Bring It On, 2009!

My last post for the year.

A recap would show that this year has had it's highs and lows. It started off on a very frightening note with the FIL being hospitalised for 40 days, 25 of those days hooked up to a ventilator. But he's home, better, fitter and more cautious.

I lost some friends, not physically, but metaphorically-speaking, and the thought of that still hurts like hell, especially since I still see them around.

But, on the up-side, this is the year that I started blogging in earnest, and the friends that I've made across the wires makes up ten-thousand-fold for the ones I've lost. Blogging has been such an enriching and rewarding experience for me, that its gifts never cease to amaze me. Each and every one of you have made me a part of your life, and even if I start rambling on and on you'll never fully understand just how much that means to me. I thank you all for letting me be privy to your worlds and for being a part of mine.

Professionally speaking, 2008 has been kind to me too. I got published in "Chicken Soup for the Indian Soul" (a dream come true) and I bagged a regular column in a newly-launched magazine (another dream job!) For this I thank my Muse and the Goddesses I pray to and whom I derive my strength and creativity from. Everything I do, I dedicate to You.

Unfortunately, the year ended on a bad note. First, I lost my Boro Jethu and as I type this, an amiable uncle-in-law is in the hospital.

And of course, 26/11 happened. The direct result of that is that I am a more terror-struck, cynical, hyper and shit-scared parent. I have not forgotten my pledge. As soon as school reopens, I promise to visit the EO's school to talk to the principal about introducing activities that will help inculcate nationalistic pride in tomorro's generation.

And thank you, to the Gods Above, for my charming EO and pixie YO. I owe You a debt of gratitude for letting them be mine.

So goodbye 2008. I will remember you, for reasons good and bad. You've been a memorable year.

And bring it on 2009! With all your blessings and memories-to-be, welcome!

I pray that the coming year is full of joy, good health, peace and magic for all of you! May the year ahead show us a way to make the world a safer, healthier and more hopeful place to live in.

God bless!

Christmas Eve and Day

This Christmas Eve was 'special' because I discovered two facets about myself...I am old and I feel cold.

Yes, me! Moi! The last person to bring out the sweaters and socks in college in Delhi! While the general Bong population on campus would be in monkey caps, the Southies in layers of sweaters and the other Northies in well-coordinated winter outfits, complete with jaunty berets, stylish scarves and mom-made mufflers, yours truly would be wandering around in a shawl. That's it. And it wasn't a show of bravado. It wasn't because I lapped up the awe and envy of my hostel-mates and class-mates (well, I did enjoy it, but that wasn't a reason! ;p) I have always revelled in cold weather. The nip in the air, the crispness of fall and the onset of winter...aaah! I always put it down to being a winter baby, born in New York in the month of January, with snow all around...And then there was the move to Bangalore, the original AC city! How could I not love and bloom in the cool and the cold?

And here we are in in Kolkata and my immuno-system seems to have gone bust! My very first winter here and I developed a pneumonic patch in my lungs! To add to all that, I discovered I was pregnant with the EO! So much for strong medications! And ever since then, at each and every 'change of season' or 'turn of the weather', there I'd be coughing my lungs out and sneezing my nose off. I still didn't 'feel' the cold, but the cold obviously found a good home in my bones and lungs. And that is why, I have to bundle myself up in woolens and invest in socks. The MIM, if he could, would get me and the boys into monkey caps, but so far I've been able to resist.

So this Christmas Eve, our gang of maddies and I, made our way to Tolly Club to bring in Christmas the way we knew best...by downing spirits to up our own and going berserk on the dance floor. The sight that assaulted our eyes was enough to send shivers up and down every bone in our body...well at least the female bodies. As far as the male bodies in our group were concerned, the sight warmed the cockles of their hearts. The skin show that was on view that night could have easily rivaled a day on the sunny, sandy beaches of Rio de Janerio! Hey, don't get me wrong, I have nothing against itsy-bitsy dresses...carried off well, they can look supremely sexy and sensuous. Of course seeing someone in one often gives rise to feelings of jealously, but I still say that I have nothing against a teeny-tiny dress. But on one of the most frrreeezzzing nights of the year? Brrrrr!! I am telling you, these dresses started barely two inches above the nipple and ended two inches below the butt! And here we were, dressed head-to-toe, mostly in a slimming black, and covered in velvets, silks and wollens.

