Mira & her Daadi

I was a bit disturbed when Daadi left Bangkok a couple of months back to head towards her house in Bhopal.

Daadi has been visiting us twice a year since as far back as I can remember. In fact, she has been visiting us since there was no "us" - Papa was a workaholic bachelor whose house could put any person with ordinary domestic skills to shame. A house where blankets pleaded to be folded, dust jeered at being preserved under the carpets and socks yearned to be paired with their correct soul mates yet again. Daadi's primary objective was to put the aforesaid house in order and then to spend some quality time with her long-separated son, if time permitted. Soon it was 2001 and Daadi's reasons for visiting had completely changed - it was time to bond with the daughter-in-law and teach her some face saving cooking so that our Bhopali neighbor doesn't undergo an unbearable torture called "Ghar ka khaana", on her only trip to Bangkok. September, 2006 and Mira appeared on the horizon - the most pleasurable, long-lasting and engaging reason till date for Daadi to come over and stay with us.

I was disturbed because Daadi had been for good 3 months with us and both Mira and she shared a special bond by now. Daadi's relationship with Mira was nothing like mine - she couldn't bathe her, massage her, run after her or do any of the physical stuff that took a toll on her health. But, there were other moments of companionship though. Every morning, while Daadi sipped her hot tea and glanced through the newspaper, Mira sat right next to her equally engrossed in her "Nursery Rhymes" book. The silence was regularly broken by "Aur yeh?" "Aur yeh?" as her little finger ran through unknown objects on the pages. Daadi was the one who introduced her to cakes, custard, eggs and her current favorite - chicken while I was so very happy serving the age old khichdi to her which was reluctantly but successfully finding its way through her mouth. Evenings were reserved for the kids' room and Daadi made it a point to be there each day. She sat in a corner making a mental note of her newly acquired skills while Mira happily slid through the yellow tunnel, rode in a toy car and climbed through a maze of ropes.

Initially, I was not too sure if Daadi was really bonding with Mira. She was constantly there but Mira was too brimming over with energy. Even on the bed, she was tempted to stand up and walk across every now and then only to be rescued by someone in the nick of time. The lack of physical involvement, I thought would probably get into the way but no, I was wrong. It was just a matter of few days and the signs of reciprocation were wide and clear. She was straight off to Daadi’s room as soon as she got up from sleep. She would climb onto the bed and sit exactly like her - her feet completely stretched out and back rested against a pillow, as another melodramatic saas-bahu serial played out on TV. She would suddenly get up from a partially played puzzle and bang on the bathroom door just to ascertain that Daadi is there, that Daadi is around.

I was worried that Mira will not take too kindly to Daadi’s sudden act of disappearance. I looked out for signs the next morning. Mira, as expected scooted off to Daadi’s room and then, went around the house looking for her. I told her that Daadi was off to India, now whatever that meant to a toddler’s little mind but I decided to deliver the truth – plain and simple. Another couple of days and she searched for her – sometimes in the TV room, sometimes in the kids’ room and sometimes in the balcony. But after that, things just got back to normal – after all, there are too many temptations available for a 20 month old to remain occupied and not slip into the deep recesses of unhappiness. Temptations like 4 different Teddy bears, new toys waiting to be banged and disfigured, cream colored sofa ready to be ripped and colored and fast aging parents available for entertainment always.

And so, things are just fine at our threesome household. Mira though excitedly points out Daadi whenever we go through our family album once in a while but she doesn’t really ask questions about her anymore. She also comes over to say a quick hello to her over the phone , unless she is obviously too caught up with hugging her teddies and tearing her books. Daadi on the other hand, hasn’t stopped talking about Mira ever since. There are detailed updates sought about her every other day - What new words have been added to her vocabulary?, Isn’t it too early for you guys to send her to school?, Can I send something for her through xyz?, Has she picked up “Twinkle Twinkle”?, Will she recognize me when I come next? etc. etc. etc.

And I guess this is how it will be for the next few months till we hit September. September – when Daadi comes over for her second round of visit to Bangkok and a new chapter in the Daadi-Poti relationship begins.

