The blue sky

I had never seen a snowfall in my life of 23 years. And what a sight it was when I really got to experience it! Way back in 2002, I got an opportunity to visit my dream destination, the country, where I was able to communicate with the people, understand them and get understood in return. I was in Germany, the country, which amazed me with its picturesque and clean natural beauty and the Germans left me awestruck with their punctuality and diligence. We happened to get invited by a German friend of ours for Christmas that year, which is actually not very common. Germans prefer celebrating this festival with their close family members. But then this friend was really sweet and she went out of the way to make us feel comfortable at her place. Her parents had decorated their house beautifully. There was a small pond at the backside of the house, where they had reared gold fish. I was wondering, how the fish survive when the water freezes. Do they stay below the thin cr...

Christmas is just around the corner. So, this whole week, we celebrated "Secret Santa" in my department. Our names were written on chits and they were thoroughly mixed together. Then we had to pick one chit each. The name on the chit would be the person to whom I would be giving gifts without revealing my identity. I immediately got working. On the first day, I gifted the person only 4 candies. Then the other day, I made a book mark for him and gave it along with a few fruit goodies. Today was the day where the names would be revealed to each other and so I bought him a nice pen so that he can use it for working and writing. We all gathered at 2:30 pm in the bay and were introduced to each other. The person to whom I gifted the goodies and other stuff was so overwhelmed on seeing that I was his secret Santa that he had no words. This person was in my team, but he never spoke to me or interacted with me. He hardly smiled at me and now suddenly there was a change in hi...

Though my son is just 8 months old, I often think of what he will chose as a profession and how different will that be from the usual routine? As a baby, he cycled a lot when he was still lying on his back. That time, I jokingly said, will you be a cyclist and break all the existing records of the world championships? Then as he started sitting, he now has picked the habit of banging his hands on every thing that comes in his way, be it a plate or a toy or a table. He bangs things with the specific position of fingers and wrist, just like a tabla player. Then a thought comes to my mind, will he be the next Zakir Hussain? He crawls all around the house now, but his favorite destination is kitchen. He wants to see what his grand mother or the cook is cooking. He has to see if the washing machine is running properly and if the kitchen floor is mopped properly or if something has been dropped on the floor. His sharp eyes will see such tiny objects which my eyes with spectacles can’t se...

Yesterday, after many days, I logged in to Facebook. I do not have internet access in office, which is a good thing. Much of our time is spent in working lol! And after coming home, I do not have the patience to again sit in front of the PC. The time which I get with Tanay in the evening only feels so less that I hardly can think of doing anything else. I write blog when he sleeps off at night. So yesterday while checking all what I have missed in the past days, I happened to stumble upon something really unexpected. We have a e-group of chitpavan people where we all are members of the group. We all are spread all around the globe and we keep in touch with each other on that group. We also have a group on FB now as it is easily accessible to all. There I saw one post by a friend, who had written about another friend that she is now no more and that she will always be missed. I had met that friend once in Pune and she was a great singer and a poet and a very friendly person. Learning...

Immediately after I came back from Germany in October, we had planned a quick trip to Pune and then my native place in Mumbai. Tanay had turned 7 months old then and the “JaavaL” (ceremony of removing hair) was due. So we first went to Pune, finished off that ritual on the w/e and then Atul went back to Bangalore on the same day. I stayed on with Tanay for next few days. I wanted Tanay to spend his first Diwali (Festival of lights) with his grandparents and in their house. I did not know that there were surprises and lessons for me in store during this stay. As you all would have realized by reading about Tanay now that he is extremely social and loveable baby. He keeps on smiling all the time and likes to be surrounded by people so that they can talk to him and play with him. To his surprise, there was one more person this time, his blood relative in the house (@ Pune) and that person hardly paid any attention to this little fellow.   I will call that person X as I d...

