Monday, March 31, 2008

Plant penury & perm

Today as I was travelling in the auto - giving up my resolve to walk to the bus stop to make up for missing my morning walks - in the searing Chennai heat, I eyed the plants with their dusty leaves in the road medians, part of the Singara Chennai drive. I wondered when the next rain would come to rescusitate the poor plants, which didnt look they were being watered regularly - save for the ones maintained by some institutions like at major junctions. The others were left to the mercy of the Corporation workers in charge and the weather gods.

In a rainfall-deficient city like this, the Corporation should think of planting cacti. Even the savam-naari (corpse-stinker?) that supposedly beautify cemetries in Kerala and grows in the wild looks so forlorn and unhappy here in the 'median' gardens.

So any guess who was the happiest when a sudden shower in the afternoon cooled down temperatures?

Mount Road received only modest rainfall but V called to say our area was waterlogged and he was late getting Ash from school. Mira didnt go today as her cough has been pretty bad. She went through a few tests and Xray at the hosp yesterday, and the results should be ready by evening today.

And she is getting friendlier with people - while we carried on our business in the adult world, first at the hospital and then at Viveks in our quest for a new AC, she struck silent conversations with a smile or a gesture with adults who were free to befriend/play with a child. She also got a summer haircut at a beauty parlour we sighted at the car parking area - only it makes her look sicker than ever.

We are thinking of a tonsure soon - the beautician tells me that it could even help Mira get soft, straight hair like V's as opposed to the thick, wavy hair she has inherited from me. I will be the happiest if that is possible, living as we do in times when straight silky hair is fashionable.

In my childhood, curly hair was the rage in Kerala. I mean people thought that those who had straight hair were unlucky to have them. My mom, who has straight hair, still thinks that curly hair is a gift from God!

Saturday, March 29, 2008

Coughing up solutions

Having two small children means that one is forever making trips to the hospital - the OP section mainly. Today was one such. Mira who had a barking dry cough, a remnant of the fever (V says I passed it to her, coming home as I do with infections acquired from bus and auto commutes), had to be taken to hospital in the morning.

We took a walk-in appointment and got to see the doctor 4th in line. The dr said it looked like bronchitis and needed 2 nebulisations apart from blood tests and xrays. Her weight has gone down from 11.1 kg to 10.9 kg in 4 days while her height was recorded at 86 cm, 3 cm below the average/normal. But we are all shorties, so I dont think she is going to be very tall.

I guess it has got to living in a polluted city - most little kids here have wheezing. We were a bit surprised initially since neither of us have any family history of asthma. But now we know that whenever the kids have fever, a wheeze follows. Ash, of course, because of his skin problem.

The dr as usual enquired about 'Daniel' (Ash) apart from our Easter celebration and the recession in the IT field, when he learnt that V worked for one. He told us that a break to Kerala would do Ash good as there is nothing that can help him as much as doting grandparents - instead of a maid who keeps him engaged in front of the TV.

But V is not convinced - he wants Ash to continue his sessions at Pebbles. He tells me that it might do me good too to take therapy for my inattentive manners! I just switch off midway through conversations with people.

Friday, March 28, 2008

Rising from the ashes

Ash had his third tryst with his new dermatologist yesterday at Apollo. His skin condition had worsened so much that we were back to applying oil instead of all the fancy creams. His whole body was full of bruises and scars from frequent itching and scratching.

The doctor has changed his medicines and ointments - Elovera cream (which has Vit E and Aloe vera) to be applied twice a day, Flutibact ointment which I suppose will manage the itching, T-bact to be applied in his nose area at night to prevent bacteria coming out of his body (!!) and of course this bacteria-manager called Enterogermina, imported from Italy and costs Rs.34 a vial (it tastes like water but Ash calls it juice) to be consumed once a day. Mira's peadiatrician had also prescribed the vials for her latest episode of infection. Looks like it is the new favorite of doctors, but I dunno how the economically weaker sections can afford to buy them.
I know the medicine details wont interest many of you reading this blog, but I am doing it for those who google for info on ointments and medicines for eczema.