Mira in the 20th month

Motherhood is a weird thing. Some of the most ordinary and humdrum things in life suddenly assume high value when delivered by your little one. Mira has lately started combining words – probably the beginning of sentence formation at her end. So, unlike earlier when it was just about - Come, Sit, Bye Bye, Go, Hello; Mira has now moved to - Hello Mumma, Come Papa, Sit Deedi, No girl, Take Baby - all accompanied with a slight singing tone and an anticipation of a “very good” from the other end. Resultantly, I end up spending much more time with her while all my pending jobs slowly transcend from the important category to the urgent one.

Probably doing the To Do list is not such a great idea – huh?

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If a lion ever hears Mira talking about him, believe me, his ego would be down in the dumps. On the other hand, a rabbit might just feel elated and reassured about his cute positioning.

Still struggling to twist her tongue as the alphabets demand to be, Mira calls the Lion as Lana, Tiger as Taga and the Rabbit as Raba.

Don’t blame it on me - I’ve been doing my share to get things in order:

Me: Mira, TI...GER...

Mira (cheerfully): TA...GA...

Me: No Mira, say TI...

Mira(ok): Ti...

Me: GER…

Mira (ok): GARRRR…

Me: Very good, TIGER

Mira (Hey, I know this!): TAGA

Me: No Mira, TIGER

Mira (that’s right): TAGA

Me: TIGER…TIGER…TIGER

Mira: TAGA…TAGA…TAGA

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With absolute zero modesty, let me admit that I continue to remain Mira’s favorite person so far. But, you know given the fact that Papa is more of a weekend parent and gets very little time to spend with Mira over weekdays, I’ve to confess that he too is performing pretty decently on the popularity front.

But, there’s a difference between the way Mira greets me when I’m back from my unnecessary 2 hour long shopping v/s the way she greets Papa when he’s home after a long day’s hard work. With me, she is obviously jumping with joy, all eager to get onto my lap and spend some good fun time together while with Papa, she acts as if she hasn’t really noticed him and continues doing her stuff, though with a huge smile suppressed between her lips and a face going almost red with shyness.

It’s only when Papa has grabbed her off the bed and is half way though the acrobatic stuff that she bursts into squeals of laughter and is adamant about not letting go of him, even if it’s an urgent call of nature.

And so in short, though in very different manners both of us are receiving loads of attention from Mira and we are loving it to the hilt.

In fact sometimes it really makes me wonder as to who actually is the baby here!:-)

Paris, Carnac & Barcelona - The final part

Barcelona is a beautiful city. With soothing waterways and amazing architecture, Barcelona almost appeared like an apt cross between the lovely cities of Sydney and Rome to me.

But, it was not really the beauty that made Barcelona the best leg of our holiday; it was the liveliness rather. Imagine a city that has much wider streets for pedestrians than the roads - streets which are buzzing with people; live performances and human statue art constantly entertaining you as busy hawkers retail cheap but interesting stuff by the side. So much energy and life throbs into the city that it can almost lift you up from the lowest of moods and make you feel happy about the most mundane things in life.

The city also brims over with things to see – museums, squares, parks, churches, art galleries etc. Our favorite place though was the Sagrada Familia, a beautiful church envisioned by Spain’s modernist architect, Gaudi which is still in the process of being built.

It is a mammoth structure that depicts the birth as well as crucifixion of Jesus on its 2 facades, with 1 being still under construction. There are breath-taking statues all over it made of unusual materials and unbelievable precision. The monument though beautiful, leaves one with a strong sense of loneliness - the high ceiling, the expansive interiors and the somber statues set you up in an introspective mode as one surrenders oneself to the will of God.

While the Sagrada Familia presented the epitome of architecture to Papa and me, it didn’t quite make it to Mira’s list. For her, the biggest and the foremost highlight of Barcelona was pigeon chasing. Yup – pigeon chasing! She was off my lap as soon as she spotted some pigeons – chased them enthusiastically and chuckled loudly as they fluttered away into the sky.

The other highlight was Mira’s discovery of Mc Donald’s, rather Mc Donald’s chicken nuggets. Oh, I tell you these guys have just got the recipe right. For someone like Mira, who has rejected right from ice-creams to Cerelac, Mc Donald’s nuggets qualified as the rare ready made food which successfully made its way to her usually uncooperative mouth. Believe me, It was a divine sight and I was so very loving it!

