Dog lover

After our trips to Kerala and Delhi, Tarana and I are finally back in Jaipur. Somewhere during the travels I caught a bad cold and cough that recently escalated into a proper flu. Unfortunately for Tarana I passed it onto her – so she had to deal with her first dose of antibiotics. We have both recovered now and I am plotting plans for the coming week.

Besides the cold/cough, Kerala and Delhi were both good fun.

In Kerala, Tarana spent limited time around Bruno (Robin’s parents Labrador) as we felt she was too small to enjoy a pet. But in Delhi she proved us wrong. We were at a friend’s place who has an adorable six 6 month old pug called Pumpkin. For Tarana and Pumpkin it was love at first sight. They reached out to each other – Pumpkin caressing Tarana with her paws and Tarana tugging lovingly at Pumpkin’s ears – both equally delighted with the other. The next morning, when mom got back from a market she brought along a cute cuddly stuffed toy-dog that we are calling Pumpkin, Tarana’s first love.


Her love for dogs was confirmed yesterday when we went to a farm close to Jaipur were there were seven big strong and ferocious Alsatians. Tarana, who often gets scared by a loud sneeze, was having great fun standing in the middle of these seven barking dogs! Robin is delighted that she has inherited his dog loving genes.

Reunion

Given the nature of our jobs both Robin and I spend a lot of time travelling. We often say that the secret to our very happily married life is this forced distance between us! Things have been a little different for the past year - pregnancy, the house move, Tarana's birth - all this meant that neither of us could travel too much. I've ended up on maternity leave and Robin has had travel piling up. So off he went to Southern Sudan (I'll cajole him into writing a bit on this blog about all his adventures in the still war torn country) and me to India.

I enjoy the romance created by distance - it feels like old times when we were dating. Every time Robin calls I rush to a find a quite corner in an otherwise bustling house; cuddled in bed at night we send sms's to each other; and out in the markets I can't stop myself from picking up little things for him. It does feel refreshingly different from me nagging him about household chores!

Though with Tarana in the family, relationships have expanded and there is just nothing romantic about spending too much time away from her. Robin misses her immensely and I can't wait till the day after tomorrow when they will get to cuddle together after so many days. She has grown, her laughter has become louder, her smiles more generous and her play time more fun.

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Spirituality

Both dad and mom believe a lot in spirituality. Mom believes in everything else too – God, prayers, rituals et all. Organised religion I am just not a believer of, though there were times when I was younger – when exam results were due – I turned into a temple going believer! When it comes to spirituality I sit on the fence. Anyway, given the spiritual quest that my parents are perpetually on, this trip also consisted of a few unique encounters that even my spiritually disabled and constantly questioning mind thoroughly enjoyed.

The first was a short diversion from the Jaipur-Jodhpur highway to a village called Bala. We drove off the highway onto a narrow country road filled with mirages from the sweltering heat and surrounded by the endless desert sand. The road ended at a mud wall. We walked in through a small gate into a compound with rural adobes and a small temple. My parents come here often to pay their respects to Bala Sati Ma who is no more but has been seen by many from grandparents and parents generation. She didn’t eat or drink anything for 40 years while carrying out all her daily chores (cooking, cleaning etc) effortlessly. A biography of hers states that scientists have spent years studying her anatomy but were left bewildered. I didn’t connect with the spiritual essence of the place. I, however, have to say that the place felt very peaceful and calming. I guess it was the non-commercial and humble environment that helped me appreciate the setting

The other interesting place that we went to was in Mount Abu, an otherwise crowded and noisy hill station. This was an ashram about 10,000 years old were Vashisht lived before he was requested to move to Ayodhya. The Nikki Lake and Dilwara temples (magnificently carved Jain temples from 1000AD) in Abu are full of tourists, but for some reason the Vashisht ashram doesn’t seem to attract any of them. It might be because of the 800 steps that one needs to climb down to get there! We went at 6:30 in the morning – the breeze was cool and the clouds were gliding past the hills – the trek down the wooded hills to the ashram was wonderful. As we were climbing down the last few steps we could hear the arti (morning prayer) starting. There were about half a dozen sages in long saffron robes standing inside a small ancient temple. We stepped in and stood besides them. The clang of the bells echoing in the forest, the resonance of the chants and claps, and the dancing flame was an experience I can not describe in words. After a walk around this ancient historic site we sat under a big shady tree, relishing the shanti (peace) and our sandwiches, and preparing for our climb back up the 800 steps.

