The Elven turf to land my thoughts.

Happy New Year

2012-01-01T01:59:00.001-05:00

Saluting our people

2010-10-01T00:23:00.007-04:00

Inspite of all the vague speculations of violence and chaos by our politicians and media, the public has shown it's stance. I think the atrocities we have witnessed in the past decade have matured us as humans, to be patient, resilient and to respect life. Like he says in Angels and Demons, it's horror that unites people and hope that keeps them going. My heartfelt tributes to our citizens.

MERA BHARAT MAHAAN.

On a lighter note, we watched the movie District 9 last night. Either we are getting too old to appreciate such movies or the ratings are just hyped up. It was so gory, we had to pause to eat our dinner. Really, I see nothing special about this movie, nothing worth commenting about. Technically it might have been a challenge to have so many aliens running around humans, but it was a huge disappointment delivered by the Father of the Rings.

Does money drive performance?

2010-09-03T01:51:00.006-04:00

As some of you know I sincerely follow Brad Feld's blog and this is one that he'd posted a couple of months ago. The art form (by RSA Animate) is very new to me and totally floored me as did the message that it conveyed. I think managers and aspiring mangers should take this to heart:

Son 10

2010-08-17T03:04:00.004-04:00

Yesterday was my boy's 10th birthday. Unbelievable. They grow so fast. Anil and I wanted to make it special for him, so, we bought him 10 different kinds of gifts including soccer gear, a plant for him to take care of, an angel fish, ofcourse a wii game, the latest Artemis Fowl etc. and boy you should've seen the look on his face while he was ripping open each of them - he was the same little 2 year old whose face used to light up seeing "Blue" and "Steve" on the screen. No matter how much they grow, they're still babies to you and it makes your day when they go to bed saying, "Ahhh, I wish this day never ended...".

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MUNSTER!!

Found a new neighbor

2010-08-02T01:25:00.005-04:00

My husband just sent me a picture titled "Guess Who" and guess who it was - none other than my yesteryears' deity Girija from Geethanjali. I Googled her up and found her blog. Wow, I'm so excited!!! I added it to my list of favorite blogs - enjoy being a post away from Geetakka.

Kudos to FB

2010-07-22T01:51:00.005-04:00

Maybe it's a couple of years too late, but I'm totally realizing the power of SNSs. I'm finding sooooo many of my long-last friends and it's a pleasure to walk down the memory lane with them. Just the concept of networking is so mind-blowing. I never paid much attention to the 6 degrees of separation phenomenon but it's coming true in the form of my Facebook network. No offence to orkut (for which I was infact an official advocate a year ago :) or any other SNS, but the winner takes it all.

Rise of the Phoenix

2010-07-13T11:53:00.000-04:00

Ahem!! A bit too dramatic, but hey I'm back on the grid.

So much has happened since I've posted about my beloved plant. We did actually move to Hyderabad, India in May of 2008, fought through the initial settling phase, got the kids adjusted in their schools, changed jobs etc. etc. Now we can officially say that we're here to stay. Partly because we're having a good time and partly because the very thought of a move scares the hell out of me.

The past two years have been awesome - experiencing life in India as an adult, seeing through so many of the things that I barely noticed growing up here, enjoying the simple pleasures of life - a casual banter, the vegetable hawkers calling, the kids running around in the neighborhood, the maid's gossip ..... little things that would just put a smile on the face. Ofcourse it does come at a price. The political issues, bandhs,corruption, lack of respect for life - all these are things that you can hardly do anything about (I understand you could be the "Leader" and bring about radical changes, but realistically speaking..) but need to face every single day. We did get used some of the minor things over the course of two years - roads getting clogged during rains, garbage on the road side, traffic rules being completely disregarded, but nonetheless they do irk you sometimes.

Well that's the gist of my 2-year 'yoga samadhi'. I'm hoping to get back to a regular posting-schedule now. Wish me luck!