Final highlight – the parks and the play areas. As soon as the guilt of visiting monuments, museums and other places of adult interest dawned upon us, we quickly relieved ourselves of the burden by visiting the closest park or play area. It was good fun as Mira and I rode the swings and enjoyed the rides while Papa dug his head into the city map to locate our next destination of interest.

In short, it was all going amazingly well till one fine morning when Mira got up to see her mom hurriedly dumping clothes into bags. She did declare “ghumi” and was confidently heading towards the stroller, but was whisked away and carried off to a waiting taxi instead - Barcelona airport being our next destination. Ironically, while Mira and I still longed to stay back to chase that one last pigeon or admire that one last monument, Papa was already dreaming about getting back to Bangkok – looking forward to gulping a full bowl of Thai noodles as he watched one of his latest DVDs on TV.

And guess what, we are back – back to the ordinary but deliciously familiar life. Nothing much has changed - the noodles are still being cooked, the DVDs still being played, the playroom still being frequented, except that a scatter-brained mom keeps visiting it every now and then to boast about her flawless planning and execution which got her entire family to spend a lovely holiday together – a holiday made of 11 long days, 3 unfamiliar places and a really harsh winter:-)

Paris, Carnac & Barcelona - Part II

The plan to go to Carnac was last minute. In fact, it happened only because a dear friend invited us over to spend a few days with him in his ancestral house there. Being the eager-to-meet-up people we are, we said yes and so did a couple of colleagues more, making the group bigger and merrier.

The house was beautiful – the living room opened up into a small well-kept garden which led upto a white sand beach. The colors of the sea were nicely extended to the interiors of the house with a soothing white and blue theme, making it look modern but yet so very natural.

Our all four days in Carnac were absolutely relaxing. Papa and I split our jobs in the morning with him playing the vigilant parent at the beach while I slogged out in the kitchen (yes – the roles never reverse!). Mira had a blast on the beach – she either ran around wildly feeling the cold breeze on her face or held onto Papa’s hand and walked around slowly noticing her footprints on the sand.



She could have probably spent her entire day there if not for the “Breakfast is ready” call which made Papa spring into action and literally drag her to the house.

Afternoons were either reserved for siestas (if Mira was too tired and sleepy) or chit chatting with friends (if Mira was not too tired and sleepy). Since any parent would know that the former happens very rarely on a holiday, we ended up making nice wide-ranging conversations with friends, as Mira pottered around the place with her toys. It was just wonderful to laze around and gossip, to pick on each other’s nationalities (1 French, 1 Thai, 1 Chinese & 2 Indians believe me, make quite a group!), to check out past days pictures on our cameras and to generally crib about how the holiday is coming to an end a bit too early.

The mood kind of continued in the evening though we did get off our backs and moved around in the town. Carnac is a lovely French village where life seemed to be in no hurry at all –people played by the sea despite the lowest of temperatures, restaurants overflowed with people as if nobody wished to cook at home and the stone cobbled streets carried more people on foot than in cars.

So, we decided to do the Carnac way – we got into our sports shoes and just walked from one street to another. Mira helped out the process by taking to the stroller. Though a bit resistant in the beginning, she did finally decide to rescue my labor stricken back and grace the stroller instead.

And that’s how we covered most of the town – the churches, the squares, the souvenir shops and not to forget some of the best French restaurants with really delicious and memorable food.

Now that I look back at the Carnac trip, I realize that it was wonderful not just for the sights and the sea but for the company we had. It was great to hang out together, to talk silly stuff till late in the night, to get someone else to push the stroller once in a while and to be able to dig into 5 different dishes in any possible meal.

Carnac also served as a high point for the mom in me – the trip had gone exceedingly well till now – Mira didn’t miss a single meal, the cold virus remained miles away, she slept peacefully through the nights and most importantly, she enjoyed every day and every bit of the trip.

My confidence was at its peak. I somehow knew that the next 4 days of our trip were going to be equally good. I was so very ready for them.

I was so very ready for Barcelona.

