Letters to my Princess : 6

Dei Vaalu

You are 8 now and our life is a battle of wills that we knew it would be. You never rush and no one in the world can make you. Be it getting ready, or preparing for a competitive exam or taking a shower, all in your own good time and not a moment sooner. You love to sing in the shower and sit and relax with the towel wrapped snugly around you before you could be bothered to dress up.

You don’t believe in making yourself unhappy for anything or anybody. You do not understand nor can you relate to an ambition or drive that could make your life hectic. You work really hard but the pace has to be your own. You need to enjoy what you do, when you do it, otherwise you do not see the point.

You had your bharathnatyam recital and you smiled your way through it without any mistakes.

I constantly worry about this total disregard for the rat race. What is your future going to be like? I want you to be happy, secure , kind and independent. I do not want you depend on anybody for money or kindness. I would like you to be self sufficient in both.

K feels you would do just fine. You find joy in book, tele and  friendships. You are not at all competitive but full of cheer. You are increasingly kind and have always had a great sense of humour. But you are also overwhelmingly naive. You fight, make up and laugh in under a minute. You simply cannot relate to having grudges. Though even at this age your friends are not like that. Even to A who is a mean bully to you, you are kind and friendly.

You are the only child I know who can laugh through her tears if something funny happens when she is passionately crying!

When I try to dress you up when we are in a rush or if I have a photo of you in a swim suit or if I try to drag you along in a shopping mall you ring out loud and clear ‘ It is my body amma and you cannot  drag, take a photo or dress me up if and when I do not want you to. Thanks’. I always listen to you and stop what I am doing. Hopefully in this world of smart phones and Facebook it is the right thing to do.

Your handwriting is really good but only when you want it to be. You just showed your teacher that you can do superb handwriting but will only do it when you want.  Your teacher says that even if it is not your class’s turn for the library, you would just tell her  ‘ Mrs L, please may I pick some books from the library’and she just could not find it in her to stop you from marching in to the library whether it is your class turn or not !

I am not anvery confident mum Kannamma but you are a very confident child who is very clear about her life. I am just not sure if it is ok to let you be or should I push you to line up the trophies. But more and more it is becoming cleare that  I don’t necessarily have that choice. You are so clear about what you would like to do, when and how that probably I just need to step back and watch you do your swag march in life🙃

Love you da thangame!

Amma

Piano Grade 1 and Azhagiye!

So, the Cheeky Monkey had her Piano Grade 1 exams last week. She is the youngest in her group by a year. While the other boys and girls were getting tensed about what would be asked and if they would get through the exam without making any mistakes, she lost sleep wondering what if the examiner turned out to be a ghost or a kidnapper!

The day of the exam dawned. She had her 3 pieces pat down and played so well that some guests who came the week before were mighty impressed. However, the exam also had some sight reading and aural questions and I kept asking her to practice atleast once before she went into the exam at 10.45.

Stubborn as she is, she simply refused and excused herself to the restroom and stayed there till the last minute. She then went in for her exam, sat in the wrong piano that did not have her track in it -despite clear instructions from her teacher to sit in a Black piano ( she went straight to the pretty silver one!) came out, called all of us in to complain - and once we made her sit in the right piano and trooped out - I sat outside with my heart in my mouth.

She traipses out post the exam and says confidently ' Amma, I think I would get a high merit - not a distinction though - I may have made some mistakes in the aural repeats. By the way, the examiner sounds really posh! :) ' . Well, let's see when the results come, I thought and we went our way for Mehendi and back to back Diwali parties. Given that her half term holidays had started that day, we could afford to relax from all the tension of practising for the exam the previous week.

The results were announced and guess what - exactly like she said - she scored near perfect marks for her pieces, but due to the aural questions, she received 84 - a high merit - when 87 meant a distinction!

I was a bit disappointed and asked her ' See what happens when you are careless, you missed distinction by a mere 3 marks. You need to aim higher kannamma!'. And the wise old one trapped in my cheeky monkey goes ' Azhagiye! Azhagiye! ( a song from a maniratnam movie that we all went to , that means ' Oh my beautiful') calm down amma, you need to be happy with what you have! I am very happy and proud, ok?'

Well, I guess I may not have a concert pianist in my house but I certainly seem to have a cheeky monkey that is determined to be happy to be herself despite her annoyingly critical mum! Given that the critical mum is also one that easily melts for her cheeky monkey, this mum is fondly proud of this fantastic attitude from her young one that is so astonishingly different from her own!

Love you vaalu kutty!

