The part-timer comes a bit too late in the day for me to make a decent entry into office. I cant be reaching there at 1 o'clock when I am on the 10.30 a.m. shift. Creches dont work for us since they wind up for the day before 7 p.m. Both of us dont reach home before 8 p.m., so a live-in maid is our best bet and to hell with privacy and clutter. Right now we are enjoying the comfort of not having to share space with inquisitive female servants, but at the cost of some good food and a shoulder to foist the crying babes on.
V has been extremely understanding about the effort I need to make about cooking traditional Kerala meals with an assortment of curries and dishes with a liberal helping of coconut in them, so yesterday when he came home from work, he said we could have dinner out. And off we went, in the drizzle, to Saravana Bhavan, the chain of restaurants belonging to that short and stout Chettiar (as evident from his huge portrait adorning every hotel of his) who is believed to be in jail for killing the husband of a girl he fancied. The food is pretty good for those who fancy veg, especially their sambar - a bit overpriced though. Mira had her fill of puris and Ash of paratas while we parents were left with the masala dosas and hot masala milk with badam powder and pista grated. The kids had vanila ice cream for dessert - it is one thing that both eat without prodding from us.
Talking of prodding, the effort people here take to feed their kids amazes me. I just dont have the patience to run behind them with the feeding bowl in hand while they try and decide whether they want to open their lil mouths or purse them even tighter. V has more patience, and the kids anyway are more willing to accommodate their dad. The last maid did it with aplomb too, feeding Mira while she stared in wonder at the ads on TV, cycled her way through the house or sighted a crow or an aeroplane in the sky. I learnt the TV ad trick too but of late Mira is less distracted by the commercial breaks on TV to open her mouth for baby food.
I wonder if kids in the West are so difficult to feed.
2 comments:
I often comment on this when I see Indian parents running along with their kids trying to feed them, I find it quite hilarious and more so in our generation. However I have also noticed that European kids tend to be a lot less excitable than Indian ones. Though Ashwin feeding stories always amuse me...
The only advantage with all this running behind is that it helps you get some exercise, and also lose some weight in the process. I guess Indians fuss about kids a bit too much, which is why the kids become too difficult to please.
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