Ash will also not be going to Kerala now. The activity sessions that Ash attends to improve his attention span cannot afford a break now. He need to do it at a stretch for 3-6 months. We have also been asked to help him with a home program on that - throwing balls, wheelbarrow walking (walking on his hands), shape and color sorters, clay making (rather 'Play dough') and so on. We need to cut down TV time, which has not been easy.

Thursday, March 27, 2008

Cricket fever

Chennai is breathing cricket and the boss asked me casually if I didnt want a pass/ticket to the India-SA match. I said I wouldnt mind a pass for Saturday for V. I prefer to watch on TV if I have to follow the match. Another senior colleague has also offered a pass, which I had declined initially. I have gone once, I think it was the last day of the India-Australia match in 2001 which India won. From where I sat I could only see only Kumble and Shane Warne (my Aussie penpal wanted to know if I sat close enuf to spit on his face!!). A friendly chap from the workplace enlightened me as to where Sachin stood. That was the closest I got to see of Tendulkar in flesh and blood.
But it is fun to be at the stadium for the ambience - all the drumming, whistling, the painted faces etc. etc. As far as I am concerned, once is enough.

Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Lean thoughts

A lean week at work.
The kids have not been going to playschool this week. Mira is just recovering from fever and an upset stomach. She had to be taken to hospital on Monday evening.
And we are plannning to send Ash to Kerala in a week's time. He has not been keeping well - eczema, poor eating, tantrums - and we hope our parents can get him to put on some weight and also some discipline into his life. He will have plenty of place to run around and be one with nature.
I am hoping he wont miss us and start crying. We have talked to him about it and he seems to be ok wit the idea of going there. He repeats after me: "There is Moma chechi (the tenant's daughter), there is Beena aunty, there is Appacha, Ammachi" This stint in Kerala might be at Changanachery, V's place. Or else he'd be saying: "There is Bruno (our dog), there is kockacko (hens), Appacha, Ammachi..." Though my place in Kerala would be a bit more lonely for him as there are no kids there, only hens and dogs and fields.
But Vinod has not been taking any decision about how and when he wants to travel with Ash, so I am in no position to book tickets for them. I always like to plan my travel in advance, while V does it last minute. It could also be a stalling tactic of his, to decide against sending Ash away. A doctor once told us that sending kids away to grandparents is escapism. I admit I am an escapist.
We had rains for a few days and now it is as hot as ever.
Easter was quiet. There were no guests, just us. A cousin and her kids from Bangalore paid a flying visit. Vinod went alone for the early morning mass inspite of the priest's appeal to all those who attended the GF mass that they shouldnt miss Easter mass - or it would be equal to thinking that Christ did not rise from the dead.
p.s. The above post has been rehashed from an email message. :)

Saturday, March 22, 2008

Lost and found

"Your daughter did something adventurous today!" said the husband over the phone to me. Hubby has Saturdays off while I work Saturdays.

"Yeah?" I asked, not expecting anything more than her breaking some toy or climbing unscaled heights up the balcony grill.

"She walked out of the house unnoticed, all the way down the three flights of stairs to the ground floor. I was trying to get Ash to sleep after lunch when Mira got off the bed and sauntered off to the hall. I thought she was with the maid but when I came to check on her later, I found the maid alone reading something. I panicked, and looked everywhere especially the bathroom. So I ran down, only to find her sitting in the parlour of the groundfloor flat. Apparently the maid hadnt seen or heard her open the lock and walk out of the house. But luckily the watchman's wife saw her and made her sit in the flat below."

What do we do with a lil girl who wants to "go out" all the time? In a world of Madeleine McCanns and Rahuls? Or with a nanny who might not notice a kid is missing?

Friday, March 21, 2008

The faithful

As we drove out of the college premises, which provided the parking space for all the vehicles of parishioners attending the Good Friday mass, we passed an elderly lady and a young lady with a little boy in her arms trying to navigate the puddles while holding umbrellas to shelter themselves from the incessant rain. I had never seen it rain so early on Good Friday. Usually the skies darken only after the service is over making the blind faithful among us believe that nature was mourning the death of the Saviour along with us (St. Luke 23: 44-45). But then GF had never come this early either for ages.

