Relax, read and rejuvenate in the company of trees!

 

It took another travel for me to get back to blogging again! It was a quick getaway for us this summer………a short and sweet retreat amidst a coffee plantation at Rossetta Sakleshpur wherein we let time stand still for a couple of days. Nestled in middle of a 100 acres coffee plantation, this resort offers its guests urban luxury in a green lush  vegetation of  coffee, pepper and cardamom plantation with silver oaks eucalyptus, teak, palm, coconut and many such trees standing tall all around the beautifully landscaped property. We immersed ourselves in every element of what Rossetta had to offer, strolling around its aesthetically planned landscape, hitting the pristine pool overlooking the expansive greenery, spending lazy afternoons reading at the “out of in the woods” balcony of its quaint tucked away cottages, relishing the elaborate all-you-can-eat buffets with numerous live counters at mealtime,  availing the relaxing therapies at the spa, and trying our hand at the well equipped sports centre, and going on the guided nature walks amidst the Rossetta “treeverse” and  reliving our older one’s childhood memories of Robert McCloskey’s "Make way for the ducklings" …. All thanks to the diverse experiences at Rossetta!

 

We could not ask for a better environment than this to read Roopa Pai’s “Lets talk about trees”, which felt like a live demonstration of what we were reading!

“Let’s Talk about trees” is a wonderful ‘tree’tise on trees of the India. Narrated in characteristic Roopa Pai narrative style – full of questions for the reader to ponder over, fun facts about treeverse that we never knew to be true, interactive “fill in the blanks” style exercises, recipes and activities that is sure to turn any reader into a tree explorer!  Starting with the most basic and yet profound question, “Have you ever looked at a tree?” Roopa Pai delves deep into the “lovely poem of a tree”, goads the reader to “look listen and love” the various facets of a tree, be a discerning observer of various kinds of trees in one’s surroundings, be aware of the well-known trees of India, and be mindful of how integral trees have been and will be to a rich and healthy environment.  Enhanced by the striking illustrations by Barkha Lohia,  that beautifully capture the sentiment of the book, and not only enlighten the reader about the specific trees, leaves and the flowers featured, but literally transport the reader into being under the banyan tree, or swinging from the branches of a neem tree, or imagine being on a holiday in the hills amidst the deodars! Do enjoy this magnificent tree-at this summer!

Are you a WOCOTEEN?

I have always thought of parents of adolescent children from the perspective of a poem titled "Middle age" by Kamala Das that we had in our textbooks as a part of our high school syllabus. It's only now that I realize,  as I am one myself, with my older one turning thirteen two weeks ago....that it hardly feels like middle age for me! Of course adolescence lasts for over seven to eight years and this is only the beginning!  But I'm already dreading the words as the poem goes......"Middle age is when your children are no longer your friends, but critics, stern of face and severe with their tongue......they no longer need you except for serving tea and pressing clothes..." (Yikes!!)  While Abhay is still amenable to parental authority,  traces of that "I-know-what-I'm doing” and "leave-me-alone" adolescent attitude have already set in and I can't help feeling as if the worst is yet to come!!  Growing up in Bangalore in the nineties, I remember that one of the biggest questions confronting our parents as we turned teenagers was whether to subscribe to cable TV network (popularly known as Star TV that brought home American sitcoms for the very first time)  or stick to the our good old Doordarshan, and parents skeptical of the influence of "Beverly Hills 90210" or  even home grown serials like "Banegi Apni Baat" on what they believed to be our innocent minds! Cut to almost a quarter of a century later......the challenges faced by our parents now seem trivial and even innocuous, given the paradigm shift in technological-socio-economic-cultural conditions in which we raise our kids today.  At every juncture, we are constantly faced with the question of "How much is too much"  or "When does motivation turn into pressure" or "Is this a necessity as our kid feels or an indulgence as our parents will most probably think" and the ubiquitous nagging question "Should we let go or will it be considered lackadaisical" and so on and so forth.  For instance while the age thirteen is the official entry level for an online presence, be it on Facebook, Instagram or Gmail,  my husband and I are still old school and not yet very comfortable with him having an online social life that we are not a part of....and so it goes...as Abhay puts it....he is the only thirteen year old in the world not to have a cell phone of his own....and I cant help feeling "dejavu" as I remember sulking at being the only girl in class eight who didn't yet have " Star TV" at home !!  

So as a true teenager, the center stage of this year's birthday celebration for Abhay has shifted from the usual mom-organised-cake and sandwich home parties with a few neighbourhood friends to dining  out with school friends  at a fancy restaurant .......and mom and dad required only for the cheque at the end!  So we had over six boisterous boys ride home in the school bus with Abhay, heading straight to a Wii match (again as Abhay puts it.....we are the only ones who don't own a play-station!)  and all the while huddled in his room with non-stop chatter-banter and subjecting the birthday boy to birthday bumps followed by cutting of the custom ordered cake with the icing of Abhay's favourite football club logo - FC Bayern Munchen and dinner at an unlimited all-you-can- eat pizza restaurant as a finale!

The best part for me in all this was the return gift and it goes without saying that the return gifts at Abhay's or Aadya's birthday parties have always been and will be books, books and more books! With all the boys having entered teens already, I couldn't find a better audience than anyone else for Roopa Pai's "Ready! 99 Must have skills for the World Conquering Teenager  (and Almost-Teenager)"! What's more..........their class even had the same author do a session with them for one of her other books in school recently. As the title goes, this book of non-fiction written by one of the most well known writers for children, young adults and parents alike  (one more non-fiction book of hers  is being launched somewhere in Bangalore as I write this! )  published  by Hachette India, and starts off as an Indianised and contemporized spin on the nineteenth century Robert and Agnes Baden-Powell's Scouts and Guides Movement but offers much more for the current  crop of teens to grow into  "World conquering teenagers" or as Roopa Pai cheerily puts it.. a "WOCOTEEN"!    