Parting with my plant

2008-05-02T13:55:00.005-04:00

I brought her home from Russo's farm, sometime in '99, when I was pregnant with my older one. She was about a foot long in her tiny pot and since then, she's been a part of the family. I'm not particularly a good plant take-carer (you get the meaning), infact I've killed many of them. But this one was so resilient, just knew how to grow and grow and grow. My mom, mom-in-law, everyone had a special place for her in their hearts. When we moved to India for a year, we gave her to a friend who took great care of her and when we returned she was beautiful, full of lush leaves, very healthy and happy. She moved with us into our new home and was given a royal spot in the family room. There again, she clung to the hooks and curtain rods and continued to flourish. She ran all around the periphery of the room. We had to request friends to ...-sit her during our long vacations. On one such occasion she became very weak, leaves started turning yellow and dropping and it got us concerned. But determined as she was, came back to full life and kept going.

Last night, with a heavy heart, my husband and I had to finally bring her down, delicately tape her creepers and put her in the car. Today we all bade good bye and gave her to a friend, who is a true plant-lover. When I heard her say 'Come on baby, I'll take good care of you' and placed her gently in the trunk of her car, I told myself 'She's in good hands'.

I cannot imagine what it must be like to give away a child for adoption.

On the one-month mark

2008-04-14T10:49:00.006-04:00

We're a month away from flying out and I still can't believe that we've taken the decision and are actually following through with it.

We're checking items off from our "Things to do before R2I" list which is one of the numerous xyz..R2I lists that have been cropping up in our lives everyday. Visiting places, restaurants, clubs, shoppping, having sleepovers, parties..... one last time. It's a mixed feeling of happiness and sadness, happy that we're doing them and sad that we won't do them again. It's the human psyche I guess, we want to have a bottomless pot of everything. Overall, it's been a fine ride so far. Getting our OCI stamped next week, cancelled all but the essential services and cards, finalizing some financial matters etc. We're still waiting on a buyer for our house though, like the guys in Lagaan for rain, "ghanan ghanan ghan.." :)

Sarvadhaari Nama Samvatsara Ugadi Subhakankshalu

2008-04-07T09:47:00.010-04:00

Happy Ugadi

It's a festival celebrated in south India to mark the beginning of a New Year. Each year has a name and this one is called 'Sarvadhari'.

This is a very happening year for us and I hope everything goes smoothly.

Hope yours brings you prosperity and happiness.

Cute one straight from school

2008-04-02T12:46:00.006-04:00

April Showers bring may flowers.

What do may flowers bring?

Pilgrims....

My take on 'Taare zameeen par'

2008-03-31T09:27:00.003-04:00

I finally watched the movie yesterday and was quite moved by it. It's very encouraging that not only more and more socially responsible movies are being made in India, but also that the audience is welcoming them.

The boy's performance was superb, can't say the same about Aamir. To me the let down in the movie was that the situation was played down quite a bit, in a way too filmy. Also, at the end, the parents only seemed to care that the kid was finally 'normal', without understanding the kid's nature, his agony or even how the kid got those 'progress' reports. That was a bit too commercial for me. But that's just my opinion.

Hope these kinds of movies have some positive impact on the society.

Tag catchup

2008-03-26T08:24:00.005-04:00

Choxbox, I tried to do a post about posts, but looks like I haven't been a diligent blogger so, couldn't find any appropriate ones :(
I'd love to take you up on this one though :

