A BLF - Regular!

 

“Bigger, Bolder and livelier” is how author Shoba De described this year’s Bangalore Literature festival, with its 11^th edition that was held last weekend at the grounds of Hotel Lalith Ashok. To borrow from Suresh Menon’s words, a literature festival makes reading a community event and what a shared celebration of reading and books it was!  Spread across two days over four different stages (named after the Late Puneeth Rajkumar’s movies),  with diverse topics ranging from Pico Iyer’s reflections to Manu’s Joseph’s zero hour styled “as me anything” , from Kabir Bedi’s memoir to Veerappa Moily’s autobiography, from the exhuberent and inimitable Jerry Pinto to the gentle and understated Jahnavi Barua, from a beautiful rendition and translation of the Shankaracharya’s “Soundarya Lahiri” to a discussion on Bhuta worship in Dakshina Kannada, from the impassioned speech of  festival regulars like Ramachandra Guha to the recently emerging author/thinkers like engineer turned advocate K Sai Deepak,  from VVS Laxman’s batting to Sunil Chhetri’s footballing journey, from bringing alive Kannada epics in “Gamaka” to celebrating minor languages in Karnataka in ‘Hosa Baraha”, from finding empowerment in fandom in Shrayana Bhattacharya’s refreshing “Desperately seeking Shahrukh Khan” to being enthralled by the Kannada superstar  Ramesh Arvind’s success mantras, it was indeed an intellectual extravaganza for bibliophiles, literary and cultural enthusiasts in the city.  

Not to forget, the Children’s Literature festival making its reappearance after a hiatus of  two years with  two stages, “Malgudi” and “Seonee” engaging both the young ones and the tweens and the teens.   We have been BLF regulars as a family for the last ten years, and our experience so far is best represented in my older one’s journey from attending Rohini Nilekani’s Sringeri Srinivas story time at the very first edition in 2012 to sitting through gripped by the heart-wrenching tale of Dr. Kafil Khan on his book “Gorakhpur hospital tragedy”! Of course….we couldn’t be any more pleased as Abhay  marked out sessions he wanted to attend on his own (without his overbearing mom around!) or as he went up to ask questions after the session or  as he lined up in queue to get the books signed by authors while interacting with them! In a way it has been a coming of age of sorts for Abhay as he graduates from being a  “CLF” regular to a “BLF” enthusiast!

 

Besides BLF stage hopping, Abhay also played chaperone to his little sister at some events at CLF on the second day, allowing us take a break from our role as parents! Our program schedule leaflet resembled an amusement park map, reflecting a rough strategy to be able to make it to each of our marked-out sessions  while ensuring that Aadya was supervised at her parallel sessions running at CLF….  like Abhay was to finish a session with Anubhav Sinha and Jerry Pinto  on “Book of Dog’  at  “Yuvaratna” stage  and head over to “Malgudi” to take care of his sister for a drawing session with Labonie Roy, so that my husband could tune into a “Gamaka” session with Gangamma Keshavamurthy and Shantha Nagamangala at “Raajakumara” stage and I could catch Shrayana Bhattacharya’s session at “Yuvaratna” just to sprint back to CLF so that ABhay could walk back to  “Gandhada Gudi” stage for Sunil Chhetri’s session “Awakening the Blue Tiger”! !  😊

 

While Aadya missed out on the first day of CLF, she had plenty to look forward to on the second day- from a DIY session on making one’s own string instrument with Krithika Sreenivasan from the Indian music Experience (IME) to witnessing a culinary show based on recipes inspired from children’s books by Ranjani Rao and Ruchira Ramanujam from their book “Bookworms and Jellybellies”, from story-time by Priyanka Agarwal   to a session with Bijal Vachharanjani and Rajiv Eipe’s hook book titled “Kitten Trouble”,    finally ending the day with a fun filled show by India’s only woman ventriloquist Indushree Raveendra.

 

One of the books we picked up was by Honey Irani “Shakya’s little secret” brought out by Om publications along with another book “Akira Shakya and the Grouchy owl”, which was launched by the author herself with her son Farhan Aktar joining in at the BLF. Though Aadya couldn’t attend one of her sessions on ‘Living with nature” , her older brother managed to grab a copy earlier in the day, and stood in queue to have it signed!  

 A tad long for a picture book, Honey Irani weaves two wonderful stories around her grandchildren Akira and Shakya that make for a delightful read.  Little Shakya is down with severe cough and as her parents frantically try to seek help, guess who comes to her rescue? The birds, bees, bugs and the plants outside her window!  Honey Irani’s engaging narrative brings out various anthropomorphic characters and their idiosyncrasies,  from empathetic Simi the parrot and her eager friend Penny the Pigeon, from  her Royal Highness Queen Bee to her reluctantly obedient subject Fizzy-Wizzy-Bizzy bee, from the helpful Tulsi plant to the ever wise Lore, the owl, and the story is about how they all come together not only to cure little Shakya of her cough but also enable her to have a super-human experience that she can she can cherish all her life, inspiring in her a life long true love for nature!   A unique storyline with an important message of being one with nature, and Aadya loved it and was thrilled to see the book signed out for her – with a lovely message – "Book is you best friend, done let it go!"  A an apt message for all the kids and adult alike …don’t you think? Until the next BLF……!!

