This one was easy again :)

Reflections asked me a lot of questions in my last post :P  So give her a better picture, I thought of uploading some pictures :) 

This is a view from our balcony. Its covered in fog, but out in the distance there is a train track too :) 

The other side

A bit more area in perspective. Now you see those fields out there, during nights many predators prowl. As I said jackals and hyenas. One of them bit our lil Kinu and he succumbed :( 

A baby Rani :)

Fancy them?

I simplyyyyyyyyyy loveeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee dogs.Loveeee them. We used to adopt quite a few street ones. After we moved to our own home, we adopted 2 puppies. Unfortunately one was bitten by a big jackal and another was poisoned. :( It was too heart breaking, and ever since, we stopped taking up any more. 

It so happened, our tenants ended up taking up Rani - a Labrador. She ended up having them :- 

Follow the leader 

Tired of following the leader :) 

Where are my brothers and sister? 

Rani thinks my kids are quite a handful

Does 'nt it look like a seal

Rest time

Where's my food?

Cuddle time :D

The Pregnant King

I had first heard of Devdutt Pattanaik while watching Business Sutra on CNBC India. I googled up his name and bumped a across quite a few of his works. Of them The Pregnant King somehow caught my fancy.

This is a story based on a character from Mahabharata Yuvanashva who accidentally drinks a magic potion meant for his wives and conceives a child. What follows is the debate over what is he? A man? Or a woman? A mother? Or father? If he is a mother does he have a right to the throne? And does his child have a right to the throne? On the intangible level there is the debate over what sounds sweeter ? -mother or father (He also 'fathers' a child)  As he meanders through this conundrum the reader is brought face to face with many instances where the lines are blurred.

• Krishna being Mohini for a day and experiencing marriage and widowhood
• Ila being man and woman by the waxing and waning of moon due to a curse of Shiva
• Uruvashi who has two fathers and no mother
• Shikhandi who is born a woman but made to behave like a man because of his father
• The goddess Bahugami who must be seved by men who feel like women
• Shilavati who is an able and just regent but cannot become king just because she is woman

These all seem so topical now given the raising awareness about homosexuality and transgender. The book opens a whole realm about how these contentions exist in the Hindu mythology as well. Some of the questions thrown are very perplexing where even the line between Shiva and Shakti is blurred. God himself is pulled in this eternal strife.

The book is an interesting read. The layers in Mahabharata never fail to amaze me. In the book too as the knots in the rope of cause and effect are unravelled it makes for very enjoyable experience. The only thing that leaves an unpleasant taste is the language :( it is very basic so much so there are minor grammatical mistakes as well. It is a very very big negative for me :(

Otherwise full marks for handling a very current issue with such dexterity!

Have I hit the wall?

Well well well what do you know? I have reached the mid point of my blogathon! It has been tough, more the thoughts part than the time part while when I started I thought it would be the other way round. But as I stand exactly mid way, I  wonder, have I hit the wall? 

A masterpiece

K is a brilliant cartoonist. He has many flattering caricatures of me. But this one  goes into the hall of fame :) 

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Can I be smug?

I know, it is not a good thing to be so. I feel embarrassed. But then what else did I have to write about today? :(

So let me brag about a bit. Well.... ahem... I am back to my pre-preg weight. I Knooooooooooo amazinggggggg naaaa??? (I know the male readers (if any) might be thinking yea auratein.)

Well it was a real tough journey. As in, I ate with abandon when  I was expecting - the main culprits being chocolate muffins, carrot cakes, pizzas and parathe. Reflections even did voice a mild warning stating tires don't disappear magically. But then who heeds to good advice? So there I went on a rampage like a kid in a candy store and one fine day stood 20 kilos over weight. Staggering? Yep.

I read uplifting words - 9 months to get there, 9 months to shed it. There was advice against starting on an exercise regime very early. Plus there was the added clause of keeping the energy levels up to take care of the lil one.  With the way things were going, I was sure, I was gonna be stuck with this new me :( But suddenly something hit me - I was like, why give up without a fight? Come on one day I want my daughter to  be proud of me. Thinking this I embarked on my exercise regime .

This had my favorite step ups where I climbed stairs for 20 odd mins. If time permitted I would do it twice a day too. As I would see my sorry self climbing up and down the stairs I used to think if Andy Dufrense could make his way out in Shawshank Redemption what is this mere 20 kg(talk about getting inspired :D ) I used to add up some yoga and walks. I got on heavily into calorie counting using myfitnesspal. As I was on my way my dear friend Sam suggested green tea. God was with me and it seemed to work for me though I have met many nay Sayers.

K was always with me in his supportive best. Bless him. He would take care if Chiyaa as I went for step ups. He also got on to using the calorie counter . He was cautious of my diet all the time keeping a steady eye. He forced me to re-join swimming more as an activity I enjoyed rather than yet another exercise. He encouraged me to shed the maternity wear as I shed pounds. He scolded me like crazy if I felt bad about the way I looked. The journey would not be the same but for him. Of course there was roomie dear whose words pepped me to no end.

Gosssshhh this is sounding more and more like an Oscar speech! So on the same line I would also like to thank Aishwarya Rai Bachchan who helped take the limelight off many hapless moms like me :) good luck to you lady :).  

The final installment

of my vacation reverie.

Well once back in Chennai it was just a new set of packing and re-packing again. This time, the munchkin's stuff was a lion's share of the luggage - there were gifts, clothes, toys, it was an avalanche of pink :)

On the day of our return flight Chennai was hit by Nilam. There were rains and power cuts and all the anxiety that follows untoward climate. K kept making calls to the airlines and giving point to point updates (which in my honest opinion was of no use ;)) There was a lot of enthusiasm about a ship which had come ashore.People flocked the terrace of our building to catch a glimpse. K took this shot from his camera. Kids were very excited to see the life boats approaching. We even saw a few distress flares being let out into the sky. 

Though later it was pretty sad to know that it was the ill fated vessel Pratibha Cauvery. Little did we know then as we stood on the terrace being blown by the wind.

Somehow by the evening things started to mellow down. There is a temple of Lord Ganesha in Besant Nagar which I like a lot. I had plans to go there but somehow could not make it all the while. As things were piping down I asked K if we could make it and he willingly agreed. The temple was empty and there was the diets in all his resplendent glory ! It was as if He was waiting for us. It was very surreal to be on His presence

Once home we did the remaining packing and wistfully looked back at a stupendous trip!