Presenting 'Juhu Beach'!

Mention Juhu Beach, and the first reaction is, oh, there is nothing like the beaches in Goa... and the conversation ends right there. While there are thousands thronging the huge stretch of the Juhu Beach everyday, another thousand choose to stay as far away from it as possible, citing the place dirty! Well, if so many felt that it was dirty and definitely not worth going with kids, and absolutely not taking a bunch of them for a playdate... my curiosity only grew...

My daughter's school is opposite the beach, though rows of fancy houses block the view! After school, one day, both of us decided to go and check out the beach. We went to a quieter part of the beach, and Anushka's first reaction was, "who says Juhu Beach is dirty?!" I was shockingly surprised too! It was clean, not just by Indian standards, but by decent global standards.

When we visited Spain and Portugal last July the beaches on the Mediterranean and The Atlantic were definitely prettier, but they were dirty too in some parts. The beach at the centre of Barcelona was full of beer bottles, crowns and cigarette butts, and not to mention topless women everywhere! It was quite a task to make Anushka not see those women, and yet letting her have her share of fun!

A playdate was organised for my daughter and some of her school friends today. Not just the kids, but the mothers had a blast too! The 'haters' and the-only-discouraging-ones may change their minds if they read this post, but I just hope the authorities continue to do the good work of keeping Mumbai clean. Hope the 'Swachh Bharat Abhiyan' does not become a part of history as a mere campaign!

Here are some photographs from our playdate today :)

Street Musicians Across The World

"If music be the food of love (life), play on..." - using a part of the famous lines of Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare... music transcends all boundaries and brings people together.

Here's my tribute to the wonderful street musicians all over the world who perform in public squares, gardens and markets to enthrall different sets of tourists and locals everyday for a paltry reward.

1. At a local market in Bangkok here is a blind guitarist playing his music to the passerby. He has a microphone and an amplifier to be heard around!

2. An elderly couple performs almost non-stop at the Plaza Mayor, Madrid, belting out popular Spanish songs like Besame Mucho.

3. One of my favourites... Sitting on a chair at Miradouro in the Alfama region of Lisbon this old man can give many trained classical guitar professionals a run for their money... his playing was effortless and soulful!

3. An accordian player with hi-tech gadgets plays different genre of music seated under a lamp post outside the Royal Palace of Madrid.

4. At the Kapellbrücke, Lucerne, this old man played his small accordion while people walked on...

5. This performance was one of a kind... alphorn players at a square in Lucerne.

Anushka at Euro Kids!

Here are the 3 wonderful ladies who have been very important in my Anushka's world. They taught her, looked after her and most importantly loved her. Anushka dotes on her Lupali (Rupali) Teacher, Bhavya Teacher and Zaitun Aunty! Joy and I are extremely happy that we chose Euro Kids for our daughter and that she found such wonderful teachers; we couldn't have asked for more.

My little darling finished Nursery and will be starting Lower KG at Maneckji from next Tuesday. Wasn't she born just yesterday! Today was the last day at Euro Kids; we were all teary eyed while saying our goodbyes. The first teachers are always very special and I want Anushka to feel that way when she grows up. As for me, all I will say, I wasn't this sad when I finished my school as I was with Anushka leaving Euro Kids... well, that's very typical of a mother. Surprisingly, I found a-very-much-in control-of-emotions Joy looking sad while picking Anushka from Euro Kids for the last time!

Age does matter!

In the past 1 month, on 2 separate occasions, I accidentally referred to myself as 'young' and 'girl'... the latter being the most embarrassing! Thanks to my presence of mind and a decent level of communication skills I managed to divert the topic and save my face! 

Well, no matter how much we want to feel young we need to act and say and do things that are relevant to the age; and that's the beauty of life! It did strike me both times and just made me realise that life isn't the same anymore. Guess I feel a little less odd that I am 39, and that it's ok to be my age because I have a daughter. But, I find many people around me who can't handle the fact that they are getting older! To me it's more important to be physically and mentally fit to stay "young" rather than behave stupid to prove a point (and make a complete fool of oneself!).

By the way, I had a 2-day birthday celebration this time! Anushka blew the candle, cut my cake, fed me some cake and had some herself, went to her favourite play area at a mall and had a blast! I couldn't have asked for more!

3 year old Anushka's tribute to the nation!

