Thyroid disorders

Check out my article on Thyroid disorders in the Health issue of JustFemme. For a long time, I have been thinking of writing about thyroid disorders here on my blog, but I have never got around to doing it.

It is one of the most common disorders around, but very rarely is it correctly diagnosed. But once diagnosed and treated, you are as healthy as anybody else.

I have been hypothyroid for the past 7 years, and am on thyroxine supplements. In the beginning, I was upset - What? Take tablets for the rest of my life? But now, it is second nature. Asking me, "Have you taken Eltroxin today?" is akin to asking me "Have you brushed your teeth today?"

As for my health, I couldn't be more normal (Physically at least!). Being hypothyroid hasn't affected my life in the slightest. Thyroxine levels change slightly during pregnancy, and all pregnant women are screened for it nowadays. Since I was already on thyroxine supplements, they just had to adjust my dosage slightly for a brief period. I had a healthy pregnancy, and have a normal and healthy daughter.

Thyroid disorders are more common than you think. Do read the article, and if you suspect that you or somebody you know might have a thyroid disorder, please get yourself checked at the earliest!

While you are there at JustFemme, do read my mom's story about surviving cancer. For all those who couldn't read the Kannada article, this one is for you!

Indulgence

It's been quite crazy here. Lots of things to do, and only 24 hours in a day. Blogging has therefore taken a backseat. Though there are a dozen posts swimming about in my head, I haven't been able to sit down and put them down in words.

In the midst of this madness, I had an unexpected oasis of quiet enjoyment yesterday. Puttachi hadn't napped well all day, and so she took an extra nap in the late afternoon. After I put her to bed, I found that I was hungry. I didn't want to eat any more "healthy" stuff... I was craving for instant noodles. I found a packet of Maggi, made it (in 2 minutes!), and then went back to my room. I sat next to the window, and curled up with a nice fat book (The Lord of the Rings) and I ate the Maggi. For a blissful half an hour, I was suspended in a world of my own. Work was undone, things around me were begging to be put back in their place, but I retreated into a cocoon and read the book and ate Maggi. It was absolutely lovely!

Such simple pleasures - and so few and far between. If there is anything I miss in my life now, it is this - these moments with myself. The freedom to shut out the world and retreat into my own world. The freedom to just get up and head out for a walk without a second thought. Things like that.

Yet, this has perhaps been the happiest period of my life too. You lose some, you gain some!

Update: Just after I put up this post, I read this one!

A to Z tag

Tagged by Wunderyearz - a new friend, but seems like I have known her for years!

A - Available? Ok wait. As in Single and Available? No. I am happily married. But as in Available to friends? Oh anytime!
B-Best friend: Myself ;)
C-Cake or Pie? That's very difficult. Cake, I think.
D-Drink of choice: Water. Any time.
E-Essential thing used everyday: Brains. (Heh)
F-Favorite color: Haven't reviewed this one for years. It was blue when I last thought about it.
G-Gummi bears or worms: Not worms, definitely.
H-Hometown: Bangalore
I-Indulgence: Cookies.
J-January or February: January, I guess.
K-Kids and names: One - Puttachi
L-Life is incomplete without: Love.
M-Marriage date: Sometime in the middle of the year.
N-Number of siblings: 1
O-Oranges or apples: Oranges. But when microwaved, Apples.
P-Phobias: Snakeophobia.
Q-Quote: "Life is beautiful".
R-Reason to smile: My loved ones.
S-Season: Winter.
T-Tag three people: You, you and you.
U-Unknown fact about me: Let it remain unknown!
V-Vegetable you do not like: None. I love veggies.
W-Worst habit: Disorganized :(
X-x-rays you have had: Ankle, jaw.
Y-Your favorite food: This is difficult. I pass.
Z-Zodiac: Shirt-makers!

Balding

A couple of days ago, we were driving down Sankey Road, and we reached one of my favourite stretches - the magnificent tree-lined curved stretch right next to the Golf Course.

And my heart stopped. And broke into a million pieces.

The trees - those glorious, majestic trees, with their green, leafy branches stretching out to the sky - those trees, whose cool shade gladdened the hearts of a million passers-by - those old, beautiful trees - they were gone. All gone. And what remained, were just stumps.

Victims of road-widening.