Pictures from the trek

Road trip

As kids I have done a lot of road trips with my family so when we decided to drive down to Mount Abu (about 550 kms from Jaipur) I was very excited about reliving some of those family moments. To use this as an opportunity to meet my grandmother and also to make the journey easy for Tarana we decided to take a short diversion to Jodhpur. Spending a couple of days in my grandparents house (were I spent most of my summer vacations) was a trek down memory lane. I have been meeting my grandma at my parents place over the past few years and haven’t had the need to visit Jodhpur – I was going back after almost 8 years. But nothing has changed – it was as if I had gone back in time. Everything, even the pens on the study table, was where I remembered it to be. (picture of tarana with Great Grandma)
The drive too was like old times, waking up early, packing home made sandwiches, juices and bags of crisps – we have always enjoyed munching on long drives. We were on the road at 6:45am and watched the city waking up as we drove across – the rising sun throwing a beautiful golden light down on the city, the sand swirling lightly on the road side and a warm breeze blowing on the car windows.

I haven’t driven much in a desert before and was surprised by how diverse and picturesque the terrain is. We drove past long dry stretches with short stubby shrubs growing here and there. The straight, never ending road, that we were on stood out in the desert sand. Every now and then we would pass a deserted petrol pump; people wearing colourful traditional clothes (women in lehengas and men in white pajama kurta and a colourful turban) walking in the scorching heat (45degrees); and drive over bridges that were build to help cross the once wide river where not a drop of water could be found now. There was also a patch of hills – rocky, barren and huge over looking the long narrow road. Simply spectacular.

Indian elections

It was great to be in India during the elections this year. It instantly made me feel like I was part of the country and all its political tamasha. It is one thing to watch the self obsessed Burkha Dutt on NDTV in London and another to follow her over simplified observations (I really don’t want to use the word analysis) while in India. News readers apart – watching the results unfold in a matter of hours was a phenomenal experience.

I am so glad that the Congress has won. Not because they are my favorite party – unfortunately it is just the result of an elimination process. BJP are too Hindutva for my liking and more so this time as they were pushing for Modi (the mass murderer as Vir Sanghvi, very aptly, puts it in his column whenever he can); and the Third Front didn’t seem to have a common ideological base – they claimed to have come together to keep the Congress and BJP from forming a government. That isn’t a very substantial vision for the country now is it?

The substantial lead that the Congress won this election with doesn’t seem to insulate them from all the post election negotiations and threats. It looks like the DMK is making some ridiculous demands for ministries to keep their sons and daughters happy. Let’s see what the final cabinet looks like and what responsibilities Rahul Gandhi decides to take on. I’m looking forward to an interesting few weeks ahead.

Desi Babus (Indian bureaucrats)

A trip to India is incomplete without an encounter with a bureaucrat in one of the many avtars they dawn across this country. This time it was to do with changing our addresses on the passport. Now that Dad and Mom have finally moved into their own home after spending years moving from one Naval Base to another, Dad thought that it is probably time to get the address (from some old government accommodation) changed to something more permanent.

To start with I was rather impressed as we were told to visit www.passport.gov.in – the official website and fill out an automated form. No standing in a long line waiting for a ‘window’ to open and hand out forms, no filling them in triplicates with affidavits and a million enclosures – what progress. The celebrations were a little too soon as we found it impossible to apply for a change in address on the website. Numerous unsuccessful phone calls later we decided it was time to do things the Indian way. So Dad called someone, who called someone who knew the civil servant managing the passport office in Jaipur. So we trekked across the city to a newly developed Industrial Area with impressive infrastructure – broad clean roads, smart buildings hosting various government departments. I thought it was rather sensible of the state government to move some of its offices away from the congested city center into a more open and friendly environment. The passport office too was impressively clean and organized.

Even though we had an appointment we had to sweet talk our way to the bureaucrat as the two guards – one at the bottom of the steps and one at the front of his office – ensured that it is almost impossible to meet the man in charge. To be fair, the bureaucrat himself was nice enough – even got us some coffee. But what gets to me is that most of these guys take forever to get to the point. They make you wait around their table while they talk to few others sitting on some of the visitor chairs and sipping chai, sign a few files, talk to people walking in and out of their office and then, 20 minutes later tell you that you actually need to go back home, get online and fill the form for a new passport, then come back to him with print outs of those forms a couple of days later. Couldn’t he have just said that the moment we walked in? Or better, over the phone?! The wait wasn’t too boring – we heard some amusing cases. Too long to narrate it in this blog, maybe another time.

Anyway, two trips later we are still struggling to provide all the information they need – since there isn’t a list anywhere and we depend on each trip to get new bits of information – for our Babus, information really is power!

Pictures from Choki Dhani

We went around to Choki Dhani to celebrate Tarana's four month birthday. Here are pictures from the evening.

