Home Provision master list

I: Lentils

1. Toor/Arhar  Dal
2. Bengal Gram
3. Roasted gram
4. Green gram 
5. Yellow split dal
6. Rajma
7. Kabuli Chana
8. Black Chana
9. Black eyed lentil(Karamani)
10. Raw peanuts(kadalai)
11. Urad dal

II: Rice

1. Raw rice
2. Boiled rice
3. Brown rice
4. Basmati rice(white or brown)
5. Idli rice

III: Tempering items/Masalas

1. Mustard
2. Fenugreek
3. Red chillies
4. Pepper
5. Turmeric
6. Coriander seeds/Coriander powder
7. Cumin seeds(Jeera) /Jeera powder
8. Garam masala
9. Kasuri methi
10. Biryani items(Bayleak, Cinnamon, Cloves, Cardamom, Black cardamom, Royal jeera, Mace, star anise)

IV: Oils

1.  Oil of choice
   ( I buy groundnut oil for frying, Gingelly oil and coconut oil for cooking from local "Chekku" oil mill. I also have Olive oil for sauteing, salads, continental cooking)

V: Flours

1. Rice flour
2. Whole wheat/Multigrain flour
3. Gram flour
4. Ragi flour
5.  Maida(I do not buy this)

VI: Beverages/Bakery/Other items:

1. Tamarind
2. Health drinks
3. Tea
4. Coffee powder
5. Green tea/ Herbal tea
6. Honey
7. Butter
8. Cheese
9. Ketchup, Sauces of your chocie (Soya sauce, chilli sauce, Pasta sauce etc)
10. Pickle
11. Jams
12. Papads /fries
13. Muesli/Oats/ cornflakes
14. Biscuits / Snacks/ Namkeen etc. ( I mostly avoid wheat/Maida biscuits. I try to buy mostly whole wheat or multigrain biscuits)

VII: Toiletries

1. Bathroom cleaner of your choice
2. Toilet cleaner of your choice
3. Utensils bar (Vim, Axiom, Patanjali etc), Liquid utensil detergent
4.  Scrubbing bar, steel scrub
5. Bleach liquid
6. Dettol
7. Detergent
8. Fabric softener
9. Vanish or Fabric whitener
10. Detergent bar
11. Moisturizer
12. Hair oil

VIII: Perishables:

1. Paneer/Tofu
2. Mushrooms
3. Eggs
4. Frozen food
5. Vegetables
6. Fruits
7. Nuts(Almonds, Walnuts, Seeds, Pistachios etc.)
8. Bread (I mostly buy Multigrain or whole wheat bread)

 

Get up my little one!!

A fresh experience of suddenly being a SAHM is exciting and at the same time overwhelming for me. On one side the excitement of being with children, on the other hand the anxiety of bringing them up to be better human beings, sensitive to others feelings and needs makes me feel anxious. Reading the newspaper in India is like taking a glance at a police station register, you can find only and only crimes. Of all the crimes sexual exploitation is the clear winner! We all have been brought up by busy parents, but the rate at which we get to know of these crimes now a days is  outrageous.. And when you start seeing few episodes around you, it is time you wake up and take action!!

As a parent/guardian, what are the things to keep in mind to avoid such incidents? We can not monitor our kids 24/7, but we can have some stern habits to protect our vulnerable kids from such monsters. 

1. At any cost never ever leave a girl child(even boys sometimes) with anyone alone except parents and grandparents. 

Specially small families in cities. You may say that the Uncles, aunts, Cha-cha, Bua, taus, phoopha, all are here as family but it is not their primary responsibility to take care of your child. No blame game later! If you are anxious better be present. 

2. Never let your child change clothes in presence of anyone, be it a relative, friend, helper except they are the main caretakers.

3. Ensure your child is dropped and picked up by parents/grandparents. We see that many people exploit the lonely status of the child. So being dropped by drivers, maids, neighborhood uncles, friends sons, etc. can be avoided till the child is at least of an age to comprehend the surrounding. 

4. Going to parks-- kids like going to parks and play areas. Ensure there are no funny strangers people loitering. If you are a regular in the park, ensure other parents or grandparents present recognize you and your child together. That ways if someone is luring your child away, others will be on guard and raise a voice. Talk to other parents and be on a good books.

5. If you are of the type who doesn't want unwanted infections and influence from parks, let your child play outside the house with kids. Physical play is must but ensure you know what your child is playing. 

6. NEVER EVER allow your kid to eat  any eatable from anyone except you. They can accept toffee or chocolates of friends but let them eat at home. NEVER in your absence. 

7. If you send your kid to any class, ensure either parents/grandparent be with them or at least drop/pick them till the door. Always ask the child about the behaviour of the teacher and judge accordingly. You need not sit with the child always, that will reduce their confidence fully.

Learning new skills is important, but not at the cost of safety and sanity of the child. 

8. Always get to know the both point of views as far as possible. Tell your child to be surrounded with friends as much as possible.

9. When going to birthday parties, always try to accompany. Avoid night stays. Even if best friends, and friendly parents, unknown factors are more.

10. Last but the most important point. While watching TV or any gadget, knowing the content is of utmost importance. As part of a game, some advertisements and content can be heavily misleading and force the child to commit certain actions. 

