Embroidered creations of love!

 I have never been the arts-craftsy type of person and have always been envious of people who are dextrous enough to create a tangible work of art like a painting/drawing/sketch or crafts like handicrafts/embroidery/jewellery, etc. My mother though, has always dabbled into such creative arts  like painting and hand-embroidery as a hobby and still pursues the same post retirement.  My daughter loves to draw and prolifically turns out pencil sketches of her view of the world around her…and I cant help wondering if God skipped a generation while bestowing the artsy-craftsy creative gene to our family! 😊

Anyway, my mother finds great satisfaction in her hand embroidery work and more so on her post retirement move to Dharmasthala. Anyone close friend or family member visiting Shristi is sure to leave with one of amma’s exquisitely embroidered pieces as a return gift to remember their Shristi visit. Drawing inspiration from the surrounding nature, or traditional art designs like Warli, Kantha, Kasoothi or Kutch, amma creates magic with her fingers through her intricate needlework embroidery on vibrantly coloured fabrics, or left over blouse pieces and weaves. She has even embarked on what she likes to call her “magnum opus” – an embroidered creation of mathematical equations pieced together into a massive bedspread representing almost four decades of her life dedicated to the scholarship and teaching of mathematics at Jyothi Nivas College, Bangalore. As Im writing this…I see amma’s focussed needlework creating a beautiful string of flowers on a bright red poplin cloth!

Off late, Aadya and her grandmother  share a special connection through their own forms of art. Aadya presented one of her drawings of a silhoutte of a tree as a gift for her “Sanna-ajji” and Lo and Behold! her “Sanna-ajji” had replanted her tree into customised pillow case! 

Thanks to amma, all four of us have personalised pillow cases with taglines specially embroidered by amma…with “Acchu our Hero” for Abhay, “Aadya our Princess” for my daughter, “Multitasker of Samruddhi” for my husband as he truly is, “Budding competent Advocate” for me (while I thought I was already a competent advocate ….trust my mom to give me a reality check! 😊) Her latest gift has been a hand-embroidered patchwork bedspread with unique designs on each piece, from geometric shapes to modified katha work, from traditional art layouts to colourful flower patterns, with distinctive colour combinations, and beautifully sequenced strands of threads of various shades….and all I can say is that amma’s embroidered tapestry of brightly coloured flowers adorning our bed acts as a mood uplifter just like Wordsworth’s Daffodils! 

So dedicating this blogpost to my mother’s magical needle and thread work as we celebrated her 69^th birthday last weekend in a hybrid mode – while we physically joined her and my father at “Aroha’s Eco Hill Resort” at Sakleshpur, and her best friends joined in through a zoom call, with goodies being delivered to their doorstep so that they don’t miss out on the cake! 😊   

Following the birthday weekend, we had an extended sojourn at our most favourite place in the world my parents’ farm, “Shristi”, and just as we are about to drive back to Bengaluru tomorrow, we had the grandmother-granddaughter read together one of our all time favourites – “Grandma Bubba’s warm shawl” by Rijuta Ghate, a publication by Jyotsna Prakashan, which brings out books that have an old world charm to them!  Wonderfully written and illustrated, this book came highly recommended by our friends at the Funky Rainbow, and has always been one of those books we fall back on for a warm and cosy read, and it is rather surprising that I haven’t had the chance to blog about it…until now when it feels perfect for the occasion!

Grandma Bubba lived in the far away mountains and took good care of her flock of sheep. As winter approached, grandma Bubba decided to knit herself a bright red shawl from her sheep’s wool that she’d dyed red from beetroot pieces. Just then, her grandson comes running to her asking for a bright red sweater and a bright red sweater was ready in no time! So every time grandma Bubba dyed her wool green using spinach leaves, or purple with purple cabbage, or yellow through turmeric, or blue turned by indigo, each of her family member comes in with a request for a cap, or muffler or a pair gloves or a pair of socks and grandma Bubba is only too happy to oblige! So the entire family is kept warm during winter by grandma Bubba’s knitted creations and did grandma Bubba finally knit herself a shawl ?.... Read on to find out how grandma Bubba’s love for her family brought out the most colourful shawl that there ever was! A wonderful feel-good story that echoed my mother’s sentiments as her embroidered creations adorn our lives and fill our hearts with warmth and love! 

Quarantine times!

 

I began this year like every year with a new year resolution to blog more often, but didn’t expect to follow it up in the same month itself (it never happens!). Similarly we all hoped to embark on 2022 putting the horror of Covid-19 behind us,  but didn’t expect the pandemic to catch up with us so quickly, and in such a lightening speed so as to have the  hitherto untouched/uninitiated / uninhibited caught unaware!  Neither did we all expect to test Covid +ve at a time when we (read.. I) have been indoors for the past three weeks nor did we even anticipate that the illness would first hit my father-in-law when he hasn’t stepped outdoors in the past whole year!   Well….it hits you when it hits you is all I can say as we got sealed into isolation as a COVID HOME last week!

