April A-Z challenge

It's been quite a while since I have blogged regularly. This absence from writing, however, did not mean absence from the deluge of thoughts that has been washing over my mind space. This period has been a time of contemplation over many issues, battling the many demons in my head and getting over and letting go what should rightly be got over and let go.

This was the time when I thought about what I am actually holding close to my heart and whether those things were really as important as they seemed to be. Some were and some really weren't....and that was what set me on a path of discovery as to what should actually be important to me.

Call it coincidence then, that I stumbled upon Shilpa's blog, calling us blogger's to participate in the April A-Z challenge.

This path of self discovery is what I am all set to share in this month long A-Z challenge. If you wish to participate you can also register here and fill up a simple form to get started!

Hoping to see you in April!!

How about a story?

The little one, as you all know by now, is a little too smart and quite witty.  So this how last evening turned out to be.

“Mamma, tell me a story,” the little one asked me, settling on my lap and turning my cheek towards him.

I stopped what I was doing to pay attention to him, after all what can be more important than spending quality time with your child? The instant story teller that I pride myself to be, I started with the lion in the jungle that ate all the animals, the story already beginning to take shape in my head.  I had no idea how wrong I was going to be proved in a short while from now.

“There was a bad lion in a bigggg jungle” I started, acting out the part. “He ate any animal that came his way.”

“Which animal?” he wanted to know.

First question already.

“It ate the deer, the…”

 “No mamma, the lion can’t eat the deer…” he said as a matter of fact.

“And why not?”

“The deer lives in the zoo…” he said, with a I’m-surprised-my-mom-didn’t-know-that look!

“No baby, it lives in the jungle, some of them are caught and kept in the zoo…”

“Oh” he seemed satisfied, still pondering over what I said. Then came the next question.

“Did the lion eat the zebra?”

 “Yes baby. The lion ate the zebra and….”

“Giraffe?”

“Yes, he ate the giraffe too and…”

“Buffalo?”

“Yes, the buffalo too.”

“Monkey?”

“Yeah, the monkey, the ….” I paused, thinking of what other animals the lion could eat.

“Hons cow?” he asked.

“What?” I was not sure I understood what animal that is.

“Hons cow?” he stressed again. “Did the lion eat the hons cow?”

“What is a hons cow?” I was beginning to get tired.

He made an imaginary horn with his hands on his head, “hons…”

that's his Hons' cow!!

“Oh!” it dawned on me, and I smiled, “Horns cow?”

“Ya, did the lion eat the horns cow?”

“Yes, it ate the horns cow also…”

Dear god how many more animals did he know? Even as I’m thinking about it, came the next poser.

“No, mamma, the lion can’t eat the horns cow, because it has horns… if the lion tries to eat it, the cow can knock it down with its horns….” He laughed, gently hitting his head with his tiny palm.

“Oh…” I was almost embarrassed. Imagine a mom who doesn’t know this basic fact! THAT was some enlightenment. I must make a mental note of this, next time will be unpleasant if I happen to make this mistake again.

“Ok, it did not eat the horns cow...So this lion…..” I tried to continue.

“Mamma….”

Not again.

“Yes?”

“What does the horns cow eat?”

“Grass?” I asked cautiously. You could never be too sure what his horns cow ate.

“Correct.” He nodded his head, and then, “What colour is grass?”

“You tell me…”

“Green” he smiled.

“Good boy” I smiled back, and then , “What does the horns cow give?” I would regret this question soon.

“Milk” pat came the answer.

“Very good. What colour is milk?” I realized I’m diverting from the story, I’ll get back to it next, I tell myself.

“White”.

“Good, so we’ll go back to the story? So this lion….”

The little one was still thinking and then came the bouncer.

“How does the green grass turn into white milk?”

I really don’t know that. And I could cry, yeah, I wanted to cry. I gave up on the story telling session.

“Baby, why don’t YOU tell me a story today?”

Password incorrect!!

Kids are so gadget savvy now a days! That's exactly the reason why my mobile and desktop are password protected.

 My little one is all of 4, but the mobile sits snugly in his tiny palms like it was tailor made just for it! He knows exactly what icons he must touch to go to the sub menu and then to "Talking tom" or "angry birds"! I watch in awe as he switches on the computer, and then the CPU, and then his little fingers click away on the keyboard and he finds his way through the "D drive" on "My computers", sifting through the folders, locating the folder marked "games", and then finding his favorite car race game-NFS ! It will be imperative to tell you here that he has just started learning his alphabets and cannot even distinguish between b and d, p and q and looks at me for help each time! So it beats me how he navigates through the entire path to reach his destination without being able to read a word!

