The Raghavan Family in Bangalore

September 2006 Update from Bangalore


Friday, September 1, 2006

Creepy crawlies and other lovely things

The cockroach problem has gotten really out of hand, so Badri called a pest control company who said they'd come over and use an "herbal product". I was out with the kids somewhere when I got a call from Patricia the cook at home, saying their eyes were watering. So we decided we should all stay out of the house for the day just to be safe.

When we went back in in the afternoon, there were hundreds of cockroaches in various stages of "expiration" who had crawled out of the cupboards and crevices. Really gross. I grabbed enough food (from inside the fridge) for the kids to snack on for awhile while the house was aired out and cleaned up, then took off again.

The other day my neighbor was asking me if we were having problems with slugs. Well, the funny thing is is that I'd only been noticing them in the last few months, and that, too, outside. Whenever the kids would plant something in their little pots, as soon as we saw green shooting through the soil, the next day it'd be gone--we figured out the slugs and snails were getting them. But our poor neighbor is getting freaked out by the slugs that are showing up in her bathroom, on her bottles of shampoo. And this is the newly built house nextdoor (the people with a Mercedes and a Toyota Land Cruiser--little slimies evidently strike the rich and poor alike!).

The rats have stopped eating the wiring in our car. We had had the pest control company put trays of sticky glue around the house, which the rat gets stuck in. Then we call the company and they come and remove the rodent. But the big guys are still around. Just a few nights ago I opened the back screen door to get clothes out of the dryer, and there was a big critter (I'm guessing about six or seven inches long) about three feet away. I told him to scram, but he was as impervious as the raccoons that used to come in after the cat food in Cambridge or into the garbage in New Hampshire. I guess it's the same the world over.


Saturday, September 2, 2006

Drove over to Safina Plaza because I'd heard that they had a donut shop there, and the kids have been craving donuts lately. I told them we'd go on a donut hunt. But when they saw an ice cream stand, they decided they'd like that instead.

There was a Government Emporium exhibit cum sale going on, and we bought two beautiful Madhubani (literally, forest of honey) paintings from the state of Bihar. The scenes are usually based on Indian rituals and mythology.


Sunday, September 3, 2006

We took an auto rickshaw to Leela Palace and spent some time in the Oxford Bookstore. Then went to M&W beauty parlor to get Molly's haircut and a bang (fringe) trim for Maya.


Tuesday, September 5, 2006

Today is Teacher's Day throughout India, and the girls dressed up like teachers. They went to school in salwar kameez. Molly had woken up saying she didn't want to go to school, but then when she heard Maya would be dancing for the teachers in an assembly, she got all excited to go, insisting that she would dance, too.

Charlie stayed home as his last day of "sick leave" for his hand, foot, and mouth disease. He's in great spirits though. One of his favorite things to do is ride his tricycle out in the driveway and chat away with Cha cha and Shiva Kumar. He's picking up a few words of Hindi here and there, and Cha cha's learning more English.


Wednesday, September 6, 2006

Molly stayed home from school today. Even though we went to see Dr. Chinnappa yesterday, and he said that she definitely does not have foot, hand, and mouth disease (FHMD), she was so uncomfortable with cankers on her tongue that we didn't have the heart to send her.

Picked up Maya at school and went to her friend Sravani's house for the K-2 playdate. Maya stayed on while I left to go swimming at Leela with Priya. The skies were threatening rain, but had a good swim nonetheless.

Went to Alliance Francaise with Teresa to hear a cross-cultural trainer give a talk. It wasn't particularly inspiring. The evening was sponsored by SIETAR (Society for Intercultural Education Training and Research).


Thursday, September 7, 2006

Sure enough, Molly has red spots on her elbows, upper thighs, and feet, so she definitely does have FHMD. Her first blisters on her tongue came out last week, so she should be all cleared up in the next few days (fingers crossed). Today her spirits are higher and she's not complaining as much about tongue discomfort, so I went to Hindi class and Overseas Women's Club, while she went to the HAL airplane museum with Rita.

