Thursday, September 30, 2004
Sept. 29, Wed.
Here we are, the end of the month. How does the time fly by so quickly? Poor Charlie and Maya (now Molly's out of the woods for the moment, and Maya's cold's back)--the colds are hanging on. It's like they nearly get over it, only to pick up another one.
I'm continuing to meet with friends for dinner Tues. nights. Still haven't gotten around to finding volunteer work.
Went to lunch at Celine's house on Sunday where she was having a Thanksgiving to the Mother Mary. She, her daughters (Regina and Rebecca, in their early 20s), and Indira and Rita (the wonderful "aunties" who have come and cooked for us when we were without a cook) cooked food and invited the poor in the neighborhood to come eat. There were prayers said and then people ate. Some people came with containers and brought the food home to their families, and others stayed and ate there. Badri and I felt pretty humbled by the fact that these women of quite modest means were being so generous with their neighbors. We talked with Indira about coming here sometime in the next few Saturdays to do something similar in our neighborhood. There are so many families who live in the construction sites of apartment buildings that are being built. There would be no shortage of need around here.
The latest with the kids:
Had Maya's first parent/teacher conference today and she's doing great. Her teacher, Ms. Mudhar, is Canadian, and says she's a joy to have in the class. We've been carpooling with Maya's classmate, Grace, from England, but starting next week we may be going with another of Maya's friends, Kumali, who lives a bit closer. My latest favorite nursery tune of Maya's: "hot crotch buns" (her version of Hot Cross Buns). She loves painting these days. We've basically converted Charlie's bathroom into a paint supply storage room. Maya can just go in there, grab everything she needs and start painting away in the playroom, which is just next to Charlie's nursery.
Molly's talking up a storm. Has full fledged sentences like, "Go away now Appa" (said while she's climbing the stairs), "I want yogurt with bananas mama," "I want to go for a ride in the carseat!" Sometimes I wonder where she is and find that she's sitting by the windowseat in her room reading books. She knows most of the words to some of her favorite books ("Good Night Harry", "It's Too Soon", "Everyone Poops", the Mcduff series, etc.) Loves to count and sing her ABCs. Finally climbing up the ladder to the slide nearly unassisted. And she's quick to fold her hands in prayer and say "Namaste" in greeting to people.
Charlie wants to walk--oh no!! Or, at least, he's reaching out for us to help him pull up all the time. When he's not miserable with his cold, he has the most engaging smile and dimples. Loves to watch his sisters and their antics. He loves eating lots of the table food they do, like dosa, dal, chicken stew (all mashed really well, or torn in tiny pieces).
As of this writing, we have a new cook. Her name is Vanney. I found her through the family of Maya's friend Grace. She's 25 years old and an amazing cook! She's also wonderful with the children. Dhanalaxmi is no longer with us. I just felt too uncomfortable having an overnight helper. As crazy as things can be in the morning with three little ones under 4 years old, it's nice to have just the family for the waking moments.
To those of you in the northeast, please enjoy a little leaf peeking for me.
All the best to you all.
Kelly
Sunday, Sept. 12
On vacation in the state of Himachal Pradesh, at the foot of the Himalayas, for 10 days. Our first stop was Pragpur. We flew from Bangalore to Delhi on Fri., the 10th. Barely made our 9:30 am flight because--among other things--the battery in our alarm clock died and we overslept half an hour. Took the 2 1/2 hr. flight to Delhi. We brought Celine Aunty (the kids have started calling our nanny Celine "Celine Aunty"--using Aunty or Uncle is a sign of respect used with elders), thank goodness. It's not getting any easier flying with three children now that Charlie is more interested in the world around him.
In Delhi we stayed at the Maurya Sheraton, where we arrived to find they were overbooked, and our two single rooms weren't available. A few hours later we were bumped into the Empress Suite (two full bedrooms and baths, plus a pantry with full fridge and freezer, and a huge living room/dining room). Took a swim in the pool. Charlie's first time in the pool--he loved it! Ordered room service for the kids and put them to bed, then Badri and I went to dinner at Bukhara, a BBQ place where former pres. Clinton ate there once with his daughter Chelsea.