Well, what I was saying was that the narrow dirty road with slum dwellers on one side of the church-college campus is sickening (you cant help throwing up if you see young kids defecating on the roadside early in the morning) to pass even on a bright sunny day but I always try to tell myself that the road to heaven is narrow and difficult. And to walk through it on a rainy day is torture but if we cant do it for Christ on Good Friday, when can we?

V, feeling extremely benevolent after a just-finished late lunch of kanji-payar-papad courtesy the church, asked me if I wanted to offer a lift to our less-privileged pedestrian churchmembers. I, feeling no less benevolent, rolled down the window and waited for them to come abreast. Yes, they happened to be on our route but further down but they would take an auto/bus from the stop nearest our place. They spoke a mix of Tamil, Hindi and Malayalam as they tried to shove the little boy onto the back seat first. "They dont seem to have come to the church, but doesnt matter...," V said, a trifle disappointed.

The ladies thanked us profusely for showing kindness to strangers. And yes, they had come for the Good Friday service. They were from Palghat and they had been coming to this church for the past 5 years.

We lapsed into silence.

"Oh. I didnt know there were many Orthodox Christians in Palghat," I said, conversationally after a while.

The older lady hesitated, and then said: "Well, actually we are Nair Hindus but we have become Christians and we now worship only Jesus. And the madam who introduced us to Christ comes to this church, so we have been coming here too. And the Lord has been very good to us. See, today devan (god) has helped us in this pouring rain by bringing you people before us. We dont even know your names or anything about you but we are very happy to have met you."

By then we had reached their bus stop. The cute little boy was called Johan. The mother-daughter-son opened their umbrellas and ran off to the bus shelter.

"Strange to have met somebody like that!" V remarked, feeling rather overwhelmed by their faith. "Coming to church in this heavy rain with a little child. And here we leave our kids at home not wanting them to come out in this weather or this crowd."

Where are we as Christians when those who are not Christians by birth feel closer to Jesus than we do? And when do we initiate our little ones into the hardships of the Good Friday mass, when one experiences at least emotionally the trauma of the Crucifixion?

Thursday, March 20, 2008

A bug's life

Nothing much to report except that I'm recovering from a bad cold, that I have passed on the flu bug to V, that Ash's itching is worse inspite of not eating anything improper (I wonder if Dermavive is trying to revive his skin by a process of scaling) and that Ash and Mira can make intelligible conversations with longish sentences in Malayalam with us. And that Prince and Sarita are here for a day and came home for breakfast. Life had been more fun when they were in Chennai for a year some 8 years ago. Prince happens to be one of V's dear friends while I enjoy Sarita's company. Hopefully, I can leave early for a dinner out with them.
The maid is adapting quite well to her new circumstances and the kids are happy with her as far as I can see. She also takes interest in sprucing up the place in her spare time - some 2-3 hours in the morning when the kids are away at school. Looks like she was used to a lot of cleaning activities in her Gulf tenure.
p.s. New posts at Misspelt...

Tuesday, March 18, 2008

Call waiting

"Auto at doorstep, govt fixed rate + Rs.20, call 3999 3999 (90 lines)", says a frequently repeated ad in the classified section of The Hindu.

Not bad, I thought, if I need just pay Rs.42 +20. Reasonable when compared to the Rs. 80 I pay now one way. (The autodrivers at the stand nearest my place have hiked the fare by Rs.10. 'Petrol prices have gone up, madam,' they inform me.)

Tried the number yesterday and today and got the message, "This number is temporarily out of service". Is this some kind of a hoax? Will the Chennaites' dream of riding by metered fare ever be a reality?