After being locked in through the first wave, and braved the second wave, we couldn’t after all escape the milder version of the pandemic that had engulfed the city as a third wave, which is now on a decline just as we at home find that the worst is now behind us. From acute fever and exhaustion to slight temperature and weakness, from continuous to sporadic bouts of cough, each of us reacted to the virus in our own way, convalesced as our own body and mind allowed us to and recovered in our own pace …….thankfully all at home. With four of us being co-vaxined and covi-shielded from the severity of the infection, this variant has left us drained mentally more than physically, paling us into a general sense of gloom and dis-spiritedness…as quarantine can turn even the quiet into the querulous!! 😊

Well….the best way to bring some cheer back into our lives is to have happiness delivered to our doorstep  by none other than “Funky Rainbow” our favourite indie book store of South Bangalore. No sooner did the little gems get delivered than did our happiness quotient in the household begin to rise!  Quarantine times can also be a period of emotional upheaval for us as a family as we grapple with the physical symptoms of the illness with willpower and emotional strength and what a better way to remember these trying times than this wonderful book that’s not only makes for a great read aloud book for children but also enables us to reflect on our emotions as adults. “Are your emotions like mine?” by Chitwan Mittal and Shruthi Hemani  is narrated by a little girl trying to understand what she feels every day from excitement to anger, from feeling silly to feeling nervous, from being proud to being adventurous! There are a host of emotions that we experience and reading about it not only serves as an acknowledgement of our own feelings but also a step forward in trying to understand and get comfortable with what we feel, why we feel and how we feel and express our emotions. Aided by brilliant illustrations , the little girl and her lion’s journey into their emotions was an instant hit with my little girl who couldn’t resist drawing her own version of what she feels! Here's to our emotions! 

Memories - Renewed and our Indian Jack-O'-Lantern!

 

I wouldn’t be wrong in saying that books also serve as memory boxes for some of us. Some books are held closer to your heart than others, either because of their literary value or because of your memories associated with them - some books may evoke memories of your own childhood, or the early childhood of your son or daughter, or reminiscent of your state or mind or your situation at the time of reading the book and pulling it out from the bookshelf affords you a chance to look back and reflect on those times. For instance, I happen to read Harper Lee’s “Go set a Watchman” soon after the birth of my daughter in the year 2015 and while the book was indeed a disappointment, a mere glance of the book’s cover takes me back to my own frame of mind and insecurities that I had harboured about whether I will ever be able to get back to work with the responsibility of two kids!   Some books are a throwback to the happy memories of the past that makes it harder to let go …. and its not unusual to be on the lookout for someone you believe is worthy of your memory box..isnt it? 😊

We were delighted to be the beneficiaries of what must have been a treasure trove of memories from my mother’s cousin who was looking to hand over a wonderful collection of books that they had enjoyed with their kids back in the eighties. So joining our already overflowing collection of books, meet the newest member of Aadya’s books shelf – the well known “The Childcraft series” and we are glad to have this set of 15 books as a companion for Aadya during her growing up years. Thank you Mr. Suresh Rao and Mrs. Nirmala  Rao for this marvellous collection!  

As Aadya dived into the series, one of the stories had me relive our good old  "Portland days” that now seem like another era!  In fact, thanks to Beverly Cleary, we also developed a renewed interest in the all-American Halloween! Though Halloween has been part of Abhay’s early childhood in the US and the same continued in Bangalore  thanks to events in the Hippocampus children’s library, Aadya has had almost no exposure to Halloween and she had no idea what she was in for or rather  we had no clue what it would entail for us as we turned the pages of Volume no.2 “Time to Read” of the Childcraft series to “The Night of Jack-O’-Lantern”. Part of the novel “Ramona and her father", this a wonderful story that introduces the curious and cheerful protagonist, Ramona Quimby whom Aadya fell in love with. Of course, Beverly Cleary’s characters of Ramona and her older sister Beezus have been popular with the American kids, particularly in the State of Oregon, the author’s home state, but its been a while since I came across any of Beverly Cleary’s stories and  Ramona’s naughty innocence, the rebellious attitude of her adolescent older sister amidst the usual ups and downs in a middle class American family made for a refreshing read. 

The story begins with Ramona’s earnest attempt to diffuse the grouchy atmosphere at home with her own brand of humour, much to everyone’s chagrin. Patience seems to be in short supply on the given day with everyone snapping at each other, but as Ramona helps bring up the giant pumpkin lying in their basement, the entire family excitedly comes together to carve the Halloween harvest, and soon each of them including their pet cat, add their own personal touch to make the wickedest Jack-O’-Lantern in the whole world! A beautiful feel good story revolving around relatable family situations, laced with subtle humour and stimulating illustrations makes for smooth and relaxing read…and has us begging for more from the world of Qimbys!

Needless to say, we have had a renewed interest in Halloween this year and Aadya’s fascination with Jack-O’-Lantern has us (read the daddy!) carve out our very own Indian Jack-O’-Lantern! Happy Halloween! 

                                                    Halloween Illuminations!

Our Girl!

