Brunch - At the Creche

Last week on Saturday, we were invited for a small get-together in Tanay's crèche. Such get-togethers happen in all the four quarters of the year, where parents and kids and the caretakers come together and share a few light moments along with food and drinks. This was the first in the year and first of its kind for me!

Usually during the week, the caretakers are busy with the kids and the parents tired after having a long day at office. So there is hardly any communication happening between them unless there is something really different to tell about the child, e.g. ill health or disturbed sleeping pattern. I, however, make it a point to talk to Tanay's caretaker whenever I see her, so that I know what is happening with him there and I also know what to say and how to react to things when he does or says something at home.

The Brunch (Breakfast + Lunch) started at about 9.30 am and we reached there by 10.15 or so. Parents were already there with kids and people had begun with their breakfast. Tanay started crying as soon as we approached the crèche thinking that he would be left in the crèche that day and we both would go home. It took a while to calm him down and give him the confidence that it is not like other days and that we also would stay back with him. He met his best friend, Julian and we interacted with his parents. We talked about our kids, clothes, language development etc. As expected, there was a variety of food and drinks. I could only eat bread, cheese and a few fruits from it. However Tanay and his dad enjoyed the varieties of Fleisch (meat) and had a heart full meal.  The kids were taken to a room where a few caretakers looked after the kids so that the parents could be addressed. The director of the crèche explained various events planned for the New Year. All the parents listened keenly and put forth their suggestions and queries. Then we were showed the portfolios of our kids, where different photos of Tanay, his daily activities are all captured and various events are written down by his caretaker. It was fun to read about his pleasing and cheerful demeanour. I could imagine that his caretakers were very happy with him and he fully enjoyed their attention and love. He is a quick learner and understands things quickly - one caretaker described about him. I smiled to myself. It was a great testing period when I put him in the crèche at the beginning. But he is a fighter. He did not keep on crying, he did not lose out. He bounced back with an understanding of a foreign language and a foreign environment and foreign people. Of course, his caretakers will be always given full credit and their efforts to help him settle in the mainstream will always be appreciated. They are also responsible for the phenomenal development of his.

Later, we painted, played games, played quiz and lunch was served. Photos were taken with parents and kids were all over the place, shouting, squealing, running, talking, fighting. It seemed like a childrens festival and it was very heartening to see the kids bond along with their parents. It was my first experience with something like this with Tanay's participation and I fully enjoyed it. He will soon start going to Nursery..

And I thought, This is just the beginning!

The Kindle experience

Technology has come very far. 

Earlier, the scriptures were handed down to next generations orally and for the fear of losing it or forgetting it, then the practice of writing them down started and thus the words books and print took hold and now in the year 2013, I hold a gadget (Amazon Kindle Paperwhite) in my hands, which has all my favorite books, not in print, but in e-format. I really wanted to show this gadget to my grandfather, who was extremely well read person and who always encouraged reading. He wouldn't have believed his eyes that something like this could also happen and he could read books without actually holding the book in his hands! Alas, that is not possible, but I will always remember him for his encouragement to read and this amazing new gadget has actually taken me back to the good old habit of reading and I do make it a point to read a few pages before I go to sleep.

Buying English books in Germany is a costly affair. And there is always a mental comparison happening at the back of my mind between Euros and Indian Rupees, when I buy books here. Kindle helps me a variety of English books and at a very low cost when compared with the book in print. It is immediately available to read as soon as I am done with the payment and I can start reading it whenever I want. It is a slim gadget, adequately lit and easy to carry. One has to buy a cover case as it does not come along with the gadget. You need not worry about the last page which you read and remember it because as soon as you open the e-reader next time, you start from the page, where you had left. I found it an amazing feature. Battery life is also very good, lasts for over a week, once fully charged. And the screen is very robust and not smooth like the touch screen mobile handsets, which is a very nice thing, I guess! You won't like to touch slippery surfaces and miss the certain pages when it comes to reading your favorite books. It is very easy to understand for first time users and if one comes across any difficult words while reading, the word can be referred then and there in the dictionary and also on Wikipedia! Amazing na? You can exchange books with other friends, who might also be using Kindle, just like it happens in a library.

