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!

Diwali Dhamaka!

Well....this has been the story of our Diwali this year! I must admit that its not only Abhay but both my husband and I had rather fallen out of touch with the all the noise and smoke associated with Diwali in India. In fact, we were surprised to disover that my husband has grown allergic to the smoke from the firecrackers! If three years in the US does this to you.....then one can only imagine how dfficult it would be for people who've lived abroad for most of their adult lives! Anyway, we are happy we took the call and that too early enough for us as well as our son to live and experience India the way Indians do - whether at home, or on the road, or in the mall, or at the temple or even when bursting sound emtting crackers at 10 Pm at night! :-)

Anyway, with my husband's running nose and my son covering his ears, it was left to me keep up the spirit of Diwali!  So we did light a few sparklers and flower pots to celebrate our biggest festival  like it is meant to be! I guess there are many books on Diwali, and I particularly recall reading Lights for Gita by Rachna Gilmore and illustrated by Alice Priestly - the story of Gita celebrating Diwali in a place far away from her native hometown of Delhi, ideal for people living abroad.  But since we no longer fit that category, I was looking for something more informative on the Hindu festival of lights. Moreover, Abhay has no recollection of his first Diwali in 2007, this year, so as to speak is his first Diwali in a "Diwali" sense in India! So I read DK's "My first Diwali", a board book, the only book on Diwali I could lay my hands on! The book explains the story of Diwali in the form of colorful illustrations featuring children that may interest your little one. The book also sheds light on how Diwali is celebrated today - like wishing relatives and friends, exchanging gifts, wearing new clothes, decorating the house, lighting diyas, worshipping Godess Lakshmi, gorging on sweets and savories and finally bursting crackers! A good way to introduce your little one into celebrating Diwali without covering his ears! :-) Happy Diwali to everyone!

Three's a crowd!

Abhay’s school had barely reopened after Dassera vacations when it closed down for Diwali...again! I mean seriously…….why do these kids have so many holidays….that too two days before Diwali? With schools declaring holidays so often, they are hardly a bankable childcare option.  Without home support in the form of family or hired help, it looks as if there are no easy answers to childcare concerns in India too!  Anyway, with schools closed all over Bangalore and two of Abhay’s closest cousins visiting us, ours is mad house of three musketeers – aged 9,7 and 5!! I need not get specific as to who is aged nine, seven or five as when they get together – age is just a number and boys will after all be boys! J

So in order to temper down the boisterous boys, I was on the lookout for some quiet activity and sure enough, I turned to books. I recently discovered a wonderful series called the Baby Bahadur series authored by Radhika Chadha and illustrations by Priya Kurien. A couple of weeks ago, I had read “Im so sleepy” – the first in the series. Abhay loved it enough for me to hunt for the others in the series. One of my readers even suggested another story revolving around these adorable animal characters. So I had these boys tune to the tales from the land of Baby Bahadur. In the hope of getting them to do the same, I read “Snoring Shanmugam” – a book published in three languages – English, Kannada and Hindi. Not being able to find the English version, I tried my hand at reading the Kannada book –“Gorakegara Shanmugam”. Though it had been a while since I read the Kannada script, I must say that I didn’t let my school Kannada teacher down!:-)

Anyway, this is the story of Shanmugam, the lion supposed to be the king of the jungle, who spends most of his day, sleeping. As if that is not enough, Shanmugam is also infamous for his loud snores – khhorrhrrh……. and breathing out sounding like ‘phsheew”! Unable to carry on with this noisy sleepy habit, all the animals decide to put an end to Shanmugam’s snores louder than his roars. With the help of mother elephant, they turn Shanmugam sideways that stops his snoring. But a danger lurking in the forest gets all the animals to retrace their steps and rather rejoice in his snoring. Thank God for Snoring Shanmugam, he inspired many more to the same!

Power cut!

With over two months since our move back to India, Abhay has completely settled down in his new home, new school and new surroundings. In fact, it seems as if he has always been here and never lived away for the last three years! It is we adults who can’t stop comparing the US with India, esp. when  stuck in Bangalore’s traffic, or try to cross a road, or see someone cut the line while waiting to be billed at a grocery store or when you greet someone you think you know who is determined to respond back with a grumpy face!!! Anyway, though Abhay seems to have got on well with his Bangalore life, there are still some things that give him away – mosquitoes and power cuts!

As I’m still working on his fear of mosquitoes, ( which, by the way, deserves a separate post by itself) I tried to tackle his ‘current’ problem. “Power Cut” a bilingual book by Sowmya Rajendran   came to my rescue. There is a power cut and suddenly everything is engulfed in darkness.  When mother lights a candle, shadows form that engage the entire family in a game of animals chasing each other. First comes a cat, then a deer followed by a snake and then finally an elephant all playing tag and forming a silhouette on the wall. But when the lights come on, they all disappear and reveal their true colors as father, brother, grandma and grandpa! As I read this book, Abhay was reminded of his grandma’s fun finger play and expected me to do the same. So amma, the next time we have a power cut, Im sending him to you!

Grandma's Eyes

Last Friday was Grandparents’ day at Abhay’s school and Abhay was the only one to have all his four grandparents call on him while many others sadly missed theirs. One thing is certain, Abhay has been the happiest about our move back to India – with his paternal grandparents at home and maternal grandparents living nearby, he couldn’t have asked for more! As much as I'm glad that Abhay is surrounded by his doting grandparents,  I also envy him as I never had an opportunity to get to know my paternal grandparents and my maternal grandma was living in a different city. In fact, it’s not only his grandparents, Abhay also enjoys the support of his 94 year old great grandma, who rushes to her great-grand son's rescue the minute we pull him up for something. No wonder he cannot wait to come back from school to a full house with four generations living under its roof. Though not as active as she used to be, Abhay ’s great grandma makes the most patient audience for all his silly antics. Now confined to a wheelchair, she regrets not being able walk around the house with her great grandson like she used to.  But wheelchair or no wheelchair, nothing stops Abhay from plonking himself on his dodda-ajji’s lap! 

So today I read “Grandma’s eyes” by Sandhya Rao, pictures by Ashok Rajagopalan. A moving pictures book written both in Kannada and English, this is a book more for two-three year olds than five year olds. But the illustration of grandma in this book reminded me so much of Abhay’s great grandma that I had to read this to him. Also, I trust both my mom and mother in law to strongly assert that they look nothing like the “grandma’ in the picture…so I felt safe to turn to Abhay’s great-grandma to do the honors!:-) Anyway, a little boy feels that his grandma’s eyes watch him well, grandma’s arms hold him tight, grandma’s laugh make him laugh, grandma’s songs help me sleep. Though grandma’s stories are for everyone, but grandma’s lap is only for him! A book that celebrates grandparent-hood through the eyes of a grandchild – a must read for any grandma-grandchild duo!