I am blessed, for I have a beautiful babe
her lips are red and her cheeks roses
her head full of curls
and lights dancing in her eyes.
Wednesday, October 07, 2009
The Jai Shri Krishna Syndrome
"Jai Shri Krishna".. This is the first thing my nanny tells me every morning.
As soon as she sits in the car , she greets me and Rohini as such. She started this ritual from day one..
One day, I asked her, why do you and other gujrathi's do that?She replied, saying it makes the day go better. So it went on for days,As soon as she sat in the car, I would say good morning "x" aunty and she would reply Jai Shri Krishna.
After a few weeks and feeling more awkward with my anglicized good morning, I started responding to her with the same greeting . Just recently I realized that my day goes so well after I say that.
Glad she made me do that
As soon as she sits in the car , she greets me and Rohini as such. She started this ritual from day one..
One day, I asked her, why do you and other gujrathi's do that?She replied, saying it makes the day go better. So it went on for days,As soon as she sat in the car, I would say good morning "x" aunty and she would reply Jai Shri Krishna.
After a few weeks and feeling more awkward with my anglicized good morning, I started responding to her with the same greeting . Just recently I realized that my day goes so well after I say that.
Glad she made me do that
Friday, March 27, 2009
Bombay people are intimidating
So many people have told me that, they find people from Bombay intimidating. People from Bombay find other Bombay nivasis intimidating.
why is that ?
I was initially surprised... and then got used to hearing it without thinking consciously about it, even when my husband said it.. I poohed the notion away. I attributed that thought to the whole Bangalore is better than Bombay ideology that some bangaloreans who left banglore in 2000 seemed to carry. This afternoon another friend of mine from Bangalore said the same thing about another bombay resident.
But now after so many years, living away from bombay, I have caught on to the fact, that yes bombay ppl can be intimidating. After all , living in a city that forces you to be rich,poor, elusive, available, panting, sweating, happy, sad , cunning and simple ..can kind of make you intimidating.
why is that ?
I was initially surprised... and then got used to hearing it without thinking consciously about it, even when my husband said it.. I poohed the notion away. I attributed that thought to the whole Bangalore is better than Bombay ideology that some bangaloreans who left banglore in 2000 seemed to carry. This afternoon another friend of mine from Bangalore said the same thing about another bombay resident.
But now after so many years, living away from bombay, I have caught on to the fact, that yes bombay ppl can be intimidating. After all , living in a city that forces you to be rich,poor, elusive, available, panting, sweating, happy, sad , cunning and simple ..can kind of make you intimidating.
Tuesday, February 03, 2009
Democracy = hypocrisy
This morning while I was surfing through my daily web routine, I came across this headline
'Democracy strengthened, says CEC'
right below that headline, there was another one.
'We will not allow Valentine's Day celebrations'
No mistake, we are talking about the largest democracy in the world --India . I had a nice chuckle reading these articles.. The second announcement is a direct result of Ram Sena's activities in Mangalore. A group of political wannabe's beat up/molested women who dared to bare some in an absolutely "safe place" a pub.
To the so called moral police of the nation, I have two questions.. what were these men doing in a pub ? did they go there to attend a rally ? What were they doing in a pub at night ? Did they have a couple of drinks while waiting for their leader to announce a toast ? ( drinking is so not against Indian culture when MEN do it) . Did they make passes at some of the girls who were there ( this is also not against indian culture... where men don't respect women) , who in their right minds refused their advances . Did they get enraged in their intoxicated state by the refusal of the girls.. and took it upon themselves to teach all of them a lesson, (not for stepping out into a club...but for actually refusing the next leader of the country)
Then they have the audacity to say that their activities were to protect the Indian culture..
What rights of ours are they protecting by banning valentine's day? I don't hear anybody opposing Mother's day or Women's day or Father's day... aren't these western concepts as well ?