I devoured two simple books of Sudha Murthy in almost 4 days and also have made a few purchases of different books. The next one is called Mithya by Devdutt Patnaik, on the recommendation of my friend, John Jethi and the book is all about Hindu Mythology. I have always been curious about it and hope to find answers to many questions hovering in my head!

How apt is the name of the gadget, Kindle! It means to start burning or to stir up. It rightly brings forth the desire to read more and more and be well read and well informed, thanks to this gadget, in my case! 

Wish me Happy Reading people!

:-)

Winter winter wo bist du? (Winter, where are you? )

January is nearing an end and there is still no sign of real winter here in Germany. By real Winter,  I mean temperatures in minus degrees and a lot of snow. However, the temperature is still above zero degrees here and I see the sun almost daily, though for some time. I happened to even see some trees where flowers have started blooming or else all the trees have gone bald since November now.

I am happy that the winter is still evading us because I dread falling down in the snow.  Though i am all set with clothing and good shoes, still the though of walking in the snow to office and back and then bringing tanay back from the crèche sends shivers down my spine even before actually having to do it. It is a good thing to watch all the beautiful snow from within your house. But struggling with it day in and day out may bore me tremendously. I am ok with lot of heat and sunshine, but not with sub-zero temperatures. I also have to see how my little boy deals with the extremely cold weather. It is going to be his first winter here.

Climate change is happening all over tge the world and who else than the great mankind is to be blamed for it. We have ruthlessly cut forests and build concrete jungles. Nature will definitely take it's own sweet time to show us our mistakes. Germany has preserved a lot of greenery and nature, but smoking is a great problem here. I would say 80 percent of the population smokes here though they are so finicky about health and quality of food and everything in general.

Anyways, it is upto the individual to decide how he or she can contribute to his or her surrounding. It is an individual responsibility.

For now, I am ok with the current temperatures and wish the snow doesn't cause much hassles when it really arrives.

Appreciate what you have..

I am a great fan of a few reality shows that are telecast in India currently and after I am done for the day, I sit back, relax and make it a point to catch a few episodes here and there. Am really thankful to the technology for bringing me all my beloved serials to my home in Germany and on my suave Samsung S3 mobile phone. The latest season of India's Got Talent has got me hooked from past 2 weeks.

I like to see the people who have something special and different about them. It may be an idea which makes them different from the general public or the way they present themselves. I know that huge grooming and marketing is involved in such shows, but nonetheless people do get a chance to showcase their talents and I am quite happy about it. Last week, a girl contestant had come on the show and she said she was passionate about dancing. They showed the clip of how she loves dancing and all and when she walked on the stage, everyone including me were stunned. She was walking with the help of crutches and she had only ONE leg!! Yes. You read me right. She had only one leg and she was going to perform a dance number. The judges were stunned and they asked her the reason for this handicap. She mentioned that in an accident due to negligence, she lost her leg. It was a minor fracture, but due to somebody's fault, her leg had to be amputed from the root.

And she was standing there smiling radiantly. And she danced. She danced like there was no tomorrow. She danced like she was dancing for her own self. She didn't dance to impress the judges, but she did it for pure joy of it. After the performance, every one stood up and clapped for her. She then called her mother on the stage and it was very heartening to see them together,  cry and smile together. The courage, these both ladies showed was really exemplary and brought tears to almost everybody. She had a handicap, but she chose not to sit and brood and be sad over it and took it in her stride and gave a terrific performance. Judges took her to the next round and gave her a lot of blessings and good wishes. 

I then thought to myself. Why do we normal people crib so much inspite of the fact that we are blessed with all organs necessary for good functioning of our body. Do we really take care of our body parts?  Do we pay attention to our heart beats anytime?  What if the heart suddenly stops one day? What will happen if one day the legs decide that they won't take us out of the bed? We will be certainly doomed. Eyes add color to our life and without them,  we won't be able to work a second. I decided then and there to say thank you to God and all the parts of my body, because they are working in perfect harmony and that is the reason I am alive and kicking.

