Village man

Nail-biting finish

There will times as parents when you will wonder why me? I do this once in every 10 days. On days when I have to trim Smera’s toe nails. She just does not let me clip her toe nails. While she is very cool when I have to cut her finger nails. She has been trained to believe that trimming finger nails is becoming beautiful. The same logic was plugged for toes nails but it somehow just did not stick.

Image courtesy: getty images

To be honest, it got easy in between for a while. But now it’s back to square one, she just won’t let me clip her nails. From the time Smera was born this is one task that I have detested the most, the next one is brushing her teeth. Thankfully the teeth cleaning initiative has taken up by the husband.

I have been trying to wheedle Smera for the last few days to let me cut her nails, but she just won’t budge. So finally the desperate mum in me, persistent on clipping her toe-nails, came up with a brilliant plan.

After school, I took her for a run in the park. Then came back prepared a hot bubble bath and play in the water for half an hour. Out of the bath, dressed in her night suit, I handed her an iPad to ensure she finishes her dinner without a fuss! Viola I finally had a tried and extremely sleepy ready retire for the night.

Once she was in deep sleep, I quietly lit up my bed-side lamp. Giving myself just enough light to clip her nails and I got started on the project. The moment held her toes she got up from her sleep. Pausing for another minute, I put her back to sleep. I repeated this process of clip nails, step back, pat and put her to sleep - clocking a total time of 1 hour and 15 minutes, I successfully managed to trim her toe nails.

So if you were expecting a nail biting finish to this post - I have to disappoint you. Call it what you may clip, trim or cut - mending this thin, transparent plate covering the upper surface of the end of a toe is boring.  

Room with a 'Zooper' view

Winter’s are almost leaving and making way for summer to come in. I hate summer and would do anything avoid getting out in the sun. The summer in this part of the world is extremely harsh. The reason why I am cribbing about the Dubai summer is, once they are here it is almost impossible to do anything outdoors. So we decided to head to the zoo this weekend before the weather changes course.

This time we went off to the Emirates Resort Park at Al Bahiya, about 40 mins drive from where I live. It is a much smaller park compared to the Al-Ain zoo. However, the up-close interaction with animals really elevates the entire zoo experience. I am sure you would be heard all about the petting zoo concept, but this was the first time I was experiencing it. Despite the fact I am not an animal-lover nor zoology was my favourite subject, but this trip might have turned me into one.

We booked ourselves the zoo facing room, while it’s little more expensive compared without zoo view, but it was totally worth it! Check out the early morning sight just outside our room in the video.

Piping HOat !!

It’s no secret that feeding toddlers and infants is the biggest task ever. Yet I feel, mine is a little ahead of other’s in her age group. If she decides not to eat a thing, then there is no way that you can convince her to open her mouth. She won’t even cry, knowing for a fact that food will be shoved into her mouth.

Look, no one told us parenthood would be easy. I know that. But then I didn't know, that making your child eat would be such a colossal task. There is no infant handbook that could give you solution to how make your child open her mouth. And then to top it up every child is different.

So when Smera out-grew her fruity and vegetable purée stage and Oats came to my rescue. I think, Oats are the best food invented ever in the short history of mankind and in my motherhood expedition. When I introduced Smera to this super easy and magical food, she was instantly hooked on to it. She likes her's with milk and a dash of sugar or even the soupy style.

Image courtesy:  eatwellnz.co.nz 

My motherly dilemma is that, I am trying to encourage to Smera to try different things but then she just cannot have enough of Oats. She might soon reach a stage, where she would get fed up of it and then life won’t as easy as it is now. For now I am thrilled that I don’t have think really hard on what to make the next morning. Not to mention they also double-up as absolute life-saver when we are travelling.

It’s also, in surprising ways a healthy comfort food (now that’s an oxymoron) – try a bowl with a pinch of salt when you’re down with flu or cold. And lastly I have mastered the art of cooking them in the microwave, isn’t that the best part to cook and serve all in the same bowl.

To feed my curiosity I searched the net for the origin of oats, and it seems it has been around for eternity. But what was surprising to read, it was only at the fag end of 90’s Oats started gaining its popularity after FDA in US published a report confirming - Oats help in reducing heart-related problems. That’s the problem, what starts in US soon rolls over the rest of the world-wide.

What is amazing is that even in smaller towns back in India have been adopted as Oats as a healthier breakfast option. I occasionally allow myself to get into the conspiracy theory mode. What if the health benefits of Oats is all propaganda? Would the next generation know what it is to have our own local breakfast dishes? Will oats and corn flakes annihilate Dosa and Idli from the breakfast table?

Only time will tell and maybe our palettes will get used to the tastes of Oats chappati, Oats cutlet, Oats dosa, Oats idli, Oats upma, Oats uttapam or even Oats dhokla. Maybe be soon you will see it being served at the desi food joints – HOat Idlis from Saravana Bhawan, I can’t wait J

Go talk a walk!

