2/24/2011

Naalaayira Dhivyaprabhandham - ambrosia!

My MIL and me were giving kutti "r" a bath and thats when my MIL said, there's a song for Lord Krishna inviting him for a bath...A week has passed after this conversation and we forgot to look for the song.
My MIL's MIL a fervent Vaishnavite has a whole collection of religious books and I have never tried to reach for a single one in these 2 years. Recently, I cleared her bookshelf, literally dumping her books in a bag asking my MIL to give it to her....so that she could keep those really old books elsewhere....
Her friend dropped last evening suggesting a few thaalatu paadalgal from Naalayira Dhivyaprabhandham. When I asked my MIL if we have that book, she said its among those books you cleared this morning. WOW! I had taken those BOOKS for GRANTED....Little did I realise the importance of those books...
When we browsed through a really really old book, my eyes beamed with joy to find the hymn we were looking for....

I have just started reading பெரியாழ்வார் திருமொழி  (Periyaazhwar's Thirumozhi)- the hymn "aravanaiyaai" where Yeshoda lovingly calls Krishna to nurse...only a person who has experienced the joy of feeding can compose such verses....
the verses are like ambrosia, intoxicating a person who loves reading Thamizh...Oh what love these Aalwars had for Lord Krishna....the joy they found in writing these hymns can only be felt as we read through the verses line after line, word by word!!!
The book dates 5th - 8th century AD with its modern form compiled by Nathamuni in the 10th century...

Why didnt I look into my dad's bookshelf which has atleast a hundred books, all in my very own mother tongue ?

Why was I always looking for English titles to read when I wanted to make my literary dreams come true?


2/17/2011

Rhyme time - Tulika Blogathon - a delayed entry!

With a 3 month old at home, and with lots of people around there is never scarcity for funny rhymes and verses...Mil, granny, cosisters, nephews and nieces are constantly finding ways to talk to him and keep him engaged. As they play with kutti "r", little verses and rhymes spill out. After reading a post on Tulika's blog I couldnt prevent myself from collecting all those little verses.
To some, the words have defined meanings are, for many neither my mil nor her mom know what they mean. If any reader out there is able to decipher the meaning, please...

My mil claps her hand in rhythm as she sings the below one to kutti "r"....
The translation is crude....When my mil shared it with me word by word (I dont speak Telugu) she said nobody has looked into the meaning...it's always about the way they rhyme!

Thattandama thattanda (Pat dear, Pat)
Apachilu* Thattanda (Pat a flat bread)
Andhiriku petanda (Keep it for everyone)
Adhigodmena apachi (On a high wall is the vada)
Andhethiko boochakka (Reach high for it little dog)
Boochakka chellulu nenu (Little dog's sister is me)
Gudamanthralu nuvvu (
Thattandama thattanda (Pat dear, pat)

*Just like we say pappu mammu for dhal rice, apachilu is the word in baby language that refers to vada or bholi
The rhyme reminded me of the nursery rhyme "pat a cake pat a cake baker's man"
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Another one, especially when kutti "r" makes all the cute sounds hinting us to lift him!

Jo jo paapa (jo - jo - is just a rhyming sound use here)...(jo, jo baby)
Jonnakutti paapa (little corn baby)
Edaodhu paapa (don't you cry baby)
Ethikinenu paapa (I will lift you baby)
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Here's another - My mil said, the rhyme below is as said by a little girl...again there is no correlation between the sentences...

Chandamamaku seerakatti (Let's dress up the moon with a saree)
Sanigaborugulu odila esi (Place chick peas and puffed rice on my lap)
Amma, nenu, chinna bida (Mom, me and little kid)
Alundu osthe ampodhu (Dont send me away when the Groom comes)
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When I was around 6 years of age, I remember playing this game with my cousins. All of us sit in a circle, we choose a runner who runs around us holding a handkerchief. The runner drops the handkerchief behind anyone he/she likes and joins the circle. It takes a while before the person finds out who the next runner will be. Sometimes, if the circle is too big, the new runner will catch the runner before he/she sits down in the circle. The game repeats until everyone gets a chance to be the runner.
The following rhyme is said when the runner runs around....