How many beautiful memories that road holds for me! That time when our car broke down in the middle of a major thunderstorm, and we had to stand in the foyer of Holiday Inn(Now Le Meridien) until a tow vehicle came to tow our car home - with us inside!

Or the relaxing, lazy evening drives with S~ - at the beginning of our relationship - when fresh May showers had cleansed the entire world..... and everything looked so beautiful. Where the swaying, freshly-washed green branches seemed to be waving to us and celebrating our new beginning.

I used to remember all those things every time I drove down this road. Will I ever remember them the same way again? I try - and all that comes to me in my mind's eye - are stumps.

I have seen way too many old friends die to make way for steel and concrete. The old trees on Race course road to make way for the flyover. The beautiful Gulmohars on the service road on Chord Road, to make way for the Navrang Underpass.

And now, the trees next to the Golf Course.

All in the name of development. I know, I know. I myself have experienced the ease of crossing that Navrang signal in ten seconds, where it would have taken ten minutes.

I am not against development per se. But really, at the cost of how many trees?

Abhipraya puts it aptly - "Bangalore, I am told needs more space to breathe. But what are we going to breathe?"

I still love Bangalore, I proclaim. But do I? Probably, what I love is the Bangalore of fifteen years ago. But what remains of the Bangalore of then is just the shell. Then what am I in love with? Just the name? Or just the memory?

Twenty Questions

No, not the fun game. But a tag by Chitra. I am too pre-occupied to come up with non-random posts, so this tag comes in handy :)

1. Name Three Most Valuable Assets.

Whose, mine? No, I won't take the risk. I don't want anybody saying, "Yeah, Right".


2. If you have the chance, what would you probably say to your beloved one?

I definitely have a chance, and what I will say to him is for his ears only.. muhahaha!


3. If you were to be stranded on a desert island, who are the 3 blog buddies you would take with you?

Anybody who can build ships from scratch.

Ok seriously -

Anitha, Usha and Shyam. All of them wonderful ladies with whom I am sure I can talk about anything under the sun (pun not intended). I might starve on the island, but I sure won't die of boredom.


4. Where is the place that you want to go the most?

Right now? The kitchen. I am hungry. Ok seriously? Italy. Or rather, Scotland. No, the Grand Canyon. Or rather, Japan. No, let's say... ok, forget it.


5. If you can have one dream to come true, what would it be?

That there should be peace on earth. Cliched, maybe, but true.


6.Till now, what is the moment that you regret the most?

There have been no regrettable moments in my life. Only enlightening situations.


7. What are you afraid to lose the most?

My memory ;)


8. What would you do if you found a briefcase full of money?

Leave it right where I found it ;)


9. If you meet someone that you love, would you confess to him/her?

Been there, done that.


10. List out 3 good points of the person who tagged you.

Chitra? C for Cheerful, C for comfortable, C for cute :D


11. What are the requirements that you wish from your other half?

That it should match my first half. *Shudder* Imagine a body with unmatching halves!


12. Which type of person do you hate the most?

I am not qualified to answer this, not with my faults :o


13. What is your ambition?

To travel around the world?


14. What is the thing that will make you think someone is a bad person?

The thing? Only one thing? That's hard.


15. (My question) What is your idea of a perfect day?

Before Puttachi - A day with family, good food, long walks, long conversations over tea....
After Puttachi - A day in which Puttachi eats well, sleeps well, and is an angel. How many such days have I had in the last eight months? Zero. Yet - each day is perfect with her around. Now how can that be?


16. If you could do one thing different in life, what would it be?

I would have taken life more seriously.


17. Are you a shopaholic or not?

No. If there is a word for the opposite of shopaholic, I am that.

18. What is your stress buster?

Playing with Puttachi, of course. Sure-fire cure.


19. Do you have a new year’s resolution?

No.


20. What’s one thing in yourself that you would like to change?

My attitude about certain things.

Eight Months

- Puttachi crawls around on all fours and follows me around everywhere. Mary had a Little Lamb has a new meaning!

- Her second tooth has sprouted, and is hastening to be as tall as the first. Even before I saw the second tooth, I knew it had come out - how? By the imprint of two little teeth on my wrist where she bit me.

- I am convinced that she tries to imitate whatever we say. Her first conscious word (we are so quick to want to point that out, don't we?) is probably "Ta-ta". She even waves when she is in the mood. She has been saying "ammammmammma" from a couple of days. I like to think that she is trying to say "Amma"... though it is more likely that she is just trying out a new sound :D [Psst... I am glad that she tried out "Ma" first and not "Pa".... imagine how S~ would have gloated over it... already he is insanely proud of the fact that Puttachi is crazy about him!]