 

 

Aadya hits a six!

The only advantage in having a huge gap between your two kids is that as parents, you can still enjoy the endearing years of early childhood of your little one while suffering through the awkward adolescent years of your older one! You can still hold on to the innocent and tender moments with your little one  just as you try to let go of your older one asserting his own way of doing things. Just like your return from work earlier than usual is sure to be a pleasant surprise for your little one and probably an unpleasant one for your older one! 😊  Well……I’m not sure how long can we rely on this contrasting relationship between our older one and younger one, as our daughter is sure catching up with her older brother …. having turned six a couple of days back! As we were made to relive her last five years through a heart-warming video put together by the older brother…we couldn’t help wondering……..where did those six years go…really!!!

This was Aadya’s second birthday celebration during lockdown except that we switched places since the last time,  as we continue to operate  from Dharmasthala. Centred around a Disney princess and Frozen-II theme (I know… so predictably boring!), led by a birthday treasure hunt of gifts  which has now become a family tradition, albeit with many more places to hide this time, followed by a cake-cutting celebration with a few of our closest relatives living in the neighbouring farms, who were all sportive enough to participate in an outdoor super-minute game organised by the older brother turned perfect host….and this time, it was Aadya’s paternal  grandparents to join in through video call! 😊

No celebration in Shristi is complete without the farm workers joining in …. more so when it is the birthday of their most loyal follower in the literal sense, accompanying them to the plantation, entertaining them  (unknowingly) during their lunchtime and constantly buzzing around them all day! So amidst our close family and  our farm family, Aadya’s sixth birthday was truly a memorable one!  

A birthday post deserves a special book and this is by our all-time favourite author who recently celebrated his eighty seventh birthday a little earlier this month. Though  I haven’t read many stories by Ruskin Bond to my little one, she best remembers Ruskin Bond from the cover of his autobiography “Lone Fox dancing” she'd  seen me read  sometime ago. This time we read an adaptation of Ruskin Bond’s writing into a picture book format in “Happy Birthday World” brought out by Red Panda publications illustrated by Maya Ramaswamy. Celebrating nature’s wonders narrated through the medium of a little girl and a boy, this book makes an earnest attempt to impress upon young minds to be mindful of the environment around them and to appreciate its various facets- from the sun that shines from dawn to dusk renewing each day as if it’s born again, the flora and fauna being nature’s gifts, shores swept by mighty seas that abound great mysteries, freezing ice on the extreme north and the south that may be a million years old but can be discovered as new. Our mother earth is full of surprises which the author likens to birthday gifts for everyone in the world who is willing to share, also stressing the importance of conserving nature for only then, would we be taken care of  here, there and everywhere - Happy Birthday World!   Happy Birthday, little one…you mean the world to us!  

Fourteen already??

 

Every year I begin this post with a sense of awe at the fleeting time and how it feels as if time is racing against itself to make way for this little being that came out of me to grow bigger, (almost surpassed me in height) bolder (read audacious), though  not wiser yet! As my son added another turbulent teen year to his adolescent life,  I can only hope for more patience for this tempestuous tide to ebb in its own flow…whenever that happens! Parenting teenage kids is like walking on a tightrope, a tough balancing act at that, alternating between liberal and authoritarian parenting strategies…and this indoors-bound life where he is logging into from one online class to another, owing to the pandemic isn’t helping at all!

As a  follow-up parent, while you may be in touch with the day to day life of your child, but you also run the risk of having only transaction based interactions, checking on whether his homework has been turned in, or whether he’s practiced the new krithi that’s been taught recently, or has he zeroed in on a topic to speak on his weekly gavel club, or if has he read up the Child Friendly news article forwarded to his mail and you suddenly realise at the end of the day that’s you’ve been behind his back all day to accomplish tasks but have not had a real conversation! Of course, it’s another story that despite so much follow-up, he still manages to play truant with you (story of my life right now!)

Needless to say, such interactions can turn into snapping matches especially on days when you are short of patience, escalating into acrimonious exchanges almost bringing the whole house down! It is then incumbent on the “good cop” playing parent to step in and diffuse the situation! Of course, I’m aware that it’s not an uncommon scenario, especially in households with an adolescent under the roof, and I’m sure our parents probably felt the same way and for all you know, years later, you may joke about it over a family dinner with your grown up son or daughter….but it’s far from being a laughing matter now. Well, people say  “Don’t sweat over small stuff” but its only when the stuff is behind you…that you realise it was small stuff..right?