Summer 2017 - Part 4

The next day my LASEK was scheduled. The first 3 days were much, much more painful that I had imagined, The main culprit was the protective lens in my right eye that felt like a thousand glass pieces with their sharp ends up the bottom of my upper eyelid. Today is day 8 and still my right eye does not feel completely pain free. The left eye on the other hand just felt like a single eyelash was stuck inside! Strange that!

The CM was of great and kind help when I could not open my eyes for the first 3 days. On day 4, the lenses were removed to my great relief and while I was still sensitive to light I atleast was not in so much pain.

On day 5, my energy was back but I was not allowed/could not browse, read the kindle or watch Tele. So, I was restless from the morning.

Post the CM's piano class, I had an epiphany and asked an extremely reluctant K to check if Harry Potter studio tickets were available. Poor K had other plans for the day but could not refuse to check. Earlier in the holidays when I had checked them for the CM , no slot was available throughout the holidays.

Suddenly a 5 pm slot came free. After some 'not-so-gentle', whiny persuasion, ( K never could resist my wily charms! :)) poor K gave up and booked the tickets. We quickly packe dup and left for the 1.5 hour dirve. We first visited the Bhakti Vedanta ISCKON temple, where the CM fed the cows at the goshala. We then went to the HP studio. I was more excited than the CM and we both happily checked out the Cupboard under the stairs, the Great hall, the boy's dormitory and my favourite, Dumbledore's room and the pen sieve and memories stored there!

I spotted all the golden snitches with either K or the CM's help ( I still was wearing sun glasses indoors attracting strange looks, but who cared! I was in HP world!). We loved the Weasley family kitchen where we made the carrots cut themselves, the scarf knit itself and the pan wash itself! , calling up the quidditch broom into our hands and flying on the brooms. I could not enjoy the forbidden forest because of the flashing lights but K got to see his favourite character ' Buck beak!'

I loved the butter beer, Hogwart's express and looking into the Privet drive house where the Hogwart's envelopes were floating about! All this while, the CM was listening to the audio guide exploring how the movie was made while I was excitedly peaking into the displays!

We left after a good 4 hours, mighty happy and visited our favourite Saravana Bhavan that used to be our frequent haunt in the days we used to live around here.

We had a late dinner with a nostalgic chat about our days and friends here ( who have since moved to Canada) and came home post midnight.

On the drive back, we listened to LBC's Nick Ferrari in which a 100 year old lady had dialled in to reprimand him about his comments about the Queen. Enough said. Much fund was heard/had.

School starts again day after but as I am sat writing this in a note book using a pen ( how quaint!), the indulgent dat and husband is having  a well-earned lie in, the CM is reading the 'Half Blood Prince' in her kindle and I am wondering when I would be able to transfer this from my notebook tot he laptop without my eyes hurting! ( Did this on day 8 - today! Eye still a bit blurry, so mostly touch typing - hoping to correct errors later!)

Another lovely summer holiday draws to a close! Here's to many more such family moments!
:)

Summer 2017 - Part 3

On the Saturday, we had a party and cake cutting for my CM and the 2 year old who had turned 2 only a week earlier. I had carried decorations over and spent the early morning decorating the entire place with little T's help.

Post the celebration, we went to Ullswater for a boat ride and the two 8 year olds had a go at steering the motor boat ( with K right next to them of course) and really enjoyed the same.

We went exploring into the woods and unfortunately we spotted a fish struggling for breath by the lake. It was a silver and golden fish and my 2 wards were frantic with worry. Though as a life long vegetarian, I had not handled fish before, I took the poor fish by the hand and dropped it into the water. Unfortunately it kept gasping upside down and never did flip back. The 2 kids were quite subdued on the walk back.

But then, on the way back, there was a wishing well full of coins and the tree next to the wishing well had roots and branches in which the coins were firmly entrenched. ( Am not sure if they got sucked by the roots along with the water or something else was going on there). This aroused their curiosity and the sadness of the fish was soon forgotten!

We were driving and dining in areas officially declared as ' Areas of outstanding Natural beauty', so we took our time doing both. I was meeting the rest of the families properly only for the first time, but luckily we gelled well. The men were good friends already from K's time in Glasgow some years earlier.

The next day, we went to Kill Hope lead mining museum. I first got it clarified from the local expert  that Kill Hope is from an ancient Anglo Saxon language wherein Hope meant valley and Kill referred to the mining 'Kiln'. The kids had fun sieving for green, pink and purple coloured rock crystals. We all then went underground through a very small, dark tunne with water upto half our wellington boots. We were properly equipped with miner's hats and torches. It was a bit scary initially, but Michaela , the guide was really friendly and knowledgeable.
It was a truly adventurous experience, having to duck for some of the way trying to experience what the miners had to do a 100 year ago. We saw the underground water mill, the 'thunder box', the gallendas and much more. The CM was scared but coped well and dealt with it maturely.