My first reaction to this book....was envy!!! I felt jealous of the kids today as I wish we had a book like this while growing up in the nineties. Of course we had the Scout/ Guide clubs in most schools then (unlike many schools today), but I felt as if the emphasis was more on the protocol rather than the substance of the scouts and guides philosophy!  

Anyway, packed with over 99 must-acquire life-skills for an overall development of your teenager, with focus on various aspects like personal development from the point of view of health, discipline, creative development (including pointers to pursuing a hobby that may not involve a device!) to being the family man/woman from the perspective of helping out and doing the chores  at home (including the unclog-the-sink challenge or even washing your own undies challenge!) to even bookkeeping or opening your own bank account challenge, etc, or the community awareness element from being a patriot (understanding the importance of the national anthem, national flag or the Indian currency or the explain-India to a foreigner challenge) to being an interpreter (learning a new language or build empathy challenge) or a volunteer for various kinds of community service and finally setting out for the challenges of the great outdoors! Of course the book comes with certain badges and shields at the end to be won by the WOCOTEEN wannabes on completion of all the challenges  but the focus is on the journey more than the destination and what those experiences can build your teen into and the life skills he or she acquires along the way that may shape his/her future path! It's a great book for shared reading and a joint activity for teens and parents of teens  and truly an earnest attempt to impress upon the Generation Z, certain fundamental life philosophies from self-reliance, self-control, self-assurance, motivation, empathy, leadership, and to being mindful and open-minded, all brought out in the quintessential easy-breezy-yet well researched and engaging style of Roopa Pai. Each skill-set comes with its own unique challenges or tests that can be attempted either individually or better in a group......called the WOCOTEEN squad......so  to Abhay and his friends ......are you guys in to form the WOCOTEEN squad of your own and ready to conquer the world...?? :-)

Dearest  Abhay .....enjoy your foray into your teen years  and go easy on your mommy!!!!

A Children's History of India!

"Amma.. was Babur originally from Mongolia or the present day Uzubekisthan ?" was one of Abhay's recent questions that had me stumped! Though I prided myself as a humanities student, I realised that I had no clue to some of his questions even though they seemed fundamental enough for any history student to have known an answer. Blame it on bad memory, or a lack of touch with the subject, or the fall-out of learning by rote that characterised most of our studies in school; But history from textbooks was more about remembering the dates/years of battles and reigns of kings than an interesting account of how things were! As much as Abhay seems fascinated by history, it's rather disappointing that history isn't a part of his school curriculum yet. So we are left to our own devices (read google) to unravel some of history's mysteries! 

When it comes to history, what are the choices for children/young readers? Well, it’s either the exam oriented textbooks or the rhetorical over-simplified versions of history that hardly sound credible or the big-fat reference books that the children/young readers tend to steer clear from!! What if there were to be a book that presents historical facts, sources and analysis in a non-text-bookish manner without running into the danger of information overload?   “A Children’s history of India” by Subhandra Sen Gupta and illustrated by Priyankar Gupta  does exactly that!! Brought out by Red Turtle, the children’s wing of Rupa  publications, this book is a composite work on Indian history starting from the Harappan civilization in 2600 BCE to contemporary India. 

A children’s history of India is a thorough work of non-fiction and is divided into four sections that trace the rich history of our country from ancient times to what we now know as modern India. The author then goes to detail the rise and fall of various dynasties chronologically during each period, elaborating on the political milestones, prevalent lifestyles, social and cultural trends of the times that were. Presented in an easy-to-follow narrative, each chapter is also laced with interesting trivia, summary boxes, relevant online and offline sources for more information and a brief note on parallel developments in other parts of the world around the same time.  For instance, who knew that not all poems in the Vedas were solemn prayers but also included even funny rhymes and limericks or about a traveler named Thomas Coryat during Mughal times who supposedly walked all the way from England to India!! Accompanied by minimal illustrations of the highlights of different eras, the author also helps the reader understand the empirical analysis of historical data that separates facts from legends. Not very often do you come across a work of non-fiction that appeals to both children and adults alike…..”A children’s history of India” is definitely one of them and a must have for anyone interested in history! 

Gender - Degender!

First appeared on Parent Edge blog

Every year around this time, we find numerous write-ups and discussions in the media, symposiums and talks in educational institutions, and musical/cultural events revolving around what has now become an extremely symbolic ‘Women’s day’!  Why….even retailers and restaurateurs have jumped into the bandwagon and are offering ‘women only’ offers and happy hours!  While symbolism is important to make a statement and it was indeed a proud feeling watching the women legislators dominate the Lok Sabha session today, what really matters is to see if we can sustain the same momentum, in other areas as well. While celebrating our differences from men on one hand, and striving for gender equality on the other, as a way forward, it is but most significant to break free from gender stereotypes, gendered perceptions and gender based double standards. Why is it that no matter how successful a woman is in her professional capacity, she is still judged on the basis of how much of ‘nurturer’ she is towards her family? Why is it that a woman is expected to be a superwoman when men will be men? Why should it matter as to whether it’s a man or a woman who is driving the vehicle ahead of you? Why is it that no matter how brilliant a girl has been as a student, she is more often than not,  expected to stick to a family-friendly 9 to 5 job ? Apart from certain intrinsic differences between men and women…it’s all about individual choice and freedom isn’t it …and what’s gender got to do with it? Here's extending  this year's International Women's day theme 'One day I will'  to..........One day gender will not matter!