 So Abhay’s foray into adolescence has been a true test of my endurance  and there have been times when I’m wondering if it’s just teenage trouble or the onset of early menopause…a la Kamala Das’s poem titled “Middle age)! I understand that my relationship with Abhay is going through a transition and I do need to hold back my controlling behaviour…..but it’s takes a mammoth amount of self-control not to peep into his room to check on whether he is actually logged into his online class or watching  Youtube football videos…or check for the browsing history on his system …..especially there’s a trust deficit when it comes to Abhay and devices! And of course……he still doesn’t have his own cell phone!!  I wonder if adolescent girls are much more malleable than boys during this phase…..….I will  realize in another five to six years from now! 😊

Anyway, we couldn’t let our love-hate relationship as unpredictable as the weather, cloud Abhay’s birthday celebrations, now could we? A home-bound celebration for our die-hard FC Bayern Munchen fan….creatively represented in this delicious creamy red velvet birthday  cake from bake_mon_rev which was indeed a center piece of the day! 

What a pleasant contrast it was from the previous birthday which was mostly spent in playing the perfect host to Abhay’s school friends. Celebrations during these times are a welcome change, with the focus more on ourselves rather than fussing and hovering around the guests all the time!

Anyway, with the world teeming with child prodigies and kidpreneurs, we have begun to wonder what would our perpetually playful, sensitive, self-entitled, smart-mouthing day-dreamer of a teenager do in his life!!  So on his birthday, I picked out a teasing poem from the magnificent collection of tongue-in-cheek poems titled “Tickle me, Don’t Tickle Me” by Jerry Pinto brought out by talking CUB publications.  This is a book that we bought on a bibliophilic weekend at Bangalore Lit fest last year. Well….don’t know if we will have one this year! 

An anthology specially written for children for “Turbo-loaded, Triple-Charged Children” filled with laugh-out-loud poems, reflective and contemplative poems, poems that seek to ask questions from the perspective of children….there’s even a poem about what happens to children who say that They are Going to fail Their Exams but stand first”!  A little reflection here….and a tit-bit of advice there (though Jerry Pinto will not want to call it that!) and loads and loads of ROFL moments you are guaranteed to experience with the quintessential style of Jerry Pinto with equally zany illustrations by Sunaina Coelho !  

“What do you want to be when you grow to be?” is a quirky poem that best reflects Abhay’s mindset today and here’s an excerpt …. 

(Quote)

I will drive a taxi
In Cotopaxi

I’ll cure disease

With Greatest of ease.                                                                                                           

I’ll dance with joy 
At  the Russian Bolshoi.                                                                                                   

I'll win a Grammy And say, “That’s for Mammy’ (Unquote) (Love this especially!) 

……..

(Quote) I’ll be a watch-maker
Or a lone census-taker
I’ll be a cake baker
Or a verdant lawn-raker

I don’t know yet what I want to do
But whatever I do, what’s it to you?    (They love to say that ..dont they?)
I’ll have you know I’m only ten (Unquote) (or fourteen)
…………..

(Quote)Whatever I’ll be, Let me tell you chappy, 
I plan to be ext-urr-emely happy,

Whatever I will be, 
I will be me.   

(Unquote)

So Abhay…..whatever you want to be….just plan to be extremely happy with who you are and what you do! Here’s wishing you fourteen more adventures this fourteenth year!           A small request however….. go a little easy on your amma! 😊                                                                 

A Holiday Adventure..!

September has always been an eventful month for us........but this September has been so busy that we're still trying to catch our breaths from having survived one of the most hectic months of the year...so much so that its only in the third week of October that I have finally found time to put down a post on Onesatoraday!  

One big family wedding, one big birthday, two huge annual family religious events punctuated by my in-between-nannies phase (yet again!) along with our usual attendant responsibilities on the personal and professional front, proved to be a true test of my patience and I can't say that I came out with flying colours!

In fact, I even missed out posting on a must-post-day... my son's birthday that too I'm not sure if that's the way it will be, going forward, considering his transition into adolescence already turning tumultuous particularly with regard to our relationship, off late! If you thought early parenting was difficult, wait till your little one nears teen years....it's as they say full-blown "complicated"! Mind you....it's a confusing phase not only for your wannabe adolescent ..! While one moment you marvel at how grown up or mature he may seem in comprehending the ways of the world, the next moment he can rile you up with his lackadaisical attitude! Whether it's the increasing academic pressure requiring persistent 'follow up', or constant obsession with devices, or their jaded sense of entitlement towards everything in general, adolescent kids can literally drive you nuts..... and it always seems like you are the only one facing these challenges while your contemporaries have it a lot easier!

Anyway, I'm sure Abhay's and my love-hate relationship will continue through his teen years and if not anything else, it will probably yield many such posts on Onestoryaday!   While we marked the completion of his twelfth year, by acknowledging the fact that there are more than a dozen reasons to celebrate, it is also a matter of fact that there may be more than a dozen ways to handle this delicate phase of his life...........but patience is the key......and I'm hoping to work on my patience quotient ....with of course more than a dozen suggestions offered by my loving family! :-) Though it's a little too late to wish you happy birthday Abhay, here's wishing you a conflict-free, initiative-driven and  a contented thirteenth year ahead!  Let's hope your thirteen proves to be lucky for all of us!

