Something or other...

It has been almost 2 years since my last blog post. I was caught up in something or other. 

Today at 10pm, as Ritesh  went to put Adu to sleep, I got some winding down time for myself. As I'm reflecting on the day, I can't help smile. Today, after finishing my work from home, I went to pick up Adu from her child-care. (Today was her first nappy-free day in the child care which added to my anxiety- oh, the joys of parenthood!). Anyway, she's usually very hungry by evening and drinks milk in the car on our way back home. 

At home, I thought of cleaning some dishes before giving her a bath. And the string of thoughts- about what to have for dinner tonight, lunch tomorrow, what to wear to work tomorrow had already kicked in. As I'm hurriedly trying to finish off some chores:

Me: Adu, will you have strawberries or something before you take a bath?

Adu: Yes Mumma, I'll have something.

Me: Ya, so do you want some strawberries?

Adu: No Mumma, can I please have something?

Note to self- She's getting smarter- my soon to be 3 year old! I have to be careful in framing questions from next time...

Happy Birthday Adu!

Dearest Adu,
Happy first Birthday! And here's wishing you tons of more, each happier than the previous one.

This first year was an interesting journey for us all. We saw you grow from a clueless baby to a thinking toddler. I still can't believe that a year has zoomed past so fast. But hey, more fun ahead is what I keep telling myself.

Oh my God!

You are as busy as ever, learning new things and surprising us all the time. Just yesterday, while giving you a bath, I was singing- 'Heads and shoulders; knees and toes, knees and toes, knees and toes; We all clap hands together'! And you started clapping as I went-We all clap hands together. All by yourself! Once, I was searching something, running around here and there, without realizing that you were watching me. And putting my hand to my head, I said 'Oh my God, how could I forget it'! You did the same and since then, whenever we say, 'Oh my God', you put your hand to your head. And, we say it a lot just to observe your reaction!

Hello!

Your favorite object is the 'phone'. That's the first toy you went after in your child-care. Whenever you see a phone or hear someone say 'hello', you put your palm on your ear. It is spontaneous and let me tell you, it is damn cute. That's the reason I've ordered your Birthday cake in the shape of a phone. Now, will you want to eat it or put it on your ear is what we will see in the party this Saturday. Tomorrow, we'll have a cake-cutting in the child care center. The theme of that cake is sea creatures- your first love.

And today, on your birthday, we've planned a trip to the zoo and aquarium. Going by the way you talk to the dogs and the ducks, we hope you would enjoy watching other animals too. Yes, you do talk! You speak a lot, but we are yet not able to make out the words clearly. However, you are very well able to communicate your emotion. You do say some words, like when we sing- 'Old Macdonald had a farm', you say ee-ya, ee-ya. Yes, its about singing. You love music, you enjoy anything that has rhythm and you dance (or jump) in the rhythm. So, when we run out of nursery rhymes, we sing anything we can think of. You are happy whether its 'ruk-ruk-ruk, are baba ruk' or 'its only words and words are what I have...' and we are happy as long as you open your mouth to that song and eat.

And girl, you are very observant. Whenever, I dress up to go out and wear something nice, its amazing how you appreciate it by smiling and trying to touch it. And I tell your dad, "Hey look, that's my daughter"! And then you would go to your dad and hug him without bothering about his clothes or even whether he has shaved or not. Need I tell you what does he say then? Yes, you have brought much fun and laughter in our lives.

Adu, you have taught us to wonder at the world again. Thanks for coming in our lives.

Happy growing!

Love,
Mumma

Ninth, Tenth and Eleventh month letters...

Dearest  Adu,
Very close to that one year mark, you are eleven months today! Lets see what all has happened in these three months.

Month 9: We travelled to India this month. The flight journey, time lag, change in weather- you took everything in your stride and decided to have fun, loads of it! For the first time, you had a companion, close to your age (oh well, almost six and a half years older to you) and you loved him the very instant you met him. It's a different story that we had a very difficult  time trying to capture Arjun and you in a single frame because you both wouldn't remain still for a single moment. We were in Bhopal on your ninth month birthday. Everyday, you would get up early and spend some time with Aji in the verandah while I caught up on my sleep. Sitting there in the comfort of Aji's lap and in the luxury of a verandah on the first floor, you had a very good view of kids playing in the ground, vegetable vendors going on shouting and doing their business and cows and dogs and sometimes cats and squirrels too, wandering. You wondered at the newness of it all and soon that verandah became your favourite place in the house. That was the place where you mastered crawling on tiles and then followed Aji everywhere from the living room to dining room to kitchen into the bedrooms. Yes, the first time you tried crawling on tiled surface was in Bangalore but, there you kept slipping. But, thankfully you had Arjun there to keep a watch over you and save you from banging your head against the floor or a wall.