Finally incase alone, the child should know how to retaliate if cornered. Teach few tips like biting, screaming, pinching hard, soft spots in a gentle way(not to scare them but to be alert). 

As Tamil port Subramania Bharathi says 

பாதகஞ் செய்பவரைக் கண்டால் – நாம்
பயங்கொள்ள லாகாது பாப்பா,
மோதி மிதித்துவிடு பாப்பா – அவர்
முகத்தில் உமிழ்ந்துவிடு பாப்பா.

Meaning-

We should never be afraid, my little one,
Of  bad ,ones who do cruel deeds, my little one,
Dash and trample them , my little one,
And spit at their face, my little one.

Note : This is applicable to smaller kids till the age of 15. Of course every parent is different and you might choose to be more or less lenient. These are general precautions and totally my opinion as a parent

Let's eat, drink and sleep as tomorrow we may diet

It all started many years back when people all around us started discovering that they have diabetes, hypertension, thyroid,cholesterol etc at young age. Colleagues, neighbours, relatives, friends of friends all started telling horrid stories of heart attacks and blockages. It started sounding scarier everyday. So the chapatis for dinner slowly creeped in and we came out with this regime of having wheat in the night.  Then there were rounds of the news that the four whites are the killers namely maida, salt, rice and sugar( did I get them right??)

The Maida boycott !
 Maida means no pizzas and no bread, so occasionally when we wanted to make sandwiches we bought wheat/oats/ multigrain bread and thin crust pizzas. In the process most of the junk food/ snacks were abolished from the household except the ones that shouted out "wheat flour" in the ingredients.. See people in India are not yet gluten phobic so wheat is ok as of today. Many people are not aware of the difference between refined wheat flour and wheat flour till date. But not us..we had Google in hand and we utilised our wifi bills to research the possible flours available in the planet earth. So after much researching our flours got sorted. We chose wheat grains, soya, black lentils and some more hand picked grains and made our own flour to have a healthier and stronger chapati( not strong as in to chew). But the chapati making process still keeps changing..with oil, without oil, with ghee after making chapati, just one drop of ghee while making it, so on and so forth. Pooris have Been tagged as a luxury. Potatoes are for kids and for guests. Greens, yellow and browns,  orange and white (to an extent) vegetables are only given a gate pass easily in our kitchen.

Coming to the next white monster- Rice.
Instead of the monstrous mill processed rice, the broken wheat, hand pounded rice, brown rice, couscous, quinoa and some more things took over like a rapid fire all over the city. No one made white raw rice and some who cooked went for boiled rice. The world around us was changing and every single person whom we met was more food consious and was reporting weight loss of 10s and 20s of kgs! People stopped putting those 5 kg/10 kg in provision list.

Then came the time of millets. The millets hit like a tsunami. People and news said that the millets were most nutritious grains grown for generations which our ancestors grew and ate. They costed double than the rice but were more filling and didn't cause drowsiness ..even food blogs of the 5-6 females whom I used to follow, rapidly started posting millet recipes like a termite attack. We stocked all kinds of millets, mixed them, made idli/dosa and even Adai with them. All went fine when there was this millets blog that said thyroid gets high with millets and it aggravated the thyroid...so millets are on a hold temporarily.

Meanwhile even a 5th white character namely milk was under the lens after some milk providers scandal. Milk cannot go out of Indian diet but yes cow's milk can replace the most staple brand of Chennai, the Aavin's 3 coloured packet milk! So we hunted down a milkman who could race down to our house every morning harping his scooter horn all over the neighborhood waking up all school children(and us too). No full cream, half cream and toned fooling ...only cow's pure milk. Then automatically (as if someone saw us buying cow's milk) the information flowed from forwards about how people can inject even cow's without calves to give milk and that we need to boil cow's milk for 15 minutes to destroy all the known germs . We asked the milkman how is the cow and the calf..he told the calf is better after a recent illness..ok so assured that this is a "good" cow. And we just boil the milk once which apparently takes around 15 minutes..so check.

Then the method of cooking came under microscope. Pressure cooker, rice cooker, steam cooker, boil water in normal vessel and "put the rice and switch of the flame " method, soak rice as soon as you get up and pressure cook for only 2 whistles method. New methods keep life interesting. It doesn't get monotonous. Non stick is bad, aluminium is bad, hindoleum is bad, pressure cooker is bad, any cooker is bad, even cooking for long is bad.

Organic stores have opened and all over the country there is this online grocery concept that has spread like a wild fire. Sugar has been replaced by palm sugar. Salt is going behind to give way to rock salt. Millets instead of rice. Tea and green tea have tulsi, ginger, pepper, Brahmi, and so many things that when you have your tea you feel you are having an Ayurvedic concoction. We have Khadi, 24 mantra, Fresho, pure 4 sure, KP namboodiri, patanjali, and 1000 more organic shops in India alone. Everything has a non arsenic, non toxic non paraben, non SLS counterparts. Honestly it is good to know that we have more exposure to healthy options as opposed to the times before when only unhealthy limited options were available and our parents just had to stop buying some things because they did not get an healthier option. Even an instant noodles has at least 10 more options.

