The Travel Bug

One thing that often feels surreal in my mind nowadays is how much travel I have been doing in the recent times. A little more than a decade ago, there was this craving in me to visit a lot of places. At the peak of my blogging spree, I read about a lot of places in travelogues and travel blogs and very badly wanted to see every one of them.

As I tick off Hampi, Badami, Pattadakkal, Aihole, Mahakoota, Banashankari, Madurai, Rameswaram, Cambodia and Myanmar from the destinations list, all visited within a span of one year, it indeed feels surreal that I have finally visited so many places that I have only been reading about so far!
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The Quest for Calmness

It is one of those rare mornings here in Singapore where it really cloudy and not hazy. Bringing respite from the haze caused by the burning of forests in Indonesia was yesterday’s rain. The cloudy weather still continues.

I am now sitting in one of my favourite neighbourhood parks in Singapore. On a comfortable seat under the shade of a tree with chirping of birds and buzzing of insects for company. I hear the voices of dozens of small children coming from the preschool nearby. The bouncing of Basketball in the Basketball court in the park and the engine of the digger or whatever construction truck it is, are also constant company. Then there are Tamil and Chinese words coming from different directions. As tweets of the birds and the chatter of people continue, I sit in complete silence cherishing this moment of calm that I have got.

From phonics to transitive verbs, o-n-e to minuend and subtrahend, as I traverse from preschool to primary school subjects, this month of September has been one long learning journey so far, the journey not restricted just to studies but also of my own patience levels.

There were two main days when I was at my worst max as I struggled to maintain a calm while trying to make my daughter study for her Tamizh and English exams. For all my claim of being a parent who doesn’t pressurize the child to study, I ended up on that annoying lecture mode of mine as I tried in vain to make my daughter practice some portions. The rest of the exam preparation days went by so well.

Anyway, now is not the time to ponder on the exams, but on the nag that I become every morning as I struggle to get my kids ready for school or many a times when we go out somewhere. Even as I tell myself that I should remain much more calmer, I am just not able to and end up getting worked up so much about even trivial things. I always feel like ‘Jab We Met’ Kareena who fears missing her train and catches her train in the last minute every single time. 😉

The calm had to be tossed aside quite often this month as the children have been at home for most part of the day what with half a day school and holidays and that obviously meant more frequent sibling fights to manage and more tantrums to handle.

Of course, it also meant a lot more relaxing moments with kids as we had a lot more books time, games time and conversation time together.

As I now sit in complete calmness amidst the presence of nature and her sounds, smell and sights and do a retrospection of sorts, I realise that the relaxing moments with the children does outnumber the moments I was a total nag. But that doesn’t mean that my own yelling or lecturing mode can ever be justified.

I wonder if I will ever have an improved level of patience. I wonder if this feeling of inadequacy while dealing with certain moments will ever completely go. That’s when I tell myself that I am just another human being and I really cannot do it ALL all the time. But my quest for inner calmness and improved patience levels will continue and, who knows, maybe someday I might really achieve it.

Madras Day Musings!

Dearest Madras,

Wishing you a very happy birthday!

The Madras Day and Madras Week Celebrations are only getting better and better with each passing year. It is with a heavy heart that I read about all that from afar. I wish I could go on all those heritage walks and listen to all those engaging and informative talks about you.

Yes, you are not really at your best what with water scarcity and the poor state of roads. But you are the city that gave me many hobbies and interests in life. You are the city which has such a vibrant culture and heritage that one has to definitely celebrate and enjoy it! You are the city which is my home! And, yes, it is you that I continue to miss more and more with each passing day!

At this juncture, I must also tell you that there comes a time in one’s life when one moves towards acceptance, thus numbing the longing that one feels. The deep-rooted feelings might get only stronger by the day, but I have kind of come to terms with the fact that I will continue to be away from you! So it is with an even more level of enthusiasm that I look forward to June and December, the school holiday months when I get to be in the city I love.

Here’s wishing you a very happy birthday once again!

Adieu from a Madras Maniac!

Mingalarbar from Myanmar!

When we started planning for our vacation to Myanmar, every book or travelogue mentioned that you will be greeted with ‘Mingalarbar / Mingalaba’, Myanmar’s very own version of ‘Hello’ except that it means a lot more than just a ‘Hello’, since it is apparently derived from the Buddhist Pali word ‘Mangalar’ meaning ‘source of prosperity, blessing or anything joyous or auspicious’.

We were first greeted with a ‘Mingalarbar’ at the security check at Changi Airport, Singapore. After that, right from the drivers to Hotel staff to shopkeepers, everyone everywhere continued to greet us the same way. There were even those that went to greet us with a ‘Namaste’. Greetings apart, the entire set of people we came across all through our trip turned out to be very courteous.

Alaipayuthey Nostalgia!

I saw this snapshot from Alaipayuthey posted in a group with the caption ‘Karthik and Shakthi had their mudhal sanDai (first fight)’.

To me, Alaipayuthey will always remain synonymous with that happy, carefree phase of life. As I was telling my children the other day, being the grownup adult is no fun!

The Cranky Mama that I am!