 

As I browse through some of my earliest blogposts almost a decade ago, I find that an oft repeated reflection on my part has always been “I wish I had a daughter” and such a longing was borne out of a desire to enjoy reading books that my pre-schooler was quick to dismiss as “girlie books”! Now that I have a daughter, we do revisit some of the books that hadn’t impressed my son then and now seem to be a big hit with my daughter, just as I had thought so! Well….not a day a goes by without feeling thankful for the pure joy of having a daughter and how blessed we’ve been with the arrival our little girl! Her indefatigable energy, perceptive and sensitized nature, generous and caring spirit have enriched our lives in so many ways that we could never imagine! As a daughter myself, I have always and still do share an extremely close relationship with my mom and without wishing to sound cliched…my mom has always been and continues to be my 'BFF' and vice-versa!  As the saying goes…God could not be everywhere and therefore he made mothers….as a natural corollary I can say that God made daughters so that they can be their mothers' best friends! Hoping to share the same relationship with my little girl!

On the occasion of daughter’s day,  we read a book by one Abhay’s  all-time favourite authors, the award winning Anthony Browne, whose books we would regularly borrow from the British Library almost a decade ago! “Our Girl” is quintessentially Anthony Browne in terms of narrative style, wit, visual-word interplay, pastel backdrop, water-colour style illustrations which makes it a truly perfect read for today. The books opens to a sweet little girl with a wide smile –“She’s lovely, our girl”… an goes on to celebrate “our girl” – a great goalie, brilliant swimmer, loves to draw, dress up and pretend play, alternates between quiet and loud, starts off as a busy bee and ends up as sleepy puppy, fierce as a fighter yet charms her way with her beautiful smile…..we love our girl and will always do…..a wonderful tribute to daughters everywhere!  Happy daughters day to all our girls!

The magic of music!

 

Music has always been an integral part of our lives and while being ardent followers of Carnatic music, we as a family have been enjoying a wide range of Indian music – from Carnatic and Hindustani music to devotional bhajans, from Kannada Sugama Sangeetha to ghazals and film music, besides tuning in to a few popular genres of western music from time to time. While there’s some music playing on  one of our devices at all times, it is mostly Carnatic music that dominates our household. So much so,  it’s a family joke that our house might as well be branded as the “FM Amruthavarshini house” , with Indian classical music reverberating from every corner of our house as the FM 100.1 (The Indian classical music channel  of All India Radio Bangalore) plays on the multiple radios tuned in - on the ground floor at the kitchen, on the first floor in one of our rooms, and at the terrace balcony on the second floor…..All thanks to my renewed obsession with Carnatic music! Anybody visiting our home or calling in between 6 Am to 9.30 Am in the mornings and between 6PM and 11 PM in the evenings is sure to be treated to some brilliant music in the background, and any such conversation in person or over phone is forced to compete with Sudha Raghunathan’s rendition of “Raaga Sudharasa” or Bombay Jayasri’s “Krishna nee begane baaro”! (I know it’s not fair but I just cannot bring myself to turn off the radio when FM Amruthavarshini  is on)  Since Abhay has been training for Carnatic vocal for some time now,  I have resumed my own training after a long hiatus, and my little one a recent newbie in Carnatic music, our dinner table conversations often tend to be paused (Mind you, it’s never an interruption!) over identifying a raaga or noticing the structure of the “Kalpanaswaras” playing on the radio! Well, that’s when my exasperated husband asks if Yesudas’s rendition “Vataapi Ganapathim” needs to be a part of the discussion on our plans for the next day! 😊

So when the previous  week’s Saturday Buzzar of Funky Rainbow brought up this book on the occasion of World music day earlier last week, I knew I had to lay my hands on this one and sure enough this book has been the raagam-tanam-pallavi of this week’s reads! If my little one loves the book, it’s becomes a family favourite almost immediately with everyone being asked to read to her – from parents and maternal grandparents to her older brother and this book has indeed appealed to everyone who has read  to Aadya. Inspired from the early years of Annapurna Devi, the famous sitar player and daughter of Allaudin Khan, the royal court musician at the court of Maharaja of Maihar in Madhya Pradesh, “The Magic in My Fingers” a Karadi tales publication by Nandita da cunha (a pianist herself) and illustrations by  Nayantara Sundrenath and Kanimozhi A ,  is an endearing tale that is as much a story of sisterly love as it is about the discovery of an innate talent heralding an illustrious musical journey.

Aayan is once again late for his music practice, much to Baba’s chagrin. Before Baba loses his patience at his truant son, his younger sister Roohi steps in to search for Aayan who seems to be more interest in pots and pans than the practice of Sitar. Roohi cant afford to have Aayan upset Baba which would then ruin her chances of a new kite that Baba had promised to buy from the market. But Roohi’s chances of making her father proud of her as she plans to win the kite-flying competition with the new kite, diminish by the minute as Baba heads out looking for his errant son, with a cane in hand. So Roohi hits upon a brilliant but highly risky idea to distract her Baba and soon to her delight and to the shock of her father, she discovers the magic in her fingers, and that indeed makes her father swell with pride! Aided by wonderfully striking illustrations, we love this book as its works on so many levels- from the very relatable reluctance to music practice (I deal with it every day!) to the wonder of a prodigious talent, from the intuitive understanding of a sister of her brother's mind  to the discovery of one’s true potential and of course the exhilarating power of music! A must buy for any music loving family!