Kiddie Talks - 24

P has been learning about Water for the past one week. Sources , usage and about the pollution.
Sometime last week we were doing his homework which required him to write in a tabular column about the things that float/ sink in water.
He came up with some answers like spoon, ball , leaf etc. So now we gave him some choices ..
Me : Paper
P : Float
Me : Blocks
P : Float
Me :No. Both sink and Float
P : How?
Me : Wooden means sink and Plastic means float
P : Ok
Me : Stone.
P : If it is written Jai Shri Ram it would float others would sink
Me : (took few seconds to react) then both me and aathu ROTFL...........

Stampede-Tragedy

Remember my earlier post - http://oreponnu.blogspot.com/2009/12/new-avatar-of-p.html.
Yes, B's father also was one of the victim. The news reached us yesterday only. My father and chitti family came home for pongal and went back yesterday. Only after reaching they came to know about the news.
Reading in a newspaper was different - the numbers were the only criteria and we were just feeling sorry for the people and the incident. But, now when it struck closer home the impact is bigger. Though i have not seen him in person, immediately after hearing the news i was at loss of words. From yesterday iam not able to behave normally and it is as though i have lost some one dear. Immediately B came in front of my eyes along with his 2 yr old sister. His mother is from a village near Madurai and she is such an innocent lady. Iam unable to think of the plight of the family. Whatever monetary benefits they receive may not be able to fill the void of the person alive with flesh and blood.
Aathu had been going to Sabarimala for the past 5 yrs and i never used to think the journey as otherwise normal. But, i do not know the very thought of his trip next year gives me jitters and henceforth would not be the same.
I think the newspapers instead of covering the extent and number of the accidents should give more coverage to the bereaved family and their haplessness, which in my opinion would create greater impact and would help to prevent accidents or any other incidents to a greater extent. One life or several lives the magnitude should not be measured by numbers.
A life is a life and the loss can just shatter the loved ones and their life can never be the same again.

Edited to add : I sincerely apologise for misleading you in this regard. Actually B is not family though they r more than family - neighbours at my father and chitti's place. Nonetheless is the grief. I thought i had stated that they r our neighbours in our previous post. Anyway passed on your condolences and thanks for the same.

Year end and the New year

Well how did it go. The holidays went in a flash. First three days were like javvu mittai and the next 12 went in a jiffy. Relatives arrival and we went there for a quick 2 day visit. And know what i had mehendi after a gap of 15 yrs. Not even for my marriage i had it. My sister's friend came exclusively and obliged me with a beautiful design. The thing is athukkappuram hand wash panrache ellam manase varala. Now only the faded orange version is left :(
Paid our ezhumalaiyaaan a quick visit and surprise! surprise! we had darshan within 45 minutes. From vaikundam entrance to the sanctum sanctorum there was no queue. Only inside we had to stand for 35 min. And we had a very good darshan inside tooo. Might be a lucky day (obviously cos it was on my birthday and aathu planned a trip accordingly). And the gift once again from none other than GRT. Bt it was presented twice , once at the hour of midnight by aathu, then again the same from P in the morning before going to the trip :) (ennathaan irunthaalum P nna special thaane)
New year eve and the day went in a fight with aathu, bt got pampered and duly compensated next day (ithukkagave sanda podaalaaam pola irukku). I got a bigggggg box of ferroro rocher . ithula enna visesham nnaaaaaa i had all the box to myself. Didnt even share with P :( [bad mother rite - illaaa illla he had cold athanaaalathaaaan ;)]
Saw manmadhan ambu - bayangara confusion - ist a romantic , masala or comedy film -entha genre leyum seraatha oru padam. Thideernu senti next without notice bayangara intellectual scene athu mudiyarthukulla romance apparam confuse aagi ok lets try comedynnu pona maathiri irunthaathu. P comfortably settled with his popcorn and lays. We went with our chitthi and family. Chithi was not able to take the climax and started polambifying. How can sangeetha get along with madhavan? that too with 2 kids? Avangalukku intha ending and together with lays - tomato flavour ellaaaam sernthu bayangara sick aayittaanga. Bt we all had bayangara fun becos of this.
Resolutions - I never take any resolution but started long before new year to indulge aathu and Ps appetite. Yes cooking fever started, lets see how long this would sustain.
Made paneer butter masala - P's verdict to his periamma - paneer kevalama irunthathu but masala romba super ah irunthathu (romba theva)
Well, happy new year and advance Pongal wishes

Madras-my memories-II

Those days weekend meant nothing for the family except for elaborate cooking and television. How we would wait for the Fridays and Sundays. The ozhiyum oliyum on Fridays , cartoon shows , ramayan / Mahabharath and evening movie on Sunday. We would wait for the turn of either tamil/telugu in the regional movies category for the extra movie to be shown on Sunday. Today we get to watch 100s of channels and not to leave behind the internet which provides you everything in a platter at the click of the mouse, still we don’t derive the happiness or pleasure which we got those days. TV watching was a wholesome experience with whole family assembling before the TV. Now, when P is in front of the TV, I take over the system and vice-versa. (aathukarar kekkave vendam, he is settled with his potti)
Movie watching in a theatre belonged to a different genre those days. No frills or elaborate preparations. We had four theatres in our vicinity – two were for ordinary occasions and the other two were treated as outings. Out of the ordinary ones, one was just a stones throw from our home and another one hardly 10 minutes by walk. But I liked the first one more because it gave me a sense of belonging – enga theatre sort of thing (owner ketta othakka varuvanga). It is one of the famous theatre and it is itself a celebrity in its own ways J
The first movie which I remember watching in a theatre – VIKRAM. I went with an uncle’s family. Still the memory is very vague but I remember we had an accident while returning and it was a minor one. So my memory always mixes the accident and the scene in the movie where kamal rushes in to the theatre in that scooter after the chasing scene (its an important scene in the movie ) where he sees the villain in the news reel. So my memory plays a collage sort of thing and mixes both these incidents where I imagine myself in the side box of the scooter. No one can forget the sidebox shown in that Bhagyaraj movie “Chinna veedu”. LOL…….
(to be continued)