Unfortunately we had to wake at 5 am to catch a 6:20 am train to Jalandhar. The kids loved the five hour train ride. Unfortunately they don't allow (?!) seats to be bought for children under five, so we had only three seats for the six of us. Train was packed so we couldn't spread out at all. Then had a terribly rough and rocky three hour car ride to Pragpur. The road was barely there a good portion of the way. At one point Charlie was so jostled around (I have to confess--we brought no car seats on this trip) he threw up all over me, poor thing. We pulled over to a stand on the side of the road and a vendor gave us a jug of water so I could clean off Charlie and myself. He still has a cold, but until this trip we were really thinking he was on the tale end of it. Arrived in Pragpur shortly before dark and stayed in a place called Judge's Court. Very hot and muggy. Big old country manor. 150 years old. Beautiful grassy lawn in the back surrounded by gardens. Beautiful black lab called Cobbler who entertained the kids a good part of the time. Very sweet and lovable dog.
The village of Pragpur was founded in the late 16th century. There's a path leading from the back of the house into the village. It's a beautiful little village with narrow cobblestone streets and no cars, just occasional two wheelers.
Walking through the village, it was interesting to see the tiny shops side by side with the mochi (cobbler) here, barber there, doctor here, sweetshop, post office, etc.
There is a water tank that looks like a large swimming pool, which was built in 1881. Children were swimming in it each time we walked by. It has a beautiful carved tiger mouth spout.
One afternoon walked to the village with Charlie in the backpack and Molly in the stroller. Next to the ornamental village tank is a Hanuman (monkey god) temple where many women were doing a pooja (prayer). All the women there wear salwar kameez (long shirt with blousy pants), not saris. People were very friendly with us.
I wished I had more time to walk through the village and soak in the sights, take pictures, etc. I just really enjoy the tiny, walkable places. Unfortunately in the four days in Pragpur, Celine got sick and then I did the next day and was laid up for almost two days. Based on what we'd eaten and drank, we figured it might have been a bad bottle of "spring" water. Badri didn't get sick.
On the morning we were to leave, Sept. 15, it was pouring so heavily we didn't know if we'd be able to make the drive from Pragpur to Simla. The driver decided it would be okay, but then he was driving so fast and the road conditions were so rough that Charlie threw up all over me and himself again (by that time, I'd learned to keep a change of clothes for both of us at the top of the backpack, and not just in the suitcase).
We were told the drive would be 5 to 7 hours long, and it took us nearly 9 hours. Bone rattling ride, really, but beautiful. Endless switchbacks looking out to the Himalayas.
Simla's an amazing place in the mountains. It used to be the summer capitol of India when the entire government moved up to this cool retreat for 7 months of the year. All the structures are built helter skelter up the sides of mountains. It looks like with the slightest tremor everything would go sliding down the mountainsides.
We stayed at Wildflower Hall, an amazing resort in the next town over from Simla. It sits 8,250 ft. above sea level and is set in 23 acres of virgin woods of pine and cedar. Lord Kitchener used to live in a house on this site, and when it burned down, this place was built by the Oberoi group.
We were there off season, so in the entire 4 floors there were only 9 rooms occupied. Coincidentally, Mr. Oberoi was in town (we learned from a waiter) for a meeting so he was staying in the top suite our first night.
The views from Wildflower Hall were gorgeous--of valleys, mountains, and clouds all around. The weather was rainy and cloudy the first day and a half, and then it cleared up for magnificent views. We took advantage of all the amenities: the pool, exercise equipment, sauna, spa (I had a fantastic stress relieving massage, followed by a sauna), yoga class on a little hill looking out to the mountains, Badri had a guided 2 1/2 hour hike, Maya went horseback riding twice, took art class two days, and I had a pedicure. We took all the kids in the pool a couple times each. Maya's really eager to learn how to swim. I'll be signing her up for swimming lessons at the local club. Hopefully that will work out. Molly and Charlie both love the water as well. One of Molly's favorite lines when the weather heat up: "I wanto to go to the pool--yah!!"
On our way back to Bangalore we went through Delhi and stayed at the Maurya Sheraton again. Once again, we were bumped up to the Empress Suite, for free (because of management's confusion our previous week there). We called Badri's Aunt Usha and cousins Neelam and Kadham and they came over with their daughters Uttara and Karuna and son. They met us at the pool and we had a great time. Maya was in heaven spending time with her cousins. They came up to the suite and the children had an early dinner. We talked about me traveling up to Delhi with the kids at some time when Badri's busy with work so the cousins could get to know each other even better.
Sunday, Sept. 5
Maya had her 4th birthday party yesterday at Jaamba Jungle. We invited 10 of her friends, who were from 5 different families (1 to 3 children per family). All but one of the families lives within 3 blocks of our place. Jaamba Jungle is like Chuck E. Cheese, only smaller. Maya had a fantastic time, and Badri and I were amazed at how well it went off. It was the first time we'd had a birthday party for the children outside of the house. I highly recommend it for any frazzled parents--a fraction of the work!
