Marina scape

N and I went a little early for our walk in Marina last evening. Instead of our usual post-prandial stroll, we went around 7.30 pm. Surprisingly for a weekday, the beach- from Gandhi statue till the lighthouse, was moderately crowded..... with..... COUPLES only!!! No kidding, about 90% of the beach junta were made up of couples all at discreet intervals and in their own world and enjoying their apparent privacy.

We were the odd couple out, with me and my bump waddling and N playing with his new Blackberry Storm, but also enjoying our private time together.

If anyone is interested, not sure this latest Blackberry is creating any sort of a Storm as the keyboard isn't the greatest. Its almost like the i-phone and annoying for people without the slenderest fingers, which would account for most of the world I guess!

A spiritual sojourn

I wouldn't describe myself as particularly religious... or maybe actually ritualistic. But one thing I have appreciated in the past, and earlier this week was the 2 day trip to Guruvayoor. I find that I feel very peaceful in this particular temple, inspite of whatever is happening around. Also, I appreciate most things Keralite, like the food, the scenery and their traditional clothes- simple whites with a gentle border. We got Anan a paavadai in white with a gold border... which surprisingly she seems to have forgotten about, otherwise, it would have already become a brown/off white paavadai with gold border.

Anan, with the in-laws visited the elephant sanctuary at Punnathur Kotta, which is about 3 Km south of Guruvayoor temple. There are about 50 elephants there and she had the most fun ever watching them getting a bath and seeing the baby elephants eat. This is also the closest she has ever been to an animal.

After the trip, she informed me very seriously that she only saw boy elephants. When I asked her how she knew that, condescendingly she said, "Amma, all the elephants there had tusks, and only boy elephants have tusks, not girl elephants... didn't you know that?" No, my baby, I didn't. Looks like there are going to be lots of things you have to teach me now...

This visit is of particular importance to me as I marked off a month since Appa died. And it felt quite right to pray to a god he was named after.... Krishna. Still missing you dad.....

Tears in heaven......

It is 28 days since Dad left us. The longing, sadness and regrets remain. My baby kicking constantly inside me teaches me about life and living..... as I lose a loved one, there is another one, waiting to brighten our lives... lifting us out of this dark abyss...making us believe in miracles all over again.

Some of the nicest memories of dad have been shared by his friends from his college- both IIT and IIM... I didnt know till now that he was called Pacha back in college, I always thought of him as Partha... His IIT classmates instituted an award in his name- a cash prize of Rs. 50,000 to be given annually through ENVIKAL to a teacher from the govt. school they sponser in Taramani.

Another classmate, sent this pic of dad from his IIT days, probably from an ID card.

For dad, a couple of lines from the very famous Eric Clapton song, Tears in Heaven....

Beyond the door

There's peace I'm sure.

And I know there'll be no more...

Tears in heaven

Anan-isms 1

Its really funny how Anan uses logic to her advantage.

According to her world view, when someone wants a baby, they get married. So when amma and appa wanted a princess, they found each other, got married and Anan was born. So far so good! This story lasted till we told her she was going to have a sibling. Her immediate next thought was- when amma didn't marry again, how could the baby be born? So we muddled along and tried to convince her that that theory held true for only the first baby.

Sshe has also decided that when she grows up, she will only marry her dad ( as long as he doesn't grow old like her thatha) so that she can continue to live with her parents - she is definitely clear she does not want to leave her home. So when I asked her, what about when she wants a baby, pat came the reply- amma, this baby that is in your tummy, that is actually my baby. When I grow up, I will be its mummy!!