Tuesday, November 30, 2004
Hello friends and family,
I'm a little overdue with the update this month, with no real excuse except that I volunteered to proofread the 400 page cookbook that the Overseas Womens' Club is publishing in the next month. Lots of great recipes, but very time consuming work. The woman who roped me into it, Susheela, adores Charlie and is always buttering me up about how much he reminds her of her son when he was an infant. I haven't yet hooked up with the NGO of my dreams to volunteer with. Pretty consumed with nursing sick kids to health over the last month.
November 30, 2004
Badri's aunt and uncle, Kamala and Gopal, are visiting from the U.S. Kamala is Amma's (Badri's mom's) youngest sister. They are on a several month Asian tour and we feel very lucky to have them here with us. The girls call them Amuma and Pata (terms for grandmother and grandfather in Kerala, a region to the northwest of us, where Gopal grew up).
November 25, 2004
Went out to dinner with some American friends from the neighborhood. They told us about a restaurant in town serving Thanksgiving dinner. They have four kids: 7, 5, 2 and 3 months old and we were marvelling at the fact that all 7 of our kids at that moment in time were all healthy. It wasn't a bad meal.
November 15, 2004
All the Diwali festivities are over. Diwali means "rows of diyas". Diyas are small clay candles that hold oil and a wick. It is by far the most important holiday in India, enjoyed by people of every religion. Homes are decorated, sweets handed out, and lamps lit. It's a time for fun (Badri's remembers it as his favorite holiday as a kid, kind of like Christmas) and also a time for pooja and tradition. Pooja is a religious ritual of prayer and worship.
On the first day of Diwali, people buy new appliances and women buy jewelry.
On the 2nd day of Diwali, Lord Krishna destroyed the demon Narakasur and made the world free from fear. Firecrackers dispel fear and chase away evil (Badri bought plenty of these, and Maya LOVED them, while Molly was spooked by them).
On the 3rd day of Diwali, entrances to all homes are lit up and decorated with Rangoli patterns (floor drawings) to welcome Lakshmi (the goddess of wealth). Diwali is the last day of the financial year in traditional Hindu business.
Legend has it that Diwali is celebrated to mark King Rama's coronation, celebrated in Ayodhya. After his epic war with Ravana, the demon king of Lanka, the cities and far-flung boundaries of these kindgdoms were lit up with rows of lamps, glittering on dark nights to welcome home the divine king Rama and his queen Sita after 14 years of exile. Clay lamps also indicate the victory of Light over Darkness, Good over Evil, as well as the victory of Truth over Falsehood and that man can succeed only through his virtues.
Diwali is considered to be the festival of the Goddess of Wealth and Prosperity--Goddess Laxmi. Supposedly, she visits all homes to bless the people, so homes are cleaned and decorated.
On the morning of the 12th, we woke to the smell of incense. Patti had lit incense and set up the altar, with new clothes to be given out. It's a tradition to wake at dawn and take oil baths, after which everyone wears new clothes. The rest of us slept until 6:30 a.m.
November 13, 2004
My birthday treat was a night to myself at the local Windsor Sheraton. Badri met me in the evening for dinner, and the rest of the time I relaxed, read, watched movies, went to a bookstore, and went shopping for kids' clothes. We had lots of frequent flyer miles piled up that got us a voucher for the hotel, so it was a very good deal, and a much needed break. My batteries really got re-charged.
November 8, 2004
Maya went back to school today, after nearly two weeks at home with an on again off again fever and cough. Molly was saying "I want to go see Maya" before her naptime, because she was so used to having Maya at home. Molly ate real food today for the first time in nine days (she ate dosa [pancake made from a batter of rice and lentils] and mulaga podi [a powdered mix of several dried lentils and chili peppers eaten with oil]--both good Tamilian, south Indian, food). She ate nothing for six days, then we were desperate to get her eating so she ate homemade chocolate chip cookies (downloaded a recipe from the web, and Celine and Vani together made award-winning cookies), ice cream, and cake. She loved Badri's birthday cake. Badri turned 41 yesterday. The two of us decided all we wanted for our birthdays (mine is next week--43!) was the kids' good health.
Patti and Thatha (grandmother and grandfather) arrived early Sunday morning, Badri's birthday, just as Charlie was waking up. They took the overnight train from Madras (Chennai). All the kids are excited to see them. Maya loves having Patti to read with and help her to do her homework (which in pre-school consists of preparing show-and-tell for the class: describe your favorite toy, Halloween costume, friend, favorite holiday, etc.).
We're preparing for Diwali at the end of the week. We need to go out and buy firecrackers and diyas (small earthen lamps that are lit especially at Diwali time).
