A weeks trip to Palakkad, Kerala

Palkkad or Palaghat the land of paddy fields is what am talking about..Palakkad is the entry or can be called the start of the God's own country.

Yeah that's my native..so beautiful and so enriching everytime !

This is my very first trip sans husband after marriage..he unfortunately could not make it since its been hardly a month his visit to Kerala on his grandmothers funeral...My bro accompanied us sans his wifey ( as she is in her last days of pregnancy and traveling isn't recommended) along with mom...So, there was this Menon family and my Junior Nair.We started our journey on 10th by flight to Coimbatore..Must admit, there is something about Tamil Nadu that makes it so culturally rich.Loved the 2.5 hr drive journey from Coimbatore Airport to Palakkad ( Nemmara ) with halt overs everywhere and wherever possible. Had an awesome lunch at a small town shop serving fresh ella food i.e biryani / parotha chicken curry wrapped in banana leaf..the sheer aroma of food coming out of the leaf makes you crave for more.

With the granny and the baby ( both prone to motion sickness or kinetosis quietly got into the car and dozed off ) and i enjoyed every minute of the greenery on both of the roads...Ask a mumbaikar, how it feels getting exposed to fresh air and greenery..i behaved like the kid who has been let into a toy shop)

Reached Nemmara at around 6 pm and quickly visited my ailing grandmom..she has become weak..needs help for her routine activities ..had never seen her on bed ever..she is those super active type generally.

And...the next 1 week stay i call it ' Wonderful '..It is so good to be home..Quietly had the house warming of the new house with a ' palkachal' - where the lady of the house boils milk...

Had a nice stay at our house at Nemmara..Its a  beautiful standalone house right near roadside with close proximity to city buses and auto stand.

We plan to name it ' KrishOm ' ...a name decided years back ! Had a routine of getting up early..going to temple..having breakfast on time and lunch at 12..followed by a short nap and evening coffees amidst nature.

Beautifully dressed ladies with long braided hair and mens comfortable with their munda.How i loved feasting on the local snacks available there..they taste heavenly...Parrappuvada and Medu Vada remains a  hit..have shamelessly had it all the days with evening coffee...Have lost count on the kaapi's i consumed full day..aww yes, since it was a holiday trip so 'watch what you eat ' isn't applicable.

Siddhanth had an amazing time bonding with his mama and grannny..He did whatever he could..Had displayed all the trantrums he could...he enjoyed every minute of his stay at Kerala.

Siddhanth continued to impress people with his charm..He was happy..He was enjoying and yet he missed his acha..He kept enquiring abou his acha to every stranger passing by the road...and Acha missed his monu too :)

Hope to go back to Palakkad sometime soon !

Till then, will miss my beautiful naad !

Signing off

A short trip to Manor....

It was our toddlers post birthday celebrations and we landed up at Manor...Yeah Manor..a beautiful town located in the banks of Vaitarna river.

Only a Mumbaikar knows how important is it to have a serene lush greenery view when you lead a life here...It was such a relaxing weekend..We packed our bags and took a direct train from Borivilii to get down at Palghar ( our short trips always comprises of a local train and its airways for a relatively long journey as my tiny tot has motion sickness so road isn't a good option for us.

Though we badly wanted to be at a hill station like Lonavala experiencing monsoon but thanks to siddhu..we landed at Manor.

Before the journey started, i was told by my husband that we would be staying at a pure veg resort and yes, i was taken aback...why on earth will someone go on a weekend trip and eat ' ghaas - phooss ' but as always i never question is analyzing abilities...courtesy his desk researching abilities.He ensures that be it everything from journey to stay to other factors are well taken care so that we ( specially our prince ) has no problems.

The resort- Silent Hill ' is right on the Mumbai- Ahmedabad highway.This property is on 60+ acers land with good manicured gardens, landscapes.I give full marks to the view..most of their rooms have an awesome view..imagine getting up with a view of a flowing river..aha..thats the best part.

Its a beautiful option if you have kids along ..there are quite a few rides...a equally beautiful garden and lots of open space...and of course a decent water park ( please dont compare it with a water kingdom / suraj waterpark )..its a small yet exciting place with multiple water rides...Siddhanth thouroughly enjoyed hours at the swimming pool and the rain dance...thats one thing is definitely the value for the buck.

I was a bit dissapointed with the quality of the food served..though the options were there..it was a multi cuisine buffet options but overall it was a let down.

Food has always been the most exciting part of our trips but this time it was a sure shot let down.

Hospitality was a bit laid back...though the staff was quite cordial but i somehow thought it could have been a little more prompt.

I  don't think we might want to go back to the resort again...but yeah, the day charges at the waterpark sounds a good option for a second chance.

Siddhanth had a great time but yes, we realized that he missed riding on a horse and a camel safari which he truly enjoyed in his last trips to mysore, coorg and daman.