Anyway, with Abhay's increasing irritation and my waning patience at home, it was a welcome break (for both of us!) that he chose to spend his Dassera vacations with his grandparents', resulting in the shifting of battleground from home to his grandparents' farm house "Shristi" at Dharmasthala :-) Hehe!....... Grandparents were also parents once....... (and still are!) .....right? :-)

So before he left for his grandparents', we managed to finally finish reading Shashi Deshpande's children's omnibus,  "Three Novels" a Penguin publication, which is a compilation of three of Shashi Deshpande's novels for children aged 8 and above. Incidentally, all three novels revolve around holiday adventures of kids, that too away from their parents. First published in the 1970s, from one of my all time favourite authors, each of these stories is a throwback to the times when life was simple and less equaled more. Reminiscent of   "The Famous Five" and "The Secret Seven" mystery series that we would devour voraciously back in our school days, Shashi Deshpande follows four cousins, viz. Dinu, Minu, Polly and  Ravi in their quest for something exciting during their school holidays leading to uncovering certain mysterious incidents in the big bad adult world. 

"A Summer Adventure", has the kids home alone with their maid in the seemingly quiet environs of their university quarters, recently turned unsafe owing to a string of robberies.  with a string of robberies which they try to solve. "The Hidden treasure" has the kids travel to their father's ancestral home in the village to experience the rustic rural set up, only to discover something valuable hidden from the past. "The Only Witness"  has the kids enamored with big city life in Mumbai as they  travel to their uncle's flat when they stumble upon an unusual connection to a spate of bank robberies. Having been a huge fan of the Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys series, The Famous Five, etc, I found the plots take a predictable turn, however the best part being the inter-play of various characters in the stories, encompassing  various elements like family ties, sibling rivalry, good humoured banter between the older and younger siblings, fostering leadership and responsibility, understanding consequences of one action and of course the thrilling experience of piecing together information to unearth the mystery ............in all  a wholesome read for everyone...... who wish time travel to the eighties/ nineties India.....when life seemed less complicated!! So Abhay....have your own little adventure ....away from your mad momma and come back home all refreshed! Enjoy! 

The feast of Ganesha Chaturthi!

Every year around the time of July and August, as I drive down some of the city’s roads like R V Road along VV Puram, I see rows and rows Gowri-Ganesha idols lined up …and my heart swells with a warm feeling that that Chowthi is here!  There are a few annual rituals that we look forward to and Ganesh Chaturthi has always been one such family event that we make it a point to join in the celebrations at my father’s ancestral home in Dharmasthala. In fact, the run up to Chowthi is even more exciting …… as we plan our trip, book our tickets or get ready to drive down and  connect with other cousins and extend family as who may attend and who else may give it a miss. As the day nears and we pack our bags and are all set to catch the overnight bus to Dharmasthala only to realize that the whole of Bangalore has landed at the Kempegowda bus stand intending to travel to their respective hometowns for the festival….. literally making it a nightmare to get out of Bangalore! J

Anyway, the celebration of Ganesh Chaturthi as a family fosters a community feeling and helps to continue the family tradition and pass on the legacy to the future generations. It is delightful to see the next generation participate in the event will full rigour and enthusiasm and the new members involve themselves without any inhibitions and this only strengthens the family ties and relations…which is after all the true spirit of celebration of festivals like Ganesh Chaturthi.

Every year during Ganesh Chaturthi, we read a book or two about Lord Ganesha and other mythological stories, and this year I picked up a Puffin publication “Lord Ganesha’s feast of laughter” by Meera Uberoi. As much as I would have liked to read Ganesha’s stories to my little one, I felt that it would be appropriate for us wait a year or two for introduction of mythology to my two year old. So we settled for a chapter book from our favourite library “Kutoohala” pegged mainly for kids over eight years to read on their own, however can serve as read-aloud for kids above five years. This book is a compilation of over twenty three well-known and not-so-well known tales of Ganesha “dug up from ancient texts”, delivered in a breezy narrative so as to engage young children. In fact, I found that the language got a little too contemporary in some places (especially with the usage of words like idiot and moron) so as to get today’s kids to relate to the perspective and mindset of the mythological characters, however without diluting the underlying message therein. From the famous tales of Ganesha winning the race around the world, how he stopped Ravana from becoming all powerful and how Ganesha came to be known as “Remover of all obstacles”, the book moves to lesser known stories about how Lord Ganesha about how Ganesha is creator of the instrument of tabla and was responsible for the birth of river Kaveri, etc. The collection also includes stories a few ordinary people who attained immortality by their devotion to Lord Ganesha and the grace of Lord Ganesha, that always has a touch of shrewdness, humour and unmatched brilliance.  Season’s greetings to everyone this festive season! 

It's Aha! all the way!