- Her night awakenings are increasing because when she awakens, she first rolls over, then gets into the crawling position, then she sits, and after all that, she wakes up, and wonders, probably, what is happening. She doesn't know how to lie down again and go to sleep, so she cries. Such helpless, funny little things babies are!

- There was this one night when she woke up, crawled up to me, bit my shoulder, placed her head on it, and fell asleep. It was such a lovely feeling.. a mixture of amusement and tenderness! :) I was trying hard not to shake with laughter for it would wake her up. And it didn't help one bit that S~ was laughing his head off.

- A few times, she wakes up suddenly with a smile, then she babbles something sweetly and goes back to sleep. "Must be a good dream", I commented once. "Must be dreaming that Papa has just come back from office", says S~. Yeah right.

- If I have left her playing by herself and am doing something else, there is an infallible way of finding out if she is up to something naughty. If I hear a sharp intake of breath, and a very loud exhalation of breath through the mouth [something like the models in toothpaste ads checking the smell of their breath] - then I know that she has spotted something interesting [read 'forbidden"]. And to her, the most attractive object in the whole house is the rug outside the bathroom. *sob*

- She has this habit of bending her head sideways and looking at people that way. I guess she thinks she is playing peekaboo. But sometimes, when she is too enthusiastic, she bends far too much, loses her balance, topples over, and then bawls.

Eating food in class

When I was a student, I had an eternal problem. I would feel very hungry in the class just before lunch. I would have eaten a heavy breakfast, but as far as I was concerned, the lunch break was always too far away. In engineering college, we had a mid-morning mini-break, and I would have a quick snack packed for that break. So I was okay. But in school and pre-university , it was very bad.

The main problem was that I cannot concentrate when I am hungry. There was absolutely no use sitting in class when I was hungry. But eating during class was totally taboo. Something that didn't even cross my mind. So all that I did was think about my lunch box and look at my watch. What a waste of time.

In pre-university, we were slightly rebellious, so I would eat my lunch during class without being found out. My stomach would stop growling temporarily and I could concentrate.

When my sis PeeVee went to class in the US in the beginning, she took a long time to get used to people eating in class. She watched, horrified as they sauntered in with a sandwich and a drink and ate as the lectures progressed. She nearly fainted when the professors themselves walked in with food and proceeded to eat as they taught. She got used to it very quickly, and now she does it too.

It make so much sense. There is no way some people like us can concentrate on an empty stomach. So why make such a fuss if we can just have a quick snack during class? I wish the trend changes here too. At least the future generations can benefit!

Pic of the year

Ano tagged me to post my favourite pic of the year.

Most of the pictures I took this year are of people, and especially, little people, and I cannot put those up on the blog. So I had to rummage through my "other" pics - and I found this - of course, how could I forget it?




Why this is special -

This picture is a great example of how random things come together unexpectedly to form a beautiful moment.

Earlier in the evening, my mom had cut some overgrown branches of the Ratnagandhi bush. She had placed a few flowers from the cut branches, in this old flask. It is not even a regular vase. This was placed on the crochet table-mat on top of the glass-topped dining table.

Then there was a power cut and I switched on the solar lantern. And then I turn to see this sight - as if it had been arranged to be photographed. Out came my camera (a very ordinary aim-and-shoot digicam) and here is the pic!

I would like to tag so many of you... so I'll just say, I tag all of you in the blogroll on the right. Please go ahead. Pick your fave pic of 2007 and tell us why it is special.

What do we have here?!

Remember my post about the maid's pregnant daughter who went to have a scan, and the sex of the foetus was revealed to her? That she was going to have a son? Well, she delivered her baby yesterday, and it is a...... girl!

Go figure!

Update: The child's father has been distributing sweets. So, all of you out there who have been worrying about the fate of this girl, please rest your troubled minds.

Short notes

There has been a burst of change in Puttachi in the last two weeks.

- She now moves forward - a creeping, nearly-crawling style... and she cannot be held back.

- She babbles a lot more now. There were mostly vowels in her language before, and know there are a lot more consonants. She seems to imitate us. She says "Aye" in the same tone that we use for "Hi". She repeats "Ey" in the same tone too.

