Tuesday, January 12, 2010
January Update from Bangalore
January Update from Bangalore
January 1, 2010
Party broke up early-ish for the ex-Neev parent crowd--2am.
January 2, 2010
January 8, 2010
Maya didn't feel great this morning, and since I had feeled so blah for a couple weeks, I completely understood. She stayed home, and by evening, she was running such a high fever that we called Dr. Khaitan over. 1000rs well spent--she had a temp of 104 and he was quite sure it was a bacterial infection. We picked up the antibiotics and tried to cool her off in a tepid bath.
January 9, 2010
Today her temp was hovering between 101 and 103. Went to Manipal in the evening for a blood test and got the results back a few hours later. Viral infection. No wonder the fever didn't go right down with the antibiotics. Dr. Kaitan recommended keeping her on the antibiotic in case there was a secondary infection.
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Badri went with Charlie to soccer on Millers Rd. Five of his classmates are in the league so he's having a great time.
Went to Monkey Maze at 3pm for Charlie's 6th birthday party. Invited his Aditi classmates and his best buddies from Neev--Maithreya, Matthias and Maria, and Anupama. About 24 kids came and they all had a blast. Around 5pm, two policeman showed up telling us we had to close the party down. Apparently, the neighbors were complaining because of the loud noise.
Monday, Jan 11 2010
Took the morning walk in the neighborhood. Scooter windshield depicting Jesus. Lovely coloms front of most houses on one of the quiet cross streets.
Maya to piano 5:30
paid Priti 6600rs for Molly's classes
January 12, 2010
Maya stayed home from school today. 17 kids were absent yesterday, so they said no school for this class only.
Book club at Kitty's
January 13, 2010
Lavina and Gitushka here for playdate.
Dinner with Anusha and Claire at Chancery Pavilion turned out to be a big birthday party for Anusha. Great time with class moms.
No school--Sankranthia
January 14, 2010
Dinner at Veronique's. She and Emmanuel, Badri and me. Really become comfortable hanging out with them.
January 15, 2009 Subramaniam, the God of Indian Violin
Meeting with Kakli.
Playdate at Marylouise's.
Went to a phenomenal jazz show tonight at Chowdiah Memorial Hall. It was a free concert, and you had to collect a pass at the Times of India (the sponsor) building earlier in the week. Eswaran (our driver) tried to pick them up last Fri., but they ran out and said to come back the next day. Badri went after Charlie's soccer and there was a big crowd there, but he managed to get the pass.
Tonight when we arrived at Chowdiah there was a big line of people snaking around the building waiting to get in. It was free seating, so we just hoped we would get seats. Rumor going through the line was that Times had handed out more passes than there were seats. By 7pm, we were seated, but it wasn't easy. There were security guards standing at the first dozen rows not allowing anyone to sit, and the rest of the auditorium was full. Eventually the security guards relented and we took our seats in about the 11th row.
The MC (with a garish red sequined outfit and an I Dream of Genie hairstyle) announced that the show would begin at 7pm, and everyone was to take their seats. A harmonica player, , a saxaphone player, Ernie Watts, classical singer in sari, wife of Subramanian accompanied by musicians on the dais; rock/pop singer, daughter of Subramanian, then Subramanian himself and his son, Ambi. Terrific guitarist. Incredible fusion of rock, Indian classical, jazz--I was completely buzzed. It was the first time I ever hoped that one of my kids would become a violinist. Father and son played dueling violins with amazing energy. The accompanists played with blissed out smiles while they jammed furiously.
Music started promptly at 7:05, then the overflow crowd who couldn't get inside started knocking on the doors, some of them actually chanting to get in, then physically pushing the security guards at the door to get in. Badri and I really thought a fight might break out. Eventually the MC put a stop to it--said "let everybody enjoy the music" and let the crowd in to file up the side and middle aisles, and sit on the floor in front of the stage. I'm sure it broke every fire code law in the book (if there is one in India), but at least everyone was happy and a riot was staved off.
Not knowing anything about Dr. Subramaniam before, I naturally googled him after the show to find out who this amazing musician was. He's regaled as possessing "the serenity of an Indian musician combined with the magnetism of a western 'star'". I could tell by only a few of the quips he made in between compositions that he had a great sense of humor. As he introduced the dozen people on stage, he finished by introducing his son, Ambi, who he said tells him to say his name three times, so father did so, finishing with a flourish of his bow that looked to be a combination of an annointment and a bat over the head. (See indianviolin.com)
January 16, 2010
Charlie soccer this a.m.
Maya to piano then playdate at Pragya's. Molly playdate here with Khushi. She's such a great buddy of Molly's. Her date has said that whenever we visit Bangalore, Molly is more than welcome to stay with them.
Charlie went to Manu's after soccer for a playdate.
Maya and Molly to Nilu's for art.