It's that time of the year again... a chance to 'enthrall, entertain and educate the kids and say AHA! In Arundhathi's Nag's own words, one of Rangashankara's most "precious" theatre festivals "Aha! International theatre for children is in it's eighth year and going strong!! With troupes from all over the world, including Germany, Switzerland, United Kingdom Korea and Afganisthan performed at Rangashankara this week...with shows ranging from puppet theatre to shadow plays, from symbolic and surreal to delightful gibberish …..children between ages of four and above were in for an artistic treat!

This year's takeaway  were seven AHA! characters that embrace diversity and seek to break stereotypes in society – from Raju who loves the colour pink to Pammy who loves to fix bulbs …from mini-master chef Nandu to the cricketer Lilli! The interested children got to choose one of these characters and act out /demonstrate their characteristics in their own manner and style.

While this year’s year highlight were age specifications prescribing both minimum and maximum age for the shows, as it had been increasingly felt that there is no "one size fits all" when it comes to children's theatre, my only complaint is that there isn't any performance catering to very young kids.. as it only seems unfair that my younger one had to wait for two whole years to be unable to experience Aha!:-(

For the last six years…..we’ve been regular at Rangashankara’s Aha! festival and we come back each year begging for more and more…! I’m sure early exposure of theatre to children has a positive impact on their impressionable minds. In fact, I’m amazed at the how my son seemed to remember some of the performances that were staged over 3 to 4 years ago! All thanks to Rangashankara’s Aha! festival.

While my daughter may be too young to enjoy interesting performances  at Rangashankara this year, she is not too young for the interesting stories revolving around pretend and play acting …………. And there could not have been a better choice to suit the occasion than “Ari” a Tulika publication by Vaishali Shroff and illustrated by Kavitha Singh Kale. Centered around a shy and sensitive boy named Ari whose soft voice is often drowned out by the common din in the classroom. When the class teacher announces selections for the class play, Ari’s hands go up but not high enough for the teacher to notice. While Ari follows the selected children onto the auditorium to watch the rehearsals of the play ‘Lion and the Mouse”, he cant help feeling that he could be a much better job of playing the Lion than his classmate. Though a little disappointed but Ari does not lose hope and finds tremendous satisfaction in mono-acting the characters of lion and the mouse in front of a mirror at home…..only to find someone squeaking in to play the role of a mouse – who else – his mother who joins in the play-acting of the famous fable of “Lion and the Mouse” …. And after the performance, the actors finally take the much deserved bow! A beautiful rendition of a tale of childhood yearning fulfilled by a creative parent to make happy growing-up memories and that’s the Aha! spirit…isnt’ it?

Hey....its a year!

I can’t believe it’s already a year since my little one was born! It feels like yesterday since I stepped out of the hospital with the little one in my arms wrapped in a  pink blanket, unsure of how I’ll be able to manage, now that I had officially become a proud (and nervous) mother of two! It only feels like yesterday that I had to relearn the baby 101 basics that I had unlearned over the past eight years. It was only yesterday when a dear friend had advised that if you survive the first year…you’ll be OK!  One year is up and although things are still a little topsy turvy at home….it feels much more settled,  with a set routine (that changes almost every day)  ….well ….as settled as it can be with a toddler, a nine year old  and a ninety nine year old at home!J

Though we weren’t keen on celebrating our little girl’s first birthday, it was her big brother who made a good case in point on why we shouldn’t think twice about celebrating our little one’s birthday when we made a gala event out of her brother’s first birthday! ( How selfishly generous!) So it was more for the older brother than for anyone else that we had a birthday party for his little sister! So it was all about the big brother in his little sister’s birthday party! And so it was mainly the big brother and his friends who enjoyed at the little sister’s birthday! What did the little sister do…she did everything but enjoy the party!:-)

On her first birthday, we picked out a book that has become  quite a  hit with her, off late. So much so that she follows it up with a “B” as soon as I show her the book! Frankly, this book was a random selection from Abhay’s library and I certainly did not intend on introducing ABC so early in her childhood. But this Tulika publication was the only one I could lay my hands on, on one cranky evening! “Hey That’s an A” by Jerry Pinto and illustrated by Sayan Mukerjee was a book that I originally picked out for Abhay but it turned out that Abhay was too old for it. Now that I pulled out the same for my little one, it turns out that she is too young for it!:-)

More than an alphabet book, this is a one-of-a-kind representation of the written word, packed with puns and tongue-in-cheek humour that is sure to entertain and appeal to every reader. We love the little references to funny names and terms that in a way mirror the baby pet names that we call out to our little one with. Though stated to be meant for children aged 3 +,  my little one jumps with joy as I read out these funny verses.  

 “Hey, that's  an A”… is a robust ABC book that not only offers a phonetic perspective to the alphabet but also explains the technique in writing the same, which hopefully will help us in the near future……and going by today's schooling standards…it is not too far away!:-) Happy Birthday…my little one…enjoy every little thing before things get serious! J

To a math lover......!