As Diwali approaches, it's just the time for me to tell my caveat emptor (buyer beware) story, since this story is about clothes buying, and it's tradition to wear new clothes on Diwali. When Amma (Patti) was in town last month, she and I went shopping for a birthday sari for her (saris are commonly given at birthdays, weddings, and other occasions--in fact, Amma says she has 100 to 150 saris!) at the Leela Palace. That's a high class hotel not far from our house, and across the street from Badri's office. The shops in there are very nice, some more outrageously priced than others.
We decided to go into Abu Jani, a designer store, just to admire the handiwork of the clothing. There was one outfit that caught my eye, a beautiful number in olive green with beautiful handwork on the sleeve and hem borders in burgundy and rust colors. I tried it on and it fit perfectly. Amma said, "Why not? Get it for yourself for Diwali." She looked at the price tag and said, "It's $100, which is a lot of money, but it would be nice for Diwali and you'd never find anything like it in the states." I asked them to put it on hold and said that I'd come back in the next few days.
A week later I went in with my friend Hilary, from the U.S. I tried it on and she really liked it, too. She looked at the price and didn't think it seemed too bad, either. Well, long and short of it, I bought the outfit. That was on a Thursday. Nearly a week later, Badri got a call from American Express saying there was a 45,000 rupee (apx. $1000) charge on our card on Oct. 29. "Ridiculous!" we both thought, "Must be credit card fraud." We went on line to look at our statement and saw the merchant name. It didn't look familiar so I looked it up on the web ("googled it"). Turns out, it was Abu Jani's, where I bought the dress. We were appalled that they'd accidentally, as we thought, added an extra zero and overcharged us by $900! I called Hilary and asked her how much she remembered me paying for the dress. She recalled that it was something around 7000 rupees ($155).
Badri and I went in the next day to straighten things out, and sure enough, the dress costs 45,000 rupees! We looked at the price tag on the other clothes and saw the problem--the prices are listed as 45/-. I had automatically assumed this meant 4500. I broke out into a sweat and couldn't believe it. I told the sales manager I wanted to return it because we clearly couldn't afford to pay that much for a dress, and I had been misled by the price tag missing zeros. Long and short of it is, I signed the credit card slip that reads 45000, and this is India (TII). "TII" is what Badri says to me when I get frustrated about something here, such as the across-the-board no return policy here.
I tried everything. I told him I never wore the dress, that they were a very reputable establishment and they should do the right thing--change their price tag system which is very misleading, and give me back my money. The sales manager called the owner and she said that I'd signed the credit card slip and there's nothing they can do about it. That'll teach me not to be chatting with a friend at the same time I'm signing a credit card slip. What a whopper of a mistake. Badri's a sweetheart. He knows I feel terrible about it--I told him I won't buy any more clothes for myself while in India. He reminded me about the speeding ticket he got in Connecticut when we drove from Boston to Florida to sister Patty's for Christmas 1995. "That ticket cost us around $300," he said, "and we have nothing to show for it!"
He's bound and determined to do everything he can to make the store suffer for their poor business decision, though. Brother Ravi works for the India Times and suggested we file a police report, as well as contacting our friends, Tutu and Sangeeta, who work for local papers here.
November 4, 2004
Brought Molly to the Dr. Chinnappa's office today because she hadn't eaten for five days, was listless, had a temp. around 101-102, and a bad cough. He said not to panic. She just has a cold virus and an ear infection. He said she's conserving energy by laying around all day. Just make sure she drinks liquids. He put her on antibiotics, and by evening she had a little more spunk in her.
November 3, 2004
This journal is starting to feel like a register of our children's illnesses. Everyone assures me that they'll be out of the woods by the time they all turn 6. But that's so long to wait! I got a call from Maya's school yesterday asking me to pick her up because she was running a 101 temp. She was fine the two days before that, after staying out of school with fever for over a week already.
Molly's on her fourth day of fever, and Charlie--let's not talk about him (knock on wood). It's hard to see Molly so down and out, and not eating! Badri and I have been taking turns sleeping with her, as we did with Maya last week. Thank goodness Charlie's been sleeping through the night!
Charlie with Thatha (grandfather)
Molly playing hide-and-seek
Maya and Appa with sparklers on Diwali
Maya in Diwali salwar kameez (traditional north Indian attire)
Molly in pavadai (traditional south Indian skirt for girls) on Diwali
Diwali family shot
Badri and Maya on his 41st birthday
Charlie with Patti (grandmother)
Maya, Charlie and Molly with Amuma and Pata (literally, grandmother and grandfather--but actually great aunt and uncle)
I'm a little overdue with the update this month, with no real excuse except that I volunteered to proofread the 400 page cookbook that the Overseas Womens' Club is publishing in the next month. Lots of great recipes, but very time consuming work. The woman who roped me into it, Susheela, adores Charlie and is always buttering me up about how much he reminds her of her son when he was an infant. I haven't yet hooked up with the NGO of my dreams to volunteer with. Pretty consumed with nursing sick kids to health over the last month.
