Thursday, November 20, 2014

Spacewalk

A long-lost friend from my early college days is in Chennai on an official trip. We caught up wit the news of some 20 years just as my kids were going to bed. Both wanted to talk too, going by tradition - another long-lost friend I had met in Dubai became more their friend than mine in her new avatar. So they thought it was their legitimate right to talk to whoever Amma's friend is.
"What is your friend's name?" Ash asked.
"Sunita."
"Oh! Sunita Williams!" exclaimed Ash. He has just learnt in school about this first Indian woman who went to space. "Has she gone to space too? Will you ask her to take us too?"

Tuesday, November 18, 2014

Jokes apart

Today morning as I was getting out of bed, Mira called out to me from the drawing room: "Amma, where have you kept my leave letter?" She did not go to school yesterday as she had fever and needed to submit a letter from the parent stating the reason.
I told her as I headed to the bathroom that I had kept it atop the gramophone. She did not know what it was and searched high and low. But my worldly-wise maid who grew up in a Kerala of gramophones and radios, spotted it for her. 
"Is this thing called a gramophone?" I heard Mira ask in wonder. To her, it was another of her father's acquisitions, a "pattupetti" which we never used.
"Yes," the maid said expansively. "ഗ്രാമങ്ങളിൽ ഉപയോഗിച്ചിരുന്ന ഫോണ്‍ ആയതു കൊണ്ട് ഇതിനെ ഗ്രാമഫോനെന്നു പറയുന്നു (it is called so because it was used in the gramas or villages)".
She helped me start my day with mirth and much laughter! 

Thursday, November 13, 2014

Father's day out

The dad came down from the desert for 15 days after missing the kids' first term vacation by a month. He called each of his offspring aside and told him/her privately that he had come just to see him/her. It made them happy and proud of themselves initially but when it got repetitive, my outspoken and bold daughter said: "You keep telling me that 'I came to see my darling daughter' and you tell Ashwin that 'I came to see my darling son. I think you came not to see us, but Amma!"
Moral: Kids today arent easily fooled by sweet talk 

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...