- We have been suspecting for about a month or more that she makes a sound identical in frequency to any note that is being sung or played, but we couldn't be sure. [1]

But a couple of days ago, my mom was teaching her music class, and she sang the word "Hariye" in a "Ni-Re-Sa" combination aloud. Puttachi stopped in the middle of play, and immediately repeated the "Ni-Re-Sa" combination (as aa-ee-ay) - perfectly in tune, correct pitch. S~ and I nearly fell off our chairs in surprise.

- She now demands to be cuddled. She nuzzles up to me, and rubs her cheek against mine. And she also gives me what I can only term a kiss. She licks and bites my cheeks, nose, chin, anything that she can reach, and then stands back and smiles!

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Haven't you moms and dads ever felt that we need an extra pair of hands with kids? When one pair of hands is doing the changing or feeding, etc., the other pair could be used for pinning down or entertaining the baby. Showing her a toy, or waving it about, or holding a book - you know, that kind of thing. It could also be used to take photographs of the baby when your hands are full but the child is looking adorable and you just have to have a snap of her and there is no one around.

S~ asked me if I would like a robotic arm to attach to my shoulder. Sure, I said, I would like two, and one should be extensible. What say?

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A couple of days ago, my sis Peevee was watching me contemplatively while I struggled to pin down an extremely sleepy and cranky Puttachi. I was hungry, tired, and sleep-deprived, and close to collapsing with exhaustion.

Me: Peevee, don't have kids.
Peevee: *Thinks* Hmm.. okay. But in that case, can I have more nieces and nephews, please?
Me: *faints*

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Puttachi wants to stand all the time. When she is playing, being changed, being fed, being bathed, all the time. It is impossible sometimes, me with one hand holding her arm, and my other hand doing what I have to. The moment I plonk her down, she pulls herself up and bounces delightedly. Phew.

So my mom came up with a solution. Get one of those stands you find in the chemistry lab, she said, and clamp her up like a burette. Fantastic idea. Does anybody know where three foot tall stands with palm sized clamps are available?

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Did you know that "Shoorpanakha" means "sharp nails"? I didn't, until my dad started calling Puttachi "Shoorpanakha". I cut her nails every five days, yet they grow so quickly, and are extremely sharp.

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Peevee loves her niece. Adores her. Puttachi didn't care much for Peevee until Peevee started taking her to the garden and showing her the bougainvilla. Now, just at the time when Puttachi is finally in love with Peevee, it is time for Peevee to leave. She left for the airport a couple of hours ago to go back to the US. :(

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[1] I didn't want it to be the case as in this joke:

Man: My goat can speak.
Woman: Prove it.
Man: Goat, which month comes after April?
Goat: May-ay-ay-ay.

On surnames.

I read an article recently about someone named, say, Nirupama Raghuram*. Throughout the article, the author kept saying, "Raghuram graduated from Bangalore University, Raghuram works with the poor, Raghuram likes animals..." - Hello! It is not Raghuram who likes animals, it is Nirupama! Raghuram is probably her father or her husband. And he isn't the one who works with the poor and likes animals!

Haven't you seen this often? It makes me laugh out loud. You could refer to her as Nirupama Raghuram! Or if that makes you cross the word-limit, just say Nirupama. Or is that too informal?

This problem arises mostly with South-Indian names, where the usage of surnames is not too widespread. But since the concept of surnames is catching on, most people just affix the father's name to their names. In fact, even in the above Nirupama Raghuram example, say the article was about Akshay Raghuram. Akshay is the guy, and Raghuram is his father's name. In the article, they would say, "Raghuram likes dogs", which again is not true. It is not Raghuram, but Raghuram's son Akshay who likes dogs. So, isn't there a rule in written media, about not using surnames, but the whole name?

This brings me to another thing that I have noticed. Say this Akshay Raghuram character gets married to Sahana Subbanna. Sahana wants to change her surname after her wedding. So she takes Akshay's surname, which is Raghuram. That makes her, "Sahana Raghuram". Now, Sahana is stuck with a surname which is neither her husband's name nor her father's name - but that of her father-in-law!

Of course, nowadays, many people I know simply attach their husband's name to their surname. For example, Sahana would be Sahana Akshay.

