Ageing

1. I have absolutely no enthusiasm or energy to do any activity with the kids on my own - gone are the days when I would go on long drives with them, travel fourteen hours by flight or train, or just enjoy sitting around them doing some silly collages and finger paintin - all without any support from spouse or nanny.

2. My husband insists that we can no longer be refered to as a 'couple' - even by well meaning DJs at sundry parties. Its a term, he says, that is reserved for 20 somethings only.

3. My older one S, refuses to be part of any mom and kids dances.

4. My younger one, V, has assured me that I no longer need to carry milk powder and a flask of hot water whenever we travel.

Sigh, Sigh

Hope and Happiness

The point in time wherein you feel the least happy, is always the point wherein you have the least hope. Can this hold true at all points?

The Election

I found it so difficult to tear myself from the TV at 10:30 am this morning. Had been randomly watching the US election coverage since 6:00 am, while getting throught the ususal weekday routines. Gradually realised i was late for a 9:30am call, which I conveniently logged on from home itself.

It was 10:00 and absolutely the outer limit to step out from home in order to maintain a professional image. But no, at that very momment, I had to get hooked on to McCains speech, and was completely rivetted by a speech by a pastor(I am not yet sure who this person was) to the wonderful crowd at Grant Park, Chicago. Delivered with such conviction, dedication and hope. There was such an infectious spirit of optimism in the whole scene. Oprah Winfrey included. Now I desperately wanted to stay on and watch Obanma

With a heavy heart, consoling that I could catch his speech on the web as soon as I get to offcie, I left home. I have watched this fight quite closely with a lot of interest. Though I havent yet read his Audacity of Hope. But then I usually have a tough time gettting through biographies.

Last evening I read a review of Toni Morrisons latest book woven around the haunting tapestry of slavery in US. The review itself was so gripping that I cant wait to take a few days off and read the book. And then there was a recent revisit of Jefferey Archers short story 'A Change of Heart', written against the backdrop of Aparthied in South Africa. This election's results should signify something personal to so many races across the world, that have struggled and still struggling...for basic human rights.

I guess its not madness to hope that politics in my country too would change...probably in ten years time?

11111

Thats my car's odometer reading this morning. Translated very enthusiastically by S as Eleven Thousand, Eleven Hundred and Eleven.

Three cheers for the event! It has taken 22 months for it to get here. Over this time it has experienced three flat tyres, a drained battery, a few gashes mostly unleashed by bangalore autos (can I ever be at fault?), a huge crater in the front caused by a speeding bicyclist who rammed into the car. Thank God he managed to hold himself steady after that and continued to speed merrily.

Now, thats almost 500 km a month. If one were to assume that Bangalore Traffic proceeds at 20 km an hour, I have spent close to 555 hours in it, close to 50 minutes every single day over the past two years. Not bad, considering it doubles up as my dressing room, puja room, pantry and thought lab.

In contsant search...

for the perfect lunch box.

Have been at it for the past thirty months. And still havent achieved any satisfaction. At the end of each working day, between mom and two kids we fill the sink with 50 pieces of these items to be cleaned. This is excluding the lunch bag itself and the water bottles (which are a constant battle issue).

I had started with plastic ones. Simple two-tier stuff, with clasps at the side, in bright colours. Winnie-the-Pooh and Bob-the-Builder smiling sweetly from the lid. The colour pleased the kids and the simplicity thrilled me. My then two-year old could open and shut without much mess. Cool. But, the fancy wore out, the clasps didnt hold for more than a month and one tier kept falling off, even as I was about to place it in the lunch bag.

Then came the rainy wintry days of Bangalore. Ought to give them warm food. So, I bought those insulated ones, with microwaveable containers inside. Super duper find, I commended myself. Once again the colours pleased the kids and the ease of use gave me warm comfort. The 2.3 year old could still unlock the containers because it had grooves on the lid and neat arrow marks to guide her on the right way to open.

The joy was shortlived. Those grooves began to accumulate the following in multiple strata: mud stains,ghee from rasam mammum,VIM and atoms of steel scrubber. The yuckiness freaked me out at the end of week one.

Ah! When i am on this slippery a slope how can Tupperware not catch my attention. Found an ardent salesperson who said stuff like spill-proof ya, very good quality plastic ya, lifetime replacement guarantee ya. Okay, done. Three combinations purchased. It was okay for a while, but then the smell of the last days food always seems to linger in all plastics. Especially when stuff has ghee and/or turmeric in them. And my maid who is totally ignorant on how to wipe utensils dry, just adds to my head ache.

With a vengeance, this week I have returned to good old STAINLESS STEEL. They may look less natty but they remain stubbornly smell free, with minimal intervention. Have got those Milton ones inside a soft insulation. The only thing of concern now is the fact that they have plastic lids on the steel containers. In the meantime, I am sending my maid to a refresher course on wiping vessels.

Wilson Garden

A nice name. Conjures up images of an idyllic place blooming with Gulmohurs and Jacarandas, with the occassional evening shower, the sun peeping through the clouds to cheer the rain, nattily dressed grandpas and grandmas sitting on the wooden park benches...

I have spotted the name on numerous signboards in seemingly disconnected directions and could never figure out where exactly it lay. And this weekend I saw an ad that said Brand Factory has opened its second oultet in Wilson Garden. Brand Factory is of no consequence to me, but the ad listed the phone number of the store. My first 'contact' in Wilson Garden! I called up the store and took down the directions in great detail.

I set out on the quest for Wilson Garden with S briefing V about what happens in a Factory! Car Parts, Robots, Assembly, Painting machines, shiny stuff...

It turned out that Wilson Garden was indeed nicely tree lined, with broad roads and a flyover but fully crammed with buses, trucks and autos. And numerous Ganesha installations. And a few reputed hospitals, with the bus stops bursting with people.

And Brand Factory seemed a welcome relief from it. I hate big stores in general, because it magnifies the worlds problem of excessive production AND consumption. But this one was okay because the number of consumers seemed rather low.

WE didnt buy anything except delicious cheese grill sandwiches and pomegranate juice. Which in part made S forget his diappointment on what Brand Factory turned out to be. And made me hope that the trees of Wilson garden are still around for a long long time. Anyways, dusk is not the best time to make a judgement about a place, for your views will always be clouded. So, I shall still think of Wilson Garden as a nice place.

Making sense of Digtal Intimacy

Read an article in the New York Times this morning.

Among other things, it helped me understand why Twitter makes sense to all the people who use it. Analyses if the internet has actually raised the Dunbar number of 150. Maintains that even if one has 200 facebook friends, the circle with whom you maintain close connections amongst them will always be a much smaller number.

I used to be especially puzzled because I never got hooked on to any of the ever changing flavours of the internet. Way back in 1998 or so, when MSN messenger was introduced, I was super excited, but gradually that enthu wilted. Even the subsequent voice chat and webcam versions made me more lazier. Not to mention Skype. The telephone-will-do attitude thus limited my knowledge to that of a close circle of family and friends. Not much room for maintaining 'acquaintances'.

Email I loved and still remains the most utilised means of communication.

I did go about creating accounts on twitter and facebook and reunion and classmates ...under various pseudonyms, but never got enthused. It is not that I am trying to guard my privacy at all costs...its just that I find it burdensome to 'maintain' all those outlets. Its after all a substantial amount of time, which doesnt result in anything meanignful for me.

All my nieces think I am a granny in this aspect. But I shall soon start a group on Facebook called Non Facebook users...if it already doesnt exist