Dear Dear Hubby

You know that I love you right? But please try and understand, I am more than capable of finding answers to my problems, of sorting them out. What I don't have and often need is a sounding board. So please just be that. OK? But you have to react and curse the situation as much as I am. That would make me the happiest cribber in the world.

Ok thanks for listening.

18 MOs in the house!

...and we're bringing down the house in every which way!!!!

The little pranksters are now upto absolutely no good. Getting into trouble because they can reach all kinds of places. Be it the furthest point from the corner where they are standing near a table or the absolute end of a couch.

This post my little ones is dedicated to what you guys have taught me:
1. You guys have taught me patience, like I never knew.
2. You have taught me to be a light sleeper
3. To manage time better.
4. To love your Daddy more and appreciate him more.
5. To love and appreciate my parents more.
6. To eat so many leftovers from your meal, that it would make a meal of my own.
7. To start laughing in the middle of being absolutely fed up.
8. To make the stupidest faces.

There is obviously more..but I guess the feelings are obvious. Bottom line is I respect my parents and their parenting much more now.

So my little munchkins, you guys are now a riot! You love wipes these days, love to just pull them out of the box and then drop them all over the place, we have to now hide the box from you.
You have developed a love for strings and things with strings, including belts, wires, pull toys and random strings you can get hold of.
You guys love cold fruits. Water melons, apples, straw berries, bananas, cherries, blue berries and black berries are your favorite.
You guys fight a lot now!!!
M you've learnt there is no point in fighting for some toys, because N always  gets his way. N you know you are super powerful and you have also learnt manipulation. Sometimes, very rarely, when  you want something M has, you will take another toy to her and entice her with that! This you have learnt from M, who though placates you with toys when you throw a fit.
M if I give you 2 pieces of snack or fruit and ask you to give one to N, you will do so. N, if asked to do the same thing...well, we know how that ends.
N you love to explore new things, things you obviously shouldn't be touching! Like the camera, laptop, your Dad and my laptop bags.
M you will notice immediately if I change my ear rings or wear an bangle.
Both of you love bangles, and hair bands.
2 things you both hate:
1. kisses!
2. Getting out of the bath.


Thank you for making your Dad's and my life so eventful, for showing us unconditional love and teaching us patience. Love you both so much, I miss you so much right now.

Who's baby is it anyway?

I am not an Aishwarya Rai Bachchan fan. I agree she is pretty, carries her clothes and herself well, is dignified but not a good actress. She can sometimes be good, but not always. It takes a good director I think, to bring out the best in her.

Madhur Bhandarkar is a fine Director. His movies are tight and worthy of a second watch. However I have always found his nature suspicious, given the casting couch charges against him.

That said, this whole Ash vs Bhandarkar controversy is getting on my nerves. Pregnancy is a woman's prerogative and it has nothing to do with her job. NOTHING. When she chooses to disclose her pregnancy is her privilege. The employer cannot discriminate against her in any way. It is natural and it shouldn't be looked down upon or frowned upon. I hate the fact that the director is now sulking and saying all kinds of irrational things. I doubt any woman thinks about telling her boss the first time she pees on the positive stick. She has far more greater things to worry about, and she is under no obligation to tell anyone that she is pregnant. I understand it is show biz and that a lot of people are probably affected by this, but you need to plan for this contingency, you cannot hold it against the actor. It happened, how is it her fault. She wasn't comfortable disclosing the news to you sooner, so stop acting like a baby and a wronged person. What if Madhur, God forbid, met with an accident and had to postpone the shoot, would Ash not be understanding then?

I don't know if the rules are different in show business, or if they should be. To me it doesn't seem right. A Mother goes through a lot in her pregnancy, she should not be forced to think about her job in a mean sort of way.

I really hope that this issue is given a lot of consideration. Workers need to be treated with respect and Employers should stop playing the victim card.

We are the champions...

...of the WORLD!!!!

MEN IN BLUE have done it and we are the country which has the coveted World Cup! Sachin Tendulkar finally has the one trophy that has eluded him. BIG hug and Cheers, the most adorable set of guys in uniform! (Aren't Virat and Gambhir cute?)