Post this adventure, we made our way to High force water falls, It was very similar to our Amicalola experience in Atlanta with a wonderfully green and leafy path leading to the majestic water falls, Post this visit, my CM surprised us all with some really good cart-wheels that she has been surreptitiously practising for a while!

We all then took a very long walk at Derwent Reservoir just for the beauty of the view.

We then headed to an Indian Restaurant in Allendale and while we were all nodding our heads off at the table, one of the dads passionately regaled us with his childhood escapades in a Kodaikanal boarding school ;)

The next day, we cleaned up the place good and proper and left for our pony trek adventure at Hexham. The ladies including the girls went first. I went on a tall and sturdy male stud called Blaze and the CM went on a cute pony called Blue bell. Once again, the view from the horse back, on the trail, was spectacular.

The families then had a picnic lunch, said our goodbyes and we proceeded to Dudley to celebrate the CM's birthday at the temple.

After a long drive back, we did just that and reached home exhausted but glad of the good time we had.

...To be continued

 

Summer 2017 - Part 2

The next weekend, in the morning, we went with the same Cotswold group and one other family to Dinosaur land at the Birmingham International airport. It was reasonably good. But because our cheeky monkey ( CM hereafterwards) had been finishing off Harry Potter books with a furious passion during the week, every Friday evening we ended up watching the movies of those books that she had finished to round off her Harry Potter experience.

So, she was quite cranky on Saturday mornings! She ended up in tears when one of the boys said something mean ( it was really mean, though at this age, I imagine they do not realise how mean they sound!). Usually she takes it in her chin and gives it back, I guess this time, she was too tired to fight back. So, as soon as the event was over, the other two families stayed back for a catch up, but we left. To cheer her up, we used our usual formula - A trip to the library, followed by a Subway sandwich and hot Chocolate. As soon as we stepped in to the library, she perked up! Sleep was forgotten, lots of books and reading with hot chocolate naturally happened.

By the time we came home, it was time to get ready for the 'Innisai Maalai' , a karaoke evening organised by the local tamil sangam. I went with a mild fear that it may be a bit boring but it was a pleasant surprise to the contrary. I met a lot of my fiends, lots of fun and food was had. I sang 'pattu padava' - just a few lines and K sang ' Mun Paniya!' (really badly but we both wanted the CM to know that you do not always need to be great to give things a go!) It was a good evening.

On the sunday, we went to K's colleague's house for lunch and a fantastic, fun-filled, long, chatty afternoon ensued for all of us. We left their house only late in the evening.

In the long weekend, given it was the CM's English calendar birthday on the Saturday and Tamil Calendar birthday on the Monday, elaborate plans were made.

On the Friday, all of us travelled to K's work city. The CM and I stayed in a day hotel and I worked from there while the CM got on with the next Harry Potter book. We thens tarted the 4 hour drive to Allenheads. We had 2 other families joining us from Glasgow. We had booked a lovely old school house on the top of a hill with a beautiful view of the moors below. The green rolling hills and the rustic plethora of lakes made for a very enjoyable drive.

Between the families we had two 8 year olds (incluing our CM who was turning 8 over the weekend), one 2 year old and one 3 year old. The two 8 year olds had met once before and had gotten along famously. Throughout this stay, they were thick as thieves and when we left T, CM's friend even had tears in her eyes at the thought of letting her friend go!

They slep by each other on the bunk beds in our room and always travelled together in our car while T's parents and younger sis travelled in hers.

...to be continued

 

Summer 2017 - Part 1

This summer, as always was a wonderful medley to remember. thought there wasn't much of the sun throughout his summer, as always, the three of us were determined to make the most of the holiday family time and that was exactly what we did.

One weekend, we went to Cotswolds with my SGT dance partners and their hubbies and kids. The gentle gold, typical Cotswold bricks, softly highlighted by the even softer rays of the sun were a sight to behold! The families started with a picnic by the river in 'Bourton on Water' while the kids went splashing about in the shallow river.

We then took the kids to the model village. This model village was as authentic as it could be with great detailing even tot he stained glass windows of the town's St Lawrence Church. the organ music playing in one of these model churches was, for me, a particularly enjoyable detail.

We then went to the very small but beautiful St Lawrence's church, lit candles and walked about town, with the kids creating a ruckus wherever we went!

With the kids dutifully continuing to raise hell (1 8 year old, 1 7 year old, one 3 year old and one 4 year old - perfect ingredients for notching up the noise pollution!), we went to a posh restaurant by yet another gentle brook to have tea/hotchocolate/Birtish chips.