I also decided to worry less or crib less or frown or be angry. Life is beautiful, people in your life make it more beautiful for you. So why not cherish your moments with them rather than worrying about what you don't have now. One should be progressive and ambitious, no doubt, but not at the cost of one's health or the loved ones. If one puts in hard work and destiny supports you too, you will definitely achieve your goals.

Enjoy and appreciate what you have is what I want to remind myself and also practice from now on.

Your take on it?

Birthday wishes to dear hubby!

Today is my dear husband's birthday and I wrote a small poem for him.

For the evening, there is a surprise waiting for him and I would cook a sweet dish which he likes.

I wish him lot of success and joy in his life!

The poem goes:

Today is your special day and so is mine,

This day you were born, 

And the time was just so right.

You were born to be with me,

To share my pain, fun and joy.

Your smile is radiant,

And you are very strong,

And your übercool attitude,

Will surely take you far!

Our lives were enriched,

With the arrival of our bundle of joy.

I enjoy so much seeing you both,

Talk, play and bond.

I wish we share many such moments,

Always with each other by the side,

I want you to know that I love you,

And shall always thank my stars.

Das ist grün..

Das ist grün..

Das ist blue..

Das ist schwaaz..

These are the latest phrases of my son which he says at least 100 times in a day now. He is now 21 months old and speaks almost everything in Marathi and has also started picking up the German language from the crèche as he spends almost 8 hours there! He answers everything in Ja (yes) and repeats everything what his care taker tells him. It is such a great fun to watch him in this phase, where he is able to express what he feels and what he wants. Currently he is fascinated by colors. He wants to know the color of anything and everything he holds in hands. His favorite color is blue! He now even decides which color pant he wants to wear at home. Isn't it amazing? I wonder what I was like when I was 21 years old. As a mother personally, this journey has been fantabulous. Right from the news that I am expecting till the time he started talking, cut his first tooth, started calling me 'aai' (mom) till now when he has started commanding things, showing anger, guilt, happiness, every moment has been exciting and challenging and a huge learning for me. 

I am amazed at the way kids develop language skills. Though science attempts to explain it, I still am awestruck at how a small dot throbbing at 6 weeks in the womb turns into a nimble and smart kid.  We have been talking to him since day 1, rather even before he was born. We told him about every little thing around assuming he understood everything like adults. He used to listen keenly and he responded when he could. He started walking late, but started speaking quite early. When I look around here, the kids hardly talk or show emotions at his age. Wonder why and how kids can sit so quietly with the pacifier in their mouths for hours together! My kiddo won't do that for a second. His hands, legs and mouth are busy from the time he is awake till he sleeps. He even talks in sleep, says some phrase like 'kann nicht' (cannot do it!). He is a great kid, always smiling, laughing and attention commanding. He is the most talkative and active of all kids in the crèche and almost all the kids there know him! Sometimes, when he realizes that we are not listening to him, he calls us by name, Atul, Runali (he can't pronounce Mrunalini) and then laughs when we look at him. He very well knows that his dad doesn't like being called by name, but he still does it to amuse us!

Life is so different after he has arrived in our lives. I can't imagine staying away from him for a day, but as he grows up, I might be able to go on a trip or a business tour without him just like other working mothers who have to be on a job without kids. But I do not want to think about it as of now. His development shall now take in leaps and bounds and I am so very charged up to see the different phases in his life and of course ours!

I won't be surprised if he corrects my German in the years to come and tell me, 

Mamma, du kannst kein Deutsch (You do not know German!)

Reconnecting

Yesterday, I got a mail from a friend, who was not in touch with me for a long time, telling me that he visits Germany sometimes and would like to meet up if time permits. I was pleasantly surprised to see his mail and also very happy to know that he mailed me, though after a long time. My whole day was spent in that good mood and I thought to myself, it was such a small thing, a few lines written to me, but that bought me so much joy and made me feel so important!

