Author: Tulika

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Whew Diwali..

So Diwali has gone. I have to admit it’s a bit of relief. Oh I like Diwali, in fact I like all festivals but they do turn your life upside down. There’s loads to do. You are overworked and the maids are overworked and are always in a hurry and more than a little cranky.

The kids are in the way.. Either they’re disconnected with the cleaning and decorating, which irks you no end or they want to do everything and that’s worse because you have to think up ways so they can help without doubling your work. The hapless souls got more than their share of yelling thanks to frayed nerves. Not that they seemed to mind. Egged on by friends they kept up a steady list of completely non priority demands.. May I have a pat pat gun? May we buy some Lotus flowers? Can we get home the PS 3? In fact when I took some time making the rangoli for the puja N asked if we cold postpone the puja to the next day and go down for the fireworks right away. Priorities!

When we did go down she discovered a sudden fear of fireworks. Last year she was the one going crazy setting off rockets and anars while H stood in a corner trying to pretend he wasn’t scared. Well this year he got over his fear and N developed cold feet to the extent of dropping the phuljhadi even before it was half done. I’ve no clue what has brought this on. Investigation is pending!

H on the other hand was all over the place, a phuljhadi in one hand and his dhoti in the other (despite repeated assurances I could not convince him that it wouldn’t fall off if he let it go).

The Husband probably puzzled and very annoyed by his star performer’s seemingly irrational fear, gave her a piece of his mind. By the time I reached down after wishing a few friends N had been home in search of me and when I ‘didn’t open the door’ had assumed I was ‘lost’ and was crying in one corner.

We had kept the menu simple. I did manage to make jimikand (or Yam). According to North Indian folklore if you don’t eat Yam on Diwali day you are reborn as a chhuchhundar (Wiki calls it the Asian House Shrew). And so I saved my family from an extremely smelly next life (Oh yeah they smell BAD). For the record the yam kebabs I tried (for the first time) turned out quite delectable.

So that was our Diwali!!

I might not agree with Scrooge but I can see where he was coming from.

Managed to get them to pray
The hurried rangoli
Loved these floating candles.
The markets had such pretty stuff I wanted to bring it all home.

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P is for Pintsized wonders

Since my Pint sized Progeny came along there never has been a Peaceful moment. My life turned into a Potboiler. Our home has lost its Pristine state and is now in a constant state of Pandemonium.

That’s not to say I wasn’t Pleased when the gynaec Pulled them out. I’d no clue they’d Planned to come in a Pair. They were just Perfect. While N was Peppy and Perky H was doing Poorly. He took time to get well.

Since then N has remained Petite but H has grown into a Prodigiously Playful boy. But then she’s no Paragon either. She matches him Punch for Punch. They are constantly Pitted against each other yet turn Partners in crime.

Can you believe my Plight then? No longer am I the Placid woman of my youth. Had anyone Pointed out to me that life could be full of Precarious yet Precious moments, I would have thought them Presumptuous.

I get to Play Plenty of roles – a Policewoman, a Pacifist and a Peacemaker all rolled into one. Sometimes I also need to Pass out Punishments but the Pint sizes never hold it against me. Then there are moments of Pure Pleasure when they’ve been good and I get to hand out the Prizes.

I quite enjoy it all.

The Pertinent Point is that the Precocious Pint sizes are indeed a lot of fun. Besides they are my contribution to Posterity!

Linking to ABC Wednesday

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Innocence

‘You are the horriblest mum in the world,’ she screamed. Sobbing, she ran to her refuge curling up behind a bookcase. Through the haze of tears something caught her eye. It was THE book, brand new, the one she’d been longing for. “Oh mum you’re the best,” she murmured happily as she hugged the book.

Pic credit: http://www.vidyasury.com

Linking to Write Tribe’s 55 on Friday in response to the picture prompt (above) given by Vidya Suri.

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Baramulla Bomber

Baramulla Bomber
Author: Clark Prasad
Publisher: Niyogi Books
Number of Pages: 315
Price: Rs 395
When I first read about Baramulla Bomber
I was intrigued. One, because I’ve read some great trilogies over the recent
years (this too is Eka, part I of a
Trilogy) and two, because the concept of the book sounded very interesting.
It is an ambitious novel to say the
least, spread across multiple countries – Sweden, Norway, the USA and closer
home Pakistan, China and India.
It is peppered with characters as
diverse as ever – a Kashmiri cricket player, a Swedish intelligence agent, a
Pakistani scientist, an Indian Defence Minister and many many more.
It has international relations, politics,
border skirmishes, religion and even some cricket thrown in for good measure. 

What more could one ask for?

The plot:
A blast is heard in Kashmir’s Shaksgam
valley that flattens out an entire area.
A dying Swedish agent leaves a coded message
before he succumbs to mysterious injuries.
A mountaineering team disappears without
a trace.

Indian agencies suspect a secret weapon was
tested in the valley. Pakistani sources insist it was a mining accident while
others say it was an earthquake.
If it was a weapon what kind was it? If Pakistan is readying
to use it how can it be stopped? Was it the same that killed the Swedish spy? Those
are the questions that are bothering India’s Defence Minister Agastya Rathore.
But Pakistan is not his only worry, China is readying for an offensive at India’s
borders too.
And amongst all this is Mansur – a simple Kashmiri man who
dreams of being a part of the National Cricket team without ever really
believing it possible.
The review:
The novel is pacey and you do find yourself turning the pages
eagerly enough. And here’s a warning – This is not a book you can read with the kids running around or the TV blaring. So if you really want to enjoy it look out for a quiet corner.

My problem with the book is it’s climax. The buildup is exciting but the climax is a bit of a letdown.
Perhaps due to the nature of the weapon, it doesn’t leave as huge an impact as promised
by the beginning. I found myself saying “Is that it?”

Also, although there are a number of characters, the books loses
out for lack of a single, charismatic all impacting hero and on the other side there
is no single truly malicious, malevolent villain.  That’s purely a personal view –  that’s how I like a book to be.. specially a thriller.

Then there are some unanswered question?

What were those UFOs?
What’s the story of Agastya’s wife?
Are the members of the mountaineering team dead or alive?
When the guardians meet – if the meeting was such a huge
secret – how come an outsider was near the site?
Of course there are Part 2 and 3 in the offing. I’m hoping I’ll
get my answers then.

This review is part of Blogadda’s Book Review Programme.
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