That brings me to changing surnames. Now, what is the necessity? Ok, I won't get into that argument - it is the individual's choice. But I also feel that there are some people in particular, who should not change their surnames after marriage. My sister had a friend who was doing her post-doctorate. Many of her papers were published in respected journals. Her name was, well, a known name in those circles. She was going to get married, and mentioned to my sister that she was going to change her surname. What? Asked PeeVee. And start from scratch? Building a reputation is not that easy. Why give it all up? At least use a hyphenated surname - but no, she was adamant. PeeVee gave up. She must have her reasons!

That brings us to hyphenated surnames. i.e. Sahana in the above example would be Sahana Subbanna-Raghuram. I think these are quite cool. You retain your surname, you add your husband's surname. Great. Do let me know if this results in any major hassles!

By the way, many Akshay Raghurams have got over their "Father's name as surname-not convenient" problem, by adapting the father's ancestral village as their surname. If Raghuram hails from, say, Doddakere, Akshay calls himself Akshay Doddakere. Personally, I think these sound quite nice!

Now, you might be wondering - what has Shruthi done? Retained her surname? Used S~'s surname? Used a hyphenated surname? Well. I had it easy. S~ has the same surname as mine. No, that wasn't one of the reasons I married him. It just turned out to be a bonus, though.

There are many, many more questions that remain unanswered. As to why a child should be given only the father's name, and not the mother's name. And why a husband should not take his wife's name after they get married. I leave the historians to explain that. If one of you can explain it to me, please go ahead.

Then there is the argument - why do we need a surname? We can have another name instead of a surname. We could. For example, Sahana could be Sahana Madhuri. I have heard of some people are going in for this option too. Will it catch on? Let's watch and see!

P.S. All the above statements are made on actual observation, and about my personal opinions on them. I am in no way demeaning any choice. I respect each individual's decision to do what he or she pleases.

*All names in this post are fictitious. Any resemblance to anybody living or dead is purely coincidental.

Newness

As I give and receive new year wishes, I think - the 1st of Jan is just another day like any other. The sun rises like any other day and sets as usual. But yet, we celebrate it because it is the first day of something new. Everything seems new, whereas, it really isn't. But if you think of it, every day is new. Every moment is new.

This hits me every morning when Puttachi wakes up. She opens her eyes, looks around, and whoops and smiles as if she is seeing everybody and everything for the first time. In the soft sunlight of the morning, her bright eyes look brighter as she greets everybody with the same unbridled enthusiasm. She bounces, and dances, and gurgles and coos. She looks around every room with delight and smiles happily when she encounters her favourite things. It is as if she re-discovers everybody and everything each day and finds happiness in it.

And that fills me with cheer and I find myself looking around and saying, "Yes, Life IS Beautiful."

I wonder when we stop being like that - looking at each day, each moment as something special, and enjoying it whole-heartedly. I wonder what makes us start waking up with a yawn and grumble, "Hmph. Yet another day."

I think all of us ought to bring back the children within us.

So this year, along with joy and peace, I wish for all of you the ability to find delight in every new moment, appreciate little things, and live life completely.

Happy New Year!

Seven Months of Puttachi

Puttachi is uncontrollable. If she is still immobile and so uncontrollable, how on earth it is going to be once she starts moving? I cannot even start to imagine.

She hasn't yet started crawling - technically, that is. She can get at an object a metre away by some clever acrobatics, but that's about it. She gets into the standard crawling position and tries to move forward, but falls flat. But in the middle of the night, I wake up to see her in the crawling position, eyes blinking sleepily, hair falling over her face, big eyes staring at me blankly from behind the mosquito net over her crib. I giggle helplessly before I reach out for her.

Her solid feed times are totally crazy periods. She doesn't sit still, but holds me and pulls herself up. On the way, she bites my thigh, my shoulder, and if she can reach, my cheek. By the time we are done, both of us are covered from top to toe in food. I did away with bibs long ago, since they were of no use. I now need something to cover her from top to toe to protect her clothes. I'd rather change her entire clothing after every meal. Its that crazy. As for me, even an apron is not enough.

I started strapping her up in her car seat and feeding her. It is now slightly better. Only she and the car seat get dirty. I escape unscathed.

Some time ago, S~ and I were discussing the use of a high chair for Puttachi. I had said it might not be of much use, and we had suspended the discussion. But now I think it might come in use. Tie her up at one place and feed her, and perhaps allow her to eat some by herself. Do you think it will be useful, or is it just a waste? Is a car seat enough? Please chip in with your advice.