I remember Mohun's cornflakes in my school days. That was the only cornflakes. Porridges had only Bonny mix. Otherwise at home Sattu maavu ganji with milk (and sugar) or buttermilk ( with salt). Above average household had the luxury of milk with Boost, Bournvita, Maltova, Viva, Horlicks, Complan. But simpler days...welcome to the complicated era of innumerable choices. Ultimately toddlers still chew their shoes, throw the apple pieces on floor and eat the fallen apple pieces, mop their food all over their face, legs and lick them..children get their immunity with nature and they'll all grow to be individuals with their own set of health issues blaming their parents for not bringing them up as their grandparents did...so I'm going to chill for a while before I get my herbal tea with cardamom, organic pepper and ginger ;-)

The writing itch

Its been a really long wait for my writing itch to get satisfied. When you have an itch and you ignore it, it goes off naturally in some time, but if you start scratching it, it increases and it is difficult to satisfy it...(looks like I've been a regular scratcher..:-)). I have been having a stomach ache, itch and nausea...all perfect symptoms (not for a family ways again) to transfer my wandering thoughts to a post.

The writing itch is a burning desire to transfer your peeping  mixed up thoughts out of your head and capture them the moment they appear, else they get diluted leaving a heaviness in the mind. I have been ignoring my desire more often than once since little A came to our lives. Although he has brought more reasons to smile and joy for us, this one compromise has been made. When I sit to type he comes from no where and starts imitating me and I have to rush the laptop to hibernation. My laptop time is only 10-12 (typical time for tea when I went to office :-() is a less productive time for me...but motherhood makes your system super efficient since you can't choose your efficiency and energy level. You just HAVE to deliver the work to a near perfection(wonder how companies would work if moms were to work for their kids...maybe. Zillion times better?)

I am currently in my mother's house which is a heaven when it comes to my priorities. I can hide in the computer room and he is playing there happily with my parents and I remain forgotten for a while (a short while at least). Since I told that, now he bangs the door calling and pleading.."Ämma, Amma..."It sounds so pitiable that I cannot ignore it. I take back my stupid words and postpone the desire to scratch this itch for later....

The case of mysterious shiny white balls

It has been some time since I have been using  this project laptop and although second hand(or third), I have been able to associate a certain level of personal liking to it with more time. Since I spend the whole day with it and have been spending quite some effort to clean it up(the disk I mean) initially and make it workable, I am not finding much issues with it although it is an old Dell D520.

Yesterday while I was working on it, suddenly the ‘Tab’ button was giving some issues. I was not able to press the ‘Tab’ button. After some continuous ignore, I had to look into the issue since ‘Tab’ is not a less frequented button. I saw a small white translucent ball under the button and was wondering where it came from. After a tiring and worthless effort of removing the ball out of the button, I finally inverted the laptop. I was a bit apprehensive about the laptop because I cannot afford to hurt it much. In case anything happens, I was not sure how much soup I would be into. So with repeated attempts, I was finally successful in removing the tiny ball after 20 minutes. I just kept it safe, not sure where it came from. But in the process I had to almost remove the key and put it back in place( very risky task, I tell you). The whole day I was wondering where it came from? Either from any of my earrings? Any bracelet? A white shiny ball it was quite beautiful and it was making me crazy. It rolled and fell into the ‘Ctrl’ button and you have no idea how miserable I was until I managed to remove it again almost breaking the button. Then I left for the day keeping the ball safely near my desk just in case tomorrow someone tells me some light is lost from the laptop. I was almost sure it was some green glowing light which has fallen from the laptop.

Today morning I came and first thing I saw was my ‘Home’ button was not working. L I was a bit scared knowing very well what to expect. I tilted the laptop and peeped inside the button and guess what? My worst fear came true. A similar shiny white ball.. I immediately asked my colleague if she knew what it was. Her reply came “ its very bizarre..i have never seen this before”. No showstopper, but was’nt it weird? I can’t risk all my important keys like this! Then I saw the ‘Backspace’ under attack. That was enough to get me on my feet. I desperately started checking all the keys available on the laptop. And 4-5 keys were under attack. I was really getting worried. I then calmed myself and thought. Then suddenly it struck me. I checked the laptop bag and behold!!! The mystery was solved. J it was after all an opened silica gel packet. Phew!!! And it had almost made me miserable for an hour. I forgot all my work and was solving this mystery but thanks to my luck today, I thought of checking in the bag.

A tiny silica gel would have so easily paralyzed the laptop!!

(G)Olden days!!

Old age should be happy!!! For people who think old people are vulnerable and are only worth sitting in bed and watching TV, WRONG!! Elders are indeed our strength and NOT weakness.

I have been blessed to have a good fortune of living with elderly and highly talented people all my life. At every point I had the chance to see highly talented elders and have wondered when I will become like that. But after I saw few gifted elders today I must say that I am still not out of the shock...It looks unbelievable and convincing that talent has no age.

Chandro tomar and Prakasho Tomar are nearing 80 and are world class shooters! Yes, you read correct..Shooters...