Kiddie Talks-23

Actually this blog has become like a scrapbook sort for me. Recording all the happenings and the fun , anger and embarrassment associated with P as well our life as a whole. Sometimes i just read from the beginning and would experience them once more. Wish i had started earlier. At times i would feel, am i boring everybody or bragging too much. Cos for every parent whatever a child does or speaks becomes more important but i haven't updated everything only things which i consider worth recording have been posted. (in the sense it should not sound ordinary when i turn later or brag sort of thing).
Earlier i said P wanted to become a fire-fighter someday now the ambition had undergone a change once more.
Want to know what it is? DIRECTOR . Yes u got it rite. Its film director only.
Whenever a movie or a song comes,
P would ask me , Amma ithu enna padam, yaar hero and yaar heroine?
Now two more addition to the above question - Yaaru director and music director. I think ithu endhiran oda effect nnu.
So when he was having a bath he asked amma singam padathoda director yaaru, i replied saying "Hari" (nalla vela Vijaykumar ellam theriyaathu, apparam avanga family history ellam solli irukkanum, and thank god we dont watch the sun news)
After few seconds he said, Amma naan director aaga poren.
I kept quiet for some time and thought he got confused between actor and director and asked him again, R u sure. Do u want to become actor or director?
P : Yes, i want to become Director only and not actor.
Me : Do u know what a director does?
P : Avar thaan ellarukkum solli kuduppar enna pannanum , eppadi pannanumnu?
Me : hmm (thelivaathaaan irukkanga)

Now during bed time,
P : Amma naaan Raja aaga mudiyumaaa?
Me : Oh yes aagalaame. Prime Minister, Chief Minister ellarume raaja thaaan (Naan raasa va sollalainga)
P : Athukku naan enna pannanum.
Me : (Unmaiya sollanumaanu ore confusion - athaanga onnum panna vendamnu) Nee good ah padikkanum, padicha mattum porathu good ah nadanthukkanum (athukku mela theriyala)

Waiting for next thing in the list....

Double dhamaka

Day before yesterday night , some professional has gained entry into our office and created a mayhem in the process of looting our office. Luckily not much cash was there but around 7k.(No,no this didnt make it to the 2/3 page of The Hindu, cos Rasa and 26/11 occupied them) In the process he had destroyed all the locked cupboards and threw all the papers and documents with the help of a candle and few match sticks. How iam able to acknowledge his professionalism is due to the fact that he gained entry through the grill of the window by unlocking the nails.

Since my patti got scared hearing the news i had to stay put at home. My aathu described the scene of crime as straight out of some cinema. And the process which followed like giving complaint and arrival of the inspector, sub-inspector and each one of the staff (incl tea-shop man i suppose) , forensic team to record the finger-print (how much i missed being part of the mess "sigh" all things replica of "Krotham" Prem's thriller movie). As always, the policemen have assured us the best. :)

As i was hearing running commentary from aathu, i was constantly on my mobile. And this news just reached us after sending P to school (poor him goes to school at 7.30), so he didnt have a chance of hearing this. When he came home i was speaking with aathu and was just giving pep talks and assuring that everything would be all right. The conversation had phrases like "its okay da, seri daa etc"
P came and asked me " Yaar kittaa pesindu irukka"
I replied " appa kittaa" (normally he would fuss demanding that he should have spoken to him first, but that day kept quiet and went about his routine)
After some time he came.
P : Nee pesarche "daa" sonniye.
Me: Aamam unna solven illa antha maathiri thaan sonnen.
P : Nee enna sollalaaam , aanaaa, appava solla koodathu. Respect kudukkanum seriyaaa
Me: dumb struck...... Ennatha sollaaa :(

Two lessons in one day. What u say!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Pic courtesy: Google images - Cartoon stock

Smart!!!!!!!!!!!!

Couple of weeks back we had given an ad in The Hindu regarding purchase of property. We were receiving calls but none of it proved to be fruitful. The next day one gentleman called and enquired aathu if it was the number as given in the ad...
Aathu : yes sollunga
G : Veedu 1/2 or one ground ketruntheenga sir antha ad la
A : Aamam sir sollunga.
G : Enna range la paakkareenga, car parking venuma
A : Car parking iruntha better, unga kitta veedu irukka, neenga land-owner or broker aa?
G : Illa sir actual ah naanum veedu thedindu irukken, unga ad paarthen, ungalukku neraiya calls vanthurukkum illaiya, response eppadi vanthathu? ungalukku seripadaathathu or ethanum nalla deal which u cannot pursue irunthaaa konjam enakku solreengala
A : grrrrrrrrrrrrrrr (face pakkanume) Illa sir onnum solraa maathiri illa.
G : Ok sir ennoda number store pannikkonga , ethanum irunthaa sollunga thanks.
Would have given hundred million dollars just for the look :)