Month 10: We then went to Hyderabad for your kaka's wedding. Well, we did hours of shopping, met scores of new people everyday and attended lots of parties. You totally surprised us by sleeping during one of the noisiest parties, being patient during our various shopping sprees and being generally comfortable around people.Well sweetie, the wedding was the highlight this month and we both felt that you were neglected while we were busy in the preparations. But, you are a sport and a champ at it! At any given function, you were surrounded by at least half a dozen kids, trying to grab your attention and entertaining you generally. We worried that you would feel lonely in Canberra after being used to all this social interaction. But, again you proved us wrong. We started with our daily walks which you enjoyed. And now with your advanced crawling skills, you had much to discover around the house to keep you occupied. Finally, we installed the baby gate to contain you in your play room without your entering the dining-kitchen-pantry area. That kept you away from danger while we baby-proofed the house. You stood comfortably holding on to things (well, you started it last month itself) and tried to walk too.

Month 11: Oh, we saw a lot of change this month. You started your child-care. In the first week, you considered it just another place to play with new toys and some new people. I sat in with you in the nursery for a couple of days chatting with the carers while you explored the whole place. The carers were impressed, I was relieved. But, as the orientation came to an end, you realised that we 'drop' you there and go 'away'. So, the next few weeks were difficult (to put it mildly). I had just started work and was already thinking of leaving it. It was heart-breaking to see you cry out so loud. We started with a couple of hours everyday. Ritesh took a few days off, waited outside for those two hours while the carers had clear instructions to inform him about your slightest distress. You started trusting the carers, slowly settling in and eventually we increased the hours to three, four and so on. I started working three days a week. The settling in process is still going on but, it is better with each passing day. Your communication has increased. You do understand simple words. The first word you comprehended was 'ball'. This happened at the beginning of this month. Its so much fun to play with you now that we can make our own little games- 'throw the ball in the tub' or 'wear the ring in your hand' or 'try to grab the block from my head' or 'putting you in the toy box'. There are times when Ritesh & I kiss in front of you, and you start crawling 'very fast' towards us to join in the cuddle, to kiss and be kissed. Adu, for us, those moments are worth living for. Yes, you balance out all your meal-time tantrums with such sweet gestures. You smart, smart girl! More about it later.

Happy Growing...

Love,
Mumma

PS: I started writing this on 7th Feb, but posting it today,

Australia...n

Well, I am officially an Australian now. I took the following pledge on 25th January at the Citizenship Ceremony.

About four years back, I was hoping that by the time I become eligible for the Australian Citizenship, Indian Government start dual citizenship. So that I need not relinquish one to get the other. But, of course nothing of that sort happened. And I have to let go my Indian Passport now. What do I feel? Surprisingly nothing!

And that's because I still feel at home in India. I visited it after three years and got used to the chaos, people, traffic instantly and in fact started enjoying it too. So, it doesn't really matter if my passport says that I am not an Indian.

Why Australian then? Within my first year of coming here, I realized that this was home. I live here, I love it here. So, it just makes sense that I share the duties with fellow citizens and get voting rights too.
Happy to be an Australian!

India

Out of the last two months since my last post, we have spent 5 weeks in India. Now, it was after three long years, so obviously there was much catching up to do. We visited Bangalore, Hyderabad, Bhopal and Ujjain. As much as we were worried about Adu, she decided to find pleasure in the noise, people and general hustle and bustle there. Ours was mainly a social visit- meeting people and eating, what with a wedding at home! Adu had a gala time playing with kids who were in abundance in the wedding. The highlights of our trip (in no particular order)-

• Watching Adu and Arjun play, with Arjun playing the role of the sensible, responsible older brother, keeping Adu entertained and she on the other hand laughing at anything and everything he said or did. It was kind of history repeating itself.
• Meeting the parents.
• Meeting my grand-mother and Adu meeting her great grand-mother. She passed away 10 days later (RIP).
• A chance get-together with my school friends in Bhopal.
• Shobhna coming to Bhopal for a day from Delhi to meet me.
• Shopping, shopping and more shopping.
• The wedding, of course.
• Staying at my parents' place. My home, my room...It was just fantastic, gave a very positive feeling that all the worries would dissipate...just like it happened in older days!
• Chatting endlessly with Aai while Adu showered sloppy kisses on her.

Square peg in a round hole

I was showing shapes to Adu today.
How different shaped blocks go in their respective shaped holes.
She however, kept putting all the various blocks successfully in a single hole- her MOUTH!

Oh, well...

The Seventh and Eighth month letters

Dear Adu,
You are eight months old today, sweetheart! And, here I am again writing two letters combined in one. Just for records, on your seventh month birthday, you saw 'sea' for the first time. And, going by your smiles and gurgles, you enjoyed the sight! And never before, we enjoyed it as much. But let me begin at the start (of the seventh month).



I can turn the world upside down to get what I want

Month 7: This month you started steering yourself in all directions while lying on your tummy and then rolling in the desired direction. This led you to reach all the corners of the room on your own and grab various objects. I am sure you loved this newly acquired independence and made the most of it. You loved to mouth all elongated objects, the laptop's power cable being your favourite. Your dad doesn't call you Mini Mouse for no reason!


Got it!