The kids played cricket and foot ball in the lovely grounds of the restaurant and us adults happily chatted into the dusk..

We came home really late but 'happy tired'!

The next day was a trip to our favourite Ryton Pool with K's colleague and family. I got along well with the Colleague's wife as we were both working in the same field. Us ladies went cycling, while the dads and kids spent time in the play area. We rounded off a wonderful day with a chatty dinner at an Italian restaurant. The kids already knew each other through bharathanatynam class and were busy ignoring the adults and making their own plans!

The Friday after, we invited this family over for dinner and once again the evening turned out really good with good food, hearty laughs and happy kids running around the dinning table while we chatted.

The next day, just the three of us went to the Black County Living Museum. The highlight was the very real 'Victorian Classroom' with a strict school master that around 20 of us, children and adults attended. We really had fun as most of us played our parts seriously as instructed beforehand by the teacher. It was as authentic as it would have really been in Victorian times. We also enjoyed playing the old time games like jumping rope, catching the ball on a top and K enjoyed chasing steel tires with a stick!

The sunday of this week, we went to a petting zoo for the cheeky monkey and then to Warwick park. Lots of icecream was had and regretted ( by me!) including  surprisingly not-yummy Nutella icecream!

..To be continued

Greek Vacation 2017 : Part 3

Day 5

The next day, we took the champion jet ferry to Santorini. It was a quick 2 hour trip, once again, pleasant and enjoyable. But here lies the turn in the tale. My entire dream of visiting Greece, centred around Santorini and Mykonos was beautiful beyond my dreams so I had high hopes for Santorini. But Santorini, turned out to be a disappointment. It was very very crowded, not as neat as Athens or Mykonos,  the cute cobbled streets and the white and blue homes of Santorini were not half as charming as that of Mykonos and since the famous black and red beaches  and even the mono lithos beach had industrial affluents being dumped in them, the beaches were no good either!

We stayed at the Orizontes boutique hotel, once again with a sea view (the view and the rooms were fantastic but the shower was a horror!) at Pyrgos. On day 1 we had lunch at the fantastic Metaxi Mas Tavern which welcomes you with free tequila shots and once you have finished lunch, sees you off with dessert on the house! Suprisingly reasonable compared to the sky high prices in Mykonos.

Post luch, we set out to see the famous Oia sunset.  We first went to Fira town and took the  Santorini cable car. Ridiculously the 15 euro one way trip lasted less than 10 minutes and gave no special view. The Singapore cable car, the Capris cable car in Italy and the Panaromic cable cars in Switzerland will take umbrage if they knew this one called itself a cable car and charged such prices!

We shook our head, scratched our chins and made our way to the Fira town bus centre to catch a bus to Oia. On the way, we bought the young one a traditional greek dress and the leaf crown. Once again, the crowd was unbelievable and given we had seen the sunsets at Mauritius, Kanyakumari etc, we were not very impressed. More so, after we had a beyond fantastic view of the sunset from the decks of our ferry back from Santorini to Athens, especially as were were travelling towards the sunset and the nicely cool wind and the gentle rays of the sun provided the appropriate back drop!

We had dinner at Bao Concept in Fira town, which is the first time I have tasted the Chinese Bao buns! They were soft and lovely and the restaurant itself was very good. We then took a taxi back to the hotel – any trip from anywhere to anywhere seemed to cost us 15 euros in Santorini, no matter what!

Day 6

The next day, we went on a boat trip on the good ship Albatross to the volcanic Nea Kameini and the Pallea kameini. While dad and daughter turned away after a half way hike, never the quitter, I went all the way up to see the volcanic rocks and craters, smugly enjoyed the fantastic view from the top and on reaching the ship again, promptly demanded to be pampered the rest of the trip as I could feel every painful twitch and muscle in my calf that seemed to say – know when to quit silly woman, even your not yet 8 year old does!

The boat then took us to the hot springs for which one had to dive from the ship and swim a good distance in not so shallow water. All three of us opted to stay in the boat and wave gaily at all the other swimmers wading into the orangish water full of sulphur from the volcanoes!

The ship then made its way to the Thirassia island where lunch and a gentle swim at the pebble beach ensued. The princess and dad explored the eels and fishes swimming underwater and did what they usually do when in any water body – have loads of fun!