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Badri took Charlie to his friend Maithreya's birthday party, just a few blocks from us. I brought Molly to her classmate Simran's birthday party at their farmhouse off Old Madras Rd, 10km from KR Puram.
This morning Molly asked me this morning "how old will I be when I've lived life to the fullest?" May be because she asked how long she would live recently, and I told her we need to live life to the fullest.
January 18, 2010
pedicure at Woodlands.
When I pass some roads on my walks, I like to note ones that haven't undergone much change or gentrification. 7th Main, 3rd Cross Indiranagar. Very few bungalows have been converted.
January 19, 2010
Lunch at Marylouise's, then directly to the airport for a 5pm flight to Pune.
Molly went to Priti's after school.
January 20, 2010
Did Thriving trainings at John Deere today for Karthik Subbaraj, John Gundupalli, and Ankur Agarwal.
January 21, 2010
Trained Rohan Kulkarni and flew back to Bangalore on Kingfisher
January 22, 2010
Badri met with Kakli at 11:30.
Maya had basketball staybacks. She's definitely loving bball more than soccer these days.
January 23, 2010
Charlie was completely chuffed to win MVP for junior division soccer today. After he played we met Arati, Mohit, and Abu at the Egg Factory for a nice breakfast. This is our only and favorite breakfast joint in Bangalore. Serve eggs every style and have very clever sayings written all over the walls. The coolest bathroom ever, too. This is only one of two places I ever wanted to take a picture of the bathroom--this, and a hotel/resto Badri and i went to for jazz/sushi night.
Molly met with Kakli today from 2-3:30.
Went to Claytopia Bistro for Ana's birthday party. She's a friend of Molly's we met at the Park pool. She'd gone to Neev a couple years ago, but we didn't get to know her then. Her mom, Svenja, works at Accenture. At the party we met a nice woman with two kids, Hari and (daughter?) who will be moving back to Hopkinton, MA in June. I was very excited to get her email so we could get in touch in the states. I'm becoming totally sentimental as we prepare to leave India later this year.
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Went to Marylouise's to spend most of the day with the families. Brought dosa over. Anything I bring to her place always feels superfluous because she's so completely prepared for guests with multi-course cuisines, no matter the time of day.
January 25, 2010 No school--Republic Day
Maya pinao.
Badri leaves for the US early in the a.m. The Meru cab was late so had to speed all the way, with the automatic recording repeating over and over: "you're exceeding the speed limit." Got there in time, though. [talk about the change to the road since the new airport built. Locals not used to high speed road, so x number of ppl have died in x months]
January 26, 2010
Went for a walk with Divya in the a.m. after the kids got the bus.
Maya was chosen for sports day at Aditi.
Took Molly to Priti's then we went to lunch at Cha bar at Leela.
Maya to Mahika's for a playdate.
In the evening we went to a magic show at the Library
Janaki auntie chemo
January 27, 2010
Rita is taking some time off to get her diabetes under control. Marylouise's cook, Selvi, has a sister named Amla. Basically Shanti showed Amla around and showed her how we like things like kootu, chola, bindi, beet root rasam and aloo fry, rajma and gobi, paratha, mutter paneer, lobia dal and stuffed capsicum, biryani with double beans--our favorite things.
Met Vini at Au Bon Pain on MG Road today. ABP just arrived in town--another western transplant, oh yay. The bread wasn't fresh and the soup was too spicy. Why do they try? Just like trying to put on a "real" Thanksgiving Dinner at The Only Place. But they sure do do a good steak!
In the afternoon Kamala, Gopal, and Usha Chitti arrived from Delhi for a visit.
January 28, 2010
Went for lunch at Deepti's with Irfana, Brinda, Divya
Koyal went with Eswaran to pick up Molly at Nandidurg Rd. after her bharatanatyam class.
Kitty and I carpooled to the Sports Fest in Koramangala. Maya did the long jump and 600 meter race. Lots of Aditi parents upset that most kids didn't know what event they were participating in until this morning. Parents said kids are embarassed because there's not enough preparation by coaches and Aditi wins so few medals. Maya was a bit disheartened.
January 29, 2010
Brought Kamala, Gopal and Ushachitti to UB City so they can see where the rich go to shop. Totally high end stuff. Went in to check out one of the designer boutiques and while we ladies browsed, I could overheard Gopal's conversation with one of the sales guys. He was asking him in all earnestness how they could ask such high prices for the clothes. And the young man tried to answer him seriously, also.
Maya got a ride with Pragya to the Bangalore Club where the got a bus for their field trip to the Banyan tree. We went there in the first year we came to Bangalore. Ancient banyan tree extending for ? meters, all one tree.
Visited Janaki auntie today.
January 30, 2010
Kam and Go and Ushachittie went to Srirangapatna today.
January 31
Kitty's birthday.