Paris, Carnac & Barcelona - Part I

3 new places, 11 long days, a really harsh winter and 1 inexperienced toddler - believe me carry the most potent capacity to cook up an inevitable disaster for anyone. And being the paranoid mom I am – I was going crazy imagining these very disasters that could possibly crop up in the course of our holiday – like what if Mira decides to go on a hunger strike?, what if cold waves penetrate the thick layers of woolens on her body and engulf Mira in a long-lasting spell of fever or what if she just misses her normal routine at home – the pranks with her nanny, the fun at the playroom, the familiarity of the house……etc. etc. etc.

So what do you think really happened? A great holiday or a day-counting return to home?...Well-traveled legs or cold blocked noses?...An extra-obsessed mom or err…an extra-obsessed mom? Well, let’s not jump the gun, instead walk with me through these 11 unpredictable days and 3 wonderful places to discover what actually lay at the end of our journey. Deal? Deal. So, let’s now begin!

Paris, as the headline says was our first stop in the vacation. We arrived at our hotel around noon, having gone through a back-breaking 12 hours journey in the plane. Though Mira dozed off pretty early in the flight, giving Papa and me a good sigh of relief, she did remain restless through the night - her movements restrained by the grip of the seatbelt. As a result, we were all tired and sleepy by the time we reached Paris the next day.

We decided to take our first day easy and ventured out only in the evening. Walking from one street to another, we enjoyed the beautiful boulevards and pedestrian friendly roads of the city. We had our dinner in a sidewalk café – clearly one of our best experiences in the city! With cold breeze caressing our faces, it was just lovely to watch people pass by - women dressed in their trendy over-coats and high-heels, kids whizzing by on roller-skates and men going about their business, as usual. Mira almost behaved like an animal set free, running from one end of the street to the other, talking to herself and bumping into people every now and then.

Day 2 was much more eventful – we went for a river cruise, visited the famous Sacre-Coeur Basilica, sat through a fashion show but the Louvre museum was undoubtedly the highlight of the day. Now, this museum runs into 4 huge floors with thousands and thousands of paintings on display. We straight headed towards the Mona Lisa. I mean, THE Mona Lisa. Like any small-town Indian, we first clicked some 10 different photos with the much-talked about lady in question, before we set our prying eyes on her. It was weird – though Mona Lisa is hailed as Leonardo Da Vinci’s best creation ever, I seriously struggled to see what really made it so special. I agree – the enigmatic smile is there but you know, is it good enough to be rated as highly as it is done by all? But on a different note, the museum was really quite awesome - going through different eras of paintings, each supported with an individual piece of history and reasoning was clearly once in a lifetime experience. It was probably one of the few times that Papa and I walked for 3 hours at a stretch, without him asking for food or me complaining about the pain in my legs. A big achievement, I tell you! Mira too was overwhelmed by the sights - she soon stretched out in her stroller and we called it a day.

Day 3 – For first half of the final day, Mira and I were resigned to four walls of our hotel room while Papa was busy cracking some marketing strategies with his colleagues. I finished off all urgent tasks in Papa’s absence – cooked Mira’s khichdi in my mini rice cooker, packed all the essential stuff for the travel the next day and kept my 19 month amused till she got tired and fell off to sleep.

The evening was reserved for visiting the Eiffel Tower - one of the most celebrated monuments in the world. Big and beautiful, Eiffel Tower is strategically located beside the Seine river and is led by huge green lawns, with rows of trees on either sides. The Tower at any point in time looks great but the night shot was clearly the best with the entire structure being lit up with tiny lights. And here’s a picture to prove the fact!

And with that we bid goodbye to the romantic city of Paris and set our sights on the beautiful town of Carnac.

More details in the upcoming post.

News at our end

Mira is a well-behaved child. And so, did I think until she unleashed herself in Toys R Us, Bangkok’s biggest toy shop which we went to over the weekend. It was maddening, it was crazy and it was just not Mira! She behaved like a whirlwind, dashing from one toy section to the other. Pushing the walker one minute and banging the xylophone the other. She didn’t care whether I was around or not – she just kept running wildly as toys called out to her from different rows of the shop. We frantically looked out to buy something for her but unfortunately, nothing really worked out. She wanted toys which were way above her age – 3+, 4+, 5+ while Papa and I just couldn’t find something she liked. And so, we took the plunge – I forcibly picked up Mira in my arms and we sprinted towards the exit. I kept showing her toys on the way hoping that we might manage to find something good and compatible while Mira kept howling and punching me in the chest.

