Wednesday, November 04, 2009

 

November 2009 Update from Bangalore

November 2009 Update from Bangalore














November 1, 2009














What a day. Maya basketball practice at Mt Carmel College ("Mounts") at 7:30am, then Molly piano at 9am at Kids Kouch. The piano teacher, Irfan, said Molly knows three songs now, and should come back for the next section. She's interested.














Went to the play Ali Oh Baba with Amma, Appa, and the kids. Picked up Irfana and Alyna on the way. We went to the wrong "Bhavan" at first (Ambedkar Bhavan)--realized it when we saw the only other people standing around were men with ribbons straight out of a country fair, and they were all staring at us. Bhavan is Sanskrit for "big house" and there are dozens of bhavans around Bangalore. Very often they are cultural centers.














Found the right place--Gurunanak Bhavan--and got seated just as the show started. We were in the very last row of seats, and no one had turned the fans on. Charlie promptly fell asleep, since it was the usual time he sleeps on the bus on the way home. The play promised to be interesting, but the acoustics were such that we couldn't hear quite everything the actors were saying. It was the same troupe from Chennai that had done "The Magic Drum" at Ranga Shankara, which we saw a couple years ago. This production was a re-telling of "Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves".














November 2, 2009




No matter how many times I get a phone call from the kids' school, I'm always afraid one of the kids has been hurt. Well, today I had just that call--from Rhoda Rodriguez, Charlie's teacher. He'd hit his head on the playground and she was taking him to Columbia Asia Hospital. Amma was here when I got the call and I suggested she take my pedicure appointment at Woodlands. Of course, there was no way she was going to do that. So Kitty went so the appointment wasn't wasted.








By the time I got there (took 40 minutes), Charlie had had four stitches in the ER. Rhoda had called before the procedure and asked if he was allergic to any anesthesia. I'm so glad she was the one who brought him to the hospital. He really loves her and I could tell he was very comfortable with her. Paid the hospital bill: a whopping 550rs, apx. $12. And this is a new and very swank hospital--I'd had a procedure done here a couple years ago.








Maya had basketball at Mt. Carmel.








November 3, 2009





Charlie stayed home today to recover.





Amma and Appa took the train back to Chennai.





Molly to Priti's.





November 4, 2009





Today Maya's basketball tournament started at Bishop Cotton's School. I brought Charlie with me and the girls were gathered around him. Some of the girls who had cell phones wanted to take his picture but I said no, he's under contract with an agency and they wouldn't like that:)





Stopped by at Brigit's exhibit on the way home. I was a good girl and just bought some of Alice's cards she'd made from her photos.





Brought Charlie to Columbia Asia for his check-up. It was so easy--just walked into the ER and the doctor had a look at him. Said he was fine.





November 5, 2009





School holiday declared today in honor of the birth anniversary of a 16th century poet-philosopher-musician and one of the state's greatest social reformers, Bhakta Kanadakasa. The government made the decision in an attempt to appease Kurubas (shepherds), the third biggest caste group constituting 8% of Karnataka's population. He fought against the caste system and untouchability in the 1500s. Now, if only people had been given a little more information about this man, parents wouldn't have wondered so much about what then seemed like declaring a random holiday.




The basketball tournament went on at Bishop Cottons though. Brought Maya and Aastha there for their 10am game with St. Benedict's.




Debra was in town from Thailand, so we got together for coffee at Claytopia. She totally loves Bangkok and has settled in nicely. She and Scott will be spending December at their house rental in Goa.




Kitty, Prithvi, and Sager came over for dinner, then while the kids watched a movie, we sat around on the kitchen window seat and caught up over a glass of wine.




November 6, 2009




Yet another day at Bishop Cotton's for the tournament.




Then went to Dr. Sudha's, the homeopathic doctor on Richmond Circle, to look at alternative treatments for osteoporosis.



In the p.m., went to Hard Rock Cafe with Irfana, Brinda, Charles, Amba, and Charles' friend Kieran, from London. Kieran is a sports trainer who knows about osteoporosis and can set up a workout to help stave off the effects. After the early Bangalore closing, went to Charles and Brinda's. Irfana tells me after I left the partying went on til the wee hours, until the neighbors called the police about the noise.