The massage wali (lady)

Every part of India has its own set of customs associated with various events in life - birth, marriage, etc. Sometimes the custom in one place can contradict and almost offend that from another - when Robin and I got married, the proposed 'auspicious time' that our respective families had come up with were quite different. One started right after the other!

The one practice that seems to be followed across the country, and very willingly by me, is that of post pregnancy massage. Usually the mother gets 30 to 45 days of massage soon after the delivery and since I couldn't afford such luxury in London I'm catching up with the traditional requirements now that I am in India.

The massaging techniques together with the accompaniments (oil etc) found in the country are as diverse as everything else here. Some of these massages should come with a statutory warning as they can certainly be injurious to ones health. I laugh every time I think of the head massage that Robin once got at a small shop in Jhansi. The method - press as hard as you can, or in this case, hit as hard as you can - is the mantra for pain relief. After a bout of painful head massage Robin finally had a small smile on his face thinking that the worse was over and not realising that the short pause was because the masseur was stretching his hand so far back for an impact that Robin would remember for a while.

Recently though there has been an additional option of enjoying great massages in the thousands of spas coming up in all our big cities. My favorite is the Asian Roots in New Delhi - you'll find all you want in the massage menu; a very clean, comforting and relaxing environment (I love the contemporary design and use of warm dark wood); and brilliant masseurs.

Anyway, in Jaipur, for my post pregnancy pampering I have settled for the local massage wali who very conveniently comes home. Besides her rather enjoyable massage and not always interesting community gossip she is also a source of traditional and natural remedies for any ailment I present to her. Dandruff - mix camphor in your oil, for a funny tummy soak figs and munnaka (a kind of raisin) in water over night and eat it she tells me. Natural therapy and massages is what a lot of people are turning to and will to pay a lot for across the world. Its great to see that these are so easy to access, with the statutory warning ofcourse, in the country that has always been proud of such practices being a part of its culture.

London to Jaipur via Delhi

Its been exactly a week since I've been in India and for the first time in three and a half years it feels like a real holiday. I've managed to come home five times since we moved to London but it never felt like we had enough time - between visiting my parents and Robin's (in the two corners of this country), catching up with friends and stealing a few days for a short 'holiday' the three or four weeks always whizzed by too soon.

This time I am around for almost 3 months and its great to not feel the pressure to touch base with everyone in the first twenty four hours. I am being, as I have been over the past 4 months, lazy - I should qualify that as extremely lazy. Eating, chatting, getting massages, keeping Tarana amused every now and then are all the chores I am responsible for. Ah, its brilliant coming back to my mom's house to be pampered. The only unfortunate bit is that Tarana is having some trouble with Eczema - it had started in London but hasn't become better (or worse) since I got here.

I'll upload pictures as soon as I figure out how to connect my camera onto this ancient computer that my parents own! Its probably not the computer but my total ignorance that is the problem. Either way, I'll try to sort it out this week.

Pictures from this morning

Liberia

There was sudden panic in our household earlier this week as it looked like Robin might have to make an emergency trip to Liberia on work Given that Tarana and I are leaving this weekend, it would have been a real shame to not have him around as we are not going to see much of him over the next two and a half months. Anyway, it looks like the work issues have been resolved and Robin won't have to go after all.

Robin and I spent a good part of 2007 - almost 6 months in all - traveling around Africa. I started the year with a trip to Rwanda in January. Prior to traveling there my perception of the country was based entirely on the film Hotel Rwanda. What I saw was surprisingly more positive - 13 years after the conflict the country had come a long way. Anyway, later that year I spent 2 months (Robin a lot more) in Liberia. Nothing could have prepared me for what I was to see and experience. Here is an email I had sent a few friends after my first few days in Monrovia. I'll post a few other thoughts from that trip over the next few days.

04-17-2007
We're finally in Liberia – the flight here was a nightmare. All I have to say about SN Brussels – if you can avoid it, avoid it. Its perpetually late, the air hostesses are rude, the flights are old, the entertainment system sucks (one small TV in the middle of the plane and no headphones) and unlike most other airlines where one gets way more food then one can eat – SN Brussels starves its passengers. We took off at 7 am London time and landed at around 9 pm London time – all that we got to eat during that time was one cold croissant for breakfast and a small bowl of pasta and salad for lunch.

Anyway, the view while flying into Sierra Leone and Liberia was just breath taking – vast expanse of a blue green ocean and long beautiful coastlines with big white waves crashing into it. It was very dark and cloudy when we landed and looking out of the window I expected a nip in the air. But the moment I stepped out of the aircraft I could feel that lovely hot air touch my skin – just like the hot monsoons in India – ah, I luv that feeling that smell.