A -Available? Hmmmm, I think not.
B-Best friend: The one that makes me unavailable.
C-Cake or Pie? Not a fan of either.
D-Drink of choice: Corona with lime.
E-Essential thing used everyday: Coffee maker, atleast for the past 6 years.
F-Favourite colour: Lavender.
G-Gummi bears or worms: Neither, but love to prepare the dessert - worms in dirt.
H-Hometown: Cyberbad it is.
I-Indulgence: Quiet hours in the jacuzzi followed by a sumptuous meal and a long conversation with hubby.
J-January or February: Neither, but prefer Jan over Feb with the decorations still on the house and the holiday mood lingering a bit.
K-Kids and names: M&Ms - pink and blue.
L- Life: A journey, made pleasurable by my chosen companion and little ones.
M-Marriage date: In the Month of May.
N-Number of siblings: 1
O-Oranges or apples: Oranges in India, apples in the US.
P-Phobias: Afraid of the dark.
Q-Quote: "The business of living is a celebration of being alive." Read it in my 5th or 6th grade text book.
R-Reason to smile: Innocent comments and jokes that the kids bring home.
S-Season: Spring. Love the cherry blossoms and the fresh smell in the air.
T-Tag three people: Looks like the few I know have already done it, so sorry :(
U-Unknown fact about me: I used to sing classical music when young.
V-Vegetable you do not like: Bitter gourd. Used to hate it, but trying to get used to it now.
W-Worst habit: I get too critical at times, but hate myself for doing it later.
X-x-rays you have had: A couple.
Y-Your favorite food: Sourdough bread, Avocado rolls at Cheesecake factory, burritos at Boca grande, Ravva dosa, nan with capsicum masala, choxbox's mom's fresh rotli..... and many many more.
Z-Zodiac: I love and hate with a passion.

Touching base

2008-02-25T12:40:00.005-05:00

R2I has taken a shape of it's own and it's driving us now and not the other way around. We have the final date set in stone : May 14th it is. It twists my stomach to even imagine what it's going to feel like, to just say Good bye to the land that's been home for 13 years. Anyway, not the time to get emotional. The shipping date is about 2 weeks away, so we're scrambling and running around, buying stuff. So many to do lists and so little time...... Will try to post again soon.

Coincidences

2008-01-30T09:43:00.000-05:00

Choxbox had tagged me a while ago to write about strange coincidences. Sorry n1, it took so long, but here it is:
It's a very sad coincidence but the strongest that I've ever felt. Jan 13, 2007 was a Saturday and the four of us went to the temple. After my son said a small prayer to Lord Ganesha, he went and picked up some Viboothi and applied it on his forehead forming three lines across. I gave him a smile and said he did it exactly like his thatha, my father-in-law. After finishing up in the temple and returning to the car, the phone rang and we got the sad news that my father-in-law had a sudden heart attack and passed away just half an hour ago. We were all so shocked. The time of his death was almost the same as the moment that we were thinking of him in the temple. Is there really a sixth sense? I don't know, but I do strongly believe that if you're close to someone you can feel the vibe about their well-being.

On a brighter note, I also believe that there are some things that absolutely belong to you, like your precious ear rings choxbox. Mine are a particular pair of glasses. I'd got them last April before I took a trip to India. I loved the Guess frame so much and was excited that it cost me almost nothing, thanks to my insurance. I showed it off happily in Hyd for a couple of weeks and then one day as I was trying to adjust it, I broke it in half. I was dismayed, almost in tears. After returning to Boston, almost sure that the store would not be able to help, I took my chances and told the store keeper how I broke it with my own hands. To my utter delight she said that it was covered under warranty for some odd months and that I could pick the new pair up in 2 days. OMG, I was jumping up and down in joy. She just told me that the next time I should not try and adjust it myself, but should bring it in so they could heat it a little and then adjust it for me. How sweet of her! That's what I love about this country: they honor their word, no strings attached. All was well until our Disney trip in December. Smart as I was, I decided to wear my glasses (instead of contacts) to the Blizzard Beach water park. I went on a couple of rides, keeping the glasses in the pocket of my trunks. Then my son suggested that we go on this slide which drops you into a pool of water, so I pocketed them again and went on it. I came out of the pool and guess what, the glasses were gone. I thought to myself, "Not again!!!" When I asked the lifeguard, she said she could have someone come in and dive underwater to look for them, but the chances were slim. Well, the divers did go in and fish out the 5"X1" object from the 20'X20' pool. Hooray!!!!! Now I know the glasses are destined to be MINE. So, now I can be even more careless ;)

The Book of Secrets

2008-01-25T14:51:00.000-05:00

Tharini had tagged me to write about a material object which holds lots of memories and here it goes....