She now dances to music. A gradual shift from just enjoyment, to swaying, to actual bouncing and giggling. Delightful.

Her sleep schedules have slightly regularized. She sleeps for half an hour each in the morning and late afternoon, and for an hour or sometimes more after lunch.

Here's the funny thing - she sleeps in slots of half an hour. Half an hour, one hour, or one and a half hours. That way. If she is sleeping and I see that it is 35 minutes since she fell asleep, I know that I have 25 minutes more! Strange, huh?

Her night sleep continues to be pretty good.

She has become far more responsive and interactive. I now actually feel that she understands what I am telling her - at the basic level.

Life with Puttachi is getting better, and crazier.

Township Tales - Sports Enthusiasts

There was a man (not in our township) - let's call him SM Sir. He was upset by the lack of stress on sports in his sons' school, and decided that he would start a sports group for children. He called it ASHA (Academy of Sports, Hobbies and Athletics). His sons' friends, and their friends joined the group, and soon, it reached our township. Since there was a lot of space for games, and we had indoor games in the Community Centre too, SM Sir started coming to the colony, and soon, he had recruited many of us into ASHA.

Some parents were hesitant, saying that it would interfere with their children's studies, but SM Sir was great at PR - he convinced everybody, and his enthusiasm was really infectious. Many of us joined. My parents were thrilled with the concept, and my sis and I needed absolutely no convincing to do - they said Yes almost immediately. There was a monthly fee for membership. I don't remember how much it was, but it was quite reasonable.

He would come to the township nearly every evening, and we played all kinds of games in the lawn. He taught us rules for all the games that we so far had just played blindly. He taught us tips, and tricks. He introduced me to Table Tennis. I hadn't even held a TT racket before he came on to the scene. And once I picked up a TT racket, I was hooked. To this day, it remains my favourite game, and I have only SM Sir to thank for it.

Besides games, he trained us in fitness. Every morning, he would expect us at a field about half a kilometer from our township. We would rise at five, drink something, get into tracksuits, and a group of us would go to the grounds, and there, he would make us warm up, and then jog round the field as much as we could. He kept an eye on each of us - he made sure that we increased the distance periodically, according to our ability.

After about an hour or hour and a half, we got back home, bathed, ate a monstrous breakfast, and then went to school. I don't remember ever being tired at school. Just very, very fresh.

This was perhaps the fittest period of my life. I was about 12 or 13. I had the stamina, I had the strength, and the energy. And the interest. I cannot believe that I rose at five every day for so many months. The mornings were beautiful. The sun rising, the birds chirping, the crisp, cold, morning air biting our cheeks, and a group of us friends, young, spirited, happy, quite sure that we were training to be the next Flo Jo.

We went on a couple of treks too, to hills around Bangalore. Those were wonderful experiences - something we had never done before. Once, we walked all the way from Malleshwaram to Kanteerava Stadium, through the greenery of Sankey Tank. We "trained" at the stadium and had a great time. After these outings, we always returned tired, but very enriched.

He also organized many events. We regularly had potluck dinners, or parties on contribution basis. We even brought out a simple, cyclostyled monthly journal for a time, where we were the writers, editors, everything.

And apart from all this, of course, we grew better and better at sports. Because of my experiences here, I got many prizes in school too. There was one year, I think the ninth standard, when I won prizes in running, relay, shot put, long jump, and TT.

I would have won in high jump too, hadn't our PT teacher insisted that I jump without my specs on. I told him a hundred times that I needed to see the bar which I would have to cross. But no. He said my specs would fall and break, and he wouldn't be held responsible. I told him that I have done all kinds of acrobatics with my specs on, but no. He refused to let me participate with my specs on. Duh. I ran and directly hit the bar instead of jumping over it. No, my eyesight wasn't, or isn't that bad. It is just that I didn't get the right perspective to plan my jump. Hmph.

Back to SM Sir. Does anything in India work without politics? Some people in the colony raised objections about the dust we kicked up playing in the lawn. So the management forbade SM Sir from coming to the colony, or some such thing. Bang. He lost out on a place where he could conduct ASHA's activities. He started having it elsewhere, many, many kilometers away. We were too young to travel so far, and going every day was out of the question.

We gradually lost touch with him. A pity. I wonder where he is now, and what he is doing. I hope ASHA is still functioning in some form or the other, and giving kids some respite from sedentary school life.