Your brain is as busy as ever processing new things and understanding the world. Once, we were watching news while you were playing in your gym. We didn't realize that you were watching the TV too, till we heard you laugh. Well, a stacker piling mineral ore can be amusing only when accompanied by your chuckle. The same can be said for a person coughing. However this month, we did some really amusing things like watching ducks near the pond and hearing the leaves rustle in the breeze. I truly enjoyed those afternoon walks with you.
And then, we went to Wollongong just before your seventh month birthday. That's where you saw the sea, seagulls and a light-house. At the light-house, we requested a lady to take a snap of all three of us together. She clicked it on the count of 'three', which made you squeal with delight. Perhaps, you related it with the game Ritesh plays with you wherein he says 1-2-3 and lifts you up in the air as he shouts 3. You accompanied us to late night dinners, had your meal sitting in the pram and curiously watched the other diners. Afterall, 'breaking the routine' is the most important part of a holiday. So, we all came back very refreshed and relaxed.

Month 8: This month saw you sitting up on your own. And off lately, you have started crawling too, though backwards yet. We go to 'Giggle and Wiggle' in the library every Monday now. And, it is hard to tell if you enjoy listening to the rhymes more or the sight of other pint-sized kids. It is amazing to observe you getting acquainted with the fellow children. And that process involves shaking hands, grabbing at each others' buttons or pulling the shoe laces. You also attended a birthday party this month. And there were lots of novel things to grab your attention. So, when the cake was being cut, you were busy admiring the balloons in the opposite direction. But, that is not to say that you didn't have fun. You played with the other kids in your own way, smiled at people, slept in the car on the way back and generally did us proud!
This month involved a lot of socializing as a prelude to our upcoming India trip. And while Ritesh was busy finishing his work before the month long vacation, you gave me company in shopping for the trip. Yes, now you sit alone at the back of the car. You have discovered quite a few syllables this month. You started with saying 'Pa-pa' of course, then gradually moved on to 'ta-ta', 'na-na' and when in a not so good mood, you say 'ma-ma' too. Honey, keep practicing those vowels and consonents. I can't wait to hear you talk. Fun times ahead...
Happy growing!

Love,
Mumma


Sensory delights

The favourite colour: yellow, mustard, greenish yellow...oh, beautiful
The ideal texture: Soft, mushy...so nice
The perfect weight: Heavy..and wet

Thought of doing a picture post, but then decided to stick to words only !

Much ado about nothing

The first day of this week saw Adu in the back of the car all by herself. The two of us went to the library for 'Giggle and Wiggle'. I was stressed- kept talking to her, telling her that I am sitting in the front. Her car seat is still rear facing, so of course she could not see me. She didn't make a single sound- no yelling, no gurgles. I endured the silence for the whole drive which was 4 km and 10 minutes. Worriedly, parking the car in front of the library, I got out to check on her. She was gazing at the adjacent seat. "Oh, she's looking for me", I thought. Because that's where I sit when we go out and Ritesh drives. Till date, one of us has always sat with her at the back to keep her entertained.  I quickly opened the car door and she smiled! My heart leapt. "Was she distressed all this while", thought I.

Anyway, I took her into the library. Half an hour of usual fun- singing rhymes and dancing to ‘hokie-pokie’. Then again, the car drive back home. This time, I wondered, "Is the sunlight hurting her eyes? Shouldn’t she be hungry by now?". I played music so that she'll be aware of somebody’s presence. She again decided to be silent throughout the car journey. Hurriedly, parking the car in the garage, I got out. And whoa, she was sleeping peacefully.

Oh, I felt so relieved… and silly!

14 October

4 years since I lost Baba.
It is said time heals. I am not sure. But, then it might be true. Now, I am able to think of him without crying most of the times. I can smile remembering what he said. I can cherish his thoughts without tears. And then there are times when I want to hug him, I want to ask for his advice, I want to  know his opinion, just want to speak with him. Then I feel helpless.
When I became pregnant, the first thought that crossed my mind was how would my baby know him. And I cried a lot. Adu has started saying 'papa' now. And I showed her baba's photo and said, "That's my papa, that's mumma's papa, Adu", and then held her tight and cried.

And today, I so much want to be with Aai. To hold her, to comfort her. Instead I'm so far away from her. I called her many times today. She tried to sound normal so that I don't worry. I know she is upset, very! She misses Baba every single day, but refrains from mentioning it, even tries to appear cheerful so that we don't constantly worry about her. I want her to be happy.

Insight

Whenever I return from a holiday (long or a short one), I realize-

1. There is more beauty in the world than I (busy in my routine) give it credit for and it is found at the most unexpected places.
2. My bed in my home is the most comfortable of all.

Six months letters- All clubbed in one

Dear Adu,

If you are wondering that why I wasn't more ardent in recording the things you did in the first 6 months of your life, let me tell you that I was busy experiencing the fun you brought into our lives. And really, I had to choose between living the moments and logging them, I was that short of time and I chose the former. But, as you turned 6 months old, this month (on 7th Sep), I can't let this milestone pass without notice. So, let me tell you how much and how well have you grown in these six months.

