The boy who drew .....

With Abhay's old writing desk back in place, nothing can stop him from doing what he loves doing which is to draw and drawing what he loves drawing, which off late has been houses. Each of his drawing is no different from the other except that one probably has two houses and the other has three houses!:-)Not very long ago he was into drawing trains, trains and more trains! In fact, his 'Happy Diwali' card too had trains, only those trains had diyas(lamps) on the windows! Now all his artistic tendencies seem to have transitioned from transport to dwellings and Im not sure what to expect next! Of course, as any parent, Im more than happy that he has found a way to engage himself in a seemingly constructive activity, but a whole stack of drawing sheets with nothing but houses or trains is a little too much for even the most appreciative parent on the earth!

Anyway, as soon as I saw this book on the book shelf of a bookstore, I knew I had to pick it up. "The boy who drew cats" by Anushka Ravishankar and Christine Kastl is a Japanese folk tale about a boy who drew only cats, nothing but cats! Instead of helping his parents with farming, he drew cats on the fields! As his father felt that he was not cut out for farming, he took him to a temple to study under a priest. But at the temple too, all he did was draw cats; When asked to write a word, he drew cats, when asked to do a sum, he drew cats; He drew cats even on the rice paper screens of the temple! So his head priest decided that priesthood was not his cup of tea and lets him go with a piece of advice! So he leaves the temple and sets out to find his true calling. As you read on, the story reveals that ultimately his numerous drawings of cats help him establish himself as a great artist who is always known as the boy who draws cats! Although this story was a little above Abhay's level of understanding, he understood one thing- this main continued to draw cats even when he grew up! So when I asked if he'll continue to draw houses even after he grows up, he said "No I'll draw other things" and when asked what those things were , he cooly replied "Trains"!!!

Bugged by Bugs!

With his long lost toys back, Abhay finds no reason to leave his room except when he has unwelcome guests and when they arrive - all hell breaks loose at home! Its not only his room, they seem to be everywhere! Wherever Abhay goes, they find him, without exception - at home, on our street, at our neighbor's house, at the playground or a park, in the shop and even in the airconditioned environs of a mall! Abhay cant seem to understand why his American bred skin is their favorite  and neither can we!  They not only distract my five year old, but scare the hell out of him, they torment him and then suck his blood! You guessed it right - Im talking about the ubquitous Indian mosquito.  You may close all the windows after dark, literally shut the door on your visitors, clothe your little one from had to toe, hunt them down  using various devices, but just one is enough to ruin your good night's sleep! :-)

Anyway, its not only mosquitoes, Abhay is petrified of commonly found bugs like flies, ants and all kinds of insects! Recently I took him to an outdoor story session in the evening and Abhay was the only boy who seem to be bothered by the insects flying around when the other kids didnt even seem to notice them. So in an attempt to get him fascinated by the bug's world, today I read "I like Bugs" by Margret Wise Brown and illustrated by G.Brian Karas, a Mile 1 book in the Road to Reading series. A little boy declares that he likes bugs, all kinds of bugs black bugs, green bugs, mean bugs, bad bugs, bug in a rug, bug in the grass, fat bugs, round bugs and shiny bugs. Bugs- however they are, wherever they are - he is hardly bugged by them! Not much of a story, but one of the few early readers that is actually meant for an early reader. With short vowel sounds and picture clues,this book is a good way to get your emergent reader to perfect his or her alphabet sounds. I asked Abhay if he now finds bugs interesting to which he turned dead serious and proclaimed  "Im okay with ants but no mosquitoes"!

We're Home!

 

Our shipment from the US arrived yesterday and with that we’ve closed the final chapter of our move across seven seas! Well…what can I say….after over three months of wait, it was an emotional reunion with all our belongings that were a part of our day to day lives for three years – the french press we used for coffee every morning; our flatscreen TV, the value of which we realised after we got back to watching a standard definition TV, our travel souvenirs that were a common sight displayed in our living room, Abhay’s red bike and its accompanying music that we gladly missed and of course his wooden train tracks that resulted in his room being in a state of perpetual clutter …they are all back!:-) I must admit that in the last three months, there were times we wondered if it was worth shipping our belongings at all, considering that we had grown quite comfortable with the existing stuff in our Bangalore home and out of sight was truly out of mind! Added to that was the space constraint we faced as we already had a fully furnished set-up in Bangalore and weren’t sure if we could accommodate those eighteen boxes that just three months ago, we felt we couldn’t do without. But all our doubts vanished as we began unpacking one by one, all the items we had associated with what used to be our home and to be using them again in a new setting, truly makes it our home sweet home!!