I have never really liked math, though I did reasonably well in the subject at school (or so I'd like  to think!) I'm not sure if my mom being a professor of Maths had anything to do with it, but the pressure of excelling in a subject that has been my mother's professional identity, did get to me at times. So when it came to making a choice post secondary schooling, I steered clear of the science stream and opted for humanities, notwithstanding the misgivings that almost everyone seemed to have regarding my field of study.  Well, everyone except my mom. Despite her well entrenched background  in science, not once did she impose her obvious choice on me and not once did she express her reservations over my then-not-so-popular choice.....and thank you so much for that Amma!!! Now that I am a mom myself, I wonder how ??.......  as neither can I claim to be as broad minded as her nor do I find it easy to let go like she did!!:-)

Surprisingly, my nine year old son finds Maths quite interesting and has even declared maths to be his favourite subject ( at least for now!). I know it's too early to say.... finally my mom  may just find someone within her own family who shares her passion for maths!! So on the occasion of her birthday, dedicating this post to my mom, the math lover.... we read  "The Boy who loved Math " by Deborah Heiligman and illustrated by LeUyen Pham. A wonderful book that traces the life and achievements of Paul Erdos who is "probably" a Demi-God to mathematicians world over. Even for someone who isn't all that gung-ho about numbers, this book with its crisp, mathematically creative narrative and striking illustrations makes a wonderful read for one and all.  "There was once a boy who loved math. He grew up to be 1 of the greatest mathematicians who ever lived ..." and thus the reader is lead into Paul's unconventional life that began and ended with numbers!! From a little boy who hated rules, school and his baby-sitter, read on as Paul's love for prime numbers made him famous around the world and in turn made him travel around the world... all for math, math and more math in the form of Number theory, Combinatorics, Problemistic theory and Set theory. So much so that he was called a math- match maker..- introducing mathematicians all over the world to one another so that they work together and of course do more math! While a lot has been written on his famous work in mathematics, this book acquaints the young readers on the little known facts about how the magician from Budapest ( as he was known) was, like as a person -  how he was hopeless in doing his  laundry or cooking his food, or how he made the whole world his home and that he loved playing with epsilons, a mathematical term he used for children!!  Accompanied with insightful and thoroughly researched illustrations, plus  a smattering of numbers all over... you might just want to read this "infinite" number of times!  To the best  math lover I've known all my life......Happy birthday Amma!!:-)

High Five!!

It’s been five years since I joined the ranks of many other moms and began blogging about my adventures in mommyhood through books on Onestoryaday! A lot has happened since then……. From relocating to India, transitioning from being a stay-at-home-mom to a working mom and now back to being a stay-at-home mom with the arrival of our second child..…life has come a full circle. If there’s one thing that hasn’t changed ….it’s our daily reading adventures together. As a growing kid, Abhay has a mind of his own and is not exactly enthused by every book I pick out for him. As a growing boy, I now find him more drawn to cricket, sports and other kinesthetic driven activities and his interest in books slightly waning. Though, when it comes to independent reading he may alternate between reading obsessively to not reading at all, he always looks forward to our daily quota of shared reading together. 

While we try to religiously adhere to this bedtime activity, you can surely expect Abhay to extract those precious fifteen to twenty minutes from our winding-up routine that in turn transport us to different world altogether, amidst all the chaos at home that includes the idiot box blaring prime time news and a wailing six month old!:-)

Of course, this year has seen a big change in our household that has not only made our made lives busier but has also turned the clock backwards in as much as having to relearn the “Baby 101” basics and  experience those initial years of parenthood once again. Well…this could only be a blessing for a reading/blogging mommy like me…isn’t it??   For all those recently published board books and picture books that I wish I had come across when Abhay was little…..here’s a second chance for me to enjoy them with my little one! For all those girlie books that I wished I had a daughter to read to……I cant wait to read them to my little girl!! While Abhay has in a way grown out of picture books, I am waiting for his baby sister to grow into it!  Same time last year, didn’t I mention about finding an audience in addition to my existing one …..well..here it is!! So …long live Onestoryaday…..as I am all set to yet again relive my childhood!!

As has been the tradition  at Onestoryaday in December every year to invite readers and parents to share their favourite stories, books they read as a child and still loved by the child in them and so also the current favourites of their little ones. So here’s inviting all my readers to be a part of Onestoryaday……

Happy Birthday Big Brother!

I can't believe it's been nine years since we were first gifted the joy of parenthood! Yes.. It's my older one, Abhay's birthday today and ever since my dejavu experience with the birth of my little one recently, not a day goes by that I don't think of Abhay's "just born" moments. My little one being a miniature Abhay in every way, is a constant reminder  of how fleeting time is ... Nine years ago .. It was Abhay in her place who now finds himself  elevated to the position of big brother.. willy-nilly!:-) As they grow up..kids not only shed their baby fat but also their baby antics and innocence that no longer make them amenable to all the molly-coddling they had enjoyed so far. While Abhay receives a fair share of pampering from everyone at home....there are times when he feels envious when we gush over the little one's toothless grin or fuss over her baby-talk. Though he understands as much as a nine year old can, he has turned a little more sensitive, noticing every nuance of our demeanour towards him. It may be an innocent remark on his tardiness or a routine disciplinary measure... But the same now acquires a whole new dimension with the little one around. So what probably plays out in his mind is "Amma is all smiles at the baby but is always stern with me... Is this how it's going to be?" I must admit that my being away at my mom's for the last three and half months hasn't helped a bit on this front, with his weekend visits and telephone interactions turning into instruction sessions rather than free flowing conversation with Abhay (and his daddy!) Well... Parenting is  a continuous learning experience .... And I have a lot to learn in the balancing act of parenting two kids! So as my not-so-little one (anymore!) turns nine today... here's an assurance from everyone ... No matter what...you will always be our hero! :-)