As parents, we owe our children the responsibility to see to it that they neither perpetuate nor feel fettered by gender barriers so as to achieve a more egalitarian society that we are all hoping for.  On the occasion of Women’s day, we picked up “Big Hero size zero” a thought provoking book by Anusha Hariharan and Sowmya Rajendran brought out by Tulika publications that seeks to shatter the societal and cultural shackles associated with gender. With its main focus on gender talk, this book also addresses various issues faced by adolescents relating to identity, peer pressure and feelings of alienation and rebellion against family, etc. Since Abhay is still on the cusp of his ‘tween’ years and he was still too young to comprehend some issues, reading this book is still a work in progress. Meant for the teenage drama kings and queens aged thirteen and above, this work of non-fiction comprehensively deals with the role of gender vis-à-vis family, society, appearances, attraction, violence and finally how each one of us deals with gender, which is nothing but an identity assigned to us by the society as opposed to sex which is an identity determined at birth. The authors attempt at challenging labels that the society in general ascribes  to how a man and a woman ought to be, including our own biases that we never knew existed or even every-day language that reveals gender biased phrases. This book flows like a candid conversation on gender issues, including the tabooed transgender and same sex relationships that are often caricatured in the mainstream culture.  “What’s the point in earning if she can’t cook for her husband?” or “Scantily dressed women should expected to be raped?” or “A bold and aggressive woman is not marriage material” are some of the comments that are often bandied around as if they represent solemn truths and this book is a bold endeavour to question such prejudices. With a breezy yet powerful narrative, frequent references to popular culture and accompanied by illustrations that parody gender stereotypes within the family and society, this book raises important questions, busts long held myths and confronts many truths and untruths that makes not just the young reader, but even adults think and reflect on whether it’s really a boy-girl thing! Happy Women's day to everyone! 

Gita for children!

Taking a cue from my friend and fellow blogger on “intolerance and all that jazz” that she guest posted on Onestoryaday, I found a perfect book for everyone to fall back on in these chaotic times. When in doubt or confusion, it’s not uncommon for us to turn to God or religious scriptures - be it the Gita, the Bible or the Quran. As a practising Hindu brought up and now married into a traditional household, seeking solace in religious activities like Bhajan singing, or reciting religious texts have been integral part of my life.  Though Abhay is still young, we make sure he participates in some of our routine religious activities at home, in whatever way he can afford to. While I am not sure how religious or spiritual my son will be in the future, it is our duty as parents to introduce them to our roots so that they know where to find them if and when they go looking for the same!

So when I learnt about Roopa Pai’s “Gita for children”, I jumped and reserved my copy in advance. Though Bhagvad Gita is essentially known as the single most important Hindu scripture, Roopa Pai’s rendition has a universal appeal, irrespective of religion one follows. Rated as one of the top-five selling books of 2015 in the Children’s and Young adult category by Amazon, “The Gita for children” by Roopa Pai  brought out by Hachette India   promises to be a one-of- a kind retelling of the Bhagvad Gita and I must say that it sure lives up to this promise! It starts with the million dollar question like “What’s the big deal about the Bhagvad Gita?” that opens into a quiz on the Gita that might as well serve as a preface to the book. With a brief explanation of the background facts leading up to the most important conversation in Hindu mythology, like any other commentary on the Gita, this one too is divided into eighteen chapters or “yogas” in which Arjuna learns all there is to learn about the secret of good life from Krishna! Employing a rather contemporary narrative, using catchy phrases and titles, Gita for children takes the reader through each of the shlokas or verses and explains their true essence in an uncharacteristic way that the current generation is able to relate to. For instance….have you ever heard of Lord Krishna being described as a Dark Knight??!!! With each chapter featuring the progress of conversation between Arjuna and Krishna and followed by a child appropriate analysis of the life’s lessons embedded in them, the author also throws light on lesser known facts in the form of fun trivia. Not to forget, the reader is also given a glimpse into excerpts of other works from Harper Lee’s To Kill Mockingbird to Paul McCartney’s song “Ebony and Ivory” that echo the sentiments of Gita!  In all, “The Gita for children” beautifully presents the timeless epic without oversimplifying its concepts so as to serve as a wonderful guide book to children and adults alike! A must have for every library!!!

Children's day Special - Reignite...!

Yesterday was celebrated as Children’s day across the country, and for most kids like Abhay, it was a class-free and a uniform-free school day, with many fun activities and events organized to make them feel special, including customized cards from his class teacher. While all this is sweet and admirable on the part of the school, it is also true that the present generation of urban children is a pampered lot and seems to have everything that they want and we parents seem to be more than eager to let them have everything they want! Well, it’s not as if we were a deprived lot, but growing up in the eighties and nineties meant measured expenditure and expectations whereas today’s kids seem to have wish lists that don’t end at all! So much so that they even develop a sense of entitlement over anything and everything they set their eyes on! It is the same sense of entitlement that prompted Abhay to ask for a children’s day gift from his maternal grandma, when just a day ago she got a bagful of gifts and knick-knacks from her recent Himachal Pradesh trip! Of course, a gentle reminder of the same is all it took to make him understand, but it made me wonder if we are overdoing it as parents. In our effort to provide the best for our kids, we may run the risk of having them fail to realize that nothing comes easy.  So, just as we question the need to celebrate Mothers' day and Fathers' day……do we need a Children’s day and with our lives revolving around our children every day ....Children’s day is every other day...isn't it?? J

Every year during Children’s day, Abhay somehow manages to extract a gift out of us (read his father!). This time however, anticipating that his request may not be honoured, our nine year old cleverly hinted at a card or a handmade present. As incorrigible as parents (read father!) that we are and as crazy about scrap-booking that we are ( well..both of us!), we put together a little handcrafted piece of memory file on the lines of a scrapbook ……that is more for us to cherish this gift-greedy phase of Abhay's childhood (which we hope he will soon outgrow!)