When I dropped off Maya and Charlie at school, Charlie didn't want to go. But teacher Priti coaxed him into riding his bike, and when it was time to go home, he didn't want to leave school. It's really tough to get one of the little ones to school when the other one isn't going. Today Maya asked me, as she was getting out of the car at school, "Why do I have to go to school alone?"

The kids are so excited about Patti and Thatha coming to town from Chennai for Maya's birthday.

We let them stay up late to greet their grandparents when they arrived. Great squeals from all three.


Friday, September 8, 2006

Maya's 6th birthday

I put a few presents under Maya's bed last night, just as my mom used to do when I was a kid. Maya came downstairs without even seeing the presents, so we went back up and got them. She had a cake at school with her class, and I took her out of school early.

We went for an early dinner at TGIF (Thank God It's Friday) restaurant on Airport Road, the same place we went last year with Patti and Thatha. Maya looked resplendent in her new green sari, along with jasmine flowers in her hair. The poor thing though, at one point she looked like she was going to fall asleep in her sleep, she was so tired (we were at the restaurant from 5:30 to 7pm, not too terribly late for us). It's just really tough finding a restaurant that opens before 7:30 in Bangalore. That's why we end up going to TGIF.


Maya's birthday at TGIF with Patti and Thatha



Saturday, September 9, 2006

Rajan the Party Man had his people come to set up at 8 am for a 10:30 start. Maya was really excited to have the Spiderman theme, so that's what we did. He had lots of Spiderman cutouts, loads of balloons, and a great "Happy Birthday Maya" sign. I asked him to bring along a braidmaker and tattoo maker, who were quite popular with the kids. To top it all off, so I didn't have to worry about much at all, Rajan recommended a party games person who coordinated the games. The games were played upstairs, and all the food was downstairs, so that kept the chaos down somewhat.


Maya's 6th birthday

Between 13 of her classmates, plus their siblings and parents, including our family, there were 50 people. It went great. Maya initially dressed as Superman (we'd found a costume at Kids' Kemp on Mahatma Gandhi Road), then changed into an outfit I bought her last Christmas. Our cook Patricia made the food (she's a great cook, plus I figured we needed to save money on some portion of the party): vegetarian rice stir fry and noodle stir fry, with egg and chicken on the side to mix in; popcorn, potato chips, apple bread, apple pie, watermelon and cantaloupe.


Cutting the cake


One costume change for birthday girl

We ordered a cake from Taj Residency bake shop, and they did a nice chocolate cake covered with Spiderman and Happy Birthday Maya, but it really was pricey: 2600 rupees, or apx. $57 U.S. (3 kilograms, or 6.6 lbs.). We were able to feed all the staff, including all the drivers (probably 12 in all), with hardly any cake left over, and not too terribly much stirfry remaining.


Molly getting a tattoo, Mimmi in the background


Appa and birthday girl

Maya really enjoyed the party, and so did I. I think it was the least stressful birthday party I'd ever thrown, and maybe it was because I did as Badri recommended: "outsourced" most of it. Maya was thoroughly exhausted and took a nearly three hour nap.



Sunday, September 10, 2006

Badri left at 6 a.m. for Delhi then Kanpur to recruit for work. Patti, Thatha, the kids and I went to Hotel Grand Ashok for a swim and brunch. Met Priya, Kush, and Kavi there, as planned, and Kirsty was there with her family, too. Very hot day. Kids enjoyed the pool for awhile. Maya swam a bit but was very tired. Molly stayed in the pool the longest along with Thatha. Charlie barely dipped his toes in, in my arms, then said he wanted to eat. We all went home by 2:30 and had a nap except Patti and Maya.


Monday, September 11, 2006

Today's the first day in I can't remember how long that all three kids went to school. Thatha and I dropped them off, then I went to yoga.


Wednesday, September 13, 2006

Amma's Birthday

Today we went to the movies with Amma and Appa. Saw a Hindi film, Kabhi Alvide Naa Kehna, with Badri translating for me. It was an all-star cast with both Amitabh and his son Abhishek Bachchan. My favorite scene was when father and son did a line dance together. Badri had a sore neck after the movie from leaning over to translate for me. We all enjoyed the movie, although on the way to the theatre in the car we all divulged to one another that we'd heard it was terrible from at least one friend each.


