It was a very warm London morning when I entered the Hamley's store with my parents on what was to be my one and only visit as a child to the store...my subsequent visits were all as adults and by then.. well I had outgrown toys.... but back to my first day at Hamleys... I was in the shop with a specific purpose... I wanted a remote control car!! and after testing many desirable aspirants I settled for a car that was fast and fit in with my budget... and thus began my tryst with raching remote control cars... I took it to every possible road in any country I was in.. and drove it around like a maniac... it was my bestest moment... I cherished every bit of the car and have never taken care of anything so much in my life..... Now 26 years later I decided to pass the car along to the next generation... Baby George had anyways been asking for remote control car... so i finally took out of the cupboard to hand it over to a very excited Baby George.... seeing the sleek black car - who wouldnt get excited??? Well... that was the end of my turbo charger car... first off the remote control antenna went missing... it prompted a search like never before by the entire family...and thereafter it was the wire on top of the car... by now my heart sank... when quizzed Baby George remarked "i took it off because it was not working"... kid... i have had this car for 26 years working fine... and now it is no more... so finally I took some pics (below) of my car in all its torn down glory.... and to Baby George I sing "kahan chala, kahan chala, meri car ki pungi bajaa kar"

Flowers from my garden

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Question & Answer session about food between me and the nephews

do you like Indian food?

Christy: Yes
Baby George (after Christy): Yes

Do you like Chinese?

Christy: Yes
Baby George: Yes

Do you like Mexican?
Christy: No
Baby George: No

Do you like Frenchfood?
Christy: Silent....
Baby George: Christy, why you not saying anything??

You never realise how protected and fun your life was when you were in your teens... My teens were spent first in kottayam and thereafter in law school...my days in ktym were far from perfect ofcourse.... I was too engrossed in studies and remember those days as nothing more than an attempt to get out of kotym... As far as I was concerned I wanted to get out and nothing more... Law school on the other hand was my zone of fun... Weird characters, weird and new experiences and above all a freedom from all cares of the world would make it one of my best years....

Would I recommend that life to anyone?? Oh yes!!!

How many instances have you had where you have been both sad and happy at the same time and for the same thing.....

it is indeed a very strange feeling.....

Baby Georges latest obsession is to claim very vociferously that he is not a small boy - that he is a Big boy... And he insists on this everytime he fights with his brother, his mother scolds or generally any restrictions are placed on him....

So one day I decided to generally take his case.... As always I asked "U coming?" before leaving for office... Baby George said no.. Why? I need help in office - I told a very nervous Baby George - I have documents to draft, read etc. So please come .. ... This time the reason was different.. "I am too small a boy to come to office"...

But yday u said u were a BIG boy????

Baby George ran out screaming "Mummy, vavaaunty scaring me".. Ahh kids - they will always have their moms to run to...

So it was the long weekend in Mumbai... it was the easter weekend ... and as good syrian christians we went to church on good friday .... after a long service we finally came to the best part of the day - the porridge and pulses lunch that the church serves as part of its good day service.. it symbolizes simplicity and hardsship that the Christ went through....to sum it up - it was delicious... it was after a gap of more than 15 years that I was having food at the church.. both Christy and Baby George ate to their hearts content... next stop was the IPL match between Mumbai Indians and pune warriors... frankly I am not a cricket fan.. .and if stars are not around I dont particularly care much... so since I didnt see Sachin around I got really bored ... and it is a different ball game when you are watching teh match in a crowded stadium vs. watching the match in the peace of your home... no jostling... no hooting ... no pushing.. it was a relief to get out of the stadium in final analysis....

next stop over the weekend was a trip to Alibaug... I have never been there myself... so it came as a pleasant surprise.... the most amazing part was that we hired a private speed boat to get us back.... and we were back in Mumbai in 15 mins!!!! wowow.... i could see visions of a developing town called Alibaug where Mumbaikars would build homes while working in South Mumbai... and reach office in 15 minutes on a fast track speed boat... ahhh a long time away...

Baby George transformed into a poser through the trip... he transformed from a camera shy boy to a camera trigger boy... he kept possing for me... climbing the stairs... with two hands... swinging from the stairs with one hand... sometimes calling out to me saying "vavaaunty, click here".... and I obliged... he also very sportingly put up the peace sign everytime and said cheesssseeee.... in the most cheesssyyyy way yes....

some pics from the tripp....

So I came back from London and as instructed by me, my sister and the kids came to pick me up... there is something about being picked up at the airport that warms my heart... it shows concern and care... I am always thrilled to bits when I am picked up at the airport.... so I didnt shy away a bit before summoning my sister to pick me up - as I told her "you just have to"... she did...

