aarti all the family members stamp a bitter fruit symbolising the end of evil.
Crackers are not limited to Deepawali here. A lot more crackers are burnt during Ganeshotsav.
Tulsi Lagna is called Vhadli (big) Deepawali.A branch of a tree is kept along with Tulsi in the vrindavana which are freshly painted and a bhatji (priest ) comes to solemnise the divine wedding. An antarpata is used and a grand feast follows.
Though I have lived here for many years, I don’t have much knowledge about these traditions. The local paper has started publishing these tidbits this year.I thought I must share this on my blog.
Ide nanna uttaraa.. Answers to vani’s tag
Q1. Are you happy/ satisfied with your blog, with its content and look?
wrt content ..ok for a person who literally robs time to blog. Looks : not very..
Q2. Does your family know about your blog?
Yes.
Q3. Do you feel embarrassed to let your friends know about your blog or you just consider it as a private thing?
No . But I don’t tell all and sundry about it.
Q4. Did blogs cause positive changes in your thoughts?
Yes, my ‘vision’ has improved !!
Q5. Do you only open the blogs of those who comment on your blog or you love to go and discover more by yourself?
I do explore—when time permits.
Q6. What does visitors counter mean to you? Do you care about putting it in your blog?
It does.
Q7. Did you try to imagine your fellow bloggers and give them real pictures?
Yes. I have met only a very few of my fellow bloggers.
Q8. Do you think there is a real benefit for blogging?
Yes. It helps in getting things off one’s chest. It also works as a sounding board .
Q9. Do you think that bloggers’ society is isolated from real world or interacts with events?
No .
Q10. Does criticism annoy you or do you feel it’s a normal thing?
It doesn’t annoy me.
Q11. Do you fear some political blogs and avoid them? I avoid commenting on controversial posts blogs.
Q12. Did you get shocked by the arrest of some bloggers?
I did not know this.
Q13. Did you think about what will happen to your blog after you die?
No
.Q14. What do you like to hear? What’s the song you might like to put a link to, in your blog?
I like many songs. I would like to put a link to : 1. S. Janaki’s Karedaru kelade, 2. Rafi’s Man tadapat 3. SPB’s koodakke kukkrahalli kere…. 4. Kishore Kumar’s Paanch ruppaiyya…
5. Geeta Dutt’s Vakt ne kiya kya haseen sitam
6. Dr. Balamuralikrishna’s bhakta ramdas’s bhajans.
7. Hariprasad Chaurasia’s Ahir bhairav
8. Shiv Kumar Sharma’s call of the valley.
And many more…..
I tag Nikhil of milcote .wordpress.com
And the award goes to…
Srik of http://srikslib.blogspot.com/
has been magnanimous in giving me the Schmooze Blogger award.Thanks.
Schmoozing as defined by Dictonary.com is the ability “to converse casually, especially in order to gain an advantage or make a social connection.”
The citation says I am a friendly teacher..Thanks.
Now the tradition is to pass on this award to five more bloggers.
I give this award to :
Vijay of http://bangaloreblues.wordpress.com/
His posts are humourous and have a solid impact.The posts are written as if he is talking to an “antarangada mitra”.Yet they bring joy to all.Truly schmooze.
Next the award goes to Balachandra Shetty of http://mathukathe.wordpress.com/
Here is a blogger whose posts have an easy conversational style. Way to go!
The award now goes to Vani of http://whitephosphorous.wordpress.com/.
Her posts are eminently readable.They are schmoozingly informative .
The award also goes to Su of http://bloggedin.wordpress.com/
She has such a wonderful ability to converse that even plants and animals will nod their heads to her talk..
Finally the award goes to Prashant of http://pqrshanth.blogspot.com/
As he has the ability to capture the attention of the reader with simple words and scintillating snaps..
I hope these bloggers will keep the tradition of Schmooze awards alive..
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