At the age when people cannot read properly and loose faith on their physical capability, these 2 grandmothers have not only broken the old belief and 'AndhaVishwaas' of the society but also opened a new gate of opportunity for their grand daughter Neetu Solanki who is also an international shooter. The villagers are speechless and proud of the ladies today and must be wondering what to do with the superstitions and old beliefs..

The story is so so interesting that I cannot write enough. The grannys' coach Mr. Farooq says, he had asked them to do "Chori chori practice"(hehe) without the knowledge of the villagers. They used to stand with a jug filled with water all night for good balance..

Another great achiever, a 90 year old person had trekked his way up to Lonavla and made a record in Limca book of records..(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=do0XuVSuU_0). His advice was in old age you should eat half of what you ate in your younger age, drink water 2 times, do more physical activities and laugh 4 times more :) He was really superb and I could not believe my eyes!

You must watch Satyamev Jayate for more such achievements..I am so happy such a good show also exists between idiotic so called reality shows showing bad and sad stories... like Gumrah and emotional atyachaar.. When children cry, we try to distract them to something different and good.. and not show them "how children cry" videos.. Then why do we have such shows that show how crimes were planned and on the name of truth all the filth of the society is repeatedly displayed...The concept of having shows which show so called 'Reality' is so sad. I dont want my child to watch such sad shows. I would love to make her see such beautiful shows like Satyamev Jayate, Lakhon me ek and so many more good shows....They are so inspiring and motivating.

Looking forward to better shows that showcase talented elders and leaders who have brought India and the society in general to such new and good heights.

One of those stupid terrible travel days.

Today I left on time to catch the 9 o clock direct bus to my office but still somehow I missed it . No problem! I took a share auto (that new white Tata Magic…really superb and comfy) till Tambaram. Fine, then I realized I don’t have change. So after collecting change  from a nearby restaurant, I took a M55 bus which had a board saying Tambaram - Vandaloor. Since my office is in Perungalathur(apparently New Perungalathur which I just realized today) I happily chose a “good” seat. People knowing Vandaloor  would definitely know that Perungalathur comes before Vandaloor. After say a long time, I was wondering why the bus is going in some other route. Probably a roundabout route. So I was OK because I was in no mood to get down and take another bus since it was so hot and tiring. I thought a delay of 15 mins or so would not really matter. After some 15 stops the conductor comes to me and says rudely “why are you sitting here? And what are you playing in your cell?”(enna panra? cella enna nOndindrukka?"). I was not doing anything with my cell. Just replying to an SMS and Hello! It was none of his business. Then came " Why dint you get down in Perungalathur?" I was really surprised by the way he was talking loudly and rudely. I looked around and I could not find any similarity to the place I know as Perungalathur. And I have been knowing that place for around 3 years now! After a bit quarrel and everyone trying to throw me out of the bus, I got down and crossed the road still trying to figure out where I was. I was upset by the way I was thrown out but I decided to "feel" normal. Then another white Tata magic came and I enquired. He said he can drop me back in Tambaram(where I started). Then again I went to Tambaram and from there took an auto rickshaw since even an A/C bus or a good share auto would mean walking from bus stop till inside my office which would easily be 1 ½ kms in the hot sun and I was terribly late. I reached at 11 and here I am lamenting my story to you after working on important mails.

OK now getting back to work. Hope the day treats me well…. Just one more experience which taught me that I work in New Perungalathur...not in Perungalathur :)

Aditi's Birthday

Last Saturday was Aditi's second birthday and I had invited his relatives just to catch up with them...Living in the same city none of us get much chance to see each other. We had a quite day and in the evenig we just went out to my parents' house.

The day went well and after a long time, we had a peaceful weekend. Although there are 2 days for us in the weekend, they just swoosh away every week. Then the another long wait for the two golden days follows. And if we dont make use of the TWO days, especially working females and more especially working moms, then gone...The whole week is screwed up. Washing, sorting clothes, sorting baby's clothes, buying vegetables, fruits for the week and getting ourselves organised so that the week goes smoothly, it looks as if we have nothing better to do!!! For example, for Aditi in a day, we have to plan a breakfast, 10 o clock snack, lunch, juice, milk, 4 snack and then (thankfully they give somethign at 5:45). Then for dinner she eats on her own, whatever we eat for dinner and then rice as staple since we want her to have a deep sleep. Any toddler would need that but in her case we have to pack all this and send to the day care. So we have to plan well in advance of her likes and dislikes, and since its so hot, the food should not get spoilt.... So jam sandwiches, mini idli, mini dosas, bananas, apples, mashed veggies, puffed rice, curd, milk etc is planned well in advance.

So the need for a change was desperately needed by all of us. So I collected all her unused but good toys, collected some from her day care friends' parents and we donated them to an organisation called AID INDIA. AID INDIA deals with issues in Education, health and livelihood.  Their primary goal and mission is quality Education for Every child.You can refer their website www.eurekachild.org  and  www.aidindia.in for more details. I feel thrilled to have done my part... of a noble deed on her special day. Probably she doesnt realize but the blessings of the children who were benefitted reached her. And also I had paid for breakfast for children in an orphanage. They called us early in the morning on Aditi''s birthday and informed us that the children enjoyed the breakfast and they prayed for Adit's long life. I got a tear in my eyes... Orphan children, who are left alone in this big bad world praying for my child who is growing up in a cosy environment. Im sure God will listen to them for sure, but dear God, please give them everything they deserve and make them happy always. That's my only prayer today...on Aditi's Star Birthday!!