Nothing much to talk about..but yeah one must try this resort once..maybe just for the stay and the view.

Siddhanth is a 2 year old !!!

Just a few weeks back my sweet little boy turned 2 !! 

I have noticed some real changes in my toddler's personality and demeanor. While some things are definitely annoying, all have been a welcomed addition to my child's awesomeness..Aww...i just love his new emerged personality..though i been complaining about it but the lad has become strong !  Strong in terms of his demands.

His 2nd birthday was again a family affair..yeah but this time it was a close knit family affair. both his grannies- nani & dadi were there to bless him along with his uncle aunt n his Aditya Bhaiya..His mama was missing since he didnt get a leave and mami who is expecting could not travel..Nevertheless, they both called, wished and blessed him.

Its a full packed day and siddhanth as always entertained the guests with his new antics he learnt over the weeks.

There was a cake cutting..and a feast ( prepared by his dad n mom together ) followed by gifts showered on him. Highlight of the day was wen the tiny tot fell down and kissed the feet of both his grannies..i could see how emotional they had become...yeah though this was instructed to him the same day morning..my little cutiepie remembered without being reminded...Aww.. love him for being mature of his age.  

He is growing..He is learning..he is learning fast..his vocabulary is developing on a daily basis..its a cute mix of Hindi , Malayalam, English and Marathi.

What defines him today is what i called ' Dadagiri ' ...always up to some tactics...he wants it his way and i have a tough time balancing both these men's in my life who are equally adamant.Siddhu and his acha have a special bonding which is hard to describe..they fight..they pamper each other..they kiss and they again fight !!
Siddhu continues his saturdays and sundays morning walk n privy time with his dad.


His obsession with animals continue..specially the elephant, dogs, cats..He continued to be bothered abt their whereabouts, what they eat, whether they go to school etc....he never forgets to remind me that his left over tiffin needs to be given to Raju ( the dog who is regular at our building premises ) ..i know his name courtsey Siddhanth.

Its been almost 5 months and he still talks about the Daman trip where, he got to sit on a Camel and Horse.

He has been doing a lot of new stunts with his favourite footbal which he continues playing for almost a year now..seems like he is gonna be a solid football player.

He reamins a Mommas boy...I am so thankful that as he gets older, he is still a momma's boy. In fact, even more so! He wants more cuddles lately, stays a little more closer to me, and always makes sure I am around him and watching him. And the best, best, best part of it, he comes to me and gives me unsolicited hugs, kisses, cuddles all the time....I feel blessed ! Thank you God !

Hope my tiny tot stay happy and healthy !

Daman..Ab toh lag gaya Mannnn

Guys,

Yeah..Daman !! Daman was our impromptu planned decision...anyways, Daman can not be a planned tourist spot for many..but why not !!

Completely satisfied is what i call the experience at Daman...My husband kept telling me right from the journey start that my expectation needs to be NIL so that i enjoy whatever is stored...Thats when i went there with 0 expectation and it turned out to be good..Yeah..good !

Guys, that’s what i define as a quiet holiday..away from the traffic and chaos…Something that’s beautiful about Daman is its look and feel..the relics of Portuguese past…the legacy to some extent still lives on- in life, the buildings( church, forts and so on..).Being the closest wet region in South Gujarat, its a popular destination for those who want to wet their throats occasionally close to home. Beer flows at every corner and one can see the young crowd absolutely in the mood…A day prior to our exit was elections at Daman and the chilled ambience converted into little grim where, one could see people desperately in search of a beer shop…shops were closed a day prior from noon and those with zero planning were totally left in lurch.

Daman seems to be very safe city for one and all, and hooglism is rare unlike other tourist places where, the local auto / taxi wala take you for a good ride. Some places were absolute pleasure visiting..Our viist to The Chapel of our Lady Rosary located within the fort was one such…and of course the sunsets are so magical ! Spent some quality time at Devka and Jambore beach where the latter was comparatively better maintained than the former..Nothing beats lazing and dozing off on a shack when you have a good company.

I have always loved places with low population density and Daman was just perfect ! A few people scattered here and there... and you at times , do get the Goa feeling here..though the profile of people visit both these places are pole apart...didnt see a single firang here during my 4 day stay.

Staying at Silver Sand was a good experience…it’s an absolute value for money ! The food was quite decent and we landed up eating all our meals from the resort itself.Rooms were okay..could have been little better in terms of hygiene but nevertheless hospitality of the staff was at place.

Stress free traveling and good food combined with a decent stay ..We just had a good time !

Trains from Borivili lands you to Vapi and from there you get easy access to Daman through multiple options like Taxis and Autos and the charges are quite nominal. Realized that it could be a easy and better options to plan extended weekends at Daman ( and why not ! good food + relax cozy nominal stay and of course cheap liquor ) makes it a good choice !