Thursday, Sept. 2
Starting the update this month with a reality check for everybody--not all is wine and roses in India.
As I re-read past entries, I can see how I've left out some of the less savory parts of our time here.
Where do I begin: Molly's in the throes of terrible twos. I'm not sure exactly when they started. The outbursts are generally restricted to home, but this past weekend we made the big mistake of running a couple errands (ordering Maya's birthday cake at one place, and buying her a new backpack for school at another place called Bangalore Central--rather like a 4 story mall) around prime meltdown time--6 pm. Basically I had to carry her kicking and screaming down four floors of escalators, while people stared at me like I might be kidnapping this kid. When we reached outside, a helpful mom handed me a cookie, saying her kid had been doing the same thing, and this is what saved her. Nice try, but it didn't work for Molly.
Both Molly and Charlie have terrible colds. Charlie's is worse--over the last week he's been throwing up a couple times daily. Today was the first day he hasn't, so I'll just keep my fingers crossed that he's on the road to recovery.
The commute to Maya's new school is hellacious. It takes 35-55 minutes.
It looks like our driver, Mohan, is missing in action. We've had a new driver the last few days, Ramesh. He lives closer to us (Mohan's commute was at least an hour to get here), so the 7:45 departure to Maya's school will be more realistic for him. He's a little slower, but that's part of the reason I'm more relaxed and feel safe with him. The road to the Canadian School is just horrible. Maya's jr. kindergarten class is meeting from 8:30-12 for the first week, so basically I get in the car at 7:45, drop her off and return home about 9:30, then get in the car again by 11 am and return by 1pm. By the time I get home my brains are scrambled. Extremely bumpy roads and horrible suspension on our car.
Maya's 4th birthday
Judge's Court in Pragpur
Playing with Cobbler on Judge's Court lawn
Maya on Laughter at Wildflower Hall
All of us in front of Wildflower Hall
Charlie at Wildflower Hall
Now if only Charlie could find his thumb...
Maya in salwar kameez with dupatta (scarf) from Ushamu
Back at home
Here we are, the end of the month. How does the time fly by so quickly? Poor Charlie and Maya (now Molly's out of the woods for the moment, and Maya's cold's back)--the colds are hanging on. It's like they nearly get over it, only to pick up another one.
I'm continuing to meet with friends for dinner Tues. nights. Still haven't gotten around to finding volunteer work.
Went to lunch at Celine's house on Sunday where she was having a Thanksgiving to the Mother Mary. She, her daughters (Regina and Rebecca, in their early 20s), and Indira and Rita (the wonderful "aunties" who have come and cooked for us when we were without a cook) cooked food and invited the poor in the neighborhood to come eat. There were prayers said and then people ate. Some people came with containers and brought the food home to their families, and others stayed and ate there. Badri and I felt pretty humbled by the fact that these women of quite modest means were being so generous with their neighbors. We talked with Indira about coming here sometime in the next few Saturdays to do something similar in our neighborhood. There are so many families who live in the construction sites of apartment buildings that are being built. There would be no shortage of need around here.
The latest with the kids:
Had Maya's first parent/teacher conference today and she's doing great. Her teacher, Ms. Mudhar, is Canadian, and says she's a joy to have in the class. We've been carpooling with Maya's classmate, Grace, from England, but starting next week we may be going with another of Maya's friends, Kumali, who lives a bit closer. My latest favorite nursery tune of Maya's: "hot crotch buns" (her version of Hot Cross Buns). She loves painting these days. We've basically converted Charlie's bathroom into a paint supply storage room. Maya can just go in there, grab everything she needs and start painting away in the playroom, which is just next to Charlie's nursery.
Molly's talking up a storm. Has full fledged sentences like, "Go away now Appa" (said while she's climbing the stairs), "I want yogurt with bananas mama," "I want to go for a ride in the carseat!" Sometimes I wonder where she is and find that she's sitting by the windowseat in her room reading books. She knows most of the words to some of her favorite books ("Good Night Harry", "It's Too Soon", "Everyone Poops", the Mcduff series, etc.) Loves to count and sing her ABCs. Finally climbing up the ladder to the slide nearly unassisted. And she's quick to fold her hands in prayer and say "Namaste" in greeting to people.