My husband had gifted me this CD on our 2nd anniversary and right the next day we'd moved into an 8th floor apartment with a sweeping view. There we used to listen to this CD almost every evening, sitting in the balcony. Anytime I pop in this CD, it magically transports me to that place. I can see the apartment floating in front of my eyes, the layout, the view, the roses we had in the balcony, the conversations we used to have.... everything. I remember even the distinct smell of our stinky dishwasher ;)

Anyway, it's one of my favorite CDs to this day. I particularly like the second song : 'The Mummers' dance'.

Distressing dream

2008-01-24T12:58:00.000-05:00

Last night as I was putting the kids to bed, my son started getting very upset and was almost in tears. When I asked him why, he said 'I'm having bad dreams. I'm worried what'd happen to me if you and daddy pass away. I don't want some strangers to take me away.' I've no idea where he got those ideas from. I assured him that mom and dad will always try to be with him and even if we can't he'll always have a close relative taking care of him and that he'll never be taken away by strangers. After some whimpering, he fell asleep. Oh, the little baby, he seemed so traumatised by the thought!

I felt immensely scared myself, for sometime after that. To think how delicate our lives are and at the same time to have these innocent little kids completely banking on it, it's very unsettling. I've cousins, who'd lost their father when they were merely 5 or 6 years old and I can't imagine what must've gone through their minds. We feel we're in control of so many things, plan everything to the dot, but there's a sea of unknowns out there, totally out of our hands. For all that, I guess the only thing we can do is pray, to make life a smooth sail.

Back on turf

2008-01-23T09:15:00.000-05:00

I've been so bogged down with work and some trips for the past one month, that blogging had slipped to the end of my priority list. But I'm back now. So much has happened since my last post. First of all :

Wish You A Very Happy New Year

We were in Disney World for the New Year's celebrations and boy was it fun! The whole vacation was just fantastic! The kids loved the parks and the nice pool at the resort. As for us, no driving around meant no designated drivers :) It was a totally rejuvenating trip, loved it! BTW, that's one item struck off from our 'Things to do before R2i' list.

Last week we were sworn in as American Citizens. Woo hooo. That's another important milestone for us before we return.

We spoke to M&M's teachers about our move back home and they suggested that we could comfortably do it in the 3rd week of May. We're yet to nail down THE DATE, but it will be around Memorial day weekend.

The house is the biggest issue on our list now. The market still seems to be bad and we're only hoping that it gets better in Spring. Anyway, we've decided to return in May even if it doesn't sell by then.

As you can see, things are gaining speed on the R2i front, which seems to pretty much be the only front in our life now. It sometimes gives me the shivers, just to think that in about 4months I'll be out of this comfort zone for good. It's always a task to pick up everything you have and start anew. I've done it thrice till now and am getting tired of it. I hope that this time it's well worth it. The kids are excited about it on and off and that puts more pressure on us because we've to convince them that everything will be JUST FINE even though we're not sure of it ourselves. God, I hope we come out of all this unscathed.

Giving Thanks

2007-11-27T22:45:00.000-05:00

I'm thankful for:

my family my wonderful husband and our lovely little ones, my parents
our health one thing I've realized lately is so delicate and so precious
our state in life where we have a choice of where we want to live and how we want to live
our ability to be content with what we have
the laughter in our lives though I sometimes lose sight of it during my crazy schedule
our beautiful home though we're not going to be here for long . I'll cherish every moment we've lived here
my work which gives me immense self-satisfaction

and many more things.

Ofcourse all these come only after m&ms' list of 'things that we're thankful for' i.e.

food
shelter
clothing

which we all should indeed be very grateful for.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Our 'Last' first snow

2007-11-20T09:57:00.000-05:00

Yep, it is that day of the year - FIRST SNOW.
The flurries have just started and it looks lovely as always. The tree branches are slowly turning from brown to that delicate white and the grass is all covered with the powder. I think it's one of the most enchanting movies that nature plays for us every year.