All of us went to Ashok Lalit for lunch. Kids swam.
January 1, 2010
Party broke up early-ish for the ex-Neev parent crowd--2am.
January 2, 2010
January 8, 2010
Maya didn't feel great this morning, and since I had feeled so blah for a couple weeks, I completely understood. She stayed home, and by evening, she was running such a high fever that we called Dr. Khaitan over. 1000rs well spent--she had a temp of 104 and he was quite sure it was a bacterial infection. We picked up the antibiotics and tried to cool her off in a tepid bath.
January 9, 2010
Today her temp was hovering between 101 and 103. Went to Manipal in the evening for a blood test and got the results back a few hours later. Viral infection. No wonder the fever didn't go right down with the antibiotics. Dr. Kaitan recommended keeping her on the antibiotic in case there was a secondary infection.
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Badri went with Charlie to soccer on Millers Rd. Five of his classmates are in the league so he's having a great time.
Went to Monkey Maze at 3pm for Charlie's 6th birthday party. Invited his Aditi classmates and his best buddies from Neev--Maithreya, Matthias and Maria, and Anupama. About 24 kids came and they all had a blast. Around 5pm, two policeman showed up telling us we had to close the party down. Apparently, the neighbors were complaining because of the loud noise.
Monday, Jan 11 2010
Took the morning walk in the neighborhood. Scooter windshield depicting Jesus. Lovely coloms front of most houses on one of the quiet cross streets.
Maya to piano 5:30
paid Priti 6600rs for Molly's classes
January 12, 2010
Maya stayed home from school today. 17 kids were absent yesterday, so they said no school for this class only.
Book club at Kitty's
January 13, 2010
Lavina and Gitushka here for playdate.
Dinner with Anusha and Claire at Chancery Pavilion turned out to be a big birthday party for Anusha. Great time with class moms.
No school--Sankranthia
January 14, 2010
Dinner at Veronique's. She and Emmanuel, Badri and me. Really become comfortable hanging out with them.
January 15, 2009 Subramaniam, the God of Indian Violin
Meeting with Kakli.
Playdate at Marylouise's.
Went to a phenomenal jazz show tonight at Chowdiah Memorial Hall. It was a free concert, and you had to collect a pass at the Times of India (the sponsor) building earlier in the week. Eswaran (our driver) tried to pick them up last Fri., but they ran out and said to come back the next day. Badri went after Charlie's soccer and there was a big crowd there, but he managed to get the pass.
Tonight when we arrived at Chowdiah there was a big line of people snaking around the building waiting to get in. It was free seating, so we just hoped we would get seats. Rumor going through the line was that Times had handed out more passes than there were seats. By 7pm, we were seated, but it wasn't easy. There were security guards standing at the first dozen rows not allowing anyone to sit, and the rest of the auditorium was full. Eventually the security guards relented and we took our seats in about the 11th row.
The MC (with a garish red sequined outfit and an I Dream of Genie hairstyle) announced that the show would begin at 7pm, and everyone was to take their seats. A harmonica player, , a saxaphone player, Ernie Watts, classical singer in sari, wife of Subramanian accompanied by musicians on the dais; rock/pop singer, daughter of Subramanian, then Subramanian himself and his son, Ambi. Terrific guitarist. Incredible fusion of rock, Indian classical, jazz--I was completely buzzed. It was the first time I ever hoped that one of my kids would become a violinist. Father and son played dueling violins with amazing energy. The accompanists played with blissed out smiles while they jammed furiously.
Music started promptly at 7:05, then the overflow crowd who couldn't get inside started knocking on the doors, some of them actually chanting to get in, then physically pushing the security guards at the door to get in. Badri and I really thought a fight might break out. Eventually the MC put a stop to it--said "let everybody enjoy the music" and let the crowd in to file up the side and middle aisles, and sit on the floor in front of the stage. I'm sure it broke every fire code law in the book (if there is one in India), but at least everyone was happy and a riot was staved off.
Not knowing anything about Dr. Subramaniam before, I naturally googled him after the show to find out who this amazing musician was. He's regaled as possessing "the serenity of an Indian musician combined with the magnetism of a western 'star'". I could tell by only a few of the quips he made in between compositions that he had a great sense of humor. As he introduced the dozen people on stage, he finished by introducing his son, Ambi, who he said tells him to say his name three times, so father did so, finishing with a flourish of his bow that looked to be a combination of an annointment and a bat over the head. (See indianviolin.com)
January 16, 2010
Charlie soccer this a.m.
Maya to piano then playdate at Pragya's. Molly playdate here with Khushi. She's such a great buddy of Molly's. Her date has said that whenever we visit Bangalore, Molly is more than welcome to stay with them.
Charlie went to Manu's after soccer for a playdate.
Maya and Molly to Nilu's for art.