Next: Celebrations

My sis is here!

* My sis PeeVee has come down for a visit after 1.5 years. She and Puttachi met for the first time, and they are thrilled with each other. Puttachi is in that stage where she talks to strangers from afar but bawls if they carry her. But she went to PeeVee and settled down with her as if she has known her all her life.

* PeeVee has grown 1-2 inches taller. I need you people to tell me if it is possible. For someone to grow after a certain age, after you have thought she has stopped growing. I thought people grow till they are 21 years old, but PeeVee is quite past that age. There is no doubt she has grown... she was always petite, and much shorter than I was, now she is just an inch or two shorter than I am. She bikes a lot at her school. Is that the reason?

* She has done a good amount of very thoughtful shopping, and has brought personalized gifts for the family. Amazing, with the little time and money she had!

* One of the things she has brought is a pain-relieving ointment called Bengay. Now the funny thing is that in Kannada, "Ben-gay" means "For the back". This has totally cracked me up - I can't get over it.. I keep imagining a conversation:

Person 1: Bartha angadi inda novige ointment thanni. (Please stop by the drugstore and get me a pain-relieving ointment.)
Person 2: Sari. Yavudu? (Sure. Which one?)
Person 1: Bengay.
Person 2: Gotthu ninna bennovige antha... aadre yaava brandu? (Yeah, I know it is for your sore back, but which brand?)
Person 1: Helidnalla, Bengay. (I told you, Bengay.)
Person 2: Gotthappa ben-gay antha, aadre ointment hesarenu? (I know, pa, its for your back, but what is the name of the ointment?)
Person 1: Bengay.

It could go on and on :D

* Having a good time chatting away into the night with PeeVee -- and enjoying watching PeeVee giggle over Puttachi's activities and drool over mom's cooking.

Spotlight Series at Blogbharti

We have started the Spotlight Series at Blogbharti, where well-known bloggers/writers have been invited to write on contemporary issues. Two essays are already up, and there are many, many more to come. Do hop over, and join in the discussion.

Township Tales - A shady hangout

There was a nice, leafy, woody area in one part of the colony which we called "C-type", after C-block, next to which this area was situated. It also happened that the house that we lived in for a major part of our stay in the colony, overlooked this area. In fact, my table was next to the window overlooking this place.

This area also housed the main water tank of the colony. We always dreamed of climbing the spiral stairway inside it, all the way to the top, but we were never "old enough" for it. This place also had the "pump room", and the vicinity of the pump room seemed to be the hangout of the electricians, plumbers, etc., who worked in the colony. In later years, the iron man of the colony, i.e. The Dhobi, put up his stand here, just underneath the passion fruit creeper, full of gorgeous passion fruit flowers.

This place formed an important part of our non-game activities. Chatting, planning, one-to-one bonding - stuff like that. My earliest memory of playing in this place was just after the rains when it was teeming with earthworms, and we used twigs to cut the earthworms in two, and watched both halves wiggle.

When we were learning about Harappa and Mohenjodaro at school, my friend (the 25-years of "best" friendship one), whom I will call Bab, and I, went to C-type, and dug the earth with stones and twigs, hoping to find "ruins". Sure enough, we found a piece of a clay pot, and a stone with a very neat shape. We were quite sure that we had unearthed some ancient ruins, and that the stone was a stone-age implement, and the clay pot was an important relic. We even named the new ruins "Bashru" ruins, and even discussed whom to contact, and how to keep this discovery a secret until we found more evidence. Later that evening, our parents brought us back to reality. :(

C-type was the picnic venue too. We would decide to have impromptu picnics, everybody would run home and bring whatever there was at home, starting from half a packet of Parle G biscuits to a couple of bananas. Or even home-made chakli or "mixture". If there was time, we would run to the house opposite the township, where they stocked Nilgiris products, and bring some snacks (I would bring Vanilla drops).

One of us would bring a mat or a bedsheet, we would spread it out, sit on it, share all our eats equally, hog, and then go back to play. Such simple pleasures, really!

And oh, since my mom's kitchen overlooked this area, she would sprinkle water at us and then hide :) I, of course, knowing my mom, would know where the water came from... my friends were left puzzling over it for a long time!

Next: Sports enthusiasts.