November 30, 2004
Badri's aunt and uncle, Kamala and Gopal, are visiting from the U.S. Kamala is Amma's (Badri's mom's) youngest sister. They are on a several month Asian tour and we feel very lucky to have them here with us. The girls call them Amuma and Pata (terms for grandmother and grandfather in Kerala, a region to the northwest of us, where Gopal grew up).
November 25, 2004
Went out to dinner with some American friends from the neighborhood. They told us about a restaurant in town serving Thanksgiving dinner. They have four kids: 7, 5, 2 and 3 months old and we were marvelling at the fact that all 7 of our kids at that moment in time were all healthy. It wasn't a bad meal.
November 15, 2004
All the Diwali festivities are over. Diwali means "rows of diyas". Diyas are small clay candles that hold oil and a wick. It is by far the most important holiday in India, enjoyed by people of every religion. Homes are decorated, sweets handed out, and lamps lit. It's a time for fun (Badri's remembers it as his favorite holiday as a kid, kind of like Christmas) and also a time for pooja and tradition. Pooja is a religious ritual of prayer and worship.
On the first day of Diwali, people buy new appliances and women buy jewelry.
On the 2nd day of Diwali, Lord Krishna destroyed the demon Narakasur and made the world free from fear. Firecrackers dispel fear and chase away evil (Badri bought plenty of these, and Maya LOVED them, while Molly was spooked by them).
On the 3rd day of Diwali, entrances to all homes are lit up and decorated with Rangoli patterns (floor drawings) to welcome Lakshmi (the goddess of wealth). Diwali is the last day of the financial year in traditional Hindu business.
Legend has it that Diwali is celebrated to mark King Rama's coronation, celebrated in Ayodhya. After his epic war with Ravana, the demon king of Lanka, the cities and far-flung boundaries of these kindgdoms were lit up with rows of lamps, glittering on dark nights to welcome home the divine king Rama and his queen Sita after 14 years of exile. Clay lamps also indicate the victory of Light over Darkness, Good over Evil, as well as the victory of Truth over Falsehood and that man can succeed only through his virtues.
Diwali is considered to be the festival of the Goddess of Wealth and Prosperity--Goddess Laxmi. Supposedly, she visits all homes to bless the people, so homes are cleaned and decorated.
On the morning of the 12th, we woke to the smell of incense. Patti had lit incense and set up the altar, with new clothes to be given out. It's a tradition to wake at dawn and take oil baths, after which everyone wears new clothes. The rest of us slept until 6:30 a.m.
November 13, 2004
My birthday treat was a night to myself at the local Windsor Sheraton. Badri met me in the evening for dinner, and the rest of the time I relaxed, read, watched movies, went to a bookstore, and went shopping for kids' clothes. We had lots of frequent flyer miles piled up that got us a voucher for the hotel, so it was a very good deal, and a much needed break. My batteries really got re-charged.
November 8, 2004
Maya went back to school today, after nearly two weeks at home with an on again off again fever and cough. Molly was saying "I want to go see Maya" before her naptime, because she was so used to having Maya at home. Molly ate real food today for the first time in nine days (she ate dosa [pancake made from a batter of rice and lentils] and mulaga podi [a powdered mix of several dried lentils and chili peppers eaten with oil]--both good Tamilian, south Indian, food). She ate nothing for six days, then we were desperate to get her eating so she ate homemade chocolate chip cookies (downloaded a recipe from the web, and Celine and Vani together made award-winning cookies), ice cream, and cake. She loved Badri's birthday cake. Badri turned 41 yesterday. The two of us decided all we wanted for our birthdays (mine is next week--43!) was the kids' good health.
Patti and Thatha (grandmother and grandfather) arrived early Sunday morning, Badri's birthday, just as Charlie was waking up. They took the overnight train from Madras (Chennai). All the kids are excited to see them. Maya loves having Patti to read with and help her to do her homework (which in pre-school consists of preparing show-and-tell for the class: describe your favorite toy, Halloween costume, friend, favorite holiday, etc.).
We're preparing for Diwali at the end of the week. We need to go out and buy firecrackers and diyas (small earthen lamps that are lit especially at Diwali time).