My Mother.........

My Mother…

To me , my mother is my strength ! She is someone I have tremendous respect not just for being an amazing mom but a true fighter.

Its been days I was planning to pen down something on mother’s day but that’s one thing that can never be scripted..because a mother’s love and affection can never be measured and accounted.

Have been extremely blessed to have a mother like my mom. Can’t imagine how and what my life would have been without her.She was right there giving me the strength when I first stepped out doing odd jobs along with my studies.She gave me the power ..the inner strength to face the world with confidence..Her confidence in me is something that kept motivating me to do better everytime anywhere.Though I never discussed any of my problems with her; but she could sense the trouble in me and with some weirdest of examples convey me that I was the best person to combat it.

I have seen her work extra hard only to ensure that we get that extra luxury in life.I always thought my mom just knows one formula that is anything is to be divided by 2…be it desserts…chocolates or any damn thing, she will ensure that she divides it equally amongst me and my brother.

My mother is a wonderful influence, and I can truly think of only one fault that she, and every other mother out there has: She loves us so much.

Does god forget to install the “ ME “ hormones in them..because they never think about themselves.My mothers life has always revolved around us.

One thing that stays is that she has taught me that everything that I do has a consequence behind it which has always made me think before I act and of course that keeps me grounded all the time.The way she has transformed herself from being a housewife who could only cook and take care of her family to a lady single handedly raising two kids giving them the best of everything – be it food, clothing or a roof above our head- she has done a great job. Through her, I've gained the knowledge of knowing that in life, there will be obstacles, obstacles that will be almost unbearable. But watching her overcome those obstacles has opened up my so many doors for me. It helped me blossom from a young adolescent into a maturing young lady.

Mothers are always special…but for me she is everything! She will always be the woman who changed my life.

Happy Mother’s day to my mom.            

My Skin: My Colour

I remember all my life my mother asked me to avoid sun…Tanning !! Is it a Curse !! I grew up hearing don’t expose yourself to sun and I really never cared – Be it the Face – off during my growing years with my colony boys struggling to keep pace with them and not limiting myself to the barbies and kitchen apparatus meant for the little tiny tots…I was sure that my life has to be more than appearance.

Going back to college days, when I had this huge viscous circle of girls debating on cosmetics to boyzzz to movies..i do admit of dreaming too but it was just limited to the good looking NDA ( National Defence Academy ) boys…was I not weird ( Collecting the pics of rifle and tanks )  ??

I have always struggled to get the meaning of Beauty in Indian context because it has always been synonym to Fair Skin. We always knew skin colour played a vital role in the matrimonial market but it then got extended to work place… why just work place .it’s every other place. 

Forget the girls mom standing next to the photographer instructing them to get the photo clicked / edited that was brightest of bright but the marriage broker ensured the same. Obviously the ones who got the brunt of it were the dark skinned girls, no matter how good looking they actually were…Will someone really bother to get into critical aspects like the girls capabilities be it personal or professional, education or intellect..ghosh !! everything just revolves around this so called WHITE colour.

Surprisingly, this obsession of fair skin isn’t really limited to the men’s but women's too wanted fair husband…For girls though it becomes a tough life..They carry this burden.The fate that one needs to struggle hard to get a wheatish or dark skin married.

I realized that this skin color issue isn’t just restricted to matrimonial , they are thrust on our souls !! From where on earth did we coin this term- Wheatish ! It never even appeared in the dictionary. It seems that there’s no one answer for this national obsession, it’s just the way things have always been, and will probably stay for some time to come till we see some revolution in the way we think.

Where and When this revolution breaks is what we can just sit back and wait… will they ever ??

There are million dollar MNC’s surviving on fairness market..TV, the most important medium has always been dominated by ‘ fairness  cream advertisements ‘ ..Joh dikhta hai who bhikta hai and why not !! A 16 year old college student staying in BAREILLY wants to apply fairness cream because her idol Katrina Kaif is successful all thanks to the Fair skin. These Cream Manufacturers have shamelessly given message to the masses that having fairer skin helps a person to be more successful…Fair !! Are we fair in doing so ? That’s a question I guess every celebrity should ask themselves before accepting these kind of advertisements because in India these are not just a celebrity but role model s seen by many. 

With the recent Amitabh Bachhan controversy surrounding Pepsi and the hype surrounding it…Its time we see celebrities take the responsibility of what and why they endorse a particular product.Till then, sit back and relax  and of course think twice before you head out to buy Fairness cream for yourself.

                                                             Here’s my teacher !        

I always though there cannot be a better teacher than my husband..He has made my see situations in a different light always.But here I see a new teacher in my life who has not only changed me but changed me soooo much… he is none other than my 18 months old baby , Siddhanth !