The immigration and baggage claim is a story in itself – wish I had a camera to send pictures of the world's most chaotic airport! Two small rooms, hot, humid, noisy, bustling with people – those with 'connections' had someone take their passports directly to the immigration officer and have it stamped while the rest of us stood in line. Honestly, the airport is barely bigger or more organised than a cattle shed.

The drive from the airport to the apartment was a rather different experience – we landed around 8pm local time. The sun had set, the streets were dark. I knew that Liberia doesn't have any grid electricity (Monrovia is the only capital city in the world without grid electricity), but didn't realise just how different that could be. I had to strain my eyes to look out of the car window - could see huts scattered on the roadside and people sitting around – but everything was pitch dark. It was like driving inside a forest or something. No light bulbs, no candles – just darkness, and the sounds of the wind and the people. A very different feeling!

The apartment is nice – very close to the sea. The view from the ActionAid office is also great. I spent a quite day yesterday eating corn on the cob – coal roasted on the roadside.

Hope all's well at that end. Will keep you posted on things I see and hear. By the way people here don't call each other by name – its 'sister' or 'man' or 'woman'. Guess what Robin's called? 'Boss man'. I've decided to call him boss-man from now too!

Long Weekend

I love long weekends and start counting the days for the first bank holidays from the day our new year begins. This year the Easter weekend was particularly special as we got our passports back a few days before, which meant that I could book my tickets for India. Yes! I'm off in a couple of days! It was also really nice to have Robin home for four days - we were hoping to spend some quiet family time together but given that Tarana and I are leaving for India soon we ended up spending the weekend with friends and lots of food. Friday we had a couple of friends for dinner and a night spend; we started Saturday by binging at Chennai Dosa and ending it with a home made Sushi feast by Hiroshi; on Easter Sunday we had a bunch of friends at our place for lunch and finished with dinner at ours on Monday. The Monday dinner was particularly special as I finally made Pad Thai (my favorite Thai dish) at home. I had come across this interesting story like recipe about how it is put together on the streets of Bangkok. It wasn't perfect, but I know what to do differently next time - after all, my recipe came without measurements!

Here are a few pictures of the delicious ingredients that went into my Pad Thai.

Fresh prawns from the fish market - courtesy Hiroshi and Rita who trekked across half of London on Saturday morning to get us fresh fish for the Sushi dinner

Long, crunchy sprouts - can't have enough of them.

Two interesting textures - bamboo shoot and tofu

Yummy crunchy peanuts - I always add some as extras on my pad thai - and finely sliced spring onions.

Rice noodles - I'm never sure if I like pad thai better with the thinner or the bigger flatter noodles. I guess it is traditionally made with the thin ones but I enjoy the flat ones too.

Noisy family

Robin and I can both babble incessantly and therefore when Tarana was born I wondered which way she would choose to go. She, of course, has two options. One - the only way to get a word in this household is to talk louder than the rest. Or two - there is no way one can really get a word through so why bother. Well, it may be too soon to say but it looks like our little one knows how to make her voice heard. Though this is certainly not going to take her to Bollywood as she might have some performance issues. I have been trying to capture her grunting on camera for over two weeks now and the moment I press record our lady decides to stop her sentance mid way and not say a word till her mother is bored enough to switch the camera off. Today, finally, I have managed to get a bit of her on tape. So here she is...

Day trips with Tarana

The snow came in the way of weekend trips that we had planned while Dad and Mom were around so when a couple of weekends ago, the sun finally found its way to the UK sky we decided that we had to drive out of town. Robin had been wanting to go back to Reading for a while to catch up with an old professor. That was Tarana's first day trip.
On Friday, K had to drive to Oxford on work so Arti, Anika, Tarana and I decided to tag along. It was the first time in months that I had to wake up early and it was unbelievably difficult! After a lot of agonising we did manage to get out of the house at 7:30. The day turned out to be great - bright and warm. Arti and I, with our two buggies ofcourse, walked all day (9:30 to 5:30) without an agenda - loitering in and out of shops and taking long coffee breaks at cafes we thought looked interesting. We also walked around some of the famous Oxford sights including the Bodleian library, Hertford bridge, Blackwell books and a whole bunch of colleges.

Arti and Anika
Tarana and me

Enjoying the spring...

Enjoying the first bright spring weekend in the heath
Tarana and me spend way to much time at the local coffee shop - this week we've been there every evening!
Tarana's peers - since she doesn't have much of a say at the moment Tarana spends most of her time with her mommy's friends but every now and then she gets to play around with people her age too!