November 7, 2009



Badri's 46th birthday celebrated in California at his dear friends' Sriram and Renate's. They had a Diwali/birthday party.



Molly's winding up her piano lessons. Don't think we'll continue at the moment. Group lessons probably not optimal for her. Too many distractions with her friends in class.



Riddhi came over for a playdate with her after her lesson. Maya went to her classmate Rishab's birthday party with Pragya. Nice not to have to drive to every birthday party.



November 8, 2009



Molly went to Khushi's for a playdate today, while I brought Maya and Charlie's to his classmate Yash's birthday party at the Jayamahal Palace Hotel: bouncy castle, pottery painting, tattoos, the works. Maya had fun, too, because some of her classmates were there.



November 9, 2009



Went to the new ITC Royal Gardenia hotel to listen to a woman talk about a Buddhist approach to anger: handling anger with compassion. Quite interesting that such a humble speaker would be in such an upscale venuel. Hosted by Overseas Women's Club, that's why.



Brought Charlie to have his stitches removed from the back of his head. All fine. Amazingly fast and easy process at Columbia Asia emergency room.



Went to the children's park with Molly and Charlie and played field hockey. Charlie will be sorely disappointed when he discovers field hockey is only played by girls and women in the U.S.



November 10, 2009



Molly home sick with a bad cough. Skipped her lesson with Priti. Took her in the afternoon for another haircut. Really her best cut ever. Kind of like a Dorothy Hamil/wedge cut up the back, with little front part that flips out to frame her jawline.



November 11, 2009



Went to Inox theatre to see the new Catherine Zeta Jones movie with Brinda, Irfana, and Divya. Fun chick flic. Things just won't be the same around here when Divya goes off to Columbia. Looks like things are firming up for her to go there with Vinay's job for Oracle.



November 12, 2009

Had Nilu, Brinda, Irfana, Divya, and Deepti over for lunch

Maya went horseback riding.


Went for a walk with Kitty.


















November 11, 2009






Kalva and Bombay Safari












November 13, 2009






Went for a walk after dropping the kids at the bus. Overcast day, perfect temperature for short sleeves. Walking down one lane I looked up to the 1st floor (2nd floor in US) and saw a man sitting with the newspaper and his grandchild beside him. They were happily singing together. The nice weather really brings people outside.


Got home to a box of chocolates Badri had called Kitty to send over.











Next ran into an elderly gentleman I hadn't seen in quite a while. He looks to be in his 60s but is nearly 80. We talked about how the old bungalows (small single story houses) are being razed to make way for big apartment buildings. He said that where one bungalow used to hold maybe an extended family of 5 or 6 people, now that same lot has five times that number, and there's not nearly enough water to sustain everybody. Not so different from the rural situations, where the plots of land alotted each generation get smaller and smaller until life isn't the same as before.


Went for a facial with Moni to treat myself.


Met Marylouise, Jackie, Alice, Claudia, and Kitty at Harima's for lunch. Kitty gave me a gorgeous silk scarf she designed, and the others gave me a Ritu Kumar wallet and generous gift certificate.


Molly slept over at Riddhi's.


Marylouise had a birthday party for Maura, but Charlie had a high fever, so I stayed home with him and Maya went to the party.


November 14, 2009


Molly went to piano. Maya went to Zara's birthday party at Angsana resort (her grandfather owns the place, I believe).


I went with Molly to Mallika's birthday party in the evening up in Sadashivnagar. Mallika, Maura, and I all share Nov. 13 birthday.


November 15, 2009


Molly to piano.


November 16, 2009


Kids had school off and went to Monkey Maze in the morning. I went to visit Janaki Auntie.


November 17, 2009


Pedicure at Woodlands. Molly to Priti's.


November 18, 2009


Inaugural intra-Asia training best practices conference call.


Picked up Maya and Pragya at Vasudha's birthday party in RMV and brought Maya horseback riding








November 20, 2009






Thaerichen Tenten at Max Mueller Bhavan with Kitty


# posted by Kelly @ 5:19 PM
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