Month 1: We came home from the hospital when you were just 6 days old. As I was waiting at the hospital gate for Ritesh to bring the car, I felt so proud in holding you. And I was aware of others' admiring looks in your direction. Already? I thought. Well, you slept throughout your first car ride. And, in that first month, you slept very well during the day. Night time, although was a different story. You thought that it was the time to see the world, know your parents and do things in general. Your daddy cleverly thought that it must be light which makes you sleep during the day and the absence of it keeps you up at night. So, we started sleeping with the lights switched on. That enabled you to sleep for a few extra...minutes! I can't imagine what we would do if it was not for Ajis who took care of everything and everybody, kept the house running, kept you happy with oil massages, hot baths and songs and helped me in recovering after the surgery. And of course, they loved spending time with you as much as you with them. And, you had started to smile, though it had nothing to do with us or so we thought...till one evening as Ritesh came back from work and went straight to you, as he usually did, you smiled at him! It was hard to tell then whose smile was broader. I thought it was a mere coincidence but then, another evening and another, and we were left in no doubt that it was a proper smile and was intended towards your dad!

Month 2: Well, sweetheart, at this stage you were beginning to be more interested in the world. And, the first thing that caught your fancy was the heat vent in the ceiling. You would look at it and smile. Just pure joy at the sight of it! It had to do something with its round shape. Yes, that was your favourite shape, so when you were in not so happy mood, we showed you CDs, bangles... round plates and bowls too. Also, you loved the red fish of your first play gym and didn't mind spending some time with it. Your love for marine creatures encouraged us to get a mobile with different coloured fishes and star fishes for your cot. You enjoyed watching them so much so that we sometimes suspected that you would start believing that fishes fly in the sky. All was well, except Ajis' time of departure was approaching and I was getting worried about my sleep. Ritesh and I took turns to keep you company during the night. He slept from 9 in the night to 3 in the morning, and I slept after that till late which I knew would be impossible once the Ajis are gone back. As if you sensed that and one fine day (or should I say, one fine night), a week before they were due to leave, you decided to start sleeping during the night. Well, here I want to clarify that you didn't sleep a lot, but it was sufficient for all of us to carry on during the day and 2 months of sleeplessness had taught us to appreciate whatever sleep came our way.

Month 3: Your first trip to Sydney to see off Ajis happened at the beginning of this month.Well, the car journey went very well in which you slept for most of the time. The highlight of the day was admiring the coloured glass of the adjacent building from our hotel window. In the night, you were upset when you found your beloved round vent absent but, that was it. Otherwise, you enjoyed yourself during the whole trip. And we were so proud of you that we have already planned the world tour with our little traveller. The next few days were difficult as much for you as for us and understandably so. After all, half of the people in your world had disappeared. But, in a few days you saw familiarity in the faces on computer and were happy again. Thanks to Skype. I played Karadi rhymes to replace the absence of Ajis' lullabies and in a couple of days you got so used to that sound that we played it again..and again...and again. And you loved them.  As a result, Ritesh and I started speaking in Karadi language like if one of us mentioned a beach, the other would say- "To the beach, I like to go".

Month 4: Now, your day time naps were considerably reduced. That meant a lot more time to explore the world. Oh well, it was winter, so we were mainly indoors. But, you loved to look out of the windows and we did stand in front of all the windows to get every possible view- construction work, plants, street, cat in the opposite house and other random things. This was also the time when you were learning to be cautious. For example when we got a new play gym for you, it took you almost a week to completely take to it and play in it freely. Same applied to people too. Even though you would smile at them almost instantly from the safety of Ritesh's or my arms, you would look at them, observe their behaviour with us and then after a while you would be ready to play with them. And I must say, your dad was very proud of it! "Our daughter thinks before acting", he would boast. Well, this month also brought us a moment of unprecedented joy when you chuckled for the first time. We both joined you and soon all three of us were cracking up. What fun!

Month 5: Hey, we had company this month and you had another playmate- Aji from Hyderabad. You very readily took to her, may be you recognized her from all these months of seeing her on Skype. And darling, you did flip this month from your back to on your tummy. And the very next day, you started to roll! You had started to explore various objects by grabbing and then mouthing them. Also, you started loving books- paper, cloth or plastic...to eat! Your favourite toy this month was a tape-recorder in bright green and orange colour, with flickering lights. It had mini discs with tunes of various nursery rhymes. Once, in order to entertain you, we thought of projecting a crescent moon and stars from your cot mobile on to the ceiling. At first you didn't like the feel of the dark. So, then, I stood close to your cot, holding your hands as Ritesh turned the lights off- and whoa...you were mesmerized by the scene. Later, that night whenever you got up, you would look at the walls and the ceiling as if searching for those stars. Oh, I wanted to show you the real star lit sky but, the cold wouldn't let me take you out in the night. But, we would do star gazing soon, let it be a bit warmer.