My 3 year old daughter Anushka is definitely one of the very few of her age to be so patriotic! Why not, she was born on August 15! Yesterday, when we went shopping for her birthday she sang "Jana Gana Mana" repeatedly covering almost the entire stretch of Lokhandwala (Mumbai) holding the National Flag in her tiny hand! Her rendition of the National Anthem, in my opinion, is the most heartfelt, though her words are not very clear. Watch the video to figure out for yourself! I don't know who to thank for this, the almighty or her lovely teachers at Eurokids? Whoever it is, I am a happy mother! She doesn't know what a nation is and why is there an anthem; for a child it's not necessary. I just hope she feels the same enthusiasm, and learn to feel the emotion while singing the National Anthem when she grows up. She also loves the fact that her favourite Robi Thakur (Rabindranath Tagore) composed "Jana Gana Mana"!

Sale begins and so does shopping!

How life changes with the passing of time....  I started writing this post while I was waiting in a huge queue at Shoppers Stop yesterday, and I'm finally finishing it now (I have no control over time)!

There was a time, not so long ago, when going out shopping meant buying stuff for myself and sometimes for others. Now, the focus of buying is only on Anushka. I walked the length and breadth of a fairly large Inorbit Mall, Malad Mumbai looking for things that are good and worth buying, but I didn't feel like buying anything for myself! It's not that I don't need anything; in fact, I badly need a whole lot of things! 

During the off season sale at malls the clothes, in particular, are not always that reasonable; they are often over priced and some of the stuff are unbelievably rotten! Wonder who designs them and who wears them! It's my baby's birthday next month and I have the onus of buying things on her grandparents' behalf. I went to Shoppers Stop and Lifestyle twice each and scouted like mad to find just a few things that interested me. I got tired and gave up, hence I'll have to go back again!

For now, I got two really cute dresses, a Snow White figure toy (one more to add to our Disney collection) and a Dora Snakes and Ladder game! I'm not sure if Anushka would have any interest in these beyond a few minutes, but I know I enjoyed shopping for these in spite of getting tired hunting around for something worthwhile! It's almost as if I am fulfilling my unfulfilled wishes and reliving my childhood again!

And the music begins...

At 2 years and 11 months Anushka had her 1st music lesson on the keyboard! She knows what are high notes and low notes, she identifies the black notes from the white. She can even identify groups of 2 and 3 black notes. She can identify all C's on the keyboard and also knows that there is a Middle C; she doesn't know which one is middle C though! The 10 minute lesson ended with a promise that I'll let her play the piano when she's 5!

Recycling plastic bottles

I have been selling all used plastic bottles, boxes, and all other plastic things that are waste in my home to the local scrap buyer (kabadiwala) for many years. I know for a fact that if a kabadiwala is paying me money to buy old plastic then there ought to be a reason for it. I googled and figured that used plastic is crushed and processed to make different things, but I did not find a well written document which explained what really happens with all this plastic.

Just today, I read an article in the newspaper which gave me more reasons not to throw away the plastic that gets accumulated at home into the garbage bin. My husband sometimes makes fun of me, and my parents and sister think that I'm mad. Don't know what my friends would call me; I never discuss my recycling madness with them. I know what I'm doing and I'm happy being myself!

School admission dilemma!

Getting through to a good school in the Indian big cities is no joke. The reasons for this varies from one city to another.

Our main criterion for a good school is that it should be inclusive. School ranking etc. can be secondary as we don't even know what our daughter wants to become when she grows up. If she wants to study any form of performing arts in Berkley or The Julliard School, no elite Indian school can get her there unless she has the talent and we have the means to be a part of such schools!

For now, Anushka will go to either a regular (good) school, if she gets through; or, she starts at a pre-school.

2012 is ending...

The one thing I really wished for was peace and happiness in this seemingly chaotic and unpredictable world when I wrote my new year post early January this year. Sadly, through the year, in spite of many highs on the personal front, several unfortunate incidents happened all around the world, and all of those affected me deeply. The young Delhi girl who was brutally tortured only to die was no friend of mine, but her death has a deep impact on me, and I know the dent that has formed will take a long time to fill. Every time I muster some courage to get on with life something bad happens, and I am back to square one. I often wonder how will I bring up my daughter, what values do I pass on? No, that’s not the exact question… I am worried about how will I keep my daughter safe, and yet, give her a reasonably independent life? I am sure that most Indian mothers with young daughters have this question on their minds at this very moment!

Protests, debates, candle light march, interviews… they all happen, but cruelty towards people just keeps going on and on and on. Today, in spite of all the good and the bad things happening around the world, I am living my life just like any other day; just that I am a little more shaken inside.

Tomorrow when I celebrate the coming of the new year with my family and friends I will be a little unsure about what to expect of the coming year. One thing that I am sure going to pray for is safety for my immediate family first and then everybody else. With such amount of filth in the society who knows if my family becomes the next victim!