I instantly wrote to him and we got talking to each other again. We quickly caught up with each other about the time when we weren't in touch and realized that nothing much has changed in our lives. But still we were glad to have each other back. Maybe the bond we shared earlier might get renewed or we might have to start all over again or we might be just back to our old selves, pulling each other's legs. It all depends on how seriously you take this reconnecting thing, isn't it?

Thanks to the technology, Facebook, Whtsapp, long lost friends from schools and colleges are meeting each other virtually. I managed to get in touch with my childhood friend of 16 years and also my best friend from MA years through Whtsapp again. I could reconnect with my college group also, who are all working mothers now and in different cities in Mumbai. It felt so good to be together, once again! All those memories of college fun were refreshed. That time we talked about movies, outings, studies. Now, we talk about jobs, kids, routines!It gives a sense of solidarity to once again belong to a group of like minded people and share things and feelings. They all are miles away from me, but hardly a ping away, I can say. The lonliness here lessens a lot and I feel good about staying connected with my friends, with whom I spent 5 wonderful years of my life.

I am actually surprised to see here that people nearby, be it Indians, whom I meet here or the people living here in this country, hardly have made any attempts to stay connected with me. Maybe, they didn't like me much. haha. Just kidding! But, I tried to meet up with 2-3 Indian girls, whom I got to know after coming here, but they did not show any enthusiasm at all to meet up and chat. Maybe they were too busy or it just slipped out of their mind that I had made any such offer anytime. I left it there and wouldn't impose myself on them again. I hardly see my neighbors, leave alone connecting with them.

It has also happened to me that due to some misunderstanding, I have lost good friends after an attempt from my side, many a times, to forgive and forget and get going, but it didn't work. The friends just did not respond and I respected their decision of not getting reconnected. Our journey together was only for that short while, I suppose!

I would leave you here with one thought.

Have you felt like this anytime that people who are physically near are inaccesible when you actually want company and someone to share and the people who are far physically are just a click or a ping or a call away?

Cooking isn't rocket science

This is the tag line of my friend Deepa's culinary blog. She is extremely passionate about cooking and makes wonderful dishes and makes them available for all on her blog. Her husband who is a photographer takes photos of those dishes and makes them even more tempting. I wish I had a little interest myself towards this wonderful art of putting different things together and making one wonderful, mouth watering recipe.

My grandmother still cooks at the age of 86. She never gets tired of being in kitchen. Whenever I visit my parents, she asks for my wishlist in advance and then cooks one dish after the other to my heart's content. I miss her tasty dishes in Germany. I have inherited my maternal quality (mother and her mom) of being able to just survive in the kitchen by making the bear minimum and not go beyond the usuals. My mother in law is also an inspiration when it comes to cooking. She can literally put anything and everything in a dish and make it excellent.

I am sure even today the quality of being able to cook delicious food is often a parameter to judge if a woman can be a good wife and a good daughter-in-law in a new family. One of my friends was scorned by her father in law for keeping a cook and for not cooking by herself despite the fact that she was working and was not able to manage cooking. Her interests were different. It is also true that a woman has to be at least knowing to cook something for herself at least. How long and how much can one eat outside and spend money and get the health spoiled?

Now in Germany after getting tired of eating bread, I have slowly started venturing out of the usual rice dal sabji roti routine. I ask my mommies for tips and also refer to youtube videos. I usually see 2-3 videos for the same recipe and then prepare the dish according to my style. I tried Chole, matar paneer, aloo tikki and I must admit that the recipes turned out to be better than I expected. I had never thought that I would be able to make eatable dishes. I know how I manage to cook the daily items, with great difficulty.

My husband and son eat whatever I cook, without any fuss or complaints. I do not remember a single time when my husband has said that something has not turned out to be good. And now as this new year ushers in, it makes me confident and gives me courage and strength to try out diverse dishes, strictly vegetarian though! Cooking can also prove to be a good stress buster and I know it is so for many of my friends. John postts various dishes on Instagram and he is in a way a great inspiration. So is my dear Anju mavshi in US who sent me the recipe for dates cake. Mavshi,  I haven't made it yet, but it is on my cards. I will be more dedicated and conscious in this amazing world of spices and vegetables and grains and try to gain a few good signature dishes of my own.