Month 6: Heading towards half an year mark! And your favourite game this month was peek-a-boo. You liked to play it endless number of times till you would dissolve in laughter. You had started manouvering things properly and using random objects as teethers- anything soft or hard, your hand or mine would do. Also, you loved having fun and wanted others to join you in the riot. So, when you woke up for your early morning feed and we would pretend to be asleep, you would twitch Ritesh's nose, pull my hair and when we opened our eyes, you would squeal in delight. You has started recognizing familiar sounds and one of which was 'Skype call', that made you look at the laptop instantly and smile. You knew how to enchant your audience, thus bringing a lot of pleasure to the admiring grand-parents!

That's all for now. Happy growing...

Love,
Mumma

Looking back

...five years!

I just had this idea yesterday that we should read those e-mails which we exchanged then. There are a few hundred of them over a six month period and we have just read a couple of months' mails yet. But, we saw a young boy and a girl, full of ideas, involved in a lot of interesting activities, with a possibility of romance, doing innocent flirtation and of course busy in their respective work too. It was good to realize again how we were all those years back.

 

Ritesh and I thoroughly enjoyed going through those mails and we intend to read them all to see a love story unfold again. And it was fun as we were transported to that time and place, he in Perth, I in Bangalore, and we would tell each other what we thought on reading a particular mail.

 

I fell in love with that boy all over again.

And, it led to some introspection as well. I realized that even with the busy schedule, I used to read  an eclectic mix of books like, in the month of August 2007, I had read Animal Farm, Inheritance of loss, Doctors, and Harry Potter & the Deathly hollows.

 

We are aware that the past couple of years have been very busy, with my taking on part-time MBA along with the job, Ritesh starting his second Masters, then pregnancy, building house and all. But, now is the time to take control of things again. And, we both decided that we would find more time to do things that interest us. Afterall, living life cannot be an excuse for not having fun... 

Arty stuff...

I've been intending  to gift a painting or so to my MIL for quite some time. I had a vague idea in my mind, but it took a while to fully conceptualize it.
I made table-mats with Warli painting, using gold, silver and copper colours. I used three different designs and made a red and green mat in each design. The boundary was a kind of running stitch with a dull golden ribbon.

Here are the pictures-






 

  People dancing

               

              

                 Harvest

 

 



                   

                 Temple

 

 

Finally, got these laminated before giving them to her. I couldn't take pictures after lamination. But, I was pretty happy with the final result.

 

 

Advika...The birth story

7th March 2012, 6:20 pm- the single most unparalleled moment of my life.

It was an elective cesarean as the baby's head was quite high up at 40 weeks gestation. We had an appointment with my obstetrician- Dr. O'Rourke on the 6th and after the ultrasound, he told us that I had less than 10% chance of having a normal delivery. So, the choice was between 7th and 8th March. Ritesh wanted to hold the baby sooner than later and I had another reason to choose the 7th- my baby's birthday would coincide with Aai-Baba's marriage anniversary.

So, on 7th, Ritesh and I went to the doctor's, early morning to get the paper work in order. My mum & aunt (Jaya Mavshi) had come here from India to help us out. They were ready with the food to be taken to the hospital. We put my packed bag and the food supplies in the car and started for the hospital. After some blood tests, I was admitted to a room. I soon changed and the mid-wife promptly got me the tags. My operation was scheduled at 1 pm. But, due to some other emergency, it was moved to the 3pm slot. But then, as we kept waiting till 4.30 and nothing happened, my mum became very impatient. I kept asking her to cool down and that I will be taken in very soon. Actually, I feared that she might chasten somebody for the delay. I had my breakfast before 7 in the morning that day and had nothing since then. Now, my mum being my mum, she went straight to the mid-wife on duty and started inquiring about the status and told her that I had not had a single drop of water for more than 10 hours. Now, my mum is quite strong even in the face of adversities, so I felt a pang when I saw that she was fighting back her tears while talking to the mid-wife. 

Soon after 5, I was taken towards the Operation theater. Ritesh was asked to put on OT apron and cap. I was taken in the OT and the anesthetist started working on me. Once, the veins found and IV in place, she started administering epidural to me. Now, I am really scared of needles. And, throughout my pregnancy, I held on to Ritesh's hand tightly for all the blood-tests. So, when I was found to have gestational diabetes and had to test my blood glucose four times a day, I thought that was my chance to fight my fear. After all, I didn't want to pass on my fears to my baby. And then, when diet control and exercise could not bring the glucose level in check, I started taking insulin injections everyday. But, I think we can't fight all our fears, we just learn to manage them and get on with life, and they do resurface from time to time. And that's what I did. Without actively thinking, I kept doing what was good for my baby. But, there lying on the operation table, shivering with cold, as I saw Dr. O'Rourke enter, all those fears came back. I felt that the epidural wasn't working and told the anesthetist so. She asked me to lift my foot and I told her that I could easily do that. In fact, I thought I was lifting it only to realize that it had become too heavy for me to lift and I had not moved it even an inch. So, after making a complete fool of myself, I settled and started hoping for the best. The doctors started cutting me open, a curtain was raised and Ritesh was brought in.