Friday, September 15, 2006

Met Priya for lunch at Zen at the Leela. She's pregnant and due next year. She's trying to figure out whether she should start up a new job before delivering, and she's pretty panicked about having the baby here and being a stay-at-home mom with two kids. I don't think it's India that's the problem--I'd say more it's the stay-at-home thing. I have a lot of those feelings lately--that the kids and I might be happier if I went back to work.


Saturday, September 16, 2006

Went for a walk with Charlie in the a.m. and on the way to the children's park met a couple new to town, from England and the Netherlands. They'll be living in the new apartments near 6th Main being built by Total Environment, an outfit that develops some very nice complexes. The people I met will have a four bedroom place that goes for 2.5 lakh per month (about $5000--an amount they say they could get a very nice place for right on the Thames in London).

Badri and I went out for drinks at Cosmo Village with his friends Sharat and Sree. Sharat is leaving for England next week for a visiting professorship. We were going to have dinner at Cosmo, but it was so loud we couldn't think straight. Went to Sonny's restaurant to finish the evening.


Sunday, September 17, 2006

There was a Defence Colony neighborhood gathering at the children's park this morning. We went with all the kids and saw a lot of neighbors, some we'd met before, and some we hadn't met. Met some interesting neighbors for the first time, including an architect who designed one of the houses on our street.

In the afternoon took a drive over to Takatak, a take-out restaurant on 100 Ft. Road, and tried their food.


Monday, September 18, 2006

Maya woke up with a stomach ache this morning, and I had to wonder whether it's because Patti and Thatha are leaving for Chennai today. She often gets sick the day they leave. The kids just eat up their company and love their visits. And it appears that Amma has gotten sick from the Takatak food yesterday.


Tuesday, September 19, 2006

Badri and I were extremely decadent today and went to see "The Devil Wears Prada" at the PVR Cinema's gold class. Gold means you sit in these swank, plush red chairs that recline and have foot rests and a waiter brings you a menu, then food and drink. But it comes at a price: 450rs per ticket ($10), plus the cost of food and drink. The movie was very funny, and Meryl Streep was terrific! But, as Badri said, the gold class is so comfortable, that he'd go there to watch a movie that he knew wasn't the greatest.


Wednesday, September 20, 2006

Debra came over for coffee this morning, and we walked to pick up Charlie. She'll be renting a house in Goa from November. She searched all over the Goa area to find a yoga teacher she could get training from.

While Molly and I were sitting in the front yard, I saw a beautiful eagle with a white head and a brown body the color of Molly's eyes. He was perched in a tree in the park across the street, and every once in a while would swoop down from the tree and do a sort of loop around the park.

Went to Maya's classmate Divya's house for a playdate today.

Had my friend Priya and her husband Kush over for dinner tonight.


Thursday, September 21, 2006

Kirsty and Maria came over today and Rita and Patricia gave us a sari tying lesson.

Went to see the musical/play "Rainbow Fish" at the Chowdiah Memorial Hall with Maya, Molly, Charlie, and friends Priya and Kavi.

Ran into lots of people I knew there, including lots of Maya's classmates. I also recognized a mom whose child used to come to Neev, but no longer does. She said her daughter was getting sick too often, and she switched her over to a small Montessori school with only 20 students. She hasn't been sick since, she said.


Friday, September 22, 2006

Here we go again. Drove up to the new Canadian International School (CIS) to check out first grade for Maya. Met with Penelope Abraham, the admissions director, and Jim Leahy, the new principal. Campus is not yet completed, but the classrooms, art room, and music room look great. Maya met Miss Ashi, who will be her new teacher. An old friend of hers, Sophie, will be in her class, as well as another Maya (daughter of Brazilian mom and American dad), and Nayeli, a little Guatemalan girl, and the daughter of a German friend and her American husband). The first time I met Nayeli I thought of Maya--cute little girl in a pavadi, with bindi and jasmine flowers in her braided hair).