Ok the truth is I am not a big fan Valentine’s Day, why should we express our love to our loved ones only once a year! I say it all the time, especially when I need his credit card or I need him to take the little one out.

However with all that said, Valentine’s Day is falling on a Thursday.  It gives me just another silly reason to go out on a date-night. So before I made any plans I thought of checking, if had he have any prior work commitments on Thursday.

Me: Honey, how is your Thursday evening looking like, will you be busy?

Hubby: I think not!

Me: Then let’s go out, what do you think?

Hubby: Sounds like a good plan, what about the baby-sitter?

Me: That is taken care of

Hubby: Then let’s go out for a walk on the beach road.

Me: Walk on the beach road? (Thinking in my head: Sounds romantic, but just a walk, may be a dinner too??)

Hubby: Yeah, I have been planning to do the half-marathon for sometime now, let’s do it this Thursday!

Image: gettyimages.ae

Then slowly I get back to work, pretending I didn’t hear that bit of the conservation. Knowing my hubby so well, it’s a given that was purely an innocent remark. He might not even have realised that it’s Valentines.

For rest of the men folk here is my piece of advice – A half-marathon on weekend night, double it up on a Valentines Day – A sure shot way of getting in wifey’s bad books for the rest of the year! 

Talaash: The search begins with a banana

Ever-since we became parents, going to the movies has become a rare affair. Call it added the responsibility or downright laziness but yes it’s true. However that definitely does not mean that we don’t watch movies at all now. We have our full-time home projector, even if we are a few months late we sure to catch up all of them minus the useless ones.

While a certain Mr. Choudhury might like to label us as boring people, for we don’t watch the first day, last show as he does. But it’s a big task to take the little one for the movies. At least that is our excuse, while for him even that is not a problem. Their little one is trained to sleep through the antics of the planet bollywood, right from her second month on planet earth.

Image courtesy: movies.zap2it.com

So on a recent movie marathon in our private theatre, we decided to put up Talaash featuring Aamir Khan. With great difficulty I managed to borrow the DVD from a friend, but just as it is meant, the DVD refused to work. Taking out the disc we realised that it was badly scratched, that meant my hopes of the finally watching the movie went down the drain.

However, my better half was not going to give up so easily. He pulled his phone asked Google for a remedy and unsurprisingly it did come up with an answer. This is the ridiculous part, Google recommends rubbing a ripe banana over the scratched surface, washing it under running water and towel drying it before using the disc.

As a fervent partisan of lord Google, the husband follows the instructions and puts the movie back on. With a slight smirk, I was absolutely sure to see the hammered look on husband’s face. However that look appeared on my face instead as the movie started. I continued to pray during the course of the movies for something to go wrong, but luck as ever was on his side.

Moral of the story is never underestimating the husband (which I always do) especially if he has checked it with the almighty! 

Silly Saturdays: A secret recipe

Kuku, my little cousin sister is a kindly, helpful child. Even after all the pressures of being a full-time engineering student, she still finds time to help her mom, who in turn, skillfully juggles her day job and bringing up two kids on her own.

Okay, back to Kuku now. On my recent trip home, she told me about her newly invented recipe, Arabic Tea. I was not surprised. I knew she always had the scientific inclination and with her spending time in the kitchen helping mom, the invention could have only been a pleasant side-effect.  

On a shivering wintery morning, Kukku was busy studying for her exams at home. That’s when Rani didi, the part-time-help, came home to help out with the chores.  Seeing Rani-di doing the dishes with a splitting head-ache, Kuku offered to make her a cup of hot tea.

As you would expect from a person with a big heart, Kuku decided to make the concoction, a little special. She took out some ginger from the fridge and started to peel of the skin but was unsure of how much of it to be used to make the tea, special. Now, Kuku may be an engineer-in-the-making and a bit weak in the tea-making department – she isn’t however ashamed of asking for some advice and sought Rani-di’s help.

What happened next is straight out of a Tamil movie. Rani-di stormed out of the kitchen calling “Aiyo Kadavale!” (Oh my god). The next line was even more melodramatic “Are you trying to kill me!!”

It did not take long for Kuku to figure out something was wrong. She took another look at the irregular-shaped rootstock – Aiyo Kadavale indeed; it was not ginger but a piece of Arbi (Colocasia in English) though with a striking resemblance to the former. The trouble with Colocasia is that it can cause severe itch (just like a Yam) when it is uncooked and exposed to skin. Far from the tangy taste that was meant to be infused from the freshly shaved pieces of ginger root.

With the timely intervention and a bit of Kadavul grace, Rani escaped the itchy throat on top of a splitting headache. With a good laugh and a strong tea (no ginger this time), she was cured of that nasty headache. 