Abhay of course was super thrilled to receive it and here’s hoping he realizes the value and sentiment behind it and understands that life is more than just gifts and treats! What better way to spend Children’s day than to begin reading “Reignite - Scientific Pathways to a Brighter Future” by the former President of India, Late Dr.A.P.J Abdul Kalam, whose life is a true inspiration. It is no secret that the People’s President, as he was popularly known, was extremely fond of interacting with children and the youth and this book can be called as his parting gift to children!  Of course, we have only embarked on this reading adventure as it can be a lot for young reader to take in at one go. 

Co-written with Srijan Pal Singh, Late Dr.A.P.J Abdul Kalam renders a unique “insider” perspective to various cutting edge fields in science and technology like robotics, aeronautics, neurosciences, pathology and material sciences to children, should they desire to pursue the same as careers. The book not only offers exhaustive information on diverse niche career opportunities opening up in the field of science and technology, but is presented in an interesting format packed with “anecdotes, conversations, experiments, exercises and even helpful tips and inputs from leading scientists in the field and a note to parents in each section. Narrated in a style characteristic to the late former President, including an oath to be taken by aspiring palaeontologist, or neuroscientist, or pathologist, etc, the book goes on  to explain these new and developing areas to children and adults alike, without oversimplifying the same. However, the book does not just stop with enlightening the readers about science, but seeks to inspire young minds into realizing what it takes to become a scientist or pursue a passion or tirelessly work towards a goal. Whether one intends to pursue a career in science or not, this is a great book for kids and young adults to learn and reflect on the choices ahead of them, the ideals and values that will help achieve them and ignite not only their future but the future of our world! 

How and why of things!

First Appeared on  Parentedge blog

The famous children’s author John Birmingham had once said that while he was growing up, he always  wished that there would be a "National Ask your parents day" when children could ask their parents anything! In today’s age that is everyday…isn’t it?? Questions, questions, and more questions …..they never seem to stop right??  Well, why should they? Kids these days are always bursting with questions about science, society, relationships, and inscrutable ways of the adult world……so much so that their questions are amusing enough to give “PK” (a confused alien from the Bollywood movie of the same name) a run for his money! :-)

While parents today are a lot more conscious than before when it comes to encouraging kids to ask questions,  I would be lying if I said that there are times when you wish you could satiate their curious minds with simple replies/answers. But no…like everything else in parenting…there are no simple answers ….as there are no simple questions from our kids! :-)

Well… a benign opening question/statement  always has a tough follow-up question up its sleeve ( “I am firstly good at music and secondly at tennis……appa, what are the two things you do best?”) A complicated question always reeks of bad timing! (“Amma…what is Atma?” Just as we are getting ready for school!)  A persistent question is most often the one that does not lend itself to age appropriate answers…..leaving it open for dangerous or embarrassing conclusions or futuristic questions are questions that seem to make you wonder yourself ( Will India be better than US in 25 years from now?)!  So amidst all these questions shot at us….for fact-based or science based queries, all we parents can say is that “Thank God we have Google!” J

Sometime ago, I had attended a parenting workshop where we had been counseled into not answering questions at all and letting our kids figure the answers on their own so as to empower them into thinking for themselves. While it is a laudable objective, I personally believe that as parents you need to strike the right balance between how much to reveal and how much to be left for discovery. Also, I guess the key endeavour on our part as parents should not only be to help our kids develop an inquisitive mind but also equip them with the right sources to find answers.  

 

 One of the many such sources that may help our kids and in turn may ease the burden on us parents are a set of three books from Red Turtle, a wing of Roopa publications meant for older kids between the age group of eight to fourteen  “What if the earth stopped spinning? And 24 other mysteries of Science? By Roopa Pai and illustrated by Kavita Singh Kale;  “How did the Harappans say hello? And 16 other mysteries of History by Anu Kumar and illustrated by Kavita Singh Kale and finally “Do Tigers drink blood? And 13 other mysteries of nature” by Arefa Tehsin and Raza H Tehsin and illustrated by Kavita Singh Kale.

Each of these books present interesting “what if” situations that the kids often baffle the parents with! Roop Pai’s book provides a blow-by-blow account of  questions like “What if the sun suddenly disappeared?” and such other “10 Nightmarish Scenarios That You Shouldn’t Lose Sleep Over” and busting the myth behind the so called “5 scientific facts That You should stop believing” like ‘A coin falling on your head from the 100^th floor of the Burj Khalifa can kill you’ and unraveling “10 Mind Numbing Mysteries That Aren’t Mysteries At All”   like “How come when I look in a mirror, I’m right side up, buy when I look in  a shiny spoon, I’m upside down?” I must say that the illustrations and the explanations are not only age appropriate but also aim to put to rest the whackiest of queries that you’ve ever heard!