We came back to the hotel, quickly dressed ourselves up and visited the Megalachori traditional village in Pyrgos. At the end of the village we visited this lovely bakery, cunningly called the ‘Bakery and Pastry shop’!. The cheeky monkey was dressed as Goddess Athena with the costume bought in Fira and all eyes were on her! We had lovely pastries and icecreams, discussed about Bollywood and made our way back stopping at all the lovely blue domed churches ( that we missed in Oia – which is where all the signature Santorini phots are taken – due to the mad rush there!)  in the village and generally messing about amongst ourselves.

The best part was K telling the young one the story of Porous and Alexander and her asking philosophical questions like ‘ Who was the goodie and who was the baddie and if both were goodies, why did they fight!’

Day 7

We had a very relaxed morning by the pool , packed up and took the 9 hour ferry back from Santorini to Athens. Though we were booked deck seats again, given the complete lack of crowd ( was it because of the earthquake the day before at Kos, we are not sure) we were told there was no need to upgrade and we were given access to the poshest section of the ship.

We had a lovely time catching up on movies from our ipads, walking around the deck and taking in the views every now and then and of course eating in the lovely restaurants. It was a smooth sail and surprisingly relaxing. We held hands watching the sunset and the hues that the setting sun infused the clouds with, was sheer poetry by nature.

From the Piraeus port, we went back to our Athens Avenue hotel to our marble baths and cloud like mattress! 

Day 8

After a lovely breakfast later the next morning, we made our way to the national gardens in Athens. Once again, clean, beautifully maintained, free and an oasis in the centre of the city.

Post the mandatory chocolate milkshake and reading of our kindles, we went to Plaka again for some souvenir shopping for friends and back to the hotel again to pick up our bags and make our way to the airport.

We came away from this trip with two key take aways. The Greeks can be abrupt and almost rude in the way they talk but they are actually very gallant and extremely helpful. And Athens could be a weekend trip and the rest of the time is better spent in Mykonos. Santorini, is just hype ( purely in my personal opinion) and the money i sbetter spent on one fo the other quieter islands.

All in all, this trip was like all the other ones. Full of suprises, mostly good, some not so good, wonderful memories and overall , yet another experience to cherish and save for those rainy days that are bound to come J

Greek Vacation 2017 : Part 2

Day 2

The next day we went to the Panathenaic stadium, the Parthenon and the Acropolis museum. The tour guide, Anastasia was very good and gave us the story and history behind the pieces in the museum as well as these ancient structures. We then proceeded to Cape Sounion to the temple of Poseidon.

 Throughout, the heat was balanced by the cool winds and the emerald views of the Aegean,  on either side  on the drive to Cape Sounion was fantastic and ethereal.

I also loved the view of the yachts, boats and the weekend swimmers jumping off the rocks directly in to the water all from the top of the hill where the temple of Poseidon was located.

Day 3

We took the Hellenic seaways ferry to Mykonos from the Piraeus port. We had been booked deck tickets which were ridiculous, so we upgraded and sat in the very comfortable lounge chairs for a mere 12 euros! It took around 6 hours to reach but we did not feel it as we had our ipads and tablets pre-loaded with good movies, good food was available, the restroom (atleast the ladies’) as with anywhere in Athens and Mykonos – were extremely clean, no matter how many tourists came and went and we could walk around and breathe in the fantastic sea air whenever we liked. We also went up to the front of the deck to savour the fantastic views and enjoy the cool winds.

At Mykonos, we were to stay at the Hotel Paradision. Now, if I were to dream of a hotel that would be my ideal place of relaxation, this would have been it. A small establishment of may be 15 rooms if not less, it was beautifully and tastefully decorated in blue and white. We had the Sea view room and what a view it was from the cute balcony! Breakfast was home made and the best I have ever had with atleast 20 items laid out every day. The breakfast area was by the pool which in itself overlooked the Tourlos bay. To come down to the fresh aromas and to watch the sea and ships and have breakfast was the highlight of my day. (Though this did not stop one particular American to ask if they had any ‘diet coke’ as he came down for breakfast! There were 20 home made items, an assortment of tea, coffee, chocolate milk and juices but no, he would like a diet coke please!)

The fantastic Stefanos beach was a mere 10 minute walk away and it was breath taking to say the very least. We went straight down and had a whale of a time. One caveat is that all the restaurants in Mykonos were very very expensive as much as anything in Athens was cheap by UK  standards. The cheeky monkey enjoyed the swim and looking for fishes in the crystal clear water and frolicking in the golden sands. There were many other famous beaches like Super Paradise, Elia beach etc but Stefanos was small, uncrowded, beautiful and just perfect for us. Even the walk to and from the beach, due to it being uphill, awarded heavenly views and a real feast for the senses. All the while, the sun was beating down but we did not feel the heat as the nicely cool wind kept things just right!