 Getting back to work almost after 8 months is little difficult. Managing 12 hours outside home when you have a baby at home is all the more difficult. But every working mother goes through this some or the other time. And there are quite a few challenges in this new role of a working mother. There are a quite a few friends of mine who have given up their careers for the sake of bringing up their own children. They might have not got or asked for any help from their parents or in-laws owing to circumstances and they might be also reluctant to send their kids to the creche. Moreover, they might want to be there in every moment of their child's development. I really respect such women. Being at home for the kid 24/7 and adjusting days, months and years together around the child's routine is really something. I had this experience for a month when I was alone with Tanay in Germany. I will admit here that I had also fancied the idea of taking a long break and looking after Ta...

 Dear Tanay, You turned 8 months old just a while ago. And these 8 months have been phenomenal in my life. From the time of holding a tiny red bundle in my hands when you were just a few hours old till the time you started roaming all around the place on your stomach (though you crawl very well, but you are too lazy to do it), it is a journey to savor. Your cute and toothless innocent smile and squeals make me go weak in my knees and also bring tears to my eyes. The feeling of you belonging entirely to me is just out of this world. Every moment I spent with you was a moment of learning. Just as you took birth, the mother in me also took birth at the same time and so we both have been growing together since then. You would be wondering nowadays, where does my mommy disappear in the morning? I see her only in the evening directly. Dear Sonny, I had to joined work because your daddy and I have to give you the best of everything and for that we both have to earn and take care o...

Sons and fathers have a different equation. I saw it with my own eyes when I was in Germany. The man to man communication and the bonding was so very evident when Atul came home in the evening. Tanay might be also bored to see my face all the time from morning to evening. So he used to leap to Atul as soon as he was at the door. Even before changing clothes or getting fresh, Atul had to take Tanay in his arms and talk to him. Then after 10 minutes, he used to calm down and come to me so that Atul could change. After 7 pm, Tanay used to be in Atul's custody. I used to take care of the dinner and other remaining stuff. It was so heartening to see them play together. Ideally, Tanay met his dad almost after 5 months, but as they say blood is thicker than anything else, they adjusted to each other as if they were always together. Atul did everything for Tanay except changing him after he did potty. But that is ok, I understand, he will take time to do that and I am sure, when he...

This year unexpectedly, Tanay and I came back to India just before Diwali from Germany. Originally the plan was to return in December, but due to some change in plans, we all came back in last week of October. Then, I decided to spend Diwali in Pune with my in-laws. It was also the first Diwali of my baby boy and I wanted it to be special. Tanay's dad, however had to return to Germany as he works there. But some things can't be held and I hope to celebrate Diwali with him and Tanay next year at least! I bought Tanay a cute little kurta pyjama and he looked super duper hit in that attire. I clicked a few snaps of him. Actually, any color suits him as he is fair and charming. We did the lakshmi pooja traditionally and just lit some crackers (which did not make any noise). Tanay was happy to see the area lit around him and he was not afraid of the crackers at all. I was fearing that we would cry due to the loud noises, but nothing happened and he proved himself to be a tough...

Scene 1: Atul and I had been to Salzburg, Austria the last time I had come here. It is a beautiful city, clean and picturesque. We had taken a tour for the week end from a tourist agency. Everything was planned and executed very well. The cab came to pick us up from our location and there were 3 other pairs of people in our little van. 2 from Australia, 2 from UK, 2 from the USA and we were from India. The language which connected us was obviously English. I wondered, if there was no English, today we wouldn't have been able to interact with each other in the tour and it would have been so boring to sit like that seeing each others faces! Scene 2: There is a group of people in Karnataka, who share the same surnames as us, e.g. Velankar, Devdhar, Joshi etc., but speak the Chitpavani language. They are here since 4 generations and do not understand a word of Marathi, which is my mother-tongue. I came to know about the existence of such group when I came to Bangalore.We had...