Charlie wants to walk--oh no!! Or, at least, he's reaching out for us to help him pull up all the time. When he's not miserable with his cold, he has the most engaging smile and dimples. Loves to watch his sisters and their antics. He loves eating lots of the table food they do, like dosa, dal, chicken stew (all mashed really well, or torn in tiny pieces).
As of this writing, we have a new cook. Her name is Vanney. I found her through the family of Maya's friend Grace. She's 25 years old and an amazing cook! She's also wonderful with the children. Dhanalaxmi is no longer with us. I just felt too uncomfortable having an overnight helper. As crazy as things can be in the morning with three little ones under 4 years old, it's nice to have just the family for the waking moments.
To those of you in the northeast, please enjoy a little leaf peeking for me.
All the best to you all.
Kelly
Sunday, Sept. 12
On vacation in the state of Himachal Pradesh, at the foot of the Himalayas, for 10 days. Our first stop was Pragpur. We flew from Bangalore to Delhi on Fri., the 10th. Barely made our 9:30 am flight because--among other things--the battery in our alarm clock died and we overslept half an hour. Took the 2 1/2 hr. flight to Delhi. We brought Celine Aunty (the kids have started calling our nanny Celine "Celine Aunty"--using Aunty or Uncle is a sign of respect used with elders), thank goodness. It's not getting any easier flying with three children now that Charlie is more interested in the world around him.
In Delhi we stayed at the Maurya Sheraton, where we arrived to find they were overbooked, and our two single rooms weren't available. A few hours later we were bumped into the Empress Suite (two full bedrooms and baths, plus a pantry with full fridge and freezer, and a huge living room/dining room). Took a swim in the pool. Charlie's first time in the pool--he loved it! Ordered room service for the kids and put them to bed, then Badri and I went to dinner at Bukhara, a BBQ place where former pres. Clinton ate there once with his daughter Chelsea.
Unfortunately we had to wake at 5 am to catch a 6:20 am train to Jalandhar. The kids loved the five hour train ride. Unfortunately they don't allow (?!) seats to be bought for children under five, so we had only three seats for the six of us. Train was packed so we couldn't spread out at all. Then had a terribly rough and rocky three hour car ride to Pragpur. The road was barely there a good portion of the way. At one point Charlie was so jostled around (I have to confess--we brought no car seats on this trip) he threw up all over me, poor thing. We pulled over to a stand on the side of the road and a vendor gave us a jug of water so I could clean off Charlie and myself. He still has a cold, but until this trip we were really thinking he was on the tale end of it. Arrived in Pragpur shortly before dark and stayed in a place called Judge's Court. Very hot and muggy. Big old country manor. 150 years old. Beautiful grassy lawn in the back surrounded by gardens. Beautiful black lab called Cobbler who entertained the kids a good part of the time. Very sweet and lovable dog.
The village of Pragpur was founded in the late 16th century. There's a path leading from the back of the house into the village. It's a beautiful little village with narrow cobblestone streets and no cars, just occasional two wheelers.
Walking through the village, it was interesting to see the tiny shops side by side with the mochi (cobbler) here, barber there, doctor here, sweetshop, post office, etc.
There is a water tank that looks like a large swimming pool, which was built in 1881. Children were swimming in it each time we walked by. It has a beautiful carved tiger mouth spout.
One afternoon walked to the village with Charlie in the backpack and Molly in the stroller. Next to the ornamental village tank is a Hanuman (monkey god) temple where many women were doing a pooja (prayer). All the women there wear salwar kameez (long shirt with blousy pants), not saris. People were very friendly with us.
I wished I had more time to walk through the village and soak in the sights, take pictures, etc. I just really enjoy the tiny, walkable places. Unfortunately in the four days in Pragpur, Celine got sick and then I did the next day and was laid up for almost two days. Based on what we'd eaten and drank, we figured it might have been a bad bottle of "spring" water. Badri didn't get sick.
On the morning we were to leave, Sept. 15, it was pouring so heavily we didn't know if we'd be able to make the drive from Pragpur to Simla. The driver decided it would be okay, but then he was driving so fast and the road conditions were so rough that Charlie threw up all over me and himself again (by that time, I'd learned to keep a change of clothes for both of us at the top of the backpack, and not just in the suitcase).
We were told the drive would be 5 to 7 hours long, and it took us nearly 9 hours. Bone rattling ride, really, but beautiful. Endless switchbacks looking out to the Himalayas.
