Our daughter grew up. She is not a toddler anymore - not been so in a long time. I decided that it is best for the blog to be renamed as TWEENSPEAK. However, the entries I have made watching Akank grow up from a toddler to a tween is best captured under the current title.

I have moved to blogging at this place now.

The blog posts from August 2009 will be repeated on the site. There will be fresh entries from December 2009.
 
Its been a wonderful 6 years since I have begun blogging. I Intend to blog for many more years to come!

Thank you all for being there reading the blogs and sharing your thoughts with me. I hope you continue to do the same here on!

It has been raining heavily for the past two days at Chennai.  Yesterday, Vignesh had school, but the younger one, Karthik, whose school is comparatively at a better place than Vignesh, had holiday, as he was in smaller classes. Today when I got up around 5:30 a.m., it was pitch dark outside, and there were heavy showers with lightning as well as thunders.  So, thinking that both the kids might have holiday today, was doing my cooking in a lethargic manner.  At around 6 a.m., made Vignesh to wake up with great difficulty, and also heard from the school’s Porur Campus, that the school was functioning today.  Both of us had a heavy heart and Vignesh was slowly getting ready for the school bus. I had made vegetable biriyani for lunch, and packed the same.  Once Vignesh, left for catching his bus, my next job was to wake up Karthik, whick is more than a Herculian task.  My husband too got up early, as he was to leave early for his work today.  I thought I will check the school website to find out whether Karthik had a holiday today too.  The school website did not say anything about that.  But at the same time, my gmail alert popped up a new message, something regarding the results of HDFC Meritus Scholarship Exams 2009.  I immediately checked my inbox, and to my sweet surprise I found that Vignesh has been declared as one among the 3300 winners, out of 4.2 lakh kids, all over India, who participated in this competition.  Kudos to Vignesh.  Really feeling great today morning.

P.S. Vignesh, still doesn’t know about his feat, as he is off to school.  Waiting for the evening to come so that I can convey the news to him…

The path to his success:

This Scholarship competition was announced in Feb. 2009.  I am a salary account holder with HDFC Bank for the past 4 years.  One day, while logging on to Netbanking, I saw this contest and wanted Vignesh to participate in the same.  The rules of the contest said that there will be two rounds of telephone quiz,  which, after qualifying will lead to the final round of written test.  The final round will also take into consideration his other interests, extra curricular activities etc etc.  I had registered my mobile number and Vignesh was waiting for the first round of IVRS(Interactive Voice Response System), which will ask 10 questions, each of different level, totalling to 30 marks.  There can be a maximum of 5 attempts, but the marks scored in the final attempt will be taken as his final score for that round.  In the first round, he took the first attempt, the score was 19/30, and the second attempt resulted in 28/30.  My husband said that it is better that he stopped there, because it would be the second best score.  We waited, and got a message stating that he has qualified for the second round.  The second round, he took through the internet, and got 30/30.  We knew that for sure, he will receive a call for the last written test round.  It took place on August 16th, 2009 a Sunday, at Sri Ramakrishna Mission Boys Higher Secondary School, T. Nagar.  Actually, it has been a long time (a very lonnnnnnnnng time) since we had gone out of station.  That was a good weekend, as Aug 15th, Saturday was also a national holiday.  One of my colleagues was getting married at Trichy.  I has asked my husband, and we were of the thought, that we four, will drive down to Trichy and spend the weekend over there.  But by, Thursday, we received a message from HDFC, that the final written test was on Aug.16th.  We thought that Vignesh, should take up the final test, as he had come up to that level.  But, by Friday itself, he developed high fever, and was down.  We had taken him to the doctor, and was under medication.  That was the time that the first case of swine flu was diagnosed in India too.  SO, we were all the more worried.  On Sunday, as he looked a bit better, he said, he will take up the test, and Vignesh and myself, went to the exam centre, around 9:00 a.m.  There were a good number of students, who had come to take up the written test.  Vignesh, was as cool as he usual self.  The exam was for two hours 10:00 to 12:00.  My husband, came around 11:00 and once the exam was over, we both were pestering Vignesh, the whole way back to home, about the questions, that were asked in the paper.  He couldn’t even recollect 5 to 10 questions.  He said, overall, atleast 30 to 35 questions will definitely be right, and the rest, he had done some guesswork.  We spoke to a few officials of HDFC over there, who said that the written test was conducted at various parts of the country, on different dates, till September end.  We knew that the results would be out anytime after September.  Today was that D-day, and we are all very happy for Vignesh!!!

I am suffering from Mid-life crisis? I feel very confused. Haha!

Lots has been in my mind......I am soul-searching.