Baby George was in the car too.... he didnt speak much... so I asked him "So Baby George, how are you?"... no response.... hello.....finally a response - "you left me here and went".... what?? what are you talking about Baby George? "you didnt take me to London"....surely I didnt expect this kid to remember that he got into the car thinking he is going to London..... sorry baby george.... to diffuse his mood i promptly produced the goodies from London... "So who wants a toy?"..... and promptly Christy put up his hand...ah old habits die hard....Baby George melted only when I showed him the toy plane I had got for him ... he was so excited as the plane looks like it is going to take off and has a red siren on top.... even I was excited about it for a while.... Baby George soon got so attached to the plane that he started hiding it... my sister even warned me off ... "if you take it he will get up in the morning and make you fly"...I didnt try after that...

this morning while getting ready for work I asked Baby George "U Coming?"... "where?" ........."Office" ........."your office?" ......."yes" .. "but your office is very dark"... huh?? Why is my office dark? turns out Baby George notices the dark glass panes outside and thinks its very dark....hmm... something to think about ... all you people in glass offices... you do not appeal to children...

So Baby George is in town... Ofcourse he is no longer a baby but u know hoiw it is - I still call him baby... Anyways at first I started looking for the short boy... Only to find an elongated Baby George... And an extremely shy one... He kinda knew I was someone in his life but was unsure how....

Ofcoursd over the days it become better... At one point he reacted back to something I said saying "U r just a girl"!!! I was aghast.. What do u mean baby george... "Girls can't drive".... Ok... "Girls can't go to office "... "Girls can't swim"...oh ok.. What about ur vavaaunty who goes to office?? "You go to boys office - not yours!" Was his prompt response... Oh woe is me.. I have a MCP growing up....I told him that I will take him for a drive with women drivers to show him that women can drive.... He still didn't buy it... Last I heard winners of lavassa womens driver were looking for Baby George to teach him some lessons about women drivers...

I also had to go to London while he is in mumbai.. U coming? I asked... Where? Baby George queried... "LOndon" I said. "Do they have toys in "ondon?" Once again baby george queried... Yes... "Ok then I am coming" and off he went to wear his shorts and tshirt.... And got into the car excitedly.... And missed the flight cos he fell off to sleep....

Well that is baby george for you....

The ability to give an opinion without brining in your ego is extremely rare... and one that is extremely important in a growing economy...

After months of media blitz finally the election results are out.... so Samajwadi Party wins in UP... guess a party of scoundrels is better than party of thiefs... and guess both scoundrels and thiefs are better than a party with no organisation but with a yuraj... and all of them are better than a communal party...

cant say I am elated with the results... lots of reasons why Congress didnt win... they didnt show a leader who would form the govt in the STate... they cant keep voting for a family all the time.... and time for Congress to wonder why Priyanka effect didnt really work this round... they are losing even in Amethi which is their family fiefdom....

BJP wins in Goa... well ironic isnt it... a communal party makes headway in a christian dominated state... life and its wonders...

Manipur is along expected lines.... Punjab - I dont really care about... Uttarakhand - I dont really care about - the only thing that matters is BJP is not doing well...

I have come to realise that I maintain no objectivity as far as Congress is concerned.... I will choose them no matter what.... I guess the Gujarat riots did it for me.... I felt a party that closes its eyes to massacre is least preferred to a party that may be corrupt but has the vision to understand that communcal politics is no good.... let them loot us... but dont kill us....

If BJP comes to power at the centre again I will hang my head in shame... I would have loved to say shave my head off in shame (ala Sushma Swaraj) but I am not in politics and I wont get any headlines out of bald head...

There is something so romantic about the 60s... the men were all so good looking... women were stunning.... world was a better looking place... even Bombay was good looking....

I get so nostalgic reading about the 60s and the early 70s... somewhere I feel idealism died with that generation... the people of that generation were willing to stick their necks out for their principles... it was way before materialism caught us by our necks and swished us around.... we live now in bigger opulent houses... and have more material things... and have lots to boast about ... but somewhere we have also been forceed to hide our humanity... for fear of appearing vulnerable in this hard competitive society... and you cover up your inadequacies with stories about our wealth... a young succesful professional told me once "I live in this M Place (for reasons of secrecy I will not mention the place)".... M place is obviously the more upmarket higher end living area.... I reacted saying "oh i thot you lived in the N Place"... the professional reacted "well, N and M are so close to each other there is no difference".... difference or no difference there was a difference in his head... I realised then that it is so important for this young professional to appear to be living it up.... and not be content actually living in a nice place....

The new money has corrupted all of us... all of us flaunt it... and wait for others to fawn over us.....

This was a post about 60s and I digressed..... but in short I love pictures of Nehru, Indira Gandhi, Kennedy etc from these times... the fact that they are good looking is helpful...

I have been watching Wonder Years quite regularly... for the uninitiated Wonder Years is an old series on a boy called Kevin growing up in Suburban America... the series traces his life stories, stories about families, siblings, his relationships with them.... i have never really seen the complete series but watched it intermittently....