What rights of ours are being protected by Shiv Sena, when they are ready to stone shops run by immigrants to Maharashtra ?
Why should we give the control of our nation and state and people to parties , to whom all this means nothing but power and money ?
What will it take for us Indians to come up with an honest party which has integrity and honor as its base values and the welfare of the citizens as its main agenda..
If we want to be the largest and the best democracy, we should not fight for differentiating people based on religion, sex,caste,language,origin ...but for the equality of all despite this variation.
---"Today I am waiting for a new dawn"
Adios
Kavita
'Democracy strengthened, says CEC'
right below that headline, there was another one.
'We will not allow Valentine's Day celebrations'
No mistake, we are talking about the largest democracy in the world --India . I had a nice chuckle reading these articles.. The second announcement is a direct result of Ram Sena's activities in Mangalore. A group of political wannabe's beat up/molested women who dared to bare some in an absolutely "safe place" a pub.
To the so called moral police of the nation, I have two questions.. what were these men doing in a pub ? did they go there to attend a rally ? What were they doing in a pub at night ? Did they have a couple of drinks while waiting for their leader to announce a toast ? ( drinking is so not against Indian culture when MEN do it) . Did they make passes at some of the girls who were there ( this is also not against indian culture... where men don't respect women) , who in their right minds refused their advances . Did they get enraged in their intoxicated state by the refusal of the girls.. and took it upon themselves to teach all of them a lesson, (not for stepping out into a club...but for actually refusing the next leader of the country)
Then they have the audacity to say that their activities were to protect the Indian culture..
The six fundamental rights of an Indian as defined by the constitution:
- Right to equality
- Right to freedom
- Right against exploitation
- Right to freedom of religion
- Cultural and educational rights
- Right to constitutional remedies
What rights of ours are they protecting by banning valentine's day? I don't hear anybody opposing Mother's day or Women's day or Father's day... aren't these western concepts as well ?
What rights of ours are being protected by Shiv Sena, when they are ready to stone shops run by immigrants to Maharashtra ?
Why should we give the control of our nation and state and people to parties , to whom all this means nothing but power and money ?
What will it take for us Indians to come up with an honest party which has integrity and honor as its base values and the welfare of the citizens as its main agenda..
If we want to be the largest and the best democracy, we should not fight for differentiating people based on religion, sex,caste,language,origin ...but for the equality of all despite this variation.
---"Today I am waiting for a new dawn"
Adios
Kavita
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Slumdog Millionaire
Every one I know who blogs has blogged about this movie.. and I don't know why I waited so long. I saw this movie about 3 weeks back. This is not in response to the golden globes the movie won or the Oscar nominations that the movie won..
Whats got me riled is INDIA and the frog syndrome.. A couple of days back, I saw a news article on rediff.com which says that the slum dwellers association in mumbai has sued Anil Kapoor and A.R Rehman. Anil Kapoor because not he.. but the character he portrays in the movie calls the boy a slum dog... where is the line between reality and cinema? Why pull down the one frog that managed to climb out of the well ?
Another thing that bothers me.. yes the movie is shot in India and yes its made in Mumbai and yes its got indian actors... how does that make the movie Indian? It could have been a story set anywhere..Not a single filmmaker in India would have dreamt in their wildest dreams that they could make a movie on life and innocent love and win the globes or the hearts of a million people.. because whats a movie without SRK or a few girls in skimpy clothes and a few dances?
I loved the fact that Danny Boyle gave 3 dimensions to his characters.In traditional Indian movies the good guy is always good.. the bad guy is the epitome of evil and demon...but in this movie..there is no good or bad guy essentially..the host is arrogant and bewildered by the success of the "slumdog"a s he calls the boy. The brother is practical and led astray by the glitter of wealth but still rejoices in his brother's success.. the slum dog is naive and remains so.. the beautiful girl is beautiful and good but still practical enough to know that life as she knows it cannot get better evn if she dreams of another life...