Though Abhay was no toddler before and was nearing nine, he was always our little one! But post the arrival of our second child, he suddenly seems so grown up and big! So much so... It seems as if he even may squirm at being called a kid very soon!:-) While today's Abhay's first birthday as a big brother, it is also his  first birthday without his mom at home as I am in my native town with my little one, while Abhay is with the daddy at Bangalore. So we had the daddy read "It's hard being a kid" by Jennifer Moore-Mallinos and illustrations by Marta Fabrega, though it would have been ideal if we could lay our hands on something like "It's hard being an older kid"..(May be Abhay can write it..:-)) This almost feel like a dairy jottings of a girl named Tatiana where she reflects on what it means to be a kid. Well, sometimes it's not easy being a kid... With there being so many things they are expected to do, even when they don't feel like it... Be it school, homework, clean up their rooms or brush their teeth! Tatiana feels that the kids have it tough as there are rules that follow them wherever they go... Be it at home or at school! No matter where they go... They are being watched.. at class or library or even the playground where the neighbours keep an eye on them lest they break anything! In Tatiana's opinion, the grown ups have it easy as they can do whatever they want ( if only that were true) like not eat at dinner table or being able to stay up late and are not exactly bound by rules ( Well..... Not the same rules!) and she can't wait to be a grown up! But as she ponders on, Tatiana realises that being a kid sure has its advantages... Like it's okay to be silly and how there's always a grown up to take care when something goes wrong. Finally she concludes that being a kid isn't that hard as she first thought....... And going to school and following a bunch of rules isn't that awful after all! While being little simplistic in its narrative, the illustrations are hilarious and the book has each page carry a question for the readers to think and mull over and ends with fun role-reversal  activities for kids and an advisory note to us parents attempting to impress upon the child's perspective. A great read to set the whining children into thinking about how carefree and uninhibited their lives are ... Something you probably realise after you are a grown-up!  Conveying the universal message in Tatiana's words "Instead of worrying about how hard it is to be a kid...kids should just be kids and have fun"! So Abhay.... Just enjoy being a kid .... as it will be over before you know it.... Happy Birthday, my first born!! 

We turn four!!!!!

 

It’s been four years since Onestoryaday has come into our lives….and yet (at the risk of sounding repetitive!) it feels like Onestoryaday has been around for much longer!!! Frankly, when I started blogging in  December 2010, I had no clue that Onestoryaday would celebrate its fourth year …in whatever form – be it one story every other day or one story a week or one story a month!:-) What started out as sharing my reading adventures with my then four year old grew into a sounding board for my reflections on my parenting journey! Of course, as seen from the decreasing number of posts every year, it is also true that I haven’t been as regular as I used to be when I first started out. However, it is also true that my life hasn’t been the same since December 2010 and has undergone a sea change (even literally!) over the last four years! After all, even Onestoryaday too cannot escape from the law of diminishing returns! J

Off late, I have discovered that Abhay has progressed to reading on his own and even during bedtime, he prefers picking out his own chapter book instead of  being read aloud to! While I am thrilled that he has discovered the joy of reading by himself and not wanting to turn to any other book until he’s finished his current read, I find it hard to let go!:-) So these days, I know for sure my young reader is  not going to put down Roald Dahl’s “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”  for a picture book that mommy wants to read to him! L In fact, this is why I began writing about our joint reading experiences as you never know when they want to go solo!:-)

At the same time, I have found it hard to find books to read-aloud with slightly complex themes meant more for older kids who are able to understand layered narratives and quasi-adult themes. So is it a time to move on ….. or may be find a another audience…..???:-)

Well, as if to take a cue from this, I have joined the team of bloggers at Parent Edge blog from this month doing the same thing that I love, reviewing and recommending children’s books for parents to read to their kids.

As has been the tradition (which is only four years old!) at Onestoryaday to invite readers and parents to share their favourite stories, books they read as a child and still loved by the child in them and so also the current favourites of their little ones. So here’s inviting all my readers to be a part of Onestoryaday all of this month ……!!!!

 

Happy Birthday to our little Zagazoo!