Then after waiting for what felt like an eternity, the doctor asked Ritesh if he had his camera ready. And then, we heard the baby- our baby cry. That's how Advika came into this world with her head held high! Ritesh squeezed my hand rather too hard in excitement. Or was it the other way round? Anyway, then he got busy with taking photographs. Later on, he joined the pediatrician as he carried out Apgar test and general examination. All that done, Ritesh brought the baby to me. I couldn't hold her properly as my hands had tubes going everywhere. So, the midwife put her face down on me and I kissed her. Ritesh of course was there holding the baby and I started smiling and crying all at once. I was completely oblivious of the pack of medical professionals surrounding me and didn't try to hold back those tears even once. In fact, nothing else really mattered then.

Ritesh accompanied the midwife to weigh the baby. I was stitched back and before they let me go, they needed my blood sample for baby's cord blood storage. I wanted them to quicken the process and in those few moments I felt no fear of the needles poking repeatedly at my arms and hands in sometime futile attempt to find the veins and fill in those 4 test-tubes. When I was sent out of the OT, I couldn't wait to see my baby again. But, I was brought in the 'recovery room'. When I asked where my husband and the baby were to the midwife there, she told me that they would be in the room upstairs. She said that she thought she saw them, going through the corridor some time back- a radiant daddy, proudly holding his baby. She told me that they had all stopped from work to see the duo. "Yes, that would be them", I smiled. I vigorously shook the doctor's hand when he came to check the readings of various instruments, then connected to me. I thanked him and told him that I was absolutely fine, had no trouble whatsoever and feeling great. That confirmed for him that the effect of anesthesia had not started to wear out. After keeping me under observation for about half an hour, I was sent to my room.

That night, in the hospital room with Ritesh and Advika, sleep eluded me. I just could not take my eyes off my baby- so small, so perfect! After a while, when she became a bit unsettled and we could not figure out the problem, I asked Ritesh to put her on me. Soon, she seemed satisfied and decided to get some sleep. Patting her softly, I thought- Life is good!

World Cup 2011: Framing the moment!

Ooh, I don't remember feeling such a high in a very long time. And, I think, it will be so for a while. When I went to bed on 2nd April (actually 3rd here in Australia) at 5 am, I found it hard to fall asleep. In fact, as it happens after any important exam, I kept getting dreams where 4 runs of 1 ball were required & oh, I would wake up only to realise that the reality is sweeter than dreams. India has won the World Cup!

Now, that I love cricket Sachin is no secret. But then, doesn't Sachin equal cricket? Anyway, so this World Cup was a very important one for me. His last WC and all...I was hoping that India win it, of course and that Sachin get a 'Man of the Series' and 'Man of the Match in the final'. One of the three wishes came true. But, thankfully it was the right one.

Due to the time difference, we only watched the first innings of all the matches. And, very early in the tournament I realised that if we continue to ball and field the way we were, we don't stand a chance! Now, I don't know much about bowling (having concentrated on watching batting Sachin through out my life). But, this inference was not difficult even for me. Anyway, India did very well in Quarter and Semi Finals.

And then the finals on 2nd April 2011- Saturday, which suited us perfectly well as we had Sunday to catch up on sleep. After the toss goof up, when Sri Lanka chose to bat, I thought if India have to be World Champion , they must earn it against all odds. So, the outcome of toss should not matter. And then, after the first five overs, I said to Ritesh, "I think its going to be one-sided match, look at the way we are bowling, Zaheer Khan-3 maidens, and bowling is not even our strength". But, it seemed, Jayawardene (and to some extent Sreesanth too :)) played to prove me wrong. Ritesh went to work on his assignment and I started following the game through my mobile on cricinfo. After making all the Indian bowlers completely ineffective, Sri Lanka made 274. Again, some drama- India had bowled very slowly and as a result there would be a very short break. When Harsha Bhogle said that Sehwag and Tendulkar might have to miss supper and come out to bat, I was tensed. That's when Ritesh asked me if I wanted chocolate milk :) Now, the match was being telecast here from 11.45 pm which was precisely the start of Indian batting. So, no more streaming was required.

Ok, as the openers walk to the field, I say to Ritesh, I want Sehwag to be there at least for 15 overs. I don't want all the pressure on Sachin. As if I had jinxed it, Sehwag gets out on the second ball. And then, soon Sachin gets OUT. Needless to say, then all the pressure was on me! Ritesh said, "Ya, this is going to be one-sided, but in favour of SL". I called mom and started ranting- "He deserves this cup, he has been playing for 21 years, this is just NOT FAIR". Mom said, "Beta, abhi baaki log hai na, woh khelenge, jeet jayenge beta:)". Though, she confessed that she is also watching some movie on the side so that her blood pressure doesn't rise. Talk about cricket crazy people. My yet to be 6 year old nephew, Arjun has been hearing about World Cup through out the month and how Indians might get it and had a genuine query about the distribution of one cup to so many Indians.