Heart-Mind link

Whatever our heart says, our mind doesnt follow it necessarily. Especially when you set up your house. Heart says we should decorate the house in all artistical ways but mind argues the logical placement of things in such a way that keeps Aditi far from danger. For example, ADiti loves to pull things over her. There is this wooden corner stand that I got as a utility thing which will contain many things like phone, phone book, some show pieces etc and also make it easier to sweep the floor but Aditi being very fond of pulling things over her head, will definitely push it and create a dangerous situation for herself. The TV has been kept by us in a very awkward stand thinking of madam's love for light. Everything is strategically placed just because the princess cannot pull and break anything and at the same time, we can also use it easily. :)


The Pooja room, especially the huge Balaji frame, has multiple blinking lights. This is the ultimate refuge for us when she does'nt stop crying sometimes. And everytime she sneaks into that area, she spills kumkum, match sticks, etc etc. But we usually give her leverage to an extent because she is learning a lot through exploring.

Infants in this age are actually thinking and doing things so meaningfully that we can really understand their attempt if we closely notice. For example, I used to think she is blabbering continuously while she is travelling in the car. But when I closely noticed, I realised that she is actually trying to tell about her friends in Amelio, the happenigns of the day and so on. When she shes us, she will try to tell us so much and something that she learnt new that day. She has found out already that if she presses the lever in the dustbin it opens. So after eating her cheese slice, she throws the cover in the dustbin! And she has also learnt that if she spills the kumkum, the whole floor gets reddish. So she simply avoids going near the kumkum dabba. But she is still attracted to the light from the agarbatti which we have lot allowed her to touch for obvious reasons :) She probably understands that it is some untouchable light and something different thasn other lights. So she told my father the other day with a big O shaped mouth...Thatha!! Oooo, Ooooo... Probably their hearts and mind have similar friendship. When her heart wants to touch the light, her mind is saying "Dont touch it, Amma is scared of that light !!!"..

Paavadai

A sense of fear, desire, madness, happiness and possesiveness and many other emotions at the same time hit me when I see Aditi in Paavadai(Full length skirt with blouse/top above)

Eye...scream

Aditi had an eye checkup scheduled in Sankara Netralaya in her 2nd month.

When she was discharged from the ICU, the doctor had asked us to go for a "routine" eye checkup to Sankara Netralaya after the baby completes 1 month.

There we found that almost 99% of premature babies have eye problems. The retina usually completes growing a few weeks to a month after birth in full term babies, but in premature babies the retina is still growing. During the course of this growth, the blood vessels that bring blood to the retina can begin to develop abnormally and can lead to blindness. This abnormal growth is called retinopathy of prematurity(ROP). This situation might also occur when mothers get high BP during delivery. The key is to remain as calm as possible because your getting tensed at the moment is not going to earn you any points. More you get tensed, it directly affects your baby. I was at the workplace when I had to go for the delivery. So by the grace of God(I mean it genuinely) and after mentally chanting Hanuman Chalisa and remembering all my favorite and family Deities to occupy my brain, I had a peaceful delivery without any complications. I surprisingly(famous for my tension) had constant BP level from 1st month till the date of delivery!!

It does not seem that all babies born prematurely are at risk of developing ROP. Generally all babies weighing less than 1500 grams (3 pounds, 5 ounces) or born at or before 32 weeks ofgestation are at more risk of developing ROP. It is also thought that babies who are very sick at birth and who require prolonged oxygen might be at risk of developing ROP even if they dont fit into the above criteria.

Sankara Nethralaya is well managed and has a good staff. There is a baby room where the moms and babies wait for their turn. The doctor performs the exam with the help of an assistant. The assistant helps hold the baby during the examination. The baby’s eyes are dilated with eye drops prior to the examination. The doctor uses an “eyelid speculum” & a “scleral depressor”. An instrument called an “indirect ophthalmoscope” is used; it has a special lens that sends a bright light into the eye, enabling the doctor to examine the retina. A famous and senior pediatric ophthalmologist, Dr. Tarun Sharma(the link given below has his details) tested Aditi. All the babies were screaming so much that for fraction of a second they stop breathing which is when my heart missed a beat. I was scared about Aditi. The doctor handled the situation so well. I was although allowed inside the room, he dint allow me to see the sight of Aditi screaming. My heart pained like anything hearing her scream. When he said, "No problem as yet, come after 2 weeks....We'll check again", I was relieved but anxious about the reason for the next visit. In the next visit, I could'nt relax until he said " No problems. Come after a year". So 2 visits old, my Aditi baby is relieved of that pain for a year more....

Also read http://www.sankaranethralaya.org/pdf/Eye-March2006.pdf.

First outing!