Friday, March 14, 2008

This tagged business

For want of anything better to do, I am taking up the Tagged challenge presented by fellow blogger Lijy of Mama's pet. And I hope Romila of Rustic Notes wont mind I didnt do her Tag. It is just that these Q&A are simple and straight that even a dumb moron like me can answer.
1. What is your occupation?
Journalist, loosely speaking. Subbing, to be precise.
2. What color are your socks?
Navy blue & beige (when I go on my more formal walks at Loyola or the parks).
3. What are you listening to right now?
The silence, marred only by the door opening and closing occasionally. Almost everyone else has gone for lunch, and the only other soul here is reading a book.
4. What was the last thing you ate?
My lunch - rice with pumpkin erissery, string beans fry and tender mango pickle (no fish, since we are on a non-veg fast for 10 days until Easter). And dessert - wheat halwa that V got from Kerala yesterday.
5. Can you drive a stick shift?
No. I have a licence but I cant drive.
6. If you were a crayon, what color would you be?
Green or blue. I cant decide which I like more - I always liked to think I was a blue person but whenever it comes to choosing clothes I go for green.
7. Last person you were on the phone with?
My hubby. The usual call at lunch time to let me know that he has picked the kids up from playschool and what they ate and what they are upto.
8. Do you like the person that sent this to you?
Sure. I enjoy talking to her, despite the generation gap. We vibe well - ditto about our husbands and ditto about our fathers-in-law (though hers passed away last year, and he was a person I really liked in my husband's town) and ditto about our mothers-in-law.
9. Favorite Drink?
Orange juice. Also Swiss Chocolate Milk.
10. What is your favorite sport to watch?
Cricket during the final overs.
11. Have you ever dyed your hair?
Not yet. But ever since I came across this new female here with a strand of pink hair I am tempted.
12. Pets?
A Chennai-born labrador named Bruno I gifted my dad 9 years back. We had an eventful journey to Kerala by train, and he still adores me though I keep him at arm's length after the kids came. But no pets here save for the crows I feed in the balcony and the giant lizards that live in my kitchen.
13. Favorite Food?
Pastries. In fact, any cake that is well made. And beef cutlets. And Kerala Syrian beef fry.
14. Last movie you watched?
At the theatre - Vinodayatra, a Malayalam movie, sometime last year. At home - Taare Zameen Par on DVD. I am excluding the bits and parts of movies I see on TV.
15. Favorite day of the year?
Certain days in February.
16. What do you do to vent anger?
Shout. But I generally try to repress it or just grate my teeth.
17. What was your favorite toy as a child?
An ugly-looking old man in plastic/rubber I called Mannunny. I dont know who decided on the name.
18. What is your favorite? Fall or Spring?
Spring. My favorite memories are of spring in Delhi when the roadside gardens are abloom.
19. Hugs or kisses?
Neither. A pat on the back is more our (family) style.
20. What kind of pie?
Any from the Famous Five books. Enid Blyton always made the pies sound so yummy.
21. Living arrangements?
A small two-bed apartment of our own, with plenty of sunlight and enough space for a small family. Will have to think of a little bigger house when the kids are older and need their own space.
22. When was the last time you cried?
While watching Taare Zameen Par. Movies make me cry - and V watches my face instead of the screen during the climax of the movie to catch a tear.
23. What is on the floor of your closet?
A travel bag of V's, which I havent found time to stack away in the loft.
24. Who is the friend you've had the longest that you are tagging? And the shortest?
I think my friend Usha for the longest friend. (b) And my colleague "The other Romila" can be tagged, if she can find time between her superquick SMSing and Ergo reading.
25. Favorite smell?
Of cashewnuts being fried in the dying embers of our traditional mudstoves on a rainy day. The smoke adds to the romance of the monsoon season.
26. What inspires you?
Sermons and advices - but at the most for half an hour.
27. What are you afraid of?
Falling into a borewell.
28. Favorite cat breed?
I dont like cats.
29. Number of keys on your key ring?
Four. Of the wardrobes and the doors.
30. How many countries have you been to?
Two. I wont count the transits.
p.s. I did away with a couple of questions I didnt want to answer. And anyway it is pretty long even otherwise.

Tuesday, March 11, 2008

Behind the mask

Ash and me on Christmas day last year - with the Christmas gifts from his uncle and aunt ...
***
Ash and me did a few hospital rounds today afternoon. An upset tummy that meant I had to give his stool and urine samples at SMF main before waiting (45 minutes into my appointment time) for an abdominal scan for him at the SMF children's hospital. The scan revealed some "mesentric lymph nodes" which the doctor told me was an infection in the stomach.