Just when I was about to give up hope, Gambhir and Kohli showed promise. Ritesh temporarily abandoned his assignment and joined me. And when our heart-beats were getting normal, Kohli was caught and bowled by Dilshan. That got Ritesh & I into discussing some finesse of cricket like what would happen if a batsman hits a ball towards the other batsman and he hits it as well. And we kept building on that hypothesis as to if that ball crosses the boundary, who gets runs for that and similarly, if some fielder catches it, who's out? We would have continued but, then Dhoni got to bat. And then, there was no looking back. We WON!!! With a SIX!!! And that's when they stopped the telecast. We quickly started to stream to be part of the celebrations and the presentation-ceremony. Oh, it was amazing! Excitedly, phone calls were made and received. "Alright, now I'm happy, Sachin can retire whenever he wants to and even I'll retire from watching cricket then", said I. But wait, let that 100th century come along & did I hear that Indian team is visiting Australia this summer. Well then, I'm not retiring just yet!

Roti Making made easy...

In her pursuit to make our lives easy, (without any domestic help available here), my mum sent us Roti Maker a few months back. And my, it has really changed our lives. For all those who ask whether 'roti' really puffs? does it come out soft? Here's the proof. Check the video we shot yesterday while making rotis after coming back from office...

Out in Kangaroo Valley

We decided to make the most of 'Canberra Day' long weekend. The plan was to go out somewhere near by for a couple of days, so that we could be back by Sunday, just relax at home on Monday and be ready for office (which basically is loading the freezer for the week days).

We started at about 1.30 in the afternoon on Friday from office directly, filled Petrol, bought some chips and 'Up & Go' and hit the Federal highway. We were going to Kangaroo Valley which is a small town, 200 km east of Canberra. It was overcast in Canberra since morning and we expected the weather to be same in Kangaroo Valley too, given its vicinity to rain forest. Its approach has about 20 km of very winding road. We didn't want to drive through it on wet road in the dark and hence, left early. The drive was pretty smooth, in fact uneventful till just before those hairpin turns, I started having a mild headache. I've learned through years of experience (!) that the best way to avoid motion sickness in such conditions is to drive myself. So, I took over the wheels and we proceeded.

We crossed the Hampden Bridge (which was build in 1898 and is the oldest surviving suspension bridge of Australia) and entered Kangaroo Valley.

We had booked at a place owned by an old couple. They lived on the ground floor and a 'studio' on the first floor was rented out. The wife is a painter herself and some of her paintings adorned the walls of the studio.

Book shelf in the studio.

The kitchen window overlooking the church below-

Between Ritesh & I, we had carried 5 books. Our plan was catching up with reading and sleeping a lot. But, on seeing the cupboard full of books, we

decided to check those books out. I chose one of an Australian Writer- Emma Robertson (in fact, she lives just outside Canberra) Wits' end before breakfast- Confessions of a working mum. It was a fun read, have read about three quarters of it in our one and half day stay there. I plan to check the local library to get a copy and finish reading the rest of it. Ritesh picked one on United Nations, published in 1963, to see how things were then. We had dinner and retired early that day.

Next day, we set out to go from one gallery to another. 'Kangaroo Valley' has a population of 350 people. In that there are 14 artists. No wonder, this town has a character. There are lots of paintings of various artists, wood-work, metal sculptures, glass work, pottery in various art galleries located on a single street. We started with the wood gallery.

Loved these rocking horses, wanted to buy one of these for Arjun. But, remembered that these can't gallop all the way to India on their own.

Wooden cookware and some birds carved out...

After this, the next gallery had glass wares. While I drooled over the totally unaffordable and very beautiful vases, Ritesh busied himself admiring the metal artifacts. Have a look...

A diver ready for the act-

Below: An astronomer using his telescope...

We then visited a shop which sold artefacts made in India and Bali. We absolutely loved a mirror with its carved frame, which was made in Bali. It reminded me of Rajasthani Jharokha. Having decided to buy it on our way back, we went to a nursery near by. It was a very hot day and being amidst plants helped. Actually, Kangaroo Valley is surrounded by a lot of greenary. And the best thing about being there was we could see works of art everywhere. See the statue we saw in the garden of the studio we were staying...

Very simple, yet so powerful.

Lovers' embrace...

Tired of walking all afternoon and that heat, we came back to our room just in time to escape the pouring which began soon after. Lightening struck left, right and centre. I was quite scared to be surrounded by all the trees and living in a wooden cabin. Anyway, it subsided and by the time we could go out again, all the galleries were closed. We went out for dinner and then tried to follow the India- South Africa World cup match on Ritesh's mobile. For some time, we wished we could have watched the match live. However, after Sachin's dismissal, it certainly was not worth it. Early in the morning, Ritesh checked the score and news and told me the outcome. I was happy to have missed watching such a disappointing match. Anyway, I had decided that I would not let bad weather (or poor performance) spoil my mood. So, I got up, packed the bags and we went out for breakfast. Poached eggs, mushrooms and baked beans on toast with a cup of tea helped me keep my promise towards self. We then went to pick up the goodies we had selected (and could afford) from various galleries (actually just two) the previous day.