Similarly, Anu Kumar travels through time and attempts to unravel  the mysteries of history also throwing in various historical theories that offer plausible explanations. Needless to say, this is informative even for parents who are skeptical about whether the great war of Mahabharata really did happen!

The book on nature dwells into the mysterious ways of nature by opening doors into the world of its inhabitants and fun facts about them. Facts such as crocodiles swallow stones to help them digest the food, or that the rabbits eat their own poop……….and many such interesting facts narrated in a manner that not only provides the necessary information but in a way that makes it an entertaining read.

While the book on science and nature  can double up as a non-fiction read for younger kids, the book on history pre-supposes a basic knowledge and background of the historical facts. .  

Though similar to the “Tell me Why” series that we grew up reading, these books offer exhaustive explanations that are couched in a language that is both engaging and enlightening……with catchy phrases and humourous titles…. learning is sure made fun. Besides, the books are truly an eye opener to us parents as we don’t have be clueless when our little one asks “Why does the koel sing?”!!! 

Once there was a raindrop!

After a couple of false alarms, the southwest monsoon has finally hit  some parts of India, including Bangalore! Despite being a watered down version of last year's monsoon, wet and rainy evenings  unmistakably mark the beginning of the rainy season, as opposed to some magazines, including a few children's publications would have you believe that we are heading into summer......simply because the West is at the peak of its summer!!  Seriously....aren't we Americanized enough already....must out seasons follow suit too?? Sure.....the international schools in India follow the American Baccalaureate system with their summer holidays coinciding with the summer break in the American schools......but they are still located in India.....right?? It is true that some parts of India are yet to experience  monsoon, but that doesn't mean  the whole nation has moved into a temperate zone and the cover feature  in a June-July supplement of a popular women's magazine should be "Hot new ideas for summer" !  As much as the  editors of the said magazine may want to belong to a different weather zone.....they better be "umbrella ready" when they visit Namma Bengaluru!!!  :-)

 

 

 

I almost did not have any book ready for our monsoon read.....and so chose to reserve this book at the British Library over three weeks ago. But by the time the book arrived.... not only did the monsoon intensify...but also I had a couple more books to read during this year's rainy season! To start with, we read "Once there was a raindrop" by Judith Anderson and Mike Gordon, a part of the Nature's Miracles series. The timing couldn't have been more perfect as Abhay had read "Forms of Water" at school as a part of his EVS (Environmental Science) This is a nice little book simplifying the concept of the water cycle to kids and throwing light on  what happens to a raindrop once its falls on the ground.   Though a work of non-fiction, the author beautifully explains the concept with the aid of cheerful illustrations of children shown jumping into puddles, getting soaked in rain or going up a ropeway mirroring the water vapour rising high into the sky! So the raindrop that falls on your little one has a long way to go.....into the underground drain, then into stream and finally flows into the sea. That's not all, as the sun warms the surface of the sea, the warmer water turns into water vapour, which rises into the air and as it travels higher and higher, water vapour cools down to turn into tiny droplets of water accumulated in a cloud only to fall back on earth as raindrops again! So as you read on.....you realize that every drop of water is recycled, over and over again by Mother Nature. It's time we do too...isn't it?? A nice little book that has rain on every page...just ls we hope to have rain ...every day!!!

 

Childhood fascination revisited!

There is a saying that an apple does not fall too far from the tree. But does it have to fall so close to the tree either? I can’t say that we are happy to have Abhay take after us because Abhay seems to have picked up each of our quirks or foibles as opposed to those traits that we are admittedly proud of! So he has got my husband’s worrying nature and his mother’s impatience or he has inherited his father’s poor interest in food (during childhood!) coupled with my fussy attitude towards its presentation! But off late, he seems to share even some of our childhood admirations, like my childhood crush on Michael Jackson. Of course, I am still a fan of Michael Jackson’s music, but I didn’t expect my six year to turn into a Michael Jackson aficionado so early in life. Abhay is fascinated by the King of Pop and he couldn’t contain his excitement when Discovery channel aired a documentary on the occasion of 25^th anniversary of his album BAD, a couple of weeks ago. I was quite amused to find my little one groove to Michael Jackson numbers like “Beat it” or “The way you make me feel” or “Dangerous” as they transport me back to my teens! But the flipside to this obsession is that there is no other music but only Michael Jackson playing on our car stereo nonstop for the last four months, and believe me this will tire even the most fervent Michael Jackson fan ever!

Abhay has also been curious about the Michael Jackson story, about how it all began and the mystery surrounding his death and so imagine my delight as I stumbled upon “Michael Jackson at a glance"at Sapna book house! Abhay couldn’t believe his eyes as he saw what I was about to read to him! A part of "At a glance" series of knowledge books about famous personalities brought out by oyster publications. Other books in this series are on " J.K.Rowling", "Sachin Tendulkar", Barack Obama, etc. though not a full fledged biography, these books provide a brief introduction to the making of the legend and their principal acheivements, just about enough for a six year old. For instance, Abhay learnt that Michael Jackson formed a music group along with his four elder brothers called Jackson 5 in 1964 which went on to record a number of hits. Abhay now knows that Michael started his solo career with "Off the Wall" and there was no looking back ever since. I felt the series fell a tad short of "a glance" and needed some more details about the superstar singer. As far as illustrations go, I prefer actual images as opposed to the look-alike sketches. However, considering the short attention span of children for non-fiction, this is a good start.  So if you have a little MJ fan at home, treat him to "Michael Jackson at a glance"! :-)

Bye Bye Tooth fairy..!

