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.