Author: Tulika

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They’re five

I’ve been away too long. Meanwhile much has happened. But all of that can wait. First the most momentous event of them all …. the kids reached the ripe old age of five.
And we decided to have a party. For the first time ever we went in for the regular rigmarole complete with tattoo guy and magician.
First there was the guestlist
Most of the kids’ friends were still vacationing including Hrit’s favourite buddy. After a careful tally he realised there were very few boys and was terribly upset because the ‘boys’ team was smaller than the ‘girls’ team.

However that did not deter him from distributing invites with abandon, even to girls and also to girls he didn’t know the names of. Along with the invites he gave clear instructions that they were supposed to carry gifts for ‘me and my sister’. I swear I never taught him any of that. Mercifully the absentees balanced out the new invitees.

.. then the big question “What should they wear?”
We found Naisha her dream dress.. a pretty pink party thing she fell in love with at first sight. She preened till I lost patience and locked it away. (Thankfully she didn’t bring up the question of the Chaniya Choli). Hrit’s clothes took forever but finally got sorted.

Less than a week before the party Hrit decided he wanted to be a ‘hair cutter’ when he grew up. And what better place to hone his skills than his own head? Two days in a row he chopped off his hair — once near the parting and then right above his forehead. The hairdresser I took him to refused repair work advising me to simply cover up the patches with what was left of his hair… and that was that.

Then there was the question of the venue
The house was ruled out. (The cooking I might have managed but the post party cleanup… yikes no). After much deliberation and checking and rechecking that the monsoon hadn’t progressed beyond Kerala we decided to have the party in a semi open space at a neighbourhood restaurant.

D – day dawned..
.. sunnily enough. But we’d tempted the Gods and they didn’t disappoint. They made sure the monsoon hopped skipped and jumped to our city and opened up the skies precisely half an hour before the party.

We had to settle for a tiny room in the same restaurant. It was a bit of a crush…. but the kids didn’t notice.

The decoration guys had to give up half way through and hastily put up some balloons at the new venue… and that was all the kids seemed to want.
The husband was called upon to ferry the guests to and from the venue…. which meant the party started and ended bang on time.
I tried to dress up for the occasion too. While I stuck to my jeans I ditched my trustee canvas shoes for a pair of heels and also, a first, I got my hair done. The rain however banished both my vanities in a moment. The downpour flattened my hair in a jiffy and as I waded through the overflowing drains the sandals gave way.. so it was back to the trustee shoes. I ended up as the most relaxed though dishevelled hostess.
With the sister and and SIL by my side (Couldn’t have done it without them) we managed to pull it off. We had fun as did the kids. They sat through the magic show, got all excited at the pigeons the magician conjured up, played Queen of Sheeba with gusto and burst balloons with a vengeance.

Learnings for next year

1. Kids do NOT need fancy venues.
2. Kids do NOT care for decoration as long as it is fun to destroy.
3. Kids can dance to ANY music.
4. Kids can eat ANY food as long as it’s not spicy.
5. KIDS DO NOT LEAVE WITHOUT RETURN GIFTS.
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Shaame Awadh ….

….is just not the same this time round. Oh no I’m not going to start off on how Lucknow used to be this wonderful place and how it has changed for the worse. I’m really not one of those who leave their hometown only to come back periodically to criticize it.. uff the heat.. uff the crowd.. uff the narrow roads.. uff no roadsense at all.

No no.. that’s not me. However this time round the famous Awadh evenings bear a jaundiced look. Lucknow is crazily dusty. The entire city seems to have been dug up for laying some huge sewer lines. Mammoth pits follow you everywhere, flanked by yellow mountains of mud. The hot May breeze blows the mud into your hair, in your mouth and everywhere else it can possibly get to. One half of the roads has been left for the commuters. Give over some more space to vehicle parking and you’re left with a veritable strip.

‘Sawadhan’ that’s the catch word
Didn’t I say yellow was the predominant colour?

That’s right on the road

Scary, isn’t it?