We screamed and we yelled and we cursed the S Lankans when they scored 100 runs in the last 10 overs. Cursed Sreesanth but fell in love with the fielding that was pretty exemplary for our team. I sat with my head in my hands when Sehwag lost his wicket. And then cried for Sachin as he walked off the field, probably the last time in a world cup match. But Gambhir! You have a permanent place in my heart, although it'll be hard to replace Dravid or Srikant, of course Sachin is irreplaceable. Why did you give your wicket away in the most bizarre fashion? When you were on 97! Arghh..but you'll learn and you were trying to get the score board ticking, so I don't hold it against you. Kohli and Yuvi you guys rocked too! But the captian, MS, you played a captain's knock and I have so much respect for your composure and sincerity of purpose. But I don't think you should have gotten the Man of the match, Gambhir deserved it. He laid the ground work. He deserved it.

I am not one of those people who will sit and say that Pakistan is a great team after we beat their asses or SL was the better team or some such crap. My team is India and no matter who the opponent, they are the opponent and I will commend my team and my boys. So if you come here and tell me to have sportsman spirit et all..please go elsewhere. Or if you come and tell me these matches were fixed, I refuse to listen to such cynics. My team won fair and square, unless PROVEN otherwise.

The best part of the match was the dedication to Sachin! Every single member of the team dedicated the cup to Sachin! Aren't these boys cute? I cried with them when they carried the little master on their shoulders. I cannot think of another sports person who has a greater fan following, who is revered in all age groups.

These matches gave me great opportunity to hang out with my neighbors. A and P are the most thoughtful people I know. And such a hoot hanging out with crazy cricket lovers. Oodles of chai and samosas have been hanging around my ever expanding waist line. But totally worth it! Totally worth every single joule of energy spent. I didn't mind even one day waking up @ 4 to catch the matches. G was such a great partner. He would never stop me from going when I wanted or ignoring everything and everyone while I stayed glued to the screen. My kids are of course the bestest ever! You will learn some day soon that when it comes to cricket, your Mom can go crazy.

GO MEN IN BLUE! MY HEART BLEEDS FOR YOU!

Tidbits

There is so much excitement in the air! The world cup is one helluva tournament so far. The biggies have been upset - Australia, South Africa. South Africa has lived up to it's 'choker's tag, England is not to be seen beyond quarter finals (I strongly believe Bangladesh should have made it through instead). And now the mother of all matches - India Vs. Pakistan. There is so much excitement on my FB page and on the news channels. Although I have to say, the news channels are going a bit too far. India vs Pakistan is the match to see, but to invite the PM over? Come on! Why do we always do this? And sending buses to invite Pakis over to watch the match. India is such an emotionally charged country. The game should be treated as a game, for nothing more, this whole diplomacy angle is just stupid. Would Pak stop infiltrating Kashmir if they won this match? It's such a stupid idea to have the man over.

Other than that, the kids are growing by leaps and bounds. In a little over a month they have become very fast on their feet. N can climb stairs very fast, M giggles her way to the top. It's super cute to watch them in a race that they don't know they are in. N is getting better at eating. He's always been one to despise anything that is not smooth. He's getting the hang of chewing things and biting into foods. He often chokes on food still but it's better. So yesterday he was munching on something and he started gagging on it. So G and I rushed to thump his back. M sat and looked on. A little while later, we were all playing on the floor and N did a pretend gag. M came to him and touched his back. I didn't pay much attention because I was busy 'scolding' N about the pretending part. A few minutes later it happened again and M for sure patted his back. G and I started at her and this time we kept hoping N would do it again. Sure enough N did it again and M patted his back. We couldn't stop laughing.

There is proof that M listens to us when we tell her to not play with laundry clothes. Here's the proof. Yesterday I had a sweater in my laundry basket and one sleeve was dangling outside the basket. M walks over and puts the sleeve back into the basket and then doesn't proceed to throw the clothes out as she would've done last week!! Is she growing up too fast? She also stopped N from sweeping the floor with my sweater, which was lying on the couch and he was pulling at. She took it away from him and neatly pushed it back on the couch! *To say we were shocked is an understatement*.