And the figures! Reed thin, stilettoed and no stockings to boot! Weren't they defying the very laws of physics and biology? We were the well-insulated lot, naturally as well as artificially, but why were we shivering not just in our skin, but in our socks?

The average age of the HUGE crowd? Between 15 and 19, I kid you not. Just mere smatterings of 25-75 year-olds. So, now you can well understand why I also felt old :(

Well, we tried to come up with different theories to answer that question, but after quite a few rounds of brandy, whiskey and vodka. It didn't seem to matter so much any more. I never made it to the dance floor, on account of my shoe strap tearing, but I certainly rocked the chair that night with my groovy shoulder shakes, butt jiggles and hip(po) wobbles.

Yup, it turned out to be a Merry Christmas eve after all.

Then, after what seemed like only an eleven-second snooze, I was woken up by three very chirpy, bright-eyed, smiling faces. The EO, YO and Nephew were up and about and waiting for their Christmas presents. And Santa has been very, VERY generous this year. That's what happens when Daddy Clause decides to go shopping with Mommy Clause and goes three times over the budget! Men! I tell you!

We took the our sons and the MIM's cousin's kids to Saturday Club. We had invited these friends of ours to meet us there with their kids. There was Christmas Carnival there for the kids. The arrangements were the same as every year, but the kids had a blast and at the end of the day, and that's really all that matters to a parent!

So Christmas was indeed merry, despite my advancing years and my absolute intolerance to the Northern winds that blow.

How was yours?

All This Holiday Hogging...

Ever met a human pig?

Well then, come up and see me some time!

Merry Christmas To One and All

In the true spirit of what this Holy Day stands for, and in light of the mountain of terror our country has been subjected to, I wish for you all, my friends from all over, peace, joy, love and above all, hope.

May these troubled times just be a bad reminder of 2008.

With love in our hearts to you and yours...
M4 and family

"Mirror, Mirror on the Bathroom Wall..."

M4 : (through a mouthful of toothpaste and singing/mumbling/frothing in a falsetto voice) Winter is here, winter is finally here!

Mirror Image: Hmmm. Yes, I can see that!

M4: Excuse me? Meaning?!?

Mirror Image: The extra layer of insulation you've packed on speaks volumes about the volumes of festive cheer you've been consuming!

M4: Oh you kill-joy you! 'Tis the season to be jolly and all the other jazz...

Mirror Image: There's jolly and then there's folly. You my dear, have regressed quite a few letters back!

M4: Hahaha-blah! You think you're so funny!

Mirror Image: You'd be rolling on the floor laughing if you could only see what I really see! It's downright hilarious!

M4: Hey, so I might have indulged in an extra piece of rum ball or four, so what? It's the season of merry-making! I am revelling in the winter cheer and I'm not ashamed if my body shows it! That's what we have sweaters for!

Mirror Image: Your body was all set for winter before it even arrived in all its nippy glory!

M4: Henh?!?

Mirror Image: Your boobs, my dear. They seem to have gone south for the winter and from the looks of it, I'd say they've take up permanent residency there!

M4: (picks up vase and takes aim...)

Cliches, Proverbs, Homilies, Old Wives' Tales and Other Crap

"A son is a son until he takes a wife,
But a daughter is a daughter for all her life."

Looks like I've married the only exception that proves the bloody rule!!!

"A Handsome Prince Came Riding By..."

Last night was the EO's school concert, put up by students from Nursery to Class 2. And it was wonderful!

It started off with a classical dance performance by some of the girls in the older classes to the Ganesh Vandana. They were lovely and graceful and as always, whenever I see a classical dance performance, my heart hurts a little bit and it just can't stop sighing!

