Indian Heritage Academy

The BH wanted to learn to play the chenda. It is a Kerala style drum . We googled it, asked people about it, but hit a blank wall. Many months later I was talking about this during our evening chai session and one of the managers told me to go enquire at Indian Heritage Academy. This was the first time I was hearing about this place. Got their number, found out that they have a guy who teaches the Mridangam. And after that we did nothing! Finally last week, we decided to go see this place. I fell in love with it! It has anything and everything being taught. So while you walk about, there is a bharatanatyam class going on in one corner; another room you can hear the Saaaaa, Reee of a young crowd . A little further on there are painting classes, guitar, keyboard, most instruments and yes Kathak too! ( I’ve been looking for a good place to learn Kathak for the past couple of years) We looked at the timings and joined the two classes immediately. The BH has signed up for Mridangam classes and me for the Kathak Beginners Class. I wanted to put Mowgli in something, but he is too small for any of these. But when he grows up, he is definitely coming here!
It made me happy to do this. Maybe because I get this feeling sometimes that we are wasting our life away looking at excel sheets or just doing the same things over and over again. Are we doing the things that will matter to ourselves in the long run? And there is this tiny voice telling me to make time for these, coz the rest do not matter!!!

Beautiful Rappa

We dream of estates and sprawling farmhouses. Dogs gamboling about in the background. Long walks. The works.
Last weekend we saw a place that came very close to our dreams. RAPPA. This is an eco-lodge about 25-30km away from Hassan. This was a trip we’d been planning since last year and for some reason or the other it never happened. For us when we started from Bangalore, there were no expectations. The only plus point as we saw it was that the guy who ran this place was very enthu about us bringing Cocoa. He’d told us laughingly “I’ve 3 dogs of my own here.”
The first sight that greeted us were three dogs sitting patiently under a tree looking at the approaching Bolero. The BH parked the car and got out to inquire about the place, a small spitz(very similar to a Pomeranian) hopped into the car! I opened the door and a gorgeous Irish setter sniffed around me soon followed by a Basset Hound. Mowgli was surprised and a little scared. Cocoa was completely scared. She just looked out of the window at all these funny creatures around me. And then the star of the place ambled in. A HUGE golden retriever! Absolutely CUTE. It was so amazing. All these dogs, really friendly not jumping at you or anything. They are just curious about ‘who are these people?” types. We soon forced Cocoa out of the car and Voila! The usual sniffing, growling etc etc happened and then all five were off!
The place as such is very basic. If you are looking for luxury or even The Jungle Lodges kind of cottage, then this is not the place for you. You have only the necessities here. Tents/machans equipped with just a bed. There is no fan/table/chair etc. There is a small bathroom with running water next to the tent. And then there is space. A WHOLE LOT OF IT! To walk, run, play cricket/football, laze around whatever you wish. This is basically on the bank of a reservoir. So during the summers, the water levels have receeded and then you have all that land lying there. The entire church in the below picture gets submerged during the monsoons. All you can see is the bell tower!We played in the waters, did kayaking, went for early morning walks, late evening walks, generally just roamed about enjoying the place. Cocoa went wild on seeing so much of place for her to run. She swam for the first time in her life seeing the other dogs do it so effortlessly and took to it within 5 minutes. So we were taking turns kayaking and cocoa would swim along with us. They also organize midnight treks etc, but since Mowgli was there with us we opted out of those. The above snap is Mowgli with the dogs. From left, Shunti the spitz, Brown the Irish Setter, Shadow, the Basset Hound lying down and Cocoa's tail! And in the first snap, thats me and Milo the huge golden retriever.

It is a great place to unwind, to hang out with a bunch of friends. And it is definitely a place we are going back to again and again!!!

"Every marriage has its own balance"

said a colleague today. It struck me that amidst all the yin and yang and contradictions that drive and hold a marriage there is an internal rhythm. Something that keeps them together. This is maybe our balance:
I like the music to be LOUD, reverberating off the windows… You like it soft and soothing to the ear!
I like to curl up with a book. You like to cuddle up to the remote!
I like quiet evenings at home. You need at least three people around you.
You like outdoor games. I am content with Scrabble.
You have perfected the art of smiling at your foes. I am yet to stop myself from scowling at my enemies!
I love cats and dogs and squirrels and all animals. You draw the line at dogs and horses.
You are my backbone. I’m your conscience.

Tunes and lyrics!

I grew up listening to an eclectic selection of music. My dad was a big fan of country music, elvis Presley, beatles, abba , Boney M and the like. My mom freaked out on Mohd Rafi, Koshore Kumar and old Malayalam songs. They were really poles apart J Music was a constant be it my mom listening to the radio when she was in the kitchen or my dad playing Elvis Presley at full volume at 11pm . That was his way of relaxing. Wonder what the neighbours thought! And unconsciously this is one gift that they both have given me! A love for music!
There is no particular genre, but different kinds of music for the different moods I’m in. English country music to cool me down when I’m in one of those highly frustrated moods. Old hindi songs to thoroughly enjoy that romantic/melancholy mood. Peppy numbers to get into that dancing/groovy kind of feel. Music when I’m working, music when I’m alone at home, music when I’m tensed, music when I’m happy. Songs that I love singing aloud to. Songs that I’ll never get bored of. Songs that remind me of my dad playing the guitar and singing in that high bass voice. Songs where I find myself wishing I could meet the lyricist and ask them 'How in the world did they write this!'
The one thing that I really really wish that Mowgli would pick up. Learn an instrument/learn Hindustani or Carnatic music. Be a Sivamani or a Bryan Adams :-)
Music is one great leveler- something that can soothe away every hurt and maybe like Time, music also heals…

GIVE ME ANOTHER CHANCE

GVE ME SOME SUNSHINE

GIVE ME SOME RAIN

GIVE ME ANOTHER CHANCE

I WANT TO GROW UP ONCE AGAIN!