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Badri took Charlie to his friend Maithreya's birthday party, just a few blocks from us. I brought Molly to her classmate Simran's birthday party at their farmhouse off Old Madras Rd, 10km from KR Puram.
This morning Molly asked me this morning "how old will I be when I've lived life to the fullest?" May be because she asked how long she would live recently, and I told her we need to live life to the fullest.
January 18, 2010
pedicure at Woodlands.
When I pass some roads on my walks, I like to note ones that haven't undergone much change or gentrification. 7th Main, 3rd Cross Indiranagar. Very few bungalows have been converted.
January 19, 2010
Lunch at Marylouise's, then directly to the airport for a 5pm flight to Pune.
Molly went to Priti's after school.
January 20, 2010
Did Thriving trainings at John Deere today for Karthik Subbaraj, John Gundupalli, and Ankur Agarwal.
January 21, 2010
Trained Rohan Kulkarni and flew back to Bangalore on Kingfisher
January 22, 2010
Badri met with Kakli at 11:30.
Maya had basketball staybacks. She's definitely loving bball more than soccer these days.
January 23, 2010
Charlie was completely chuffed to win MVP for junior division soccer today. After he played we met Arati, Mohit, and Abu at the Egg Factory for a nice breakfast. This is our only and favorite breakfast joint in Bangalore. Serve eggs every style and have very clever sayings written all over the walls. The coolest bathroom ever, too. This is only one of two places I ever wanted to take a picture of the bathroom--this, and a hotel/resto Badri and i went to for jazz/sushi night.
Molly met with Kakli today from 2-3:30.
Went to Claytopia Bistro for Ana's birthday party. She's a friend of Molly's we met at the Park pool. She'd gone to Neev a couple years ago, but we didn't get to know her then. Her mom, Svenja, works at Accenture. At the party we met a nice woman with two kids, Hari and (daughter?) who will be moving back to Hopkinton, MA in June. I was very excited to get her email so we could get in touch in the states. I'm becoming totally sentimental as we prepare to leave India later this year.
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Went to Marylouise's to spend most of the day with the families. Brought dosa over. Anything I bring to her place always feels superfluous because she's so completely prepared for guests with multi-course cuisines, no matter the time of day.
January 25, 2010 No school--Republic Day
Maya pinao.
Badri leaves for the US early in the a.m. The Meru cab was late so had to speed all the way, with the automatic recording repeating over and over: "you're exceeding the speed limit." Got there in time, though. [talk about the change to the road since the new airport built. Locals not used to high speed road, so x number of ppl have died in x months]
January 26, 2010
Went for a walk with Divya in the a.m. after the kids got the bus.
Maya was chosen for sports day at Aditi.
Took Molly to Priti's then we went to lunch at Cha bar at Leela.
Maya to Mahika's for a playdate.
In the evening we went to a magic show at the Library
Janaki auntie chemo
January 27, 2010
Rita is taking some time off to get her diabetes under control. Marylouise's cook, Selvi, has a sister named Amla. Basically Shanti showed Amla around and showed her how we like things like kootu, chola, bindi, beet root rasam and aloo fry, rajma and gobi, paratha, mutter paneer, lobia dal and stuffed capsicum, biryani with double beans--our favorite things.
Met Vini at Au Bon Pain on MG Road today. ABP just arrived in town--another western transplant, oh yay. The bread wasn't fresh and the soup was too spicy. Why do they try? Just like trying to put on a "real" Thanksgiving Dinner at The Only Place. But they sure do do a good steak!
In the afternoon Kamala, Gopal, and Usha Chitti arrived from Delhi for a visit.
January 28, 2010
Went for lunch at Deepti's with Irfana, Brinda, Divya
Koyal went with Eswaran to pick up Molly at Nandidurg Rd. after her bharatanatyam class.
Kitty and I carpooled to the Sports Fest in Koramangala. Maya did the long jump and 600 meter race. Lots of Aditi parents upset that most kids didn't know what event they were participating in until this morning. Parents said kids are embarassed because there's not enough preparation by coaches and Aditi wins so few medals. Maya was a bit disheartened.
January 29, 2010
Brought Kamala, Gopal and Ushachitti to UB City so they can see where the rich go to shop. Totally high end stuff. Went in to check out one of the designer boutiques and while we ladies browsed, I could overheard Gopal's conversation with one of the sales guys. He was asking him in all earnestness how they could ask such high prices for the clothes. And the young man tried to answer him seriously, also.
Maya got a ride with Pragya to the Bangalore Club where the got a bus for their field trip to the Banyan tree. We went there in the first year we came to Bangalore. Ancient banyan tree extending for ? meters, all one tree.
Visited Janaki auntie today.
January 30, 2010
Kam and Go and Ushachittie went to Srirangapatna today.
January 31
Kitty's birthday.
All of us went to Ashok Lalit for lunch. Kids swam.