15th July, 2009

In early times they were confined indoors probably as a protection from dust, heat and infection. Me, my husband along with my in-laws took Aditi to nearby ancient Madambakkam Shiva temple on an auspicious day. This was the first trip outside apart from our hospital visits. It was an unexplainable but an excellent feeling. My mother in law placed the baby on the feet of the deity.
While today, the ceremony is limited to a visit to a temple, in ancient times it was far more elaborate. The courtyard of the house was decorated and the family deity worshipped. After auspicious verses were recited and the Gods propitiated, the child was brought out to the sound of a conch and the recital of vedic hymns. The child was carried by the father and made to look at the sun.

Once the mother and baby visit any temple, we can visit anybody's house. This, it seems keeps the baby and mother safe from evil eyes.

Punyaha Vachanam!

9th June, 2009

In India we have lot of rituals and ceremonies right from the birth of a child. Most of the rituals have some scientific reason behind them. The naming ceremony of my baby was conducted and I was amused about the sense of hygene in those days. All the steps performed during the function have very justified reason behind them.

The naming ceremony or Punyaha Vachanam.

Basically it is a cleansing ritual done on the 11th day for hygene of the house where the mother and baby are kept. A thread dipped in turmeric is tied around the waist of the child and to it is fastened a gold amulet. This amulet contains a piece of the umbilical cord and is believed to sustain the link between mother and child. This symbolic link to the mother is believed to protect the child. Scientifically, the piece of the umbilical cord is capable of treating many diseases like bone marrow or leukemia etc..

The procedure is for restoration of ritual purity for the child's parents and close relatives (removal of janam aasoucham ). In the morning after a head pooja was done to the Turmeric Vinaayaka and our family deity. At the end of the Pavamaana sooktham recital, the baby and all of us along with the close relatives were sprinkled with the Holy Water. The whole house was sprinkled with Holy water and Panchagavyam (cows ghee, milk, curd, urine, and cowdung in proper proportions). We all also consumed the panchagavyam for ritual purifications. Then baby was kept first time in the cradle and Naamakaranam (naming ceremony) was done on the same day at an auspicious moment. The priests had come from Shringeri matam and were very learned people.

It is better to have it done with proper priests. Of course, if you are not able to get one you may do it yourself. In that case you can use the following links for your help.

You can find the slokas of Punyahavachanam here:

http://www.slokas.com/slokas/vedicrituals/tamil/karmas/karmas.html

The items needed for the Punyahavachanam:

http://www.htnt.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=57&Itemid=1

http://www.vvgc.org/new/pl_punyaha.php

http://www.vedagamasudha.org/print_punyavachanam.html

Aditi!

Aditi, meaning limitless is considered as the mother of all the celestial gods.

She is the mother of Adityas(the devas) and wife of Rishi Kashyapa. Aditi herself is considered as the divine wisdom, the goddess of space, consciousness, the past, the future, and fertility. In fact she is also considered as the female Brahma, the creator.
When the devas lost their kingdom to king Bali, the powerful 'Danava', Vishnu was born to Aditi as Vamana avatar to defeat the powerful Bali and restore the lost kingdom to devas and make Indra the king of Devalok.

Source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aditi
http://www.webonautics.com/mythology/avataar_vamana.html

New life!

Real looong time since I last wrote. After reading one of my friend's blog, I tried to blog again. I have been writing this article since days. to make this one post, but nonetheless, it is just a try after more than a year.

Aditi, the name of a new life I got on May 21st, 2009. Well, they say a woman gets a new life when she delivers a child but I really experienced it.

One fine Thursday, I went to work as usual. My father who is an advisor to a company is called for around 5-10 days in a month. That day we all left home for our respective work. My parents went to Egmore and I went to Sholinganallur, both in opposite directions. On my way I went to my house, met my father in law, took some things I needed for attending a cousin’s wedding that evening.
It was my last lap before maternity leave. I was asked to do some research on a Security product unlike others who were working on deliverables. I was already feeling a bit strained in my 8th month but I wanted to do some really worthy work before going on a long leave. My friend had joined back after maternity leave and I was eager to listen to her experiences. She came to my workstation and narrated her experience of a premature delivery of baby. Many things were new to my ears and I felt grateful for so many new tips. There are many things that might prove helpful for would be mothers.

Baby calling. will continue later ...

So that day, at around 1 we got up for lunch. I felt restless and called up my doctor and told her the symptoms. She asked me to directly come to the hospital. She asked me to get myself registered 2 days ago just to be on the safe side. Not predicting anything, I simply obeyed her, and informed my parents that Im going to the hospital. My dad said he'll come there. Although I wanted to tell him not to bother as it might be something negligible, I somehow chose to keep quite. He along with my mother started from office. My mom also being in the same company as my dad, took permission and left. The hospital is an half an hour drive from my work place. I reached at around 2 and after a quick checkup the doctor took up charge and said an urgent C section needs to be done as the fluid is almost over and the baby is in distress with double the heart rate. I was in a total shock after I heard her heart beating at double rate. They prepared me for the operation and called the surgeon, anaesthetist and the other required people. While they were preparing for the caesarian, my mom walked into the labour room from where I was to be wheeled to the operation theatre. My mother was informing her mother that I was in the hospital in an emergency. All the elders were tensed. My mother was trying to hide her fear, but I could sense her strange behaviour. When they rolled me on a wheel chair to the operation theater, I saw my dad always encouraging face turning pale. I had never seen my dad in a tense situation before. He looked terribly worried (obviously)... When asked he explains now that he was otherwise used to seeing me with bindi, earings, 2 chains(one mangalsutra), bangles, anklets, red vermilion/sindoor, so he felt nervous to see me in just a operation theatre gown.

