A Mama's World: March 2005

Effortless effort

Each time I watch Arunav trying to scale new heights (literally) I am amazed at the amount of effort he is putting in and yet there is no feeling of that effort in him - he does it so naturally as if of course he will try 100 times in as many seconds to reach for the higher sofa which is stacked with things he is not supposed to touch. It does not matter that he falls 100 times in his effort - he is completely unmindful of that - he tries again and again. The first thing he does when he wakes up is to rollover and start grabbing at the sofa edge to pull himself up. When he could not rollover he used to try that as soon as he woke up! No wonder he is learning so fast.

Trick: I stack all the things which interest him on the sofa which is just unreachable for him just so that he tries and can stand faster. It has paid off this week.

Why is effort so much of a burden when we grow up? Why do we mind failure so much - how much more we could do if effort was effortless like that of a child.

I can stand!

He could finally manage to stand on his own - though the delight in his face is not bcoz he could stand - but bcoz of the camera - he loves the sight of it - specially the dangling lens cap!

Shubho Doljatra - Happy Holi

This is one festival I am in love with and being away from home I miss it so much. I love the array of colours that filled the sky, the coloured faces roaming the streets, the fun and laughter and the joy around. Doljatra, as Holi is celebrated in Bengal, has been the festival which never fails to cheer up people all around. I enjoy playing with colours - more specifically "abeer". I used to make cards out of them when I was in school - send them to all my friends....gone are those days!

Posing for a photo

Saying mamma

It is fun to hear the broken 'mamma', 'nanna' - those are his first words. He doesnt really aim the words at me but in general keeps mumbling - however the timings are right e.g. he says 'mamma' when he is in pain or cannot see me or he is hungry, and 'nanna'(meaning 'no') when he doesnt want to eat...

Hakkeijima Sea Paradise

Yesterday we went to Hakkeijima Sea Paradise. It is an amusement park at seaside in Yokohama. There are several thrill rides and an aqua meseum which features sea creatures in aquarium and also hosts a sea mammal show - with shows displaying dolphins, sea lions, etc. Arunav was not at all interested in the show - he kept tugging at Shyam's camera which was trying to capture the show. He liked the Tube ride though because he could see the brightly coloured fishes all around him.
We paid a visit to the Yokohama Bayside Marina (station name is Torihama) - which has outlets of all the famous brands like Lacoste, Nike, Addidas, Timberland, DKNY, Lego and so on. After a long day we came back home with a cranky Arunav, who was so thrilled when he reached home and was released from the straps of the pram - he did not even give us time to take off his jacket - as soon as he was out, he promptly rolled over and started furiously crawling all over the place. I felt so guilty at having contained him the whole day. It was such a treat watching him explore the whole place and laughing away and giggling away at every thing we said...he was plain happy to be home and free.

X chromosome - difference between Venus & Mars?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4355355.stm

This corroborates a well-known saying in bengali which tantamounts to 'like a cat, a female has nine lives'.

Dreams

I believe in angels - something good in everything I see.....

When I was a young girl I used to dream of going to a land of great natural beauty, green green fields as far as the I eye can see and deep blue sky above spotted with white fluffy clouds. I will have a book with me, some music and my dear one (who I always knew would be someone I would fall in love with in a treegrove beside a riverbank!). I keep having this dream whenever I feel very happy - for many different reasons - but the state of happiness always leads to this dream. Now I realize it was my native place(Shyampur) which was that dreamland - it has the same beauty - miles and miles of green/golden paddy fields spotted with coconut groves where people dwell,clear blue sky, roads lined with eucalyptus trees...it is sheer magical beauty.

The Big Day for the Small One

12th March saw our Arunav having his "Annaprasan" (Rice Ceremony: First rice feeding - symbolic for starting solids). It was a bright day and we were so happy all of the 90 odd guests turned up at Rajmahal, Roppongi! Our dear fellow slept the initial phase and then woke up to the hustle bustle of the guests. We had a hard struggle to put on the silk punjabi and dhoti on him since he is not used to any texture other than soft cotton/baby polyester.
Once he was wearing the traditional stuff it was time for adornment of his forehead with spots of chandan(sandalwood paste). That was tough for Sushmitadi and Meeta since Arunav just hates anything being done on his face.
The ceremony started with Sanjeev(makeshift 'mama'/uncle who is supposed to feed him) giving him a few grains of prasad(sacred rice), after which he was given to taste payesh - the traditional Bengali sweetdish - this being prepared with jaggery instead of sugar it was tastier. He seemed to like it - so I heard since parents are not allowed to watch the feeding ceremony!
After the feeding was over, Arunav had to decide his destiny - we offered him a silver plate containing: a Pen(symbol for "education"), a Coin(symbol for "money") and earthen pot depicting "land". The crowd watched with baited breath for the few seconds Arunav was evaluating the stuff in front of him before he grabbed the Coin with his right-hand and then his left-hand took on the Pen - everyone erupted with claps and laughter - and poor Arunav not knowing what he has done to cause such a noise started crying profusely.
I was a bit disappointed at his choice of coin first - I dont know why because there is nothing bad about being rich - but I guess it is the ingrained Bengali psyche in me that 'Education' is above all.

My school -

IIM-B goes international

Playmates-3

This looks so cool - I would like to have this for myself...

Playmates-2

I love clothes - to chew on.

Observation: I found....

some friendships spring from bad mouthing other people e.g. friendship between A&B is based on the fact both dislike C and criticism of C figures top discussion item among them - not what is liked by both A&B........ does that last long?

Late Snow in Tokyo

It is snowing in Tokyo today - quite unexpected in March.
and this is what my baby thought of his first snow.

Angels&Demons....

does not have the same flair as Da Vinci Code...and most certainly Robert Langdon looks pretty stupid talking to a killer when he should have been shooting(in the leg)....which results in the plot stretching way beyond its due course.

Pregnancy Books on Sale ! (with Images of Books)

I am planning to sell off my 2 books - Brand new condition:

1. Dr. Spock's Pregnancy Guide
2. What to Expect When you are Expecting

Anyone interested please quote your price and send me an email. Images below: