Pea Pod - A taste of everyday life

My mother's come down to visit me. It's so nice to have her here and talk about so many things. And today we were talking about how we should always remember who stood by us in bad times. This brought back to me many memories. With the memories, came realizations. My father's passing away was very traumatic. But there are some people who's true nature was exposed to me during that time. Some people are selfish and have no emotions or empathy. At the same time some of them were so caring and kind that I can never forget them. But these were only a few. I'd like to put down their names in writing here and give them a BIG thank you for just being there - My uncles,Vipin kaka, Mahendra kaka and Suresh mama, my dear friend Wigbert Piedade, my ex-bosses and friends Rajesh Khanna and Krishna Unni, both my brother-in-laws Anandbhai and Shaileshbhai. Thank you all...for standing by me.

Of two little princes Riding on their horses Serpent studded with a jewel Of mermaids deep under water And magical lunch boxes That gave one what he tells Of a fat li'l fellow Spoilt by his mother His bag full of laddoos And a monkey for a brother Of two different boys One good and one bad One read the books Other tore ones he had Of moon chariots And parties on the clouds Of learning lessons And making your parents proud Of thumb sized husbands Who travelled in wive's wallets And thumb sized wives Who sat in shirt pockets . Who says you have gone My dear Father? You very much live on In stories that you told us Now I pass them to my son. For My DAD. On his 75th birthday.

Little children can be a handful. But they can also be real destressers! I too have my share of tiring spells with a toddler in his 'terrible twos'. I often tell him to listen to mummy as mummy gets very tired. Today, after I gave him a bath, he sat on the sofa and made a sad little face saying, "Babboo is tired!" A few days back, we both were busy doing a puzzle in the afternoon. Of animals and thier babies. He picked up a chick and showed it to me. "That's my little baby!", I said lovingly. Immediately he picked up the hen and said "This is my mummy!" I just couldn't help but laugh out loud! And the best part about being a mother is receiving so many wet kisses before going to bed and early in the mornings. I can tolerate any of the terrible twos, threes or fours for that.

I find it too funny. And it's such a hoax! Just heard some girls talking about their life and how they were in love with someone and how things never worked out. Interesting overhearing. One girl said a guy in her office wrote a song specially for her where he put forth his love; how she was the only girl that he'd love all his life and all that crap! Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum! The other girl said she wasn't sure of the guy who had proposed to her. He was willing to wait for her for eternity. He told her that she was the bird he loved and he loved her so much that if he'd set her free, she would come back to him if his love was true. I found this conversation hilarious. Could I laugh out loud?! These girls need time. To think in a mature way. The promises that are made to them will fly away with time. The boys will go their own way and the girls too will find their true calling. Though I really hope that their love blossoms with time and that I would be proved wrong.

Whoever said Bangalore was the IT capital of our country? Well, in a way it is. It's the 'Inept Town' of India. I've just moved here a week back and everything seems so different when compared to Bombay. Power cuts, water cuts, rotten vegetables and fruits, snobbish locals, hardly any home delivery services, no hindi speaking help available, no sense of time in people...The list is endless. Bombay has really spoilt me. It doesn't give you the kind of space Bangalore offers, nor does it have a pleasant climate. Yet, the pace and the quality of everyday requirements is just too good to be true. My first week in Bangalore, I was down with a bad throat and a severe cough. And nowhere could I find the Ayurvedic medicine that I usually take during such times. None of the chemists had it. Back in Bombay, even the smallest of chemists would stock it! I was surprised when a the local chemist told me to go to another suburb to get it. Well, I just had to do some home remedies

I've started toilet training for my little toddler who is still to turn two. After every meal, I put him on his baby potty and most of the time he does everything possible sitting on it except doing what he's supposed to. But one lucky day, he stood up from his potty and staring inside, he exclaimed, "BIG!" When i went close to see what he'd been refering to, I was surprised to see the 'small little BIG job!