Baby is crying... i'll continue later...

I felt numb... i still remember that feeling. I was not able to believe that Im inside the theatre so soon. I had just had a scan 2 days back and the doctor had told my baby is fine and healthy with a good weight. The anaesthetist tried to lighten my mood. They tied my eyes. I could sense them working and pulling out the baby. Finally I heard her shrieking at 3:08 p.m.....Then I lost consiousness but faintly remember my doctor Dr. Yashoda coming after some time and showing my pink piece of flesh to me. I slept off.. Again I remember my doctor talking to me and telling others how brave I was. I felt terrible for being so indecent to sleep away when she had come to see me. Only later I was told that in such cases ladies get high BP which causes lack of oxygen in babies and that might cause eye problems. Even now during Aditi's routine eye checkup, we saw all other babies having eye problems. My doctor says that because I reached in time, I kept my cool, did'nt get hyper and timely operation, the baby is safe. My friendly advise to would be moms, never get tensed and prepare yourself well in advance for emergencies like healthcare/doctor/hospital number, get yourself registered well in advance, your insurance number etc.

Later when I woke up to feel the stitches, I was told that my baby was rushed to another hospital to keep her in the New born ICU, since she was more than 1 month premature, she needed to be protected and nurtured like she would be in the womb. Though the NICU experience is worth another post, we soon came home after a couple of days. A very ICU kind of environment was maintained by my parents till she completed a month. Even now, visitors have to wash their hands and feet before approaching the baby. Soon we held a naming ceremony with few close relatives and named her Aditi. Now my stay in my parents' place is coming to an end. I am happy to go back to my family with a granddaughter that the whole family always wanted but sad for leaving back my parents. They will miss me and Aditi badly.

Aditi seeks my attention badly now.. I better rush.. More updates in future posts.

Sholingar

Early morning at 5 we left our house for a place called Sholingar which is roughly around 3 hours from our residence in Chennai. My parents who are visiting many Vishnu temples(part of 108 vaishnava temples) have come down to Chennai to visit some of the temples in and around Chennai. Just fun filled relaxed trips.

They visited Ahobilam last week which has 9 temples. In Ahobila, Andhra Pradesh, the nine forms are as follows:

(1) Chhatra-vata-narasimha (seated under a banyan tree)
(2) Yogananda-narasimha (who blessed Lord Brahma)
(3) Karanja-narasimha
(4) Uha-narasimha
(5) Ugra-narasimha
(6) Kroda-narasimha
(7) Malola-narasimha (With Laksmi on His lap)
(8) Jvala-narasimha (an eight armed form rushing out of the pillar)
(9) Pavana-narasimha (who blessed the sage Bharadvaja)

The red sun from the car looked fiery but soothing to the skin, eyes and senses. We were so touched by the nature’s beauty as always. On our way to Sholingar which is on the highway that connects Chennai to Vellore, we saw some old Chola period temples. One huge rock cut temple which was carved in, looked magnificient and classic. It was made by the same artisans who carved the famous Mahabalipuram. Old Pallava Grantha, Yoga Narasimha statue could be found there.

We took a few minutes halt and proceeded towards Sholingar, where there are the twin hills of Yoga Narasimha and Anjaneya (Hanuman). That is the place where the legendry Prahlada’s father: Hiranyaksha was split tore open by Narasimha (the lion-man)who was none other than Lord Vishnu. He appeared in that form as Hiranyaksha had received a boon from Lord Shiva that he should not be killed by any man or animal, neither inside the palace, nor outside his palace; neither in the day nor at the night. With a powerful boon like that, he was defeating all Devas and creating havoc in the world and destroying innocent Rishis, men, women and children. So Lord Vishnu at the request of the Devas, burst out from a pillar as a lion-man(neither man nor animal) in the evening(neither day nor night) and sat on the doorstep of Hiranyaksha’s palace(neither inside nor outside) and tore open his belly, thus not killing him but making him as good as dead. At Ahobilam temples the tourists can still visit the place where the scene occurred (as per the experts) and the water there is Red in color.

Sholingar, is a beautiful and very raw natural place where the so-called development has not yet polluted the calm of the people and nature. There are these 2 hills, the big and small hill. Yoga Narasimhar(Lord Narasimha at peace) resides on the bigger hill and Sri Anjaneya sits in meditation on the smaller hill.The hill looks like a Lion and the another hill looks like a sitting elephant

Laddooooo....

23^rd June, 2007.