Next, the Nursery tots put up a piece called "Friends Forever". The little babes were dressed up as various animals from the jungle. They parade around stage, wave happily at the audience and then they talk about Santa. They wonder who the big guy in red will pick to help pull his sleigh and they each start singing about their strengths. Soon, little Rudolph makes an entrance (this was the EO's part last year, but is was a closed door school show, so we parents didn't get to see it). He wants to pull the sleigh too. All the other animals laugh at him and say mean things and our tiny, shiny-nosed reindeer is very sad. Of course there's a happy ending...it's a Santa Claus and Rudolph story for cryin' out loud (not to mention there are more than 150 four-year olds involved!) So Santa arrives on the stage and asks Rudolph if he would like to pull his sleigh. Rudolph says yes, the other animals beg forgiveness and ask if they can be friends, Rudolph says yes again and there's a lot of singing, dancing and merry-making on stage. To say that the animals were adorable is obviously an understatement! We were witnessing cuteness overload on stage!

The MIM, my Maa-Janoni and MIL started discussing the vast reserves of patience these teachers have. After all, dealing with seven sections, each with 25 students in the class and making sure that all the kids are not just on stage but get at least 10-15 seconds of visibility time, is no joke! No sirree! Hats off to them!

After an impressive violin recital by one of the senior students, it was time for the Prep classes to troop on stage! Pa-pa-pa-pum-pum-pum!! This was it! What my little boy had been practicing so hard for, for one whole month! It started off with the EO being one of the contenders for the Prince's role. Now the EO is a fidgety boy, very restless. I knew it must have been a tough decision. But they saw the spark in his eyes and his class teacher took him under her wing and turned him from a fidgety frog to a galloping, swashbuckling, sword carrying, velvet-swathed prince charming. The entire Prep section was on stage, once again, that's about 160-180 students, and we were astounded by the perfection.

When it was time for the prince to gallop on stage, my eyes were glued to the wings. Maa-Janoni had already caught a glimpse of him waiting there. He took his entry a few seconds too early and realising his mistake, went back to wait in the wings again, for his proper cue to start. And then, the right cue and the dashing prince came galloping out and went round and round the enchanted forest. Looking phenomenal in shades of blue, I can't even begin to describe what I was feeling. It was so much more than pride and joy. The physical pounding in my chest was so real, so tangible yet so bearable I didn't care if I burst. He didn't miss a beat, a word, a step. His lines were clear, his enunciation perfect, his diction impeccable. This is why most of the teachers wanted him all along...because of his command over the English language. I am so very grateful that they kept the faith and didn't lose patience. That they polished his strengths and overcame his weaknesses and presented the work of art that I had the great good fortune of gawking at last night.

And when it came time for the kiss, we heard a nice, loud smooch being planted on the pretty princess's forehead. They were wearing lapel mikes after all, so we heard everything really well!

They were all adorable. And yes, I was an incredbly proud Mamma last night and I thought my EO looked particularly dashing, even though his cape seemed so long I was worried that he would trip over it. However, I am not the kind of person who'll say he was the best in his production even if he wasn't but just because he's my son. No. Unless it's true, I won't say that. And truth be told and all feelings of motherly pride aside, he wasn't. The child who stunned everyone with her acting prowess was the Wicked Old Fairy. She was brilliant!

The rest of the show comprised more solo and duet performances from senior students, who acted as the fillers while the props were being changed behind the curtains. Class 1 put up a very cute production of 'The Shoemaker and the Elves'. The Class 2 choir sang a wonderful mix of popular English numbers and an impressively harmonised medley of 'Purano Sei Diner Kothaa' with 'Auld Lang Syne'. The show ended with a lkarge group of Class 1 and 2 students dancing the garba and bhangra.

In the grand finale, all the lead characters danced onto stage doing the bhangra to 'Nach Baliye' from the OST "Bunty Aur Babli". Now this is another onbe of the EO's top favourite songs. Plus he loves to dance. So you can imagine how happy a certain little prince in an over-long, dark blue, velvety cape was! He started dancing so hard and having such a good time on stage, he soon left the others way behind and was stomping about merrily in front of the stage. He had to be pulled back in time for the curtain to come down on them!

This reminded my of the Bro, when he was way back in Class 1 and he did something similar...and that too, while dancing the bhangra! Maa-Janoni, Daddy Dearest and I keep talking about the similarities that the BRO and EO share. Once again, I was shown just how much!

After the curtain went up once again, we all stood for the National Anthem. And then it was truly curtains for a wonderful show, put up by the cutest, sweetest bunch of kids ever!

Congratulations teachers, staff and management. Your efforts were tremendous and they showed. And best of all, the little ones shone in every respect possible.

Thank you for this!