New Kid in Town!

Hello Again! It has been about two weeks since we landed in India and here I am all set to resume blogging from ‘Namma Bengaluru’!!!  Except the last three years, Bangalore has been home to me from the time I was born. But in these three years, my hometown has grown so much that I hardly recognize my old streets or its neighborhoods now. While some things are still the same, some have changed for good and some not so good! As most Bangaloreans would agree, the city traffic is not one of its best selling points and in this aspect I’d be lying if I say that I don't miss Portland! But when I walk the streets of Jayanagar, pass the old Ganesha temple, the adjacent shopping complex and stop by the good old Dosa camp, I know I have finally come home! :-) 

Abhay seems more than happy to be back in the city where he was born! Busy in the company of his grandparents, he's hardly had any time to miss his old home! Bangalore’s streets seem far more fascinating than those in Portland – with buses, cars, autos, all kinds of two wheelers sharing the road with cows, street dogs and fruit/vegetable vendors – how can he possibly miss Portland? !!:-)  But if not the streets of Tanasbourne, he does miss his old school on SW Walker Street and his schoolmates studying therein! To help him move on to his new life and new school, today I read “New Kid in Town” a Little Critter Story by Mercer Mayer. Little Critter and his friend Gabby are playing catch when they find a moving van drive into their neighborhood. Curious to find out who their new neighbor is, they walk across the street to meet a shy little boy named Max sitting on the curbside of his new house looking sad and lost. When asked what is wrong, Max says he misses his old friends from his old neighborhood. Little Critter and Gabby then take him to the park to meet their friend Tiger who’s seen flying a kite. Soon Max makes friends with Tiger and all four of them take turns to fly the kite. From the park, they move to the swimming pool where they are joined by another friend Gator and all five go swimming. Next they go to an ice cream parlour where they meet Maurice and Molly and all seven of them have ice cream and so goes on the story with Little Critter helping new kid in town make new friends!!! Abhay liked the story and felt reassured about meeting new friends in our old neighborhood and mind you, it is not only Abhay who feels like a new kid in town! :-)