Snapping away

Some shots from Dubai-Sharjah -- tasting Lebanese food, at the Sharjah aquarium, ice-skating rink at Dubai mall; our new home, the renovated Trivandrum airport; Buhaira corniche; toy train in Sahara mall, setting up our new home; fish watching.

The single parent

A lot has happened since May 19, my last post for the blog. On May 19, V joined a company in the UAE. So now I act the single parent trying to bring some color and cheer into my kids' lives, the way their father could do. The only possible colour I am adding is an occasional movie at the theatre next door. So in these few months they have seen Drishyam, Frozen, Rio 2, and Bhoothnath returns ( and booked tickets for Bangalore Days as I write this). The only other outing is the morning mass at church on Sundays; the Sunday school after mass brings some cheer to their lives when they get to study and play with their friends there.
After school closed for summer vacation in April, they attended a week's vacation bible classes, something they really look forward to. Lots of fun activities, good (junk) food and friends that they dont feel the intense kathri heat.
Then came 15 days in their grandparents' house in Chandanapally, a rural set-up where power cuts and thundershowers were the order of the day. The single parent then descended on them and flew them off to Dubai where the other eager parent awaited us. The first week was spent at their cousins' place, so the second week in our new apartment seemed too tame and boring for them. Only Mira loved it to an extent as she spent her time sweeping and mopping. It was good there was no TV as they found time to do other things.
Living in Sharjah in an apartment facing a corniche and park was fun. One didnt feel that one was living in a desert. There is more greenery than what one gets to see on Poonamallee High Road in Chennai. On many days we went for a walk in the Al Majaz Park and gazed at the skyscrapers across the corniche with their twinkling lights. The worst of summer hadnt set in, but it explained why glitzy malls were the main source of entertainment.
Malls, malls everywhere but not a place to sit. The walking tired me, for one had to either keep buying or looking around. I learnt to go to a nearby mall on my own by taxi. Most of the cabs are driven by Pakistanis with a string of four names. My smattering of Hindi came in handy. I even managed half a day out with the kids to the Sharjah aquarium on my own.
The best part of my vacation was meeting friends from college I hadnt seen in two decades. Friends from my colleges in Changanacherry and Tambaram who took pains to meet me and entertain. One friend we visited in  her Jumeirah villa boarding the Metro and sleek buses. The Persian cats at her place made the day for my kids. To my regret, I couldnt meet my oldest friend - from my childhood days and a part of my college days - in all the hustle and bustle. Our mobility was also limited as V hasnt yet procured a UAE driving licence; the shift from right-hand drive to left-hand drive.
Coming back to Chennai after two weeks was tough especially for the kids - leaving cousins and their dad. I bunked the first day at work unable to take the kathri heat and the commotion and filth on the roads. A month into my post-vacation life, I am once again a hardcore Chennaite taking in my stride the heat, the water crisis and the rude auto drivers.