The walk to the hotel is a very steep uphill, which was a bit of a challenge but then given the hilly terrain of both Mykonos and Santorini, if you need views, an uphill walk, comes with the package.

Day 4

The next day, we had booked a cycling trip to Fokos Beach with Yummy pedals. We rode though the reservoir of Ano Mera (stopping first at the Paleokastro Monastery) with around 11 other bikers  mostly American and some Italian.  Dimi, the tour guide was friendly and informative. She stopped near a church by the road and explained to us the greek concept of ‘Dhama’ where a family prays for something and has a very small, single room church built as an offering. Sometimes these are built within the premises of a family home. Every day, the lady of the house ensures that incense and lamps are lit and outsiders are allowed to walk in and pray as well. We stopped at one such church overlooking a hill and small though it was, it was beautiful and very well decorated.  Dimi or Dimitra said that in most cases, even weddings are held at these small family churches, which means barely the bride, groom and the priest can make it inside the church while the rest of the wedding party stays outside!

The trip was fantastic but because of the large group mostly made up of fit adults, the difficulty level of the terrain was quite high. We were the only family, so we had to adjust. K and I took turns on the electric bike pulling the trailer carrying the cheeky one and this was easy. Whenever we took our turn on the normal bike, it really did prove quite difficult. The beach itself was unsurprisingly beautiful, but after Aigos Stefanos, we were too spoilt and just took a small dip in the water. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the onward trip, but the return uphill was killing, to say the least!

We then went back to the Vioma Organic farm that was run by Dimi’s parents. The young one had a great time feeding the donkey and the goat in the farm and chasing Oscar, their dog, under the tables and chairs.

Dimi dropped us  back near one of the Kato Mili ( the famous Mykonos wind mills) and from there we  took a walk around the streets of Mykonos and passed the Mattiyianni street and reach the old port. The streets were marvellously white and blue with the cobble stones winding a playful path throwing surprises when least expected. The famous meletemi winds were in full force and there were a few seconds when I was worried my slightly built cheeky monkey may get blown away!

But while K was enjoying his freshly caught fish by the old port, we had  mum and daughter bonding time, exploring the shops and brazenly walking into gold and diamond outlets to check out the Hellenic designs! As always, with her chocolate brown, big eyes that melt anybody and everybody (except her mum who knows the cheekiness that lies behind those puppy eyes!) opened doors everywhere for us! Every body was keen to chat with her and were only too willing to answer all her inquisitive questions!

By this time, we were long overdue for a fight, so K and I duly had an argument and I stormed off along the coast making my way by walk to the hotel all the way from old port to the new port! I had assumed dad and daughter would catch a taxi and I could upbraid them for making me walk while they sashayed in by taxi. Alas, the poor souls had hoped to catch me half way so they followed me all the way by foot and by the time all three of us reached the hotel, we were too exhausted to continue the fight and pressed each other’s feet and massaged the calf muscles in sympathy!

Dad and daughter still had the energy to go to the fantastic pool and have a wonderful time. Dinner once again was a disappointment as the veg options were spinach pie, rice in stuffed peppers and fried manoumi cheese – all of which were wonderful but not continuously day after day and especially at the outrageous Mykonos prices. We discovered that the best way to cover lunch and dinner at Mykonos is to go to one of those charming bakeries and grab a pie and an icrecream for less than half the price at a restaurant! Something to remember for next time J

Greek Vacation 2017 : Part 1

After a hectic school and work year full of battles big and small, this vacation was something all three of us greatly looked forward to. Though KK and thangam prefer the Cyprus version where all they did was laze around the swimming pool and get up only for food , for my sake, they agreed to go for Athens, Mykonos and Santorini – the ‘active’ vacation  and boy was it active!

We were thrilled to have been lucky enough to be allocated business class fares for the onward trip for economy prices. Little did we know that the only reason was because Lufthansa did not provide special meals on short haul trips unless you are booked business class and since we had 2 vegetarian meals selected and it was not yet peak season, we were prioritised and given business class( Birmingham to Munich and Munich to Athens)! This was not the case on the way back (Athens – Frankfurt- Birmingham).

We landed in Athens and stayed in the Athens Avenue hotel in Syggrou square. This was about 15 minutes ( 4 euros by taxi)from the famous Plaka district which is just around the corner from the Acropolis, the Parthenon, Syntagma square etc.

The rooms were fantastic, with the marble tiled deep bath being the highlight. However, the hotel was not where we were expecting to stay and there was no swimming pool which was a disappointment to the young one who was looking forward to a swim.