The bus ride will be long (roughtly 14 miles) and early, but there will be some children from her class on the ride. And she's ready for first grade. Turned 6 years old this month, is repeating a lot of material that she'd studied last year in K1 at Neev's K2 program. CIS has an after school extracurricular program with lots of interesting activities: art, cricket, yoga, gardening.


Saturday, September 23, 2006

Badri and I went to the HAL Air Museum with the kids in the morning, and to the Army Riding School in the afternoon. Bought helmets for the girls (450rs, or $10, each), a red one for Molly and burgundy color for Maya. At first Maya was the only one who was going to ride, but Molly was dying to get on the horse, too, so we let her. Our friend who originally brought us there told us Molly couldn't ride, because it's an army-run riding school and they won't tolerate it if the child won't stay on for the whole hour. Well, Molly stayed on and got off happily at the end of the hour. The charge per hour per child is 300rs (or $6.66). Charlie was quite disappointed he couldn't go on, but he's definitely too young.

Badri and I went to Kirsty and Andrew's in Koramangala for dinner. Had a great time learning more about each other. They've been big travelers ever since they met, going separately to Africa while still in university, and studying Arabic in the Middle East. They love their India experience as well, and are just concerned about finding a next school for Angus that won't be too far away. A big concern for most parents in the city. All the good elementary schools are miles and miles outside the city, unless you want to send your child to the National Public School system, which is restricted to academics, with no extracurricular activites.


Sunday, September 24, 2006

Had a nice relaxing day. All five of us went on a neighborhood round and ended up at the children's park. Our friends Sarah and Wayne saw us as they were coming home from church and joined us with their four children. So the seven kids had a blast running around barefoot and playing in the sandbox for an hour. Came home for dosas then all had a good nap.

In the evening went to Hippocampus, a library/learning center in Koramangala for a Durga Mela (celebration).


Monday, September 25, 2006

Molly home today from school with a low grade fever.


Wednesday, September 27, 2006

Had a big playdate at our house with Marylouise and Hannah, Hae Jeong and Angela and Agnes, Yoko and Kanoka, Sheena, Justin and Melvin, and Aruni and her children. When the kids got tired of coloring, doing Kids Musical Yoga (DVD), and snacks, we took them across the park and they did a few rounds around the walking park. It's so convenient, and perfect for running off steam. The daily walkers look a little nonplussed at the mob of kids taking over their space, but it's all worth it.


Thursday, September 28, 2006

Went to the Canadian School (CIS) for the first PTA meeting at the new location. Ran into lots of familiar faces from when Maya went to the old CIS two years ago.


Friday, September 29, 2006

Today was Maya's last day at the Neev school. Badri and I were invited for a farewell party. The children from her class danced to a wonderful Bollywood song from a recent movie, then they gave Maya a beautiful poster all the children had created. I was close to tears. Very emotional moment. Maya thoroughly enjoyed her time at Neev and I was very happy with Malathy, her teacher there, Nilu, the art teacher, and Sangeetha, the music and dance teacher.


Saturday, September 30, 2006

Took the Shetabdi Express from Bangalore to Mysore for Dussehra. Dussehra of Mysore is a ten day long festival signifying the victory of good over evil. Dussehra literally means tenth day. It marks the end of nine days of Navratri.

Throughout India, Dussehra is celebrated in many different ways. But Mysore celebrates the festival in honor of Goddess Chamudeshwari. In places other than Mysore, it's celebrated as Saraswathi (goddess of knowledge) puja (which we did with Amma in 2004, blessing books, etc.) and in still other places, people do Ayudha Puja (which we did in 2005 with our former driver, Melvin, and rangoli maker, Ratnama--where we blessed the car). There were also lots of cars and auto rickshaws in Mysore that had just had the Ayudha Puja done. You can tell because the car is festooned with garlands of yellow flowers and jasmine and generally three horizontal white lines. In fact, on the morning we went to the zoo, we couldn't go on the bus tour because the bus was undergoing Ayudha Puja until 11am.