For the curious, here is the recipe (world-wide patent pending: Kuku )

2 cup                          water

2 tablespoons            Indian black tea

1 cup                          milk

2 tablespoons           sugar

1 inch                        Arbi or Colocasia , freshly shaved

Warning: Try this at your own risk – neither author nor the inventor takes any responsibility for the severe itching in the throat that it is bound to last for a couple of hours. Text book remedies for the itching induced by this special recipe include coconut oil or butter milk……or simply avoid it in the first place! 

Going the whole six-yards

Dear Ritu Beri,

I am writing this open letter to you on behalf of my daughter who is an ardent fan. Your gorgeously designed Air India uniform for the cabin crew happens to be her favourite. Smera fell in love with it when she was only a few months old. At first we thought it was the colour red that she loved, when she would see her grandma drape it.

As time has passed and she grown up to be a fine two year old child, the sari still remains to be her all-time favourite. She will beg, plead, try her puppy face or even get angry to lay her hands on it. She loves to feel like a big girl I guess!

Image: newindianexpress.com

Mum has a huge collection of sarees and but among all of them I think it’s her uniform sari that appeals to her the most. Smera loves to see her grandma dress in inherently graceful and elegant Indian clothing. Working for the airline I have always admired mum’s dressing sense of this marvelous drapery - no wonder it excites the little one too.

Smera knows it when her grandma dresses up in her uniform she is going off to some place exciting. And when she comes to visit us here in Dubai, she comes wearing her favourite sari. However there is a  flip side to it too,  when she ready to go back Smera is most upset as she would have to bid farewell to her and the sari with teary eyes.

Once Smera is dressed in the 6-yard garment, she would go for my shoes and not to forget a matching handbag. She would then head to the mirror as if it’s almost a ritual to stand in front of it and admire the beauty of her entire get-up.  With great difficulty she would walk up and down in the house and once she is really tired she will ask the first available person to wear it on her behalf. It can be me, her grandma, my husband and even the grandpa has not been spared.

Watching Smera being so passionate about the sari I can’t thank you enough, Ritu. Your design has in ways has brought at least one of gen-next closer to an important part of our Indian tradition – The Sari.

Thank you! 

Kill the cliché

We parents spend many sleepless nights. Nights when our little one just would stay wake after a bad dream or if she has been unwell, we would take turns to check on her. And 29^th December was a night like that, but this time it was for someone else’s daughter and it was not just a bad dream.

Nirbhaya, Jyoti, Amanat or Damini however you would refer the young girl had lost her life the previous day.  This really shook me up. I am not saying that of the other cases of brutality doesn’t count - but it’s the sheer spitefulness with which she was tortured make it gut wrenching and unbearable. Reading or even worst imagining what happened to still sends shudders down my spine.

Today’s is the 5^th of January and let me make a little prediction here, on what is going to happen over the next few weeks. The protests will fade away and people will slowly return back to normal life. The media would then be chasing yet another scam or a failed cricket series. Politicians would move on to yet another mud slinging match. At least one Bollywood studio would announce a movie based on this. Thanks to all the embarrassment shone so far on the establishment, the perpetrators would get closer to their march towards the gallows. And then, we’ll all move on with our lives.

Call me a cynic – we held candle light vigils after 26/11, we rooted for Anna Hazare, we were outraged for what happened to Jessica Lal, Priyadarsini Mattu and Arushi Talwar. But the sad truth is that once people leave the streets, media vans retreat and when we get back to our daily struggle – we forget. And the life goes on until the next one happens.

Yeah I know what you are thinking – this time it is different. That makes two of us, this time it is different for me too. Really? I am a woman, I have a daughter and I am from Delhi. This has hit me so hard, this time violence have come home – I do not know what is my dominant emotion here – anger, shame, distress, helplessness.

I know for a fact that if I want to see a Delhi where my daughter can move around without fear, I need this time to be different. We need to stand up and make a difference.

I am not going to let this one incident stop me, I will not let this fear shadow her future. I start with myself – with a bit of soul-searching. I am not going to wait for the change to happen; I am going to be the change I want to see.

Let us start respecting everyone and let’s stop this prejudice against the female gender. Let each one teach one - how to respect others!  Let’s keep the pressure on the government to do their part, but hey we can help too, by sensitising people around us, by standing up when we see someone being abused and by giving courage for the people who need them. It's not just about girls, even the boys are not safe in such a society!

I’ll start from my home. I am teaching my little one to respect everyone and at the same time she understands that she isn’t any lesser to anybody. And that she needs to stand up for herself, and if that means she spends time learning Karate, so be it.

Let us all try in our own little ways, to help ourselves and anyone who needs support. Let’s not just complain, rather take small steps to create the reality we want to see.

Let’s kill the cliché, and make this time really different. 

Image courtesy: google.com

Going wild in Al-Ain!

After spending a wonderful day at the zoo, the little one refused to leave!