Hoping he doesn't delete some data by mistake, I typed in a password on my desktop . The little one sat next to me and I was sure he was not that smart to guess the password, leave alone read what I had typed. For a few days all was well and I smiled at having tricked the little monster. Did I mention "few days"? Yeah, because that's how long the trick lasted! Just by observing my fingers as they moved over the keyboard,he managed to crack the password! And very consistently he did it every time I put a new password! Well I'm just glad he doesn't know how to change the password yet!

He must have taken the password thing too seriously and how seriously he showed me at dinner. As I picked up a morsel from his plate and tried to feed him, he put his tiny palm over his mouth. 

"What's the password?" He asked.

"What?" I looked at him blankly.

"Password mamma? Put the password or this gate will not open."

Dear god! Really? Ok, I scratched my head thinking what does he know? Perhaps the alphabets?  "Let me guess....ooook," I said as if I was trying too hard,"abcde? Right? Now open your mouth"

"Wrong password, try again" he said without blinking any eyelid!

What? Did he just say wrong password? How in the world was I supposed to know what he had in that little mind?

He wasn't about to let me give up, so I tried a few more times. "All wrong" he said!

"I give up, you tell me" I coaxed him.

He gave me some crazy random letters and once I did an imaginary punching of keys he let me feed him. Ah! So much drama! The "game" went on till the last morsel was fed and to say I was fed up too wouldn't be an exaggeration!

So much for passwords and so much for privacy!

Down in the dumps

For the whole of the last 15 days health issues have been plaguing me and my family . It seemed like it was an unending roller coaster of problems and I would never get out of it! It made me think that there could not have been a worse start to the new year! 

My sister even teased,"Are you planning to finish you entire quota of health issues in January itself?" Didn't seem like a bad idea though! How convenient, isn't that? I thought! 

A couple of friends suggested seeing a "good astrologer", maybe he could tell me what inter-planetary issues were creating this havoc!

 Really? 

My rational mind wouldn't traverse that path. Having never entrusted myself to a person who could read my "fate", now to expect him to cure me with hocus-pocus,was unthinkable!

It is in times like these that I turn to mom. I pitied myself even as I sobbed telling her how I was going through a tough time nursing a broken ankle and managing kids who seemed to have one sickness after another. She listened to me till I finished my sob story and then asked me to watch 2 programs on TV. ."I'll call you at night" she promised.

That's all mom had to say to me ? I wondered. 

Anyway, just to know what the hype was about I switched on the TV. The first was a couples dance show where one participant couple stood out. The male partner had no legs and yet he danced like it was the easiest thing to do. His wife supporting him throughout the performance, they danced like both were unaware that he did not have both legs! 

To say I was moved, will be an under statement. 

That over, I flipped to the next program my mom wanted me to see. A talent hunt was on and shortly a beautiful lady came up on stage. She walked with the help of crutches and I saw that she stood on one leg. But what she did next blew me away! She handed over her support and danced on one foot for a full three minutes! 

I clapped as if I was seated in the audience. 

Then mom called. "So,how are you feeling now?"

 I wanted to say I am ashamed of myself for letting such a minor injury dampen my spirits. 

Instead I said, "Good. Better than I was in the morning.

 "Be happy that it was a simple injury that will heal with time," she said.  "And thank god for the number of helpers he sent you. As for kids, remember that kids and illnesses go hand in hand. It may have all happened together so it caused you so much stress. But it also showed you how strong you are,didn't it? No one except your own will power can help you. So learn to keep your faith in god and god alone.This time will also pass." Every word she was true!

She was so right! I cannot even count the number of people who came forward to take care of me. 

Thank god for all his favors. Thank god for mom! 

Yeah, this time will also pass!

Book Review - Sirens Spell Danger

Sirens Spell Danger by Suresh Chandrashekaran, Karthik L, and Radha Sawana

Sirens Spell Danger is a collection of three thrillers by three amazing writers. 

The first one “Femme Fatale” is a fast paced thriller that is full of action and also my favourite.  Loved the attention to minute details, not a single scene or character seems out of place. The plot is tightly weaved and there are no loose ends. You can almost feel the excitement as the action picks up in the last few chapters.  There is an unmistakable tinge of subtle humour even in grim situations. It has the author's inimitable stamp all over it! There's no attempt to showcase the protagonists as larger than life. They could be anyone you see on the street, very realistic and believable.

The next one” Bella Donna” comes across as the best researched of the lot but it did get a little predictable. A medical thriller, with a slick execution of the story line. It may look a tad bit confusing keeping tab of the large number of characters that are introduced in the beginning chapters, but as the story progresses, it leaves you amazed at the detailing that has gone into it. Each chapter begins with a subtle hint of the protagonist’s side of the story, then climaxing beautifully in the end.

“Bellary” dwells on the paranormal and the world of make believe. There seem to be some gaps in the story and this one could have done with better handling.

Sirens spell danger is a compelling read. A great mix of three thrillers that keep you hooked till the very end. 

The book is available in a Kindle Edition

Total no of pages : 211 pages

Kindle price :   99.00