Abhay has been losing his baby teeth in quick succession. Teething and tooth loss are a part and parcel of growing up, but the problem is that his permanent teeth are not patient enough to let his baby teeth fall out and just like Abhay, they too can’t wait to grow! Even before he turned six, we noticed his lower permanent tooth making its debut when his lower baby tooth wasn’t even loose! What this means is that a visit to the Dentist is in the offing, every time we notice one of his baby tooth wobbling! A visit to the dentist always mandates a trip to the toy store…..as each time Abhay loses his tooth, he expects a gift from the Tooth fairy! The concept of a Tooth Fairy which is of a western import may be comforting for a child when he loses his first baby tooth, but to perpetuate a myth every time he loses his tooth until he grows all of his permanent teeth, seems rather ridiculous. More so, Abhay started mixing up the concept of fairies with the Indian mythology asking me whether Fairies live with the Devas in Swargaloka! So this time we decided to put an end to this Tooth Fairy business. As we got  one of Abhay loose tooth extracted last evening, he woke up this morning to find a note along with his gift, a note saying that this will be last gift from the tooth fairy and counseling him to take care of his teeth. Not sure if the contents of the note sank in as Abhay was too busy gushing over his gift!:-)

There are some people who believe that it is wrong to let children live in a fantasy world whereas some others feel that there is no harm in letting children believing in a little magic. ‘Dad, Are you the Tooth Fairy?” by Ron Spears tries to address these issues. Gary was happy to have a loose tooth as every time he lost a tooth, he was rewarded with a coin with an appreciative note from the Tooth Fairy named Gwyneth. This went on every year until he overheard from some of the older boys that tooth fairy was nothing more than childish make-believe and it was moms and dads who slip gifts under their pillow. Gary was confused and approached his dad to know the truth. Gary’s dad narrated a story about the origin of the tooth fairy. Long ago, the world was filled with magical creatures like unicorns, minotaurs, dragons and fairies. But as people turned away from magic, these magical creatures slowly faded away. The last to go were fairies which made children sad but the fairies assured them that their own parents would hear the fairies’ voices in their heads and convey their message to the children. Gary then asked if the voice his dad hears is the fairy’s or his own to which his dad said that this is a question that Gary has to answer on his own. Gary then concludes that there isn’t a right or a wrong answer to this, but it is what one believes and he likes to believe that the voice is from a fairy named Gwyneth who lives in a magical place and cares for Gary. So when his loose tooth finally fell, he received a note from Gwyneth that lauded him for accepting that there are possibilities which is the greatest gift of all! The note ended with a  “P.S. Say Hello to your dad”! Well, I guess Abhay knows who the real Tooth fairy or Santa is, but he still likes to believe in these imaginary figures and loves the excitement of receiving their supposed gifts and I guess that is the magic of childhood!

The Earth Story.

 

Staying on the subject of creatively stimulating outings for kids, I am quite surprised at what Bangalore has to offer. When we left the US, we were quite skeptical about whether we would be able to find as many child-friendly/enriching activities for kids in India as in the US. But hey!….I’d say “not bad!” and in fact they’re even better as our kids form a part of the mainstream society here as opposed to being on the fringes abroad and so what is offered is even culturally relevant!:-) So whether you catch at a children’s play at the Aha! Children’s theatre at Ranga Shankara, or attend the umpteen number of weekend activities at one of the many children’s libraries such as Hippocampus or Just Books or Easy Lib, etc; or enroll your little one into a sports club or a cricket club or drive to an Amusement Park or the Bannerghatta National park, there are plenty of things to do with your kids in Bangalore. Of course, if all you want to do on a weekend is to shop, and are looking for shopping malls that have a little something for everyone in the family, trust me, even on that front, you will be spoilt for choices in Namma Bengaluru!

A couple of weeks back we took Abhay to the Nehru Planetarium which recently underwent renovation. In fact, the last time I’d been to the Nehru Planetarium was as a part of a school field trip. Like on most Saturdays, this time too we had the usual starting trouble and couldn’t make it on time for the 12.00 PM show (and you can always blame it on Bangalore’s weekend traffic!) but managed to catch the 1.00 PM show on “The dawn of Space”. Though we’ve seen much better shows in the OMSI planetarium in Portland, USA, Abhay seemed to have been intrigued by what he saw as he was bursting with questions! There is also a nice little park with science based playground equipments adjoining the planetarium. Anyway, ever since our visit to the planetarium, Abhay has been fascinated by concepts of space and galaxy and so we picked up “The Earth Story” by Eric Maddern and illustrated by Leo Duff from the British Library. Touted as an ideal book on science for 4 to 5 year olds, this book explains the origins of the Universe, the sun, and the birth of what we call our Mother Earth, with the help of visually stunning images. The author vibrantly illustrates the enormous explosion from which everything began, cooling off into hot clouds of gas that went spinning and swirling into becoming great galaxies out of which the milky-way was born, comprising of a giant yellow star called the sun around which planets revolved. Some planets were small and rocky and too close to the sun, others were too gassy and faraway from the sun. The third planet was just right and it was our planet earth. The author then goes on to explain the earth story from being a lava spouting hot cauldron to a state conducive to life, the origins of which is another story altogether!:-) The Earth Story is a fascinating account of how it all began, not only for Abhay, but also for his parents …….at least it was a quick brush-up on science for his mom!:-)

Picture Gandhi!

