Post-valentine musings

Sunday was a big bore this time because I didnt venture out of the house - did not attend church as we realised a lil late that the Malayalam mass was at 7 am since there was an English mass at 8.30 am every third Sunday of the month for the benefit of the city-bred younger generation who are not so well-versed in their mother tongue. Anyway attending a Kerala Syrian Orthodox mass in English is not my cup of tea - the intonations that the priest tries to achieve to create a feel of the original littany makes it a bit awkward for some of us who have heard it in Malayalam all our lives. I still had a good mind to attend it since yesterday was my granpa's death anniversary, but V decided to play truant. When the man of the house decides to take a break from his spiritual duties, the rest of us - especially me who is branded a reluctant devotee - can afford to take it easy too.

Not that there was any time to rest at home with the kids around. V managed two outings on his own. Venturing out with an itchy Ash is not easy. Parks and zoos (though they clamoured for a trip to the latter) have to be avoided for now as dense foliage increases the itching. V did not take him even for the Junior Evening at his school on Saturday, to see the programmes at least - exhibiting him now is best avoided, he says. Though every child had to participate, the teacher gave us the choice to pull out Ash owing to his poor health. It made me feel very sad, but there was nothing much I could do to reverse things.

Today as I dropped him at school, the teacher asked why we didnt come. I mumbled something about work delaying me. We have been given permission to bring him to school half an hour late in the morning, or to take him half an hour early in the afternoon when the kids are taken to the playpen. Mira howled all the way home because she couldnt attend "Achacha's school"; she seems to love the hustle and bustle of a big school. Her school, in contrast, is a quiet place with only some 45 pre-schoolers.