I used to always feel a lot of "snugness" watching the series.... you know the normal life with your best friend across the street, your childhood crush living in the same neighbourhood.... lanes which are so safe that you can actually cycle around... children having fights... strict parents ... parents who still go out on date nights and seem to always love each other... you know the things that give you the warm feeling in your heart....

now when I watch it I dont feel the same way.... I realised that this is just a potrayal of a standard life in the United States... it is probably far away from the kind of life that you could have in India.... for instance it is not usual for schools in India to be ok with boys and girls kissing in public... or for parents to be ok with young 13 year olds going out with boys who are 15... at least my parents never did let me do any of that .... it was quite strict for us... looking back I remember resenting my parents for that ... but now hearing all thses stories I am so glad that my parents did what they did.... and I am even more glad that God saved me from so many of the things that could have gone wrong.... I am blessed in short...

so when I compare my life to Kevin Arnold now, I somehow feel I had a pretty similar existence to him... a very standard life with parents being typical mallu parents... my uncles and aunts being as irritating as they are now... my thinner cousins who always made me feel really really fat... my classmates who were very different from me and made me feel different as well... the ill fitting clothes... battle with money issues.... seeing illness come into my family.... and many more such stories...

i cant help but wonder what would a series based on my life be like??

What was I thinking? That the cast would come off and I would be cruising like normal?? I planned a trip to ncpa, movie, lunch etc ... All in the fond thot of walking on my own two feet...its a wonder why I didn't plan a marathon as well... Alas it was not meant to be... The moment the cast came off I put my foot down.... A shooting pain went up my leg.. I just could not understand my foot was reacting this way.... I was unable to put my foot down... I could not take more than one step... Actually I could not take any steps at all.... I grabbed my crutches and very tearfullly moved around.... It appears I have to take the support of the crutches for a few more days...

I accepted reality ... And in the calm of my house tried moving around... Slowly... Steadily... I have managed to take 2 steps.... I hope to do 4 tomm....

Today hopefully my cast is coming off. As I wait for the doctor to arrive (he is already 20 mins late) a range of emotions are going through me.... One ofcourse is the excitement at the impending freedom... Ah to be free again... To walk, run, jump go anywhere as I please... The freedom from dependency.... Not to rely on others to open dooors, hold me, seat me, get up for me.... It will definitely be a relief to not be the centre ofd all attraction as soon as you enter... Well I never thot I would dislike all the attention... But now I cringe before going for meetings .... Everybody sort of gets up .. I feel embarassed and nobody sits down till I am seated...rest of the meeting goes fine... And then the trouble starts when you have to leave the meeting.. Awkardly you get up and then u try and get on the crutches ... And the door has to opemn up the door for u...

I will also miss the kindness of strangers ... Simple gestures like opening the door for me... making way... Ensuring that I am not inconvenienced ... All very touching... I did see a child point to me and ask why my leg is such... And I saw from the corner of my eye the mother explaining that when there is a fracture... I didn't hear the restm... Maybe I am also increasing the knowledge of the next gen as well in the process.... I will also miss the lack of security checks... Wht a relief to be shown past all checks.... Ek langdi kya karegi ... Well.. Let's not go down that path... But easy access definitely rocks...

So here's looking to more freedom... What do I want to do first? Well I want to feel my feet... And take some pics of mumbai

what is it about old hindi songs that peps me up... I somehow think these songs make me come alive... somehow there is something so basic about these songs that I feel happy to listen to them....something so earthy... no show.. no drama... just simple good music....

give me old hindi songs anyday....

Just to remember.... for no one but me...

sometimes when I look at the latest fashion shows I cant help but notice that the models are sooooo thin and gaunt that they look like they have not eaten for days... which is probably true since it is commonly known that these models really dont touch food before any shows...

one of the pictures I recently saw had models posing in designer wear with gothic make up .... they all had no expression and had a blank stare in their eyes....

which made me wonder - is the designer selling these clothes to zombies? cos the unhappy faces would definitely not appeal to a normal healthy woman....

Some news about baby George.... Baby George apparently has been doing very well in his class... he is the only one in the family that actually asks his mother for lessons!! While his brother just sits and yawns and waits for night fall so that his mom will feel sleepy and relase him... obviously this shows in their marks... Baby George tops his class and Christy .. well lets just say he needs to work harder...

But Baby George is also smarting up now...he got a star for good performance in his class....and immediately rushed to his brother to ask him whether he had also got a star... according to my sister knowing fully well that his brother did not get a star like him... well not a very walm welcome was awaiting him... Christy chased him around for daring to ask about the star...

Last I heard Baby George is still hiding from his brother....

What do you do when misunderstandings creep in? When without realising you start hurting a person, all the time assuming that you were meaning well for the person?? How do you figure out when a person is getting hurt?

And once misunderstandings creep in can you make it all go away? Or would you always have a feeling of mistrust? and the relationship never goes back to what it was....

I always get scared by fights... I try and run away from it so much... as a result many dont know what bothers me and when I tell them, they are really concerned about how that escaped them...and sometimes things have gone so bad that the relationship takes a tumble... thats the thing with misunderstandings.... you just dont understand....

Are there any relationships without their fair shares of misunderstandings? in an effort to maintain the peace is it advisable to always bend over backwards? and pretend that there is nothing wrong? does that help a relationship? or break it eventually?

I have no answers...