This time it was different. I had come thrice earlier to Germany, but in different roles. I had come here twice as a student and once after marriage, but before Tanay arrived. This time, I was a full time mother looking after my 5 months old son. And this was altogether a different experience. Managing him alone without any help from the family members, friends was a great learning for me. Of course, Atul was biggest help. In the initial days, he cooked for us, made us feel at home by doing most of the things, he also went shopping for us. Once, I got into routine, I took over the cooking part and a little shopping part too. Due to which, I could take Tanay out for a ride and get him some fresh air. He immensely enjoyed those rides and smiled at everyone he saw. The Germans here were little surprised by his babbles, because usually German kids are given soothers all the time and I have hardly seen them cry or whine or talk in public. But this fellow enjoyed every little attention ...

 I was 10 years old when Lele kaka came to stay in my building. We stayed on the ground floor and he had purchased a flat on the 2nd floor from Mr. Alurkar, who was staying there previously. Sudhakar kaka was a Chartered Accountant and had just started his practice. He was a bachelor yet and his parents were staying in Gujrat, where they were teachers. He was staying here alone and had a job in Mumbai. He was a very quiet and humble person, very soft-spoken. He talked to my grandparents with great respect and considered my parents as his brother and sister-in-law. In a year or two, he got married and brought home his lovely wife, Dina, who was a freelance architect. They both got very close to my family and our family invited them to all the festivals, occasions, big or small. We became a close-knit extended family. My joy knew no bounds when I got to know that I am going to be a Tai to a little baby, which the Leles were expecting soon. A beautiful baby girl was born to th...

  I was running from post to pillar searching for my answer papers. I went up and down in the entire school building, but couldn't find my answer sheets. It was the day of results and one had to personally find their answer sheets from an entire ocean of thousands of students’ profiles. I started sweating profusely and tears welled up in my eyes. How is it possible that only my answer sheets went missing? I had done pretty well in the exams (I suppose!!). Then where have my answer sheets vanished? Did I write so bad that teachers did not even care to mark them? Questions and only questions were entering my mind, but couldn't find anyone who could solve my dilemma. Somebody gave a deep sigh and I opened my eyes. My little boy, Tanay, was sleeping next to me and was blabbering something in his sleep. It was then I realized that I was lost in the dream station and my favourite place of getting lost - exams were the focal point. It is almost 10 years that I gave my last e...

Rama, Radha, Tushar and Rahul were bosom friends. Tushar and Rahul were brothers and neighbors of Rama and Radha. Rama, Radha were of the same age, Tushar one year older and Rahul was 3 years older to Tushar. They all stayed on same floor of the same building. They celebrated every festival together, also fought with each other bitterly and it was also true that they couldn't stay without talking to each other for more than 2 hours. Tushar and Rahul were Tamilians, Rama and Radha spoke Marathi. But language was never a barrier in their friendship. Tushar and Rahul spoke excellent Marathi, being born and brought up in Mumbai. Rama and Radha loved the food which Tushar's mom made and Tushar, Rahul and Radha savored the food made by Rama's grandmother. Rama's grandmother was a kind soul and she treated Rama's friends as her grandchildren. She narrated stories to them, made them sweets for special occasions and also gave them a good hearing when they were wrong...

With a growing baby in the house and guests in the house, there are always some or the other things which are on your shopping list and one has to make trips to the shop every alternate day. Thanks to my dad, who manages the house and the trips for shopping every now and then. Almost every week, I go to a shop, exclusively for baby stuff (0-12 years) and get some stuff for my prince charming. The other day, I went to the Lifestyle stores with my friend, Sonali, who has a daughter, 10 days older to my boy and I shopped like crazy. When I came back with the stuff and showed it to my mom, she was shocked to know that I spent a fortune in buying such tiny clothes for my boy. She was just not used to see so much spent on clothes, which she bought for dirt cheap in Mumbai. But I managed to convince here that Bangalore is very expensive and for getting trendy clothes, one has to shell out more money. Trendy! For a 4 months old? Yes, that is the in-thing. I have seen people dress the...

