Break from blogging

Ever since I started this blog this has been the longest break. No particular reason..just plain lazy I guess.

Looking forward to the annual family get together in December which is a topic I do not normally forget to blog on.

Am not saying that from now on I will be more regular ....just hope to be less irregular. 

The double negative above has a slightly different tinge from the regular statement  :)

Make it night again !

Kids have no idea of the limitations of their parents. This incident happened on a recent (sunny - very sunny) weekend morning. It was around 7:00 AM and my second born (Niya) woke up with a start with a warm stream of sunlight kissing her cheeks.

Not finding her mother beside her, she called out loudly. Mother duly rushed from the kitchen. Here's the ensuing conversation -

Niya - Is there school today ?

Mom - No Dear

Niya (after a pause  and may I add, in a relieved voice ) - Ok, then lie down beside me

Mom - No I can't, its morning and I need to make breakfast

Niya (in a shrill voice) - Then make it night again. 

Mom (smiling) - Um..

Niya (offended) - MAKE IT NIGHT AGAIN. I said...MAKE IT NIGHT AGAIN

My Dear Niya, if only we could roll back time....

2014 family trip

It’s that time of the year again ... as 2014 draws to a close its time for a travelogue on the annual family get together (Kadu clan) now into its second successive year.

This time around the places we visited included Bhoothathankettu, Thattekad and Vagamon.

On Christmas day, after polishing off a heavy breakfast at our aunt’s place (Kothamangalam), we headed off to Bhoothathankettu which was less than an hour’s drive away.

View of the reservoir from the dam

Before embarking on a walk through the forest to the Periyar river, we were sweet talked into engaging the services of a guide named Thankappan. In hindsight it was good thing because Thankappan regaled us with stories – facts about the trees and the animals and myths about the place as well! Though he kept advising us to keep silent so as not to disturb the animals, you can imagine how silent a group of 45 excited ‘youngsters’ can be!

Creepers covering most of the stem of an old tree. In a few years time the parasitic creeper will squeeze the life out of the tree

After an hours walk through the dense foliage we reached that part of the Periyar river from which the name Bhoothathankettu came into being.  Thankappan spiced up the story for us. Legend has it that Lord Shiva wanted to cross the river to visit Trikkariyoor temple to meditate. He asked Parvathi devi to stay put and wait for him. Even after 4 months of waiting there was no sign of Shiva.

Parvathi decided to cross over and search for him. When she reached Trikkariyoor she found that Shiva was busy - not meditating but having a good time with Ganga devi. Incensed, Parvathi headed back to the Periyar river in a rage. In the meantime Shiva wisely decided to lie low for the time being.

Parvathi hit upon an idea to extract revenge. She decided to block the river so as to flood and submerge Trikkariyoor. She took the help of the Boothangals (demons). The demons could not be seen as overtly taking sides, hence under the cover of darkness (at which time the demons are supposed to have super human strength) they rolled large boulders and threw them into the river. They had almost completed their task when Shiva got wind of their tricks, took up the form of a rooster and crowed. The Boothangal fearing arrival of daylight fled from the spot. Even today we can see the result of their work – huge boulders block most of the river – except for a narrow area which they could not block in time!

Nice story indeed – however the actual reason for this formation is unknown. People say there were two big floods in the 4^th and 14^th centuries which could have led to landslides causing huge rocks from the neighboring mountain to roll down to the river bed. Either way the first explanation makes better reading !

The second stop was Thattekad – the place made famous by Dr Salim Ali, the world renowned ornithologist . Thattekad (meaning flat forest) is a lowland marshy forest located between branches of the Periyar river in the catchment area of the Bhoothathankettu dam. Spread over an area of 25 sq. km, it is home to over 322 species of birds. Dr Salim Ali had once described Thattekad as the richest  bird habitat in the Indian peninsula.

We reached Thattakadu by late afternoon and were advised to defer the walk through of the bird trail to dawn the next day.  The afternoon was spent at Pooyamkutty where the whole family lazed around in the cool shallow waters of Kuttampuzha (a tributary of the Periyar).

The indoor activities started immediately after tea. Whereas the previous year we had serious discussions driven by the grown ups, this time the whole programme was run by the kids. What followed were a couple of hours of singing and dancing by the tiny tots.  Who does not enjoy performances by kids especially when they are your near and dear ones!

Those interested (which included most of the group) woke up before dawn and got ready for the bird trail trek. First we had a quick darshan at the Thattekad Shiva temple.

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Then it was time for a walk through the bird trail.

We walked through the low lying swampy forest (apt conditions for birds to thrive) for the next hour and a half. While we did not get to see too many birds (except for a distant glimpse of the odd wood pecker, stork, hornbill and wild hen) the walk through the dense foliage was really enjoyable especially since the day was just about breaking

Our guide for the walk was Stephen.  He gave us a good overview of the types of birds that inhabit Thattekad.  When we enquired about him, Stephen revealed that he was adept at catching snakes. He told us stories about the different types of snakes he had caught and also of the occasions when he was not successful. He has even lost a couple of fingers to snake bites.