What does Gandhi Jayanthi mean to a six year old?  It probably means a school holiday on the occasion of the birth anniversary of the bespectacled man on a 500 rupees note! What does Gandhi Jayanthi mean to an adult Indian? Frankly, all it meant was a welcome mid-week break from work….and of course Gandhi-Jayanthi related articles run on the Newspapers’ Editorial or Magazine supplements. For instance, yesterday’s Metroplus of 'The Hindu' carried a feature titled “Mahatma on the move” that highlights the numerous ways in which references to Gandhiji makes way into our day-to-day lives. Be it on Television (even on popular American sitcoms like Scrubs or How I met my mother) or in Films and theatre, or in terms of literature, either by Gandhi or on Gandhi or the recent Gandhian style of protests and finally with Khadi now making a fashion statement – Gandhi is everywhere! At the same time here’s hoping that Gandhian principles too travel from the textbooks to museums to touch our lives the same way!

Abhay may be a little too young for Gandhian way of life but he is old enough to learn about Gandhi and his way of life! So in an attempt to introduce him to Gandhi, I was looking for some age appropriate material on Gandhi. Trust this week’s ‘Young World’ to do a cover story on Gandhi! “Gandhiji – An inspiration” teaches the kids on the philosophy and values of the Mahatma, while inviting older kids (mostly high school students) to write about what inspired them to follow Gandhi. Another interesting book on Gandhi is “Picture Gandhi”, Tulika publication by Sandhya Rao, a book on the life and works of Gandhi through some rarely seen pictures. Starting with the quintessential, “One upon a time, there lived a boy named …Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi…” this book is a revelation not just for kids! This picture book (literally, so)  takes the readers, young and old, to all the different places and people on whom the father of the nation has left an indelible mark! Besides, the important events, this book also throws some light on the lesser known facets of Gandhi’s personality with the help of call outs and colorful embellishments while at the same time not trivializing his life that was a message for everyone! Not sure how much of this book went in, but this is sure worth a repeat-read, as Abhay grows older. “Picture Gandhi” is a must-read for young India, and hopefully not just on October, the second!  

Abhay's new world!

After a tiresome wait of over six months, we find ourselves heaving a sigh of relief that our house renovation work is finally complete! What started out as a “minor alteration” to our existing structure so as to accommodate our overseas belongings, ended up being a full-scale construction both in terms of effort as well as cost and not to forget, time! For months now, the masons, painters and carpenters seemed more like a part of our family! For months, I got used to coming back home to find everything in a state of complete disarray and everyone running short of temper! For months, we felt uprooted with all our furniture and belongings pulled out of their designated spaces in order to make way for the construction work! Now that all the workers are gone and the renovation work complete, at last, it feels as if we’ve got our home back!  Abhay too had his share of grievance with the alteration work as his room was turned into a makeshift kitchen while our actual kitchen was getting an “extreme makeover”! In the bargain, his room got an “image makeover” too. Since our soon to-be-six year old has always been fascinated with places and maps, we had the whole world spread out on one of his walls!  Now the world’s biggest challenge is to get him back into sleeping in his own world…..errr …room! J

With the whole world on his wall, I picked up an around-the-world adventure titled “Madlenka” by Peter Sis. This book starts off  describing the larger picture of where we live. In the universe, on a planet, on a continent, in a country, in a city, on a block, in a house, in a window, in the rain, a little girl named Madlenka finds out that her tooth wiggles. Madlenka is dying to let everyone in the world know that her tooth is loose. How does she manage to do that ? She just skips down her street in New York city to meet her friend Mr. Gatson, the French baker who wisks her away to Paris, the land of Croissants and French Bread. She then approaches Mr. Singh, the newspaper man from India who takes her to the land of ancient kingdoms and the Taj mahal ( Oh..No..not again!) She scoots off to meet Mr. Ciao, the Ice cream man who greets her in quintessential Italian “Buon Giorno” and calls for a treat in the land of spaghetti, gelatos and the leaning Tower of Pisa! Around the corner, she stops by to see Mrs. Grimm from Germany who delights her with stories of Snow White and Slovenly Peter from Germany.  Madlenka is having the time of her life when she meets Mr. Eduardo, the greengrocer from Latin America. As she walks into his store selling fresh flowers, trees, fruits, it feels like she is walking in a rain forest amidst the rain, butterflies, tapirs, parrots, jaguars and snakes. She then heads to meet her African friend, Cleopatra with whom she engages in pretend play as if they are in the Saharan desert. Then she decides to tell Mrs Klam who is from South East Asia, and is soon transported into the land of dragons, samurai swords, green tea and rice. Suddenly, she realizes that she is horribly late and rushes back home to her parents who are upset with her and ask her where she had been. Madlenka tells them that she went around the world and also that she'd just lost her tooth! So a trip around the street can mean a trip around the world! Abhay loved “Madlenka” with its stunning visuals so much that he made me retain this library book until I could not renew it anymore! We also went over all the places featured in the book on his world map! So just like Madlenka…. the world is in your room Abhay…..go ahead…. explore the world!

The place we call 'Home'!