The music is another aspect of the movie I love.. its vibrant and its colorful.. No one else could have done justice to the music as Rahman did..
here is wishing Danny Boyle success at the Oscars for movie that belongs truly to him and his vision
Whats got me riled is INDIA and the frog syndrome.. A couple of days back, I saw a news article on rediff.com which says that the slum dwellers association in mumbai has sued Anil Kapoor and A.R Rehman. Anil Kapoor because not he.. but the character he portrays in the movie calls the boy a slum dog... where is the line between reality and cinema? Why pull down the one frog that managed to climb out of the well ?
Another thing that bothers me.. yes the movie is shot in India and yes its made in Mumbai and yes its got indian actors... how does that make the movie Indian? It could have been a story set anywhere..Not a single filmmaker in India would have dreamt in their wildest dreams that they could make a movie on life and innocent love and win the globes or the hearts of a million people.. because whats a movie without SRK or a few girls in skimpy clothes and a few dances?
I loved the fact that Danny Boyle gave 3 dimensions to his characters.In traditional Indian movies the good guy is always good.. the bad guy is the epitome of evil and demon...but in this movie..there is no good or bad guy essentially..the host is arrogant and bewildered by the success of the "slumdog"a s he calls the boy. The brother is practical and led astray by the glitter of wealth but still rejoices in his brother's success.. the slum dog is naive and remains so.. the beautiful girl is beautiful and good but still practical enough to know that life as she knows it cannot get better evn if she dreams of another life...
The music is another aspect of the movie I love.. its vibrant and its colorful.. No one else could have done justice to the music as Rahman did..
here is wishing Danny Boyle success at the Oscars for movie that belongs truly to him and his vision
Tuesday, January 06, 2009
Planet Earth
I stumbled across this series thanks to A and I fell in love with the series. The cinematography is so beautiful only because our earth is that beautiful. Discovery is planning to broadcast this series next weekend and I don't intend to miss much of it..
Sunday, January 04, 2009
Time to write something
Allright, so I have been very reticent about writing on my blog this long and its high time I did ..
So here are the few highlights of the last year..
March 2008 we had a long vacation in India
April 2008 , I did some major circus and lost my front two teeth (thankfully got them replaced) else it was hands down Halloween costume winner as early as April.
July 2008: Took that long awaited trip to New York New York..It was the best so far.
Aug 2008: We found out that as eventful as our lives were so far, it was going to be to more so.. as we were going to be blessed soon with our own baby to spoil and raise as we choose too.
Sept 2008 : We heard our baby's tiny heart pumping blood as quickly as possible.. and got the first glimpse of the baby.. just 2 circles one for the head and the other for the body.. and one tiny limb poking out.
Oct 2008 : I determined that its a low maintenance baby.. gave me no nausea..only reduced my appetite considerably. I started feeling my baby move.. and the best I can do to describe it " I tiny flutter, like a small butterfly moving under my belly" . I also started giving the baby a personal concert to my favorites.. And noticed a pattern where the baby moved for Asha Bhosle's voice a lot more than it did for Lata Mangeshkar..
Nov 2008 : 5 months.. and we got a full anatomy scan done..saw the baby resist the nurse's prodding to give a full profile of the face.. and when it did.. it was wonderful... :) We moved to a new place to make room for the new addition...
Dec 2008 : I got the first taste of knowing what it is to love someone so much that it hurts. I thought I knew love.. but I threw the idea right out of the window.. Early December, I realized that my baby had not made any noticeable movements for almost 2 days. Experienced mothers told me to drink cold apple juice and that would set the baby moving again. Tried cold and hot...nothing worked. So I called the doctor's office.. The nurse said, nothing doing go directly
to the hospital. Now being the pessimistic that I am, the worst that can happen at a doctor's is an injection .. so the worst at the hospital was much much much more.. So called Ranjith and in between my sobs he heard something that probably made sense to him and asked me to meet him at home. We both drove from our respective work places to home and then from home to the hospital.. all the while I was raising the water levels in Atlanta . When we reached the hospital, I must admit the receptionist there was much more comforting than anybody I have ever met in a hospital and after some paper work, had us go upto the examination room . There I was hooked onto the baby monitor...which failed to detect any heart beat. As the doctor left the room I had a sinking feeling in my stomach that all was lost...