We then proceeded to Apollo to meet the paed. dermatologist, who told me that Ash's blood tests all seem okay. So the reason for his poor growth could be all the steroid creams we have been dabbing on him all these years. He has asked us to avoid egg-nuts-berries in the boy's diet. He should be made to wear only cottons, have the shortest possible bath (using Oilatum plus in the bathwater instead of soaps) and pat dried instead of scrubbed dry. The new creams for him include Dermavive (Made in Australia and imported here; at the cost it is sold in India I dont think I can afford to apply it liberally all over his body as suggested on the tube!), Topgraf (Tacrolimus ointment) and a probiotic called Enterogermina to be consumed once a day. Apparently kids with atopic dermatitis suffer from recurrent gastritis too.

Reached home at 8 p.m. after going to three hospitals at three different locations in the city.

Saturday, March 08, 2008

A woman's day

"Cant you wake up at least when the morning sun hits your bum?" the husband's voice cuts short my long slumber. Not even the diuretic spoils my sound sleep in the night, though the doctor had recommended that diuretics are best taken in the morning. But the hydrochlorothiazide tablets I take had been making me drowsy during work, so I have just changed the timings from before breakfast to after lunch.
I curse the sun and the room, which faces the east, and make a sign of the cross before going to the bathroom to wash the sleep off my face.
"Where is my tea?" demands the husband, who has been up early and reading. I brew it as carefully as I can - it cant be too strong or too light and the milk has to be just right, or he'll spoil the day for me first thing in the morning. The other men who spoil my mornings are autodrivers who haggle over the fare. Come to think of it, there is no haggling. They just quote double the actual fare. You take it or find your way to the bus stop.
"What is this puttu business in Onam time?" asks the hubby as he comes to leave the tea cup in the kitchen, which is not very often. He finds me applying Cutex (which is what we call nailpolish in Kerala, just as many in Kerala refer to diapers as Pampers) in between making dosas. It is not very often that I remember to do such beauty treatments.
"Today is International Women's Day. So why dont you make the breakfast for a change, while I dry my nails? Maybe your special egg-on-dosa?" I ask the hubby casually.
"I am going for a walk," he announces, and pushes off. So I make just dosa and bull's-eye for each of us.
The kids are up meanwhile. The girl insists on brushing her teeth herself. "Amma anna po (amma go stand there)". I watch from the sidelines. As she prepares to rinse the brush, I rush to make a last-minute cleansing. She carefully washes her hands, her brush and wipes her face with the towel. She is getting pretty meticulous and independent. (And she is as fastidious as Mohanlal in Aham the way she applies dettol liquid soap on her palms and washes them.)
The boy meanwhile just lies on the sofa glancing at the newspapers! He refuses to brush or eat until the father returns from his morning walk.
The big boy and the little boy are soon ready and raring to eat. A minute later, an explosion is heard from the dining room.
"Cant you get something as simple as a bull's eye right? Why do you have to put so much salt into it?"
I swallow my retort. Sometimes silence is prudence. Especially when you are on a salt-restricted diet.
So much for International Women's Day in India. I'd rather celebrate it by going on a shopping spree at Naidu Hall next week. They have a sale on to celebrate the women in us. :)

Alive and limping

The maid is coming back tomorrow.

Things have not been easy with a sick Ash and a busy week at work. Ash had to be rushed to hospital yesterday after he began shivering and complained of stomach pain. The doctor decided on an enema for his (Ash's) constipated tummy. V has been doing the honours of taking Ash to the doctor, first for his viral fever and now for his viral-related aches, not to mention the occupational therapy lessons in the evening to help him concentrate more. Dr. Sivabalan, the peadiatrician who saw him the other day, thought we were crazy to be thinking he is very hyperactive and said he is only normal hyper. While Dr. Kuruvila, whom V met yesterday, said the ENT was crazy to think the adenoid needs an operation now and to tell us that it could have damaged the eardrum. So two things off our mind.

