Back to blogging : Our kraft works

Some where  last year I lost touch with my subtitle ‘parenting and child driven learning ‘ . Kids were busy exploring themselves . I was busy trying to keep up with them and helping them that I did not get a chance to record or blog any of it . It took us some time to get accustomed with the new curriculum and fish out some ‘our time ‘ .

I plan to return to our simple projects and see where it takes us . I have always been a person who likes simplicity and most of all being myself . Striving to take my blog to the next level , whatever it is , sort of killed my blog . But in the past months I realised I do not blog for anyone . Now , you please do not take me badly . But the truth is I blog for myself . Selfish it may be . Or may be I don’t want to take the responsibility of trying to keep up with the expectations of my readers. I am a perfectionist by nature . Responsibility is a huge burden to me that I withdraw completely when things doesn’t go the way I want them to be .

I excel when I do some thing to please myself. In short all this means I am back to pester you all

So , here we are ! Setting out again for a blogging journey with Ruby and Pearl .

Time table chart with ” Wonders of the world “

Fish made from pistachio shells

Also , tagging my blog friends here : Pallavi ( Crocodile Tears ) , Urmila ( Urmi’s little space ) , Shail ( Shail’s nest ) , Swaram ( Song of life ) , Uma ( Uma’s reflections ) , Shirley ( enriching your kid ) , Bikram ( Man bikram ) , Shilpa Garg (A rose is a rose ) , Sweety (swees ) , Reshmi ( ente kavithakal )

Without you all this place wouldn’t have been the same . Thank you for reading my silly posts and commenting . Thank you for being my friend .

Ya , I know . No tag is complete without a set of questions . As it seems most of my blogging friends are in some stage of hibernation I pose only one question. The same one I was thinking today . As a student I have always liked choices in question papers . So I give you two options . Take any one of them

1.  Why do you blog ?

OR

2. How and when did you start blogging ?

1.  Why do you blog ?

As I said earlier in this post I figured out I blog for myself. Not to help the mankind or any of those excuses that I usually make whenever somebody talks about blog or blogging . I blog because I like it . I like the anonymity & accessibility  . I like to see my thoughts put down in words .

2. How and when did you start blogging ?

When I started pestering my family with posts on orkut community my sister came up with this idea . ” Why don’t you start writing all this rubbish in a separate BLOG ?  ” That was 2 years ago . Anyway , that is it . I did not even know what a blog means . But quickly found out I love this set up . There have been up and downs . Weeks together when I wouldn’t post anything but simply stare into my old posts . Arrange and rearrange the widgets and themes. Eventually I always come back to this beautiful place of mine .

Friends , take it from here . I am a hoarder when it comes to pictures ( or more precisely when it comes to anything other than storing important data in my brain )

Take whichever one you like the most or simply take all of them . Tag 5 of your friends or as many as you want

Pallavi ( Crocodile Tears ) , Urmila ( Urmi’s little space ) , Shail ( Shail’s nest ) , Swaram ( Song of life ) , Uma ( Uma’s reflections ) , Shirley ( enriching your kid ) , Bikram ( Man bikram ) , Shilpa Garg (A rose is a rose ) , Sweety (swees ) , Reshmi ( ente kavithakal )

Wagamon , You are Beautiful

Wagamon is a very beautiful place with rows of meadows and small hills arranged one after other in perfect shapes and sizes that we may think they have been painted into the nature .

As a child paintings on sceneries with small hills , meadows , flowing stream  and rising sun were my typical creations . What came to my mind first on seeing the meadows and hills of Wagamon were the book binds I used to collect as a student.  After all people did not make them out of the blue . Nature is beautiful beyond our wildest imaginations .

When my cousin hurried to Wagamon to take photo stills for their wedding album I thought they are just blowing it out of proportion . Never thought there would be such a serene and relaxing place with in the arm reach of bustling Kochi . That explains in itself how little we all know about Kerala even as Keralaites and how much we take this beautiful place for granted . Or may be that is just me

On our way back kids were counting the Kerala districts we have visited and those we haven’t. It seems we haven’t been to Wayanadu . Have drove down the legendary ‘Thamarasserry Chorum ‘ on our way back from Ooty . But kids were then too tired to notice anything.

The meadows of Wagamon are vast and only poetic words can bring out their true beauty . A velvety carpet of emerald green stretching as far as your eyes can see . I felt they resemble the meadows of Ooty.

The hills are exactly what we call ‘motta kunnu’ in Malayalam . They are so inviting that we cannot but climb every one of them .Safe for kids to play . No shops in eyesight to nag their parents

The pine forests . I was reminded of our college trip to Kodai .

In short Wagamon seemed to me a perfect combination of an unexploited Ooty and non- misty Kodaikkanal. I did miss shopping though

The travel bug – Trip to Colombo & Kuala Lumpur

Even though we have been on a traveling spree in and around Kerala , the international travel bug hit us a bit late . As they say , better late than never and every journey begins with a small step . Let this be ours.

Last Tuesday ( October 4 th ) we set out on a 5 day trip to Colombo / Kuala Lumpur . As this was my first trip over seas , frankly , I did not have a clue what I should carry and all. So the pre – trip preparations were a bit hectic . Especially with two over excited kids under your feet grilling you with every kind of questions . By the time I reached the airport on Tuesday morning , I was already exhausted .

At the airport we were delighted to see three other families with kids almost of the same age as that of Ruby and Pearl. Three ten yr old boys , three five year old girls , one toddler and one infant . With in no time they all became inseparable and set the right momentum for a rocking trip.

The tour was on behalf of  ICAI ( Institute of Chartered accountants of India ) Cochin Chapter and was arranged by Akbar Travels.

There was a city tour of Colombo on our way to Ramada  . Sri lanka is almost similar to India , especially Kerala and Tamil Nadu . But a lot cleaner . We were intrigued by the similarities in the way Sri Lankan ladies drape their sarees . It has a far resemblance to our ‘ chattayum mundum’ . Even when they drape it in Indian style the ‘pallu’ of their saree reaches their ankle . And I liked it .

image courtesy - google

The streets are similar to our Fort Kochi . I dozed off in between .  It has been some time since I got chance to listen to any lecture . The guide’s description acted as a good lullaby I managed to get some snaps though .

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One thing that I noticed is almost every other building has a statue in the front . So after taking one or two snaps we lost the thrill  . The beach side road is very beautiful and we passed through that spot at the right time of sunset .

Colombo by sunset

We came across a snake charmer on the premises of The National Monument . I was looking forward to see the snake dancing to the ‘pagdee’ . Even though India is known as the snake charmer’s land I haven’t seen any until now. But the snake charmer turned out to be a bit tactless and right away started asking for money making conditions and clauses and we lost the interest . Anyway I managed some snaps.

For shopping the Guide first took us to some cultural and ethnic shops which we found very expensive and not worth for the money . So later he gave in and took us to House of Fashions which was a good shopping experience .

We reached Ramada Hotel by 9.30 or so . And after food headed right away to sleep .

The Srilankan cuisine included ‘ idiyapom’ , ‘stew ‘ , ‘ chutney ‘ and a whole lot of dishes similar to ours . Just like Kerala the Portugal influence is more than that of the British .

Ramada is okay when your are in transit . Be sure that you have every thing you may need with you. The crew is not that keen on service .

We headed to Kuala Lumpur  very early the next morning .

Songs take you back in time

It is a sweet romantic melody and not at all melancholic . But when I hear this song a sadness grips my heart so tight that I cannot even breath . It takes me days to come out of it . Earlier I thought it was depression . But now I think it is just a trance . A bittersweet longing for a period of time which I will never visit again unless in my dreams .

Strangely I found out I like that feeling . It gives me time to think . Makes me silent. I get to finish the pending chores . And allows people around me some peace and quiet

Enjoy !

Like most of my favourite songs I do not play it on my Player . I wait for ‘coincidence’ to bring it to me .That is why FM is my favourite . I don’t use a ipod or  walkman . I like to absorb the music that fills the space around me , like I am floating on the lyrics and the tune .