I can’t believe it’s already one year since we returned to India after our brief stint in the US. Though our stay in the US was only for over three years, it was long enough to change our lifestyle, our perspective towards life, our outlook towards parenting and our understanding of what’s important in life! In short, our stay in the US changed our lives and I am thankful for it! At the same time, it also made us realize that our ultimate destination was in fact India and no matter how long we stayed in the US, this realization would continue to haunt us! We also realized that the longer we stayed, the harder it would be for us to leave! So we took a call and moved back to a place that was once our home,  not sure of whether we would be able to make it our home once again, after having spent three years in a land that changes one for good! At the risk of sounding like a US returned snob, I must say that initially, we felt disoriented doing everyday things like crossing the main road, with all kinds of vehicles headed in all kinds of directions! We missed having oatmeal for breakfast (Quaker’s oatmeal just doesn’t taste the same here!) and continue to miss Netfix and Starbucks! We kept comparing Americans with Indians and complained about how Indians lacked etiquette or basic civic sense! We found ourselves constantly converting Rupees to Dollars to see if we would’ve embarked on the same expenditure had it been the US! On a personal note, I had also forgotten how to function in a joint family set up, having spent the last three years not being answerable to any in-law! J One year's up and our life in Portland seems so distant and removed from our current set-up that it almost feels like another life….or at best a dream fading away from memory! In one year, all of three of us have not only managed to comfortably settle down in our new “old home” but tried to blend in some aspects of our American life with our life in “namma Bengaluru”! So I can safely say that, in one year…it feels like we never left! J

I guess Abhay has been the happiest with our move. Except some intermittent references to his Portland friends and Portland’s freeways (which even I miss), Abhay is home! So today, celebrating one year anniversary of our change of address, I read “Sameer’s House”  by Deepa Balsavar and Deepa Hari and illustrated by Nina Sabnani. This book can also serve as an introductory lesson on geography for your little one. This is about Sameer who lives with his family in his house located on a narrow crowded street called Saraswathi street, in a busy city called Mumbai which in turn is the capital city of the State of Maharashtra that is a part of a populous country called India. India is one of the countries in the largest continent of Asia on a planet called the Earth that rotates around the sun in the solar system that is a part of the universe. The  last page carries a few names with their addresses detailed just as Sameer’s. As for Abhay, he may not realise it now, but Abhay has come a long way from Abhay Karanth, NW Overlook Drive, Hillsboro, Oregon, USA, North America, Earth, Solar System, Universe, to Abhay Karanth, Silver Oak Street, Bangalore, Karnataka, India, Asia, Solar System, Universe!  

Abhay's new found fascination!

Ever since we watched a documentary on “Titanic” on the Discovery channel couple of months ago, Abhay has been fascinated with the unsinkable ship that sank a hundred years ago. Delighted as we were at his new-found interest, we were sure it would wane in a couple of weeks. Nevertheless we indulged him with more newspaper and internet articles and pictures on the Titanic. But little did we know that we were seeing only the tip of the iceberg! His interest not only grew day by day but heightened when he watched James Cameron's take on the most famous maritime tragedy. Thereafter, every story he narrated revolved around the Titanic, every lego play was about putting together a ship named Titanic and every drawing he sketched was his version of the Titanic! With his current obsession reaching such mountaenous proportions, I had to match the same with a book, isnt it? So I picked out “The Titanic Lost and Found” by Judy Donnelly and illustrated by Keith Kohler, part of the Step into Reading series with a Level 4 and had my husband read it at bedtime. Not only was Abhay excited, but I'm afraid was a little too excited to go to bed!

This early reader doubles up as a basic chapter book with four chapters tracing the first voyage of the wonder ship from England to America and ending with the discovery of its ruins, years later by Robert Ballard. The story describes how it all began on April 10^th 1912 when the biggest and the safest ship set sail across the Atlantic ocean with over 2227 people on board. Four days later on April 14^th tragedy struck when Titanic hit an iceberg on the icy waters off the coast of Canada. What followed was a desperate attempt to save as many people as the crew could, with women and children rushed to the limited number of lifeboats, while others hope for some miracle. (Abhay couldn’t understand why all the daddies got left out!) The illustrations vividly capture the scene when one end of the ship slides into the ocean while the other end swings straight up! Finally out of over 2000 people on board, only 705 passengers make it to New York. The story doesn’t end there but goes on to educate the readers of the new laws enacted to avoid such accidents, and the miraculous discovery of the remains of the unsinkable ship deep in the ocean floor. So if you have Titanic fanatic at home, have him read this easy non-fiction but at the same time, I must warn you reading this book at night can be harmful to yours and your little one's bed-time routine!

Day and Night!

Every time we call India to talk to my parents, there is one question Abhay never fails to ask and that is whether it is day or night in India. Abhay seems fascinated by how his grandparents can see the sun in India when at the same time, in Portland it is nearing bedtime.  No sooner he hears a ‘hello’ on the other side, than he’s already on to his mandatory query “Is it morning in India?” Sometimes, my mom beats him to it and promptly informs Abhay the time of the day as soon he comes on the phone. But a relentless four year old that he is, he still feels duty bound to check on the day and night status on the other side of the globe! 

So last week when my husband traveled to Houston, he happen to visit the NASA museum and picked up a book that explains the science of day and night. Today I read “What makes Day and Night” by Franklyn M Branley and illustrated by Arthur Dorros. Though a Stage 2 book in the Let’s-Read-And Find-Out Science series, meant for children from age 5 to 9, Abhay seemed interested. The book provides a simple understanding and presents a creative demonstration of the concept of day and night in an age appropriate manner.  Though essentially a work of non-fiction, the illustrations gave a feeling of a story weaved in and Abhay listened with rapt attention. He even noticed that I skipped a few pages in between and wanted me go over them again. In order to make it simple, you are encouraged to do a small science experiment using the flashlight as sun and your little one posing as the earth. Of course, this book is meant more for older kids, but it’s never too early to develop a scientific temper. Isn’t it? At least, the next time he speaks to his grandparents, he can answer his own question on whether it is day or night in India!!