As Diwali approaches, it's just the time for me to tell my caveat emptor (buyer beware) story, since this story is about clothes buying, and it's tradition to wear new clothes on Diwali. When Amma (Patti) was in town last month, she and I went shopping for a birthday sari for her (saris are commonly given at birthdays, weddings, and other occasions--in fact, Amma says she has 100 to 150 saris!) at the Leela Palace. That's a high class hotel not far from our house, and across the street from Badri's office. The shops in there are very nice, some more outrageously priced than others.
We decided to go into Abu Jani, a designer store, just to admire the handiwork of the clothing. There was one outfit that caught my eye, a beautiful number in olive green with beautiful handwork on the sleeve and hem borders in burgundy and rust colors. I tried it on and it fit perfectly. Amma said, "Why not? Get it for yourself for Diwali." She looked at the price tag and said, "It's $100, which is a lot of money, but it would be nice for Diwali and you'd never find anything like it in the states." I asked them to put it on hold and said that I'd come back in the next few days.
A week later I went in with my friend Hilary, from the U.S. I tried it on and she really liked it, too. She looked at the price and didn't think it seemed too bad, either. Well, long and short of it, I bought the outfit. That was on a Thursday. Nearly a week later, Badri got a call from American Express saying there was a 45,000 rupee (apx. $1000) charge on our card on Oct. 29. "Ridiculous!" we both thought, "Must be credit card fraud." We went on line to look at our statement and saw the merchant name. It didn't look familiar so I looked it up on the web ("googled it"). Turns out, it was Abu Jani's, where I bought the dress. We were appalled that they'd accidentally, as we thought, added an extra zero and overcharged us by $900! I called Hilary and asked her how much she remembered me paying for the dress. She recalled that it was something around 7000 rupees ($155).
Badri and I went in the next day to straighten things out, and sure enough, the dress costs 45,000 rupees! We looked at the price tag on the other clothes and saw the problem--the prices are listed as 45/-. I had automatically assumed this meant 4500. I broke out into a sweat and couldn't believe it. I told the sales manager I wanted to return it because we clearly couldn't afford to pay that much for a dress, and I had been misled by the price tag missing zeros. Long and short of it is, I signed the credit card slip that reads 45000, and this is India (TII). "TII" is what Badri says to me when I get frustrated about something here, such as the across-the-board no return policy here.
I tried everything. I told him I never wore the dress, that they were a very reputable establishment and they should do the right thing--change their price tag system which is very misleading, and give me back my money. The sales manager called the owner and she said that I'd signed the credit card slip and there's nothing they can do about it. That'll teach me not to be chatting with a friend at the same time I'm signing a credit card slip. What a whopper of a mistake. Badri's a sweetheart. He knows I feel terrible about it--I told him I won't buy any more clothes for myself while in India. He reminded me about the speeding ticket he got in Connecticut when we drove from Boston to Florida to sister Patty's for Christmas 1995. "That ticket cost us around $300," he said, "and we have nothing to show for it!"
He's bound and determined to do everything he can to make the store suffer for their poor business decision, though. Brother Ravi works for the India Times and suggested we file a police report, as well as contacting our friends, Tutu and Sangeeta, who work for local papers here.
November 4, 2004
Brought Molly to the Dr. Chinnappa's office today because she hadn't eaten for five days, was listless, had a temp. around 101-102, and a bad cough. He said not to panic. She just has a cold virus and an ear infection. He said she's conserving energy by laying around all day. Just make sure she drinks liquids. He put her on antibiotics, and by evening she had a little more spunk in her.
November 3, 2004
This journal is starting to feel like a register of our children's illnesses. Everyone assures me that they'll be out of the woods by the time they all turn 6. But that's so long to wait! I got a call from Maya's school yesterday asking me to pick her up because she was running a 101 temp. She was fine the two days before that, after staying out of school with fever for over a week already.
Molly's on her fourth day of fever, and Charlie--let's not talk about him (knock on wood). It's hard to see Molly so down and out, and not eating! Badri and I have been taking turns sleeping with her, as we did with Maya last week. Thank goodness Charlie's been sleeping through the night!
Charlie with Thatha (grandfather)
Molly playing hide-and-seek
Maya and Appa with sparklers on Diwali
Maya in Diwali salwar kameez (traditional north Indian attire)
Molly in pavadai (traditional south Indian skirt for girls) on Diwali
Diwali family shot
Badri and Maya on his 41st birthday
Charlie with Patti (grandmother)
Maya, Charlie and Molly with Amuma and Pata (literally, grandmother and grandfather--but actually great aunt and uncle)
# posted by Kelly @ 2:43 PM 