And finally, we found something – something that three of us liked.

We paid at the counter and hurriedly left the shop – my cheeks still red with embarrassment, Papa shaking his head in disbelief and Mira smiling ear to ear with a lovely Barney in her hands.

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Papa has always accused me of being a spoil sport. He travels to various exotic places on account of work and despite repeated encouragements, I’ve never really accompanied him to any. But this time, I made an exception to the rule. I said yes and as a result, all 3 of us are leaving for a full 11 day trip tonight. Place? Hmmmm….let me keep it a secret this time…….but I promise to fill you in with details once I’m back – to unload a camera full of photos and a mind full of anecdotes. Will catch you guys soon! See ya…

Tales of Krabi

Ahha……….now this is where we went to!

Pristine white sand beaches, crystal clear blue water, random huge limestone hills and the lovely sunny sky – in short, the beautiful province of Krabi. Located at the shore of the Andaman sea with almost 130 islands in its possession, Krabi undoubtedly is one of the most relaxing places in Thailand.

Baffled with the vastness of the province, Papa and I quickly drew up a 3 day itinerary focusing on the key islands of Krabi, leaving us with enough time to relax as well as explore the entertainment facilities of our hotel. Since we were a bit nervous about Mira’s first encounter with water, we decided to sign up for a half day trip that allowed us to hop between Krabi’s 4 big islands.

Sunglasses, sunscreen, swim suits, baby food – all nicely packed in a bag, Papa, Daadi, Mira and I set out for our trip. A speedboat transported us from the hotel beach to the destination. While Papa and I headed straight towards the bow of the boat, Mira clung tightly to Daadi scared of the gurgling sound of the water and the noisy engine of the boat. Having sat right in front of the bow, my view of the sights was completely uninterrupted. The rush of cold wind in my face, hair fluttering against the forehead, the never-ending stretch of water and the birds flying by made the scene so very beautiful! Don’t think Papa enjoyed it as much as he kept struggling to retain the cap on his head, which was ready to give in to the will of the wind.

The islands were even better –simple, peaceful and yet so very beautiful. Walking into the sea made the whole experience real – touch of the water suddenly transformed us into a part of the nature, rather than being mere spectators from outside. The sea, the fish, the hills and the sky all seemed so much more approachable and intrinsic at that point in time.

Papa and I enjoyed the sea by constantly dipping into it, sometimes near the beach and sometimes a bit far. In the true teenager style, we had great fun splashing water onto each other rather than resorting to the complicated adventures of snorkeling and diving. And Mira, she turned out to be a true water baby – comfortably seated in her small swim tube held onto by Papa’s dependable arms, Mira joined in the fun by cheerfully swaying and babbling in the sea.

The fish just added to the pleasure – in fact, it was probably one of the best parts of the whole experience – the sea was full of these small harmless fish which came rushing in as soon as we dropped some bread crumbs in water. The fact that they were all around us, probably kissing us around the legs was good enough to evoke happy giggles of laughter from all three of us. Daadi, who all this while was missing the fun standing at the edge of the beach, finally gave in to the temptation and walked right inside hitching her salwaar upto the knees. And then, the whole family got down to their favorite water activity - splashing water on each other!

The hotel too had lots to offer – the swimming pool, the beach, the play room, the relaxing king size bed and loads and loads to eat from! But, probably the best was the elephant show that happened by the beach with a baby elephant called Ra Ra. And one could make out that Ra Ra was having the time of his life – rolling in the sand, picking people in his trunk, blowing water on bystanders and gobbling lots and lots of bananas in a go. Mira loves haathis and Ra Ra was like a dream come true – though she was scared to get too close to the animal, she cheerfully clapped and egged him on from a distance.

And like this, three days just passed away quickly leaving us relaxed, refreshed and not to forget…… beautifully tanned. It was surely a wonderful trip with lots of beautiful memories – memories of Mira’s first encounter with water, Daadi’s first beach holiday after ages, Papa’s much-needed break from office and most importantly, lovely time spent with the whole family together.