Arrived in Mysore to rain coming down in buckets. The hotel was to have sent a car to pick us up, but in the chaos around the station we were unable to find it, so took an auto rickshaw instead. The guy was in a real hurry driving, so kept trying to take off before Badri could get his body and big backpack in the back (without sitting on Molly, next to him).

Stayed at the Hotel Metropole, a Heritage Hotel, part of the chain of Royal Orchid Hotels http://www.nivalink.com/metropolemysore/index.html. I must say, we enjoyed this place more than any other hotel we've stayed in in India for a variety of reasons: the staff is so warm and friendly; the pool was terrific--2 ft and 4 ft sections, where Maya could swim and Charlie and Molly could walk around with their arm bands; the room and patio we had were enormous and very comfortable (Badri joked about how the patio is big enough you could have a cricket match there).


Metropole room


Dressed up to go out on the town and to the temple

We arrived at about 1pm on Saturday. In the afternoon we took a drive to the Mysore Palace, which is brilliantly lit up for the holiday season. In fact, at all the roundabouts (traffic circles) there are so many lights that it looks like Christmas in the U.S.!


Tubby a trois

Sunday, October 1, 2006

After breakfast we briefly went to the Mysore Zoo. I say briefly because we didn't bring a stroller and by the time anything opens, Molly and Charlie are pretty tired. That's the tough part: they wake up at 6 in the morning, and nothing in India opens until 10:30. By the time that hour rolls around, they're ready for a nap.

In the evening we drove up to Chamundi Hills to the Chamundeswari Temple. What a sight! The temple is lit up and changes color every few seconds, from yellow to pink to blue to green. On once face of the temple you can see monkeys jumping all around. We had a Gold Pass which gets you into special lines (queus) so that you don't have to wait as long to get into the main attractions. The temple is one of the most popular. There was a very long line, but with the pass we didn't have to wait. It comes at a price though: 5000rs (apx $111). It includes entrance to a lot of the public events (zoo, temple, palace) and gives a discount at the hotel.


You have to leave your shoes outside the temple


Chamundeswari Temple illuminated for Dussera

While we were going through the temple Maya was holding a lotus flower and one of the mischievous monkeys grabbed the flower from her, grazing her cheek in the process. Didn't break the skin though, but she was quite shaken up. From then, Molly called them all "naughty monkeys!" Maya seemed less upset as soon as she saw the bharatanatyam dancers on the stage, just across from the temple. She waivers from month to month: one minute begging for classical dance classes and the next minute saying "naw". Turned out to be a lovely evening. Gave one of the priests outside the temple a donation and we each got threaded bead bracelets.

Had dinner at Olive Garden, a restaurant in a nearby hotel. Lots of ducks and geese in the stream that's part of the restaurant. That kept the kids quite entertained and happy, so we all had a good time.


Monday, October 2, 2006

Relaxed in the morning, going down for breakfast, then waiting until it warmed up for a bit before going to the swimming pool. Molly has a great time in the shallow end with her water wings, cheering on Maya as she swims more and more on her own.


Relaxing after a swim at the Metropole pool

Left for the Palace to see the "Victory March" with parading elephants and the resident goddess, Chamundeshwari. There was a big crowd of people, but with the Gold Pass, getting in was less hectic. Ran into Kirsty and her family there, along with another friend and her son from Neev.


Elephants in procession at Mysore Palace, Dussera





Charlie mercifully crashed out at the Palace, finally

Tuesday, October 3, 2006

At breakfast the day we were leaving, one of the waiters pinched Charlie on the cheek and he cringed. Molly said, defensively: "Don't do that. He doesn't like it." The waiter apologized to Molly, and she replied, "Say sorry to him, not to me." Later, on the train, an elderly gentleman pinched Charlie's cheek. I explained to Maya that people generally pinch smaller children's cheeks, not bigger kids, like her (Maya was standing right next to Charlie). The gentleman told us that it's a sign of love and affection.