kulai kulaiya mundhirika (bunches and bunches of cashewfruit)
neraiya neraiya suthi vaa (go around many times)
kollaiadichavan engirukaan (where is the one who looted)
kootathile paar kandupidi (look into the crowd and find him)
Again, the translation is crude...When I was looking for the exact tamil verse on the web, I came across a weblink which had many such rhymes....Linking it below
குலை குலையாய் முந்திரிக்காய்
நரியே நரியே சுத்தி வா
கொள்ளையடிச்சவன் எங்கிருக்கான்?
கூட்டத்திலே பார் கண்டுபிடி


2/11/2011

Sign speaks

At my parents place, the living space is split in two tiers with kutti "r"s room on the first level. I was busy with kutti "r" giving him a sponge bath at the lower level. Only when I was wiping him dry, I realized that I missed the baby lotion. With kutti "r" in my lap, I called out for Muthu akka... (Muthu our maid-servant - I hate to call her that because she is almost like family now). I asked her to bring me the baby lotion from kutti "r"s room.

Little did I realise that she doesn't read English until she handed me the baby lotion. Infact, there were a couple of others on the table. But my dear Muthu akka had got the one that I had in my mind to my utter surprise and proudly said that she identified it because the bottle had a baby icon! 

WOW! If I had told my mom to get it, she would have definitely got me the J&J one, (not because she reads English...it has always been the baby brand). That's when I realised the power of signs! 
Sign language is one of the oldest forms of communication. Pictorial representation and hand signs have come a long way today. Thanks to signs, it saved me the trouble of giving an elaborate explanation to Muthu akka!

Grandma dearest vs diapers

She was against the concept of making kutti r wearing disposable diapers. It wasn't that kutti r was in diapers 24/7...It was mostly saved for the night time/ nap time/ play time on his rocker/play gym...
And according to her that was almost throughout the day! 
She used to crib that she doesn't have enough soiled cloth nappies to wash. She would never let any maid get close to kutti r's clothes. She hand washed them every single day, dried them in the sun and carefully folded them and made sure they were safely stored for the next use. (She is 80 plus with dislocated shoulders suffers from knee pain almost every day).

Today, as I handwashed kutti r's soiled cloth nappies, I fondly remembered the love and care that went into the process. The attention to detail - yes! you could never spot any stains "thedinaalum kidaikaadhu" and all the hours and patience that went into this activity. Many of us dont appreciate any work until we do it all by ourselves...Dont we???

And like she wanted, from the day I reached  my inlaws place, to my surprise - I am not using disposable diapers on kutti r even during the day time...
What brought the change in me?
Is it because kutti r has started to pee and poop a little less than before?
Is it because I didn't want to trouble her age while I was at my parents place with all the soiled clothes? (she never let me lift a finger while I was with her for any task big or small)
Is it her voice thats constantly ringing in my head?
Is it because I know deep within me that all she said was for my own good?

2/10/2011

Dreams of my grandma dearest!

Its not even a week since I left my parent's house and I am already missing my grandma dearest...From May 2010 until Feb 2011, there hasn't been a single day without our steamy arguments. She always has her own way of doing things and like every other grandma wants me to listen to her without asking the WHY question.
And like every granddaughter, I always protest at the controversial things she says which according to me doesn't fit in the modern day context.
Well, as I look back into the heated conversations now, I think that there must have been some reasoning in those yesteryears which were just not passed on to the generations. So its upto us to make assumptions...

A typical conversation between me and my grandma goes like this...ever since she moved in to our house to live with us....
Grandma - Do this
Me - Why should I do it?
Grandma - Because I said so
Me - No I wont do it.
Grandma - It is for your good. So do it
Me - Tell me why and I will think about doing it
Grandma - Who taught you to speak like that? In our days, whenever our moms and grandmothers told us, we would blindly obey. We never questioned WHY!!!!

And after that, the task gets done either because of the stern look that I get from my father who constantly reminds me to listen to what my grandma says respecting her age and experience or I storm off saying I wont do that...