The first thing that stuck me about Athens was that it had a general run down look especially due to the graffiti that defaced every wall there was, even the walls of private homes. However, on a closer look, for such a crowded and touristic city, the city was spotless. I have been to Rome, Edinburgh, London, Barcelona, Amsterdam, Belgium, Paris and Singapore and while all these cities looked richer, Athens was definitely cleaner.  The graffiti though spoiled the entire look and feel of the city.

We explored a side street and found a quaint bakery and generally roamed around till it was time for the night tour of Athens.  After a short tour with the tour guide giving us some info on the Acropolis, Hadrian’s arch, Lord Byron’s statue, changing of the guards etc we stopped at the beautiful marina Alimos for a look-see and a selfie J

This was all through key tours and as per their itinerary,  we next walked through the fantastic Plaka to a greek tavern where we had a traditional meal overlooking a stage where there was a continuous stream of dancing going on. The music and dancing was great fun and many from the audience joined in. It was as fun as a Bollywood show if not more. Most in the audience knew the greek lyrics and joined in lustily! All that we did was join in whenever the crowd went ‘Opa!’.  (Bravo?!)

What impressed me was the general comfort level of women and the gallantry of the men. Even at midnight there were lots of young women dressed for a party, walking the plaka  and I did not notice even a single man behave in an untoward manner.

Especially in the Taverna, while the audience joined in the dancing, the DJ, invited random people and paired them off together. He even asked the ladies to kiss the gentleman thus selected on the cheek. Without exception, all the men behaved gallantly and with decent charm. One particular gentleman was very tall and he was paired with a short lady. The lady was asked to kiss this guy’s forehead. She shook her head and was wagging her finger at the DJ. Cutely the gentleman knelt down to enable the lady to give the requisite kiss and then took her hand, kissed it and walked away. 

Letters to my Princess-5

Sweetheart

We have just had 2 of our biggest fights till date and I would like to write what I feel. I am frustrated that you can do addition, subtraction, multiplication and division mentally, you are able to do slightly complicated word problems, you can say how many minutes it is to a particular time but for some strange reason, you refuse, adamantly refuse to understand half an hour before half past an 'o clock is the same 'o clock!

Appa and I have tried telling you softly, kindly, gently, harshly - you are having none of it. Everything on your terms and your terms only! Lots of pen licenses being earned in class but when I ask you why you have not got yours , you say ' They have to give it to everybody by end of this year, so why hurry amma? Let it come when it will! '.

When appa and I are rushing anywhere, no matter how much we beg, scream, jump, sweet-talk you - you cannot be rushed. Your life. Your time. Your terms. At 7 years of age. God give us strength!

You have been asked to demonstrate to others in swimming class last week, in dance and also in class on how to do a good job. As though, post our fight you were trying to prove something to me! You have also got your trophy in Piano class. But all these only because you wanted them to. Never when pushed or rushed. Your classes. Your terms.

The words that I hear nowadays from most parents who know you - ' She is emotionally strong. Very confident. You need not worry about her'. I am glad and happy. But am also a bit scared.

Your dad is like that but sometimes that makes him too comfortable with nothing to push him to do the best that he can. When we are not satisfied, we can push ourselves to the best of our potential. So, sometimes, chella kutti, it makes sense to be restless and thirsting after something. :)

But.. you dad also says that you are not completely like him. We are still trying to figure you out.

Here's to interesting times ahead for all of us kannamma! :)

Lest I forget, let me also note that you brush, shower and dress up all by yourself , lay out the dishes, spoons, plates etc and feed yourselves - but all in your own good time.

I was mighty impressed , when the other day, I came tired from work and you said ' You just sit down right there and rest nicely. Let me lay out the food for both of us'

I knew then that I was in for a long wait, but for those kind words thangame..am willing to wait forever!

Love you darling.
Amma

Xmas 2016 and New year 2017 Part 2

One thing I should not forget is the horrendous traffic in Bangalore. For a ten minute distance, we were once sat trapped in a car for nearly 2 hours. Never again do I want to plan to go anywhere in  Bangalore!

The weather was 28 degrees in December so I could only imagine how it would be in the summer!

On the other hand, the city was abuzz with news about new start ups and wherever we went, be it restaurants or coffee hang outs, there were youngsters sat next to us planning one new venture or the other!  The confidence and focus of these groups of young twenty somethings was wonderful to see and observe!

After 4 days, we took the Shatabdi express to Mysore. Our friends were already on the same train travelling from Chennai. The kids immediately wanted to catch up and we swapped places so the kids, the gentlemen and the ladies could all catch up. It was a good start for the second part of the holiday.