Maybe it's the pure whiteness of the snow or the novelty that it presents for a girl who grew up in 35 degree temperatures for the first 20 years of her life, but it never stops to amaze me. My heart jumps up and I feel like a little girl once again.

I still remember my 'First' first snow in Iowa State: that morning I was busy working away at the Ames lab and was caught by surprise to see the flying white objects outside. Call me dumb, but I had to confirm that it actually was snow. I have no words to explain how I felt at that moment.

I think I'll miss this when we move back home next year. But I'm sure there'll be other things to keep me busy.

Happy Deepavali

2007-11-09T22:37:00.000-05:00

Had a fun evening marked with fireworks and a yum feast. Hopefully next Diwali will be more fun with all our family around us.

Reminiscing

2007-11-08T10:08:00.000-05:00

Reading a post about toddlers' home-brewed language prompted me to do a post on blueM&M's vocabulary during his second year of life:

"ma" = spoon or pen

"na-na" = nighty-night, sleepy

"thakathak" = computer
Maybe it's because the keyboard makes that kind of a noise.

"ayyayyo" = broken

"aa khachak" = piercing with a fork

"Goggulgo Goggulgo Goggulgo ..." = I want that
The frequency of the word indicated how desperately he wanted the thing. To this day we haven't been able to figure out how he made up that word. It certainly has nothing to do with any language that I know of.

.
.
.

Unfortunately (or not) pinkM&M's language had developed very fast, so we don't have many funny memories, except for the one where she'd say 'M pussing me' for 'M pushing me'. But I could definitely do a post on her expressions.

R2I update

2007-11-05T14:15:00.000-05:00

We finally got our USC interview letter on Friday. DH and I have it scheduled for the same time on the 12th of Dec. So, that's one thing that can be checked off very soon. The house is still on the market with practiclaly no showings. If nothing works out in the next month or so, we might take it off the market and put it back on in March. DH and I talked over the weekend about plan B, incase the house doesn't get sold by May. Nothing to panick yet. My dad has been looking into some schools in Hyd and will be getting the applications in Nov-dec timeframe, so, he's on top of it. It's a luxury to offload some of our responsibility to others in the family. All this time, DH and I used to take care of every single thing in life, from schools to biils to vacations, what else could you do, right! Ofcourse it's a very fulfilling experience, but I think we'll enjoy taking help from the family when we move back. More later...

"TRICK OR TREAT!!!

2007-10-31T09:03:00.000-04:00

Amazing is the power of the internet

2007-10-29T15:02:00.000-04:00

Just today I found 2 of my friends from good (or not so) old Ramaiah days. It brought tears to my eyes to see K's picture on the web. We knew each other when we were just young, exuberant girls chugging down bajjis at Nallakunta. But now we're twice as old and I've been out of touch with her for such a long time.... I can't wait to talk to her. I hope she responds to my email.

House for sale

2007-10-23T10:32:00.000-04:00

Finally, our house is on the market. For anyone interested, here's the listing

So.... any takers???

Growing older

2007-10-12T08:50:00.000-04:00

Last night as I was just lazing on the divan, listening to the pitter-patter of the rain on the skylights and watching an amazing concert by Norah Jones on PBS HD, I started wondering, why are we leaving behind all this and going to India? Are we nuts? Don't we like comfort, don't we like the little pleasures in life? What's wrong with us? I might never know the answers to these questions, but as you grow older you do become far-sighted. Everyday things seem less important as you see the grand schema of events. Is this good or bad, I don't know. But I'm liking this growing older thing (leaving aside my appearance) it's a very humbling experience, aha there's a 'mot juste'.

Just some random ramblings....

A better basement

2007-10-08T12:37:00.000-04:00

DH and I toiled for a whole week to get the basement into shape and oh yes, it's in a great shape now. The floor is done, the drywall is patched, moulding is in place and so is the bar. It looks FABULOUS, atleast to us :) . We sat down last night and were wondering why we hadn't done this earlier, so we could have enjoyed it too. Now, we can only hope that the future residents of our house enjoy it.