Midlife Crisis

 

Mridu got an invitation to come to tea at her best friend Elizabeth's house. I picked her up from school at 3 pm and went straight to Lizzie's house. Inspite of living in England for 4 and a half years, I was still confused as to what an invitation to tea was. Last week I had invited Lizzie and her mum for a tea at our place and I gave them just that - tea and tea biscuits. Only when I went to their's for tea did I realise that the English's equivalent to tea is our "dinner". But you would hardly call it that, because who in India would have dinner at 4 pm? Apparently the English do!! So there we landed for tea and we were served jacket potatoes, salad and a pudding. I politely picked on some of the greens, apologising at the same time for misunderstanding what "tea" was! The English raise their kids very differently. They are expected to say "Please" and "Thank you" at all times and their behaviour has to be impeccable with guests. How do they manage it???!!! I found Lizzie most polite and courteous. And here was Mridu on the other hand, all loud and boisterous...mother of all embarassments, she even had a temper tantrum while she was there. Glaringly contrasting behaviours from 2 kids of the same age. I spent the rest of the evening (and night...oh yeah, had a sleepless night) wondering if I was bringing her up the right way. Does she need more disciplining? what if she turns into an uncontrollable teenager? Can she/should she be like Lizzie or is this her personality? She is aggressive, rebellious and assertive by nature, even as a baby. That part of her personality I have no control of. But where should I start and where to stop? At the same time, is Lizzie's mum bringing her up the right way? Are they hindering a child's natural instincts to shout, jump around and have fun by having so many rules and boundaries? I would never know the answers to these maybe...in the meanwhile I will continue to bring up my daughter the best way I can and if she grows into a kind and compassionate woman, (albeit an agressive one, thats for sure!), with a decent set of values, I will consider my job well done! :-)

Sometimes an infinite access to almost everything with infinitesimal delay all the time, is DETRIMENTAL.

I recently saw a video about a new invention out there at the Media Lab of MIT, where a wearable device becomes your sixth-sense piping the Internet right into your day-to-day sensations.


If that were to catch up, it wouldn't be long before our children come up with new versions of classic stories, like this.
Totally shorn of emotion, thoroughly laced with information, almost like the demon of distraction took over the mind!
Take a look!

Slagsmålsklubben - Sponsored by destiny from Tomas Nilsson on Vimeo.

And, draw your own conclusions!

Rajendran.

   Trust a good wife to confuse the living daylights out of you!

Hi

 

Adithya is learning everyday new things..good ones and naughty ones.  He does not cry now to go to school. But in another two weeks his school closes for summer vacation 2 months. He is missing his father. Anand has gone to ahmedabad on a project for 3-4 months.

He says dad has gone to meet manager uncle and will come on saturday. (poor little guy does not know which saturday...) He talks to his dad on phone. Over last 3 months he was close to his dad. Loved to play with dad and was excited whenever he took him out.  At the same time dad used to scold him and get wild at him also...unlike mom.

He goes to the bathroom when requried unlike before. He still wakes up saying no bath and no brush. Still cries during night time sometimes. At times he is uncontrollable during night times when he cries.... he has always troubled me during night times... lot of sleepless nights in the last 2.5 years.

The other day he said K for cake. He is learning and his brain is absorbing everything we tell or teach or he watches. He likes disney house channel now.

He wears his pant by himself and shoes by himself. Imitates his teacher.  At times he is adamant and irritating. Keeps me busy every minute.

He loves his little cars - has 7 of them now. He knows the colours and even if one is missing he keeps asking for it.

Troubles me to drink milk.. I think most kids hate milk... dont know why? He hardly takes half a glass of milk per day. Loves all junk crispy stuff...loves fruits  and eates most vegetables... which is a good thing for now.

Feels good to write about my son...

Good job jambav team......

 

 

 

 

 

S1 (the six-year-old) has been going to an art class for the past few weeks. This is a picture he drew with oil pastels when learning how to draw a face:
A couple of folks have, unprompted, asked if it was me. So, he now claims it is a picture of me, mustache, glasses and all. Even the green hair could be arranged, I suppose.

This one is one of my favorites. S1 says it's a picture of some monsters fighting: His pictures all have monsters in them. I have the sneaking suspicion that he must have started out his portrait aiming to draw a monster, only it turned out to look like me!

Here is a narration, which explains why one should never give up and how transformations can happen.

One day I decided to quit...
 
"Look around", He said. "Do you see the fern and the bamboo?"
"Yes", I replied.
"When I planted the fern and the bamboo seeds, I took very good care of them.
I gave them light. I gave them water.
The fern quickly grew from the earth. Its brilliant green covered the floor.
Yet nothing came from the bamboo seed.
But I did not quit on the bamboo. In the second year the Fern grew more vibrant and plentiful.
And again, nothing came from the bamboo seed. But I did not quit on the bamboo. He said.
"In year three there was still nothing from the bamboo seed. But I would not quit.
In year four, again, there was nothing from the bamboo see.
I would not quit." He said.
"Then in the fifth year a tiny sprout emerged from the earth.
Compared to the fern it was seemingly small and insignificant...But  just 6 months later the bamboo rose to over 100 feet tall.
It had spent the five years growing roots. Those roots made it strong
and gave it what it needed to survive.
I would not give any of my creations a challenge it could not handle."
He said to me. "Did you know, my child, that all this time you have been struggling, you have actually been growing roots"
"I would not quit on the bamboo. I will never quit on you."
"Don't compare yourself to others." He said. "The bamboo had a different purpose than the fern. Yet they both make the forest beautiful."
"Your time will come", God said to me. "You will rise high"
"How high should I rise" I asked.
"How high will the bamboo rise" He asked in return.
"As high as it can" I questioned.
"Yes." He said, "Give me glory by rising as high as you can."
I left the forest and bring back this story.
I hope these words can help you see that God will never give up on you.
Never give up.