Everybody knows that marriage changes you but motherhood transforms you..In my case, motherhood has made my rediscover life !

There are a infinite stuff my son teaches me in a day from being prompt and active irrespective of ur health and status; one needs to be always ready to jump from your couch the moment my son is up to some tricks. Even an object kept at a 4 ft high can be approachable in the weirdest possible way ( he can access it anyhow ) ..One cannot afford to neglect the tinniest of objects lying on the floor as the other minute it could be straight in hands to mouth.Social etiquettes !! Ghosh !! what is it suppose to be ? The other day I found myself picking up a piece of food from the floor and consuming…thanks to my son..i call it ‘ Sid-Effect ‘.

You taught me to be OMNIPRESENT- That’s a word reserved for God but na na…as a mother you need to be Omnipresent..You need to be cooking in the kitchen with your eyeballs glued to the chotu wherever he is. Yes, a mother can manage that..you taught me that masala overcooked doesn’t seem that bad..maybe we are now use to having every dish overcooked in the process of cooking and eyeing you.

You taught me to live the PRESENT – He is 100% focused on what he does for the moment.. If he finds something funny, he laughs to the fullest..If he is cranky, he is the crankiest and if he is yelling, he ensures that the neighbors around are  all alert. He teaches me to enjoy every moment as if the moment lost would be lost forever…He made me realize the value of the moment.

You taught me that Living Life like a Miracle- We have been so long on Earth that we take things for granted, to the point that we don’t even notice them. Siddhanth discovers life every day and is absolutely amazed by it,as if everything is a miracle – be it the water splash noice when he is having his bath, the special sound of a dog’s bark..he is fascinated about the fact that if you drop anything , it falls straight down ..why don’t think float somewhere in the air instead of falling down ? Thanks to my baby, iam learning to look life in a fascinating way.

You taught me to stretch my patience- During the initial 3 months of delivery when I thought changing diapers in the midst of my sound sleep and feeding was the most diffuclt period and I need to have patience to pull myself through this phase..little did I know that what I was going through is nothing compared to the patience you grow when your baby starts walking on his little feet…Right from the phase of crawling to teething where you see the baby putting every other object in his mouth to the phase when he starts walking on his own and that’s not over, every day in the growth spurt, you see challenges.. Even when you’re exhausted and at your limit, you can always do more and you discover you are much stronger and your patience JUST GROWS by leaps and bounds.

Social Etiquettes oh !! do they exists for a Mother of a Toddler ?  I secretly wish if society could allow the mothers of toddlers to do away with all the social norms be it..Frankly speaking I really don’t care now.I see myself reading aloud  poems and songs in a place surrounded by strangers ..I really don’t care if people are amused at my behavior because the mission in hand is to get the attention of my baby to make him feed a spoon of a porridge.The noisier am the greater chance of my chotu consuming the entire stuff.

By the way, have you ever tried grabbing things from your toes ? It is total fun, and of done everyday, it will be very useful particularly when you a holding your baby.         

Planning & Strategizing doesn’t work – Initial few days when I was keeping a track of Siddhanth’s schedule to learn what and how he reacts, consumes, spills and …realized how waste it was.

Planning your moves anticipating that you know your baby is silly. Just when I think I’ve got things figured out… he changes again. One day he likes yoghurt, the next day he doesn’t. One day he wants solid food, the next 2 days he only wants liquid diet..I learned to JUST go with the flow..because constant struggles to get him do what a pediatrician tells you can lead you nowhere..He taught me to just let him do what he wants and things just work out in the flow.

You cannot time bound your activities- My kid taught me that I can never be on time even though am planning a event days in advance.The last minute tantrums or my baby napping at an odd hour would just not make me reach anywhere on time..So he taught me the importance of having a buffer 1 hr if the situation is critical.

Give without expectations- Never before had I realized the happiness I get from just Giving. Giving for the sake of helping someone else, knowing that what I give him matters. It fills my heart with joy.

You are responsible for your behavior- He taught me to be good all the time. He taught me how important it is to act myself the way I want him to learn.He is observing me , my attitude and my behavior. Even more, he copies me. When something unexpected happens, he looks at me with big eyes, checks my reaction and copies my behavior. If I am relaxed, he is relaxed. If I am anxious, he becomes really agitated immediately. Abusing is now a history ! He taught me to project myself the right way no matter what the situation or circumstances is… I feel like am always on the limelight !

Real love is far beyond some silly fights and arguments – The biggest lesson he taught me is irrespective of the pastings he gets , the other moment he forgets and hugs me making me realize that real love exists much beyond the silly fights and arguments you have with your loved ones.It makes you forget every differences and move on after all, you never want to lose the person you love so much.

My darling there’s lot more..am learning every moment..am learning every day.

Love you Loads Tuddu,

Your Amma