Ritesh secured the mirror at the back seat and put the seat-belt around it. We were then, ready to go. I again took the driver's seat. Ritesh asked me thrice if I really wanted to drive. First time I considered it as a husband's concern for his beloved wife, second time, I thought it might be his concern towards himself. But, then finally when he asked a third time I realised that the real reason was the fun of driving on that twisty, turny road. I explained him that my getting sick would ultimately prove a mis-adventure for both of us and he understood. Our next stop was Fitzroy falls.

On our way to Fitzroy Falls...

The Falls...

We took a walk in the forest (actually there are walking paths, so it's not really in the forest) to go to another lookout.

On our way, we observed a woman, touching the lizards which were wandering and her kids getting very excited. I looked at Ritesh and said, "I think we are pseudo nature lovers", if there is such a term.

Fitzroy Falls from another point.

On our way back, we spotted remains of a Banksia Tree. Ritesh of course, could not resist a toilet joke!

Doesn't this tree look like it is straight out of a fairy-tale?

That was all the sight seeing we did. We came back home feeling very refreshed. Ok, we were tired physically, but what I meant was we had a good break. And, now the mirror we bought-

This is a rectangular piece, the angle at which I clicked photo makes it look trapezoidal.

Here, with the windows closed :)

The Grand Plan!

There was a time while evaluating my life, I asked myself, “Am I enjoying the work? Where am I heading to in my career?” The answer to the first question was a definite YES and to the second one was Hmm..NO IDEA. That’s when I decided to sit back and analyse all the options I had. Taking GMAT, doing all the research required for admissions, meanwhile getting another year of experience and then applying to some good B-schools was my plan.

That was precisely the time when he came in my life. We started exchanging e-mails and then phone calls. I was very reluctant to commit to anything first as I thought it might divert my focus from the exam I had planned to take. But, we kept talking anyway and don’t know exactly when I let my guards off. I remember ditching my friends mid way while shopping to be able to be at home and have a good, long chat with him. I became aware of his sensitive side, his witty side and his ability to look at the funny aspect of a serious situation.

My exam was done and our phone bills kept soaring up. I started thinking of ‘our relationship’. I waited for a few weeks, but he seemed to be in no hurry. So, I decided to stir up his emotions, and in our next conversation, I told him that I was working on the list of B-schools I want to apply to. I said I plan to hurry up the process and asked if he had any schools in mind. He very coolly said that I should apply to ‘Harvard’ with my such a good score. And, he went on about how I should work on my application. Normally, I would be happy to hear it from someone, especially if that someone was the one I liked…but, not on that day. Logic was beyond me then, Yes, I was smitten!

After hanging up the phone, I kept thinking that why couldn't he say Melbourne Business School or any other school for that matter, closer to where he was? I thought either guys really don’t understand any hints or he is completely fine with my going to the other side of the world. Well, I was sad and annoyed at the same time. But, my thought process was interrupted by his call. As soon as I picked up the phone, he asked if I planned to start my MBA that year itself. I said, “Yes, why do you ask?” “Because,” he said, “I have a different plan…”

Well, today we enter the fourth year of that plan.

Happy Anniversary, Ritesh!

Water Water everywhere...

It has been disheartening these past few days with the floods in Queensland- also called 'Sunshine State' otherwise. 'Flash flooding' as occurred here is a kind of inland Tsunami. Water comes gushing in within a matter of a few hours and sometimes just a few minutes. When it began in South East Queensland, people were taken in by surprise, vehicles and houses washed away. In other places, people were prepared and evacuated in time, but when we are talking of water levels of 10s of meters, it is not possible to save the buildings or the belongings. I was in Gold-Coast, Queensland last month. The numerous waterways within the city can be viewed from the plane. The sight is beautiful. And then, there were these gorgeous villas on the banks of the river, with boats and ramps going into the river. I thought, they were ideal holiday homes as Australians love water so very much. I dare not think of what has become of those houses now.

Crisis situations like these, make heroes out of ordinary men. We hear stories of people bravely saving trapped neighbours, elderly, kids on radio all the time. And, I must say the media here is doing a good work. Sensationalizing tragedies for their benefit is so common these days that if a TV channel doesn't do it, I am surprised, even find it extraordinary. Here, whenever I switch on the TV, of course I see the unbelievable scenes of properties, roads drawn under water, but also tales of how the Queenslanders are helping each other in the mammoth cleaning process and how willing Australians across the states are to help the affected with food and essentials. And I must say, that not only the channels like ABC and SBS, but all the local channels too are spreading this positivity. I am happy to see that the media has not completely lost its conscience. They say Queenslanders are bred tough. Yes, their resilience reminds me of 'Spirit of Mumbai'.

Also, I have started admiring Anna Bligh, (the Queensland Premier), more with her every speech. If true leaders are not born in a crisis, they are certainly identified in one.