Thattekad, a bird’s paradise has been opened up to us humans for us to enjoy the natural beauty. However the irresponsibility of humans was on display everywhere. En-route to the sanctuary I had seen at least 3 or 4 prominent boards indicating that this was a plastic free zone. Forget the main road, even inside the trail, we could see plastic wrappers, discarded plastic bottles and even empty bottles of alcohol. In the picture above you can have a glimpse of Stephen collecting plastic during our walk to be disposed of later. When asked, he shrugged and said he collects plastic waste from the trail almost on a daily basis – mostly left by domestic visitors to the park.

After a quick breakfast, it was time to head off to Vagamon –the  tiring drive (it took us almost 3 ½ hours to get there) was worth it – the weather at Vagamon was wonderful, the air crisp and cool. En-route to the first stop (Pine forest) we passed by scenic tea and cardamom plantations. 

The Pine valley was not really up-to the mark (especially compared to Kodai and other hill stations). The tree cover was good but the trail was dusty and the approach a bit too commercialized for my liking.

From the pine valley we headed off to the famous meadows.  It was late evening by the time we reached there. This spot was worth the visit. The view was excellent and as mentioned earlier, the weather was amazing. We felt we should have got there earlier – just the right picnic spot, an ideal place to spend a whole day lazing around.

Unfortunately it was getting late and all good things must come to an end. We boarded the vehicle to get back to Kothamangalam and from there to our respective abodes.

It was a tiring couple of days but well worth it.  We visited a few wonderful locations and saw some new sights. But what we will cherish is the fun we had and the quality time we spent together. As the bus hurtled along the highway into the night I started dozing off already dreaming ahead to next year’s trip.....

As I sign off I wish all of you a very Happy and Prosperous 2015!

Dad’s utility value

I am the ‘bed time story’ person in the family. Recently I was telling an old Indian folk tale in which a man whose family is on hard times decides to do away with his old father. The man takes his father in a bullock cart to the forest – accompanied by his young son.

When they reach a clearing, the man starts digging a grave. The inquisitive little boy soon bugs his father and is told that grandpa is of no use anymore and is a burden on the family. The boy starts digging a hole on his own.  The man asks the little boy what he is doing and is told “When you are old, I don’t want you to wait till I finish digging a grave”. You know the rest of the story …

Well, after the story telling session, I enquired of Nandu on what she would do when I was old. Her reply  - “Acha (father), you would definitely not be in the ‘no use’ category. You make good dosas” J

Vada with a hole!

Kids prefer a world with black and white choices and are pretty simple and quick in their decision making. I was reminded of this recently when we had snacks and tea at a restaurant.

We had been driving around completing shopping chores when it was tea time. We decided to hop into a nearby south Indian restaurant. Nandu indicated before we entered the shop that she wanted to eat ‘Vada’. She raised this in advance as Vada is an oily snack and she wanted to secure the necessary approvals before we entered!

When the waiter was asked about the range of snacks available, he rattled off the list – ‘Medu vada’, ‘Curd Vada’, ‘Sambhar Vada’, ‘Bonda’, ‘Bhajji’ … and a few more.

Nandu’s face fell – she said she wanted the “Vada with a hole”!

In her sharp young mind, the choice was made up before she entered the restaurant. Not swayed by the goodies on offer she was clear on what she wanted and that is what she eventually got as well. For Medu vada is indeed the “Vada with a hole”

Van Gogh @ home

Having a second child after a gap is fun – one yearns to relive the memories of bringing up the first.  We are in the same mindset with Niya, our second born. Though one should not compare and contrast, in our minds we end up doing precisely that – Did Nandu (our elder one) react in the same manner ?, Were her language skills the same at this age? Was she naughtier? Was she less boyish ?.....

What prodded me to write after a longish gap is this interesting incident / interaction between my wife and Niya.

Scene – a working day last week, minutes after I had left for office

Niya started off the conversation –

“Where is achan (Dad)? Why isn’t he back?”

“He has gone to office and will be back by evening”

“No he has gone to the car to get something”

“No my Dear, he has gone to office. Don’t you remember him taking his bag and lunch box?”

“Ok then get achachan (Grandpa) here”

“Grandpa stays at his place and cannot come here now”

“Then let’s go there – take a taxi”

“We can’t do that – there are no cars or auto rickshaws”

A half a minute silence while she ruminated over the sad turn of events.

“Cut off my ears”

“WHAT?”

“Cut off my ears”

My wife could not believe what she was hearing – the correlation between absence of Dad/Grandpa with cutting off ones ears was difficult to nail down.

“Why?”

“I don’t like them”

“They are beautiful”

“No – none of my dolls have ears”

“But that’s ok they are dolls and you are a human”

“I don’t want to be a human – I want to be a doll”

To humour her, my wife took a comb and pretended to cut off Niya’s ears

“Is it working? Is the ear cut yet? Do you need any help?!!!”

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Father and daughter were reunited later that evening –the daughter thankfully with no missing anatomy parts !

A brush with a celebrity

Yesterday I had to attend a half day conference at one of the hotels in the city. Reached there early to beat the traffic. As I drove in to the lobby area of the hotel, there was a huge reception committee waiting – policemen, camera persons, political-babu types etc. Seeing a car driving in, the photographers eagerly surged forward. I stepped out of the car and they stepped right back!

Obviously they were disappointed with my appearance. A few seconds later their wait was over - a BMW glided into the lobby and out stepped a smart Sachin Tendulkar – he was visiting Trivandrum in connection with the Indian Football League.

Was happy to get a brief glimpse of the little master and for being briefly mistaken for him – made my day!