Early morning at 3, I heard some muffled voices. Woke up to find Shailaja akka(actually my mami but my choice to call her akka) quite as usual, my granny hyper tensed (as usual??!), Shanti akka (first mami but again my choice to call her…) walking around hurriedly here and there doing lot of work (as usual..) and my second uncle murmuring in a low voice but all in an unusual time.. Took me around 5 minutes to realise that Shailaja Akka wants to go to hospital! The expected date was to be July 15^th!! And she doesn’t even have those pains. Granny insists to wait for some more time till labour pains start. No one to drive the car since no one knows how to. Shanti akka has learnt but could never venture out alone. Finally we decide and leave. Shanti Akka drives the car and I am needed along with them. 3 children sleeping inside. Half of them feel, I should stay back, half of them feel I should go along. Finally I go along. 3:45 a.m. the baby boy is born! No pain and complications. Was this some compensation for all the complications and tensions in the first delivery? Whatever… Anuj is here and the house has the fourth player now. Someone asked me if it is a crèche… I said “No it is the joy of a joint family!” One of the kiddos is always inside the baby room…playing…jumping around the baby... laughing .. and singing ”Laddoooo ”, “Kutttiiiiiiiiiii” or whatever they feel like...

Nailed down!

I read in one of my friend's blog about her vow to quit nail biting I thought hah! there was a time when I tried and finally had these long nails. Whate made me do that was an article in a Tamil magazine in which I saw the pic of a baby who was born with nails on the head(yes the nails that her mother had been eventually biting while carrying the baby or before). I felt a chill run through my nerves and decided that I will NEVER EVER bite nails.

Talking about nails, I've always had the urge to grow them and have those beautifully manicured hands soft like fur. But with the kind of attention I give to my overall health, Manicure is the last thing I could even think of. Although I do agree that there are people(including men) who do take care of these thigns even with tough schedules. And with these Virtual nails, nail extentions, acrylics and what not.. simply everyone seems to be having those beautiful nails.. I envy and admire people who give ample time to themselves. But most of my time generally goes for others around me. So here is a small help from my side to others like me. This is a link where you can get some tips for nice, healthy and beautiful nails.

P.S. It is not only for girls, as most of the girls despise men with dirty nails. :)

The annoying thing?!!?

I just came across this crazy frog pic in my friend's orkut profile who is one of the craziest fan of the crazy frog i've seen.

The crazy frog or 'The Annoying thing' as they call it apparently started as a hobby of imitating sounds and became a rage in the whole world. Daniel, a 17 year old was making some sounds that resembled a 2 gear moped to make his friends laugh. And as fate would have it, that was loaded on the net and happened to reach the right place (a ringtone king Jamster). Jamster gave it a face of a formula I car and put it on a site called Insanity test in which the user was supposed to see the whole race without laughing. This of course pulled more attention.

Another friend gave the current Frog look to the sound. The annoying thing then became a big controversial, amusing, entertaining thing for the kids, elders and almost everyone noticed it. Here is a glimpse of the 'Annoying thing'. Later on many albums and remixes have come out and now Crazy Frog has become the Most Wanted Frog.. Here are 2 of the most famous videos that claim the fame..

The youngest in the house!

Who says that the youngest are the most pampered ones? Tell me who is it?? I have a whole lot of points to prove that wrong. yeah! The fact is that the eldest of the whole gang gets the whole attention all the times. I have numerous evidences to prove that. When the first child steps into the world, the whole family, friends, kith and kin, neighbors and simply everyone is so thrilled to bits that they don't leave a single stone unturned to see that million dollars worth smile on the face of the baby! Ok thats fair and agreeable. But... when the poor little second child lands after some years of pampering the elder one and making it feel as if the world is under its feet, it simply refuses to accept any changes! People have so much experience now that they dont care if the second one howls her lungs out. She is just named inhuman and a cry baby. The first one gets the best "first bday", the best "first day in school", "the most tensed and worried year during board exams", "the whole bunch of pattu pavadais and fancy clothes", "all silly stupid toys which cant be generally used for playing since the child is simply overloaded with toys", "the best farewell preparation", "the most emotional see-off for college", "regular letters from the whole family flooding into the hostel" and so on...(tired of rewinding the thoughts...)

The second ones simply get the second hand toys, hurried admission and sudden realization of a school one day, used toys(or say unused toys), and scratches from the first one because the freedom and the whole attention was now scattered into 2 kids and the first one lost the glorious monopoly. The extra years of chocolates, love, attention is all bundled into a sibling rivalry and it takes ages to erase the marks and accord to peace.

Yes, I am a living witness but some time back recently my sister and me talked a lot about it and now we miss each other every day for all the fun, laughter, smiles, tears, hatred, love and the bond of being sisters.When someone who does'nt have a sister asks me now about my elder sister and how it is to have an elder sister, I proudly say that having an elder sister is a joy and I am lucky to have a sister who loves me so much. There are days when she has been nervous about my monthly pains, anxieties and worries, visited temples and perform archana for my marks, laughed on my sick jokes, get excited of our huge earings collection and fought for my problems. I am happy to be the youngest in the house :) And I also accept that she has had her share of sharing her whole life and the love of our parents and family with me which she gracefully accepted(although with difficulty :)). Her share of jealousies and anger....which dont matter any more. There are times when the parents try and 'protect' one from the other. Right or wrong, that does create splinters in the relationship. I know of people who give all the attention to the second child and leave the elder one in the safer hands of the grand parents, with all good intentions. But it turns out to be sour too. Its all luck and I believe strongly that its in our hands to resolve the natural rivalry. After all this useless 'Gyaan', I declare that 'My Sister is the Best!!'

I love you Jillu....