Simla's an amazing place in the mountains. It used to be the summer capitol of India when the entire government moved up to this cool retreat for 7 months of the year. All the structures are built helter skelter up the sides of mountains. It looks like with the slightest tremor everything would go sliding down the mountainsides.
We stayed at Wildflower Hall, an amazing resort in the next town over from Simla. It sits 8,250 ft. above sea level and is set in 23 acres of virgin woods of pine and cedar. Lord Kitchener used to live in a house on this site, and when it burned down, this place was built by the Oberoi group.
We were there off season, so in the entire 4 floors there were only 9 rooms occupied. Coincidentally, Mr. Oberoi was in town (we learned from a waiter) for a meeting so he was staying in the top suite our first night.
The views from Wildflower Hall were gorgeous--of valleys, mountains, and clouds all around. The weather was rainy and cloudy the first day and a half, and then it cleared up for magnificent views. We took advantage of all the amenities: the pool, exercise equipment, sauna, spa (I had a fantastic stress relieving massage, followed by a sauna), yoga class on a little hill looking out to the mountains, Badri had a guided 2 1/2 hour hike, Maya went horseback riding twice, took art class two days, and I had a pedicure. We took all the kids in the pool a couple times each. Maya's really eager to learn how to swim. I'll be signing her up for swimming lessons at the local club. Hopefully that will work out. Molly and Charlie both love the water as well. One of Molly's favorite lines when the weather heat up: "I wanto to go to the pool--yah!!"
On our way back to Bangalore we went through Delhi and stayed at the Maurya Sheraton again. Once again, we were bumped up to the Empress Suite, for free (because of management's confusion our previous week there). We called Badri's Aunt Usha and cousins Neelam and Kadham and they came over with their daughters Uttara and Karuna and son. They met us at the pool and we had a great time. Maya was in heaven spending time with her cousins. They came up to the suite and the children had an early dinner. We talked about me traveling up to Delhi with the kids at some time when Badri's busy with work so the cousins could get to know each other even better.
Sunday, Sept. 5
Maya had her 4th birthday party yesterday at Jaamba Jungle. We invited 10 of her friends, who were from 5 different families (1 to 3 children per family). All but one of the families lives within 3 blocks of our place. Jaamba Jungle is like Chuck E. Cheese, only smaller. Maya had a fantastic time, and Badri and I were amazed at how well it went off. It was the first time we'd had a birthday party for the children outside of the house. I highly recommend it for any frazzled parents--a fraction of the work!
Thursday, Sept. 2
Starting the update this month with a reality check for everybody--not all is wine and roses in India.
As I re-read past entries, I can see how I've left out some of the less savory parts of our time here.
Where do I begin: Molly's in the throes of terrible twos. I'm not sure exactly when they started. The outbursts are generally restricted to home, but this past weekend we made the big mistake of running a couple errands (ordering Maya's birthday cake at one place, and buying her a new backpack for school at another place called Bangalore Central--rather like a 4 story mall) around prime meltdown time--6 pm. Basically I had to carry her kicking and screaming down four floors of escalators, while people stared at me like I might be kidnapping this kid. When we reached outside, a helpful mom handed me a cookie, saying her kid had been doing the same thing, and this is what saved her. Nice try, but it didn't work for Molly.
Both Molly and Charlie have terrible colds. Charlie's is worse--over the last week he's been throwing up a couple times daily. Today was the first day he hasn't, so I'll just keep my fingers crossed that he's on the road to recovery.
The commute to Maya's new school is hellacious. It takes 35-55 minutes.
It looks like our driver, Mohan, is missing in action. We've had a new driver the last few days, Ramesh. He lives closer to us (Mohan's commute was at least an hour to get here), so the 7:45 departure to Maya's school will be more realistic for him. He's a little slower, but that's part of the reason I'm more relaxed and feel safe with him. The road to the Canadian School is just horrible. Maya's jr. kindergarten class is meeting from 8:30-12 for the first week, so basically I get in the car at 7:45, drop her off and return home about 9:30, then get in the car again by 11 am and return by 1pm. By the time I get home my brains are scrambled. Extremely bumpy roads and horrible suspension on our car.
Maya's 4th birthday
Judge's Court in Pragpur
Playing with Cobbler on Judge's Court lawn
Maya on Laughter at Wildflower Hall
All of us in front of Wildflower Hall
Charlie at Wildflower Hall
Now if only Charlie could find his thumb...
Maya in salwar kameez with dupatta (scarf) from Ushamu
Back at home
# posted by Kelly @ 10:02 PM 