So given a chance what will you do?

I for one will sit once more for the MBBS entrance examination and make sure I clear it. The feeling that I should have taken it once more instead of taking the easy way out (Engg) is getting reinforced again and again. I really really wish I could have been a doctor. I think I would have made a good doctor :-)

I would have continued with my dance classes. Not just left it because when I moved to a new town, I did not like my new teacher! After learning for 10 years, I should have taken it up professionally. Or at least pursued it regularly. For someone who can be so passionate about dancing, I really do not understand why I did what I did!

I would have ignored the small stuff! Not mentally tortured myself over every one of life's thorns.

Not many regrets when I look back, but the ones that are there are damn strong.

What about you? If given a second chance what would you do?

Aal izz well!

A month has passed and the year has started to feel old. I’m trying to hold on to my resolutions.

Trying to rein in my impatience and to resist snapping at the BH and Mowgli. Have lately realized something strange. That the person I snap the least at is Cocoa in spite of how tiring it gets at times cleaning up the house after her. Daily vacuuming, washing her bathroom, the balconies, taking her out twice a day, mixing stuff in her food so that she finishes it (Yes! I’ve been blessed with two fussy eaters- Cocoa and Mowgli!), brushing her, bathing her. It’s a lot of back breaking work and if you add it to the other work that I already have then it sort of pushes me over the brim. But somehow, I’m gentler with cocoa- more than Mowgli I feel. Is it because she is mute and I feel that since she can’t speak, I must not hurt her or is it because of her undying devotion and love towards me irrespective of how I behave towards her. The happy lick at the end of the day, big paws resting on my chest, she never holds grudges, is always ready to greet me with a huge smile and a wagging tail- so unlike us!!!

The FRM results came. Didn’t clear it. It’s the first exam that I’ve flunked and it hurts the more for it. The BH is pushing me to write it again: his logic is that if I don’t clear it then it’s forever going to stay in my mind like a thorn. So I’ll give it again, but not this year. We frankly do not have that kind of money to waste this year and I’ll have to prepare more for this. It’s not going to work with managing a home, kid and office together. Maybe later on. I don’t know.

The bolero came and brought along with it a fresh wind of travel. We’ve been going on a lot of short drives this month and it becomes us J I like the space, the rugged feeling, the sense of adventure it brings with it! Mowgli loves it, he has captured the middle seats as his paradise. “Boleeeroill tata ponam” (want to go Tata in the Bolero) has become a steady phrase these days.

The paternal grandparents were here for a week and we are royally ignored. Where before I loved this break, this time it hurt! Pretty badly. It hurt that we didn’t get to hug Mowgli at all, he was not interested in talking to us, it just cemented that kids are indeed SELFISH! For him, it was like he got two people who were willing to play with him 24 hrs a day, switch on the Teebee (TV) whenever he wanted, did not force him to eat anything that he did not want and who catered to every whim and fancy. And having got them he just did not want to let them go! We could have used this as a great opportunity and ran off to do our own thing, but instead we sulked and slouched around.

On a happier note, I’ve started driving to work. After sitting on a license for close to 10 years, I’ve finally picked up my courage , ego and the car keys in that order! it’s been eventful to put it mildly. If you find a Maruti 800 going so slowly that pedestrians easily walk by , driven by a crazy lady who glares at the traffic and is seen mumbling to herself well, that’s me!

Another silver lining is Mowgli’s started speaking. Sentences. English, Malayalam, Hindi and Mowgli-speak. “Go to poori!” That is English at Mowgli level. He has picked up a lot of phrases and words from his daycare, from us, from God alone know where! So it’s a mix of English and Malayalam and Hindi with the words substituted wherever. So if he wants to go upstairs he says “Go to Mol” (mol is the shortened version of up in Malayalam). “ Come phasht”. In his world there is always a sense of urgency. There is no “come” it always has to be “come phasht” the faster the better. There are days he wakes up at three in the morning and says “Mowglinu book bayikaam” (Mowgli will read book now). Does he have exams at the daycare???? “Mowglinu Teebee kaanam” ( Mowgli will see the TV now) Note how there is no permission or question in his sentences. They are all orders delivered albeit with a smile! “Koko sit. Mowglinu moli keranam” (Cocoa, Sit. Mowgli wants to get on top of you) and the poor dog that she is obediently sits quietly while his highness clambers on top of her and pretends that he is riding a horse. I’m sure that if Cocoa could speak, one day she would ask God “Of all the houses in Bangalore, why this house? Why me? “ And the best of the lot! His favourite song is “maata kali” (masakali from Delhi 6) The moment the background music starts our man gets all excited saying maata kali maata kali!

All in all Life is happening J and the mantra this year is to LIVE!

Truth!

"To be in your children’s memories tomorrow, you have to be in their lives today"

‘Effective Parenting’ Ms.Kiranmai Choudary from Glen Doman’s Institutes.