The two-wheelers climb onto pavements wherever they can, leaving the pedestrians to manage the best they can. A ride on cycle rickshaws, which, by the way, are a huge favourite with the kids, can be safely classified as adventure tourism. The two wheels are never on level ground and you’re left clutching the rickshaw for dear life. If the kids are with you and you have some shopping to hold onto as well remember to carry a few extra pair of hands.

The kids are of course kicked beyond happiness. The ups and downs thrill them no end drawing shrieks of delight at every bump. I’ve had to contend with enough curious/annoyed looks from passers-by who, distracted by the kids’ glee, find themselves stumbling.

In any case our forays outside the house have been severely limited because the kids have decided to fall ill by turns. It seems like they’ve taken it upon themselves to keep me in character, making sure I don’t forget for a moment that I’m an OM. No heading out to those gorgeous shops piled with Lakhnawis, no handing over the kids to the myriad nanis and dadis, no being the dutiful daughter/DIL. They cling to me like glue during the day and keep me awake at night. Sigh!

The good news is that finally now they’re on the mend and I’m ready to step out and step out big. We’re planning this rather ambitious four-day visit to Nainital with an entourage of over 15 uncles and cousins. Keeping fingers crossed.

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The real holiday begins

I’m off to Lucknow. After two-months of waiting the tickets cleared finally. Thank You, whoever you are, for cancelling your reservation and making way for us.

Really this is such a huge perk of being a SAHM. Never in all my years of working could I afford a one-month holiday. Of course I carry my work with me but it’s definitely lighter what with dadu, nanu, nanima, dadima, masi, mamas, tai, tauji and a pack of cousins to share the kids.

I’m not the only one busy what with the packing and informing the milkman and the maids, the kids have been busy too..
Naisha’s been in a tizzy making a card for masi, the two of them being members of the MAS (mutual admiration society). The card features Chhutki of Chhota Bheem fame. The great endeavour was considered important enough for her to call up masi in the middle of it all to ask for her favourite colour so it could be incorporated in the master piece. Then she asked me for an ‘envelon’ and promptly coloured that too. Naisha certainly doesn’t believe in doing things by halves. Then of course sticking to the womanly stereotype of not being capable of keeping a secret she had to call masi again and tell her that she had a ‘prize’ for her (I still haven’t been able to explain the difference between prize and surprise to her).
Hrit got all excited and wanted to make something too though he couldn’t figure out for whom. He was however sure he wanted to make it only for a boy. He finally settled for Nanu.. choosing him over his cousins and Dadu. I hope Nanu is gratified enough at this honour and the others are not overly disappointed. He drew some colourful fishes in an equally colourful ocean.
Doesn’t it resemble Hussain’s work?
And here’s what happened when we tried to impart some ‘gyan’ to Hrit…

Hrit: may I have an ice-candy
Me: Not now. I don’t want you to fall ill because we’re going to Lucknow
Hrit: Why? Don’t they have doctors in Lucknow.

The Husband: Be good when you’re there. If anyone troubles dadima, nanima, dadu or nanu they’ll be put on a train and sent away.
Hrit: Where will they be sent?
TH: You can go where ever you want to.
Hrit (Thinking hard): I think I’d like to go to Bombay.

The only catch in my happiness.. the day long train journey. Beware all you co-passengers the twins are on their way.

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Ten things you can do with empty bottles

The other day while cleaning up I found these bottles and was about to throw them off when they were retrieved by the kids. They then proceeded to…

1. Count them, then count the blue ones, white ones, green ones separately
2. Make formations.. circles, triangles, squares, rows.
3. Make a circle of the bottles, put toys inside and then try to retrieve the toys without knocking off the bottles.
4. Try to stack them one on top of the other (and give after some hundred tries)
5. Balance balls on them and make them into softys
6. Sell them.. the green one was a premium buy because there was just one
7. Buy them and polish bargaining skills too
8. Roll them to see whose goes farthest
9. Fill them up with ‘juice’ and set up a juice shop
10. Create a bowling alley (Biggest hit with Hrit since he loves some action)

Did someone say waste?

Serious stacking in progress

One man’s waste is another man’s toy
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