While kids’ birthdays are occasions to celebrate, they are also a time to reflect on the years that simply flew past ……. a reminder of how fast they grow up…...grow out of and grow into new phases!  Like….I can’t believe that my little one turned eight years old yesterday! Whoa!! Eight signals transition into the big league! Eight year olds are more self-assured (that means don’t look up to you for everything!) …think more critically (which means you cant get away with with vague explanations on sticky issues!) and move into independent reading, given the upper limit for most picture books being eight. Wait a minute…. …does it mean he has grown out of Onestoryaday….?? Err…..I haven’t!!!! J

Abhay’s eight birthday was a rather low-key affair compared to his previous celebrations with the highlight being  a special treasure of hunt for eight clues leading up to nine gifts (as he will be stepping into his ninth year!) followed by cake cutting and a restaurant dinner with close family and cousins!

 

 

As we look up the check list for milestones on turning eight and compare how our not-so-little one fairs thereon, we find ourselves wondering whether the present phase is better than the previous one…if not worst! J

 

So on the occasion of Abhay’s eighth birthday, we read one of our Quentin Blake favourites  “Zagazoo”, a book that speaks to parents as well as their little ones! It begins like any love story between two likeminded people, George and Bella who spend time together doing many things, including making model aeroplanes or eating strawberry and vanilla ice creams when all of sudden, they receive a parcel that contains a pretty pink creature resembling a baby with a name tag “Zagazoo”. Needless to say, they were delighted and though Zagazoo wasn’t perfect, he had a happy smile that made up for all the imperfections! Then one day Zagazoo turned into a huge baby vulture with a terrifying screech that was even worse at night! Just when George and Bella were wondering how to cope, they discovered that Zagazoo had turned into a baby elephant that knocked over furniture, pulled the tablecloth off the table and ate anything that could lay his trunk on! Before they knew it, George and Bella were baffled to see that Zagazoo change into various forms  thereafter - a mud loving Warthog, a bad tempered dragon, a bat, and then a hairy creature they couldn’t quite understand and what’s more …..it was getting bigger, hairier and stranger! George and Bella found themselves wishing to turn back time into the “Elephant” or the “Warthog” phase instead! Read on as Bella and George’s hair turns grey with worry as to what will happen to them or how will Zagazoo turn out…as Quentin Blake entertains you with his hilarious yet realistic take on different stages of childhood and growing up! Its only when your Zagazoo turns into a bad tempered dragon when you realize that the warthog was better - a story of all the parents...I guess!  So….bring home  the “Zagazoo” to your little Zagazoo and let him decide whether he’s a warthog or a bad tempered dragon! J For now.....Happy Birthday my little Zagazoo.....!!

Confessions of a father!:-))

Father's Day post by Rajaram (Abhay's dad)

 

Kids find it easier to deal with dads of today as compared to moms and I will tell you why! No offence moms! While both go through stress in bringing up their kids, the stress that each parent goes through is different in nature and intensity! While moms do all the hardwork of planning the activities including logistics for their kids, working through the schedule of the husband's and others around, dads carry the stress of complying with the same! More often than not, the onus of chalking out a workable plan lies on the moms and their anxiety over its execution reflecting on their behaviour make the dads appear cooler!:-)) Okay.... Getting carried away here! :-)) One thing's certain, what starts off as a chore for dads ends up being one of the most enjoyable parts of their routine! For instance, when my son Abhay was born, my wife literally forced "my time-Abhay time" into my daily schedule as a way of getting me to spend some quality time with our little one! Along time, not only did I look forward to it, but found my son eagerly pulling me into what became our numerous joint ventures together! Today on Father's Day, I had a moment reflection on seeing a card handcrafted by  Abhay, where he has thanked me for some of his recent expeditions! It's great to be a dad ... a smile on your child's face or a hug seeking reassurance makes all your running around a meaningful and a worthwhile experience! 

 

 

 

Divya had picked a special book for today to read to Abhay.  It's titled 'FArTHER', brilliantly written and magnificently illustrated by Grahame Baker-Smith. This is a story narrated by a son about his memories of his childhood spent with his father in their house made of stone atop a cliff near the ocean.  Father is set out to build his dream which is a flying machine. He worked on it days and nights and the small son would watch the father with keen eyes. Father would be so immersed in his dream/work, that the boy would wait for his dad to remember of his existence.  Then suddenly the father would scoop up the son like a wind and play with him cricket, fly kites together and swim. Then they would be together until the dream of flying returned to them. But before the dad could realise the dream of flying,  the story takes a twist of fate. The father is called to join the army and the khaki clad dad's wave of hand is the last the son sees of him. However one day, father's dream speaks to the now grown up son and he takes up the old wings from his father's workshop and completes the flying machine and flies!! The story ends with the son having his own son and with him wondering what will he do in the future and whether his father's dream would visit his son too...

The illustrations literally take you to a different world of father, son and the dreams!  The book is said to be inspired by the author's experience of being a son and a father.  Abhay was in rapt attention throughout and was trying to take in the essence of the story though being tough for a 7 year old to follow and understand the deep emotions in this book. He did not like the father going away and not coming back but liked the overall father son bonding so nicely depicted throughout.