The last year I was in a very restless mood . It has reflected on my blog too. A few weeks back my father gifted me his tape -recorder and cassette collection to listen to while I am in my kitchen  (er…. and destroyed my plan to buy a new generation MP3 player and radio )  .

It has effortlessly connected me again to my  best friend of all time , Music. And for the first time in the last few years I feel at home.

Musical Monday

Songs mark a period of your life in a way nothing else can . More than the songs themselves it is the memories that we hold on to .  Just  close your eyes and listen, and you will be there . Back in time . Like in some strange time machine .

Isn’t it for the same reason that we all love songs so passionately ?

This is one such song . It reminds me of our college trip to Kodai . The time of life when every thing was beautiful , sweet and merry . The time when the biggest problem  was choosing the next day’s salwar and finding a plausible excuse for being late .

What are your memories ?

Thursday Challenge ( Pouring , wet ,dripping , splashes…)

‘Don’t walk away if you intend to stay ‘ . This is roughly one of the updates I recently saw on FB updates . Whoever posted it , can claim it  It is a really nice one !

Anyway this is exactly my case with this blogspace . One day I stepped aside and now I can only wonder what I have been posting for two years . I just can’t find any thread for a post and I just can’t find any words .

Today morning I have been reading some of the blogs ( A habit I had shaken off with great effort in the past month )  and I realised I don’t want to leave this cute little space of mine .

So , here comes the ‘Thursday Challenge ” for the week.

“LIQUID” (Splashes, Pouring, Dripping, Waves, Wet,…)

Next Week: WOODEN (Ship, House, Furniture, Carpentry Tools, Trees,…)

Without knowing what this week’s challenge is I had clicked a single snap . The only one that came thru my cam in the last month . It was clicked after the initial torrents though .

I was waiting for Pearl to come and was immensely enjoying the rain . The swishing wind which reminded me of that nostalgic sound inside a sea shell , swaying banyan  trees , dark clouds , heavy down pour and not a single soul around . A rare chance to come by .

Edited to add

Monsoon through my window

Mathru Devo Bhava !

On this Mother’s day I salute all the single mothers and all the working mothers who try hard to keep the balance !

Last year I tried to note down what my mother means to me . She is the person who has influenced me most . I have wondered at times if she is some angel . I have never seen her take any selfish decisions . Frankly, it would have had done her much good She is the most sweet person I have ever met in this world.

This year , I would like to share with you the joy of being a mother . Yesterday I fell on the road while trying to ride the scooter and scraped my knee and arms. Hubby and Ruby was there . They said all the appropriate words , checked if I was injured badly and after being assured every thing is under control they went off  with their own chores . But when my daughter came to know about this she came and hugged me tight . Told me it is alright and that I don’t have to worry . She checked how bad it is . And said I am lucky that my other arm is not injured. She stayed with me till I applied the medicine . And all the time patted me and said all the soft words she knows.

Ten years I have only been on the giving side . Taking care of every one and also taking care of myself. Now I feel , I can sit back and take a breath. And it feels good to be taken care of . She is like that with every body .

At night she lulled me to sleep with lullabies she has learned from me . Only my mother has cared me like that

In the morning though , she claimed she slept very late after taking care of me and needs some extra time to sleep And after checking the bruise told me she thinks I am not doing enough prayers . Otherwise it is time for it to heal She suggested I should light the lamp and pray for some time . And all this very seriously I can’t wait to see what a wonderful girl she would be when she grows up !

On another note today we had a  ‘ free medical camp ‘ and one mother came to me after being posted for cataract surgery . She doesn’t even know her full address . Apparently she lives with her son and DIL , but she came alone for the check up.  When I asked for address she gave me her ration card . I opened it and some  rice fell on my lap . She don’t have anybody to accompany her to the hospital and so cannot do the surgery even if it is done free of cost . She is not in a position to share their mobile numbers with us. And she started to cry saying she don’t have anybody who cares for her and why she should get her sight corrected .

All the fuss we make on Mother’s day suddenly flashed in my mind . And I stared at her blankly thinking about the ‘  Mother’s- day -special -post ‘ I was editing in my mind while taking down the details .