One more 'MnNism'. They have a little elephant which is a shape sorter, the tummy has holes of different shapes and once the shape is put in, it comes out of the trunk. So the kids had a circle in their hand but were trying to put it through a hexagon. After a few tries they got tired, so M took the shape and put it inside the elephant through the trunk.

N knows he is stronger than M, so if can't get his way with her, he will grab her sweater or shirt or whatever and pull hard, till she falls and takes the toy away.

Ok, So I stopped writing this post mid-way the other day...we won against Pakistan!!! Thumping win too! Bowling them all out! Yayyy..what is with the political correctness all around? When we beat Australia, no one bothered to be PC, but we must be with Pak? Err..why? It's a game, the rivals are always treated with no respect..let's just keep it at that! So now the finals!! Woot woot!!! BIG ROAR!!!

So here's why I was happy with India in the semis . Bhajji finally got some wickets. He has been bowling excellently this tournament, but wickets eluded him..finally he got some! Yuvi was out for a duck, but true to form, he came back to get two wickets. He conceded lots of runs, but it is ok. Sachin, Sachin. What can I say about this man! Although his 100th century is not under his belt...he's been in exceptional form and I can't wait to see him win the cup. The one trophy that has not been his! I hate to hear anyone say these matches are fixed. There is so much effort being put into each match, the matches are so close, and it is such a big tournament, I don't think the matches are fixed. So please stop telling me that.

Ok Dhoni's men! GO GET THE CUP!!! WE ARE WITH YOU!!!! How sweet of Yuvi to say that he's playing this cup for Sachin! Isn't that what team spirit is about?!

Is this right?

If someone is not close to me, someone I meet or talk to once in 5 years or so, who is a cousin and I am atleast 7 years her senior. Does she have the right to make fun of my weight?  And if I am 10 years her senior then?

About the Mahabharat

When we were growing up, B.R Chopra and Ramanand Sagar did us a huge favor by making television serials out of the two most recognizable and popular Indian epic stories. Namely Mahabharat and Ramayan.
I was happy to hear the story and then read it but it wasn't like they stood out in my literary conquests!
Things have changed today. I was told to try and read 'Bhimsen' (Bheem's version of Mahabharat)
and 'Palace of Illusions' (Draupadi's version of the Mahabharat).

SPOILER ALERT!!!

I have to say that in both the stories, one common trait stands out. Yudhisthar was a scum bag! Yes, I said it! Despite all his virtuous ways and following the 'dharm' always, he was one conniving son of a gun!
- He made the rules about sharing Draupadi, and made sure he got to be with her the most.
- He pawned off his brothers and his wife.
- He fought a battle, which he didn't fight, others fought to make him the king.
- He got to heaven, others didn't!

I wasn't surprised to see how much influence the woman have on men in either of the three versions. Be it the mother or the wife. They had their sons/husbands well dancing on their little finger!

Both Bhim and Draupadi, in their respective books feel responsible for the war and feel bad about it. Draupadi more so and the way her mind works is interesting to read.

Another thing which I found interesting is that, the authors don't try to depict the characters as holier than thou and living on shrubs and such in the wild. Meat references are plenty and it makes me happy to think that Indian mythology did not purport Vegetarianism. 

Both are fun and interesting reads and both stick to the facts in Vyasa's Mahabharat. They both make their own interpretations, that is the fun of these books.

What I didn't like:
POL:  the author glosses over the most important part of the story. Draupadi's humiliation in the court of Hatinapur is the pivotal point in the book, but Divakaurni doesn't treat it well enough. Doesn't show how all hell broke loose on Mrs. Pandava. How she felt a few moments after she went back to wherever she went. This should have been emphasized more. It irked me no end when this part comes and goes away. There is too much emphasis on Karn and her non existent love story! I like the battle between Kunti and her for dominance, and D's realisations later in life. It's good to know that such battles happen even in the royal families ;)

Bhimsen, on the other hand. Seems more accurate from a guy's perspective in those times. His frustrations with his elder brother, his helplessness is a little hard to believe though. His lust for the wife, who he couldn't have every four years. His love for his wife Hidimbi, which he couldn't show much. The love he had for Arjun and the teasing he got from his cousins and brothers. The pleasure he got out of killing and in turn the pleasure it gave his wife.