No, I am not writing any detective story or any thriller here. I will try to address the mystery which intrigues me a lot after becoming a mother. When I got to know that I am expecting, I went for an ultrasound and saw a little dot throbbing with full force. The foetus was just 8 weeks old and fast forward to June 2012, my baby was born and he was 8 weeks old too. The journey from the time the foetus began to breathe till my baby arrived in this world was just amazing. Science today tells us what all happens inside the womb and how a baby is formed. But there are still many things which science can't explain even today. Do small babies have thoughts? What exactly happens when they start taking cognizance of the world in which they are born? What exactly runs through their minds when they see the people they are familiar with? When in womb, babies are known to be smiling. Why? What exactly is the process happening at that time? Even after the baby is born, they...

As I mentioned in my earlier posts, we have no track of time and days and months whatsoever. Our day starts with Tanay and ends with Tanay. There is hardly anything else in our agenda and why should it be? With a 3 months old baby in the house, nothing else should really matter. Last week, we had guests from Mumbai. My mom-in-law's mother, aged 82, her sister and brother-in-law visited us in Bangalore to meet Tanay. As the original plan of we going to Mumbai and Pune got scrapped, they decided to come over to see my baby. And that week was like a bonus to Tanay. Anyways, we were 5 people in the house already and these 3 made it even merrier for him. He enjoyed a lot, laughed a lot with them and gave them a nice time. My grandmother, my dad's mother, aged 86 is with me since a month and a half now and with the arrival of another great grandmother of Tanay, we decided to hold a small ceremony for both of them and Tanay. In Maharashtrians, it is a custom that ...

My best friend gave birth to a baby girl on Saturday and her husband, who is also a good friend of mine gave this good news to me through e-mail. His last sentences in the mail were, "Both the mother and the baby girl are doing great and I am over the moon". I was so happy to see this. From the time, my friend has conceived, more than her, he wanted a baby girl and he addressed the baby in the womb as "she" baby every time he spoke to her. Welcoming a baby in the world is getting more and more eventful for the new daddies, I must say. My husband is not talkative types, definitely not like me. He speaks limited number of words to limited people only. But when I saw him talking to our newborn, Tanay, I was so thrilled. He was narrating him the events of the day and also what all things would they both be doing once we join him in Germany. He tried lifting him on the day he arrived with little help from my mother-in-law. If Tanay cried, he rushed by his side imme...

My little boy just turned 2 months old. And it has been such a wonderful experience being with him all the time. Every day there are new things to be discovered about him and that makes him so adorable. Being such a tiny tot, he commands the time of all the adults in the house. I would rather say the whole house revolves around him and is busy to make him smile and comfortable and happy. And I must mention here that my boy is a very happy soul, very cool and composed. He shares this trait with his dad, perhaps! He is having severe cough and cold from past 4 days, but not a single day is he irritated or sissy. The only time he becomes a little low was while drinking milk as he is coughing incessantly with every single sip of milk. But that lasts only for that moment. The next moment he is smiling to us and cooing. I find it really incredible. Such a maturity at this small age? I am not able to see him struggling during feeds, but he appears quite normal once the coughing stops. He ...

I named my son as Tanay. Tanay means "the one who belongs to the family", it also means a good son! I had this name in mind since the time I got to know that I am going to become a mother. This name caught my attention, how and why, can't remember exactly now. But I had decided if it is a boy, I will name him Tanay and if it is a girl, I name her Ananya. Both names are unique and meaningful. Now that Tanay has entered our lives with a bang, he has captured all our attention and time. My parents won't keep him out of sight for a minute and will always take him in their arms and talk to him. They won't let him cry for a minute. I am little strict when it comes to his crying. I know it is natural for him to cry and it is his way of shedding some energy and then getting a good feed. I do not panic a lot when he cries. It is either because he is hungry or sleepy or has passed urine. Over a month and a half I can now make out the reason of his crying. Now that we a...