I want to slowly recollect those discussions, open the room for discussion on what other readers think on what our grandmothers said...
I have never told my grandma that I miss what she did for me...Maybe its because I never got to interact with her like I did in the past few months...It's time to pick up the phone and tell her "I miss you paati..."



2/04/2011

Celebration of dad's work years!

I created invites for appa's retirment party and his 60th bday celebration at the temple.
Documenting those invitations here...

Borrowed the backgrounds from a free source on the web. Rest is all from the grey matter!
Appa loved both the invites! Glad to have matched his level of creativity. I have always looked upon to my dad for anything creative. He is such a good artist but it has always remained as his silent hobby. Maybe now he'll have time for everything else...

Invite for the high tea at our house...


Invite for appa's sashtiapthapoorthi celebrations

My crepe birdies! - Artsy Craftsy Challenge - Feb 2011

My first attempt...
After a long long time, I am doing something fun with paper.
kutti "r" couldn't be a part of it cos he isn't old enough @ 3 months to join me in these fun projects. Nevertheless all these are for him to see :)

Materials - Used CD's , Colorful Crepe paper, glue stick, marker, double sided tape

Method - Cut the crepe paper into squares, fan fold them, arrange them as it pleases you on to the used Cd's. Use marker to draw eyes. Stick a double sided tape and use these stick ons anywhere you like.

Other options - Paper plates or old wedding invitations in place of CD's. Can also string these birdies together.

All these little birdies (duck, turkey, flamingo, penguin, chicken) are stuck on the window frame box for now.  kutti "r" enjoyed his view of the birds for a few seconds today and as usual got distracted searching for newer things to see...

We will soon leave for his other grandparents place and these birdies will fly with us. I am also making some animals to take with me to Blore...

I have kept it simple and easy for kids to work on. If kutti "r" picks an interest towards crafty things, this would be on my to do list with him. No scissors used. Folded the crepe paper and cut them with a visiting card. I understand scissors can be tempting for little ones :) Neither has my love for scissors ceased after all these years...

kutti "r" loves to see colors and anything that moves in front of his eyes. So thinking of making some valence using streamers and crepe paper tomorrow...

Thanks Shruti! This month's theme helped me come up with something for kutti "r" to see :) 

2/02/2011

January Dreams - looking back!


Well! January has been busy with appa's retirement party, sashtiapthapoorthi, trips to temples, house filled with relatives, third wedding anniversary, few cake cuttings, lots of saris to wear (finally!), catch up with cousins, rhyme time with nieces and nephews, a brief alumni meet, milestones for kutti "r", helping appa pack for the new house...
Dear Jan - It was fun. I know I didnt get most of the items on my to do list done but I loved the way time flew. And it is true that time flies when you are having fun. So Thank you :)


Hopefully February will help dreams to take shape! But here's to January!

Healthy dreams  -  hmm... I dont want to talk about it. (guilty)


Literary dreams -  Book - havent picked any book. Maybe February will give me some time to do it. Kannada - will resume from March 1 and that's when I reach Blore....looks like I have 4 blog posts....maybe that'll count towards blogging every week...thirukural/bharathiyar poems/fact a day - Still in the dream state....


Artisitic dreams - Painting and Crafting will have to wait until I get to Blore. I dont know how I am going to carry kutti "r" s baby stuff and mine to my inlaws place and from there to Blore. Too much to carry...I came to my parents place with a single duffle bag and now....God only knows how much I have accumulated over these months!

Travel dreams - Oh yeah! lots of travel for me and kutti 'r". First was to Sikkapattu (our ancestral village with our family deity), then to Pondicherry, then to Thirukarugavoor, then to Thirukadaiyur! kutti "r" was at his best...Absolutely no trouble while travelling and he slept well post journey. Touch wood for no fussiness.

Culinary dreams - hmm...just once this month...not bad...made some grilled veggie sandwiches..I'll get more chances in my kitchen....My mom seldom lets me inside her kitchen...

Musical dreams - yeah! just found one song I want to learn "kannan varuvan" from the movie "Panchavarnakili" Amazing lyrics...My voice isnt good for singing...but hey! who cares! I love to sing for my baby :)