Anyway, we shipped our belongings from the US through Universal Relocations and I must say that we had all our boxes, including our used electronic goods safely delivered to our door step. Abhay was really glad to be reunited with all his toys  and for the first time in three months, he didn’t leave his room the entire day today!:-)Today I read “Where is Gola’s home?”  by Chitra Soundar and illustrated by Priya Kuriyan. Gola, the yak is upset that yaks don’t have a home like everyone else. So his friend Muri, the eagle shows him around different regions in search of his supposed home. Muri first takes him to the the sea where Gola finds the water too salty and then to the river where the mud sticks to his feet and then the desert which he finds too hot and finally to the forest where he gets bitten by insects. Fed up with his fasctidiouness, Muri gives up when Gola discovers a road leading to the Himalayas. Muri stares at him in disbelief as he climbs up the path to the snow capped ranges. As the air gets cold, his thick fur keeps him warm, and he even finds food and water amidst the snow when he soon realises that he has finally found his home! Similarly, I can see that amidst all his old toys, my little Gola feels he is finally home!:-)

Going to a wedding!

We are all heading to Mangalore tonight to attend the wedding of my close cousin. Weddings mean different things to different people. For kids, weddings mean a chance to legitimately cut school (something Abhay is also excited about) unlimited supply of food, uninterrupted masti (fun) with cousins and a chance to forge new friendships that are soon forgotten once the wedding is over. The excitement probably peaks for the youth (especially for girls) when weddings are all about clothes, accessories, make-up and the perfect look! Of course, not to forget ….your own wedding which breezes past, leaving you with a blurred memory of the specific details that only seem to be captured by the camera! But your appetite for weddings completely dissipates as you enter a new phase of life – motherhood. My heart goes out to new moms who have weddings coming up, that can’t be missed! All of a sudden, your priorities undergo a sea change! It’s no longer about the events lined up, or meeting relatives, or the clothes and make-up but about the cleanliness and privacy of the guest rooms, availability of safe drinking water, hoping for good weather ( in our case, no rain!), company of other kids the same age as your little one and most importantly kid friendly food!:-)  

Anyway, since Abhay has never attended weddings like these before, I thought he needs a little prep for the daunting task ahead of me! I found “Going to a Wedding” by Rukmini Banerji and illustrated by Santosh Pujari, a Read India publication. I expected the book to be more about the experience of attending the wedding from a child’s perspective but instead, the book is more about the journey preceding the wedding. Anyway, a little girl is excited to be heading to her village for her uncle’s wedding along with her parents and her brother. That’s not all, they are joined by her grandfather and grandmother, uncle and aunt. As they reach the railway station, typically both the kids are hungry for food and typically their mom asks them to wait until they get on the train( Even Abhay noticed the same!). When the train finally arrives, they discover their groom-to-be uncle missing! So the confusion ensues as they try are about to board the train – a quintessential story of every Indian family heading for a wedding.....including our own!:-)

Halloween Illusions!

Since last three years, October 31^st has been a special day for us –it was time to get into the spirit of Halloween - time to carve Jack-O-lanterns , attend costume parties, and knock at your neighbor’s door along with your little one expecting treats! Well…..it feels like dejavu ….just like I used to wish I was back home in Bangalore for each Diwali the last three years, I now find myself wishing that I was in the US for this year’s Halloween only for the sake of seeing my five year old donning a funky costume! Though Bangalore can now boast of hosting a few Halloween celebrations here and there, nothing matches up to the real thing! Anyway, whether Abhay got to attend a costume party or not, I made sure he didn’t miss the best part of Halloween! We dressed him in his favorite Thomas costume and took him to a few houses and tricked our friends/family into treating him with candies….candies and more candies!

The best part of Halloween for Abhay may be candies, but the best part for me is that I get to read a special book for him just for this occasion! Quite impressed that I could find one in Just books, I read “Trick or Treat” by Melissa Arps and illustrated by Hector Borlasca. A board book in the shape of a pumpkin with a string on top that reminded Abhay of his very own pumpkin candy bag that we had left behind. A little boy goes trick-or treating on Halloween when a big hairy monster appears and asks for something sweet to eat. So when he digs into his candy bag to pull out a lollipop orange and white, another monster, a goblin wants his own bite! As he tries to meet the goblin’s demands, he finds goblin bringing in his other friends. So as he tries to satiate the monsters, one by one, he finds his candy bag empty, with chocolates none! As the monsters leave, he lets out a sigh as he has more hidden in a place that no one can guess – his hat! So it’s not only kids, monsters too can’t have enough candies on this haunted day!   For all our friends in the US –  missing all the witches, draculas, batmen, bunnies, catwomen, and ghosts of Portland and here’s wishing you all a very happy Halloween!