We had booked a quiet farmhouse slightly away from the city and the kids loved it. They loved watching the birds, the cow and the bulls and feeding the fish in the pond. Most of all they loved going up to their secret alcove of the bunk bed into the kids' rooms and chatting into the night before going to sleep.

 I loved taking walks on the farm path with the coconut groves on either side and watching the kids play.

There were some irritants too but that is for the review of the place and not for here!

We went to the Mysore palace, the Chamarajendra zoo, the Ganapathy Ashram with its fantastic aviary and Bonsai gardens, Dobare elephant camp, Karanji lake and the Chamundeshwari temple. The brindavan gardens were a major disappointment due to their poor maintenance.

I also let the rest of the gang go to Melkote, Ranganathaswamy temple, Ranaganathittu bird sanctuary and a jackal horse ride while I booked myself for a much needed spa break at the Indus Valley Ayurvedic centre.

On the last day, we chose to relax and go back to Karanji lake and watch the wonderful peacocks while our friends visited the Chenna Kesava temple.

Though K and I have been to Mysore several times, booking a guide for the Mysore palace made a huge difference. The beautiful oil paintings where the Saree Palluss and the eyes followed you whichever direction you went, the stained glass paintings, the golden flag, the private and public Durbar halls and the empanelled doors were all a sight to behold.

The palace flower gardens were a pleasure as well.

The weather was a boiling 31degrees in the mornings and a shivering low in the evenings.

Other highlights were the Coorg coffee which was the best I have ever had , watching a peacock trying hard with its mating dance to attract a pea-hen for a good 20 minutes, being sprayed with waterby a naughty baby elephant , feeding the elephants and having the colourful birds in the aviary of the Ganapathy ashram sit on our heads and shoulders ;)

On New Year's Eve, we had a lovely Bon fire lit, listened to songs, danced a bit,  ate some cake and ushered in the new year with the kids fighting over something silly and making up in an even more silly manner!

All in all, another memorable holiday.

Xmas 2016 and Newyear 2017 Part 1

This xmas and new year were spent in India. 4 days in Bangalore and the rest in Mysore with V and C and the kids, R and K. A very busy holiday indeed it was.

We stayed in the Marriott as usual and the service was, as always exemplary. One of the highlights of Bangalore was R meeting her thathaiya and nanamma. They had a great time together  and especially given the elders' advanced age, it was a much needed and urgent bonding.

She had little to do in the hotel itself, but enjoyed the international clown shows in the adjoining mall. While playing hide and seek with me, she banged her head against the table corner and so could not go swimming, much to her disappointment.

Of late, R has been trying to understand the difference between being rich and poor and hence how that affects how a person lives.

In front of one of the malls, she saw a boy, similar to her in age, selling toys all by himself. This was a very smart boy who spoke fluently and with confidence in English, Tamil, Hindi and Kannada. He had no parents with him and was collecting money and giving out change quite easily.

It was getting dark but he was still going busy with his wares.

I made sure she observed all of this and we bought a couple of toys from him as well. Hopefully, the memory will stand her in good stead when trying to understand initiative, independence and the value of working hard.

I did discuss about him with her and she seemed to have an idea of the enormity of the difference between her relatively cushy life and the resultant happy go lucky attitude to work vs play. Only time will tell how much of a positive impact this has had on her. Hopefully lots!

'Santa' made a visit to the hotel room on xmas day and in the absence of carrots, had the banana(!) and milk left for him the night before. He had written a letter describing how special and how very loved R was/is and how she needs to earn her 'talking puppy' gift by working hard at her school and other classes and also eating her greens. :)

R was mighty thrilled as earlier we had told her Santa only visits homes and not hotel rooms as there are no individual chimneys! This was explained away by way of the hotel's kitchen chimney when Santa eventually made his way!

Another positive turn of events was meeting M. M and I were best friends in a way only only post teen girls can be, in their most formative years as women, for 8 years between 2000 and 2008.

Then life and many other things and people happened and we did not meet at all  or speak much till this visit to India in 2016.

She made the effort to come over to meet us and for me at least, it was like the 8 year gap never happened. She is at an important junction in her life and I was glad to have been there to give her my best wishes.

Really glad that, that evening happened.

In news of other little joys for R, R had received some Tinkle books from one of her much older friends in the U.K. And has been tremendously enjoying them. So we went all the way to Blossoms in MG road ( on M's recommendation) to get more of the same for her. She was very happy about the same.

I also took this time with R to teach her Scrabble and chess while having tea in the executive lunge and we both enjoyed the same.

While playing scrabble, I was trying to prompt her for the word ' kid' and so I said, ' I am a grown up R, so who are you?' And pat came the answer ' I am 'special' mummy!'

 Need I say more? :)

...to be continued.