Township Tales - Playtime in the Lawn

One fine day, we woke up in the morning to see that our lawn had new guests. A slide, a merry-go-round, an "A" monkey ladder, and a round monkey ladder. We watched with bated breath as they affixed it to the ground with cement. We couldn't wait to try them out, but no - they had to be painted. So, painted they were. And they told us that we could play on them in the evening.

I haven't seen such a turn out before that or ever since. All the kids in the colony were out in full force that evening. There were queues to play each game. Come to think of it, we were pretty decent kids - we queued up, didn't push each other - quite a feat for kids so young, I must say. The paint hadn't dried yet, but we were least bothered. By the way, the frock I had worn that day bore the stains of wet paint forever.

As time passed, the attraction faded. But they were still special. The slide was the favourite. We never climbed the slide from the steps. It was usually from the slope that we climbed, and slid back again. Even the sliding was not done sitting decently on our bottoms. We slid lying down on our backs, on our tummies, on our tummies head first, on our backs head first, running down instead of sliding.... you name it, we did it.

Then we started climbing the slide from the supporting poles at the sides. Have you seen these men climb coconut trees? Just like that. One of my school friends had visited me once, and she saw me climb up the slide from the side, like a monkey. She was shocked and thrilled at the same time. The goody-goody Shruthi, who is neat and quiet and does her homework regularly - is actually a monkey! My friend had gone to school and spread the word. By being a monkey, I had become just that much more human!

There was this kid who loved to climb the slide and then pee down the slope from top of it. Yeah. Yuck. And invariably, after he did this, someone would carry mud up and pour it down the slide, so that there were streaks of mud down the slope. Till today, I don't know who washed it, or whether it was washed at all, but after a few hours, it would be shiny clean, and then, ensuring that someone else has slid down it before us, we would follow suit.

The merry-go-round was for us adventurers. Sitting on it was for kids - hmph. We would stand on it and ride it. It was this little four-seater thingy that you see in children's parks. We would bring it up to speed with our feet, and then we would stand while it was turning. If we leaned backwards completely, it would slow down. The moment we leaned forward, towards the center, it would go at dizzying speeds! Without our knowledge, we were imbibing physics ;) In hindsight, it was a pretty dangerous thing we did.. but we were never scared!

The "A" monkey ladder was, you guessed it, shaped like an "A". We would sit at the apex and discuss "important" issues. And kick with our feet those who came to eavesdrop by sitting on the horizontal bar of the A.

The "O" monkey ladder was by far, the least popular. It was shaped like an O, sort of, if you looked at it from atop. We devised some game that saw us all inside it, and the "Out" person was outside and had to catch us by putting her hand in and trying to touch us. Dangerous game, I got hurt very often during this game.

Do you remember this programme called "Alpha Plus" on television? It was a sort of competition that tested physical and mental skills. First there was a military kind of race, where the participants had to climb nets, jump walls, hang on ropes - that kind of thing, and the second part was a kind of quiz. Well, we adapted it to suit us. We would note the time taken by each one of us to climb the slide, slide down, run to the merry-go-round, go two rounds of it, go in and out of the "O" monkey ladder, and then cross the "A" monkey ladder, and reach the starting point, and the quickest person was the winner.

For some reason, writing this reminded me of the bottle-brush tree, with the spiked leaves, and red flowers shaped like the brushes used to clean bottles with - the tree with a unique smell. I had even forgotten this tree! Phew! why did I remember this? Was it our starting point for Alpha Plus? Perhaps. I don't remember. Strange are the ways of the brain.

Next: A leafy area in the township.

Signs

You know that you have been married for a long time, when - When a movie is mentioned, you no longer ask your spouse, "Have you watched it?" but "Have we watched it?"

P.S. It is also a sign that you are getting old and losing your memory.

P.P.S. - Thanks for all your wishes. Puttachi and I are doing much better.

The Tooth

Yes, Puttachi is sprouting a tooth. So far, it can only be felt (rubbing her gums with a finger), and heard (when she rubs her gums against the spoon when I try and feed her). But it hasn't been sighted yet, one - because it seems to have only just emerged, and two - you are lucky if she opens her mouth for you to peep in!

On one hand, I am excited about the new arrival, but on the other hand, I am going to miss her toothless smile.

In other news, it has been a very sick week. I will spare you the details, but Puttachi is only just getting okay, and I am still quite bad. I grab every spare moment and use it to sleep, and hence the slowdown in posting.

I will be back soon.