That said, we're getting ready to put the house up for sale, just a few finishing touches and we should be done.

Our third and hopefully last "nine month" plan :)

2007-10-03T15:39:00.000-04:00

"Nothing important happens in life when one gets too comfortable" - is a quote that we came across recently and realized that it is the case with us. It is not a bad thing necessarily, but it is definitely the case. Life is quite comfortable and it is going to bring many good things in the future. However, there is one aspect of it that has been nagging both of us for quite sometime now. So we both did some soul-searching last month and decided to go for "it".

Due Date: May 31, 2008

First trimester plan (in progress)

Prepare ourselves and the kids for the BIG news.
Prepare the house for the BIG event.
PUT THE HOUSE UP FOR SALE :)
Take a deep breath and wait......

Second trimester

Research about/apply for schools
If house is sold, dispose of extra stuff and move into a temp apt.
(Hopefully) finish up the USC interview???
Take a deep breath and wait......

Third trimester (ONLY IF HOUSE IS SOLD)

Inform the school about the transfer
Take a deep breath
Complete final preparations
Take a deep breath
Shop a lot
Take a deep breath
Ship stuff
Take a deep breath
Buy a one-way ticket to HYD and get on the plane.

So, that's the plan.

All kidding aside, we are currently working on putting the house up for sale, hopefully by the third week of October and ONLY if that gets materialized we'll move ahead with the rest of the plan.

Ofcourse, (crossing fingers) we'll still be a family of 4.
- Vijayanil

Is that what we parents want?

2007-09-24T10:46:00.000-04:00

Watching Spanglish the other day, something struck me close to heart: Flor says to Christina
"Is what you want for yourself to become someone very different than me?"

I guess I do want my children to be like me, maybe better, but I want them to be the kind of people that I can share my favorite song with, my favorite joke with and not have them look at me like I'm from the Mesozoic Era. Yet another point goes into the R2I bag kachhiiiiing ....

Punch of reality

2007-06-14T10:08:00.000-04:00

I heard an interview with photographer Ashley Gilberston on NPR yesterday. He has been capturing moments from the war in Iraq for the past 4 years and he talked about pictures that he'd taken of people playing baseball just hours before they were killed in a car bomb, corpses being dragged onto the streets by stray dogs. My God, what disrespect for life! Every death must mean so much to the loved ones. Why all this violence? To what end? Do so many lives have to be wasted just because some people are not ready to give up their pride?

Will these kinds of images of the war atleast stir a sense of reality in the general public? As for me, they did awaken me more than the static reports on radio about soldiers and civilians being killed everyday, but frankly there's little more I can do than express my grief and frustration about the situation.

Hoping my next post will be a little brighter.

On Frank

2007-05-26T00:40:00.000-04:00

I'm just finishing up Anne Frank's diary! It's soooo touching. How can anyone take away a life so full of emotions, so full of hopes and dreams? What right does anyone have to decide when and where someone lives or dies? It's always disturbing to hear about genocide in Sudan and other places but this gives a very personal point of view of someone in the midst of the situation, an extremely helpless one.

It makes me feel very grateful for having what I have this day. Thank you God!

Tabblo takes off!!

2007-03-23T01:42:00.000-04:00

Just saw a post saying that tabblo is being bought by HP. Kudos to Antonio and the whole team! It's amazing how a product which caters to simple needs of common people can go a long way. But it takes a trained eye to see the opportunity and tap into it at the right time

Just started!

2007-02-23T14:43:00.000-05:00

I'm now a blogger, not just a lurker.
As I was researching (in vain) for a 'Greekish' name for my blog I came upon lists of Gods and Goddesses in the Greek mythology and couldn't help noticing how they correlate with Hindu Gods and Goddesses -

Zeus - Indra
Eros - Manmadha
Haphaestus - Agni
Helios - Surya
Hades - Yama
...

Makes you wonder how all these religions came about. Did our ancestors really live in a world with all these Gods and Goddesses? Maybe their descendants interpreted their names and roles according to the region they lived in. Just found it interesting..