You know how time and again, it is to my blog that I have turned to for solace, comfort, relaxation and sharing a blissful moment or two. But, this time, I didn’t want to bore you. But, as I browsed through the archives, I saw that this has now become my rant journal in the recent years and, hence, I don’t feel one bit guilty about adding some more entries to it now. 😉

The first half of April saw my children carrying with them all the excitement back from their short trip to India during the end of March and letting it all out in the form of crying spells, naughty acts, tantrums and unfinished lunch boxes which once again translated to more naughtiness and tantrums. The new academic year had started for S and all her close friends had moved to a different section or to a different country. So, she was in a bit irritable mood till she found some new friends. Add to it was the fact that my husband was away on a trip. And then there was the sweltering Singapore heat. By the time the third week of April ended, I was this crazy, cranky version of myself!

These apart, ever since intense heat and sweating took over Singapore earlier this year, I keep having throat issues on and off and because of that, my singing has once again taken a beating! That’s another demotivational thing going on in life.
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And the sink fills up yet again!

While I do know that the dishwashing chore is something that has been done to death in my blog, still, if I don’t launch off on a rant about it here, where else will I do it??!

Sometime during the fag end of October, during yet another frustrating dishwashing spree, I decided that I will try my best to wash the vessels after every meal time. It was at that time that I was having one of those inspiring moments reading Elle Luna’s ‘The Crossroads of Should and Must’. While she applies it to larger visions of life, I thought I will include this mundane task too in my list of things I MUST do as often as possible. After all, without any extra helping hand, I was already doing it every single day leaving a clear sink every night. So why not do it without procrastinating and letting the dishes pile up??

Now, guess what happened after that? I felt as though I was standing in front of the sink more often and yet, at 8/ 8:30 pm as I did the last round for the day, there still seemed to be yet another huge array of vessels!

Now the mind has this cruel way of playing around with your thoughts. Dishwashing is usually that solitary time when it is just me and my thoughts. And, as you obviously know, it is one chore that I just hate. As I let my thoughts go on an overdrive, the first thing it screams out loud, especially on an exhausting day, is ask me why the hell I gave up my career and chose to take on this task instead?!
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Lullabies and More

I have fallen in love with MLV’s Jo Jo Rama. A simple composition, yet how calming it is. Bombay Jayashree’s rendition of the same just doesn’t work for me. It is way too slow.

Talking about slow lullabies, my most favourite is Sikkil Gurucharan and Anil Srinivasan’s Omana Thingal. It is one of those perfect pieces where the voice is as soothing as the piano and I love the lyrics too.

Come to think of it, slow lullabies never worked for my children. I had to carry them, walk fast and sing song after song. Nowadays, there are no lullabys or bedtime stories. All I do is fall asleep along with them! Am catching up with all those sleep of those sleepless years I guess!

Even as I typing this, fast music is suddenly turned on at the place I am in. That kind of super-fast foot-tapping beats that will definitely induce some energy in you.

I mull over music and its various shades. Joy, melancholy, tears, smile, motivation, relaxation or pure, plain entertainment, it is only music that turns out to be THE best companion!

Those Lazy, Cranky Days!

You know those crazy days, don’t you? That kind of a day when your child starts to unleash his naughty acts. When he refuses to eat what is usually his preferred food. When you’re sure that you are going to have a crying spree from your daughter because she has way too many things to be excited about and that is indeed what she ends up doing.

Then there is the sink overflowing with dishes to be washed. The laundry waiting to be done. The new school books waiting to be covered and labelled. Dinner waiting to be cooked.

Causing it all was the rainy pleasant weather which gave such a lazy beginning to the day that the already sleep-deprived you just couldn’t pull yourself out of the bed! And when this resulted in you almost dozing off during Shavasana when doing yoga, you can bet this is how the day will turn out to be!

Yes, it is the weather that I am going to blame which resulted in the outdoor play time of R getting reduced which resulted in his poor appetite.

Keeping R engaged indoor needed much more time and energy resulting in all other mundane chores being put on hold.

The weather delayed the clothes getting dried up which postponed the laundry chore getting done.

All these resulted in me becoming as cranky and irritated as my own children. Should I tell you anything more about the state in which I am in right now?

Rainy days are fun only when the only thing you have to do is to sit back and indulge on a hot samosa or a pakoda. 😛 It is no fun when you have a never-ending, ever-pending long list of chores and tasks to be done. Sigh!

96

It was during one of those sleepless nights like today’s that I watched the movie 96. The story or the songs or the few scenes from the trailer didn’t really impress me. But when I watched the movie fully, there was one thing that I could identify with – nostalgia!

There was the lead character Ram who was still holding on to his time and memories with Janu so close to his heart and hadn’t fully moved on from the past.

There was Janu who, though seemed to have moved on with her life for all practical purposes and appeared to have accepted all that had happened and not happened, was still holding on to those memories and feelings as fervently as Ram.

Yes, there were some flashbacks that were boring to me and there were way too many tears in the present scenes and the love story in itself didn’t seem any special. Yet, there was this one thing that made me keep watching the movie till the end and even get reminded of it at random moments – the portrayal of nostalgia!

Be it Ram excitedly recollecting the places in Thanjavur, the place where he spent his childhood, from the passenger seat of the car or stepping inside his old school or all the students of the class excitedly catching up wih each other after so many years or be it the class reunion or be it the fond reminiscences of the past by Ram and Janu, it was that nostalgia written all over the movie that appealed to me more than anything else.

Of course, the cinematography was superb, there was this enjoyment of watching Madras on screen and Vijay Sethupathi was excellent as usual!