A sudden death (cardiac) of a close police friend of f-i-l today morning and V is in half a mind to go. Maybe tomorrow.

Tuesday, March 04, 2008

Maid (substitute)

Just when I thought our lives were going to set into a pattern again, things had to go sour again. The maid left yesterday night for Kerala after her folks called to say that her 40-yr-old brother died, god knows how. She expressed a desire to go and we couldnt be mean enough not to let her go regardless of the train fare up and down. (The fact is that we just make two trips a year to Kerala, while the maids go every other month on one pretext or the other, and we have no option but to humor them since we need their services badly.)

The funeral is supposedly today, and she said she will be back by Friday. I think we can take her word on that since she hasnt taken any of her belongings with her, only her purse. She found a seat in the ladies compartment of Trivandrum Mail, standing in a queue and supervised by the railway police (which is a good thing. Earlier, male relatives or railway porters fetched seats for many of the women travelling in the unreserved ladies compartment; porters, of course, for a price.) Her return journey could be less tedious if my dad manages to procure a reserved berth in the train for her.

Nowadays, tickets for travelling in the unreserved compartments can be booked 3 days in advance. I had managed to sneak out from office at lunch time and buy a ticket in 2 minutes' time at the ladies/senior citizens/handicapped counter, which was surprisingly not closed, like in the peak-hour evenings. The evening queue lines are crazy too and one can never hope to board the train on time.

We have requested the services of Manohari, who had looked after the kids in January, and who had expressed a desire to work for us again if necessary. She had been pestering my partimer Kala to find her a job as a cook, and had even offered to make a biriyani for me any time I wanted. I will order a poori-potato masala first!

Sunday, March 02, 2008

Dossier KM

Introducing our new maid from Kerala.
Kochumol (KM) is a Dalit Christian who attends the CSI church in her husband's native place near Punalur. Married (on her own whim) at the age of 15 to a good-looking but good-for-nothing loafer whose main preoccupation is boozing, she has had the burden of looking after her family when many others her age were still in school/college. She has given birth to three but only one, the middle child, survived. She says her aim now is to make some jewels for her school-going daughter who is almost 18 and will soon be of marriageable age.
She has worked as a daily wage labourer (who earn Rs.175 a day without food and Rs. 150 when food is provided by the employer) and as a maid. She even had a two-year stint in Muscat, working as a maid in Arab households. Her agent had collected Rs.25000 from her (of which 15000 was deducted from her salary) for the travel documents, airfare and visa. The agent collects the same amount from each Arab employer she is sent to. In two years, she was shunted to three households. She tells me that only rich Arabs can afford to keep maids from Indian agents. As for Indians working in the Gulf, they get cheaper services from Bangladeshi and Filipino maids. The Arab masters of hers had been decent, not lecherous. Each household had a dozen kids, the older ones looking after the younger ones. So she had to take her of only the cooking, which she learnt, and other household work.
The agent has told her that he will send her again if she brings the visa and assorted fees, but she says she doesnt want to go with a grown-up daughter back home. We found her through her elder sis, who works for my aunt.
She is not very talkative except when talked to. (And this time, I have not taken too much interest in talking as all the earlier maid escapades have made me sore.) She is a keen reader - of the vernacular daily and magazines - and a fan of TV serials (though Ash restricts her TV time with his Pogo watching).
There is a beauty in her dark face. Her black eyes light up at times, and there is almost a smile on her lips. But on the whole, she strikes me as a person who has been benumbed by the bitter experiences in her life and whose heart had hardened, which is not a good thing when you looking after two small children. For instance, she just ignored Ash as he howled the house out on Saturday night complaining of ear pain - the ENT had dewaxed his ears in the evening but the pain set in late in the night.
p.s. Ash might need a small surgery to remove his swollen adenoids. The earlier the better, the ENT said. But the dermatologist has asked us to wait until the test results come on the 5th. We might fix a date for the op after the 10th of March. Should we beware the Ides of March?

On the penultimate day of reporting duty at the photography festival, the boss of the English writing dept, came and told me: When we both a...