See my daring people, I am even going to try the typical Maharashtrian sweet called Tilgul (white sesame and jaggery) for the Sankranti festival on 14th January this year for my family and office colleagues.

Wish me luck guys!

New year resolutions - 2014

We are already through 10 days in this new and brilliant year 2014.

This post should have come earlier, but never mind, Mrunalini! Important is to write, isn't it?

So, what do you intend to do this year, Mrunalini, which you missed out last year?

ummm, let me think..

Yes, I want to learn to ride a bicycle here and go cycling with my hubby and son. I missed out on it last year as I got to know about it towards end of Summer in Germany, but this year, I am going to make it a point to learn this art, which eluded me since school days.

Ok, gut!

What next?

I want to read more books. We bought a Kindle Paperwhite (where you can read books on a device and not as in print and paper form) yesterday and we both are damn excited about it. We are still finding out how to use it effectively, but I intend to make good use of my train journey from office to work and vice versa, reading my favorite books.

Hmm, sounds good.

Next in line?

Cut on chocolates and biscuits and cakes and bakery items..

hmm, can you survive without them in any country??

Yeah, why not, where there is a will, there is a way and I have tried this earlier and I was successful. It is just the matter of convincing yourself and staying away, of course with a positive heart and spirit. This is good for me and my health and whatever I eat has repurcussions on my health, doesn't it?

You are right!! And what comes after that?

See beautiful places in Germany and in Europe if possible. Search a nice, remote location and enjoy the company of nature with two men in my life. Soak myself in the serenity and calmness and the purity of vast blue skies and green trees and blue waters.

Aha, that's something. I can already sense a few posts on those wonderful outings..

Yes, why not, I will definitely write regularly now..

That's great. And what follows?

Oh, there are loads of things actually.

Crib less, laugh more, spread happiness and positive vibes, make new friends, invite them over, learn cooking different tasty dishes, spend creative time with my sonny dear, see him grow by leaps and bounds, expect some family visits during Summer and then spend a great time back home with my folks in Christmas.

Wow, that's splendid!

You have a lot of good things to do this year. I wish you all the best in this endeavor and know for sure that you will make the most of it!

Amen!!

Inspirational blog - Much love! Preeti Shenoy

Yesterday, I happened to stumble upon the blog of Ms. Preeti Shenoy and I was floored by her approach to life and small things in life that create great happiness!

She is an all rounder. She is a regular blogger. She writes novels, paints, makes greeting cards, is a mother to two kids and takes care of the household things too. It is truly said that a woman is a multi-tasker. She appeared very humble and down to earth as a person from her writings and from her responses to her readers who complimented her for boosting their morale and spirits. I immediately read other few articles of hers and realized that most of her blog entries weren't descriptive and long. They just contained a thought, an idea, a few lines, but they came straight from her heart and I found that very genuine. She has a knack of connecting to her readers and her readers love her abundantly. She believes in expressing love and not keeping it confined to a particular person. How right she is! If we all start harboring this feeling in our hearts, there won't be any hatred in the world. No one would suffer. It would be really an ideal world.

She proved a great and an instant inspiration to me and I immediately recommended her to my best buddy, John, who is a regular blogger too. I have to yet get his views on her writings and her style and her approach to life in general. I would now regularly blog, no matter, even 5 lines, but wouldn't now make any excuses to myself about not getting time or not having ideas. Ideas are in bounty, just that they are waiting to be put on paper. No matter, whether big or small, it is important to express, to be creative, to give a vent to my emotions and feelings and give them a shape and a voice in my blog.

Thank you Preeti for writing and inspiring 1000 people with whom you may or may not even come in contact. Keep writing and keep up the good work!

Here's a link to her blog, who might want to have a quick view of it.

Much Love! Preeti Shenoy