She returned though with a Doppler m/c.. and placed it all over the belly and finally after much searching found that tiny heart beat again. To us it was the most joyous sound that we heard...
Being a first time mother, I realized that maybe the movements change and I just didnt know what to expect and no one was around to tell me any different..
As the year drew to an end, I realized the importance of having family and friends close to me.
I grew a year older as well.. and it was the best birthday any girl could have asked for.. and for that I have to thank my husband , my brother, my friends Ashka and Satlaj.. for making it the best.
Some people are moving out of our lives while others are moving in as well..
so a lot of big changes happened... 2008 has been eventful and very eye opening for me..
Adios!
So here are the few highlights of the last year..
March 2008 we had a long vacation in India
April 2008 , I did some major circus and lost my front two teeth (thankfully got them replaced) else it was hands down Halloween costume winner as early as April.
July 2008: Took that long awaited trip to New York New York..It was the best so far.
Aug 2008: We found out that as eventful as our lives were so far, it was going to be to more so.. as we were going to be blessed soon with our own baby to spoil and raise as we choose too.
Sept 2008 : We heard our baby's tiny heart pumping blood as quickly as possible.. and got the first glimpse of the baby.. just 2 circles one for the head and the other for the body.. and one tiny limb poking out.
Oct 2008 : I determined that its a low maintenance baby.. gave me no nausea..only reduced my appetite considerably. I started feeling my baby move.. and the best I can do to describe it " I tiny flutter, like a small butterfly moving under my belly" . I also started giving the baby a personal concert to my favorites.. And noticed a pattern where the baby moved for Asha Bhosle's voice a lot more than it did for Lata Mangeshkar..
Nov 2008 : 5 months.. and we got a full anatomy scan done..saw the baby resist the nurse's prodding to give a full profile of the face.. and when it did.. it was wonderful... :) We moved to a new place to make room for the new addition...
Dec 2008 : I got the first taste of knowing what it is to love someone so much that it hurts. I thought I knew love.. but I threw the idea right out of the window.. Early December, I realized that my baby had not made any noticeable movements for almost 2 days. Experienced mothers told me to drink cold apple juice and that would set the baby moving again. Tried cold and hot...nothing worked. So I called the doctor's office.. The nurse said, nothing doing go directly
to the hospital. Now being the pessimistic that I am, the worst that can happen at a doctor's is an injection .. so the worst at the hospital was much much much more.. So called Ranjith and in between my sobs he heard something that probably made sense to him and asked me to meet him at home. We both drove from our respective work places to home and then from home to the hospital.. all the while I was raising the water levels in Atlanta . When we reached the hospital, I must admit the receptionist there was much more comforting than anybody I have ever met in a hospital and after some paper work, had us go upto the examination room . There I was hooked onto the baby monitor...which failed to detect any heart beat. As the doctor left the room I had a sinking feeling in my stomach that all was lost...
She returned though with a Doppler m/c.. and placed it all over the belly and finally after much searching found that tiny heart beat again. To us it was the most joyous sound that we heard...
Being a first time mother, I realized that maybe the movements change and I just didnt know what to expect and no one was around to tell me any different..
As the year drew to an end, I realized the importance of having family and friends close to me.
I grew a year older as well.. and it was the best birthday any girl could have asked for.. and for that I have to thank my husband , my brother, my friends Ashka and Satlaj.. for making it the best.
Some people are moving out of our lives while others are moving in as well..
so a lot of big changes happened... 2008 has been eventful and very eye opening for me..
Adios!
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